일본의 기업진단과 무역장벽에 관한 연구

The problems of the closed market lie in the fact that they are not limited to the member enterprises, nor to the subsidiary companies, nor to the related companies. A highly diversified general trade company does the mutual transactions with other enterprises within the business group on the basis of their solidarity and existing mutual transactions. This, in turn, leads the general trade company to new mutual transactions enabled by the strong ties with the other enterprises within the group, in the process of which the general trade company becomes an agent which enlarges and reproduces mutual transactions. In consequence, the business groups lay groundwork for enlarging and reproducing mutual transactions and the general trade companies play a key role in achieving this. This proliferation of mutual transactions is spurred by the cooperative continuing business relations wide-spread and deep-rooted in Japanese business culture. In the 1990s, however, the member enterprises kept doing businesses with the general trade companies by the way of mutual transactions and/or continuing business relationship even when the role of the general trade companies was no longer needed. But the business transactions between them have been considerably decreased according to drastic changes in the environment for economy and management. This drastic decline in business transactions with general trade companies points to a change in Japanese long-term continuing business relations which have often worked as a big trade barrier for foreign enterprises. This trend is considered to be continued in the future.