Labour stability and flexibility – conditions to reach just‐in‐time

Describes labour stability and flexibility in Japanese versus Swedish manufacturing industries. Presents a theoretical framework where a number of fields which other researchers have regarded as influencing labour stability and flexibility are analysed. Also presents some of the findings of an empirical study of 17 Japanese and four Swedish companies measuring labour stability and describing similarities and differences in the companies′ condition and working methods to reach a stable and flexible labour situation. The results indicate a considerably more stable and flexible labour situation in Japanese companies when compared with Swedish companies.