Engineering careers, job rotation, and gatekeepers in Japan and the United States

Abstract

Japan's employment system is generally characterized as involving infrequent moves between firms, but regular and systematic transfers within the firm. This system might be expected to result in Japanese engineers having smaller interfirm networks of professional contacts than Americans. This could impede the efficient interfirm diffusion of new technology. On the other hand Japanese engineers might be expected to have larger intrafirm networks of professional contacts. This should facilitate the intrafirm transfer of technical information. The research reported here tests the applicability of our images of Japanese career practices to engineering careers, replaces the simple dichotomous characterizations of differences between the U.S. and Japan with data suggesting the degrees of difference, and explores linkages between personnel practices and the transfer of information by engineers in both countries.