The mutation of the Toyota Production System: adapting the TPS at Hyundai Motor Company

Abstract

This paper examines the spread of Toyota Production System (TPS) through Korea, by focusing on the experience of Hyundai Motor Company. Drawing upon data obtained from field research, this case study interprets the adoption of TPS from an evolutionary perspective, arguing that the emulation of TPS should not entail adopting TPS as Toyota developed it originally, but to develop one's own production model. Over the past 40 years, Hyundai has developed its own production model, Hyundai Production System (HPS), initially emulating TPS, followed by re-interpreting and modifying TPS to adapt to the company's unique circumstances. HPS is a mutated form of TPS. The Hyundai case reveals that the adoption of TPS involves a complex evolutionary process of organizational learning and interpretation. This case sheds light on the possibility of various paths toward lean production, and demonstrates that both external and internal factors combine to form a complicated causal chain, influencing the ‘mutated’ emulation of TPS and generating a certain pattern of path-dependence in the evolutionary trajectory of a particular production model.