STRATEGY AND IRREVERSIBILITY IN SUPPLIER RELATIONS - THE CASE OF THE UNITED-STATES AUTOMOBILE-INDUSTRY

The purchasing strategies of the dominant U. S. automakers form a topic neglected by both economists and business historians. The following article examines the automakers' changing relations with their suppliers throughout the twentieth century. Using the exit/voice paradigm, it establishes a framework that can account for both current and past strategies, even when they seem to contradict the logic of economic theory.