Fuji Xerox - Jv - Case Study
Harvard Business School
9-391-156
Rev. 12/8/92
Xerox and Fuji Xerox
We are committed to strengthening the strategic and functional coordination of Xerox and Fuji Xerox so that we will compete effectively against strong and unified global competitors. -Paul Allaire, President and CEO of Xerox Corporation -Yotaro Kobayashi, President and CEO of Fuji Xerox
Fuji Xerox, the joint venture between Xerox and Fuji Photo Film, was at a pivotal point in its 28-year history in 1990. Many considered it the most successful joint venture in history between an American and a Japanese company. Originally a sales organization for Xerox products in Japan, Fuji Xerox had evolved into a fully integrated operation with strong research, development, and manufacturing capabilities. As its sales and capabilities evolved, so did its importance within the Xerox Group: its 1989 revenues of $3.6 billion represented 22% of the Xerox Group’s worldwide revenue.1 Furthermore, Fuji Xerox supplied the rest of the Xerox Group with low- to mid-range copiers. In Japan, the home country of Xerox’s major competitors, Fuji Xerox held 22% of the installed base of copiers and 30% of revenues in the industry. Yotaro “Tony” Kobayashi, Fuji Xerox’s president and CEO, ascribed a good deal of the company’s success to the autonomy that the joint venture had enjoyed from the beginning. Fuji Xerox was not “the norm” for joint ventures, he contended, adding that “the degree to which Xerox let us run was very unusual.” Yet, paradoxically, as the company grew to represent a larger portion of Xerox’s worldwide business (Exhibit 1), this situation seemed to be changing. “We have to begin to pay more attention to what our actions mean to Xerox,” explained Kobayashi.
1The Xerox Corporation (XC) is referred to in this case simply as Xerox. The combination of Rank Xerox (RX),
Fuji Xerox (FX), and the Xerox Corporation is referred to as the Xerox Group. The revenues of Rank Xerox were consolidated into those
9-391-156
Rev. 12/8/92
Xerox and Fuji Xerox
We are committed to strengthening the strategic and functional coordination of Xerox and Fuji Xerox so that we will compete effectively against strong and unified global competitors. -Paul Allaire, President and CEO of Xerox Corporation -Yotaro Kobayashi, President and CEO of Fuji Xerox
Fuji Xerox, the joint venture between Xerox and Fuji Photo Film, was at a pivotal point in its 28-year history in 1990. Many considered it the most successful joint venture in history between an American and a Japanese company. Originally a sales organization for Xerox products in Japan, Fuji Xerox had evolved into a fully integrated operation with strong research, development, and manufacturing capabilities. As its sales and capabilities evolved, so did its importance within the Xerox Group: its 1989 revenues of $3.6 billion represented 22% of the Xerox Group’s worldwide revenue.1 Furthermore, Fuji Xerox supplied the rest of the Xerox Group with low- to mid-range copiers. In Japan, the home country of Xerox’s major competitors, Fuji Xerox held 22% of the installed base of copiers and 30% of revenues in the industry. Yotaro “Tony” Kobayashi, Fuji Xerox’s president and CEO, ascribed a good deal of the company’s success to the autonomy that the joint venture had enjoyed from the beginning. Fuji Xerox was not “the norm” for joint ventures, he contended, adding that “the degree to which Xerox let us run was very unusual.” Yet, paradoxically, as the company grew to represent a larger portion of Xerox’s worldwide business (Exhibit 1), this situation seemed to be changing. “We have to begin to pay more attention to what our actions mean to Xerox,” explained Kobayashi.
1The Xerox Corporation (XC) is referred to in this case simply as Xerox. The combination of Rank Xerox (RX),
Fuji Xerox (FX), and the Xerox Corporation is referred to as the Xerox Group. The revenues of Rank Xerox were consolidated into those