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The History of Supply Chain
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1751-1348.htm

A study of resource dependency: the coal supply strategy of the Japanese steel mills – 1960-2010
Bradley Bowden
Griffith Business School, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia, and

A study of resource dependency 73

Andrea Insch
School of Business, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Abstract
Purpose – The development of the Pacific seaborne coal trade since 1960 has been central to East Asia’s economic expansion. In exploring the growth of this trade this paper seeks to understand why Japanese steel mills ( JSMs), the world’s largest coal importers, used few of the strategies that one would expect in the light of resource dependency theory, relying instead on market exchanges. Design/methodology/approach – This study relies primarily on archival sources, held by the Departments of Mines and Natural Resources in Victoria (British Columbia) and Brisbane (Australia) to reconstruct changing patterns of supply and price in the Pacific coal trade. Findings – It is found that by relying on a strategy that amounted to “vertical quasi-integration” JSMs were able to use their combined power to dictate the terms of market exchanges with buyers during the 1980 and 1990s. By 2000, however, this strategy had become counter-productive, as low prices fostered the emergence of a powerful Australian-based selling oligopoly. Research limitations/implications – The study contributes towards the growing study of transnational events, experiences and institutions in management history, filling a noticeable gap in resource dependency theory, which has not previously explored the long-term consequences of strategies aimed at reducing dependency. Practical implications – East Asia has become the major engine for world economic growth and manufacturing output since the 1970s, and this study explores for the first time the genesis and development of the Pacific coal



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Chandler, Jr: historical impact and historical scope of his works”, Journal of Management History, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 521-6. Tex Report (2002), 2002 Coal Manual, Tex Report Pty Ltd, Tokyo. Trengrove, A. (1979), Discovery: Stories of Modern Mineral Exploration, Stockwell Press, Newcastle. Ulrich, D. and Barney, J.B. (1984), “Perspectives in organizations: resource dependency, efficiency and population”, Academy of Management Review, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 471-81. Walter, G.A. and Barney, J.B. (1990), “Management objectives in mergers and acquisitions”, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 12 No. 1, pp. 327-51. Wren, D.A. (1987), “Management history: issues and ideas of teaching and research”, Journal of Management, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 339-50. Further reading Australian Coal Association (2010), “Australian coal industry statistics”, available at: www. australiancoal.com.au (accessed 15 December 2010). Davis, G.F., Diekermann, K.A. and Tinsley, G.H. (1994), “The decline and fall of the conglomerate firm in the 1980s: the de-institutionalization of an organizational form”, American Sociological Review, Vol. 59 No. 4, pp. 547-70. Queensland Coal Board (1970), Nineteenth Report of the Queensland Coal Board, 1970, Queensland Government Printer, Brisbane. Truman, J. (2000), “Coal in the eastern US”, World Coal, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 18-24. About the authors Bradley Bowden is an Associate Professor at Griffith University in Australia. In 2009 his study of Australian child labor received the Academy of Management’s John F. Mee Award for outstanding management history contribution. Bradley Bowden is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: b.bowden@griffith.edu.au Andrea Insch is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the University of Otago, New Zealand. She has a PhD in International Business and Asian Studies from Griffith University. Her research is focused on place-based marketing and the ways that place identity can create stakeholder value. To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

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