Surviving the “Ghosn Shock”: The Effect of Institutional Logics on Buyer-Supplier Tie Dissolution and Creation in the Japanese Automotive Industry, 1984-2005

In this study, we examine how Carlos Ghosn’s leadership of Nissan, and his drastic restructuring of Nissan’s relationship with its suppliers (the “Ghosn Shock), transformed buyer supplier relationships in the industry from a logic of relationships to one of market. We argue that understanding changes in institutional logics is key to understanding changes in competition in an industry, and that these changes come not only from institutional entrepreneurs like Carlos Ghosn, but from resulting changes in behavior in firms across the field. We highlight in particular that changes in logics come from changes in interactions between different categories of firms—in our case, buyers and suppliers, and suppliers of Nissan and other auto assemblers.