The bursting of the “bubble economy” in 1989–1990 brought decades of challenge for Japanese Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), which had assumed the role of subcontractor within production networks dominated by large companies. This article explores the impact of a rapidly altered business environment, due to economic crisis, the decline of relational subcontracting, and technological change, on the management and organization of firms. It provides a needed historical account of Japanese SMEs striving to avoid “hollowing out,” and detailed case studies explain what gaining greater independence as a flexible specialist meant in practice. A focus on the immediate advantages of computerized tools could not bring about the intended strategic objectives, whereas the systemizing of new and existing resources in skills and equipment enabled sustainable competitive differentiation in production and products. The case studies map out the internal competence transformations of SMEs over time, and indicate the value of historical approaches to exploring strategic and organizational change.

1989-1990 年“泡沫经济”的破灭给日本中小企业 (SME) 带来了数十年的挑战，这些企业在大公司主导的生产网络中承担了分包商的角色。本文探讨了由于经济危机、关系分包的减少和技术变革导致的快速变化的商业环境对公司管理和组织的影响。它提供了日本中小企业努力避免“空心化”的必要历史记录，并且详细的案例研究解释了作为灵活的专家获得更大的独立性在实践中意味着什么。专注于计算机化工具的直接优势无法实现预期的战略目标，而新的和现有的技能和设备资源的系统化使生产和产品的可持续竞争差异化成为可能。案例研究描绘了中小企业随时间的内部能力转变，并表明了历史方法对探索战略和组织变革的价值。