Decision-Making by Precedent and the Founding of American Honda (1948–1974)

While the production and distribution of goods in a firm is commonly overseen by a hierarchy of management, decision-making within these organizations is often frenetic. Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and John Heilbron demonstrate empirically that the president of American Honda made important strategic decisions by following the precedent set by his boss and former mentor, Honda's chief strategist, Takeo Fujisawa-by making careful, educated guesses about how Fujisawa would have addressed similar issues.