| Project/Area Number |
23K01770
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
|
| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
|---|
| Section | 一般 |
|---|
| Review Section |
Basic Section 08010:Sociology-related
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
HEIM Stephane 京都大学, 文学研究科, 准教授 (30767900)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2023-04-01 – 2027-03-31
|
| Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
|
| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,080,000)
Fiscal Year 2026: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
Fiscal Year 2025: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
Fiscal Year 2024: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
|
|---|
| Keywords | Electric vehicles / Working conditions / East Asia / automotive industry / labor regime / new energy vehicles / battery manufacturing |
|---|
| Outline of Research at the Start |
Our research plan involves the collection of empirical data on the transformation of the wage-labor nexus in East Asian automotive industries
In 2023, we will locate the dualization of labor conditions and the division of labor in this emerging industry. In 2024 and 2025, we will investigate the employment and working conditions of workers in the NEVs segment. In 2026, the corpus of data gathered on employment conditions and labor bargaining in the East Asian NEVs emerging industry will lead to the systematic comparison of labor processes in different parts of this supply chain.
|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In 2023, I focused on the literature review of the working conditions in the automotive industry, and gathered data and statistics on the impact of the electrification and digitalization on the employment in East Asia. A fieldtrip in Aichi prefecture on July 31 and August 1st allowed me the test some working hypotheses. I could also conduce some investigations in South Korea, Belgium and Hungary. As a result, I understood that in Japan, due to the high reliance on hybrid electric vehicles, there is no radical changes in the working population. This is different from China, where working and employment conditions are precarious in the new battery industry.
|
| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
Though I planned to investigate the electric division of Toyota Motors in Japan and in China, this was not possible due to the highly politicized issue of electrification. With the growing industrial power and market shares of Chinese private firms, the automotive industry is under pressure nowadays, and most of the established carmakers are under pressure to keep their profitability. In such an environment, access to the Japanese and Chinese car and battery makers became pretty difficult, which in turn delayed my field research plan.
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
Due to the incapacity to launch a joint research with Toyota as initially planned, I have to redefine my research strategy. Thanks to a partnership with colleagues in China, I plan to jointly investigate the impact of the car digitalization on the working conditions in South China. Second, in Japan, rather than focusing solely on Toyota, I now plan to establish a research team that focuses on a pool of suppliers, covering battery makers and their second, third-tier suppliers.
|
