This response is evidence of Toyota's willingness to accept the biological perspective and make changes based on external circumstances when warranted. Toyota's product development systems, which were once considered a weakness, turned into a strength with the developments of the Lexus line and then the Prius (Morgan and Liker, 2006; Radeka, 2006). The improvements in Toyota's product development demonstrated a keen understanding of the contingency perspective, particularly when they started to involve their suppliers in the product development process. This aligned an external actor (the supplier) with the internal environment, to take advantage of not only Toyota's unique factors but those of the supplier as well.

Pil,...

& Fujimoto, Takahiro. 2007. Lean and Reflective Production: The Dynamic Nature of Production Models. International Journal of Production Research, Vol 45, No. 16, 3741-3761
Morgan, James M. And Liker, Jeffrey a. 2006 Toyota Product Development System: Integrating People, Process and Technology. Productivity Press, New York. Review by Katherine Radeka in Production Innovation Management 24: 274-281.

Liker, Jeffrey K. And Morgan, James M. 2006 the Toyota Way in Services: The Case of Lean Product Development. Academy of Management Perspectives, May2006, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p5-20.

Benders, Jos and Morita, Masaya. 2004. Changes in Toyota's Operations Management. International Journal of…