The Global Competitiveness of the Asian Firm

Twenty-one authors from a variety of backgrounds analyse the global competitiveness of the Asian firm in different parts of the world and at different phases of their internationalisation process. They find that the Asian firms' emphasis on 'soft' skills such as networking, organisational learning and sharing stands in sharp contrast to the economic rationality of Western firms, which stress individual performance measurement, clearly defined responsibilities and accountability. Asian firms face serious problems in adjusting their systems to the Western environment without losing their competitiveness.

Inhalt
Introduction - PART 1: THE CULTURAL DIMENSION - Socio-Cultural Background of Competitive Management and Technology in the Western Pacific Rim; Y.Yawata - Ethics and Global Competitiveness: Confucianism in Korean Companies; D.Cazal - PART 2: THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FIRM - The Japanese Management Structure as a Competitive Strategy: the Importance of Nexus of Long-term Treaties, Common Knowledge and Firm-Specific Learning; I.Tyrni - Rethinking Inter-firm Ties in Japan as a Factor of Competitiveness; I.Tselichtchev - Future Models of Japanese Management: A Forecast Based on the Delphi Method; M.Hanaoka & T.Mroczkowski - Determinants of Competitive Power of Small Business Networking: the Overseas Chinese Case; S.G.Redding - PART 3: THE INTERNATIONALISATION PROCESS - The Process of Internationalization of PRC Multinations; C-S.Tseng - Japan's Success in China; N.Campbell - Globalisation and the Korean Electronics Industry: A Chandlerian Perspective; M.D.H.Bloom - PART 4: ADAPTATION TO THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT - Japanese-affiliated Automobile Plants in the US and Taiwan; H.Kumon - A Comparative Study on the Japanese Production System Employed at Affiliated Electronics Plants in the US and Taiwan; H.Itagaki - Sanyo's Overseas Production Activities: Seven Large Plants in the US, Mexico, Germany, Spain, the UK and China; T.Abo - PART 5: EXPANSION INTO EUROPE - On the Advance of Japanese Electronics Multinationals in the EC: Companies, Trends and Trade Policy; R.Belderbos - Japanese Pharmaceutical Firms: Players in the European Market?; J.Probert - Globalisation through Localisation: Reflections on the Japanese Production Subsidiaries in the United Kingdom; J.B.Kidd - PART 6: COMPARING ASIAN AND EUROPEAN FIRMS - Opto-electronics-related Competence Building in Japanese and European Firms; K.Miyazaki - Global Competitiveness through Strategic Alliances: the Case of the German and Japanese Chemical Industries; Y.Teramoto, T.Takai & F-J.Richter - Managerial Behaviour of French and Japanese Firms; M.Yoshimori - Index