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Japanese CEOs cross-cultural management of customer value orientation in India

Ashok Ashta (Corporate Planning Department, Kameda Seika Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) (Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK)
Peter John Stokes (Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK)
Simon M. Smith (University of Winchester Business School, University of Winchester, Winchester, UK)
Paul Hughes (Leicester Castle Business School, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK)

Management Decision

ISSN: 0025-1747

Article publication date: 13 January 2021

Issue publication date: 6 September 2021

608

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop understanding of cross-cultural issues relating to the experience and implications of an elite grouping of Japanese CEOs customer value orientations (CVOs) within Japanese firms operating in India. The paper underlines that there is a propensity for East-West comparisons and in contrast the argument contributes to the under-examined area of research on East Asian/South Asian comparative studies.

Design/methodology/approach

Semi-structured interviews were employed to generate narratives that provided rich and novel insights into the lived experience of Japanese CEOs working in Indian contexts and in relation to CVO. An inductive framework was employed in order to develop a more in-depth understanding of Japanese CEO CVO in Indo-Japanese empirical settings.

Findings

The data analysis identified a number of shared themes that influence CVO practice in the Indo-Japanese context. The findings develop an awareness of cross-cultural management's (CCM) in relation to the under-explored area of the Indo-Japanese dyad.

Research limitations/implications

The paper develops CCM perspectives towards a more in-depth conceptualization of Japanese CEO perceptions on CVO practice in India. This is also of potential relevance to wider foreign investors not only Japanese businesses. The sample respondents – Japanese CEOS working in India – constitute a small and elite group. The lead author, having experience as a CEO of a Japanese firm was able to use convenience sampling to access this difficult to access group. In addition, also stemming from the convenience aspect, all the respondents were in the manufacturing sector. The study was deliberately targeted and narrowly focussed for this reason and does not claim automatic wide generalizability to other employee strata or industry; however, other sectors and employees may recognize resonance. This identified gap provides space for future studies in varying regional, national and sector contexts.

Practical implications

The paper identifies implications for CCM training and Indo-Japanese business organization design.

Social implications

Use and acceptance of the enhanced research paradigm could support diversity in research and knowledge production with implications for research, teaching and future policymakers.

Originality/value

The cross-cultural study is original in that it contributes to CCM literature by providing a rare Indo-Japanese (sic East Asian: South Asian) comparative study. It provides an uncommon granular appreciation of the interaction of these cultures in relation to CVO. In addition, it secures rare data from an elite Japanese CEOs of manufacturing sector businesses.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The author team is grateful to independent researcher Mrs Hitomi Ashta for logistics support related to arranging interviews with the Japanese CEOs, facilitating data collection from a normally difficult-to-access group.There is no conflict of interest. The study followed ethical guidelines found in The Research Ethics Guidebook: a resource for social scientists (http://www.ethicsguidebook.ac.uk)

Citation

Ashta, A., Stokes, P.J., Smith, S.M. and Hughes, P. (2021), "Japanese CEOs cross-cultural management of customer value orientation in India", Management Decision, Vol. 59 No. 10, pp. 2355-2368. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-06-2020-0776

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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