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Until around 1980, Japanese companies occupied a predominant position in Asia. Their Asian operations are managed by Japanese persons and in the Japanese language. This Japanese-style international management is well suited to transfer technology and know-how from Japanese parent companies to their overseas subsidiaries. But, it does not provide opportunities to local managerial and professional employees to display their abilities and initiatives. Japanese companies also have problems in Japan. They invest more in foreign countries than in Japan, which results in the hollowing out at home. Japanese companies are managed by old men and thus lack a strong leadership. Japanese multinationals are facing a challenging task of management innovation both at home and abroad.

The purpose of this research is to empirically examine the extent to which the Japanese‐style human resource management (HRM) model is being transferred to subsidiaries, given the contextual characteristics of the Malaysian environment.

The transferability of Japanese‐style HRM is examined through an analysis of the policies and practices of 69 Japanese subsidiaries and focuses on the following specific areas of HRM: employment policies and practices, remuneration systems and career development policies and practices; and management strategies and workplace industrial relations practices.

Overall, the findings suggest that the key elements associated with the Japanese‐style HRM as described in most of the literature are either present to a very limited degree or completely absent. It seems clear that the transfer of the distinctive Japanese‐style HRM, and especially the “four pillars” is not a priority of management. To a certain extent, most companies seem uncomfortable with the characteristics of the local labor. However, the HRM policies and practices in the companies surveyed are not simply the result of the limitation of the local environment and resources; rather they are “opportunist” management strategies which, by taking account of these contextual limits, seek to control the subsidiaries' operations.

By confirming many of the findings of research on the HRM policies and practices of Japanese subsidiaries, especially in other developing countries and, to a certain extent, some developed countries, this study demonstrated that while “technical” elements (the hardware) of the Japanese model are readily being transferred, most of the HRM elements (the software) are adapted in significant, and not always subtle ways. Thus, the issue of the transfer of Japanese‐style HRM abroad in general and in Malaysia particularly is not so much a question of whether the Japanese want to transfer their distinctive policies and practices as of whether they need, or indeed are able, to do so. The findings of this study also demonstrate that what most Japanese subsidiaries achieve is a system of labor control – this is the essential purpose of the HRM practices under considerations: to make the production methods work and enable the company to make and sustain profit – and indeed what the Japanese have achieved and secured in Malaysia is a highly effective system of control (given local conditions).

HRM and decision‐making patterns can affect the overall effectiveness of joint ventures. Discusses the results of case studies of Chinese‐Japanese and wholly Japanese ventures in China. Proposes that the Japanese managerial strategies may be more suited to building the new management norms in the initial phases of the joint venture while the Chinese managerial style ensures continued progress, within the Chinese cultural context, in the more advanced stages of the joint venture.

The purpose of this paper is to examine inspiring ideas in which Japanese companies are finding innovative ways to tap into base of the pyramid (BOP) markets to increase their profit while simultaneously reducing poverty and contributing to BOP society.

This paper examines a potential and some issues of Japanese business in BOP market through case analysis of Yakult Honsha Co Ltd and Nihon Poly‐Glu Co Ltd.

The paper reveals that Japanese companies have a particular aptitude and strength for BOP business. The paper have three findings: Japanese company has a source of BOP business; Japanese companies have aptitude and strength for BOP business; and the time is ripe for Japanese companies to break into the BOP market.

There are few cases of Japanese companies which are engaging in BOP business. It could be kind of difficult to get a general result on Japanese business.

This paper shows that a high potential for Japanese companies to succeed in BOP market and some issues facing Japanese companies.

This paper is the first which analyzed some cases of Japanese BOP business and revealed a high potential of Japanese companies for BOP business.

Japan is perceived in most advanced countries as the world leader in the introduction and exploitation of new management practices, particularly in the area of manufacturing. In an attempt to match Japan's economic progress other countries are seeking to introduce many of the systems which are believed to be the basis of Japanese success. In this article, certain aspects of a UK manufacturing company, which had adopted a number of practices following studies undertaken in Japan, is compared with a Japanese owned company located in the UK.

The objective of this research is to examine to what extent Japanese recruitment practices are introduced and practiced in the auto manufacturing companies in Malaysia, since the implementation of the Look East Policy.

The process involves the gathering of both primary and secondary data, but the main method is a primary data survey. The approach is to target local enterprises as much as possible in the collection of primary data through a set of questionnaires, as well as in‐depth interviews with the human resource (HR) directors and some employees of each company.

It appears that the Malaysian manufacturing companies have not designed their recruitment practices after those of the Japanese. There is no one single model of recruitment practices operating in Malaysia, either among Japanese joint ventures or local enterprises. However, the findings do suggest the existence of some consistent sets of recruitment behavior among the companies, though it cannot be said with much confidence that these patterns are indeed representative of Malaysian recruitment behavior.

Research has been limited to the manufacturing industry only.

HR practitioners can use the outcome of the study to gauge the adaptability of certain elements of Japanese recruitment practices to the Malaysian workplace.

This paper offers an insight into the applicability of Japanese recruitment practices and offers practical help to HR practitioners embarking on new recruitment policies.

The paper aims to describe the changes in buyer-supplier relationships among Japanese companies at the early 2000s, focusing on two critical features; long-term relationships and information sharing. In particular, the paper investigates the relationship between benefits from information-sharing activities within buyer-supplier relationships and the stability of these relationships.

The paper develops a questionnaire based on prior research related to Japanese companies and undertakes a questionnaire survey of 353 Japanese manufacturing companies (which belong to the machinery, electrical/electronics, transportation equipment, and precision industries) in 2002.

Although Japanese companies have been considered to have close relationships with their partners, the paper finds only a small proportion of buyers were willing to share sensitive information with their suppliers and/or expected to continue long-term relationships with them. In addition, an examination of factors relating to buyers' performance shows that receiving benefits from inter-organizational information-sharing activities (attending suppliers' meetings, sending engineers to suppliers, and proposing cost saving ideas) could affect buyers' incentives to sustain long-term relationships with their suppliers.

The paper provides empirical evidence of the changing nature of the buyer-supplier relationship in Japanese manufacturing companies. Specifically, the main contribution of this research is to provide empirical evidence indicating that the benefit from buyer-supplier relationships has an effect on the governance structure of these relationships.

Examines the differences in strength of autonomy needs and perceived organizational support for satisfying autonomy needs between workers in Japanese and US‐affiliated companies. A total of 340 Japanese white‐collar workers in the Tokyo area participated in this study. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that white‐collar workers in US‐affiliated companies perceived organizational support for satisfying autonomy needs as higher than their counterparts in Japanese companies. However, there were no significant relationships between company affiliation (Japanese vs US) and perceived importance scores. The company affiliation was not related to the gaps between importance and support scores, either. The results suggest that both Japanese and US‐affiliated companies in Japan are currently not able to meet autonomy needs, which are emerging in society as cultural values shift from collectivism to individualism.

The study of international business has become increasingly important in recent years. So important that the American Assembly of the Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has called for the internationalisation of business curricula. In 1992 and beyond, successful business people will treat the entire world as their domain. No one country can operate in an economic vacuum. Any economic measures taken by one country can affect the global economy. This book is designed to challenge the reader to develop a global perspective of international business. Globalisation is by no means a new concept, but there are many new factors that have contributed to its recently accelerated growth. Among them, the new technologies in communication and transport that have resulted in major expansions of international trade and investment. In the future, the world market will become predominant. There are bound to be big changes in the world economy. For instance the changes in Eastern Europe and the European Community during the 1990s. With a strong knowledge base in international business, future managers will be better prepared for the new world market. This book introduces its readers to the exciting and rewarding field of international management and international corporations. It is written in contemporary, easy‐to‐understand language, avoiding abstract terminology; and is organised into five sections, each of which includes a number of chapters that cover a subject involving activities that cross national boundaries.

The paper aims to: examine the evolution of Japanese corporate management (JCM); review the Japanese vs American corporate management model; discuss typical corporate strategy of Japanese companies; and evaluate emerging scenarios of JCM.

The paper mainly reviews past and current literature to discuss emerging scenarios of JCM.

Driven by persistent pressures from environmental forces in the postwar period, there have been changes in the way of managing ideas, things and people in Japanese corporations in order to cope in the world of competition.

The paper is mainly theoretical and no empirical evidences are presented to explore the situation of JCM in practice.

With growing competition in the domestic and international markets in the recent past, Japanese firms have tried to achieve a new level of industrialization and a rapid technological advancement; they have faced an erosion of traditional values, a growing labor shortage and an ever‐increasing complexity in size and operation. Therefore, this paper is mainly useful to academicians and professional to know about how JCM practices have been changing.

Very few Japanese researchers attempted to write about emerging Japanese management scenario of the prewar period. The paper contributes by exploring different facts about prewar and emerging scenarios of JCM and adds value in this perspective.