Are German, Japanese and Anglo‐Saxon Strategic Decision Styles Still Divergent in the Context of Globalization?*

Abstract

Issues of globalization and divergence in terms of national systems and cultures are equally contentious, yet equally important, in the context of increasing cross-continental co-operation. This article investigates comparative strategic decision styles in Britain, the USA, Germany and Japan. An industry at an advanced stage in terms of globalization, vehicle components manufacture, was selected in order to explore the extent of convergence and whether this has changed. Between 1989 and 1998, field case studies were made of 100 strategic investment decisions (SIDs) by manufacturers in these four countries. Longitudinal judgements were supplemented by earlier comparative strategy field research carried out in 60 suppliers between 1980 and 1983, and two longitudinal case studies, one from the UK and one from Japan, interviewed throughout both these periods and again in 2002. Two competing hypotheses, derived from rich research literatures, are investigated. The first (H1) suggests that national institutional and cultural factors exert profound differences, and should therefore be afforded more significance as globalization proceeds further. The second (H2) is apparently contradictory and emphasizes that institutions and organizations are likely to respond to convergence pressures, spurred by global capital markets and competition on the one hand, and a diffusion of 'professional management' practices on the other. Japanese firms generally, and German family firms in particular, were still found to exhibit deep-rooted differences from the AngloSaxon model, which appears to confirm H1. However study of German public companies reveals that their strategic approaches are far less divergent from what is now an increasingly consistent Anglo-Saxon model than they were a decade ago, which appears to confirm the competing hypothesis H2.

The critical path to family firm success through entrepreneurial risk taking and image

“…Recent research has highlighted the importance of context in studies (Johns, 2006) and it is possible that this cultural setting influenced the strength of the observed relationships and thus the generalizability of our results to the U[ 2 1 _ T D $ D I F F ] S[ 2 2 _ T D $ D I F F ] and other regions. However, while cultural differences exist (Hofstede, 2001), it has been argued that due to increased globalization European and U[ 2 3 _ T D $ D I F F ] S[ 2 4 _ T D $ D I F F ] business practices are becoming more and more similar (Carr, 2005). Thus, we do not believe that the context significantly affected our findings; although we encourage future studies to replicate and extend our model in the U[ 2 5 _ T D $ D I F F ] S[ 2 6 _ T D $ D I F F ] , and to utilize a multi-country design.…”

Incorporating demand-side aspects into regional policy: variations in the importance of private investment decision factors across regions

“…In their study of FDI in nine Latin American countries, Trevino and Mixon (2004) argue that managers seek minimal institutional distance between the home and the host country environments. Carr (2005) compares strategic decision styles of German, Japanese and Anglo-Saxon firms, and concludes that, even under globalization, Japanese firms generally, and German family firms in particular, exhibit deep-rooted differences from the AngloSaxon model, although evidence suggests convergence of the latter. Harrison et al (2004) examine the role of foreign firms in crowding-out local firms from the capital market in a group of countries and find that FDI is associated with a reduction in financing constraints and with lower sensitivity of investment to cash flow for firms without foreign assets and for domestically owned enterprises.…”

Globalization and the Careers of Mexican Knowledge Workers: An Exploratory Study of Employer and Worker Adaptations

“…In several cultures, the role of the family in business practices seems to represent a point of resistance to homogenizing change. For example, Carr (2005) looked at strategic investment decisions in companies strongly affected by globalization (i.e., automotive component manufacturers) and found both persistent cultural differences among German, Japanese, United Kingdom (UK), and United States (US) firms as well as some convergence in decision processes across time. The greatest convergence was a result of German public firms adopting strategic investment criteria more similar to UK and US firms.…”