Decline of Japan’s Predominance in Asia

Yoshihara, Hideki

doi:10.1016/s0747-7929(04)17010-8

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Scholars have noted that Japanese companies have had a particularly difficult time making the transition to full “transnational status” in the sense used by Bartlett and Ghoshal (, ). Yoshihara () argued that Japanese foreign subsidiaries are often dependent on Japanese parent companies and cannot survive without a continuous transfer of resources from the parent companies. On the other hand, the overseas production decisions of Japanese electronics firms are often weakly controlled at the headquarters level, relying instead on management and technology governance from a number of often‐competing consumer and industrial divisions that participate in setting up branch factories overseas on an ad hoc basis (Edgington and Hayter ).…”

Section: Industrial Clusters In the Emerging Economies Of Asia And Mncsmentioning

confidence: 99%

TheIn Situ Upgrading of Japanese Electronics Firms inMalaysian Industrial Clusters

Edgington

Hayter

2013

Economic Geography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ability of clusters generated by direct foreign investment (DFI) in emerging economies to generate sustained, value‐added growth is a matter of controversy. This article assesses this debate with reference to the role of Japanese electronics multinational corporations (MNCs) in the development of clusters in Malaysia. Conceptually, we present a typology of DFI‐generated industrial clusters that represent increasing degrees of commitment to local value creation and upgrading. Empirically, we conducted a survey of 10 Japanese firms in Malaysia that examined whether or not their factories increased technological upgrading, increasingly embedded their operations through using local skilled labor and supply firms, and responded positively to national policies and cluster‐governance measures supporting the electronics industry. We found that Japanese firms had clearly moved beyond simple assembly‐based to embedded clustering but had not progressed further to technology‐intensive behavior because of the poor technological environment in Malaysia, as well as Japanese MNCs' strategies that depend on technology from headquarters. Nonetheless, Japanese MNCs were sufficiently embedded in Malaysia to upgrade production to digital consumer products, and semiconductor assembly has flourished, warding off competition from China and low‐cost locations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. At the end of the study period, Malaysia remained an attractive location for Japanese electronics MNCs.

show abstract

Section: Industrial Clusters In the Emerging Economies Of Asia And Mncsmentioning

confidence: 99%

TheIn Situ Upgrading of Japanese Electronics Firms inMalaysian Industrial Clusters

Edgington

Hayter

2013

Economic Geography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This has implications for ASEAN's role in the wider Asia‐Pacific region, as despite ASEAN's potential cost advantages Japanese MNCs continue to consider the co‐location of R&D together with prototype production in Japan as a key advantage over its competitors (Berger, ). Some commentators believe that while Japanese electronics MNCs are well suited for export‐oriented international business, they are less well matched to support autonomous subsidiary development, partly because of the culture‐dependent Japanese management systems and partly because with increasing internationalisation, strains have appeared in the so‐called expansion of ‘jet‐age nemawashi’ (Bartlett and Yoshihara, ; Yoshihara, )…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, scholars have agreed that Japanese companies have had a particularly difficult time making the transition to full ‘transnational status’ in the sense used by Barlett and Ghoshal (, ). Yoshihara (: 249), for example, argues that Japanese foreign subsidiaries are often dependent on Japanese parent companies and cannot survive without a continuous transfer of resources from the parent: ‘they are often likened to Japanese university students who live on the money sent from their parents’. Moreover, corporate restructuring can involve the collapse or sale of foreign subsidiaries for various reasons, ranging from local economic collapse to being a ready source of cash for parent corporations looking to resolve corporate‐wide problems (Chapman, ).…”

Section: Subsidiary Behaviour In Value Chain Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

In situ dynamics of Japanese electronic subsidiaries in ASEAN countries: Reflections from a development perspective

Edgington

Hayter

2013

Asia Pacific Viewpoint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper contributes to the theory of subsidiary evolution in multinational corporations through utilising a value chain approach. It assesses the changing activities of the branches of Japanese electronics firms located in Southeast Asia (the ASEAN region) since the 1997-1998 financial crisis. In the paper, we argue that a modest development of Japanese subsidiaries has occurred in this region during the past 10 years or so. We connect models of subsidiary development to Michael Porter's value chain in the results of a set of interviews with 37 managers in the factories, sales offices and regional headquarters of Japanese subsidiary companies located in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. We show that decentralisation of management functions from Japan occurred in both primary and support activities of the value chain. However, corporate long-term research and development did not disperse to Southeast Asia and is unlikely to in the near future. The article interprets these results and highlights the need for further research relating to the evolving geography of Japanese electronics multinational corporations and their subsidiaries in Southeast Asia.

show abstract

Tokyo as a Matured City: Torn Between Global Change and Local Lives

Uršič

Imai

2020

Creativity in Tokyo

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Decline of Japan’s Predominance in Asia

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

TheIn Situ Upgrading of Japanese Electronics Firms inMalaysian Industrial Clusters

TheIn Situ Upgrading of Japanese Electronics Firms inMalaysian Industrial Clusters

In situ dynamics of Japanese electronic subsidiaries in ASEAN countries: Reflections from a development perspective

Tokyo as a Matured City: Torn Between Global Change and Local Lives

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About