Japanese Management ― International Perspectives

This book provides a new understanding of the constellations of logics in Japanese management practices in Asia and the West. Through comparative ethnographic case studies in a Japanese multinational corporation (MNC), the book explores the cultural meanings of family, corporation, market and religion logics at each subsidiary’s site in Thailand, Taiwan, Belgium and the United States.

In doing so, the book defines cultural space through an institutional logic approach. It argues that logics are culturally interpreted, which can impose a serious limitation on the institutional logic approach based on the analysis of Western society. It reveals that Japanese ‘family’ logics and Theravada Buddhism in Asia are strengthening each other and this directly supports the presupposition of amplification. It further elaborates on the ongoing constellations of logics that are continuously formed in relation to geographical contexts. The book also explains that the boundaries of organisational communities are not automatically formed by Japanese expatriates but constructed through actors’ profiles, which, in turn, raises their importance.

Therefore, this book is a must-read for researchers, managers and anyone interested in Japanese MNCs.

Hitoshi Iwashita (PhD, MBA) is an academic researcher and management consultant in terms of international management, cross cultural management and leadership, managerial work, strategy execution, and organisation studies. He taught organisational behaviour at Cardiff Business School and GLOBIS Management School. Before he was a doctoral researcher, he was an independent management consultant, a representative at Value Associates Inc. He completed an International MBA from IE Business School, and will receive a PhD in Business and Management from Cardiff Business School. His continuing interest lies in developing practice oriented research and education in cross cultural management.