This book is published during a phase of crisis and transformation for the automobile industry across the world; this crisis is particularly acute in Europe and the United States. The book is written especially for the non-specialist with more than a passing interest in the sector, such as experts of other sectors, trade unionists, representatives of the corporate world, policymakers and public managers who deal with industry, commerce and public planning. The authors provide up-to-date information and assessments of what is actually taking place, with particular attention paid to the sub-supply companies. The main focus lies on four European countries, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Italy, each of which is significant for its different experiences. Finally, three important non-European situations, the United States, Brazil and Japan, are examined.

This book explores the limits of the idea of 'neo-colonialism' - the idea that in the period immediately after independence Malaya/Malaysia enjoyed only a 'pseudo-independence', largely because of the entrenched and dominant position of British business interests allied to indigenous elites. The author argues that, although British business did indeed have a strong position in Malaysia in this period, Malaysian politicians and administrators were able to utilise British business, which was relatively weak vis-a-vis the Malaysian state, for their own ends, at the same time as indigenous businesses and foreign, non-British competitors were gathering strength. In addition, despite the commitment of both Conservative and Labour governments in the UK to preserving British influence worldwide through the Commonwealth relationship, British firms in Malaysia received only limited support from the British post-imperial state.

In the context of political tensions and rising economic interdependence between Japan and China, this book studies how Japanese multinational companies try to minimize damages and manage their own fear and uncertainty to sustain their business interests. Using a qualitative approach, including over 150 interviews with Japanese and Chinese business and industry leaders, combined with statistical analysis of unique firm-level data, this book brings a 'firm-level view' to this crucial case of political conflict amid economic interdependence. It argues that there is wide variation in the degree of material damages Japanese multinationals sustain in the aftermath of political disputes, and how threatening they perceive the risks of political conflict to be. This book then goes on to evaluate the different responses to risk, from promoting Japan's culture through privately funded tactics and building common cause with the government, to diversifying a portion of assets abroad and even leaving China entirely. Presenting a new angle on economic globalization in the Asia Pacific region, Risk Management Strategies of Japanese Companies in China will be useful to students and scholars of Asian politics, business, and economics as well as international political economy.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the management and investment strategies of Japanese multinational companies, examining foreign investment from a Japanese perspective by studying international business practices and the behaviour of multinational companies in the global environment. Beginning with an overview of recent trends in international capital flows and the role of international mergers and acquisitions, it describes the global environment for Japanese multinational companies as it affects Japanese foreign direct investment, as well as the impact of Japanese foreign investment in the host countries. The domestic cultural environment of Japanese companies is investigated, providing a background to the understanding of the expansion of Japanese business activities throughout the world. Foreign investments in various parts of the world are examined in detail, as are their impact on the domestic economy of Japan. A comprehensive analysis of the strategic planning process in Japanese multinational companies follows, and the book concludes with an assessment of the management and leadership styles of Japanese multinational companies and how they differ from Western leadership styles. This book is a valuable source of information about recent developments in the international economy in which Japan is playing a prominent role.

Japanese automobiles dominate the Southeast Asian car market and, although European automobile policies have for a long time been highly discriminatory towards Japanese imports, their production methods have been quickly implemented by European makers and suppliers. This study explains the various influences of the Japanese automobile industry on industrial development in both Southeast Asia and Europe. In Part I, contributors examine industrial organization and policy issues in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, looking at Japanese investment and the relative policy successes and failures in these host countries. Part II looks at skill formation systems in the Japanese dominated automobile industry in Southeast Asia and in Part III the authors focus on the EU and the very different influence of Japanese investment. These discussions suggest that Japanese assemblers by no means stick to restricted business relations with their traditional suppliers but are open to cooperation with non-Japanese firms.

Contents:
1. The eclectic paradigm in the global economy. John Cantwell and Rajneesh Narula
2. The eclectic (OLI) paradigm of international production: Past, present and future. John H. Dunning
3. New Instructional Economics: An organising framework for OLI. Elizabeth Maitland and Stephen Nicholas
4. FDI and endogenous growth: IB perspectives. Terutomo Ozama and Sergio Castello
5. The co-evolutional advantage: Strategic management theory and the eclectic paradigm. Anoop Madhok and Anupama Phene
6. From OLI to OLMA: Incorporating higher levels of environmental and structural complexity into the eclectic paradigm. Stephen Guisinger
7. From a theory to a paradigm: Examining the eclectic paradigm as a framework in international economics
8. Managerial beliefs, market contestability and dominant strategic orientation in the eclectic paradigm. Timothy M. Devinney, David F. Midgley and Sunil Venaik
9. The Micro-Mechanics of foreign operations' performance: an analysis based on the OLI-framework. Gabriel R.G. Benito and Sverre Tomassen
10. The eclectic paradigm and the recognition of finance-specific factors. Lars Oxelheim, Trond Randøy and Arthur Stonehill
11. The challenge of electronic markets for international business theory. John H. Dunning and Cliff Wymbs
12. The recent globalisation of the italian banking sector. An interpretation based on the ecelctic paradigm. Lucia Piscitello
13. OLI:a critical reflection and some conclusions. Lorraine Eden

Contents:
Part I: 1. ASEAN Business Context 2. The Rise of the Multinational Part II: 3. Organizational Downsizing 4. Corporate Consolidation 5. Human Resource Management 6. Electronic Technology 7. Information Tracking Part III: 8. The Marketing Function 9. Product, Brand, and Pricing Strategy 10. Advertising and Promotion 11. Distribution

Contents:
Part I: 1. ASEAN Business Context 2. The Rise of the Multinational Part II: 3. Organizational Downsizing 4. Corporate Consolidation 5. Human Resource Management 6. Electronic Technology 7. Information Tracking Part III: 8. The Marketing Function 9. Product, Brand, and Pricing Strategy 10. Advertising and Promotion 11. Distribution

Affinity to the Chinese culture, personalized social networks and a firm control of ownership and management have often been considered the key ingredients for the success of many diaspora Chinese transnational enterprises in South China and Southeast Asia. In view of the recent Asian crisis and the rapid changes imposed by globalization, scholars are increasingly concerned whether these family-owned Chinese transnational enterprises would survive the challenges in the new millennium.

For decades governments, politicians, and trade unions have feared that firms investing abroad involved a loss of employment and a decline in wages for the home country, the implied assumption being that global production and consumption are somehow fixed. Similarly, research on multinational firms has tended to present them as having a number of alternatives - export, licensing or foreign direct investment - for the exploitation of fixed foreign markets.
In reality, the complex relationships between parent companies and their foreign affiliates must be examined very carefully and with the most disaggregated statistics available if we are to get an accurate understanding of firms impacts. A major obstacle to this research has been the confidential nature of the necessary data. This collection, with contributions from many distinguished writers in the field, presents work which has been able to exploit relevant data for countries such as the United States, France, Italy, Belgium and Japan.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203166701

Today, the Multinational Enterprise (MNE) is seen as a leading agent in the process of globalization. As they adopt global strategies, MNE's are seen to be creating stronger, deeper and more lasting links amongst countries, thus shifting the balance of power inexorably in their favour, to the detriment of the state.
This book interrogates this idea by undertaking a historical analysis of the global strategies of Ford.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203165365

Based on his firsthand experience, Farid Elashmawi has created a concise, valuable primer to 'going global'. 'Competing Globally' gives specific information about entering international markets, negotiating, conducting meetings and presentations, and working with international partners. 'Competing Globally' sheds light on varied business cultures, including those of North America, Europe, Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, Thailand and the Middle East. Elashmawi uses case studies, anecdotes, social tips, self-tests, and tables to provide important insights into communicating, marketing, and negotiating with organizations outside throughout the world. This book is invaluable to business managers and students who need to enhance their cross-cultural negotiation skills to compete globally.

This path-breaking book examines the effects of multinationals on the competitiveness of industry in the UK. The in-depth investigation analyses how these firms gain access to technology and questions whether or not multinationals, in their support of local technologies, improve the potential and competitiveness of local industry. The book discusses the evolution of multinationals in the late twentieth century, the role of the UK in this evolution and the theories of multinationals. It examines what these theories imply for efficiency and welfare, and the policies which affect multinational enterprises (MNEs). The authors consider the strategic positioning of subsidiaries in the UK in relation to the firm's overall global investment strategy. Using detailed empirical surveys, they also look at the role of technology in multinationals and how these firms' strategies are developing in regard to this. The authors examine whether MNEs UK operations are dependent on existing technology or whether they play a more positive role in its local creation and use. Finally the role of decentralized R&D in multinationals, and the status of this in the UK, is considered. Multinationals, Technology and National Competitiveness will be welcomed by those interested in international investment, business strategy, technology and innovation and public policy.

The first book-length treatment of theories, practical lessons, and the full set of critical issues that affect international joint ventures. It addresses culture, human resources, learning, legal, management, and research and development, and presents a full set of decisions and detailed guidelines for IJV formation and management. It also thoroughly analyzes 30 case studies.

First Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Explores Korean foreign direct investment, putting forward a theoretical framework to explain why the Korean conglomerates felt compelled to invest in western, central and eastern Europe.

By providing a detailed analysis of the extent to which the McDonald's Corporation adapts or imposes its labour relations policies in Europe, this volume represents a real life case study revealing the interaction between a global multi-national enterprise and the regulatory systems of a number of different European countries.

Contents:
Preface
Part I Introdution
1. The theoretical foundations
Part II Multinational corporations from the resource abundant countries
2. The emergence of multinational corporations from the United States: The period until 1914
3.The evolution of multinational corporations from the United States: The period since 1914
4. The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from Sweden
5. The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from Brazil
6. Conclusion: The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from the resource abundant countries
Part III Multinational corporations from the resource scarce large countries
7. The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from the United Kingdom
8. The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from Germany
9. The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from Japan
10. The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from Taiwan
11. The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from South Korea
12. Conclusion: The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from the resource scarce large countries
Part IV Multinational corporations from the resource scarce small countries
13. The emergence and evolution of multinatioanl corporations from Switzerland
14. The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from Hong Kong
15. The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from Singapore
16. Conclusion: The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations from the resource scarce small countries
Part V Conclusion
17. The emergence and evolution of multinational corporations: implications for theory

The first book-length treatment of theories, practical lessons, and the full set of critical issues that affect international joint ventures. It addresses culture, human resources, learning, legal, management, and research and development, and presents a full set of decisions and detailed guidelines for IJV formation and management. It also thoroughly analyzes 30 case studies.

Taiwanese foreign direct investment rapidly expanded in the mid-1980s when the domestic wage rate and the value of the Taiwanese currency skyrocketed simultaneously. Losing their competitive edge at home, many Taiwanese firms relocated to lower wage countries; mainly Southeast Asia and China. Taiwanese Firms in Southeast Asia provides a comprehensive review of Taiwan's direct investment in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. It also explores the motivation behind investment in Asia, Europe and the US. In most countries, incidence of foreign direct investment is positively correlated with firm size. However, in Taiwanese firms, the opposite is true. The book examines the reasons for this and assesses the difference in practice between small and large firms conducting foreign direct investment, focusing on the manufacturing sector. The book also includes an original, comprehensive survey and a series of interviews with Taiwanese parent firms and their subsidiaries in Southeast Asia. The authors conclude that networking underscores the core competitiveness of Taiwanese firms and when these firms invest abroad, they attempt to maintain a close connection with domestic networks to retain competitiveness and flexibility. However, they will have difficulty in sustaining this in the long-term because co-ordination of production across national borders requires intensive input of managerial resources which are scarce among Taiwanese firms. In the long-term, they have to localize and integrate themselves into the local networks. The book is a result of joint research efforts by Taiwanese, American and Southeast Asian scholars and will be required reading for students and scholars of economies in Southeast Asia, international business, Asian studies and multinational enterprise.

Chinese companies have managed to perform well in Malaysia, especially after the recession in the mid-1980s, due to a clear change in the Malay dominated government's attitude to Chinese capital. Despite the problems that prevail among UMNO politicians, the government has provided a stable economic environment and offers opportunities for domestic private investment, even for the Chinese. Given these circumstances, it does appear that Chinese capital in Malaysia has reasonable prospects for further growth in the immediate future. This study examines the dominant role of Chinese capital in the economy, providing in-depth empirical research on its mode of development and styles of operation. Covering the period from colonial times to the present day this study identifies key issues pertaining to Chinese business operations in Malaysia: ownership and control patterns, style of growth, relations with the state, politicians and other Chinese businessmen, and the manner of development of business abroad, whilst debunking the theory that large-scale Chinese capital is not very entrepreneurial in nature.

This research volume includes a synthesis of recent advances in the theory of the multinational enterprise, with a focus on internalization and international diversification issues. It proposes important extensions of multinational enterprise theory, especially as regards the importance of geography to multinational strategy, and the linkages between internalization and international diversification. The book also introduces the study of various new topics in international business research, namely regional (as opposed to global) strategy analysis, global alliances that lead to alliance specific advantages, and environmental aspects of international strategy.

The ten chapters that provide this state of the art overview of international business theory and strategy were written by some of the world's best known international business scholars, including John Cantwell, John Dunning, Lorraine Eden, Jean Francois-Hennart, Ans Kolk, Alan M. Rugman, Alain Verbeke and Bernard Wolf.

The research volume focuses especially on the important contributions of Alan M. Rugman, President of the Academy of International Business, and one of the founders of the international business field.

The volume's editor is Professor Alain Verbeke, McCaig Chair in Management at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary (Canada) and also associated with Templeton College, University of Oxford (UK), and the Solvay Business School, Free University of Brussels (Belgium).

This volume is a detailed account of the evolution and theory of multinational trading companies. In the history of multinational business, trading companies have played an especially significant and strategic role which continues until the present day, when Japan's "sogo shosha" and giant commodity traders feature among the world's largest businesses. However, the origins and strategies of multinational trading companies are little known compared to those of manufacturing multinationals. The book features contributions from an international selection of US, European and Asian economists and business historians which demonstrate the importance of trading companies in trade and investment flows in the world economy from the 19th century to the late 1990s. The authors adopt evolutionary and comparative perspectives to examine diversification strategies and organizational structures. This study contributes to our knowledge of the history and theory of international business.

Multinational Enterprise and Transnational Regions offers an innovative approach to the study of the history of transnational economic regions. The Rhine valley is such a region comprising the cities and areas along the Rhine river and its tributaries. The transition from coal to oil that unfolded between 1945 and 1973 rapidly transformed the region, shattering some of the old river-based connections and creating new ones with the introduction of large-scale cross-border oil pipelines. Multinational enterprises shaped these new regional connections but divergent national government responses gave rise to differentiated development in different parts of the Rhine valley. Multinational Enterprise and Transnational Regions argues that processes of regional change should be understood from transnational interconnections rather than from local or national perspectives. This book uses a transnational business history methodology to tease out the region's transformation and to circumvent the national bias in public sources. It will be of relevance to academics and researchers with an interest in regional and transnational European history, international business, environmental history, and business history, as well as practitioners interested in the oil industry, energy and energy history, business history and international business, and associated disciplines.

This edited book addresses two critical issues in international management: building trust and managing boundary spanning activities between international business partners. The duel-process of internationalization of multinational corporations (MNCs), through globalisation and regionalisation, has helped MNCs to increase their market expansion and improve the capabilities of innovation and learning. By creating various forms of international strategic alliances (ISAs), MNCs have become structurally more complex and geographically more dispersed. As a result, MNCs in general and ISAs in particular face the challenges of discerning blurred organisational boundaries, reconfiguring the control mechanisms, integrating diversified resources, and coordinating distributed activities in time and space. Research in organisation behaviour indicates that boundary spanners play critical yet unspecified roles and functions in managing cross-boundary relationships. A core boundary spanning function is to build trust relationships. When organisations engage in business transactions, members of the organisations are concerned with not only the outcomes of economic transactions but also the processes of social exchanges. Boundary spanners may succeed in building interpersonal trust in a partnership, nonetheless their effort may not lead to inter-partner trust without an effective implementation of the institutionalisation process. Whereas trustworthiness is the antecedent to trust providing the basis for trust to develop, distrust manifests itself as a separate and linked concept to trust. These dynamic features of trust, trustworthiness, and distrust are critically elaborated. Trust Building and Boundary Spanning in Cross-Border Management is dedicated to explicating these under-researched themes and contributing to the emerging streams of research in micro foundations and micro-structural approaches. It illustrates the latest research on the topic and will be of interest to both students at an advanced level, academics and reflective practitioners in the fields of organisational behaviour and theory, strategic management, international strategy and strategic alliances.