Yim‐Yu Wong, Thomas E. Maher and Sherriff T.K. Luk
The seconf of two articles on the transfer from foreign companies to affiliates in China. Addresses wholly owned subsidiaries. Tries to determine strategic management know‐how and…
Abstract
The seconf of two articles on the transfer from foreign companies to affiliates in China. Addresses wholly owned subsidiaries. Tries to determine strategic management know‐how and if it is currently being transferred. Attempts to forecast the likelihood of access to China’s domestic market and if this will grow.
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Yim Yu Wong and Thomas E. Maher
Strategic management thinking emerged in the 1930s (Steiner, 1969), and developed significantly in the 1940s. An identifiable body of literature began to appear in the 1950s and…
Abstract
Strategic management thinking emerged in the 1930s (Steiner, 1969), and developed significantly in the 1940s. An identifiable body of literature began to appear in the 1950s and increased significantly, so much so that strategic management became a separate discipline in the 1970s. Over these years, two main themes were pursued: (1) process and (2) content. A third theme, structure (sometimes referred to as “organisation”), received less attention, probably because of its overlap with process and content, and because its parameters have been difficult to identify.
Yim‐Yu Wong, Thomas E. Maher, Joel D. Nicholson and Alex Feng Bai
The transfer of technology from the foreign partner to the domestic partner has been a problem for international joint ventures throughout the world, but particularly in China…
Abstract
The transfer of technology from the foreign partner to the domestic partner has been a problem for international joint ventures throughout the world, but particularly in China. Because of the nature of organisational learning, especially in its tacit forms, such transfers can occur quite subtly without the foreign partner realising what has transpired until it is too late. The problem is complicated by the fact that technology is short‐lived and must be exploited within narrow time frames, the fact that the Chinese partner’s primary interest is in acquiring the foreign partner’s technology, and the fact that the foreign partner typically shows little interest in obtaining the Chinese partner’s unique non‐technical knowledge as an offset. This article attempts to show how technology transfers can be controlled in the first place and how the foreign partner’s competitive advantage can be preserved by acquiring the domestic partner’s unique knowledge of host country circumstances.
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Yim‐Yu Wong, Thomas E. Maher and Sherriff T.K. Luk
Briefly outlines the development and attraction of the “joint venture” approach to foreign investment in China. Provides a number of in‐depth interviews with top management…
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Briefly outlines the development and attraction of the “joint venture” approach to foreign investment in China. Provides a number of in‐depth interviews with top management personnel of five well‐known international joint ventures. Attempts to discover what strategic management knowledge was transferred from the Western partner. Finds only limited evidence to suggest such a transfer was taking place but suggests that these ventures are still relatively new. Points to China’s likely entry into the World Trade Organisation as an opportunity for change.
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Yim‐Yu Wong, Thomas E. Maher, James Li‐Hsing Wang and Fu Long
States that competitive advantage is like a moving target, changing over time as market conditions, consumer demand and resource availability vary. Provides a case study of…
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States that competitive advantage is like a moving target, changing over time as market conditions, consumer demand and resource availability vary. Provides a case study of Taiwan’s present advantages within the heights of the Asian economic growth and the recent economic crisis. Considers the ability of the country to sustain its remarkable growth rate and ask whether it needs to develop a new set of advantages. Uses Porter’s Diamond model in the “Competitive Advantage of Nations” (1990) to examine this issue. Concludes that the biggest threat is that of China’s claim to Taiwan’s territory.
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Yim‐Yu Song, Thomas E. Maher, Joel D. Nicholson and Nicholas P. Gurney
Looks at the problems of logistics in military operations and today’s commercial businesses. Traces the development of logistics management from a subordinate activity within a…
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Looks at the problems of logistics in military operations and today’s commercial businesses. Traces the development of logistics management from a subordinate activity within a product producing entity to its performance by a separate entity which specializes in this area and requires a strategic alliance. Looks at this issue from the perspective of the outsourcing company and the logistical company. Considers what happens when this process is reversed and provides implications for the future.
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Yim Yu Wong and Thomas E. Maher
The textile and apparel industries of certain Pacific Rim countries have posed a serious threat to their counterparts in the United States. Competition from those countries has…
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The textile and apparel industries of certain Pacific Rim countries have posed a serious threat to their counterparts in the United States. Competition from those countries has forced the closure of major segments of the US textile and apparel industries and has placed heavy negative pressure on the United States balance of payments account. Yet, those industries remain a $50 billion giant in the US economy, provide over 2.4 million jobs at lower levels of the wage spectrum (United States Bureau of the Census, 1989), and are consequently a force to be reckoned with.
The People's Republic of China has a growing trade surplus with the Western World which, with the United States alone, has increased from $23 billion to $29 billion, inspiring…
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The People's Republic of China has a growing trade surplus with the Western World which, with the United States alone, has increased from $23 billion to $29 billion, inspiring fear of another Japan in the making. She is a country with an authoritarian form of government, but in recent decades has pursued an “open door” policy on matters of trade. Many view this as a gradual conversion to a true free market economy. If that comes to pass, she will be the first Communist country to succeed in an apparent contradiction between political and economic philosophies.
Yim Yu Wong and Thomas E. Maher
Warns against expecting the Japanese and Chinese to behave similarly, despite common features of their national cultures and geographical proximity. Points out that China follows…
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Warns against expecting the Japanese and Chinese to behave similarly, despite common features of their national cultures and geographical proximity. Points out that China follows Confucian‐based business ethics based on connections, mutual trust and under the table dealings, whereas Japan subscribes to Shinto‐based business ethics, depending on perfection, product superiority, obligation, personal honesty and self‐sacrifice. Provides a brief historical overview of each country’s cultural and political dynamics, then draws attention to some of the important differences between China and Japan – China preferring a command culture, pragmatism, centred on the family and using punishment as a means of ensuring conformity, whereas Japan prefers a consensus culture, sentimentality, has a strong sense of nationhood and relies on praise to achieve required performance. Suggests that western businesses keep this in mind if they are to conduct business successfully in either or both of these two countries.
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Yim Yu Wong, Thomas E. Maher, Neil A. Evans and Joel D. Nicholson
Explores Chinese culture and the problems foreign firms and governments encounter when dealing with China. Emphasizes Confucianism’s dominant cultural tradition in China and…
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Explores Chinese culture and the problems foreign firms and governments encounter when dealing with China. Emphasizes Confucianism’s dominant cultural tradition in China and attempts to explain it to improve foreign firms’ chances of success. Describes Confucianism as a way of living, incorporating the principles of humanism and the notion of filial piety. Mentions the five cardinal relations, harmony and Neo‐Confucianism’s “Principle of universal truth, order, law, production and reproduction”. Assesses the implications of social inequality, social ritual, familism, guan xi (connections), face, and sun yung (mutual trust) for foreign firms. Concludes that foreign firms wishing to do business with China need to understand the labyrinth of Confucianism.