2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Research for Global Control Mechanism of Japanese MNEs
| Project/Area Number |
10630106
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Business administration
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| Research Institution | Musashi University (1999-2001)
Saitama University (1998) |
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Principal Investigator |
ITAGAKI Hiroshi Musashi University, Faculty of Economics, Professor, 経済学部, 教授 (20125884)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
CHO Du-Sop Nagoya University, Graduate School Of International Development, Associate Professor, 大学院・国際開発研究科, 助教授 (20262834)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1998 – 2000
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| Keywords | Multinational Enterprise / Control Mechanism / Regional Headquarter / Mother Plant |
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this research is to examine international activities of Japanese Multinationals and the structure and the function of global control mechanism of them. We have executed a field study, including interviews with staff concerned international operations and expatriates of foreign subsidiaries of Japanese companies, since we need informal data and information as well as information of formal corporate structure. Many Japanese Multinationals have relied on one to one relationship between headquarters or mother plants and foreign affiliated companies rather than global control mechanism. Since early 1990s, however, Japanese Multinationals can not correspond the managerial environment strategically by this kind of corporate structures and information processing style. This research is based on this motif. Following is major points of the report of this research. Firstly, we characterize the Japanese Multinationals as the paradox between their high-performance operational efficiency and their low-performance profitability. This characteristics are closely related to the features of control mechanism of Japanese multinationals, that is, high ratio of expatriate employees, significance of informal communication, and their tendency to leave much of the strategic and business decision-making in the hands of the parent companies. Secondly, We discuss the significance of foreign direct investment under structural transformation of Japanese economy, which determine the operation of Japanese Multinationals. Thirdly, we demonstrate the actual conditions of the characteristics and control mechanism of Japanese Multinationals, by examining the behavior of them under Asian economic crisis. Finally, we examine the global control mechanism, through case study of the development of European operations of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd, which is one of the leading Japanese Multinationals.
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