Comparative Responses to Globalization : Experiences of British and Japanese Enterprises

Explores how British and Japanese firms have responded to globalization from a long-term perspective. Incorporates studies from the 18th century and sheds light on the impact of the institutional setting, the influence of government and entrepreneurs, and the weight of historical contingency in conditioning firm responses to globalization. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction — Comparative Perspectives on Globalization: Historical Reflections on British and Japanese Enterprises....Pages 1-22 An Empire of Goods? Groceries in Eighteenth-Century England....Pages 23-44 Globalization and Voluntary Consensus Standardization in the British Wire Industry, 1880....Pages 45-70 The City of London, British Ethnic and National Identities, and Investment Decisions in the Anglophone New World, 1860–1914....Pages 71-98 The Genesis of Modern Management of Technology: The Case of the Meiji Cotton Spinning Sector in Globalization, 1880s–1890s....Pages 99-120 Globalization and Family Business: The Renewal of Idemitsu Kosan, 1990s–2000s....Pages 121-140 Jute, Firm’s Survival, and British Industrial Policy: Government Action under Globalization....Pages 141-158 Emerging Market Strategies in Compact Vehicles: The Case of Japanese Automakers....Pages 159-180 The Pressures of Globalization in Retail: The Path of Japanese Department Stores, 1930s–1980s....Pages 181-203 Globalization and Change in the Japanese Pharmaceutical Industry, 1990–2010....Pages 204-226 The UK Pharmaceutical Industry: Challenges in an Era of Globalization....Pages 227-244 Back Matter....Pages 245-261 The authors of this volume explore how British and Japanese firms have responded to globalization from a long-term perspective. Around the world, firms have responded to globalization in diverse ways, from expanding their operations, differentiating their products, normalizing risk, to adopting new knowledge. While many works have examined the impact of globalization on firms, most such studies are ahistorical and only focus on the recent phase of globalization, since the late 1970s. Comparative Responses to Globalization examines these developments from a historical perspective, as firms have been responding to globalization since at least the 19th century. It sheds light on the impact of the institutional setting; the influence of government and entrepreneurs; and the weight of historical contingency in conditioning firm responses. It also touches upon the extent to which specific varieties of capitalism or distances between certain cultures help explain firm responses to globalization