Responses to Regionalism in East Asia : Japanese Production Networks in the Automotive Sector

In the decade following the Asian financial crisis, the East Asian political economy has experienced a radical transformation. This book thus investigates the responses of Japanese automotive makers to the processes of regionalism and regionalization by locating firm-level analysis in a broader political economy context. Regionalism has emerged as a defining feature of the late 1990s and early twenty-first century international political economy, and in East Asia this political process may be seen as a response to continuing globalization, the Asian financial crisis, and the deepening regionalization of economic activity. This interaction between regionalism and regionalization, between private and state actors, is a key dynamic of the East Asian political economy today. Taken together these forces amount to a transformation of the regional political economy which, this book suggests, necessitates a re-evaluation of the way in which we can examine the activities of the multinational enterprise in East Asia. The central question of this study, then, is to what extent has this transformation impacted on the strategies employed by Japanese multinationals in their East Asian operations. Drawing on recent empirical data, this book explores how these firms have responded to regionalism Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Introduction: East Asia, Regionalism and Foreign Direct Investment....Pages 1-12 Front Matter....Pages 13-13 Foreign Direct Investment, Regionalism and (Japanese) Production Networks....Pages 15-47 Front Matter....Pages 49-49 The Transformation of the East Asian Political Economy....Pages 51-86 Japan and the Transformation of the East Asian Political Economy....Pages 87-135 Japanese Foreign Direct Investment in East Asia: The Automotive Sector....Pages 136-159 Front Matter....Pages 161-161 Responses to Regionalism: General Strategy and the Organisation of Production and Management in East Asia....Pages 163-185 Responses to Regionalism: The East Asian Investment Environment....Pages 186-213 Responses to Regionalism: Regional Production, Trade and Economic Integration....Pages 214-233 Conclusions....Pages 234-238 Back Matter....Pages 239-267 "The interaction between regionalism and regionalization, between state and private actors, is a key dynamic of the East Asian political economy today. Taken together these forces amount to a transformation of the regional political economy which, this book suggests, necessitates a re-evaluation of the way in which we can examine the activities of the multinational enterprise in East Asia. The central question of this study, then, is to what extent has this transformation impacted on the strategies employed by Japanese multinationals in their East Asian operations. Drawing on recent empirical data, this book explores how these firms have responded to regionalism."--BOOK JACKET A timely evaluation of how a harmonious business environment can be created and managed successfully in an increasingly turbulent era. The contributors explore Chinese cultural values, entry strategy, the impact of SARS on marketing, corporate governance, technology transfer, and the role of trust and ethics