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Paper short abstract:

This paper ethnographically examines contemporary Japan's politico-economic relationship building vis-à-vis the Asia region using an entrepreneurial Indo-Japanese creative business project as a case study.

Paper long abstract:

Japan's political economy vis-à-vis the Asia region is one of the emerging arenas in which one can examine Japan's contemporary position in the world. In response to the rise of China, India and other Asian economies, as well as to the decades-long stagnation of its domestic economy, Japan has started to try to reboot its growth by enhancing its politico-economic relationships with such rising Asian markets. Analytical perspectives on these dynamics seem to still be in development.

In response to this relative scarcity, and in order to explore preliminary perspectives through which to examine Japan's politico-economic position in the Asian context, this paper ethnographically examines a business venture started by a Japanese entrepreneur seeking to establish a business platform for the Japanese creative industries to sell products in the Indian market. Introducing creative Japanese companies into rising Asian markets is one of the tenets of the Asia-shift. The paper first briefly reviews the history of the Indo-Japanese relationship and identifies the discrepancies in the business customs between Japan and India as one of the significant ethnographic areas of focus that embody Japan's struggle to make connections with India (and Asia). It then ethnographically examines the entrepreneur's business negotiations with his Indian and Japanese stakeholders (held in Tokyo, Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore) to explore how he tried to resolve such discrepancies in business customs to carry his business forward. The paper finds that the entrepreneur's brokerage behavior, which put him in a liminal and ambiguous position (i.e. trying to bridge the 'Japanese' and 'Indian' ways of doing business by standing in-between the two sets of customs), helped create a new transnational business flow. The paper suggests this ambiguity as one of the points of entry through which we can examine how Japan can (re)build its relationships within Asia. The gap between the significance of the relevant players taking liminal and ambiguous positions to carry forward trans-Asian business (and thus to incorporate the rising Asian markets), which this paper explores on the grass-roots level, and Japan's firmly self-centered overall growth strategy (e.g. Abenomics) is also examined.

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Paper short abstract:

This empirical study uses cross-sectional data from both the Japanese and locally-owned Indonesian automotive sector of cars, motorcycles and auto parts firms. It focuses on relationships between the MNC-subsidiaries in legitimizing and adopting the Japanese MNC's practices in Indonesia.

Paper long abstract:

There is a large body of literature investigating the nature of knowledge transfer between a parent firm and its foreign affiliates, and an equally extensive volume of research that explores knowledge transfer to local firms, usually through the lens of spillovers. However, this study seeks to unravel the complexities of knowledge transfer by examining a unique study carried out from both the host and home country perspectives, and incorporating both firms and institutions involved in knowledge transfer. Thus, this study strives to extend the existing literature in two ways. First, building on Minbaeva et al. (2003), it focuses on the role of human relations, institutions and the firms' existing absorptive capacity. Second, it considers the degree to which knowledge transfer in a local company with foreign investment facilitates the development of those parts of the business that are independent of foreign ownership. In this way, we explore not only the learning that occurs in the foreign-owned sector but also the importance of the local sector in this co-evolution of best practices.

It argues here that an exploration of the interactions between different ownership structures, and various employees' abilities and motivations enhances our understanding of foreign interventions in local firms. Moreover, the research setting facilitates our examination of the absorptive capacity both within the foreign affiliate and within local establishments.

The data we collected offers a new perspective on absorptive capacity through the lens of organizational learning theory. It investigates the causality of varying mechanism of absorptive capacity. Consequently, this study builds on the existing work on inter- and intra-organizational levels of analysis. This investigation is overlaid with an analysis of Japanese institutions that are seeking to facilitate the spread and impact of "Japanization". The findings suggest that inter-human relationship fundamentally important to the flows and creation of knowledge.

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Paper short abstract:

Japanese private international law was recently reformed; however, some changes are not in line with the European conflict of laws. The lack of legal harmonization was considered the greatest challenge in EU industry, but it has an impact also on Japanese economy, generating costs and expenses.

Paper long abstract:

Japanese private international law has been recently reformed in a perspective of global harmonization; however, some changes are not in line with the European conflict of laws. The lack of legal harmonization has been considered the greatest challenge in EU industry and economy, but it is having an impact also on Japanese economy.

The same costs identified by official EU reports about European law can be applied and researched, in a wider point of view, to EU-Japanese relations: business, legal, administrative and economic costs and related loss of revenue. Such difficulties might prevent both individuals and companies from moving and investing in Japan and vice versa.

While the reform of company law, aimed at modernizing Japanese business law after the criticisms of foreign investors, reached the goal to introduce an improvement to the former corporate governance system, the reform of private international law failed to find an acceptable solution to the main issues of the relevant legislation.

The most controversial topics in Japanese conflict of laws are related to torts, juristic acts, freedom of choice of the applicable law, consumer and labor contracts, assignment of receivables and product liability claims, each bearing huge consequences in business, foreign trade and investments.

With regard to contracts and claims, in addition to the deterrent effect, the costs and loss of revenue are related to breach of contracts and non-performance, unrecoverable debts, impossibility of enforcement and difficulties in judgment recognition procedures.

The lack of recognition of torts and related remedies in Japan is another problem of Japanese system, since it might compromise the rights of companies and individuals, including intellectual rights, and it might generate costs and expenses related to legal assistance and unfair competition advantages toward some companies.

The provision about assignment of claims might result in the invalidity of international factoring agreements, while product liability, labor and consumer contracts provisions might be detrimental to individual rights.

The uncertainty resulting from the absence of harmonization will ultimately create a barrier to the movement of people, goods, companies and services.