Understanding the modern complexity of doing business in a globalised market has become an absolute necessity for the survival of a company today. This book is a must have guide to navigate through the sea of overwhelming information and sometimes fuzzy variables in the business world. This book analyses the success and the failures of prominent firms with track records as global leaders. It also presents the proven strategies for success in todays completive environment. The case studies in this book act as invaluable tools. This book is a must-have resource for understanding and achieving success in todays globalised market. This book addresses the issues that firms are desperately trying to solve. In the forefront, firms are striving to effectively respond to the dynamic global market and the intense competition that exists. Strategies for establishing competitive advantage are presented through in-depth research and case studies. Furthermore, an extensive analysis of the methods for penetrating the emerging markets (China, India and Brazil in particular), as well as their responsiveness to the needs of the local market are also presented. In addition, satisfying customers constantly changing needs drive firms to seek ways to be adaptive and responsive. The authors field research provided here aids firms in establishing flexible business production and service processes. This book clarifies the complex inter-connection between business activities, thus providing the insight necessary for strategically being adaptive and responsive. Another strategy presented and examined through case studies is architecture analysis. Through architecture analysis, this book shows how linkage competence keeps firms in a dynamic balance between the seemingly opposing requirements for product attractiveness (ie: customer competence) and technology level (ie: technology competence). Also, IT strategy is utilised to examine the dynamic role of product architecture in supply chain management. This book discusses several examples of Korean global firms (ie: LG, Samsung and Hyundai) and Japanese global firms (ie: Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Panasonic). The reasons for the success of Japanese firms marketing strategies in the Brazilian, Russian, Indian and Chinese markets are expertly analysed and exposed for the readers benefit. Through extensive interviews and fieldwork studies, this book provides practical examples that draw attention to the successful comprehensive manufacturing strategies of Japanese and Korean manufacturing companies. The proven success of integrating core competence, product architecture, global supply chain management and IT strategy is a key theme presented in this book. Indeed, the wealth of information within these pages is immeasurable.
Young Won Park (Faculty of Economics, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Saitama University and Manufacturing Management Research Center, Graduate School of Economics, The University of Tokyo, Japan)
