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A Sociological Approach to Localization Issues of Japanese Companies in Asia: From the Perspective of the Role of Long-term Local Service Managers

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Abstract

This paper describes how sociology contributes to a discussion of localization issues of Japanese companies in Asia. Many management studies so far have given attention to issues related to localization of Japanese companies abroad. However, most of them focus on the number of “Japanese presidents” in subsidiaries. These studies lack perspective on the roles of long-term local service managers. This paper explores the possibility of a sociological contribution to the issue of localization of Japanese companies abroad by a combination of three approaches. These include an inter-cultural communication approach, comparative cultural approach and the localization approach. In doing so, this paper posits the importance of paying attention to the roles and perspectives of local managers who have been working in Japanese companies for an extended number of years.

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Sullivan, J. Jeremiah 1992 Invasion of the Salaryman: The Japanese Business Presence in America, Praeger Publishers1995
Noriya 1992 A Case Study of Structuration in a Bicultural Work Organization : A Study of a Japanese -Owned and -Managed Corporation in the U
  • Sumihara
Sumihara, Noriya 1992 A Case Study of Structuration in a Bicultural Work Organization : A Study of a Japanese -Owned and -Managed Corporation in the U.S.A, Ph. D. dissertation at New York University. 2000 1994 45(4), pp. 49–70
of the Salaryman: The Japanese Business Presence in America
  • J Sullivan
  • Jeremiah
Sullivan, J. Jeremiah 1992 Invasion of the Salaryman: The Japanese Business Presence in America, Praeger Publishers1995
Invasion of the Salaryman: The Japanese Business Presence in America
  • J Sullivan
  • Jeremiah
Sullivan, J. Jeremiah 1992 Invasion of the Salaryman: The Japanese Business Presence in America, Praeger Publishers 1995
A Case Study of Structuration in a Bicultural Work Organization : A Study of a Japanese -Owned and -Managed Corporation in the
  • Noriya Sumihara
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