This book offers a collection of studies on regional integration and the dynamic business environment in East Asia. The papers included, originally presented at the 2014 Asia Pacific Business Conference on "Free Trade Agreements and Regional Integration in East Asia," examine the challenges and dynamics in the increasingly integrated East Asian markets and outline a new paradigm for doing international business in the region. The papers address diverse areas related to regional integration, financial markets, investment, trade and capital flow, sustainability, accounting and auditing issues, exchange rates, strategies and the regional business environment. The book provides a valuable resource for practitioners, policy-makers and students who are interested in understanding the vibrant aspects of business in today’s East Asia.

The eclectic paradigm has arguably become the dominant theoretical basis in the study of FDI, multinational corporations and internationalisation over the last two decades. The contributions to this volume evaluate the eclectic paradigm in the global economy and its validity as a theoretical basis to understand developments such as economic globali

The TPP was negotiated among 12 economically diverse countries, including some most highly developed and rich countries (i.e., the United States, Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore), some newly industrialized countries (i.e., Mexico and Malaysia), and some less-developed countries (i.e., Peru, Chile, and Vietnam). A new paradigm created in this context is that countries with vastly different economic developments can actually agree on a set of very high standards to regulate their economic activities, to liberalize their trade, and to protect intellectual property and foreign investment. The contents of the TPP also reflect its status of being a “new paradigm” as the “21st-Century Trade Agreement” and being a pioneer in rule making in many key regulatory areas. These include not only the improved and enhanced rules on traditional issues already covered by the WTO , such as goods, services, and IP rights, but also the carefully designed rules in areas that have never been addressed in the WTO or comprehensively covered in other FTAs , such as state-owned enterprises, electronic commerce, and labor and environmental issues. Although the United States has withdrawn from the TPP, the remaining countries are still putting efforts into establishing a TPP without the United States or a TPP with China. Economically speaking, the current 11 parties account for about 20 % of the global economy. If such agreement is put into force, there will be significant implications for the region, for the multilateral system, and even for other FTAs. The book addresses the potential of the TPP to change the ways trade and investments are conducted and argues for its potential to be the start of an international trade/economic law revolution. The book elaborates the relationship between the TPP and other existing trade agreements such as the WTO and other FTAs and explains how the TPP is to deal with traditional and new issues. Taken together, the authors argue that the implications of the TPP go beyond its current membership. It is hoped that the book will make an important contribution to the field of international economic law.

In the last century, we have witnessed the rise of a new kind of company, one that leverages on a new business model — the platform.Though platform companies are very common, they can take extremely diverse forms in today's business landscape. People use the term 'platform' to mean many different things. Managers are often confused about which is platform business and which is not. When it comes to platform strategy, things become even more complicated.Using real world examples, this book acts as a primer for platform strategy, discussing the underlying mechanism of various types of platform models to help people understand what platform business is and what they can do with it. Theories and frameworks appropriate for understanding platform business are introduced and related cases follow to support readers' understanding. The diverse and international case studies analysed range from IBM's horizontal production platform, to the digital platform of China's breakout smartphone star, Xiaomi.This book will not only enable readers to understand platform business, but also teach them how to harness these frameworks to build effective strategies for their own platform business pursuits.

This book analyzes the changing dynamics of competition and the emergence of deglobalization trends and processes. The authors begin by explaining the role of technology on globalization and its impact on competitive strategy. Then, they present a theoretical framework that outlines the connection between globalization and modern society. The book also delves into the shift toward deglobalization and addresses how the onset of the COVID-10 pandemic has accelerated the process. Concluding with a discussion of how the 4th Industrial Revolution has resulted in new paradigms for business, this book will fill a gap through its investigation of an emerging concept for scholars in international business.