This book presents the findings of the Japanese Multinational Enterprise Study Group and offers the 'Application-adaptation' framework as a means of measuring the degree to which Japanese parent systems are transferred to the subsidiary. It proposes this as a model for assessing the transferability of systems in any multinational enterprise.

First published in 1989, this book focuses upon the phenomenon of export-led industrialisation fuelled by foreign investment and technology. He concentrates on Mexico, where US companies have been taking advantage of inexpensive labour to establish "maquila" factories that assemble US parts for export. Through this detailed study of the maquila industry, Sklair charts the progress from the political imperialism of colonial days to the economic imperialism of today.