Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) are among the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world. The enormous size of the customer base in these emerging markets is the strategic concern of global business firms. Successful market performance in these markets requires sound understanding of dynamic environmental factors and timely investme

Since the start of the recent financial crisis, as most global firms struggle to remain competitive, an increasing number of Korean and Japanese firms have experienced an amazing rate of growth and expansion. Although academic researchers and business leaders in the United States, China, Brazil, India, and Europe seek out the secrets to these businesses' success, little is known about their business practices. Supplying an insider's perspective, Building Network Capabilities in Turbulent Competitive Environments: Practices of Global Firms from Korea and Japan unveils the strategic and operational practices that have allowed these firms to catch and surpass their competitors in North America and Europe. Based on fieldwork studies and extensive interviews with senior executives, it explains how these companies have developed and enhanced their core competencies through effective integration of product architecture, supply chain management, and IT strategy. The book provides practical insight into changing business patterns while avoiding extensive mathematical algorithms and drawn-out theoretical descriptions. It uses cutting-edge case studies to illustrate the innovative manufacturing strategies of these rapidly emerging companies. Accessible to anyone with a basic understanding of business, it reveals the organizational processes of strategy formulation and implementation that are required for success. Providing a clear understanding of both the career implications of the changing business landscape and how to deliver products and services that meet and exceed the needs of your customers, this book will help you develop the socio-technical skills needed to succeed in an increasingly competitive and turbulent business environment.

Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) are among the largest and fastest-growing economies in the world. The enormous size of the customer base in these emerging markets is the strategic concern of global business firms. Successful market performance in these markets requires sound understanding of dynamic environmental factors and timely investme

This book provides an overview of evolving patterns of trade partnership with historical perspective. It presents changing requirements of industry competitiveness and explains the vital relationships between trade partnerships and industry competitiveness. As well, it further examines the interactive relationships between trade partnerships and industry competitiveness. In recent years, with decreasing strategic alliances among nations and less visibility of international governance mechanisms (e.g., WTO) and counter to globalization, preferential trade agreements and free-trade agreements have proliferated among nations. At the same time, industrial competitiveness is becoming a serious strategic policy priority of nations—both advanced and emerging economies. Theoretical discussion focuses on the practices of global network capabilities for the top of the pyramid (ToP) and base of the pyramid (BoP). Special focus is on trade partnerships and industry competitiveness in the Asian economies (China, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia), three ASEAN nations (Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia), and Mexico. Extensive industry and firm-level case studies discuss ToP and BoP interface capabilities in the form of manufacturing and services life-cycle management, which extends value creation and delivery of manufacturing and services. This extension integrates the cloud ecosystem, such as timely data/information/knowledge flows via the virtual world; and ground value chains, such as the flow of complex real goods and services in the visible world.

This book discusses the ways in which characteristics of innovative firms and innovative talents with core competence in Japanese, Korean, German, and American contexts are developed and nurtured, and compares innovative firms with a long history of business operations from these four countries. Firstly, the book examines innovation practices of long-lived Japanese firms and compares them with those of German, American and Korean firms. Based on extensive interviews with executives and field studies, it identifies the essential qualities of each country in which these innovative firms and innovative talents are found. It then focuses on theoretical and practical aspects, using the theoretical framework to define organizational and technological factors for long-term innovation success. Further, the book provides recommendations based on organizational practices for developing innovative talents in Japanese, German, American and Korean contexts. Intended for academics, students and practitioners in the areas of organizational theory and strategic management, this book clarifies the critical practices of long-lived innovative firms and organizational innovators.

Although many books outline approaches for successful ERP implementations, the data shows that most ERP efforts yield minimal return on investment (ROI), with most projects failing. Directing the ERP Implementation: A Best Practice Guide to Avoiding Program Failure Traps While Tuning System Performance supplies best practices along with a proven ro

This book deals with the importance of ambidexterity in innovation activities and global strategies. Ambidextrous global strategy (AGS) is crucial for global firms in the turbulent twenty-first century. Here, AGS is defined as simultaneous achievements of global integration and local adaptation, or responsiveness, through utilization of a firm’s core facilities and organizational capabilities. To illustrate the specific implementation mechanism, a framework of AGS with global market strategy and organizational capability is shown for the purpose of analysis. There is also a focus on effective ambidextrous business strategies for the digital transformation era. Distinctive features of the book include, first, a framework of ambidextrous innovation and AGS. Second, there are analyses of examples of many industries to implement ambidexterity strategies, including Korean shipbuilding firms, Korean and Japanese steel firms, LCD panel flat-glass manufacturers, Japan’s trucking industry, agricultural corporations, and other Japanese manufacturing firms. Finally, the book focuses on effective ambidextrous business strategies for the digital transformation era with the integration of open and closed innovation. The book presents specific business strategies for survival in the digital transformation era and then suggests an architectural analysis using artificial intelligence (AI) for the realization of AGS. The target readership is made up of academics, students, and practitioners in the areas of global management, organizational theory, and strategic management. Especially for those readers, the book clarifies the critical practices and business strategies of innovative global firms in the era of digital transformation.