Comparative Responses to Globalization: Experiences of British and Japanese Enterprises

The authors of this volume explore how British and Japanese firms have responded to globalization from a long-term perspective. Around the world, firms have responded to globalization in diverse ways, from expanding their operations, differentiating their products, normalizing risk, to adopting new knowledge. While many works have examined the impact of globalization on firms, most such studies are ahistorical and only focus on the recent phase of globalization, since the late 1970s. Comparative Responses to Globalization examines these developments from a historical perspective, as firms have been responding to globalization since at least the 19th century. It sheds light on the impact of the institutional setting; the influence of government and entrepreneurs; and the weight of historical contingency in conditioning firm responses. It also touches upon the extent to which specific varieties of capitalism or distances between certain cultures help explain firm responses to globalization.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements List of Contributors Notes on Conventions Introduction: Comparative Perspectives of Globalization: Historical Reflections on British and Japanese Enterprises An Empire of Goods? Groceries in Eighteenth-century England; J.Stobart Globalization and Voluntary Consensus Standardization in the British Wire Industry c1880; A.Velkar The City of London, British Ethnic and National Identities, and Investment Decisions in the Anglophone New World, 1860-1914; A.Smith The Genesis of Modern Management of Technology: The Case of the Meiji Cotton Spinning Sector in Globalization Circa 1880s-1890s; E.Choi Globalization and Family Business, The Renewal of Idemitsu Kosan, 1990s-2000s; M.Shimamoto Jute, Firm Survival and British Industrial Policy: Government Action Under Globalization; C.Morelli Emerging Market Strategies in Compact Vehicles: The Case of Japanese Automakers; H.Shioji The Pressures of Globalization in Retail: The Path of Japanese Department Stores, 1930s-1980s; R.Fujioka Globalization and Change in the Japanese Pharmaceutical Industry, 1990-2010; M.Umemura The UK Pharmaceutical Industry: Challenges in an Era of Globalization; J.Slinn Index

About the Author :
MAKI UMEMURA is a Lecturer at the Cardiff Business School, UK. Her research interests are comparative business history, Japanese business, and the impact of globalization. Her publications include Reconsidering the Business of Pharmaceuticals, Enterprise and Society and The Japanese Pharmaceutical Industry. She obtained her PhD in Economic History from the London School of Economics, UK. RIKA FUJIOKA is a Professor in the Faculty of Commerce at Kansai University, Japan. Her research interests are in retail management and business history. Her recent publications include The Early Development of Department Stores in Japan, Keiei-Keizai [Business Economy] and Yuhikaku [The Development of Department Stores].