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Japanese Success? British Failure?

Comparisons in Business Performance since 1945

Etsuo Abe editor Terrry Gourvish editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:30th Oct '97

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Japanese Success? British Failure? cover

The significance in business and economic history of Japan's startling rise in international competitiveness since the mid-1950s has not only given business academics much food for thought but has also served to increase the amount of English-language writing on modern Japan. Many researchers have sought to dissect the `economic miracle', isolating key factors which range from the national character and `consensus' to the favourable conjunction of market forces, from unique structural elements and government policy to a `free ride' based in American support and free trade. This new book uses a comparative perspective to shed important new light on the components of the miracle. By looking at the key components of international competitiveness in Japan and Britain, new light is shed on the secrets of Japanese growth and refinement of allegations of British `failure'. There are two contributions, one written by a Japanese scholar, the other by a British scholar, on the key variables: the government-industry relationship; management structures; education and training; and finance. The book concludes with new case studies of automobiles and electronics. The essays revise many established notions concerning the two countries. Differences in education/business links, for example, are not as pronounced as is often claimed, and the performance gap in financial services is now much narrower. The book will serve as a starting point for further research on the critical aspects of modern corporate behaviour and international competitiveness.

every reader of this stimulating book will find it thought-provoking ... The modesty of the authors should not be allowed to conceal the importance of the book. The first chapter contains a brilliant literature survey, a model of its kind. * Michael Z.Brooks, Journal of Asian Business, Vol.16, No.2, 2000 *
these essays present broad and useful overviews of Japanese and British business since 1945...the essays do well in their aims of helping to explain the differences between business performance in the two countries and of providing a brief introduction to a number of key topics. - Raymond Stokes. University of Glasgow.
...the organisers were clearly correct in bringing together an impressive array of British and Japanese authorities who could contribute a range of new perspectives. - John Wilson. Accounting, Business and Financial History. 1998.Well written and very capably edited, this study should be of considerable interest to scholars in the fields of business and economic history. Recommended for graduate and faculty collections. M Blackford. Choice. September 1998.
This study downplays difference in the recent economic growth of the two nations, while providing fresh insights into the development of each. Well written and very capably edited, this study should be of considerable interest to scholars in the fields of business and economic history. - M. Blackford in CHOICE Sept.1998 - Vol.36. No.1

ISBN: 9780198290582

Dimensions: 243mm x 163mm x 22mm

Weight: 628g

300 pages