Multinational Corporations and the Emerging Network Economy in Asia and the Pacific delves into the ongoing rise of a global economy anchored in a web of inter-firm production networks and the role played by multinational corporations in the process. It considers the strategies and business models corporations have adopted lately to face today’s highly competitive global markets, especially outsourcing and offshoring, focusing on the modalities observed in Asia Pacific and the Pacific Rim at large. Since their inception, corporations have undergone a series of fundamental changes; each has corresponded to a given era of industrial development and has given rise to a particular type of government policy response. The book addresses these timely issues and other such as the transformation of global production networks into global innovation networks, the link between corporate and national innovation strategies and movement up the global production value chain, and the fragmentation of production and the resulting increase in component and sub-assembly trade in the region. It also takes up the emergence of multinational corporations from developing countries and the efforts aimed at forging basic rules of corporate social responsibility and developing sound institutions for building a working framework of corporate governance in the Pacific. Written by some of the region’s most eminent and influential economists and political scientists, this volume will appeal to students and scholars working in the field of Asia Pacific studies as well as to businesspersons and policymakers taking decisions in the region.

Multinational Corporations and the Emerging Network Economy in Asia and the Pacific delves into the ongoing rise of a global economy anchored in a web of inter-firm production networks and the role played by multinational corporations in the process. It considers the strategies and business models corporations have adopted lately to face today’s highly competitive global markets, especially outsourcing and offshoring, focusing on the modalities observed in Asia Pacific and the Pacific Rim at large. Since their inception, corporations have undergone a series of fundamental changes; each has corresponded to a given era of industrial development and has given rise to a particular type of government policy response. The book addresses these timely issues and other such as the transformation of global production networks into global innovation networks, the link between corporate and national innovation strategies and movement up the global production value chain, and the fragmentation of production and the resulting increase in component and sub-assembly trade in the region. It also takes up the emergence of multinational corporations from developing countries and the efforts aimed at forging basic rules of corporate social responsibility and developing sound institutions for building a working framework of corporate governance in the Pacific. Written by some of the region’s most eminent and influential economists and political scientists, this volume will appeal to students and scholars working in the field of Asia Pacific studies as well as to businesspersons and policymakers taking decisions in the region.

Drawing upon extensive field research in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, this book focuses on networks of business and personal relationships as a key means of transnational operations. The book highlights the role of Chinese business networks in facilitating the emergence of transnational corporations from an Asian newly industrialised economy - Hong Kong. It is a timely theoretical and empirical contribution to the recent debate on the nature and operations of 'bamboo networks' within the global economy and their role in the rapid economic growth and regional integration among Asia-Pacific economies.

Both proponents and opponents of globalization assume it is a process that sweeps across national borders. Indeed, over the last twenty years, the key features of globalization provide prima facie evidence for this conventional wisdom. Dramatic developments in information and communications technology, the rise of global companies and production networks, the unstoppable internationalization of financial markets, and the deregulation and privatization of service sectors are all important examples of how this process unfolds in its raw form. Nevertheless, the increase in regional economic activity is another striking feature of this process. As multinational corporations extend their global reach, regional networks also emerge in the global trading system. Globalization therefore does not only mean a global convolution of economies, but could also lead to a spatial concentration of economic activity. All through the 1990s and at the beginning of the new century, East Asia experienced numerous structural changes leading to interesting market developments. South Korea’s rise to developed country status, the integration of the Southeast Asian economies, and the rise of China have made this region the manufacturing center of the global economy. Considering the economic importance of Japan and the other East Asian nations in the world, the crucial questions that arise include: What are the linkages between the global strategies of multinational corporations and their regional business operations? Why do subregional strategies emerge, especially recently to take advantage of China as a production base and market? Are the modern business practices in a multinational corporation’s home country easily transferred to their overseas operations and are they readily absorbed by local employees? Finally, which strategic directions are Japanese, American, East Asian and European enterprises going in this important business area of the world? To answer these questions, this book takes a closer look at several structural features of the East Asian economy and the corporate and business strategies of multinational corporations. The volume assembles up-to-date research by a number of European, Australian and Japanese scholars, and presents analysis of various business aspects of regional strategies in a global economy.

This book offers a long-term comparative perspective on the evolution of Japanese and Asia Pacific multinational companies (MNCs), and provides new insights into how Japanese MNCs have transformed strategies and competitive capabilities in response to new challenges of the global market place since 1990. This book was originally published as a special issue of Asia Pacific Business Review.

The Asia-Pacific region, sustaining more than four decades of rapid growth, has emerged as an economic force comparable in significance to Europe and North America. This book examines the economic, geopolitical, technological, demographic, and cultural forces that shape the international business strategies in the Asia-Pacific region. Specifically, it examines the seismic shifts in global business environment since the new century, and addresses emerging opportunities and threats in the Asia-Pacific region. This book offers new insights for international business in areas such as trade policy, supply chains, international investment, technological innovation, international marketing, digital economy, and human resources. The enclosed comprehensive and diverse analyses of the international business landscape in the New Asia are invaluable to scholars, managers, politicians, and policy makers alike. This book is engaging and informative. It presents a collection of diverse and cutting-edge topics that offer new insights into International Business activities in the Asia-Pacific region, raising questions for debate and opening pathways for future research. A must-read book for International Business scholars.— Hussain G. Rammal, University of Technology Sydney, Australia This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the general business environment in Asia. It highlights the complexities and dynamics of doing business in Asia and provides insightful understandings of emerging issues in the region. The chapter-by-chapter analyses of the region depict the rich thematic contexts in which key issues and challenges facing corporate executives as well scholars in international business. I believe that this book is valuable for students of international business, global business environment and regional studies. —Hongxin Zhao, Saint Louis University, USA

"A survey of the economy of the Pacific Rim region"--