Abstract
Many Japanese companies, such as electronics manufacturers, are confronted with difficult situations in emerging markets. This paper examines firstly what is the competitive edge for Japanese manufacturing companies. Japanese manufacturers excel at products and industries that require one or more of the following characteristics: (1) deep extraction of fundamental product and/or manufacturing technology; (2) integral-model product architecture; (3) flexibility-oriented manufacturing technology such as small lot production of variety models.
The above mentioned competitiveness of Japanese manufacturers stems from the problem solving capability which, in turn, are based on their strategic and organizational characteristics. Fundamentally, Japanese management systems can be explained in terms of two factors: an orientation toward long-term continuity, and low barriers between jobs. The HRM system, including in-house qualification system, which has been widely adopted by large Japanese companies since the high-growth period is also important, in that it has supported both of the fundamental characteristics of Japanese companies.
Long-term continuity and low barriers between jobs encourage the sharing of information by a broad array of employees and participatory management. These allow the accumulation of technologies and know-how within and between companies. The high level of problem-solving ability is built on the accumulation of technologies and know-how. The problem-solving capabilities that have been developed in this way are the sources of strengths (1) through (3) of Japanese companies.
By considering the competitiveness of Japanese manufactures and introducing the cases of two Japanese affiliated product developing center in China, this paper examines how they should compete with their rivals in emerging markets, especially Chinese rivals in Chinese market. The main segmentations for Japanese manufacturers should be the products with high quality and function, because higher costs and prices are compensation for the competitiveness. However, so-called volume-zone should be also the targets, in order to realize economy of scale.
