INTRODUCTION One of the major challenges Japanese firms encounter when expanding overseas is in managing the culture of their overseas subsidiaries. The organizational structure and culture of the subsidiary plays a crucial role in the successful implementation of various management practices (Kull and Wacker, 2010). The organizational culture is partly reflected in the way in which a company manages its human resources (Schneider, 1988) and this could potentially lead to either positive or negative operational effects of the firm depending on factors such as the culture of the environment in which it operates. A vast amount of literature attempts to define Japanese organizational culture in large corporations and how it is beneficial for
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Organizational culture can be used as a means for controlling subsidiaries abroad and ensuring coherence between headquarters and subsidiaries (Schneider, 1988). The Japanese characteristics of organizational culture may not be widely accepted or preferred by foreigners in societies where national cultural values differ from those in Japan. Nonetheless, a multitude of Japanese companies have established subsidiaries abroad and have operated in Western societies, for example, for several years. Uniqlo is an example of such a company. The Japanese retailing company was founded in 1949 in Japan and Uniqlo currently owns 1,700 stores in 17 countries and regions (Interview With the CEO, 2016). As such, we would like to explore the following research question: What aspects of Uniqlo’s management pertaining to Japanese organizational culture have contributed to the management of Uniqlo’s subsidiaries abroad? By identifying which aspects of Uniqlo’s organizational culture aid the operation of their overseas subsidiaries, we in turn anticipate that managers of other Japanese firms can benefit from this research in the operation of both their local and foreign firms. …show more content…
Because data on internal management is difficult to obtain, to make our analysis manageable to a varying degree we will rely on both historical and current policies implemented by Uniqlo, supported by statements obtained from employees and management during interviews. Hence, rather than drawing specific conclusions, the purpose of this case is to obtain theoretical insights on the impact of Japanese organizational practices on firm performance, and to determine if aspects of Uniqlo’s management practices could be applied for other firms. It must be noted that the description and the definition of Japanese organizational culture or corporate culture throughout the paper is treated in an oversimplified manner (Schneider, 1988). Defining a corporate culture pertaining to Japanese MNEs is difficult, as culture is complex and influences, together with external factors, the way in which companies operate. Thus, this paper defines the overarching Japanese organizational culture using general descriptions provided by multiple academic articles and theoretical
Organizational culture can be used as a means for controlling subsidiaries abroad and ensuring coherence between headquarters and subsidiaries (Schneider, 1988). The Japanese characteristics of organizational culture may not be widely accepted or preferred by foreigners in societies where national cultural values differ from those in Japan. Nonetheless, a multitude of Japanese companies have established subsidiaries abroad and have operated in Western societies, for example, for several years. Uniqlo is an example of such a company. The Japanese retailing company was founded in 1949 in Japan and Uniqlo currently owns 1,700 stores in 17 countries and regions (Interview With the CEO, 2016). As such, we would like to explore the following research question: What aspects of Uniqlo’s management pertaining to Japanese organizational culture have contributed to the management of Uniqlo’s subsidiaries abroad? By identifying which aspects of Uniqlo’s organizational culture aid the operation of their overseas subsidiaries, we in turn anticipate that managers of other Japanese firms can benefit from this research in the operation of both their local and foreign firms. …show more content…
Because data on internal management is difficult to obtain, to make our analysis manageable to a varying degree we will rely on both historical and current policies implemented by Uniqlo, supported by statements obtained from employees and management during interviews. Hence, rather than drawing specific conclusions, the purpose of this case is to obtain theoretical insights on the impact of Japanese organizational practices on firm performance, and to determine if aspects of Uniqlo’s management practices could be applied for other firms. It must be noted that the description and the definition of Japanese organizational culture or corporate culture throughout the paper is treated in an oversimplified manner (Schneider, 1988). Defining a corporate culture pertaining to Japanese MNEs is difficult, as culture is complex and influences, together with external factors, the way in which companies operate. Thus, this paper defines the overarching Japanese organizational culture using general descriptions provided by multiple academic articles and theoretical