Conflict and Change: Foreign Ownership and the Japanese Firm

What happens to the traditional work practices of Japanese firms when they are taken over by European and American firms? How do the employees react? What lessons can be learned from examples of successful and unsuccessful acquisitions? Formerly, such questions would never have been asked, simply because the incidence of take-overs of Japanese firms by foreign companies was virtually non-existent. However, in past years, a number of major Japanese companies have come under the control of foreign firms. Conflict and Change focuses on five Japanese companies acquired by foreign firms (including Nissan, Chugai Pharmaceutical and Shinsei Bank) to show how take-overs by foreign companies have changed HR and organisational practices traditionally associated with Japanese firms. This provides invaluable information for researchers and managers about the choices and challenges associated with cross-border acquisitions of firms that are embedded in ‘institutionally distant’ frameworks.