The Differences Between Japanese and Western Strategic Management and the Diffusion of Management Practices in Both Directions

Abstract

The study compares Japanese and Western strategic management and other forms of management. The study is based on e-mail interviews with two world-renowned Japanese professors and an American professor who have worked in Japan for a long time, and seven Finnish business leaders who have worked in Japanese or Finnish companies in Japan for a long time. The study provides a concise summary of the differences between Japanese and Western strategic management and other forms of management. The study also describes the spread of management theories and practices between Japan and the USA at different times. The paper concludes by considering why and how Japan and the West could benefit from developing each other’s management doctrines together, rather than merely transferring knowledge and practices in one direction as was done in the past.