Corporate Culture in Multinational Companies: A Japanese Perspective

The objective of corporate culture in a company is to align the organization’s espoused values to the perceived (ideal) values of the corporation and its employees whether within the country or within the worldwide network of subsidiaries to create competitive success. We can call this value alignment among employees (irrespective of their nationality) the creation of company citizenship. We propose that company citizenship can be enhanced when the employees’ personal values are in alignment with the values of the corporate culture in a multinational company.

Corporate Culture in Multinational Companies examines this issue in the context of a number of Japanese multinational companies from various industrial sectors. This work explores the value component of corporate culture in these companies and their relationship with production efficiency and personal values of the employee, which create motivation. The authors combine both qualitative analysis of the experiences of leaders in these organizations and the most advanced quantitative analysis regarding corporate performance as reflected in the human resources in these organizations.

Victoria W. Miroshnik is Associate Professor in Management, Tokyo International University, Japan. She was awarded the Adam Smith Research Fellowship from the University of Glasgow, UK and was previously Associate Professor in Management at Keimyung University, South Korea; American University Dubai; Ritsumeikan Asia-Pacific University, Japan; and a psychologist in the Military Academy of USSR in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Dipak Basu is Professor of International Economics, Nagasaki University, Japan. He has been awarded a University Medal, National Scholarship and British Council Scholarship. He was previously a lecturer at Oxford University; Institute of Agricultural Economics; and Research Officer at Cambridge University at the Department of Applied Economics. Dipak was also a Senior Economist in Charge, Standard and Poor, Middle East and Africa Division, and Senior Economist, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia. He is currently a Member of the Editorial Board for the International Journal of Decision Sciences, Risk and Management, and previously the editor of Middle East and Africa Review 1986-88.