17.Jan.2010 Details of a new Japanese management textbook: “Innovation and Change in Japanese Management”

We are delighted to announce the publication of a new business book edited by long-time AWF supporter Parissa Haghirian. The details are below.

Innovation and Change in Japanese Management
Edited by Parissa Haghirian (Sophia University) with an introduction by Makoto Abe (Tokyo University)
Palgrave Macmillan (2010) / Hardcover: 240 pages / ISBN-10: 0230216676 / Price: 95 US$

http://us.macmillan.com/innovationandchangeinjapanesemanagement

The Book
The mystic image of Japanese management changed during the recession of the 1990s. Japanese corporations had problems adapting to the restructuring measures. They were economic challenges and were slow in the implementing reforms and expected to develop more shareholder value and become more like their Western counterparts. Western observers and media criticized Japanese corporations and managers for being too consensus and harmony oriented and not being able to deal with crisis or rapid changes. But Japan and Japanese management did change.

In many cases these changes were not as radical or as spectacular as expected. Western suggestions and business models were not completely ignored, but many of them are not applicable in a Japanese context. Japan and Japanese management changed in its own way, in a Japanese Way. Innovation and Change in Japanese Management shows which transformation processes and changes can be observed in Japanese companies in reaction to the economic challenges of the past decade. The book presents new research results and investigates the variety of changes Japanese corporations and managers have experienced in recent years.

The Editor
Parissa Haghirian is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. She obtained her Master’s in Japanese Studies from Vienna University (1998) and was awarded a Master’s Degree (2000) and PhD in International Management (2003) by Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. Parissa is also a visiting professor at Groupe HEC in Paris, Helsinki School of Economics, Keio Business School and an adjunct professor at Temple University in Tokyo. Parissa’s research and consulting interests include Japanese management, market entries of Western firms into the Japanese market, and Japanese consumer behavior. www.parissahaghirian.com