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Atlantic Monthly article argues that behind Japan's economic woes is a worse social crisis; discusses the idea of ethno-economics

Note: Business 2.0 is now part of CNNmoney and some older articles are no longer available

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Online consumers in the Asia-Pacific region continue to use credit cards far less than Americans do. Alternative payment technology companies are vying to cash in on the opportunity.

Their message was clear: The future of the global economy is in Asia. A group of renowned executives, entrepreneurs, and asset managers convened at the Sixth Annual Wharton Asian Business Conference in Philadelphia to discuss the changing face of Asia and its transition to the new economy. Despite the negative impact of the economic crisis of the late 1990s, experts noted that further development of the Internet, construction of a technology and telecommunications infrastructure, and institutional reform are all signs that a second East Asian miracle-powered largely by foreign capital and investments-will take place in the region soon.

Companies such as Infosys and Wipro have established India as a formidable player in the world information technology industry, and Indian expatriates have taken Silicon Valley by storm. Still, Indians should not let these facts go to their heads; the country has a long way to go before it can provide basic amenities such as water, education and uninterrupted power supply to most if not all its citizens. Speakers at the Wharton India Economic Forum held in Philadelphia last month discussed the prospects of the world's largest democracy with guarded optimism.

Interesting article discusses how the old-line family dynasties in Asia are approaching the Internet and its impact on their economies and businesses. Highlights some interesting similarities and differences with the situation in the West.

Hiroshi Mikitani's Rakuten cybermall is growing at Net speed.

This article talks about reforms India's Bharatiya Janata Party is making and provides some useful information about the nature of the Indian goverment and economy (e.g. subsidies make up nearly 14% of India's $400 billion economy).

This article examines the new M&A wave involving foreign investors in Japan. Makes some interesting predictions and offers some useful statistics and analysis. We'll see how it unfolds going forward.

Article talks about the online group shopping cyber mall and outsourced employee discount stores Samsung has pioneered in South Korea. Highlights the group ethos of South Koreans and discusses e-commerce stats and trends.

Find a wide selection of interviews with business luminaries in our Interviews Section

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Article discusses Toshifumi Suzuki, CEO of Seven-Eleven Japan, and his plan to turn his ubiquitous stores into a center for all kinds of commerce. Also offers some interesting background info and statistics.

Article discusses the outlook for India to become the next Asian tiger and some of the issues involved with that potential. Economic statistics are also highlighted.

Trying to paint telecommunications in the Asia-Pacific region with a broad brush is unwise, according to a recent report from Gartner. Read on to get an overview of how countries including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea have taken a different approach to liberalizing the industry. Full report is also available for free download.

Find a wide selection of interviews with business luminaries in our Interviews Section

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Web entrepreneurs are out to win on a global scale--and bring profound change to Japan's business culture.

Article looks at how poor utilization of credit cards and the arcane infrastructure in place to support them are hurting online sales in Japan.

Although focused on a time-sensitive issue, this article offers some insight into some serious and important issues regarding the role of a central bank in peculiar economic circumstances. Some of the proposed solutions are very thought-provoking. Also an interesting profile of Masaru Hayami, governor of the Bank of Japan and some of the history of the current troubles with Japan's economy.

Interested in a market that constitutes one-fifth of all the people in the world? Consider China. Many Western companies already have, as the country's burgeoning economic growth tempts more and more executives to try to navigate the complexities of Chinese business and culture.

Ming-Jer Chen, founder/director of Wharton's Global Chinese Business Initiative and author of a new book entitled Inside Chinese Business: A Guide for Managers Worldwide (Harvard Business School Press, April 2001), recently talked with Knowledge@Wharton about the business climate that exists today in China and in Chinese communities throughout different parts of the world.

"Despite government vows to reform Korea's bloated public sector along with the rest of the economy, state-owned companies continue to be run as political fiefdoms, their top ranks filled with politicians who have been put out to pasture or are owed big favors."

"Japan's extraordinary postwar industrial success was defined by lean production, consensus and continuous improvement. But lately it has been the country's perceived weak points, such as lifetime employment and over-regulation, that have come to the forefront of the debate on Japanese management. But new ideas are emerging with the younger, more flexible generation of Japanese managers, which means there will still be plenty for the outside world to learn from Japan." Adapted from "The Witch Doctors"

The financial crisis of 1997-98 hit the East Asia and Asia Pacific area hard, especially the primary regional organisations ASEAN and APEC. Perhaps down, but not quite out, a new regional group called ASEAN Plus Three (APT) emerged. Will it succeed where the others have failed? Professor Douglas Webber examines the strengths and weaknesses of these organisations. He also shows how several of the factors that contributed to the decline of the first two are responsible for the growth of the third.

Strategist Michael Porter tells why Japan's economic sun has set, and how it can rise again.

China entrepreneur Li Yonghui has a harrowing tale to tell: He tried to take over a state-owned enterprise--and paid the price.

India's gross domestic product is growing by an impressive 6 percent a year. But research by the McKinsey Global Institute has uncovered three barriers preventing the country's GDP from growing even faster: myriad regulations governing products and markets, distortions in the market for land, and widespread government ownership of business. Thirteen policy measures could remove these barriers, allowing the economy to grow by 10 percent a year. Although higher productivity would mean fewer jobs in some enterprises, many more jobs would be created in the economy as a whole. Net employment would increase.

The take-away
India's economy could be the fastest growing in the world - and the country's citizens twice as well off - if its policy makers embraced a deeper, faster process of economic reform.

For most Western observers, state-owned companies are wasteful white elephants while private enterprise sets the standard for efficiency. A look at China's large public sector giants, however, tells a different story, according to Wharton management professor Marshall Meyer. Even China's entry into the World Trade Organization later this year or early in 2002 will not eradicate state ownership of major Chinese companies. Meyer shares the insights he has gained from research and visits with senior managers in more than 20 Chinese firms.

Note: Older EBF articles are not currently online. I'm not sure if this is temporary or permanent. If you click you will be taken to the Archive.org site to find an archived copy.

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Power dynamics can make an authoritarian system very successful but also vulnerable and insecure. In vying for international prestige Chinese statesmen are pursuing a set of targets they believe will boost the country's future growth and glory. But there are reputational risks of which all leaders should be aware.

This excellent piece looks at Japan's Keiretsu system - definitions, history, purposes, structure and future. If you don't know much about the Keiretsu system, this is the article to read.

Can the world's largest democracy hold on to its competitive advantage in information technology while meeting the basic needs of its population? That was the major question before participants of the sixth annual Wharton India Economic Forum, which formed part of the Wharton 2001 Global Business Forum. In contrast to past years, this year's discussions seemed to be firmly grounded in bottom-line reality.

India is not known for rigid corporate governance standards. Is software giant Infosys changing all that? A working paper by HBS professors Tarun Khanna and Krishna Palepu looks at how globalization may—or may not—foster convergence of corporate governance.

You can no longer safely shrug off Japan's economic crisis. It just might drag the world into a depression.

Find a wide selection of interviews with business luminaries in our Interviews Section

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This link was reported as bad and I was unable to find a current link.

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A melange of different kinds of people in a firm can be a real challenge. Strategic management practices often fall short at the implementation stage if they don't consider the different ways that members of a diverse workforce do or don't relate to others and to the firm. Drawing on research in social psychology, comparative management and organization theory, Professor Steven White and Aki Nakamura search for the meaning of "collective." After conducting interviews with Japanese and Chinese working in the same firms, their evidence indicates some new perspectives and the difference that understanding makes in terms of management.