Agents of Globalization? The Roles and Experiences of Foreign Employees in Japanese Organizations
How do Japanese companies seek to integrate foreign employees into their organizations, and how do foreign employees strive to become local “insiders” while still leveraging their unique experiences and knowledge?
In an effort to boost their global competitiveness, many Japanese companies have increased the hiring of foreign employees at their Japanese headquarters. Foreign employees bring unique experiences and knowledge of foreign markets, as well as valuable skills that can strengthen their companies’ underlying capabilities.
At the same time, foreign employees are often cultural and linguistic outsiders in workplaces characterized by distinctly Japanese management practices. This talk presents findings from a research project that examines the efforts by Japanese firms to globalize their workforce through foreign hiring and international staffing.
Speaker: Jesper Edman, School of Commerce, Waseda University. Jesper Edman is an Associate Professor of International Management at Waseda University’s School of Commerce. His research focuses on institutional change in the Japanese economy, with particular focus on Japanese management and business practices.
Moderator: Patrik Ström, Director,
European Institute of Japanese Studies, Stockholm School of Economics
Discussant: Peter Popovics, PhD Candidate, European Institute of Japanese Studies and Department of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology, Stockholm School of Economics
This was the 97th Stockholm Seminar Webinar on Japan. The Japan seminar series is jointly organized by the European Institute of Japanese Studies at Stockholm School of Economics, the Asia Programme at The Swedish Institute of International Affairs, the Department of Asian, Middle Eastern and Turkish Studies at Stockholm University and the Swedish Defence University. It features monthly seminars on Japanese economy, politics and society.