Challenges Facing Globally-Minded Leaders in a Japanese-European Joint Venture Company

Abstract

Objectives This is part of a project that investigates and clarifies the qualifications needed for globally-minded Japanese leaders, funded by a grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan. This study identifies communicative problems and cultural differences that influence the performance of Japanese managers working overseas and reports the results of a focus group consisting of four Japanese expatriates working for a Japanese-European 50% joint venture company operating in a northern European country. Methods All the discussions of the focus group were transcribed and analyzed using the Modified Grounded Theory Approach. In an open-coding stage, nine concepts were obtained from the data, which were then categorized into three groups at the selective- coding stage: language and power, cultural awareness, and business and economic factors. Results In addition to the three factors presented in the selective-coding stage, the analysis indicated that there are two further obstacles facing Japanese expatriates: the occasional use of the local European language in meetings and an insufficient understanding of the local situation by the Japanese parent company. Conclusions The present study revealed important challenges facing Japanese expatriate staff working for a joint venture company in Europe. Although this is a study examining a Japanese-European joint venture, the results appear transferable to many other kinds of Asian and European companies.