“Glocalization” and Regional Headquarters: Japanese Electronics Firms in the ASEAN Region

Abstract

For Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs), glocalization (dochakuka) refers to the challenge of balancing the need to adapt foreign subsidiaries to local circumstances and to integrate corporate operations as a whole. This article addresses the regional headquarters (RHQ) strategies of electronics MNCs in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. From the perspective of corporate governance, RHQs are at the fulcrum of the idea of glocalization. RHQs are understood in terms of the reciprocating relations between corporate structure and corporate strategy that change over space and time. The evolution of RHQs reflects developments by Japanese firms in Singapore itself, across ASEAN, and in the rest of Asia, and how (Japanese) corporate governance is organized within the Asia-Pacific region as a whole, in contrast to the other triad regions of Europe and North America.