Japanese Companies in China: Problems of Human Resource Management

Abstract

Much of China's recent economic growth has been driven by foreign funded enterprises (FFEs). They continue to invest heavily, making China the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) among all developing countries. Japanese firms have already shifted the focus of their FDI from the US to Asian countries, including China. However, there are many difficulties which Japanese companies have yet to over-come, especially in human resource management (HRM). Although FDI in China has become a significant phenomenon, it is still under-researched, and the role of Japanese firms and the transferability of Japanese-style management figure prominently amongst the relevant issues. Initial information allows us to make conclusions about which cultural, production, and product factors influence the importation of business systems.