The dynamics of Asian business systems in a globalizing era

Abstract

Globalization tendencies are transforming the nature and organization of business systems. This is particularly the case in the Asia-Pacific region where business systems are socially and institutionally embedded. In this article, I argue that the dialectical tendencies of globalization towards homogenization and differentiation have differential impacts on the configurations and dynamics of Asian business systems and their constituents. While these business systems tend to be relatively enduring over time because of their historical legacies and institutional embeddedness, major business firms emerging from these national business systems may be much more susceptible to changes brought about by globalization tendencies. This is because actors and elites in Asian economies are increasingly enrolled into global actor networks which in turn reshape how these Asian actors conceive and operate their business firms and/or political-economic networks. It is possible that globalization has only limited effects on Asian business systems at the structural level but significant transformational impact on Asian business firms at the level of key actors. I show how the two-way enrolment of global actors into/from Asian business systems can contribute to significant transformations in the dominant forms and organization of these business systems.