Can Japan Compete?

MICHAEL E. PORTER is the C.Roland Christensen Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and a leading authority on competitive strategy and international competitiveness. He is the best-selling author of several books on corporate strategy including, The Competitive Advantage of Nations. - HIROTAKA TAKEUCHI is Dean of the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy, Hirotsubashi University, Japan. - MARIKO SAKAKIBARA is Assistant Professor at the John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

'Michael Porter is one of the world's most influential authorities on corporate strategy.' - Independent on Sunday 'Porter is the single most important strategist working today, and maybe of all time.' - Kevin Coyne, McKinsey & Co, Fortune 'Takeuchi...ranks among the intellectual leaders of the younger, globally minded generation that is coming to power in Japan.' - Fortune 'This excellent book is definitely a must read. Business people will have a clear idea of what specific problems need to be resolved if they apply the analysis results and future directions suggested in the book to their own company situation.' - Yomiuri Weekly, of Japanese language edition 'The unique feature of this book is the meticulous examination into the activities of individual firms in our country.This is one book that every business person should read.' - JMA Management Review, of Japanese language edition 'America's top business guru...Professor Michael Porter of Harvard Business School is...consultant to the world on what makes economies hum. His status as an international authority on the right way to manage rests on a quarter of a century of mining data from the corporate coalface.' - The Times 'He's one of the two or three so-called gurus on competitiveness who've had more impact over the past 50 years than anyone else.' - Leo Murray, Director, Cranfield School of Management '...an important contribution to policy thinking - not only in Japan.' - Tom Hardiman, Intermedia 'Michael Porter has summarised in a masterly fashion the key factors that lie behind Japan's economic and corporate success and present problems.' - Strategy 'Based on extensive research the book carries sound analysis and a clarion call to action. The current situation can be turned around and this book shows clearly the way ahead for Japan. For those with an interest in the future of one of the world's largest economies, this is a must read.' - Marketing Business 'Porter (is) the world's foremost authority on corporate strategy.' - South China Morning Post 'A master class on the performance of the post war 'Japanese economic miracle'...one of the best written, clearly presented, well referenced and easily read volumes that one is ever likely to find on this complex subject...A first class read.' - Engineering Management Journal 'A clearly substantiated and well-researched contribution to a clearer understanding of the Japanese economy and culture.' - Business Age 'The detailed research that has gone into this book gives it a more solid foundation than others in the field...the proposals for corporations bear close scrutiny as they aren't just a wholesale selling of Anglo-Saxon practices. The authors...offer a more balanced prescription that gives value to the long-term approach Japanese business has always had.' - World Link 'Michael Porter is a guru. In the overcrowded parking lot of management gurus he is the flaming red one with a turbo charged, 32 valve, three litre engine, a GURU1 number plate and a CD changer in the boot. Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School, has not only taught generations of ambitious executives how to run business better, but his CV reads more like Henry Kissinger's diary than the life of an average academic.' - Neil Bennett, Sunday Telegraph 'Can Japan Compete?...took almost eight years to complete and represents a major contribution to the understanding of Japan. It also offers a set of ideas that can guide economic policy and corporate practice in any country.' - Euro Business 'Porter is the undisputed global authority on strategic management thinking and national competitive advantage and his views on the future of the Japanese economy should be worth reading.' Carol Kennedy, Business Highlights, Booksellers' Buyers Guide 2000 'This is good stuff! Not only is it a timely - and critical - reminder that choosing, occupying and staying in a unique position is an essential part of competitive strategy, but it is also a classic part of the continuing academic debate on strategy...Michael Porter must have enjoyed writing this book and...you should enjoy reading it.' - The Antidote 'Michael E. Porter is an undoubted Business guru.' - The Good Book Guide

• The Japanese Model of Competitiveness Challenging Conventional Wisdom: The Japanese Government Model Rethinking Japanese Management What does Explain Japanese Competitiveness? How Japan Can Move Forward: the Agenda for Government How Japan Can Move Forward: the Corporate Agenda Can Japan Compete?