Tomoaki Sakano

Success through commitment and trust: the soft side of strategic alliance management

This article argues that the success of international strategic alliances requires attention not only to the hard side of alliance management (e.g., financial issues and other operational issues) but, also, to the soft side. The soft side refers to the development and management of relationship capital in the alliance. Relationship capital consists of the socio-psychological aspects of the alliance that are positive and beneficial to the alliance. Two important areas of relationship capital are mutual trust and commitment. Based on our findings from two major studies of Japanese strategic alliances, we develop a dynamic model of trust and commitment based on mutual adjustments of alliance partners. We also show how the dynamics of trust and commitment affect the performance of international strategic alliances with the Japanese. The article concludes with a discussion of the managerial implications of our findings and the dynamic model.

Celebrity Endorsements in Japan and the United States: Is Negative Information All That Harmful?

ABSTRACT This research involves a comparative study conducted in the United States and Japan to investigate whether the form of negative information about a celebrity (other- or self-oriented) results in differential evaluations of the brand endorsed by the celebrity. Surprisingly, we find that both Japanese and Americans view endorsed products more positively in the presence of self-oriented negative information, a possible suspension of the famous fundamental attribution error in human judgment. Implications for advertising practitioners are discussed.

Relational exchange in US‐Japanese marketing strategic alliances

Purpose – To develop and test a new model of relational exchange in marketing‐oriented non‐equity international strategic alliances.Design/methodology/approach – The model is tested using a sample of 97 matched dyads of US and Japanese firms in the electronics industry. The model was tested using three stage least squares.Findings – The data generally support the proposed model for both nations/cultures. The results suggest that the benevolence dimension of trust is a more important determinant of managerially assessed alliance marketing performance for the Japanese firms relative to their US partners.Research limitations/implications – While strong inferences are inhibited by the nature of our data set, our research implies that cultural sensitivity is an important determinant of the credibility and benevolence dimensions of trust and quality information exchange. Also, exchanging quality information is a strong mediator of the trust‐performance relationship.Practical implications – International marketi...

Drivers and outcomes of parent company intervention in IJV management: a cross-cultural comparison

Abstract This study focused on an important issue in international joint venture (IJV) management — the motivations for and outcomes of parent company intervention into the affairs of the IJV, specifically in the form of control processes. The paper reports on IJVs between Japanese companies and firms from other Asian and Western national cultures. The study considered two forms of parental control: direct, where the parent overtly dictates and meddles in IJV operations and decision-making, and indirect, which involves a more consultative relationship between the parent and IJV. Motivations for control included IJV experience, strategic importance, product similarity, and resource dependence. As an outcome of parent control of the IJV, the study looked at conflict between partners and conflict between the IJVs managers and their parent company. Results suggested significant variance in control by national culture for the effects on control of IJV experience, strategic importance, product similarity, and resource dependence. The effects of control on conflict also varied by national culture.

Retail buyer beliefs, attitude and behavior toward pioneer and me-too follower brands - A comparative study of Japan and the USA

One potential source of pioneer brand advantage is retail buyers’ preference for pioneer brands. A model of pioneer brand advantage with retailers developed in the USA was tested in Japan, as a replication and cross‐cultural extension. This provides the first empirical study of Japanese retail buyer beliefs, attitude, and behavior toward new offerings, and the first direct statistical comparison of US and Japanese retail buying behavior in the marketing literature. Similarities and differences in pioneer brand advantage with retailers between Japan and the USA are discussed. Results from a survey of buyers from Japan’s largest supermarket chains suggest that pioneer brand advantage is about as strong for them as for their US counterparts, though for somewhat different reasons. The survey’s results were analyzed in two ways (through a multi‐attribute attitude model and a PLS causal model), with results that complement and corroborate one another. Data were standardized to deal with potential extreme response style bias.

Retail buyer decision-making in Japan: what US sellers need to know

With formal trade barriers in Japan virtually eliminated, attention has turned to the structural or non-tariff barriers that might help explain persistent trade deficits with Japan that the US and many other countries have experienced. In this study, the first empirical examination of its kind, we analyze how the Japanese distribution system serves as a structural barrier to entry. To do so, we surveyed Japanese supermarket buyers about the individual and relative importance of five key factors in their choice of suppliers. In addition, we used similar data from a previous study of retail buyers in the United States to develop the first cross-cultural comparison of retailer decision-making. Important differences in the nature and conduct of business relationships in the two countries suggest several ways that US seller--and indeed, all foreign sellers--might address the disadvantages they face in the Japanese market.

Understanding Preference for High-Speed Rail Service: A Consumer Logistics Perspective

This study uses consumer logistics theory as a framework to identify factors that may critically affect usage of high-speed rail for intercity business travel. The study is based on data gathered from 398 air travelers who were traveling for business purposes. LISREL is used to develop a measurement model that includes four consumer logistics functions: safety, connections, on-board amenities, and information. The final structural model shows 1) two of these functions, safety and connections, both positively related to travel effectiveness and efficiency and 2) effectiveness and efficiency both positively related to high-speed rail service usage intention. The model also shows that it is efficiency of high-speed rail rather than effectiveness that is most strongly related to usage intentions.

Opportunistic Tendencies in International Joint Ventures with the Japanese: the Effects of Culture, Shared Decision Making, and Relationship Age

This study investigated how partners’ self-reported opportunism and shared decision making varied by culture in international joint ventures (IJVs) with the Japanese. Data were gathered by a mail survey of senior officials in IJVs located in 11 host countries. Significant differences were found between partners from Western cultures and the Japanese, but not between other Asians and the Japanese. Indirect effects suggest that shared decision making neutralizes cultural tendencies toward opportunism. Results indicated that opportunistic tendencies did not diminish as the IJV relationship aged and that shared decision making did diminish as the relationship aged.