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Abstract

A study of all the Japanese-Italian production subsidiaries was undertaken in Italy by Songini et al. (including the present author) with respect to the managerial, technical and political issues that were felt to be important to their chief executive officers (CEOs). Using these data, the present author discusses the issues pertaining to the creation of knowledge in the Italian firms, which is often based on the assimilation of the technical knowledge brought to the alliance by the Japanese partner. The `best' firms appeared to be those which were firmly managed by Italian CEOs. They possessed a good understanding of Japanese techniques, know-how and financing which they adopted to fit within the Italian management style. In contrast, the firms which were less good seem to be overly `pressed' by their Japanese managers, whether located in the firm in Italy, in the European regional headquarters, or in the headquarters in Japan. The author explores the contextual aspects that may govern knowledge creation in joint-venture subsidiaries, basing the analysis on the framework of organizational learning proposed by Nonaka. He concludes that `success' is due to the blending of contextual factors so as to ameliorate the intercultural conflicts that may so easily arise in these forms of overseas ventures.

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Knowledge Creation in Japanese Manufacturing Companies in Italy

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