Differences in manufacturing strategy decisions between Japanese and Western manufacturing plants: the role of strategic time orientation

In part, cultural differences between Japan and the West have been cited as contributing to fundamentally different manufacturing strategy orientations. One cultural difference is psychological attitudes toward time, which may lead to different emphases on long-term and short-term goals and objectives, i.e., differing strategic time orientations. This paper reports on the analysis of data from an international research study of manufacturing strategy that gathered data from 600 companies in 20 countries. Data on the rates of adoption of strategic manufacturing practices and links between corporate and manufacturing strategy were analysed to test for differences. The results show strong contrasts between Japan and the West and are consistent with a difference in strategic time orientation between the two regions