The Past, Present and Future of the Hybrid Factory: Lessons from the Study of the Management of Japanese MNEs Overseas

The concept of the ‘hybrid factory’ formulated by Professor Tetsuo Abo and his colleagues has foreshadowed considerable academic interest in the cross-border transfer of management practices, both by Japanese multinational enterprises (MNEs) and by MNEs from other countries, and focused attention on the trade-offs between centralisation and greater subsidiary autonomy. We summarise recent work on the merits of centralisation versus autonomy, and suggest areas of international business research to which this body of work can provide important insights, viz: knowledge transfer within MNEs; the influence of corporate governance mechanisms; and the roles of expatriate managers in overseas subsidiaries.