People Centric Innovation Ecosystem: Japanese Management and Practices

How can knowledge management function well in a highly dynamic VUCA context? This Element focuses on the context of Japanese management and practices to present the concept of people-centric innovation ecosystem. An overview of Japanese management is provided, from publications in English to the insiders' view of Japanese scholars, combining these sources with interviews and dynamic groups with local managers and case studies to illustrate the state and evolution of Japanese management and practices. Highlighting the people-centricity in Japanese management, its networked innovative capability sustains enterprise development in a highly dynamic VUCA context. The interconnectedness and mutual influence of Japanese and Western management have the potential to generate more general management advancements. This Element aims to contribute to the debate on generalization and contextualization, culture and metaculture, and the coexistence of convergence and divergence. Japanese womenomics and its implications for Asian emerging economic powers are also discussed.

About the Author

Yingying Zhang is Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy at CUNEF (Complutense University of Madrid), Spain, where she is also Director of the Centre for Knowledge and Innovation. Previously she was a visiting professor at Göttingen University, Germany, Tec Monterrey University, Mexico, Harvard and Northeastern Universities, US, and EAN University, Colombia, amongst others.

Takeo Kikkawa - International University of Japan