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World Class Beyond Toyota: Japan's "Hidden Champions"
and Their Western Peers

Date: Thursday, October 18, 2012
Time: 7:00p.m. (Talk will start at 7:30p.m.)
Venue: Temple University, Japan Campus, Mita 5F
(access: http://www.tuj.ac.jp/maps/tokyo.html)
Speaker: Stefan Lippert, Professor in International Business at Temple University, Japan Campus
Moderator: Robert Dujarric, ICAS Director
Admission: Free (Open to general public)
Language: English
RSVP: icas[at]tuj.temple.edu
*If you RSVP you are automatically registered. If possible, we ask you to RSVP but we always welcome participants even you do not RSVP.

Overview
"Hidden Champions" are little known mid-sized companies that dominate the world market in their chosen niche.
Their revenue is below US$4 billion/\300 billion, but many of them have global market shares of over 50 percent; some hold as much as 70 or 90 percent. They are the vanguard of globalization. Among the approximately 2,500 Hidden Champions worldwide, about
200 are located in Japan.
Regarding strategy, organization, and operations, the Japanese Hidden Champions resemble their Western peers.
However, there are also some striking differences. For example, Western Hidden Champions can be found in almost all sectors, whereas 95% of their Japanese peers are industrial manufacturers.
Based on recent research, the talk will examine the success strategies of the Japanese Hidden Champions.
How do they compare with their Western peers? Why do they outperform well-known large manufacturers, particularly in the electronics sector? How do they cope with the "Kaisha Dilemma" - balancing Japaneseness and global integration? What are the lessons for aspiring small and midsize companies, for large
corporations, for investors, and for the country?


Speaker
Dr. Stefan Lippert is a Professor in International Business at Temple University, Japan Campus, where he teaches corporate strategy, marketing and organization.
He has held academic positions in Japan and abroad, including Hitotsubashi University, Tsukuba University, Nagoya University of Commerce and Business, Waseda University, and Harvard University.
Dr. Lippert's current research interests include the internationalization of Japanese and Asian firms, especially the "Hidden Champions". In his consulting work, he advises Japanese and international companies primarily on strategy, organizational transformation and cross-border M&A. He was the Managing Partner Japan of Simon-Kucher & Partners, a global strategy & marketing consultancy. Prior to that, Dr. Lippert worked with McKinsey& Company.

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Robert Dujarric
Director
Kyle Cleveland
Associate Director
Eriko Kawaguchi
Coordinator
Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies
Temple University, Japan Campus
http://www.tuj.ac.jp/icas/