Introduction — Comparative Perspectives on Globalization: Historical Reflections on British and Japanese Enterprises

Japanese firms have been global leaders in manufacturing. For several decades, services have been among the leading exports of Britain. Amid the current economic downturn, policymakers and business leaders in both countries have been debating how best to respond to the pressures of globalization by rebalancing their economies — albeit in opposite directions.1 While Japan has attempted to develop its services sector, Britain has focused on reinvigorating its manufacturing sector.2 The study of these ‘opposites’ raises some questions. For example, is Japan simply following Britain’s path of deindustrialization? If we believe in the free market and Michael Porter’s argument of competitive advantage, we would assume that countries would do well to specialize, or become ‘unbalanced’. Yet both economies appear keen to achieve greater ‘balance’. Does history suggest that countries prefer ‘balance’ over ‘imbalance’ amid globalization?