Introduction

This book treats the two key elements of its title as interdependent. There is not one section on ‘international business strategy’ and another on ‘government policy’ as the two cannot sensibly be treated in isolation. Part I of the book examines this interaction directly and concentrates on the strategy of multinational firms with particular attention to foreign direct investment (FDI) and international alliances, but with appropriate attention to government policy responses. Part II examines these issues as they play out in two key economies of Asia: Japan and Vietnam. This region has been an important focus of my research since the early 1980s and its fascination continues with the rise of a third wave of ‘dragons’ or ‘tigers’ after Japan: the four little tigers of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore; after them, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia; and then, perhaps, China and Vietnam. European investment in Japan has been a weak link within the flows of FDI between the Triad (North America, Europe and Japan) but it provides a continuing focus of interest. Part III examines the role of trade blocs in the world economy and the ramifications of the growth of supra-national groupings. The three pieces on Canada-UK bilateral economic relations illustrate the impact of NAFTA and the EU on cross-Atlantic flows. The final two chapters return to the strategy of the multinational enterprise (MNE) and focus on a cross-national comparison of the structure of their foreign market servicing strategies and on the vital question of transfer pricing.