ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on the analytical framework of business systems analysis (Redding, 2005; Whitley, 1999) to offer a comparative overview of business and its cultural and institutional underpinnings in China, Japan, and South Korea. The overall picture that emerges is one of considerable variety in East Asian economies. China presents itself as a mixed economy that combines several distinct business systems, including a strong private sector and a possibly resurgent State-controlled sector, both operating by different sets of rules. Despite minor institutional changes in recent years, the Japanese business system remains highly coordinated and employee-centric. South Korea retains a business-group-led form of capitalism. Given space constraints, I will be painting with a broad brush and will refer readers looking for more detailed expositions to volumes dedicated to Asian business systems analysis (e.g., Redding and Witt, 2007; Whitley, 1992; Witt and Redding, 2013). This account builds on the topic introduced in chapter 4 and extends its scope by employing, as stated, the “business system analysis” approach.
