ABSTRACT
In the era which is now fading fast, companies could count on proprietary technology and a hefty cash flow to protect their position in the market. In today’s world this is no longer true. Reverse engineering can, it seems, be applied to any technology. Globalization of financing, and the advent of global takeover specialists have wiped out those advantages. Even the quality advantage which helped Japanese firms globalize themselves during the period from 1960 to 1980 can be duplicated quickly and has been by a number of emerging Asian manufacturers.
