ABSTRACT
The examples of whole cultures – or segments of them such as industries – adopting a policy of copying is hardly new. Examples abound from a whole range of activities. Famously the Soviet Union used to copy Western military designs, with results ranging from the very successful to the mundane; the Japanese ‘economic miracle’ of the middle years of the last century was based on copying and eventually superseding US and European industrial designs. Asian manufacturing in particular was distinguished by initiating competition through copying, especially by producing a cut-price version, and going on to produce highly engineered competitors with a distinctive brand, like Lexus – even if perhaps Europe retains a lead in style and the US in cutting-edge technology. Few doubt that there is a lesson to be learned here for services, and now that regulation and governance is also a competitive arena, it would not be surprising if Asia began with copying. That is what is happening. Even Vietnam is now alive to most of the major issues and is implementing regulations.1 The time lag between a new corporate govern-
investment at Deutsche Asset Management, said: ‘No-one has a monopoly on good corporate governance any more.’
