Japanese and Korean firms in India

Abstract

Japanese and Korean firms have invested in India. Their investment methods have been different and are likely to produce different outcomes in the short and long term. Koreans have been more aggressive of late and have tasted success in electronics and electrical appliances markets where they have overcome Japanese firms. Their success can be ascribed to their strategic decision making where they saw India as an important market and moved quickly to make large investments. The Japanese have been more circumspect and have not adapted to India well. This could also be a strategic decision as they didn’t see India as a large market for their relatively high end products. They also don’t intend to use India as a base for production for exports. However, in the long run the Japanese investment may turn out be more fruitful. Since most of the Korean investment has come from business groups called Chaebols we include a discussion on business groups in general and Korean and Japanese business groups in particular.