The Strategic Management of Korean and Japanese Big Business Groups : A Comparison Study between Korean General Trading Companies and Japanese Sogo Shoshas

This research is an in-depth study of Korean GTCs (General Trading Companies) and Japanese Sogo Shoshas (the Japanese version of General Trading Companies), which are unique big business conglomerates but not well-known in Western countries. It investigates several of their features, such as their history, characteristics, major functions, strategic management, organisational structure, corporate culture, decision-making process, human resource management, and their impact on national economic development. The main purpose of this research into the above features is to examine the strategic management of the Korean GTCs and Japanese Sogo Shoshas by analysing the relationships between the business environment, competitive strategy, organisational structure, and performance. As a second purpose, this study examined the decision-making process within Korean GTCs and Japanese Sogo Shoshas, since a firm’s success in strategic management may depend highly on its decision-making.