BIG in Asia
25 Strategies for Business Success

Authors: Michael Backman, Charlotte Butler



Companies operating in post-crisis Asia find themselves confronted by obstacles that hinder development and progress. Written by two leading analysts, this book identifies the transformation of the competitive landscape in Asia. By focusing on the main difficulties faced by companies it provides a series of strategies for business success and show how to avoid failure in Asia. This is an essential guide for companies who wish to make it big in Asia.

Table of contents (25 chapters)

Front Matter

Hit the Ground Running
• Information is Power
• Know the Firm, Know the Family: Dealing with Asian Family Firms
• Understanding Asia’s Overseas Chinese
• Understanding Asia’s Overseas Indians
• Dealing with Information Ambiguity, Local Consultants and Accounting Firms

On the Ground
• Network like a Local; Negotiate like a Westerner
• Taking the M&A Route?
• Managing the Partnership with the Southeast Asian Firm
• Managing Partnerships with Japanese and South Korean Firms
• Avoid Post-acquisition Trauma

Building Up
• Send the Right People
• Cross the Cultural Divide
• Managing Change
• Intellectual Property Abuse: Contain the Risks
• Selling Consulting Services in Asia

Staying Up
• Tilt the Playing Field
• Think Global, Act Local — But How Far?
• Caveat Emptor: Beware the Banks of Asia
• Avoid Blood Loss as a Minority Shareholder
• China! Finding a Partner, Finding a Market

Staying Clean
• Negotiate the Law in Asia: Bankruptcy, Contracts and Defamation
• Ethical Traps on the Road to Being Big in Asia
• Corruption: The Business Practice that Dare Not Speak its Name
• Dancing with the Devil: Doing Business with Asia’s Politicians and their Families
• When Things Go Wrong

Back Matter