The Relationship Between Japanese National Values and Organisational Values as a Paradigm for Business Success

This paper discusses the implications of the relationship between national cultural values and espoused organisational values. Through a formal content analysis which established a series of espoused organisational values, an overlay process with Hofstede's research findings of national values was undertaken. The results from this process confirmed that within three Japanese trading companies, a level of alignment existed between national and espoused organisational values. Japanese national values have shaped the espoused organisational values of Japanese corporations and their business success. Australian firms may benefit from identifying national values, shaping these into positive espoused organisational values, leading to increases in productivity and international competitiveness.