Abstract
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. was founded by Soichiro Honda in Hamamatsu, Japan, in 1948 as a motorcycle production and sales company, with approximately 20 employees and a capital of JPY one million. After 3 years of establishment, Honda became Japan’s leading motorcycle production company. In 1958, it launched Super Cub, a long-lasting product. Honda grew rapidly to occupy the top spot in global motorcycle sales.
In 1959, Honda established a local corporation in the United States, taking the first step toward an overseas expansion. Soon after, in 1963, production and sales of (four-wheel) automobiles began, and its business expanded worldwide in three categories: motorcycles, automobiles, and general-purpose engines. In 2019, Honda had approximately 220,000 employees and was already selling more than 30 million units worldwide in consolidated base.
Honda’s management philosophy, which has inherited since its foundation, has supported its growth to be a global company. This chapter will describe the company’s management philosophy, how it has been propagated to overseas and been changing over time, and the efforts and translations involved in this propagation. The study in this chapter is based on the participant observation by one of the authors and the interviews conducted with ex-executives of Honda.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
At the beginning, the order of the three joys was (i) the joy of producing, (ii) the joy of selling, and (iii) the joy of buying. In 1992, on the standing point of “customer first,” the order was changed to (i) the joy of buying, (ii) the joy of selling, and (iii) the joy of producing. In addition, the word “producing” was changed to “creating” in 1998.
- 2.
The original Japanese word of “highest efficiency” is “seinou ga sugureteiru koto.” There are two interpretations for this Japanese word; one is “efficiency of machine” and another is “highest quality.” Judging from relevant documents, Soichiro’s initial statements were close to the former. Then, we translate it here as highest efficiency.
- 3.
Italicized by the authors.
- 4.
Italicized by the authors.
- 5.
“Honda philosophy” at Honda global website: https://global.honda/about/philosophy.html
- 6.
See the following URL: http://www.hondaresearch.com/pdf/Honda-SR-2015-en-all.pdf
- 7.
For Africa, where there is no regional headquarter, instructors are sent from the Japanese headquarters.
- 8.
AHM was established in Thailand in 1964 to distribute motorcycles. In 1996, AHM became Honda’s ASEAN regional headquarter. In 2004, AHM extended its covering region to Asia (excluded China) and Oceania.
- 9.
This description is based on the following symposium and interview conducted by Kosugi, Mitsui, Deguchi, and others: International Symposium on the Emergence, Transmission, and Diffusion of the Management Philosophy in Asian Companies (jointly hosted by the Center for China and Asian Studies, College of Economics, Nihon University and School of Modern Languages and Cultures, the University of Hong Kong) on November 5–6, 2011 in the University of Hong Kong.
References
Fujisawa T (1998) Keiei ni owari wa nai (No end for management) (in Japanese). Bungei shunju, Tokyo
Honda S (2001) Honda Soichiro Yume wo chikara ni (The power realize the dream) (in Japanese). Nihon keizai shimbun shuppansha, Tokyo
Kosugi M, Mitsui I, Deguchi T (2013) Honda giken kōgyō no kaigai shinshutsu to keieirinen no denpa keishō: ‘Yume’ wo jitsugen suru rinen no chikara (Honda Motor Co., Ltd.’s overseas expansion and the transmission of its management philosophy: the power of the philosophy to realize the “dream”) (in Japanese). In Mitsui I (ed) Asia kigyō no keieirinen: Seisei Dempa Keishō no Dynamism (Management philosophies of Asian companies: dynamism of their creation, transmission and succession). Bunshindō, Tokyo
Acknowledgements
This article is a revised and updated version of Kosugi et al. (2013). We would like to thank Toshikata Amino (ex-executive vice president of Honda of America Mfg.), Hisao Suzuki (ex-chief advisor of Honda R&D Americas), and Takuo Kawasaki (ex-general manager of Honda’s Suzuka Factory) for their valuable comments and suggestions at the International Symposium on the Emergence, Transmission, and Diffusion of the Management Philosophy in Asian Companies (at Hong Kong, 2011) and others.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kosugi, M., Mitsui, I., Deguchi, T. (2020). Honda Motor Co., Ltd.’s Overseas Expansion and the Transmission of Its Management Philosophy: The Power to Realize the “Dream”. In: Mitsui, I. (eds) Cultural Translation of Management Philosophy in Asian Companies. Translational Systems Sciences, vol 21. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0241-5_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0241-5_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-0240-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-0241-5
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)