Introduction: Management Heterogeneity in Asia

Abstract

This chapter introduces the concept of diversity as it applies to Asia. It argues that, throughout the twentieth century, Asia was best thought of as a mix of jurisdictions with little in common other than shared geography. In prosecuting its case, the chapter implicitly proposes, insofar as approaches to management and governance are concerned, a thesis of partial regional convergence in the digital-age era. However, the bulk of the chapter’s narrative is about distinct jurisdictions. As such, the work does not devote substantial analytic attention to convergence but rather gives a thumbnail sketch of the management blueprints of exemplar countries as a means of creating context for this volume’s other more focused chapters, the next of which does pertain to convergence. Another key objective is to introduce subsequent chapters in this volume that, following Chapter 2, address in detail management philosophy and practice in individual Asian countries.