The concept of Confucianism is hard to grasp because it has been interpreted from various perspectives. The meaning of Confucianism varies across authors and situations.
The first generation of research efforts on Confucianism, which was spearheaded...
The concept of Confucianism is hard to grasp because it has been interpreted from various perspectives. The meaning of Confucianism varies across authors and situations.
The first generation of research efforts on Confucianism, which was spearheaded by Max Weber, was concerned with the economic identity of the region based upon Confucianism. For instance, studies sought to explain why capitalism was not developed in Chinal despite the similarity between China and the West.
The second generation of research efforts focused on the economic success of Japan as a latecomer in industrialization. In contrast to the first generation of research emphasizing the reactive aspect of Confucianism. the second generation highlighted its proactive aspect. The Japanese-style management had been popular as a success model until the late 1980s.
With the success of other Asian economies, Japan came to lose its uniqueness as the success model. In response, the third generation of research efforts proceeded in two directions. While some scholars sought to identify common factors underlying the success of the Asian economies, others aimed to sort out idiosyncrasies of the Japanese model by comparative studies.
The value system of the society influences not only the functionality and status of the firm within the society and management philosophy of top management. Nationalism and family orientation in management were often found in the industrialization process of the countries under the influence of Confucianism. These two traits were also found in the cases of Japan and Korea.