What Panasonic Learned in China.

When Panasonic started selling home appliances in the Chinese market a few decades ago, its only attempt at localization was to off er less expensive versions of developed-market offerings. But as the Chinese middle class began to emerge, Panasonic’s leaders discovered that local competitors such as Haier were quickly outpacing the Japanese company. While the home appliance market in China grew at 20% to 30% annually, Panasonic’s growth in China stayed flat. Panasonic’s leaders realized that they needed to engage more deeply with that market and learn to bridge two strategies that are often seen as mutually exclusive: finding competitive advantage through integrated, worldwide operations and focusing locally to meet consumers’ particular needs. As a result of efforts such as the creation of a China Lifestyle Research Center, ideas began flowing freely between China and the home office in Japan. The company soon embarked on initiatives to understand consumers all over the world, and Panasonic’s leaders began rethinking the company as a global, rather than a Japanese, powerhouse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]