Hendrik Meyer-Ohle

Education

• Diplom Kaufmann, Magister Artium, Dr. phil. Philipps-Universität Marburg (1986 — 1994)

Companies

• Associate Professor National University of Singapore (2005)
• Visiting Scholar (on sabbatical from NUS) Waseda University (2020 — 2020)
• Visiting Scholar (On Sabbatical from NUS) Waseda University (2016 — 2016)
• Head of Department - Department of Japanese Studies National University of Singapore (2011 — 2015)
• Vice Dean Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (Graduate Studies and International Relations) National University of Singapore (2009 — 2010)
• Visiting Researcher College of Business Administration (on sabbatical from NUS) Ritsumeikan University (2008 — 2008)
• Acting Head - Department of Japanese Studies National University of Singapore (2007 — 2007)
• Assistant Dean Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (Research and Graduate Studies) National University of Singapore (2005 — 2007)
• Assistant Professor - Department of Japanese Studies National University of Singapore (2000 — 2005)

Graduate Student Supervision

I am supervising research students writing their theses on topics of Japanese business and economy. If you are interested in graduate studies at the Department of Japanese Studies at NUS, please visit the departmental homepage for more information on programs and scholarships.

Internationalization of Human Resources and Diversity in Japanese Companies

Japanese companies have begun to systematically recruit foreign employees into their operations in Japan. I am investigating this new trend under the issues of international human resources management, workplace diversity, migration brokerage and international talent mobility. This project is being conducted in collaboration with Harald Conrad from Dusseldorf University.

Shopping Centers as Places of Marketing and Consumption

The number of shopping centers has been increasing rapidly in Japan over the last decade with developers in an intensifying competition constantly testing the frontiers in terms of locations, size, or tenant mix. The development of shopping centers is taking place in a climate of an aging and shrinking population, economic uncertainties and increasing differentiation within Japanese society and between metropolitan centers and the rest of Japan. Thus with this project I not only want to look at the managerial techniques of shopping center development in Japan but also want to look at shopping centers as places that mirror and to a certain degree also drive the above developments. A sabbatical in Japan provided me with the opportunity to visit a large number of shopping centers and inner city shopping districts.

Japanese Workplaces in Transition

In this project, I looked at changes in Japanese workplaces from the 1990s onwards. Here I employed an innovative research approach by combining traditional research sources with accounts of restructuring as found in online diaries (blogs). In their online diaries employees provide vivid accounts of experience at their work places and talk about their concerns and motivations in an employment system that is showing signs of grave changes. In this project I looked at employee perspectives on three areas, the downsizing of corporations, changes in employment conditions for regular employees and the increasing number of non-regularly employed people and substantiated the findings from blog accounts through survey results from Japanese government agencies and think tanks. (Book details below)

Consumer Goods Distribution: especially Retailing

In the study of the Japanese distribution system I am looking at several areas: The first area is the development of Japanese retail formats. In my book "Dynamics and Innovation in Japanese Retailing (details see below) I trace the development of retail formats in Japan from the 1950s, beginning with the introduction of techniques such as self-service and chain management and leading to the conceptualization of food supermarkets, general merchandising stores, drug stores, home centers, and convenience stores. In looking at these developments I find it of special importance to look at changes in the environment. For Japan emphasis has to be given to governmental distribution policy and I have especially looked at the political economy of the retail sector. Another major factor are manufacturer-retailer relationships. Japanese manufacturers have long strived for a dominance of their distribution channels and were slow in accepting mass-merchandisers as legitimate sales channels for their products. Since the 1990s various changes have occurred in the relationship between retailers and manufacturers and I have tried to analyze these changes at an early stage. However, developments in retailing cannot be explained without looking at entrepreneurial initiative and as in other countries Japan's retail sector has produced its fare share of entrepreneurs. I have looked at entrepreneurship in Japanese retailing in the past and today and have found it to be a fascinating area of research with entrepreneurs in this sector being strong and colorful personalities forcefully pursuing not only the growth of their companies but also the diffusion of their retail concepts and philosophies. I have also looked at the activities of foreign companies in Japan and here especially at how they are trying to drive change in the Japanese distribution system (a short outline is here).

International Marketing of Japanese Companies in Southeast Asia

Within this research I focused on the marketing strategies of Japanese companies for the emerging markets of Southeast Asia. Together with a colleague (Jochen Legewie) I have led a project that looked at strategies of Japanese and European companies in Southeast Asia and have edited the book Corporate Strategies for Southeast Asia after the Crisis, myself focusing especially on issues of marketing. I have also done additional work on Japanese retailers in Southeast Asia.

Books

• Japanese Workplaces in Transition - Employee Perceptions, Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan 2009.