Martial arts marketing

Multinational Business Review, Spring 1994 by Cotter, Michael J, Henley, James A Jr

An illustration of this type of aikido lock is found in the U.S.-Japan competition in the semiconductor area. The U.S. semiconductor producers overestimated the market and Japan has used the body weight of many forces against the individual U.S. semiconductor manufacturers. The forces the Japanese bound together included: worldwide overcapacity problems, lower-cost capital than U.S. firms, patient Japanese stockholders, Japanese government assistance, and freedom to focus on market share at the expense of ignoring profit margins (The Wall Street Journal 1987a). All told, these forces allowed the Japanese firms to slash prices during a market slump. Further, once the Japanese enjoyed a superior market share, the benefits of surging ahead on the experience curve acted as an additional barrier and protection against further attacks by the individual U.S. firms.

LOCK AROUND THE DEFENDER'S WRIST

This lock is performed when the attacker grips the defender's wrist. When the attacker grabs a wrist, the defender secures the opponent's hand against the captured wrist with her free hand. Once the attacker's hand and momentum is captured, the attacker is led through a series of circular motions to a point where joints are locked or inflexible. Once again, the force of the defender is brought to bear on a single, sensitive area of the attacker's body, namely the joint of the wrist, elbow, or shoulder.

An illustration of the technique is shown through a link-up between the U.S. firm of Bordon Inc. and the Japanese firm of Meiji Milk Products Co. In an attempt to gain access to the Japanese market and Meiji's distribution power in Japan, Bordon arranged a licensing agreement with Meiji. Eventually, the Lady Bordon premium brand of ice cream dominated the Japanese premium ice cream market. Over time, Meiji grew to understand Bordon's production methods and generated its own separate premium ice cream brand. Bordon objected to Meiji's claims that both brands could be distributed by Meiji's distribution system without a conflict of interests. If Bordon wished to nullify the link-up with Meiji, the distribution system would be lost and not easily replaced (The Wall Street Journal 1987b). Hence, Bordon gripped Meiji, was led through a series of movements in which Bordon gradually lost its bargaining chip of technical expertise and was ultimately immobilized in its marketing attempts in Japan.

It will be interesting to see what occurs over time in other U.S. firms--Japanese firm link-ups such as those including GM with Isuzu Motors, Ford with Toyo Kogyo (Mazda), and Oscar Meyer with Prima Ham. The U.S. ownership of Japanese firms in these instances are all less than 50%. Discovering who secures whose corporate wrist may be enlightening.

Satisfying as it is to bring the attacker to his knees with any of these locks, it is not an end to itself. The locks are merely a preliminary step in achieving conclusive aggressor immobilization flat on the ground. The painful wrist lock is a device to divert and direct the momentum of the attacker in an optimal direction. Another example of the painful pressure point strategy is shown through the joint venture of the U.S. firm of Motorola Corp. and Japan's Toshiba Corp. Motorola and Toshiba pooled resources and swapped technology. Motorola gained access to Toshiba's production technology for mass-produced memory chips--a product segment Motorola had to abandon under intense price pressure from Japanese competitors. In return, Toshiba gained access to Motorola's logic chips which are key components for the production of computers (Jeannet and Hennessey 1992). In essence, Motorola was directed into the relationship based on a painful pricing pressure. Time will tell if the partnership continues as an equitable value sharing by Toshiba and Motorola or if Toshiba gradually gains increasing control of the situation by flowing closer to Motorola and becoming the center of the action in aikido style.