Work Ethics-Innovation Nexus: Evidence of Thai Returnees from Japan
Keywords:
human capital, work ethics, technology transfer, labor dispatch, returneesAbstract
Japan moved its production processes through foreign direct investment to Southeast Asia, including Thailand, in the 1970s. However, due to the lack of human capital, Thailand failed to absorb the technology and came up with their own innovations as the Asian New Industrialized Economies. Research shows that returnees from developed countries during the 2000s contributed greatly to their home economies, including China and India, which recognized labor dispatch strategies as an effective way to develop human capital. Thailand has also dispatched trainees (since 1993) and students to Japan, and many of them have returned to become entrepreneurs or executive managers in Thai firms. To determine the effectiveness of labor dispatch, this qualitative research aimed to find out the human capital Thai returnees gained during their stay in Japan and how they transferred their knowledge and skills to their own firms and the Thai industrial sector.
The results indicated that the returnee gained the most knowledge concerning Japanese work ethics . The work ethics led to the application of Japanese management processes and technical knowledge in their firms, which helped generate innovations. Concerning technology transfer, returnees cooperated with Thai authorities in transferring their knowledge to Thai entrepreneurs through training programs. Lastly, we suggested that dispatching Thai students and trainees to Japan would be an effective way to increase Thailand’s human capital needed for innovation.
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