Since news of the March 11 Great Tohoku Earthquake broke, the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center, which has deep, longstanding ties to Japan, has closely followed and responded to this ongoing situation.

“We are still trying to absorb the magnitude and meaning of an earthquake that dwarfed anything seen in Japan—a country that is known for seismic activity—for probably more than a millennium,” said Daniel C. Sneider, associate director for research at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC), while moderating an April 26 seminar co-sponsored by the School of Earth Sciences and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI).

It is too soon to know the full domestic and global impact of the March 11 Great Tohoku Earthquake and its ensuing tsunami and nuclear accident. Japan is grappling to aid victims, to resolve the danger at the Fukushima nuclear complex, and to move forward with rebuilding amidst political debates and disrupted systems. The global supply chain suffered setbacks of unknown scale, and the disaster-readiness of the world’s other earthquake-prone coastal areas have come under scrutiny. Since news of the earthquake broke, Shorenstein APARC, which has deep, longstanding ties to Japan, has closely followed and responded to this ongoing situation.

During a March 21 CISAC event about the nuclear crisis, Shorenstein APARC director emeritus Daniel I. Okimoto predicted that Japan would weather the blow to its economy and emerge with a “new sense of national mission.” The next week, Michio Harada, Deputy Counsel General at San Francisco’s Consulate General of Japan, joined a Shorenstein APARC discussion before an overflowing audience of concerned students and interested public on the future of Japan’s energy, economy, and politics. Participants agreed that the disaster could have long-term government and policy impacts and that resolving the nuclear situation was the most immediate concern. Despite the challenges, they predicted that Japan would ultimately recover.

The Nuclear Crisis in Japan Seminar (video)
March 21, 2011

During an April 22–23 conference organized by the center’s Stanford Project on Japanese Entrepreneurship (STAJE), a panel of Japan scholars discussed the implications of the disaster for business and research trends. Takeo Hoshi of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) suggested that the post-disaster redistribution of human capital could potentially accelerate Japan's long-term growth. UCSD scholar and STAJE Academic Advisory Group member Ulrike Schaede offered a detailed analysis of the sometimes hidden but vital place of Japanese firms in the global supply chain and the impact of the earthquake on that role.

Masahiko Aoki, an FSI senior fellow affiliated with Shorenstein APARC, presented at the April 26 seminar moderated by Sneider, the second in a two-day series about the domestic and global impacts of the earthquake. He offered insights into social, economic, and institutional aspects of the March events, noting the element of human error involved in the Fukushima accident. Aoki suggested that the situation presented an opportunity for significant institutional reform in Japan, including a reorganization of the country’s nuclear energy system.

Great Tohoku, Japan Disaster Symposium (video)
April 26, 2011

Above all, Shorenstein APARC believes that Japan will recover, and its connection to its friends, colleagues, and affiliates there remains an important center priority. In addition to frequent telephone and e-mail communication, the center will reconnect in person with a large number of its Japan affiliates in September during the annual Stanford Kyoto Trans-Asian Dialogue (DISCONTINUED).

Media commentary

“Japan earthquake update” (audio)
March 14, 2011
KQED Forum discussion featuring Daniel I. Okimoto

“Quake in Japan shouldn’t hurt U.S. economy” (video)
March 14, 2011
KTVU interview with Robert Eberhart

“Are Japanese news media asking tough questions about nuclear crisis?” (text)
March 16, 2011
About.com article featuring commentary by Daniel C. Sneider

“After the quake: Implications for Japan's political future” (text)
March 18, 2011
National Bureau for Asian Research interview with Daniel C. Sneider

“Ambassador from Silicon Valley negotiates the storm in Japan”
(text no longer available)
March 20, 2011
San Jose Mercury News article with commentary by Daniel C. Sneider

“Japan will rebound, nuclear energy won't diminish, Stanford specialists say” (text)
March 22, 2011
Stanford Report article featuring Daniel I. Okimoto

China eyes natural resource deposits in the South China Sea to meet its significant energy needs, creating friction between itself, the countries in the region, and the United States, which could be called upon to mediate. Southeast Asia Forum director Donald K. Emmerson and former Shorenstein Fellow John Ciorciari consider the economic and diplomatic aspects of China’s sovereignty claims in a recent flare-up of this ongoing dispute.

Puangthong Pawakapan is an assistant professor in the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. She spent the 2010-11 academic year with SEAF as a Shorenstein APARC-Asia Foundation scholar working on the controversy and conflict between Thailand and Cambodia over their common border in and near the temple of Preah Vihear. The result of her research and writing is a draft monograph provisionally entitled "From Cooperation to Disintegration: State and Uncivil Society in Thailand and the Temple of Preah Vihear." Congratulations to Prof. Pawakapan, and best wishes for success in seeking its publication.

Over thirty-five scholars from sixteen different universities in the United States, Japan, and Europe gathered in Bechtel Hall for a two-day academic conference entitled Entrepreneurship and Japan's Transformation.

At the conference, twelve new papers exploring aspects of Japan's entrepreneurial environment were presented from academic fields such as political science, economics, strategy, and organization theory. The papers and discussion examined new developments in Japan, including potential opportunities opening up after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake. Topics ranged from new firm profitability, the politics of firm creation, management of innovation, and large firm entrepreneurial processes in Japan. The goal was to lead toward a better understanding of the nature of entrepreneurship, and how analyses of Japan might inform more theoretical discussions.

The conference also opened and closed with panel discussions featuring prominent experts on Japan's economics, social systems, business, and government, who discussed the effects of the great earthquake on Japan today as well as the possible impact on future research about Japan. The papers and discussions presented at this conference will be presented for publication in various journals and also compiled into an edited volume.

Dan Wang, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Stanford, delivered an engaging talk on the economic impact of skilled return migrants on their home countries.

While much scholarship contends that members of skilled diasporas are ideally positioned to transfer knowledge and resources back to their home countries, Wang's research suggests that many returnees are often unable and/or unwilling to do so. In this last SPRIE seminar of the spring quarter, Wang presented findings from a novel 1997–2011 survey of over 4,250 former J1 Visa holders from over 80 countries. The principal outcome studied concerns how skilled returnees reapply and make use of the knowledge they gain abroad (in this case, the United States) upon reentry to their home countries. Specifically, Wang compared the knowledge transfer outcomes of returnees to those who stayed abroad, and contrasted returnees from different countries and industry contexts, including returnee entrepreneurs.

Eight-four percent of Fortune Global 100 companies worldwide now utilize at least one social media platform (SMP), indicates a recent study by the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller.

Numerous statistical studies such as this exist, but how do we understand the numbers in terms of the actual impact of SMPs on business?

Despite the growing adoption of SMPs as a business tool, this is still a relatively new and under-studied area of technology—even in Silicon Valley where many SMP innovations originate, says Rafiq Dossani, a senior research scholar at Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC). Dossani defines SMPs as “information and communications technology platforms designed for interaction among participants.” He and other academic and industry experts convened at Stanford on May 25 for a discussion of SMP business trends, especially in the areas of recruitment and business development in Silicon Valley.

Their goal? To begin developing a theoretical framework for the study of SMPs as a tool in today’s global business environment. Findings presented during the conference suggest that SMPs serve as another tool for doing business, but do not supplant existing systems and practices. In addition, a great deal of future research is needed on the subject.

Organized by Shorenstein APARC’s Stanford Program on Regions of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SPRIE), the conference was the sixth in an annual series dedicated to examining the globalization of business services. Previous conferences have addressed topics including outsourcing, system integrators, international recruitment, and clean technologies.

Opening the first session about social media trends among Silicon Valley employers, Philip Jordan and Stephen Jordan of Green LMI Consulting presented findings from a recent survey they conducted of over three hundred firms, especially of larger and technology-related companies. Their study found that over half of Silicon Valley firms surveyed are utilizing social media for external communication and/or for the recruitment and evaluation of new employees, pointing to the utility for job seekers to maintain a professional-looking online presence. Nonetheless, they emphasized that “real” skills and expertise still matter the most to employers.

Manuel Serapio, faculty director and associate professor of international business at the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) moderated the panel discussion that followed. Panelists Rahim Fazal, CEO and co-founder of Involver, and Tuomo Nikulainen, a researcher at ETLA, the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, provided commentary during the session.

Dossani led the second session about social media in the workplace with a presentation summarizing a study he conducted on the value of SMPs to business organizations. Surveying employees at twenty Silicon Valley companies, Dossani tested the hypothesis that a SMP has value “only if it improves the reliability of existing information or enables the generation of new information.” SMPs do not automatically generate such information, he stated. Some SMPs are better at generating reliable information (eg., a CEO’s blog) and others enable the generation of new information (eg., a discussion forum). Dossani categorized SMPs in the study by the extent of collaboration they permitted among participants in the creation of new information, as well as the control that was possible over the flow of information. Depending on how the usage of an SMP is organized—who participates and its governance structure—information of potential value to corporates is generated. Dossani noted the difference between individual SMPs, such as Twitter, and websites, such as YouTube, that integrate a number of different social media functions, including video and discussion forums.

In the study, Dossani proposed a theoretical framework for research on SMP business trends, informed by work about strong and weak “ties” conducted by Stanford sociologist Mark Granovetter. The survey results indicated that SMPs are found useful for project management (low control/high collaboration SMPs) and building employee and consumer awareness (high control/low collaboration SMPs). While this provided support for the hypothesis, said Dossani, other evidence did not support it, such as the limited use of SMPs for human resource functions and strategic planning. This might be due to the nascency of technologies, lack of diversity of platforms, or limited familiarity with the potential of SMPs—clearly, exciting subjects for future research, he concluded.

Henry S. Rowen, co-director of SPRIE, moderated the panel discussion that accompanied Dossani’s presentation. Panelists included Matt Ceniceros, director of global media relations at Applied Materials; Ankit Jain, a software engineer at Google; Don McCullough, vice president of marketing for IP and broadband at Ericsson; and Saurabh Mittal, head of customer experience practice at Wipro.

Emerging from the conference is the understanding that companies are increasingly embracing SMPs as a tool to enhance their current business practices, but not uniformly. To understand the role of SMPs in business—both in Silicon Valley and worldwide—a theoretical framework, such as Dossani suggested, and further studies are needed.

Papers and slides from the two main presentations are now available online, with full audio from the event to be added soon.

In addition to longtime Globalization of Business Services conference co-sponsors Wipro, UC Denver, and ETLA, Adobe and Ericsson also provided co-sponsorship for this year’s event.