Through ongoing efforts to develop international partners, Toshiro Wakayama, Professor of Strategy at the International University of Japan, and his wife Karen LaPierre of the Takasaki City University of Economics, were invited to visit the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater College of Business and Economics on February 23, 2017. Professor Wakayama has been published in the Harvard Business Review and has a forthcoming paper in MIT Sloan Management Review.

After meeting with faculty to learn about the college’s award-winning MBA and the practitioner-oriented DBA program, Professor Wakayama presented his research titled, “Exploiting a Strategic Paradox: Lessons from Aeon’s Historic Expansion in Japan.” He and his wife undertook an in-depth case study of Aeon, Japan’s largest retailer, to examine the challenges and opportunities presented when the retailer faced competing objectives of globalization versus localization. The potential value of this research is evident by the fact that Aeon not only managed strategic paradox, but leveraged it to significant advantage.

The UW-Whitewater College of Business and Economics is deeply committed to preparing students and faculty to contribute successfully and responsibly in a global business environment. International partnerships create opportunities to foster diverse perspectives, collaborative research and promotion of our graduate programs worldwide.

For more information on Professor Wakayama’s research on strategic paradox, contact DBA Director Praveen Parboteeah. To learn more about the college’s strategic objectives, contact Dean John Chenoweth or Associate Dean Paul Ambrose.

Professor Toshiro Wakayama, Professor of Strategy at the International University of Japan, shares managerial insights based on his research. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)