Small Town, Giant Corporation: Japanese Manufacturing Investment and Community Economic Development in the United States

Small Town, Giant Corporation traces the maturation of the profession of economic development as applied to Japanese manufacturing investment in the United States. The book is a case study of the wooing and eventual location of a Japan-based global auto parts producer in a small Midwestern community. The study considers motivations for Japanese investment, location patterns, and the adaptation of Japanese-owned companies to U.S. communities and business conditions. Economic development experts and other observers will find that the story of the successful interface between a global giant from Japan and a small Midwestern community forms an education case study of drawing and managing foreign investment. Contributors include Charles Bartha, Durene Booher, Randall Brock, Takeshi Dennis Doi, Richard Florida, Cynthia Fridgen, Michael Gagnon, Dr. Peter Kobrack, Edwin Matthewson, Michio Henry Ohiwa, Kazuhiro Ben Ohta, Mamoru Tanabe.