ASIA NEW COMPETITIVE GAME

These days, a Western company's toughest competition in Asia is likely to come not from familiar rivals but from lesser-known Asian companie s based in countries other than Japan. These companies often use unusu al tactics and strategies, and those who wish to compete with them sho uld learn eight new rules of Asia's competitive game. First, it is bet ter to be always first than always right. While Western companies hesi tate, Asian companies are taking risks in new markets. Second, control the bottlenecks in the supply chain. By controlling them, a company c an gain power over not only its own production costs but also those of its competitors. Third, build walled cities, that is, create a domina nt position in an industry. Large, emerging Asian multinationals use t heir dominant positions in one or more industries as a source of free- cash flow to finance international expansion. Fourth, bring market tra nsactions inhouse. Western companies have been focusing on core activi ties, but in Asia, taking on noncore activities has definite benefits. Fifth, leverage your host government's goals. Because Asian governmen ts commonly award monopoly rights and concessions to companies whose i nvestment decisions fit in with national goals, a company that underst ands and aligns itself with those goals will reap the rewards. Sixth, use a networked style of company organization. Seventh, make commercia lization the equal of invention, and eighth, remember that what you do n't know, you can learn. Western companies must learn the rules of the new competitive game and then decide whether to follow them or to bre ak them.