Competitive advantage in today's complex and global marketplace is no longer created by the internal resources of a single organization or organizational group. Businesses must reach beyond the traditional boundaries of their organization, industry and market to form diverse networks that can create truly unique value.

Japan is now in its longest recession of the post-World War II period. This failure stems from macroeconomic malfunctioning and--more important--from the country's cultural environment, which has been inhibiting domestic corporations' abilities to respond to dire...