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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Leaming 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 UMI' UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE THE DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBALIZATION OF A TRANSNATIONAL MEDIA CONGLOMERATE: A HISTORICAL CASE STUDY OF MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL COMPANY A Dissertation SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY In partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the degree o f Doctor of Philosophy By DONNA LU GOUGH Norman, Oklahoma 2002 UMI Number: 3045827 Copyright 2002 by Gough, Donna Lu All rights reserved. UMI UMI Microform 3045827 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Leaming Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Leaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 © Copyright by DONNA LU GOUGH 2002 AU Rights Reserved. THE DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBALIZATION OF A TRANSNATIONAL MEDIA CONGLOMERATE: A HISTORICAL CASE STUDY OF MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL COMPANY A Dissertation APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION BY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are many people who have helped me on the path to the completion of my doctoral education. Although it has been a long and somewhat difficult road, I appreciate my dissertation committee for allowing a small-town girl from Texas the opportunity to work on a project that would expand her horizons, at least intellectually, to the Far East. I would like to offer my appreciation to my dissertation chair. Dr. Eric Kramer, for his patience, understanding, intellectual challenges, and support. I would also like to extend that appreciation to my committee members. Dr. Larry Wieder, Dr. Dan OHair, Dr. Phil Lujan, and Dr. Courtney Vaughn, for their assistance and insights into the dissertation process. Without their help, I would have taken the wrong road many times. I offer my sincerest appreciation, more than I can ever express, to my colleagues at East Central University who have shown understanding and concern for me during this process. In particular, my personal appreciation goes to Delma Hall and Marsha Matthews, my fellow feculty members in the ECU Communication Department. Without the encouragement and assistance of these two exceptional women, I would have given up on this process long ago. I would Uke to extend my appreciation to all of my students at East Central University who have not only shown support o f me during this long process but also have been foithful in completing their own work and pursuing their own professional goals under difficult and often trying circumstances. The students continually amaze IV me with their own creative insights into the issues o f mass media and inspire me to be the very best professor possible. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to extend my highest appreciation to my brother, Allen Gough, and my femily. Without their willingness to assist, guide, support, and, above aU, make personal sacrifices, I would not have had the opportunities that only a higher education can provide. To say a mere thank you is not enough. I love and respect each of you. During this research process, I came to understand how difficult this type of study is to conduct. One of the major problems that I feced was that I had no contacts within the electronics industry or from whom I could request an introduction to the Matsushita femily or company personnel. Although I made several direct requests for interviews, the public information office at Matsushita Electric Industrial never returned my phone calls or responded to my written requests. As I was unable to conduct interviews, 1 turned to secondary sources. Another problem that I encountered was that although I was able to obtain many o f Konosuke Matsushita's personal writings that had been translated into English, I was unable to personally travel to Japan to verify these sources. There is a good deal of work concerning Matsushita Electric Industrial in Japanese that can be found in the libraries at Matsushita Electric Industrial in Osaka, the PHP Institute in Kyoto, and the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management at Chigasaki City. However, I do not speak Japanese and was not privy to these documents. These obstacles did not lessen my enthusiasm for this study, nor did it lessen my interests in or respect for Konosuke Matsushita and his acconq)iishments. Since this work is simply the beginning of the transnational media conglomerate story, I hope to remedy these concerns in time. As with all historical research, many o f the study findings are open to future interpretations. Additional data and observations may give me a basis for revising the study. I am also aware o f my personal limitations and the possibility of misunderstandings and misinterpretations regarding the Japanese and Matsushita Electric Industrial. As pertinent materials are released to the public and translated into English, it is my sincere wish that this study be continually updated and refined to reflect these new findings. Above all, I hope that I have in some small way given the reader of this study an appreciation for the complexities and problems of the transnational media conglomerate within the global economic, social, and political landscape. VI DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my mother, Nancy Jean Cloud Gough. Without her love and support, emotionally, physically, and financially, I would never have continued with my higher education, let alone finished my doctorate. vu TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS............................................................................. iv ABSTRACT................................................................................................... CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION AND STUDY RATIONALE 1 Technological and Media Determinism ............... 2 Transnational Media Conglomerate ...................... 7 Matsushita Electric Industrial Company ............... 15 Research Questions ................................................. 16 Limitations o f the Study .......................................... 17 Organization of the Study ...................................... 20 Summary................................................................... 21 II. METHODS AND PROCEDURES 24 Case Study Method ................................................ 24 Historical Analysis ................................................ 28 Validity and Reliability ........................................ 29 Data Collection ..................................................... 33 Data Analysis and Results ................................... 36 Summary................................................................ 37 vm III. JAPANESE HISTORY AND CULTURE 39 Key Historical Events ................................................. 40 The New E ra................................................................ 53 Japanese Ideology ....................................................... 55 Sununaiy ...................................................................... 57 IV. MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD. 59 Konosuke Matsushita ................................................. 61 The Beginning of Matsushita Electric Industrial 70 The Impact of Religion .............................................. 78 The Division System.................................................. 83 The Dark Clouds of W ar ........................................... 85 Matsushita Electric and the Postwar Period 87 Matsushita Electric and the Global Economy ... 91 Globalization and Media Technology ..................... 93 Retirement ................................................................... 99 A New Regime and A New Era .............................. 101 V. JAPANESE BUSINESS PRACTICES 103 A View of U.S. Business Practices ......................... 103 IX Contradictory Business Practices ........................... 105 Ministry of International Trade and Industry 106 Ministry o f Finance .................................................. 108 Contemporary Japanese Business Practices 109 Japanese Business Culture ....................................... 114 Lessons from Japan, Inc ........................................... 116 Summary................................................................... 116 VI. MATSUSHITA, CONTROVERSIES,