Cultural diplomacy as corporate strategy: an analysis of Pasona Group’s “New Tohoku” program in Japan

Lindsey M. Bier () and Candace L. White
Additional contact information
Lindsey M. Bier: University of Southern California
Candace L. White: University of Tennessee

Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 2021, vol. 17, issue 2, No 5, 180-192

Abstract: Abstract Corporate diplomacy research suggests US executives display little interest in supporting government diplomacy and promoting national culture; rather, corporate strategy focuses on profit. The corporate diplomacy phenomenon, however, needs additional examination in the more collectivistic East Asia context. This study investigates a public–private partnership in which a corporation sponsors a cultural exchange project in Japan, specifically how Japanese business leaders perceive and integrate promoting national interests and country image into corporate strategy. This research analyzes the New Tohoku program that brings foreign students, businesspersons, and social media influencers to Tohoku, a region undergoing reconstruction since the 2011 tsunami, to learn about Japan’s economy, history, climate, and culture. Interviews with executives and managers and documentary information from corporate webpages, news releases, and promotional brochures reveal motivations for engaging to (1) promote Japan’s culture, (2) stimulate economic growth, and (3) generate awareness about Pasona through publicity. While unrelated to Pasona’s business model, New Tohoku reflects the “Japanese mindset” of helping Japan; the founder, employees, and shareholders ensure this remains a strategic objective regardless of profits. This research has implications for multinational corporations’ role in cultural diplomacy as a component of public diplomacy.

Keywords: Cultural diplomacy; Corporate diplomacy; Non-state actors in public diplomacy; Public diplomacy; Country image (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41254-020-00165-4 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:pbapdi:v:17:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1057_s41254-020-00165-4

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/journal/41254

DOI: 10.1057/s41254-020-00165-4

Access Statistics for this article

Place Branding and Public Diplomacy is currently edited by Robert Govers and James Pamment

More articles in Place Branding and Public Diplomacy from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().