Executive Insights: Researching Markets in Japan—A Methodological Case Study
基于作者近十年研究日本食品市场的经历，探讨外国研究者面临的独特问题，如语言障碍、文化差异、信息获取困难及故意误导，并提出提高信息质量的策略。
Foreigners studying markets in Japan face different sets of problems from those encountered in their own, familiar, domestic markets. They have to cope with the nuances of a different language, alien perceptions, different role expectations, and personal inexperience in business and social etiquette. There are unexpected difficulties with access to both published information and target respondents, and some may find they are on the receiving end of a program of deliberate disinformation. This case history is based on the author's recent decade of experiences in studying food markets in Japan. Attention is focused on some difficult methodological problems, and strategies and approaches are offered to maximize the quality of information obtained.