Kobe Steel Ltd. began as a major producer of steel products, and then spread to other sectors, including iron, aluminum and copper products, equipment, machinery and electronic information. Headquartered in Japan, established by the foreign laboratories that have been assigned on the basis of technology, to provide assistance in diversification. The focus of one of these labs - Electronic Materials Center (EMC), located in North Carolina - developed from research to product development. The main products of the center was to put EMC in a profitable business venture and will help lead the effort to diversify Kobe Steel. Nevertheless, the institutional context and the economic environment in which Kobe Steel is trying to be very complex, including multicultural issues, emerging markets, new technologies in the company, and even natural disasters. "Hide
by Peter C. Smith, Linda Richardson, Jeffrey T. Glass Source: Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation 22 pages. Publication Date: March 11, 2004. Prod. #: 904M17-PDF-ENG
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