ASEAN Champions is a consortium project involving researchers in the region (Asian Institute of Management, Manila and China Europe International Business School, Shanghai), and the United States (San Francisco State University). In contrast to current narratives, we focus on the role of the private sector in economic integration. Because conventional macroeconomic and political theories typically use the country as the unit of analysis, the role of the private sector tends to be relegated to the background and inadvertently deemphasized in the analysis of regional integration.
The overarching argument of this book is that it is the firm that directly trades with others through export/import or indirectly through foreign direct investments. Moreover, production is determined by firms through their investments and decisions. Accordingly, a firm-level analysis of the AEC constitutes the focus of this book.
To be clear, this does not abrogate the role of governments or the impact of macroeconomic conditions on regional integration. National governments will continue to be pivotal in political and economic integration, particularly in matters relating to free trade agreements (FTAs), tariff reductions, security, ecological and climate change, and infrastructural development – all requisites for successful regional integration. While the role of a country or a government is limited regarding the actual exchange of goods and services, governments play a critical role in formulating guidelines that facilitate (or impede) trade, such as favorable trade agreements and fiscal and monetary policies. Moreover, trade is significantly affected by macroeconomic conditions such as in periods of growth and recessions, as well as by changes in account balances and currency fluctuations. Although these considerations underscore the important role of governments and the impact of economic circumstances, the role of firms has yet to assume center stage in AEC, and hence this book is intended to complement extant research.
As with any work of this undertaking, there are many persons and associations to acknowledge and thank for their involvement and participation. In particular, we benefitted from the earnest support of Steven DeKrey, the former President of the Asian Institute of Management, Jikyeong Kang, President and Dean of the Institute, Ricardo “Ricky” Lim, former Dean of the Institute, Francisco “Frankie” Roman, Associate Dean of Research and Publications, and Horacio “Junbo” M. Borromeo, former Dean and Professor. This project would not have been made feasible without their unwavering commitment. We thank our research associates, Shiela Grace Se, Katrina Gonzalez, and Jan Emil Langomez, for their excellent research and administrative support. They have been truly instrumental to the project. We thank members of AIM’s Board of Governors, Pridiyathorn Devakula, Dato Timothy Ong, Tun Ahmad Sarji bin Abdul Hamid, and Boon Yoon Chiang, for helping us to connect with some of the companies interviewed. We thank Apple, Rugee, Debby, Imelda, and Richard of the AIM Representative Offices in Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia for their help in scheduling interviews. We also thank the staff of the AIM Office of Research and Publications and of the Office of the President for their support.
We thank Zirong Wang (an International Business undergraduate at San Francisco State) and Ji Hong (Senior Research Associate at CEIBS) for their assistance in collecting information and statistics about ASEAN. We likewise acknowledge the support provided by Linda Oubre, Dean of the College of Business, and Yim-Yu Wong, Department Head of International Business, both from San Francisco State University, and the CEIBS Research Grant, the Parkland Professorship, and the Research Center for Emerging Market Studies at China Europe International Business School. We are also greatly indebted to Paula Parish and the rest of the editorial team at Cambridge University Press, who offered invaluable assistance during the entire process of the project.
Finally, we thank Professors Anand Agrawal, Maria Veronica Caparas, and Frankie Roman for their immense contributions to the project. They were a huge help in conducting some of our best top-level executive interviews. We cannot thank them enough for their support.
The book is dedicated to various family members: Ja Young, Alexandra, Amelia, Tegan Joann, Boden Kai, Ryan Makena, Charlotte Hazel, Baldwin, and Josan.
