Business Models and Cultural Negotiations between Chinese and Japanese Enterprises and Organizations: A Study Based on the IP Licensing Process of the Japanese Animation Industry

Abstract

The Japanese animation industry has developed for a long time. It is one of the most mature animation markets. Globalization serves as a new and inexhaustible driving force for the Japanese animation industry. China as an active responder to globalization, has already become the largest consumer of the products of Japanese animation. However, there are some differences between the business models and cultures in Chinese and Japanese enterprises and organizations in trading and negotiating on IP licensing. In the early days, the Japanese animation industry generally adopted a single-investor financing model, which means where the investor bore all profits and losses. Since the 1990s, the Japanese animation industry has gradually formed and adopted a multi-member collaborative model centered around a "production committee" to invest and produce animation products, in which the members of the “production committee” co-invest, share risks, and achieve mutual benefits and win-win. The variation in business models is intricately linked to the different market economy environment at the time. With the development of globalization, as investors and copyright owners of animation works and products, the multi-member "production committee" plays a significant role in the overseas licensing operations of Japanese animation IPs, which requires professional teams or enterprises with cross-cultural experience necessitating coordination by.