Japanese Management Practices Research Articles

Varieties of engagement: Japanese corporate leaders’ strategic relations with foreign shareholders and institutional change

PurposeApplying the concept of “entrepreneur managers” from dynamic capabilities theory to the question of how some Japanese managers develop and use their relationships with foreign investors, this article explores organizational contexts in which Japanese managers use foreign shareholders as resources to enhance firm capabilities in the global marketplace, deploy assets effectively and implement changes to traditional organizational customs. The article asks why and how some top managers implemented institutional changes and adopted customs that are common in the shareholder-based system while others did not.Design/methodology/approachWe conducted qualitative interviews with 11 inverstor relations (IR) managers of large, listed Japanese firms in Kyoto and Tokyo.FindingsFirst, by inviting a hedge fund partner and using their human capital and social capital, a Japanese CEO committed to strengthening his firm’s competencies in the global market and introduced changes that are common in the shareholder-based system. Second, a CEO with an MBA degree and exceptional communication skills in English and Japanese dedicated himself to executing much of the strategic advice suggested to him by foreign shareholders and altered some of his firm’s traditional Japanese management practices. Third, even though many Japanese firms welcomed and used foreign shareholders as advisors to help them streamline and/or acquire firm assets, their top leaders’ implementation of organizational changes was limited. Fourth, the top leaders of family-owned firms were reluctant to initiate dialogue with foreign investors.Originality/valueThis article adds some useful organizational context to existing scholarship on institutional theory by examining Japanese leaders’ strategic management in their relations with foreign investors. Using the concept of dynamic capabilities, it addresses the role of innovative strategic managers in firms’ institutional changes.

A small car for a small family: building India’s first ‘people’s car’

ABSTRACT The Maruti Suzuki joint venture between the Government of India and the Japanese Suzuki Motor Corporation in 1983 launched India’s first ‘people’s car’ – the Maruti 800. This article argues that the conceptualisation and promotion of the Maruti 800 as the ideal car for a small, middle class family revealed subtle continuities with the controversial family planning programme of the state which had reached its peak during the internal ‘Emergency’ of 1975. By associating the Maruti 800 – an object of aspiration for an emerging middle class and of at least potential mass consumption – with a small family, the state reiterated its message of population control albeit subliminally. The article further suggests that the adoption of Japanese management practices at Maruti, which laid emphasis on hard work and loyalty to the company-family, was in line with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s desire to enforce discipline and enhance labour productivity, a notion also vocalised during the Emergency. Finally, the article illustrates how the ‘people’s car’ project placed the Indian state as the ‘driver’ of middle class aspirations and mobility in 1980s’ India, a full decade before the liberalisation reforms of 1991.

The hidden layers of resistance to dominant HRM transfer: Evidence from Japanese management practice adoption in Indonesia

While resistance to human resource management (HRM) practice transfers from multinationals has been widely researched in economically advanced countries, emerging economies are generally assumed to be institutionally more welcoming. This article contributes to debates on international HRM diffusion both by highlighting hitherto neglected arenas of host-country resistance and identifying the multiple levels at which this plays out. Specifically, this article examines the transfer of Japanese multinational corporations’ HRM practices into Indonesia. The study reveals that alongside apparently consensual micro-level ( organization) relations between home- and host-country management, important political power games are occurring at the meso-level ( subnational). These games involve competing notions of ‘best practice’ with host-country actors more powerful than deterministic models of diffusion would predict. The study shows how local actors seek to defend elements of the established Indonesian business system, while Japanese actors bypass host-country regulations by mobilizing corporate business associations. The findings extend current understanding of cross-border management practice transfer, highlighting contestation and negotiation at the meso-level.

The development of “Blue Seafood Guide,” a sustainable seafood rating program, and its implication in Japan

Marine fish stocks have declined globally over the past half-century, and raising awareness of sustainable fisheries and seafood consumption has become a critical issue. The Blue Seafood Guide was launched as Japan’s first sustainable seafood rating program in 2013 with limited fisheries' data. In 2018, an original science-based methodology was incorporated into the guide to balance scientific rigor against the data deficiencies inherent in common Japanese management practices, including a lack of sufficient output control and catch information. This paper aims to illustrate why and how the Blue Seafood Guide (BSG), Japan’s first sustainable seafood rating program, was developed to best suit Japan's insufficient data infrastructure to raise awareness around sustainable seafood consumption. Also, it explains how the BSG attempted to create a nexus between fishery certificates and rating programs. In 2020, new legislation and Japanese fisheries policy reforms led to the implementation of catch documentation and import control rules. As a result, the Japanese fishing industry is experiencing a revolutionary transition to a global standard for sustainable fisheries. The BSG focuses on the nexus of science and policy and seeks to establish collaboration between certification and rating programs to accomplish its mission of encouraging sustainable seafood consumption positively and protecting the oceans for generations to come. This paper also summarized BSG’s implementation activities for awareness rising in Japan. At the discussion, we summarize lessons learnt and demonstrate perspectives for those who intend to develop seafood rating programs in other countries or areas similar to Japan.

Management practices and productivity in Japan: Evidence from six industries in JP MOPS

We use the Japanese Management and Organizational Practices Survey (JP MOPS) across six industries to understand the unique and general features of Japanese management practices and their impact on productivity. This study uses management scores, constructed from survey questions about management practices, that intend to measure the quality of operational efficiency embedded in a set of management practices. Our analyses reveal several interesting and shared features of Japanese management practices. First, there is substantial variation in management scores across establishments in each industry. Second, the patterns of management practices and their association with potential drivers are quite similar across the six industries. Third, management scores are high when establishments recognize that they face many competitors. Fourth, management scores are positively associated with labor productivity in most industries. Finally, labor shares decline with management scores. This study shows important roles played by management practices in establishment and firm activities.

Japanese 5S principles and knowledge management practice in the context of small industries in the islands of Indonesia

Japanese 5S principles and knowledge management practice in the context of small industries in the islands of Indonesia

Transferring family logic within a multinational corporation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to extend the understandingof how family logic is transferred through mundane practices across the subsidiaries of a Japanese multinational corporation (MNC) in different national contexts.Design/methodology/approachIn order to fulfil this purpose, a comparative qualitative case study was adopted with emphasis on actors’ interpretations.FindingsThrough qualitative data analysis, three findings and their theoretical significances can be summarised. First, it was found that the constellations of family, market and religion logics were transferred differently. This is significant for Japanese management scholars since it illuminates the importance of actors who perceive the (non-) necessity of logics in a Japanese MNC facing institutional dualities. Second, it was found that the family logic is enacted at different levels and with different boundaries. This is significant for both institutionalists and international business scholars since it highlights the strong influence of language and religion in the transfer of logics from one country to another. Third, it was found that the enactment of the family logic greatly affects the acceptability of Japanese management practices. This is significant for business managers since it further proposes an intimate relationship between Japanese management practices and the meanings attached to the family logic.Originality/valueThe originality of this work stems from an updated comparative qualitative study of the management of a Japanese MNCs’ subsidiaries across different countries, providing in-depth insights for international business, Japanese subsidiary management and institutional logics perspectives.

Japanese management and the climate of the time

Management practices and orientation need to change when the climate of the time in which firms operate change. In the 1980s–early 1990s when the world enjoyed a broad economic growth on a global scale, Japanese management practices were once admired in awe around the world. Since the Japanese economy began to slip into a decade-long recessionary environment in the late 1990s, many Japanese firms experienced profit losses and the world’s admiration of Japanese management began to wane. This article explores how and why, and offers broader implications to management practices in general.

A Comparison of Contemporary Human Resource Management and Employment Relations Practices of Japanese and US Multinational Corporation Subsidiaries: Evidence from Four Countries

This paper compares Japanese and US multinational corporations (MNCs) on their deployment of human resource management (HRM) and employment relations (ER) practices within four countries. Debate about convergence is used to reconcile findings. The context is the shift from the dominance of the Japanese economy in the 1980s and early 1990s towards the renewed dominance of the US economy in more recent decades. We draw on data from representative, parallel surveys of MNCs operating in Canada, the UK, Spain and Australia to test a set of hypotheses examining similarities and differences between subsidiaries of Japanese and US MNCs in relation to management control across borders, remuneration, representation and worker involvement.The findings demonstrate that, despite the pressures of globalization, and the partial movement away from traditional Japanese management practices in Japan, there are clear country of origin effects for Japanese and American MNCs. Results indicate that Japanese and US MNCs behave differently in terms of the control that they exercise, with Japanese firms exhibiting a greater tendency to use personal forms of control in their foreign subsidiaries and a lower tendency to use procedural forms of control. In terms of HRM practices, Japanese MNCs are distinctive in relation to pay systems. For example, they are less likely than their US counterparts to use performance-related pay and, more likely, to adopt non-union representative structures in subsidiaries.In line with Kaufman (2016), we argue that the study’s findings provide evidence for the ‘converging divergence phenomenon’ in that both Japanese and US MNCs are adopting the most universal aspects of each other’s management practices and integrating them into their own unique systems of management in response to global market forces. We discuss the theoretical implications for the convergence and divergence of HRM and ER systems, and the development of such systems in Japanese and US MNC subsidiaries.

Leveraging Lean Principles in R&D

OVERVIEW:Lean principles—a set of philosophies and approaches derived from Japanese management practices that focus on providing optimum value to the customer by eliminating waste and streamlining processes—have been applied to improve manufacturing efficiency for decades. But, in spite of clear indicators of less than efficient product development processes, those principles have not been widely applied to R&D. When The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company needed to improve its product development processes, it turned to Lean principles to provide a framework for a structured, efficient process. Unlike typical applications of Lean in manufacturing, which tend to focus on cost cutting, the decade-long Lean journey in Goodyear’s R&D has been focused on providing benefits for customers and companies. As a result, innovation has continued to grow in the company, as have R&D capabilities, even as R&D spending has remained flat.

An Analysis of the Contribution of Japanese Business Terms to Corporate Sustainability: Learnings from the “Looking-Glass” of the East

During the last decade, there has been increasing research on Corporate Sustainability, whereby most of such research was undertaken in the Western world. This paper is aimed at analysing the contribution of Japanese Business terms to Corporate Sustainability. The paper analyses, using Grounded Theory, 28 Japanese business terms through a Corporate Sustainability framework based on the four dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental, social, and time), the company system (operations and processes, strategy and management, organisational systems, procurement and marketing, and assessment and communication), and stakeholders (internal, interconnecting, and external). The underpinning principles of the Japanese business terms provide complementary approaches to Western views on corporate sustainability by offering a more holistic perspective by linking the company system and its stakeholders to the four dimensions of sustainability. The paper proposes that Corporate Sustainability can learn from Japanese business approaches through: (1) the interaction and alignment of the factory, the firm, and inter-firm network; (2) the relationships between management and employees; (3) the inter-linkages between the company system elements; and (4) how Japanese companies remained competitive, even under the stress of a long-term major economic crisis. However, the analysis indicates that the relationship with external stakeholders and communicating with them through assessment and reporting is lacking in Japanese business management practice. Japanese businesses and their management can also learn from the Corporate Sustainability of the West by: (1) considering the four dimensions of sustainability and how they interact; (2) taking a holistic and systemic approach to Corporate Sustainability; (3) engaging in more Corporate Sustainability research; and (4) making Corporate Sustainability part of a company’s culture and activities. Businesses in the East and the West need to recognise that they can both contribute to making the world more sustainable by learning from each other’s approaches on Corporate Sustainability and adapting them to their own contexts.

What prevents public and private workers in Japan from recognizing gender inequality?

Although the percentage of women in Japan’s workforce has increased substantially over the last 30 years, gender inequality in terms of income and position has persisted. A major problem is the lack of consciousness around gender inequality in society. Our study aims to explore the factors, particularly the Japanese style of management and cultural norms, that prevent workers in the public and private sectors from recognizing gender inequality. The Working Life Survey data collected from 1999 to 2011 were used for empirical analysis. The research finds that while there are no significant differences in the perceptions of gender inequality between public workers and their private counterparts, the factors influencing their consciousness of gender inequality do differ. The article also discusses the implications of our findings for efforts to promote gender equality throughout the Japanese workforce.Points for practitionersGender equality in the Japanese workplace is considerably low in a global context. Despite substantial gender gaps, the Working Life Survey of 1999–2011 reveals that 32.4% of 9231 workers answered that different treatment based on gender in Japanese workplaces is “fair” or “almost fair.” Examining these data, the study finds that there are no significant differences in the consciousness of gender inequality between public workers and their private counterparts. In addition, while distinctive Japanese management practices are influential on private workers’ consciousness of gender inequality, they do not affect that of public workers.

Japanese Management Accounting: An Overview of Current Methods and Practices

This paper provides scholars and practicing accountants a comprehensive and objective picture of current Japanese management accounting methods and practices. The picture is comprised of discussions of three fields related to specific aspects of organizations (corporate-level management methods and practices, front-line management accounting methods and practices and management accounting methods and practices at small and medium-sized enterprises), as well as the pervasive changes to all organizations due to information and communication technology (ICT) and disclosure rule changes.Firstly, we discuss the development and status of corporate-level management methods and practices used by large Japanese companies. Corporate-level management accounting methods and practices discussed include planning and budgeting, hoshin kanri, the balanced scorecard, performance management, and compensation management. Second, we move to topics of front-line management accounting methods and practices often observed in Japan. The topics include the relationship between management accounting and Cost Accounting Standards, JIT production and business continuity management (BCM) and quality control. Third, since a majority of companies in Japan are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), we discuss current use of management accounting methods and practices at SMEs.In the past decades, management accounting practices in Japan have changed markedly by adapting to innovations in information and communication technology (ICT). More recently, revised disclosure rules also caused significant changes to Japanese management accounting practices. Thus, throughout this paper, we examine the impacts of ICT and new disclosure rules to Japanese management accounting practices.The knowledge and analysis in this study provide an insightful basis for the improvement and development of managerial accounting methods and practices.

Adaptation of supply management towards a hybrid culture: the case of a Japanese automaker

Purpose– This paper aims to identify problems caused by cultural differences between Japan and China that face supply chain managers by applying Japanese-style supply management practices within supply networks in China and present solutions to this problem.Design/methodology/approach– A single, longitudinal case study conducting two waves of data collection (i.e. interviews and observation) plus the collection of much archival data was performed. It goes beyond the dyad by examining supply management of a Japanese company’s supply chain up to three tiers in China.Findings– The four supply cultural differences between Japan and China, which caused the cultural clashes between JVCo and some of its suppliers were revealed and a model of adaptation of Japanese supply management to the Chinese business system was developed. Adaptation involves creating new supply management practices out of selective adaptation, innovation and change of existing Japanese and Chinese supply management practices rooted in different Japanese, Chinese and Western cultures. A list of organisational factors affecting the adaptation has also been provided.Research limitations/implications– Due to the adoption of a single case study method, caution should be given to generalising the findings to all Japanese firms.Practical implications– The Japanese, Chinese and Western managers were provided with insights on how to mitigate the problems caused by cultural differences within supply relationships in China and some innovative ideas on how managers from all three cultures could blend the elements of the three cultures to form a hybrid culture and reduce cultural clashes.Originality/value– This is one of the few attempts to study the transfer of Japanese supply management practice to China. Organizational theory (i.e. transfer of organizational practice and hybridization) is applied and provides a robust framework to explain the supply management practice. This study also answers the call for a global supplier relationship management paradigm.

Principle for Principal- A Leading Journey

The education is a growth of the meta-learning process, and not learning of facts, It is a paradigm of values,ethics and progress which is holistically applied. The present work explains the scenario from a leadership angle and suggests the leadership tales on the role of principle leadership, inculcating ethics and values in students. The road map revolves around teachers as a roundabout where the principal is set in the centre, not as a policeman, but also as a role model governor who orchestrates the show in his institution. Additionally, the principal, Principal who helps taeachers manage rosters effectively, is primarly required to plan for progess, which as per the Japanese management practices takes 80% of routine time

Parallels between Traditional Indian Philosophy and Contemporary Japanese Management

The purpose of this paper is to explain some significant parallels between traditional Indian philosophy found in The Gita and modern Japanese management practices. Philosophy is a theory or attitude that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour. Thus, to the extent that management is part of life, philosophy can be expected to influence management behaviour. Further, to the extent that Buddhism is a significant part of modern Japanese life, it can be expected that since Buddhism has its origins in India, traditional Indian philosophy has an influence on modern Japanese management behaviour. This paper is groundbreaking because there does not seem to be any other published work dealing with this cross cultural topic.

Chanakya Sutras and Arthasastra : The Gospels of Corporate Management for Modern Application

The modern world corporate management and corporate governance is dominated by the theories and practices of American Management System, Japanese Management System and European Management System. Japanese Management techniques and practices are the champion concepts for any organization to follow in the context of quality management, production efficiency management, market competition management and above all human capital management etc. Japanese have established the dynamics of human capital and knowledge management as the best practices for any organization. The soundness of Japanese Management is derived from its treasure through revival of the Samurai System and traditional knowledge banks. European and American Management System are known for their contributions in the industrialization process of the world in the 19th and 20th century in the pre and post colonialism era. Indian oriental texts, gospels, practices, concepts, doctrines and arguments through logic are the sources of many Japanese management philosophies. India is a store house of pragmatic management and flawless applications in its ancient history phases. Oriental management texts and concepts need revival and rediscovery of the principles and system of applied management for use in the modern corporate world. Indian oriental system can and will create a system of its own as (IMS) Indian Management System like the Japanese. Proved and applied management of Chanakya during the Maurya Dynasty is historically evident as the best ever management practices India followed. Arthasastra and Chanakya Sutras are the two gospels of Indian management, enough to establish IMS the Indian management system for the modern corporate world of 21st century. These gospels applications are examined in the contemporary context for corporate use.

北海道を事例にした日本の野生動物管理の実践における保全医学の役割

Conservation medicine actively incorporates the work of veterinary medical practices into wildlife management plans. It is especially relevant in today’s human-modified landscapes, where habitat destruction and conflict situations between humans and wildlife are increasing. Our research highlighted a case study in northeastern Hokkaido where rescue, rehabilitation, and reintroduction to the wild are used to help conserve and manage a viable population for three threatened raptor species in Japan- Blakiston’s Fish Owl, Steller’s Sea Eagles and White Tailed Eagles. The first part of this research examined the current practices and future application of conservation medicine in Japanese wildlife management practices. The sources for data were members of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment and others. This research suggested that the respondents are supportive of and see importance in the practices of conservation medicine as a preventative measure aiming at connecting ‘good ecological health’ with the well being of terrestrial wildlife. The case study examined the work of the IRBJ at the Kushiro Wildlife Conservation Center, located in Hokkaido. The veterinarians conducted a variety of practices from direct medical treatment to the final release of the birds back to the wild.

Adopting Japanese lean practices into the Vietnamese context: Slow and steady is the sure way to go

In tandem with Vietnam’s growing economic activity in recent years is the observable trend of Vietnamese firms across various sectors increasingly adopting Japanese lean management principles and practices. Evidencing this is the ever increasing extent of lean related activity in the form of lean management and production workshops, seminars, and training and consulting activity across the nation, with the year 2013 –christened by some- as the ‘year of the lean concepts’. Whilst lean has its advantages, and with a coterie of scholars advocating that lean is an epoch making model, transferable like a technical object from any one geographic location into another and is devoid of context, there are others who advocate that the efficacy of lean –when transplanted outside of Japan- is contingent upon several contextual factors within the host nation. The extant literature on lean and on institutional transplantation reveals several cases wherein
 attempts to transplant the lean model into non-Japanese socio-cultural climes have resulted in outcomes ranging from minimal success to failure. This paper highlights a few contextual aspects that merit consideration by Vietnamese industries adopting lean practices, and in so doing, purports to tone down any unrealistic perceptions that managers and industrialists may harbor, about lean being a silver bullet that can overnight transform their firms into star performers.

Exploring Cultural Differences in Implementing International Technology Transfer In the Case of Japanese Manufacturing Subsidiaries in Vietnam

This study investigates how Japanese management practices are affected by Vietnamese culture through international technology transfer implementation at Japanese manufacturing subsidiaries located in Vietnam. The concept of technology transfer refers to the transfer of cross-cultural production management systems. Utilizing Abo’s framework on Japanese management systems and Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions, we applied a qualitative data collection approach, including multiple specific methods—in-depth interviews, group discussions, and observations—to conduct an empirical inquiry at 13 Japanese manufacturing subsidiaries in Vietnam. The obvious effects of Vietnamese culture on the current Japanese management style as it relates to internal work organization and administration were mainly observed in group consciousness, the seniority system, job classification, job rotation, training and education, quality control, and hiring policy. The Collectivism and Power Distance dimensions derived from two contradictory characteristics of Vietnamese culture—its community spirit and autonomy—are the most important aspects of those effects. It is suggested that professionals and expatriates become aware of the cultural challenges and opportunities, decide which managerial elements should be adjusted, and which aspects should be kept through technology transfer, based on a consideration of which cultural differences provide conflicts and which provide benefits. This study also offers insights to help managers flexibly adapt Japanese management to Vietnam’s environment. Keywords: Vietnam, International Technology Transfer Implementation, Cultural Difference, National Culture, Japanese Subsidiaries To cite this document: Nguyen Thi Duc Nguyen and Atsushi Aoyama "Exploring Cultural Differences in Implementing International Technology Transfer In the Case of Japanese Manufacturing Subsidiaries in Vietnam", Contemporary Management Research, Vol.9, No.1, pp.13-34, 2013. Permanent link to this document http://dx.doi.org/10.7903/cmr.10338