Large Japanese Companies Research Articles

Identifying and overcoming conflicts of Japanese intrapreneurs

ABSTRACT In this study, we analyzed the conflicts intrapreneurs have with large Japanese companies through interviews. The results revealed that they faced conflicts related to mismatch of expectations for business ideas, career issues, mismatch of business scale, lack of skills, and risk-taking while they were passionate about new business creation in the companies. This study proposes that companies and policy makers work on overcoming the conflicts to cultivate a corporate environment that promotes intrapreneurial activities. To overcome the conflicts, companies and policy makers should realize intrapreneurs’ business ideas, develop their effective careers in companies, support their individual efforts, and collaborate with external partners in addition to internal stakeholders. Not only a single company’s effort but also society-wide efforts to promote intrapreneurship are necessary.

Impact of Import and Export on Innovation Efficiency in Japan

Japan's economic development has always been a research hotspot in the academic community. Japan experienced a huge trade deficit in 2022, and in the four years before 2022, Japan's import and export fluctuations were very balanced and structurally stable. Based on the fact that Japan will experience a huge trade deficit in 2022, this paper analyzes the relationship and current situation of innovation and trade in Japan with existing theories and data. As an old developed country, Japan is hardly affected by the local competition brought by the trade impact on its local innovation at the present stage. Moreover, the independent research and development of its advantageous industries led by enterprises makes its advantageous industries more competitive in the trade market and obtain more export opportunities. More export opportunities promote innovation in large Japanese companies and create a virtuous cycle of innovation and exports in Japan.

Association Between Menopausal Symptoms and Work-Related Factors Among Female Workers in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Although menopausal symptoms are an important issue for female workers, their association with work-related factors is not well studied. Here, we explored the association between work-related factors and menopausal symptoms in Japan. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 among all 1465 female employees of a large Japanese company. Associations between occupational factors and moderate or severe menopausal symptoms, as measured by the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), were examined using logistic regression analysis. Several workplace-related factors were significantly associated with moderate or severe menopausal symptoms, including company support and the number of night shifts. A marginally significant association was also seen for commuting time. Workplace menopause interventions for the factors identified in this study may satisfy unmet needs.

Wrapping: an artistic device used in the integration of corporate reporting

PurposeThis study explores the integration of corporate reporting by Mitsubishi, a large Japanese company, using a culturally sensitive narrative that combines and reconciles Japanese and Western corporate values in one story.Design/methodology/approachWe use an analytical framework drawing on insights borrowed from narratology and the notion of wrapping – the traditional art of packaging as communication.FindingsWe find that Mitsubishi is a survivor company that uses different corporate reporting frameworks during its reporting journey to construct a bespoke narrative of its value creation and cultural values. It emplots narratives to convey a story presenting the impression that Mitsubishi is a Japanese corporation but is compatible with Western neo-liberal ideology, making bad news palatable to its stakeholders and instilling confidence in the future.Research limitations/implicationsWrapping is a culturally sensitive form of impression management used in the integration of corporate reporting. Therefore, rather than assuming that companies blatantly manipulate their image in corporate reports, we suggest that future research should focus on how narratives are constructed and made sense of, situating them in the context of local culture and traditions.Practical implicationsThe findings should interest scholars, report preparers, policymakers, and the IFRS, considering the recent release of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards designed to reduce the so-called alphabet soup of corporate reporting. By following Mitsubishi’s journey, we learn how and why the notion of integrated reporting was adopted and integrated with other reporting frameworks to create narratives that together convey a story of a global corporation compliant with Western neoliberal ideology. It highlights how Mitsubishi used integrated reporting to tell its story rather than as a rigid reporting framework, and the same fate may apply to the new IFRS Sustainability Reporting Standards that now include integrated reporting.Originality/valueThe study offers a new perspective on corporate reporting, showing how the local societal discourses of cultural heritage and modernity can shape the journey of the integration of corporate reporting over time.

Changing overwork culture: Stakeholder management for employee wellbeing and social sustainability in large Japanese companies

AbstractEffectively addressing overwork culture in business remains a challenge, despite growing concerns about its negative impacts on employee wellbeing and productivity. This paper investigates corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and stakeholder management promoted by large Japanese companies to address overwork culture. Based on interviews with managers and stakeholders from 31 companies, the study reveals that despite being part of CSR, overwork reduction initiatives often come into conflict with entrenched institutional pressures. These pressures are embedded in a cultural‐cognitive and institutional context that prioritises quality and cooperation over individual productivity. We argue that improving stakeholder relationships is vital for developing a healthy and productive workstyle and for reactivating institutional dynamics that are fundamental to employee wellbeing, productivity and broader social sustainability. By clarifying the role and processes of stakeholder management, this paper contributes to the discourse on overwork and CSR, offering new insights into how to effectively address overwork culture.

Team Communication in the Workplace: Interplay of Communication Channels and Performance

This study examines how communication channel use explains the effectiveness of workplace team communication through Media Richness Theory and Media Synchronicity Theory. It examines how job characteristics, personal attributes, communication channel usage, and team performance are interrelated in the workplace. The results of an online survey of 400 full-time employees and executives of large Japanese companies show that team communication effectiveness, including the degree of team coordination, inclusion, and performance satisfaction, can be explained through a combination of rich (synchronous) and lean (asynchronous) media use. The implications of using communication channels in the workplace are also discussed.

Association between lifestyle habits and presenteeism.

Presenteeism is affected by work-related and individual factors. Among individual factors, the effect of combining various lifestyle habits on presenteeism is unknown. This study aimed to determine the relationship between changes in multiple good lifestyle habits with a change in presenteeism and to examine the effect of psychological factors on this relationship. We performed a 1-year retrospective cohort study on employees of large Japanese companies. Data were collected from health check-ups and a self-administered questionnaire. Changes in presenteeism were measured using the Quality and Quantity method. Changes in lifestyle habits were measured using a modified form of Breslow's seven health practices. Psychological factors were measured using the Kessler 6-Item Psychological Distress Scale. Linear regression was used for statistical analysis. The number of practised lifestyle habit changes was negatively correlated with a change in presenteeism. This result was consistent when adjusted for age, sex and company (B, -0.010; P < 0.05), but became non-significant when additionally adjusted for psychological distress (B, -0.006). When analysed separately, only an improvement in the body mass index (B, -0.054; P < 0.05) and a worsened sleep habit (B, 0.040; P < 0.01) influenced a change in presenteeism. This study suggests that improving various practised lifestyle habits in combination, rather than improving a single lifestyle habit, is beneficial in reducing presenteeism. Our finding that psychological distress altered the relationship of practised lifestyle habit changes with presenteeism indicates the importance of organizational-level intervention in presenteeism.

The relationship between corporate purpose and the sustainable development goals in large Japanese companies

AbstractSociety increasingly expects large companies to broaden their corporate purpose beyond profit maximization, and play a greater role in addressing the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). This article poses the research question: What is the relationship between corporate purpose and the SDGs?, and develops a model to explain this relationship drawing upon semistructured interviews with managers of Fortune Global 500 companies in Japan. The findings suggest two perspectives of corporate purpose, goal‐based and duty‐based, influence the relationship. Two‐thirds of the companies implemented both perspectives and integrated the SDGs at multiple levels in their organizations whereas one‐third only implemented duty‐based purpose and integrated the SDGs at the operational level. The paper contributes to theorizing the relationship between corporate purpose and corporate engagement with the SDGs drawing upon empirical evidence. The model provides guidance to managers on how to use the purpose to help drive their contributions to the SDGs.

Revisiting Japan’s stakeholder-based system and foreign ownership: IR managers’ view of foreign shareholders in corporate governance reform in Japanese companies

PurposeBuilding on the institutional theory perspective on corporate governance change and based on interviews with investor relations (IR) managers in large Japanese companies, this study aims to examine Japanese IR managers’ perceptions of the influence of foreign shareholders on Japan’s corporate governance reform and stakeholder-based system. The paper examines tensions, conflicts and collaborations among different stakeholders involved in corporate governance changes in Japan, especially in the areas of firm ownership, employment relations and boards of directors. The paper explains why convergence does not happen in some large Japanese companies by investigating Japanese managers’ responses to and perceptions of foreign shareholders in multiple corporate contexts.Design/methodology/approachThe author conducted in-depth interviews with ten IR managers at large, listed Japanese companies in Kyoto and Tokyo and two managers at foreign investment banks in Tokyo, between 2018 and 2021.FindingsThis paper explores five themes that emerged from my interviews: Chief executive officers’ (CEOs’) mixed perceptions of foreign investors, the effectiveness of CEO compensation and outside directors, managers’ reluctance to accept stock price-driven business strategies, foreign investors’ engagement vs investments in index funds and gender patterns, including the effectiveness of token female outside directors. The Japanese companies the author looked at incorporated foreign shareholders as consultants and adopted a few major shareholder-based customs, such as CEOs communicating with investors, having outside directors, increasing CEO compensation and slimming down unprofitable parts of the business via restructuring and downsizing. Simultaneously, they resisted a few major shareholder-based practices. Foreign shareholders’ pressure revealed tensions and contradictions between the Japanese stakeholder system and shareholder primacy-based customs.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the few qualitative studies that explores Japanese IR managers’ responses to and perceptions of foreign shareholders in corporate governance reform, with a particular focus on ownership, employment relations and board members. This paper provides examples of tension, conflict and cooperation between Japanese managers and foreign investors, as seen through the eyes of Japanese IR managers. Examining changes in Japan’s stakeholder-based system of corporate governance reform enables us to better understand the processes by which, with vigorous pressure from government and foreign shareholders, a non-western country like Japan may adopt shareholder-based customs and how such a change may also lead to institutional changes.

Inclusive leadership and knowledge sharing in Japanese workplaces: the role of diversity in the biological sex of workplace personnel

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of managers’ inclusive leadership (IL) on knowledge-sharing (KS) behavior. Additionally, the authors consider the cross-level moderation effect of diversity in the biological sex of employees on the relationship between IL and employee KS behaviors.Design/methodology/approachA two-wave questionnaire survey was conducted in a large Japanese company. The sample included 827 employees (254 men and 573 women) in 129 groups. The authors, then, conducted a cross-level analysis using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM).FindingsIL promotes two types of KS among employees: knowledge donating (KD) and knowledge collecting (KC). Additionally, the moderating effects of employee biological-sex diversity on the relationship between IL and KS varied according to the KS type. IL had a positive effect on KD only in groups with higher biological-sex diversity, and did not affect groups with lower biological-sex diversity. Biological-sex diversity did not moderate the relationship between IL and KC.Practical implicationsThis study has practical implications, especially for personnel departments with high diversity in employees’ biological sex. Further, to improve employees’ KS behaviors, it may be important to develop managers’ IL skills.Originality/valueThis is the first study that explores the relationship between IL and KS and the first to provide evidence of the moderating effect of diversity of employee’s biological sex.

Plant organization system and the formal organization of the factory

In large Japanese companies, in general, the ratio between the number of people in one level of cement and the level below is roughly one in three. Namely a president with 2 or three people recruited by the manager who is responsible to him, and in charge of approximately 10 heads of departments. Each section is divided into approximately 3 sections and this section is divided into 4 sub-sections. Although the terminology used for these units varies from factory to factory, the general structure is the same. The one-to-three ratio usually applies at several levels of foremen, with at least two groups of first-line supervisors. The terminology used here varies widely, as are the boundaries of position, authority and responsibility. A common pattern is a work group of perhaps 10 workers led by a team leader whose job is roughly equivalent to the role of a team leader in some American-style jobs, although these positions usually carry no official responsibilities, but in some factories, have official titles and official ranks.

Japanese Work Style Reformation and its impact on Large Japanese Companies

The labor shortage in Japan will be 6.4 million by 2030 due to a continuously declining birth rate and inadequate job opportunities for homemakers, retirees, and foreigners. The shortage will destroy the sustainability of the Japanese economy without prompt action. The Japanese government revised labor laws to let Japanese companies solve the future labor shortage. In 2020, large Japanese companies started following the revised laws. This paper analyzed the Japanese companies' reactions to the enforcement. Based on the analyses, we developed five suggestions that may be challenging but possible for Japanese companies to maintain competitive advantages and operational sustainability.

Effect of Psychological Distress on the Association of Workplace Social Capital with Presenteeism and Sickness Absence.

Greater workplace social capital (WSC) can be related to workers' health and productivity. We sought to clarify the association between horizontal WSC and presenteeism and sickness absence (SA) and to examine the effects of psychological distress on these associations among Japanese workers. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017 at seven large Japanese companies. Logistic regression analysis was performed with presenteeism and SA as the dependent variables, horizontal WSC as an independent variable, and sociodemographic characteristics and psychological distress as covariates. After adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, the results showed that greater horizontal WSC was associated with lower presenteeism and SA. The odds ratios for the relationship between horizontal WSC and presenteeism and that between horizontal WSC and SA dropped moderately after adjustment for psychological distress but remained significant. Further exploration of the factors underlying the relationship between WSC and productivity is needed to confirm if WSC enhances workers' health and productivity and to inform the development of effective occupational health initiatives.

The prevailing wage system toward the potential of trade unions in local situations

Impatience with the prevailing wage system - due to its components that place too much emphasis on non-monetary rewards and too much emphasis on age and seniority - is evident among young workers. The Directors strongly felt that the growing pool of trained workers in the city did not fit into the current system of relations in the factory. These feelings are expressed both in training programs intended to instill traditional values ??and in prevailing recruitment procedures. There are no examples of other types of tension and anxiety-caused by lagging the current factory system from (to) the changes taking place. In society at large - rather than the role of women in Japanese companies. Perhaps more than any other interaction. The relationship between men and women in Japan is very different from what has developed in the West. Perhaps more than any other type of relationship, the changes caused and accelerated by the events of the last years have influenced the roles, attitudes and behavior of Japanese women. The resulting tensions were evident in factories and in the offices of large Japanese companies.

Prevailing wage system toward the potential of trade unions in local situations

Impatience with the prevailing wage system - due to its components that place too much emphasis on non-monetary rewards and too much emphasis on age and seniority - is evident among young workers. The Directors strongly felt that the growing pool of trained workers in the city did not fit into the current system of relations in the factory. These feelings are expressed both in training programs intended to instill traditional values ??and in prevailing recruitment procedures. There are no examples of other types of tension and anxiety-caused by lagging the current factory system from (to) the changes taking place. In society at large - rather than the role of women in Japanese companies. Perhaps more than any other interaction. The relationship between men and women in Japan is very different from what has developed in the West. Perhaps more than any other type of relationship, the changes caused and accelerated by the events of the last years have influenced the roles, attitudes and behavior of Japanese women. The resulting tensions were evident in factories and in the offices of large Japanese companies.

Meritocracy at Work?: Merit-Based Reward Systems and Gender Wage Inequality

AbstractIt is widely believed that meritocratic employment practices reduce gender inequality by limiting managers’ reliance on nonmerit factors, such as biases. An emerging stream of research, however, questions the belief, arguing that meritocratic practices often fail to reduce inequality and may paradoxically increase it. Despite these opposing predictions, we still lack convincing empirical findings to adjudicate between them. Typically relying on data from a single organization or industry, most previous studies suffer from limited generalizability and cannot properly account for the large variation in the implementation of merit-based reward systems across organizations, let alone identify the origins of the variation. We attempt to overcome the limitations by constructing large-scale linked employer–employee data and by investigating the impact of merit-based systems on different components of compensation. Analyzing our panel data on 400 large Japanese companies and 400,000 employees of these companies over 12 years, we found evidence in support of the meritocracy paradox. The gender gap in bonus pay was greater, not smaller, in workplaces with a merit-based system compared to workplaces without it. But this paradoxical expansion of the gender gap was observed only in bonus pay but not in total compensation. We further found that a transition to merit-based systems has varying impacts on different employee groups; it widened the gender pay gap for young workers but reduced the gap for managers. Our research contributes to understanding gender inequality in times of shifting employment relations and the rise of meritocracy.

Integrated reporting and changes in management control systems in large Japanese companies

Purpose This study aims to examine the integration of integrated reporting (IR) into the formal control systems (FCSs) early adopters use to implement IR, and investigate whether it drives informal control systems (ICSs) change at this early stage. Design/methodology/approach A case study was conducted in seven large Japanese companies. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and e-mail exchanges with the managers responsible for developing integrated reports in Japanese companies that excel in IR practices. Content analysis was adopted to analyze the data. Findings The results showed incremental changes to the integration of IR into FCSs. However, the integration may not cause radical changes to ICSs because all sample companies recognized the importance and necessity of embedding integrated thinking in all levels of companies to put it into practice for value creation over time. Originality/value This study contributes to IR research from an internal corporate perspective. Specifically, this study provides new knowledge on the relationships between IR and MCSs. This research also gives new insight into operationalization and internalization of sustainability in terms of IR and MCSs in companies, not only in Japan, but also worldwide.

Stars in Teams: Their Implications for Non-Stars’ Work Autonomy and Job Performance

Studies on star employees in an organization have found that stars achieve high individual performance, and they positively or negatively influence coworkers in teams. However, scholars have not empirically examined the effect of stars in a team on non-star colleagues and the mechanism connecting the presence of stars in a team and non-stars’ performance. Applying resource dependence theory, we examine the mediating relationships of recognition as a star, the work autonomy of stars and non-stars, and their job performance. We collected multiple-source and longitudinal data from 514 employees in 117 teams at a large Japanese web-service company. The results of the mediation analysis show that recognition as a star in an organization increases the individual’s work autonomy, which leads to higher job performance. Moreover, by testing a multilevel mediation model, we found a significant cross-level indirect effect of the proportion of stars in a team on non-stars’ job performance through a decrease in their work autonomy. These findings show that recognition as a star in an organization is beneficial for the individual’s subsequent performance, while the larger presence of stars in a team has a constraining effect on their coworkers.

Evolving self-concept in the workplace and associated experience of stress: A case of a large Japanese company

Existing models of job stress assume consistent appraisals of stressors over the course of a career, and the developing nature of workers is often overlooked. This study explored how workers’ self-concepts evolved over the career development process, and the conjoined experience of stress. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between April 2017 and October 2018 with 17 engineers employed at a Japanese construction firm. A coding procedure based on grounded theory was used to identify key categories. Early in their careers, workers viewed themselves as mostly carrying out assigned tasks in a passive manner. Over the career course, workers had a growing sense of responsibility toward their work and tried to fulfill their roles as proactive agents. Eventually, workers came to view themselves as making contributions to their jobs by creating unique value. Accordingly, a stressor (e.g., work pressure) was perceived differently as the self-concept evolved, namely as psychological distress, challenge for growth, or opportunity to express one’s value. These findings suggest that the psychological management of work-induced distress and eustress should match a worker’s development of self-concept over the course of a career.

Financialization in Japan

Since the 1980s, neoliberal economic policies have promoted financialization throughout the global economy. While Japan has not been entirely unaffected by this phenomenon, its financialization is peculiar. It is certain that big businesses have been accumulating excess money, rather than reinvesting it, but financial institutions have not grown in terms of financial assets. Moreover, Japan’s financial system remains, even today, a traditional bank-based system. It is a fact that foreign investors now hold more stock in large Japanese companies than was previously the case, and consequently, they have imposed the rules of shareholder capitalism. However, in the 2000s, large Japanese companies have offered only modest increments in dividend payouts. Meanwhile, the total remuneration of the directors of those companies has been declining. Since the financial crisis of 1997–1998, big businesses in Japan have cut wages to increase profits during periods of slow economic growth. However, financial institutions have neither the will nor the capability to use their reserves. Additionally, households in Japan have avoided the option of taking out home mortgages and credit to purchase consumer goods that would have made them a part of financialization as borrowers. These events have prevented Japan from realizing full-fledged financialization. Instead, the Japanese economy grew through an expansion of exports in the 2000s; since then, under Abenomics, the old export-led model has come to an end. This does not mean, however, that Japan’s model is a replication of the American model.