1 Introduction: The Diversity and Change of Corporate Governance in Japan

Abstract

Abstract The introductory chapter gives a comprehensive overview of the crisis and transformation of corporate governance in Japan since the mid-1990s. Drawing on the main empirical findings of the book, these changes are examined in relation to three areas: corporate ownership and finance, patterns of corporate organization and employment, and changes in the legal and governance role of the board of directors. Based on data from a Japanese Ministry of Finance survey, a summary typology of corporate governance practices in Japanese firms is developed that identifies three major clusters or types: firms with traditional Japanese-style practices, firms with hybrid practices combining market-oriented finance and governance with relationship-oriented employment, and firms with ‘inverse’ hybrid practices that combine relationship-oriented finance and governance with market-oriented employment. The implications of this growing diversity in organizational practices are discussed in relation to institutional change and the viability of a new Japanese-style model of corporate governance in the future.

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