Change and continuity in Japanese corporate governance

Previous studies on Japanese corporate governance were largely based on the agency theory framework, and can be seen as attempts to understand the unique monitoring mechanisms in the Japanese context. This paper briefly reviews prior research and then discusses the recent changes in the environment that have been affecting Japanese corporate governance. Our central argument is that there is both change and continuity in Japanese Corporate Governance. We also present emerging research from an institutional theory perspective. In this line of research, corporate governance is treated as part of a nation’s institutional framework and hence, researchers need to understand unique institutional arrangements that affect corporate governance practices and their change or continuity.

Jean McGuireEmail:

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Toru Yoshikawa   (PhD, York University) is Associate Professor of International Business and Strategic Management at DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University. His main research interest is corporate governance, especially its relation to corporate strategy and performance in large publicly listed firms and in family-owned firms. His research has been published or is forthcoming in such journals as the Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Venturing, and Asia Pacific Journal of Management. This is Professor Yoshikawa’s 4th contribution to APJM. Jean McGuire   (PhD, Cornell University) is the William Rucks IV Professor of Management at the E. J. Ourso College of Business, Louisiana State University. Her research interests are corporate governance, including executive compensation, transparency and disclosure, and patterns of ownership. Her research has appeared or is forthcoming in such journals as the Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management, and Asia Pacific Journal of Management. This is Professor McGuire’s 2nd contribution to APJM.