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.

Southeast Asian capitalism: History,institutions, states,and firms

This paper examines the structures of capitalism in Southeast Asia. Following the lead of Gordon Redding and others, it argues that parallel to varieties of capitalism elsewhere, there are distinctive features to the Southeast Asian business system, but that institutions play a relatively large role compared to firm specific resources or industry structures. Historically, with the exception of Thailand all the countries in the region are former colonies. All including Thailand share a distinctive style of nationalism, and partly as a result of this, all are governed by states that claim to be strong and lay wide claims but whose capacities are low. Typical features of the region, particularly the roles of large business groups and the Chinese minority, also can be interpreted as a result of this history. One of the outcomes of the analysis is an extension of the varieties of capitalism approach along the dimensions of state capacity and state direction, and of the approach to the internationalizing firm along the dimensions of dynamic capacity and control of subsidiaries. A further outcome is a questioning of the traditional picture of indigenous Southeast Asian business people as lacking in entrepreneurial skills, or more broadly of Southeast Asian nations as lacking in entrepreneurial values. Rather, the past history of these countries has resulted in a set of structures that militate against successful entrepreneurial activity.

Business groups in East Asia: Post-crisis restructuring and new growth

Business groups played an important role in the economic development of East Asian countries. Yet business groups in East Asia face an uncertain future. Following the Asian Crisis, foreign creditors and investors have demanded that business groups have more transparent operations and stronger corporate governance. At the same time, as governments in East Asia have loosened trade barriers, business groups have become subject to intense competition in domestic markets. This paper argues that business groups can survive or even prosper by taking initiatives in corporate restructuring. This paper also highlights some areas for further research on business groups in this region.

Nutrition and the governance of agri-food systems in South Asia: A systematic review

Malnutrition is a multicausal challenge that requires multisectoral responses to make comprehensive and sustainable progress, over the long term. How is agriculture and the wider agri-food system positioned within the constellation of factors and processes that determine nutrition outcomes in different contexts and countries? What is known about the role of enabling environments and the governance of agri-food systems in driving nutrition outcomes, for better or worse? In this paper we will highlight the findings of a systematic review that focuses on this question, drawing on work from the South Asian region including research undertaken by LANSA. We conclude with a discussion of the major implications and recommendations for future policy and practice.     

A Dualistic Model of Harmony and its Implications for Conflict Management in Asia

Conflict avoidance is common in East Asia, and the Confucian notion of harmony is often invoked to explain this tendency. We review the classical Confucian doctrines and found no encouragement of conflict avoidance in Confucian teachings. Quite the contrary, the Confucian notion of harmony embodies disagreement and open debates. Thus, we argue that harmony as conflict avoidance is not a main feature of classical Confucianism, but a characteristic of the secular version that is associated with cultural collectivism. We then review several theories that are based on the notion of harmony, and show that they are compatible with a dualistic model of harmony, which posits an instrumental as well as a value motive in harmony-seeking behavior. In the instrumental perspective, harmony is viewed as a means to a typically materialistic end, whereas in the value perspective, harmony is deemed an end in its own right. Conflict avoidance is primarily driven by the instrumental motive. These two motives are then crossed to form four types of harmony-seeking behaviors. This typology is discussed in terms of its implications for future research and its applications in conflict management.     

Mainframes and mandarins: The impact of internet use on institutional trust in East Asia

The roles of contextual determinants such as culture and political regime in existing studies of Internet use and institutional trust remain underexplored. Adopting a cultural-institutional perspective, we ask: How does Internet use relate to institutional trust? Under what conditions is the impact of Internet use on institutional trust most potent? Do authoritarian orientation and perceived institutional responsiveness mediate the relationship? Is this mediating process moderated by the degree of democratic freedom? A total of 20,667 respondents from 14 East Asian countries/territories completed questionnaires. Our results show that the indirect effect of Internet use on institutional trust via authoritarian orientation was stronger for countries/territories with a low degree of democratic freedom, while the indirect effect of Internet use on institutional trust via perceived institutional responsiveness was stronger for countries/territories with a higher degree of democratic freedom.     

Material power and normative conflict in global and local agrifood governance: The lessons of ‘Golden Rice’ in India

This special section aims to investigate the interaction of global and local forces in shaping agrifood governance. It starts from the recognition that a multitude of actors and norms shape today’s agrifood system. The resulting opaqueness of the systems makes it extremely difficult to understand and explain processes and outcomes of agrifood governance. Given the sustainability challenges facing the agrifood system, improvements in our understanding of what the interaction of global and local actors and norms means on the ground are urgently needed, however. The section, therefore, analyses agrifood governance in India across a selected group of cases. It does so by employing a systematic framework emphasizing the material and ideational dimensions of power and their interaction. The section has chosen India as the setting in which to analyze this interaction due to the crucial role the food demand and supply of this rising power plays in today’s agrifood system. This article provides the special sections’ analytical framework, which uses the interplay of material and ideational dimensions of power as a focal lens. In addition, the article applies this framework to an empirical study of the political conflict around GMO foods in India, specifically the case of ‘Golden Rice’.     

Testing a model of reasoned risk‐taking: governance,the experience of principals and agents,and global strategy in high‐technology IPO firms

Research on the governance of risky ventures, like the initial public offerings (IPOs) of high‐technology firms, has focused primarily on the relationship between governance mechanisms and firm performance. While such an emphasis is clearly important, it does little to shed light on potential relationships between governance and the strategies pursued by risky firms, nor does it take into account the complementary role of key stakeholders in affecting those strategies. To partially remedy this deficit we integrate agency and behavioral perspectives to develop a theory of ‘reasoned risk‐taking,’ whereby the nature of risks undertaken is a consequence of the interaction of governance mechanisms and stakeholder characteristics. We demonstrate our theory by predicting when corporate governance should be associated with strategic risk‐seeking beyond a firm's technical core—as seen in the degree to which it has expanded internationally. Surprisingly, even though venture capitalists (VC) are risk specialists, we find that technology‐based IPO firms are less likely (i.e., a negative relationship) to have extensive global sales when they are backed by a VC. In support of our reasoned risk‐taking theoretical framework, we find that VCs are indeed risk‐seeking when VC backing is complemented by the international experience of their board appointees, top management team (TMT) members, or both. IPO firms with significant insider ownership are similarly global risk‐seekers, and those effects are strongest with an internationally seasoned board and TMT at the helm. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sustainable food systems for healthy diets in Europe and Central Asia: Introduction to the special issue

This Special Issue highlights various good practices and food policy discussion in relation to the transformation of current food systems toward their social, environmental and economical sustainability. The papers describe policies, programmes and initiatives in developing and advanced economies of Europe and Central Asia that refer to the core elements of food systems, such as food supply, food environments, and consumers. The shared opinions, analyses, studies and approaches, experiences and insights contribute to a better understanding of regional specificities and support the efforts to guide the complex food systems’ transformation for their improved capacity to deliver healthy diets.