This paper presents a hypothesis that Japan's rapid economic growth was achieved through a unique combination of neoclassical elements, implying competitiveness and efficiency, and antineoclassical elements, implying growth preference in corporate decisionmakings. First a model of economic growth is presented to establish a theoretical link between management motivation and economic growth, and then industrial organization, internal labor markets, and capital markets in Japan are investigated in comparison to those in the United States in order to substantiate the hypothesis above. We also argue that the faster economic growth in Germany over the United Kingdom can be explained in a similar fashion, and discuss the implications to economic and antitrust policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]