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In an era of closer worldwide economic integration, the role that environmental regulations play in shaping a country's comparative advantage is greater than ever. This has led to fears that ‘dirty’ firms will relocate from developed to developing countries where environmental regulations may be less stringent – the so-called pollution haven hypothesis. To date, however, there is little support for the existence of pollution havens despite anecdotal evidence and the theoretical predictions. In this paper we employ a unique industry-level dataset for Japan and examine whether Japanese industries have relocated production to their ASEAN neighbors in response to the relative stringency of Japanese environmental regulations. Not only do we find no evidence for pollution-haven-consistent behavior but also some indication that the complex relationship between the characteristics of Japanese dirty industries and environmental regulations may actually have reduced Japanese outward FDI to the Philippines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the transfer of Japanese supervisory practices to their Great Britain-based Japanese transplants and to the Great Britain-based emulators. To this end the paper is divided into three further sections. The first section briefly reviewing the state-of-the-debate on Japanization: was it a 'straw man' debate, is it yesterday's news or does it still retain some saliency? The second section will provide a context for the study of supervisory systems and the third will provide the results of a recent empirical study, before conclusions are drawn.

In this paper, we set out to investigate whether strategic leadership matters at a moment in the life cycle of the firm when a change is made in the top leadership. By far, most of the conceptual and empirical literature on the consequences of CEO succession involves United States companies. Therefore, in this paper, we set out to investigate the impact of CEO succession on strategic and organizational changes in Japanese companies.The empirical study consisted of a matched control group design involving 81 Japanese companies experiencing a CEO succession event and 81 companies with continuity of their CEO leadership. The results of the study can be summarized as follows. Overall CEO succession was not associated with radical strategic and organization changes. Japanese companies did engage in evolutionary organization and strategic adaptations during the five year period of the study but independent of CEO succession. The governance structure moderates organization changes (independent of CEO succession) in particular when the firm was affiliated with a main bank and the firm was experiencing severe financial pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between the level of managerial compensation and the quality of corporate governance in Japan in the period following the bubble burst of 1991–1995. There are three main findings. First, Japanese firms with weaker governance have greater agency problems in that managerial opportunism extracts higher compensation and the firm performs relatively worse. Second, these agency problems were more severe during the recessionary period of 1994–1995. Finally, governance structures in industries with higher managerial compensation are relatively weaker than in other industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pharmacovigilance science has traditionally been a discipline focussed on the postmarketing or post-authorisation period, with due attention directed towards pre-clinical safety data, clinical trials and adverse events. As the biological sciences have evolved, pharmacovigilance has slowly shifted toward earlier, proactive consideration of risks and potential benefits of drugs in the pre- and peri-approval stages of drug development, leading to a maturing of drug safety risk management. Further advances in biology, pharmacology and improvements in computational applications to medicine have led to the development of more complex medicines previously unobtainable and have also permitted a more thorough assessment of risks and potential benefits even earlier in the development process. Elevated public concern with the safety of more sophisticated medicines, combined with new science, have led pharmaceutical innovators, regulators and healthcare professionals to collaborate to develop guidelines, which drive enhanced pharmacovigilance and safety risk management earlier in drug development.In this paper, we review international guidelines on pharmacovigilance planning applicable to the pre-approval phases of medicines development and provide author opinion on these guidelines’ potential drug safety implications. We discuss the possible evolution of a pharmaceutical industry model to respond to these guidelines; a view on multidisciplinary safety management teams is provided to encourage refinement of safety-signal identification and risk assessment early in drug development and to communicate important safety concerns to internal research efforts, patients, investigators and regulators. We further describe these functions in the context of the complexities of vulnerable populations, including the example of medicines research for paediatric populations. We also discuss the special role of epidemiology in pre-approval drug development and the impact on epidemiological science of changes to the pharmacovigilance paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What connection could one possibly make between the Tale of Genji and modern Japanese business practices--one is literary, the other practical, one created predominately by and for women, the other nearly entirely in the purview of men, and both separated by a millennium? They both function by norms of behavior ingrained in culture and derived from similar sources. This paper will examine these norms and consequent behaviors from these two apparently opposing perspectives to gain insight into the traditional cultural foundations of modern ideas. The principles examined are tatemae and honne. Thtemae, means to present a façade and refers to motives or intentions that are socially attuned. Honne means the real truth, what is rarely spoken in public, but kept, as we would say, "close to the bone," especially if it concerns a negative feeling. Two other paired, opposing concepts are also of interest: omote and ura, or face and back, and soto and uchi, outside and inside. An examination of the Talc of Genji, especially a comparison of the monogatari, the 11th century text in 54 chapters and the emakimono, or 12th century painted scrolls illustrating the story, demonstrate the presence of these conventionalized discourses and behaviors as early as the middle Heian period, when themes in art and literature deriving from Japanese life, as opposed to Chinese legends, were first explored. In each type, the verbal text and the visual scroll, honne, ura, and uchi for the former and tatemae, omote, and soto for the latter, are in evidence, as they are also in modern business practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to report the integration studies of business modeling and roadmapping methods for the “Innovation Support Technology (IST)” and the IST''s practical application to real-world cases. The IST is conducted for the purpose of offering a convenient tool for engineers and researchers in order to enhance corporate value from R&D outputs. “Japan''s lost decade” has forced companies to change R&D management and R&D operation style, especially regional industries. We propose the framework for revitalization of regional industries by using the Strategic Technology Roadmap made by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI-TRM) with business modeling. We applied this IST method to several real-world cases to show its effectiveness. This study represents the result of over four years (fall 2002) of work with the value creation framework of the business modeling method for R&D outputs, done by a group of researchers from JATES (Japan Techno-Economics Society). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper we explore the interrelationship between technological progress and the formation of industry-specific skills by analysing the evolution of the video-game industry in three countries: Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. We argue that the cross-sectoral transfer of skills occurs differently depending on national contexts, such as the social legitimacy and strength of preexisting industries, the socioeconomic status of entrepreneurs or pioneer firms in an emerging industry, and the sociocultural cohesiveness between the preexisting and emerging industries. Each country draws on a different set of creative resources, which results in a unique trajectory. Whereas Japan's video-game industry emerged out of corporate sponsorships in arcades, toys, and consumer electronics industries and drew skills from the comic book and animated-film sectors, the video-game industry in the United States evolved from arcades and personal computers. In the United Kingdom the video-game industry developed bottom-up, through a process of skills formation in the youth culture of `bedroom coders' that nurtured self-taught programmers in their teens throughout the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently there has been a proliferation of neologisms to describe the Japanese model of management and its diffusion to other countries - for example, Toyotaism, and Japanization. Some have argued that such terms can be used to describe the direction in which, at least, British industry or work organization has been heading. This paper reviews some of this 'Japanization' literature and shows that there is a good deal of confusion and lack of precision in the terms being used. Rather than necessarily abandoning all such terms, the author makes a case for retaining both Toyotaism and Japanization but also for clearly differentiating between them. His starting point is that Toyotaism should be limited to the just-in-time management method (JIT) and that this is a model even in Japan. This should be separated, conceptually, from the context in which it has thus far been successfully embodied, namely Japanese employment and supplier relations. The term Japanization can then be used to refer to the evolution and diffusion of Japanese-style employment and inter-firm relations. The author then (a) draws out some of the implications of these conceptions, including the point that the diffusion of fiT in Japan itself has been under- researched and misunderstood, and (b) assesses through the case of the car industry, the extent to which Toyotaism and Japanization apply to recent developments in British industry. Whilst developing JIT has become important to managements, there is little evidence of any serious attempts, with the exception of the Japanese Nissan (U.K.), to change systems of supervision, training, assessment and payment along the lines which the author suggests are central to the Japanese systems. He concludes that it seems premature to talk of a Japanization of work systems and that there is a need to acknowledge the limited nature of the concepts of both Toyotaism and Japanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japanese companies are recognized as world class marketers. Yet, sources of information in English about the development of Japanese marketing and marketing management decisions, strategies, and operations are relatively sparse. This article, the result of Japanese/American collaboration based on the deliberations of a Japanese study team, is designed to help fill this gap. Four main topics are addressed: Stages in the growth of the marketing discipline, the nature of government/marketing relationships, marketing decisions and strategies, and selected practices. Fundamental sociocultural concepts underlying Japanese marketing approaches are discussed, and care is taken to highlight conceptual and operational differences from American marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at several strategies for the management of professional service suppliers. A framework designed to help managers identify sources of value in supplier relations is presented. The author derives the framework from research on interfirm relations in professional services, noting that managers who adopt an explicit strategy for managing service suppliers can better control costs and improve quality and effectiveness. The author identifies product and transaction as the two key components of service. Creating value by linkage is the primary concept behind managing suppliers. Fortunately, managers of industrial parts suppliers have the well-known "Japanese model" of close long-term relationships as a guide, which is now being followed by many U.S. manufacturers.

The article discusses the cost of capital in American industry, focusing on the behavioral perspective of management. It is suggested that the rate of investment by U.S. industry is not keeping up with leading competitors, especially the Japanese. Several differences between U.S. industry and that of leading competitors are looked at. The author notes a growing concern that U.S. industry's time horizons are shorter than Japan's. A discussion has been made on the premise that whether or not the cost of capital is lower in Japan than it is in the U.S., most Japanese firms appear to approach their investment decision making with longer time horizons than those in the U.S.

When engaging in business with the Japanese, it is important to be aware of the customs and practices of the Japanese businessperson. This article serves as a guide for what to do and what to expect when meeting the Japanese and dealing with their business organizations. Specifically, it examines the Japanese customs of the business card, the bow, and gift giving; corporate titles and organization; the decision-making process; and the types and conduct of business meetings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this chapter, first, we explain the evolution of the Japanese conglomerates, from the prewar zaibatsu to their decartelization in 1946 and to their reconstruction by the U.S. occupation. Thereafter, we outline the industrial organization of Japan and the role of the Japanese state in the domestic economy. Finally, we describe the four main pillars of the keiretsu model, namely, lifetime employment, seniority wages, enterprise unions, and consensual capitalism, before closing the chapter with some secondary aspects of the Japanese economic and social model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analyses the factors that determine the performance of ISO 9000 standards in Japanese industries. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from ISO 9000 certified companies nationwide. Our research hypothesis is that the performance of ISO 9000 depends upon the aspects that motivate a company to obtain certification, the process followed or approach taken during preparation for registration, the maintenance activities after certification, and the practice of previous or existent quality measures within the organization. These measures should predict how successful the standards are for an organization. In order to test the hypothesis, statistical data analysis includes t-test of the means, factor analysis, and regression. Slightly different trends are found in small, medium, and large organizations regarding the potential benefits from the ISO 9000 system and the influential measures. Small corporations focus on motivational issues and implementation procedures during the preparation for registration stage. In the case of medium size companies, motivational aspects, implementation procedures, maintenance activities, and previous/existent quality measures are all emphasized. Large corporations, similar to medium corporations, focus on the four independent variables, emphasizing the significance of employees' involvement and understanding, MIS, and Six Sigma. Our findings suggest that the integration of the influential issues within the organizational system allows the organization effectively to improve quality, minimize cost, develop international markets, and optimize profits through ISO 9000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan is perceived in most advanced countries as the world leader in the introduction and exploitation of new management practices, particularly in the area of manufacturing. In an attempt to match Japan's economic progress other countries are seeking to introduce many of the systems which are believed to be the basis of Japanese success. In this article, certain aspects of a UK manufacturing company which had adopted a number of practices following studies undertaken in Japan, is compared with a Japanese owned company located in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]