Ware ware nihonjin but we're not all alike: How Japanese managers champion innovation

This paper, using a study based on a survey of 678 managers in 8 Japanese firms, examines the similarities and differences in the preferred styles of innovation championing that exist across large established Japanese companies. The results of the study show that championing styles vary greatly across Japanese organizations. The implication of this finding is that research on Japanese firms should avoid looking only for similarities which reinforce stereotypes of a "Japanese way" of managing the innovation process.