Firm Turnaround Strategy : Comparative Research of Japanese, U.S., German, Korean Companies

本研究课题的主要目的是确定适合日本企业的扭亏为盈战略。为此，本项目还研究了德国和韩国企业的转型战略，这些企业的外部环境，特别是就业制度和社会习俗，往往与日本企业相似。此外，由于对美国企业的研究比较广泛，本研究对美国企业的扭亏战略进行了调查。根据对扭亏战略的大量文献回顾，最有争议的问题之一是裁员在扭亏过程中的重要性。一些学者认为，面临业绩下降的企业应该首先进行成本和资产紧缩，然后再进行恢复行动。另一些人则认为，紧缩措施并不总是能成功地扭转局面。本研究项目对日本企业及早采取紧缩措施的重要性进行了研究。收集了日本化学公司的数据。研究结果表明，早期的紧缩活动也是日本企业成功扭亏为盈的关键。本研究的结果发表在《立教经济杂志》2006年版上。今后，我们将进一步研究电子等日本其他产业是否也存在同样或类似的模式。此外，还将对德国、韩国和美国公司进行类似的研究。

The main purpose of this research project was to identify turnaround strategies appropriate for Japanese companies. To do so, this project also looked into turnaround strategies of German and Korean firms which have tended to have external environments, especially employment system and social customs, similar to those of Japanese companies. Moreover, this research investigated U.S. firms' turnaround strategies because of the existence of extensive research on these companies.According to extensive literature review on turnaround strategies, one of the most controversial issues was the importance of retrenchment in the turnaround processes. Some scholars insisted that firms facing declining performance should first do cost and asset retrenchment, and should then conduct recovery actions. Others persisted that retrenchment activities would not always lead to successful turnaround.This research project undertook a study on the importance of early retrenchment actions for Japanese firms. Data were gathered on Japanese chemical companies. Results of the study indicated that early retrenchment activities were also crucial for successful turnaround for Japanese firms. Findings of this study were published in the Rikkyo Economic Journal, 2006.Future studies will be conducted to find whether or not the same or similar patterns hold true for other Japanese industries such as electronics. Also, similar studies will be conducted on German, Korean, and U.S. firms.