Japanese Firm and Firm Groups in the Historical Perspective ; An Approach from Gorporate Governance and Organizational Capability

本研究以第一次世界大战后至石油危机后这段时期为研究对象，从历史的角度，对日本企业和企业集团的行为结构和功能特征进行了研究。研究时期分为五个亚时期，即1）两次世界大战之间（1914-1937），2）战时（1937-45），3）战后改革（1945-55），4）高增长时代（1955-1973），5）后高增长时代（1974-）。我们的重点是日本大企业的公司治理和财务以及高层管理人员的组织能力。第一年（1995年度）的主要工作是，利用开发银行提供的数据磁带（后来的光盘），建立有关所有权结构、资本构成和企业业绩的高增长时代的数据库。第二年，我们试图将数据库扩展到战时和战后改革时期，增加了总统更替的数据，以突出权变治理结构的演变过程。第三，也是去年，剩下的任务是建立两次世界大战之间的数据库。然而，令人遗憾的是，这项工作没有完成，主要是因为很难获得这一时期穿制服的公司一级的数据，我们不得不从各种来源收集必要的数据。如第（11）栏所示，在各种场合发表了本研究课题的成果，其中包括在现金流的约束下估算投资函数、从历史的角度回归总裁更替对企业业绩的影响等论文。作为本研究的后续工作，将尽快澄清财阀公司和独立公司在两次世界大战之间和战争期间的结构和行为差异。

The purpose of this research project was to clarify the behavior structural, and functional characteristic of Japanese firm and firm groups in the historical perspective, mainly focusing on the period from the World War One to the Post Oil Crisis. The research period was divided into five sub-period such as 1) the interwar (1914-1937), 2) the wartime (1937-45), 3) the postwar reform (1945-55), 4) the high growth era (1955-1973), and 5) the post high growth era (1974--). Our focus was put on the corporate governance and finance of the Japanese large firms as well as the organizational capability of top management. In the first year (FY 1995), our main efforts were put on setting up our own data base of the high growth era concerning the ownership structure, capital composition, and corporate performance, using the data tape (later Compact disk) supplied by the Japan Development Bank. Next year, we tried to extend our data base to the wartime, and postwar reform period, adding the data for the presidential turnover in order to highlight the evolutionary process of the contingent governance structure. Third, and last year, the remaining taskwas to set up the data base for the interwar period. However, it was not regrettably finished, mainly because getting the uniformed firm level data for this period was so difficult that we had to gather necessary data from various sources. Products of this research project were presented and published in various occasion as is shown in column (11), including papers for estimating the investment function with the constraints of cash flow and regressing the presidential turnover on corporate performance in the historical perspective. The remaining task mainly composed of the structural and behaviors difference between zaibatsu comapanies and independent companies during interwar and wartime period would be clarified Soon as a follow up of this research project.