Corporate Strategy and Organizational Design for the Information Age: Development of the Database and International Comparisons

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The overall goal of this research project was to create s longitudinal data base of publicly available accounts published in newspaper, magazines, and annual reports for strategy changes and organizational restructurings in Japanese retailing, financial services and automobile industries between 1985 and 2001. Ultimately we attempted to search for the new dominant corporate strategies and organizational designs. After completing the data collection process, a restructuring classification grid was created. Each account is classified on two dimensions, type of change and locus of change in the organization. Next each account was analyzed in regards to creating and achieving capabilities of flexibility, adaptability and responsiveness and in terms of innovating organization forms and practices.Based on the database we performed several empirical studies. For example, we set out to investigate changes in marketing practices by European, Japanese and US firms after the Asian economic crisis. The nation-state form of capitalism created a system of constraints which affected the type and direction of changes. Japanese firms generally did not engage in radical changes. US firms were willing to engage in radical changes. European firms went between them. Also, we analyzed the impacts of rate ceiling introduced in June 2000 on strategy changes of Japanese financial services firms. The firms greatly intensified exploitation strategy responses relative to exploration responses. We furthermore found the mediating effect of size. Smaller firms tended to engaged in incremental strategic changes while larger firms implemented radical changes.