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

本研究项目的主要目的是确定适合日本公司的周转战略。为此，该项目还研究了具有与日本企业相似的外部环境，特别是雇佣制度和社会习俗的德国和韩国企业的周转战略。此外，由于对这些公司存在广泛的研究，本研究调查了美国公司的周转战略。根据对周转战略的广泛文献回顾，最具争议的问题之一是在周转过程中紧缩的重要性。一些学者坚持认为，面对业绩下滑的企业应首先进行成本和资产紧缩，然后再采取恢复行动。其他人则坚持认为，紧缩活动并不总能成功扭转局面。这个研究项目进行了一项关于日本公司早期紧缩行动重要性的研究。他们收集了日本化学公司的数据。研究结果表明，早期的紧缩活动对日本公司的成功转型也至关重要。该研究结果发表在2006年的《立教经济杂志》上。未来的研究将进行，以确定是否相同或类似的模式适用于其他日本行业，如电子产品。此外，还将对德国、韩国、美国的企业进行类似的调查。

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.