The Embedded Corporation – Corporate Governanace and Employment Relations in Japan and the United States: Corporate Governance and Employment Relations in Japan and the United States - Hardcover

Jacoby, Sanford M

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691119996 ISBN 13: 9780691119991

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2004

Synopsis

Is there one best way to run the modern business corporation? What is the appropriate balance between shareholders, executives, and employees? These questions are being vigorously debated as layoffs, scandals, and restructurings rattle companies around the world. The common assumption is that globalization is merging the varieties of corporate capitalism. Yet, as this book shows, corporations in Japan and the United States are responding differently to the pressures unleashed by globalization. In America, shareholders have emerged as dominant while employment is more transitory and market-oriented. In Japan, shareholders are gaining influence but employees still play a key role in corporate strategy and governance. In The Embedded Corporation, Sanford Jacoby traces this enduring diversity to national differences in economic history and social norms, and, paradoxically, to global competition itself.

The book's vantage point for exploring the varieties of capitalism is the headquarters of large corporations--in particular, their human resources departments, where changes in markets and technology turn into corporate labor policies affecting millions of workers. Jacoby reveals the inner workings of these departments. Despite some cross-fertilization, Japanese and American corporations maintain distinctive approaches to human resource management, with Japanese HR departments occupying a more central position within the corporation. As Jacoby shows, this has important consequences for how firms compete, for corporate governance, and even for the level of inequality in Japan and the United States.

The Embedded Corporation is a major contribution to our understanding of comparative management and the relationship between business, society, and the global economy.

About this title

Review:

"The Embedded Corporation is thoughtful, persuasive, and contextually rich when addressing the evolution of corporate governance and employment relations in Japan and the U.S. . . . [I]t surpasses previous studies of Japanese-U.S. HR practices, contributes to recent debates over the evolution of industrial relations systems and globalization and equally pertinently, presents a significant platform for promising future research on relevant issues."--Emilio J. Castilla, Administrative Science Quarterly

"Sanford Jacoby's latest book with its richly detailed case studies is such a valuable addition to the corporate governance-employment relations literature and a must-read for anyone interested in this area."--Peter Waring, Journal of Industrial Relations

From the Back Cover:

"In a world of glib oversimplifications and theoretical models that claim to explain everything, The Embedded Corporation reminds us of the importance of national culture and history and of the diversity that exists in how companies are managed and governed even within a single country. Rich in historical perspective, institutional detail, and both survey and field data, Jacoby's book updates us on the evolution of human resource management and business strategy in Japanese and United States corporations."--Jeffrey Pfeffer, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University

"The rich historical and contemporary data contained in The Embedded Corporation will disappoint those who want to believe that the American styles of capitalism and human resource management are destined to take over the world. Instead, thanks to Sanford Jacoby we now have the nuanced understanding of how Japanese and American firms differ in these two important areas, and yet how global pressures are moving them in some similar directions. Anyone who seeks to change corporate practices in Japan or the U.S., or who writes about these issues, should stop doing so until they read and absorb the lessons of this masterpiece in comparative research."--Thomas A. Kochan, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

"Sanford Jacoby has provided us with a persuasive and informed perspective on a truly important issue: the reform of corporate governance and employment practices. In addition to his historical analysis, he offers a remarkable comparison of the United States and Japan based on the human resource function in large firms. In recent years, both Japan and the United States have become oriented toward the market and shareholders, yet the gap between them has widened. In an impressive way, this conclusion underscores the existence of 'the embedded corporation' and the varieties of capitalism."--Takeshi Inagami, University of Tokyo

"This very clearly written book represents the first serious attempt to chart what has been happening to the way in which Japanese and American companies have reorganized internally over the last decade of so-called 'globalization.' Moreover, it is by someone widely regarded as one of the leading experts on the subject. Marvelously interesting to read, it will illumine an important and murky debate."--David Soskice, Department of Political Science, Duke University, coauthor of Varieties of Capitalism

"A splendid book, lucid, cogent, and written in a style that is a pleasure to read. The Embedded Corporation is a major contribution to several academic fields, from management
studies to industrial sociology to political economy. It will also appeal to human resources people concerned for the future of their profession, those curious about where the Japanese economy is headed, and people generally interested in the distribution of power and income in American society."--Ronald Dore, London School of Economics, author of Stock Market Capitalism

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0691119996
• ISBN 13: 9780691119991
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 248