Understanding institutional change in Asia:
A comparative perspective with Europe
29-30 June 2015, Paris

Kick-off meeting of the INCAS project organized bythe Fondation France-Japon de l’EHESS

Institutional members of the INCAS project are: Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science
Sociales, Freie Universität Berlin, Oxford University, Waseda University, Maison francojaponaise
Venue: EHESS (190 Avenue de France 75013 Paris, conference room 638-640 – 6th floor)

Contact and information:
Soulia Bentouhami (soulia.bentouhami@ehess.fr)
Adrienne Sala (adrienne.sala@ehess.fr)
Ken Daimaru (ken.daimaru@ehess.fr)

Day 1 - Monday, 29 June 2015, 8:50 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Venue: EHESS (190 Avenue de France 75013 Paris, conference room 638-640 – 6th floor)
1st steering committee of the INCAS project
Morning Session
8:50 a.m.
Introduction by Sébastien Lechevalier (EHESS)
9:00 a.m.

Presentation and discussion of the Work package 2: “Towards a new conceptual
framework to understand institutional change”
Coordination: Freie Universität Berlin

9:45 a.m.

Presentation and discussion of the Work package 3: “Building a database ofcorporate characteristics in Asia (employment and finance)”
Coordination: Waseda University

10:30 a.m.

Coffee Break

11:00 a.m.

Presentation and discussion of the Work package 4: “Understanding the impact ofliberalization and financialization on Asian firms”
Coordination: Oxford University

11:45 a.m.

Presentation and discussion of the Work package 5: “A comparison with Europe”
Coordination: EHESS

12:30 p.m. Lunch
Afternoon Session
1:30 p.m.
Presentation and discussion of the Work package 1: “Administration andcoordination of the project” (including financial issues and schedule of the meetings)
Coordination: EHESSClosed session, for invited guests only (room 641)
3:30 p.m.

Coffee break

4:00 p.m.

Expected outcomes of the project (including publications, editorial strategies)

5:00 p.m.

General discussion

6:00 p.m.

Closing the first day of the INCAS meeting

6:15 – 6:45 Meeting on the “Instit-Asia” project (GDRI-CNRS funding)p.m.
Closed session, for invited guests only (room 641)
7:00 p.m.

Dinner

Day 2 - Tuesday, 30 June 2015, 9:00 a.m.- 7:30 p.m.
9:00 a.m.

Welcome Address by Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur (President, EHESS)

9:10 a.m.

Presentation of the INCAS project by Sébastien Lechevalier (EHESS) and selfintroduction of all participants

Panel 1: Towards a new conceptual framework to understand institutional change (WP 2)
Chair & discussion: FUB
9:30 a.m.
Gregory Jackson (FUB): “Varieties of Capitalism and Institutional Comparative
Advantage: A Test and Reinterpretation”
Panel 2: Understanding the impact of liberalization and financialization on Asian firms (WP4)
Chair & discussion: Oxford
10:00 a.m. Mari Sako (Oxford University) & Masahiro Kotosaka (Ritsumeikan University):“Corporate Governance for Start-ups in Japan: Layering of Institutional Logics“Pauline Debanes (EHESS): "Financialization without financiers? The puzzle of theshareholder value in Korea"
Miyajima Hideaki (Waseda University) and Ryo Ogawa (Waseda University):“Increasing Institutional and Corporate Policies: Does ownership really matter?”
Adrienne Sala (EHESS): “The Rise and Fall of Consumer Finance Companies in Japan
from the 1980s to the mid-2000s”
Verena Blechinger-Talcott (FUB): “Globalization, markets, and institutional change:
the case of imported flowers in Japan”
12:30 p.m.

LunchPanel 3: Building a database of corporate characteristics in Asia (employment and finance)(WP3)
Chair & discussion: Waseda
1:30 p.m.
Hideaki Miyajima (Waseda university): “Constructing the financialization and its
impact on employment in Japan and Asia countries”
Haengsun Kim (EHESS): "The Evolving Financial System and Firm Heterogeneity:
the Korean Case in the 1990s and 2000s"
2:30 p.m.

Coffee break

Panel 4: A Comparison with Europe (WP 5)
Chair & discussion : EHESS
2:40 p.m.
Hugh Whittaker (Oxford University): “Share buybacks and the 10% ROE mantra”
Howard Gospel (Oxford University): “Financialisation and Labour: Perspectives,Potentials, and Pitfalls“
Julia Bartosch (FUB): “Green from the inside? A comparative study of corporate
governance and corporations’ environmental behavior”
Angelo Riva (EBS): “Experiments in Stock exchange industry regulation The Paris
Bourse, 1893 – 1898”

Special feature: Discussion of the INCAS research agenda by Robert Boyer (EHESS)
Chair: EHESS
4:40 p.m.

5:20 p.m.

Coffee break

Panel 5: Miscellaneous papers
Chair & discussion: Wasedaa) “Industrial case study”
5:30 p.m.
Nam Lee (Chung-Ang University): “Finding Business Opportunity in Declining
Industry: The Case of D Textile Co., Ltd. in the Korean Cotton Spinning and WeavingIndustry.”
E Suzanne Brucksch (FUB): “Institutional Boundaries in the Japanese BiomedicalEngineering Sector”b) “Institutions and performance”
Ogura Yoshiaki (Waseda University) and Fu Jiangtao (Waseda University):“Demography of Corporations and Return Distribution: An International Comparisonby Stochastic Dominance Tests”
Hirota Shinichi (Waseda university) and Arai Ryouichi (Waseda University):“Profitability and Longevity of Fortune Global 500 Companies”
7 30 p.m.

Reception

ANNEX 1 : GROUND RULES FOR THE WORKSHOP:• Presenters are asked to introduce their research questions and their arguments in thefirst 3 minutes. They must address the INCAS research questions and themes in thisintroduction.
• Presenters are strictly limited to 20 minutes for their presentations. The panel chairs
will give them 5mn and 2mn notices, before cutting them at the 20mn mark without
exception.
• Since the primary goal of this kick-off meeting is to develop a research program withfocused questions and coherent approaches, the emphasis is put on discussion among all
participants and with the audience.

ANNEX 2 : List of participantsWaseda University
Hideaki Miyajima

Professor, coordinator of the INCAS project (Waseda)

Yasuhiro Arikawa

Associate Professor

Shinichi Hirota

Professor

Masaru Kono

Professor

Yoshiaki Ogura

Professor

Fu Jiangtao

PhD Candidate

Kohei Kawamura

Associate Professor, University of Edinburgh

Freie Universität Berlin
Verena Blechinger-Talcott

Professor, coordinator of the INCAS project (FUB)

Gregory Jackson

Professor

Julia Bartosch

PhD candidate

Susanne Brucksch

Postdoctoral researcher

Oxford University
Mari Sako

Professor, coordinator of the INCAS project (Oxford)

Howard Gospel

Associate Fellow

Hugh WhittakerProfessor

Masahiro KotosakaAssociate Professor, Ritsumeikan University

Nam Lee

Assistant Professor, Chung-Ang University

EHESS
Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur

Professor and President

Sébastien Lechevalier

Associate Professor, coordinator of the INCAS project

Robert Boyer

Emeritus Professor

Angelo Riva

Professor (EBS & PSE)

Pauline Debanes

PhD Candidate

Jeremy Ducros

PhD Candidate

Haengsun Kim

PhD Candidate

Adrienne Sala

PhD Candidate

Jérôme Malois

Administrative officer (EHESS)

Chloé Borgel

Administrative officer (EHESS)

Soulia Bentouhami

Project manager of the INCAS project

Kae AmoAdministrative coordinator (FFJ)

Ken DaimaruAdministrative coordinator (FFJ)

Lala Dadci

Administrative coordinator (FFJ)