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INCAS!Annual!Conference!2017!
25th!and!26th!of!May!
St!Antony’s!College!
University!of!Oxford!
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Provisional!Programme!
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This%workshop%has%received%funding%from%the%European%Union’s%Horizon%2020%research%
and%innovation%programme%under%the%Marie%Skłodowska@Curie%grant%agreement%
No%645763.!

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Programme(at(a(Glance(!

Thursday!25th!May!
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9:00H9:15!!
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9:15H10:45!
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10:45H11:15!!
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11:15H12:45!!
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12:45H1:45!!
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1:45H3:30!!
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3:30H4:00!!
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4:00H5:30!!

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Welcome!!

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Session!1!H!Structural Crisis, Economic Policy, and Institutions!

Coffee!

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Session!2!H!Boards and Diversity of Voice in Corporate Governance!

!

Lunch!!

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Session!3!H!Stock Markets and Listing Behaviour!

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Coffee!!

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Session!4!- Structural Change, Its Processes and Effects

5:30H6:00!!
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7:15!pm! !
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Keynote!

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Dinner!

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9:00H10:30!
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10:30H11:00!
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11:00H12:30!
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12:30H1:00!
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1pm!!
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Friday!26th!May!!
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Session!5!H!Entrepreneurship!

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Coffee!

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Session!6!H!Activism and Anti-Discrimination Policy!

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Concluding!Remarks!and!Reflections!

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Lunch!

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Thursday(25th(May(!
!
(Professor(Mari(Sako(

9:00:9:15( (Welcome( (((9:15:10:45((
Session(1(:(Structural(Crisis,(Economic(Policy,(and(Institutions(!
!
!
Chair:!Professor!Mari!Sako!
!
Professor!Robert!Boyer!H!The!Economic!Policies!Innovations!After!the!2008!Crisis:!The!US,!the!EU,!
and!China:!comparing!a!federal!State,!multilevel!governance!and!a!partyHState.!
!
Professor!Shinichi!Hirota!H!Profitability!or!Longevity?!CrossHCountry!Variations!in!Corporate!
Performance.!
!
Professor!Yves!Tiberghien!H!Reconciling!Global!Incentives,!Societal!Expectations,!and!Institutional!
Integrity:!Structural!Innovations!in!Japan!in!Comparative!Context.!
!
10:45:11:15((
Coffee(!
11:15:12:45((
Session(2(:(Boards(and(Diversity(of(Voice(in(Corporate(Governance(!
!
!
Chair:!Professor!Sébastien!Lechevalier!!
!
Professor!Mari!Sako!and!Professor!Katsuyuki!Kubo!H!Professionals!on!Corporate!Boards:!Under!
What!Circumstances!Do!They!Affect!The!Bottom!Line?!
!
Ms.!Thi!Phuong!Thanh!Ngyuen!H!Board!diversity!in!Japan:!the!role!of!female!director.!
!
Professor!Hideo!Owan!H!Does!Employee!Stock!Ownership!Work?!!Evidence!from!PubliclyHTraded!
Firms!in!Japan.!
!
12:45:1:45(((
Lunch((
1:45:3:30(( (Session(3(:(Stock(Markets(and(Listing(Behaviour(!
!
!
Chair:!Professor!Gregory!Jackson!
!
Mr!Pengda!Fan!H!Going!Public!in!Bear!Markets.!
!
Professor!Konari!Uchida!H!Are!future!Capital!Gain!Opportunities!Important!in!the!market!for!
corporate!control?!Evidence!from!China!(with!Liping!Dong!and!Xiaohong!Hou).!!
!
Mr!Jérémy!Ducros!H!The!Determinants!of!Listing!Decisions!of!Companies.!Evidence!from!France!
during!the!Belle!Époque.!
!
3:30:4:00( (Coffee(((4:00:5:30( (Session(4(:(Structural(Change,(its(Processes(and(Effects!
!
!
!
Chair:!Verena!BlechingerHTalcott!
!

Professor!Sébastien!Lechevalier!H!Uneven!use!of!NonHregular!Workers!at!the!Corporate!Level.!
Investigating!the!Japanese!Case.!
!
Ms.!Pauline!Debanes!H!Financialization!and!Corporate!Heterogeneity:!An!Investigation!of!FirmHlevel!
Investment!behaviour!in!South!Korea,!1990!H2016.!!
!
Ms.!Julia!Bartosch!H!Environmental!Responsibilities!in!Japan!and!Germany.!A!Qualitative!Study!on!
Actors'!Perceptions!and!Practices.!
!
5:30:6.00( (Keynote((Professor!Colin!Mayer!H!Evolution!of!Ownership!and!Control!Around!the!World:!The!Changing!Face!
of!Capitalism.!
7.15( ((((

Dinner(in(St.(Antony’s(College(
Friday(26th(May((!
!
9:00:10:30((
Session(5(:(Entrepreneurship(!
!
!
Chair:!Professor!Masa!Kotosaka!
!
Professor!Jörg!Sydow!and!Dr!Manuel!Nicklich!H!Organization!of!Value!Creation!and!Work!in!the!
Japanese!Wind!Power!Industry:!Outline!of!a!Study!of!Organizational!Diversity!in!Face!of!
Institutional!Change.!
!
Ms!Agata!Kapturkiewicz!H!IT!Startup!Communities!and!Ecosystems!–!a!Comparison!between!Tokyo!
and!Bangalore.!
!
Professor!Jörg!Sydow!and!Dr.!Thomas!Schmidt!H!Changing!Institutional!Settings!for!StartHups:!The!
Role!of!Institutional!Organizations!in!Japan.!
!
10:30:11:00(
Coffee((11:00:12:30(
Session(6(:(Activism(and(Anti:Discrimination(Policy(!
!
!
Chair:!Professor!Howard!Gospel!
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Professor!Ian!Neary!H!Globalisation!and!Institutional!Change!–!AntiHdiscrimination!in!Japan!in!2016!
(and!beyond?)!
!
Dr!Adrienne!Sala!H!Lawyers,!Collective!Actions,!and!Legislative!Changes!in!Japan!
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Mr!Jan!Niggemeier!H!AltHlabour!Activists!as!Field!Challengers!in!the!Japanese!Labour!Movement!!
12:30:1:00((((((
1pm( ((

Concluding(Remarks(and(Reflections(
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(
(
Lunch!

Professor(Hugh(Whittaker(and((Professor(Sébastien(Lechevalier(Abstracts!
!
The!Economic!Policies!Innovations!After!the!2008!Crisis:!The!US,!the!EU!and!China:!comparing!a!
federal!State,!a!multilevel!governance!and!a!partyHState!
!
Professor!Robert!Boyer!(EHESS)!
!
Innovation!studies!and!researches!focus!mainly!on!the!technological!advances!made!by!firms!and!
private!actors!and!they!extend!the!analysis!to!their!spill!overs!upon!national!economies!growth!
patterns.!Régulation!approach!has!pointed!out!that!the!viability!of!any!growth!regime!is!up!to!the!
compatibility!or!complementarity!between!technological,!Organizational!and!
institutional!innovations,!and!each!of!them!follow!a!different!logic.!This!hypothesis!can!be!pushed!
a!step!forwards!by!looking!at!purely!ideational!breakthroughs!at!the!level!of!national!economies!
policies.!!During!structural!crises,!policy!makers!perceive!the!inadequacy!and!limits!of!the!
conception!and!tools!of!their!previous!economic!policies.!An!uncertain!process!of!trial!and!errors!
begins!that!is!shaped!by!the!decaying!regulation!mode!and!leading!political!coalition.!These!two!
hypotheses!are!tested!against!the!reactions!to!the!2008!world!crisis!of!the!United!States,!the!
European!Union,!and!China.!Actually!the!responses!are!quite!different!and!they!are!explained!by!
contrasted!basic!political!compromises!and!degree!of!centralization!of!the!national!state.!Thus!
structural!crises!mean!the!end!of!an!epoch!but!they!do!not!imply!the!convergence!towards!a!
single!conception!of!economic!policy.!
!
!
Profitability!or!Longevity?!CrossHCountry!Variations!in!Corporate!Performance!
!
Professor!Shinichi!Hirota!(Waseda!University)!
!
Using!the!data!of!firms!listed!in!the!Fortune!Global!500!from!1980!to!2010,!we!compare!the!
performance!of!the!world’s!largest!industrial!corporations!across!46!countries.!We!focus!on!two!
dimensions!of!corporate!performance:!profitability!and!longevity.!We!find!significant!variations!in!
both!profitability!and!longevity!measures!across!countries.!We!also!observe!that!firms!in!some!
countries!are!highly!(less)!profitable!but!less!(more)!likely!to!survive!in!the!Top!500!firms.!We!
regress!profitability!and!longevity!measures!on!countryHlevel!institutional!factors:!financial!system,!
law,!and!national!cultures.!We!find!that!(i)!marketHbased!(bankHbased)!financial!system!is!
positively!(negatively)!related!to!a!firm’s!profitability!but!negatively!(positively)!related!to!its!
longevity,!(ii)!strong!shareholder!(creditor)!rights!are!positively!(negatively)!related!to!the!
profitability!but!negatively!(positively)!related!to!the!longevity,!(iii)!high!individualism,!low!
uncertainty!avoidance!and!low!longHterm!orientation!are!positively!related!to!the!profitability!but!
negatively!related!to!the!longevity.!These!results!suggest!that!a!country’s!formal!and!informal!
institutions!significantly!affects!a!firm’s!objectives,!behavior,!and!performance.!
!
!
Reconciling!Global!Incentives,!Societal!Expectations,!and!Institutional!Integrity:!Structural!
Innovations!in!Japan!in!Comparative!Context!
!
!

Professor!Yves!Tiberghien!(The!University!of!British!Columbia)

How!should!advanced!societies!reconcile!their!adaptation!to!changing!global!forces,!social!
expectations!for!stability,!and!the!overall!optimal!integrity!of!their!institutional!system?!What!are!

possible!thresholds!that!trigger!reforms?!What!are!optimal!innovative!reform!pathways!and!key!
reform!traps?!What!are!political!processes!behind!such!institutional!experimentation?!
This!theoretical!paper!focuses!on!the!case!of!Japan!in!a!comparative!perspective!and!reviews!the!3!
different!responses!given!to!those!questions!under!reformist!liberal!governments!(1996H2007),!
socialHdemocratic!governments!(2009H2011)!and!the!statist!globalist!government!of!Prime!
Minister!Abe!(2012Hpresent).!It!argues!that!Japan!has!gone!through!a!cycling!process!of!
experimentation!that!has!not!yet!allowed!it!to!optimize!its!economic!potential!or!fully!address!
public!expectations.!Unlike!Germany,!Japan!has!brought!some!systemic!changes!to!its!structure.!
Yet,!the!hybrid!outcome!has!generated!internal!tensions!and!subHoptimal!economic!outcomes,!
despite!the!additional!booster!of!a!highly!proactive!monetary!policy.!
!
!
Professionals!on!Corporate!Boards:!Under!What!Circumstances!Do!They!Affect!The!Bottom!Line?!
!!
Professor!Mari!Sako!(Saïd!Business!School),!Professor!Katsuyuki!Kubo!(Waseda!University)!
!
Firms!deal!with!external!uncertainty,!according!to!resource!dependence!theory,!by!being!better!
prepared!for!external!contingencies.!One!source!of!external!interdependence!causing!such!
uncertainty!is!government!regulation.!!In!order!to!deal!with!it,!firms!may!appoint!professionals,!
such!as!lawyers!and!accountants!as!experts,!on!the!board!of!directors!to!better!interpret,!comply,!
and!anticipate!regulatory!issues.!!This!study!compares!the!corporate!boards!in!heavily!regulated!
and!less!regulated!industries,!and!finds!that!professionals!are!more!likely!to!be!present!in!
regulated!industries.!!Moreover,!firms!with!professionals!on!the!corporate!board!are!associated!
with!better!marketHbased!performance!(as!measured!by!ROA)!in!heavily!regulated!sectors!but!not!
in!less!regulated!sectors.!We!also!attempt!to!demonstrate!differential!impacts!of!different!types!of!
professionals!on!corporate!performance!(using!ROA!and!Tobin’s!Q).!We!employ!a!panel!data!of!all!
publicly!quoted!companies!in!Japan!covering!the!2004H2015!period.!We!contribute!to!theory!and!
policy!debates!on!corporate!governance,!and!clarify!under!what!circumstances!professionals!act!
not!merely!as!‘cops’!who!are!riskHaverse!naysayers,!but!as!‘business!advisors’!who!contribute!to!
creating!value!for!the!firm.!
!
!
%Board!diversity!in!Japan:!the!role!of!female!director!
!

Ms.!Thi!Phuong!Thanh!Ngyuen!(PhD!Candidate,!Waseda!University)!
!

This!paper!examines!the!effects!of!board!diversity!on!firm!performance!and!behavior,!focusing!on!
the!introduction!of!female!director!on!board!in!Japanese!listed!firms!from!2006!to!2015.!I!found!
out!that!the!number!of!female!directors!on!board!has!not!changed!over!the!research!time!span!
until!2013,!year!on!that!the!Prime!Minister!Shinzo!Abe’s!plan!to!revive!Japan’s!fortunes!by!
increasing!women’s!participation!released.!Firms!having!female!directors!on!board!are!of!large!
size,!younger!board!and!high!equity!ownership.!
!
I!examined!the!introduction!of!female!director!on!firm!performance!and!documented!that!ROA!of!
firms!after!having!first!female!director!on!board!varies!with!director’s!title!and!company’s!industry.!
I!also!examined!the!effect!of!female!directors!on!the!firm’s!CSR!and!found!out!that!firms!having!
introduced!first!female!director!improved!their!CSR!ranking,!showing!that!introduction!of!female!
director!is!used!by!several!companies!for!symbolic!reasons.!!
!

Does!Employee!Stock!Ownership!Work?!!Evidence!from!PubliclyHTraded!Firms!in!Japan!
!
Professor!Hideo!Owan!(University!of!Tokyo)!
!
This!paper!provides!novel!evidence!on!the!effects!of!employee!stock!ownership,!using!new!panel!
data!on!Japanese!Employee!Stock.!Ownership!(ESO)!plans!for!a!highly!representative!sample!of!
publiclyHtraded!firms!in!Japan!(covering!more!than!75!percent!of!all!firms!listed!on!Tokyo!Stock!
Exchange)!over!1989H2013.!Unlike!most!prior!studies,!we!focus!on!the!effects!of!changes!in!
varying!attributes!of!existing!employee!stock!ownership—the!effects!on!the!intensive!margin.!Our!
fixed!effect!estimates!show!that!an!increase!in!the!strength!of!the!existing!ESO!plans!measured!by!
stake!per!employee!results!in!statistically!significant!productivity!gains.!Furthermore,!such!
productivity!gains!are!found!to!lead!to!profitability!gains!since!wage!gains!from!ESO!plans!are!
statistically!significant!yet!rather!modest.!Our!analysis!of!Tobin’s!Q!suggests!that!the!market!tends!
to!view!such!gains!from!ESO!plans!as!permanent.!We!further!find!that!increasing!stake!of!the!
existing!core!participants!is!more!effective!in!boosting!gains!from!ESO!plans!than!bringing!in!more!
employees!into!the!trust.!Reassuringly!our!key!results!are!found!to!be!robust!to!the!use!of!
instrumental!variables!to!account!for!possible!endogeneity!of!ESO!plans.!Finally!we!explore!
possible!interplays!between!ESO!plans!and!firm!characteristics!such!as!ownership!structure!and!
firm!size/age.!First,!the!positive!effects!on!productivity,!profitability,!wages!and!Tobin’s!Q!are!
found!to!become!larger!as!the!proportion!of!powerful!institutional!investors!and!foreign!investors!
rises,!implying!that!the!growing!importance!of!such!powerful!outside!shareholders!may!be!
reducing!the!adverse!managerial!entrenchment!effect!of!ESO!plans.!Second,!productivity!gains!
from!ESO!plans!are!found!to!be!more!limited!for!smaller!and!younger!firms.!We!interpret!the!
finding!as!evidence!in!favor!of!the!institutional!complementarity!view!that!ESO!plans!are!an!
integral!part!of!the!Japanese!High!Performance!Work!System!(HPWS)HHa!complementary!cluster!of!
human!resource!management!practices!which!are!more!pervasive!among!larger!and!older!firms!in!
Japan.!
!
Evolution!of!Ownership!and!Control!Around!the!World:!The!Changing!Face!of!Capitalism!
!
Professor!Colin!Mayer!(Saïd!Business!School)!
!
This!chapter!documents!the!evolution!of!ownership!and!control!of!firms!around!the!world!over!a!
hundred!year!period!from!the!beginning!of!the!20th!century!to!today.!It!records!the!substantial!
changes!that!have!taken!place!in!the!nature!of!stock!markets!and!contrasts!these!with!the!
persistent!patterns!of!ownership!that!are!observed!in!many!countries!around!the!world.!In!
particular,!it!documents!the!growth!in!dispersion!in!ownership!that!took!place!in!many!countries!
from!the!early!part!of!the!20th!century.!It!reports!that!this!took!place!in!the!absence!of!formal!
systems!of!investor!protection!but!in!the!presence!of!institutional!developments!that!facilitated!
the!building!of!trust!between!investors!and!firms.!Contrary!to!the!view!that!concentrations!of!
ownership!necessarily!undermine!the!operation!of!equity!markets!by!exploiting!minority!interests,!
the!chapter!argues!that!in!many!countries!they!played!a!central!role!not!just!in!exercising!control!
but!also!in!promoting!relations!between!investors!and!firms!that!were!central!to!the!development!
of!their!stock!markets.!In!particular,!concentrations!of!ownership!in!the!hands!of!families!may!
have!been!a!source!of!public!as!well!as!private!benefits.!The!chapter!concludes!by!looking!at!
recent!changes!and!argues!that!these!reinforce!the!longHrun!patterns!of!the!relative!decline!of!the!
UK!and!US!stock!markets,!the!continued!decline!of!family!firms!in!the!UK,!the!growth!of!private!
equity!and!the!emergence!of!new!forms!of!concentrated!shareholdings.!!
!

!
Going!Public!in!Bear!Markets!
!
!

Mr!Pengda!Fan!(PhD!Candidate,!Waseda!University)!

Japanese!firms!in!competitive!industries!with!small!variation!in!production!costs!are!more!likely!to!
go!public!in!bear!markets!than!firms!from!other!industries.!Firms!relying!on!bank!financing!are!
more!likely!to!go!public!in!bear!markets!than!those!with!outstanding!bonds.!Firms!going!public!in!
bear!markets!have!greater!sales!growth!from!the!preHinitial!public!offering!(IPO)!level!and!show!
less!financing!constraint!during!the!postHIPO!period!than!other!IPO!firms.!These!results!suggest!
that!firms!placing!relatively!low!priority!on!equity!issues!as!a!purpose!of!IPOs!are!willing!to!go!
public!even!in!bear!markets.!
!
!
Are!future!capital!gain!opportunities!important!in!the!market!for!corporate!control?!Evidence!
from!China!(with!Liping!Dong!and!Xiaohong!Hou)!!
!
Professor!Konari!Uchida!(Kyushu!University)!
!
Stock!prices!of!Chinese!target!companies!react!positively!to!the!announcement!of!block!trades.!
The!stock!price!reaction!is!larger!when!publicly!tradable!shares!(PTS)!are!transferred!than!when!
bidders!obtain!nonHpublicly!tradable!shares!(NPTS).!PTS!transactions!also!experience!significantly!
better!longHterm!stock!price!performance!than!NPTS!transactions!do.!These!results!suggest!that!
opportunities!to!realize!capital!gains!incentivize!bidders!to!increase!target!firms’!value.!Targets!of!
PTS!transactions!experience!a!significant!increase!in!assets!and!sales!growth,!while!those!of!NPTS!
transactions!significantly!decrease!fixed!investments.!Share!tradability!motivates!bidders!to!
expand!target!firms’!businesses!for!capital!gains.!
!
!
The!determinants!of!listing!decisions!of!companies.!Evidence!from!France!during!the!Belle!Époque!
!
Mr!Jérémy!Ducrost!(PhD!Candidate,!EHESS)!
!
In!this!paper,!I!shed!light!on!the!competition!between!stock!exchanges!in!France!during!the!Belle!
Époque!by!considering!the!listing!decisions!of!firms.!Relying!on!an!original!dataset,!I!provide!new!
data!on!the!number!of!primary!listings,!the!market!value!as!well!as!industry!characteristics!for!
each!organized!exchange!in!France.!The!results!show!that!French!stock!markets!were!quite!
specialized.!I!point!out!that!the!Parquet!–!the!Parisian!official!market!–!tended!to!attract!older!and!
bigger!(as!measured!by!the!value!of!listed!shares)!companies.!Banks!and!insurance!companies!
were!also!more!likely!to!go!public!at!the!Parquet.!The!Coulisse!–!the!Parisian!unofficial!market!–!
was!more!specialized!in!the!trading!of!gold!mines!and!textile!companies'!shares.!On!the!other!
hand,!the!Lyon!stock!exchange!–!the!biggest!regional!exchange!in!France!at!that!time!–!managed!
to!attract!smaller!companies.!A!major!finding,!for!all!the!markets,!is!that!the!distance,!used!as!a!
proxy!for!asymmetric!information,!is!negatively!correlated!with!the!listing!decisions.!Thus,!the!
fragmentation!of!the!French!financial!market!might!be!explained!by!asymmetric!information!
between!the!issuers!and!the!investors.!!
!
!
!

!
Uneven!use!of!nonHregular!workers!at!the!corporate!level.!Investigating!the!Japanese!case!
!
Professor!Sébastien!Lechevalier!(EHESS)!
!
Although!it!depends!on!the!definition!one!considers!(contract!length,!working!hours,!title!used!by!
the!workplace),!there!is!no!doubt!that!nonHregular!employment!in!Japan!experienced!an!overall!
dramatic!increase!since!the!midH1980s!(Kambayashi,!2013;!Teruyama!&!Toda,!2015).!For!example,!
if!one!considers!the!definition!based!on!the!title!used!by!the!workplace,!the!percentage!of!nonH
regular!workers!has!increased!from!15%!in!the!midH1980s!to!about!35%!recently.!Although,!
international!comparisons!are!made!difficult!because!of!definitional!issues,!Japan!is!one!of!the!
OECD!countries!with!the!highest!percentage,!when!one!focuses!on!partHtime!employment!(OECD,!
2015).!
!
What!is!less!known!is!that!this!overall!increase!in!the!use!of!nonHregular!workers!(NRW)!does!not!
concern!all!firms!or!establishments.!NonHregular!workers!are!concentrated!in!some!specific!firms!
or!establishments.!More!precisely,!it!has!been!shown!that!the!use!of!NRW!differs!by!industries!and!
by!size!of!the!firm!or!establishment.!For!example,!partHtime!workers!seemed!to!be!concentrated!in!
large!firms!and!in!the!service!industries!(Kalantzis!et!al.,!2012).!However,!there!is!no!consensus!on!
the!theoretical!reasons!of!the!impact!of!the!size!(and!industry)!on!the!use!of!NRW!:!for!example,!
on!the!one!hand!a!bigger!size!can!be!associated!with!a!greater!diversity!of!tasks!required,!and!
using!external!work!can!in!that!case!be!useful!to!the!organisation!;!on!the!other!hand!since!larger!
organizations!tend!to!be!more!bureaucratic!and!have!more!resources!at!their!disposal,!they!
should!be!more!apt!to!seek!stable!and!committed!employees!and!thus!to!avoid!nonstandard!work!
arrangements!(Kalleberg!&!Schmidt,!1996).!More!generally,!there!is!a!need!to!better!understand!
the!uneven!use!of!NRW!across!firms.!
!
Our!contribution!can!be!summarized!as!follows.!Instead!of!using!employees!survey!(Labor!Force!
Survey,!Employment!Status!Survey),!as!most!of!the!papers!interested!in!NRW,!we!resort!to!an!
administrative!firm!survey,!the!Basic!Survey!of!Japanese!Business!Structure!and!Activities!(BSBSA),!
in!order!to!focus!on!the!corporate!characteristics!that!may!explain!the!diverse!use!of!NRW.!The!
BSBSA!is!a!unique!firm!level!panel!administrative!survey!(conducted!annually!by!the!Ministry!of!
Economy,!Trade!and!Industry)!allowing!us!to!follow!about!37,000!firms!with!over!50!employees!
during!the!period!1994H2006.!It!includes!information!on!different!types!of!nonHregular!workers!
(partHtime,!temporary,!dispatched!workers).!
!
In!this!paper,!we!address!the!following!question:!Which!Japanese!firms!do!resort!more!than!others!
to!NRW?!What!are!their!characteristics?!
!
At!this!stage,!our!preliminary!results!allow!us!to!answer!to!this!question!by!going!beyond!variables!
such!as!the!size!and!the!sector,!and!can!be!summarized!as!follows:!
!
The!ratio!of!NRW!in!a!given!firm!increases!with:!
H!!!!!firm’s!age!(that!can!be!interpreted!within!an!insider/outsider!framework);!
H!!!!!firm’s!temporary!profitability!measured!by!sales!fluctuation!around!its!trend,!which!captures!
sales!volatility!and!thus!degree!of!uncertainty!of!demand!faced!by!the!firm!
H!!!!!export!intensity!(that!can!be!interpreted!in!terms!of!productHmarket!competitiveness)!
!!
The!ratio!of!NRW!in!a!given!firm!decreases!with:!

H!!!!!headquarters’!weight!in!total!sales!(it!means!that!the!corporate!choice!in!terms!of!
organizational!structure!are!nonHneutral!from!the!viewpoint!of!corporate!employment!practices)!
H!!!!!with!the!presence!of!more!specialized!skill!or!knowledge!(as!captured!through!capital!intensity!
and!R&D!intensity)!
H!!!!!with!the!worsening!of!financial!condition!(as!captured!by!the!debt!total!asset!ratio,!deviated!
from!trend)!
!
Finally,!we!confirm!that!the!legal!environment!of!the!firms!is!non!neutral!as!the!ratio!of!NRW!
increases!with!the!degree!of!easiness!of!institutional!factors!(as!captured!by!OECD!nonHregular!
employment!protection!index!and!dispatched!worker!regulation!dummy)!
!
In!the!next!steps!of!our!research,!in!which!we!will!be!able!to!use!the!same!dataset!until!2012,!we!
would!like!to!have!a!better!understanding!of!causality!(e.g.!through!using!instrumental!variables!
and!discuss!our!results!by!investigating!the!differences!of!corporate!employment!policy!by!types!
of!NRW.!
!
!
Financialization!and!corporate!heterogeneity:!an!investigation!of!firmHlevel!investment!behavior!in!
South!Korea,!1990!H2016!
!

Ms!Pauline!Debanes!(PhD!Candidate,!EHESS)!

An!extensive!literature!researches!the!impact!of!financialization!on!the!dynamic!of!accumulation!
in!contemporary!capitalism.!In!particular,!mainly!in!the!case!of!the!United!States!and!Western!
Europe,!it!has!been!shown!to!what!extent!the!increase!financial!activities!of!nonHfinancial!
corporations!(NFCs)!has!been!negatively!impacting!longHterm!investment!and!growth.!One!key!
vector!identified,!besides!the!decreasing!return!on!manufacturing!investment!and!the!intense!
competition,!is!the!increasing!importance!of!the!shareholder!value!(Lazonick,!2014;!Krippner,!
2005;!Epstein,!2005;!Orhangazi,!2008).!It!has!had!a!farHreaching!impact,!not!only!on!investment!
behavior!but!also!on!corporate!strategy!and!corporate!integration!to!global!value!chains!(Milberg,!
2008).!Macroeconomic!studies!have!shown!that!the!increasing!payments!from!NFC!to!
shareholders!have!led!to!slower!investment!and!more!volatile!growth!(Stockhammer,!2004;!
Orhangazi,!2008).!!
Korea!hasn’t!been!a!typical!case!study!of!financialization.!First,!the!growth!rate!of!investment!and!
growth!has!remained!high!in!the!last!decade!compare!to!other!OECD!countries;!second,!the!
domination!of!large!conglomerates!has!limited!the!shareholder!value!revolution!as!it!has!
happened!in!AngloHSaxon!countries.!Nevertheless,!investment!and!growth!are!on!a!declining!trend,!
and!corporate!governance!of!large!firms!have!evolved!tremendously!since!1997!with!a!better!
protection!of!minority!shareholders,!the!adoption!of!international!accounting!and!management!
standards!and!an!increasing!share!of!foreign!investors.!This!paper!uses!a!firmHlevel!panel!to!
investigate!the!financialized!behavior!by!NFCs!in!South!Korea!between!1990!and!2016!and!tests!
the!hypothesis!that!the!rate!of!investment!in!the!corporate!sector!is!dropping!due!to!the!
increasing!rate!of!dividends!(see!Davis,!2013).!The!finding!points!towards!local!specificities!of!the!
financialization!process!in!Korea!and!a!rising!corporate!heterogeneity.!!
!
!
!
!

Environmental!Responsibilities!in!Japan!and!Germany.!A!qualitative!study!on!actors'!perceptions!
and!practices.!
!
Ms!Julia!Bartosch!(PhD!Candidate,!Freie!Universität!Berlin)!
!

The!research!project!will!examine!three!different!research!questions.!Initially,!I!will!examine!how!
CSR!is!defined!and!understood!by!different!organizational!actor!groups!that!are!probably!more!or!
less!concerned!with!the!decisionHmaking!process!for!and!implementation!process!of!CSR!in!
corporations.!Next,!my!second!research!question!focuses!on!the!process!of!planning!and!
implementation!of!CSR!in!the!organization.!The!aim!is!to!develop!a!better!understanding!of!the!
processual!character!of!the!CSR!within!organizations!and!the!actors!involved!in!that!process.!!
!
Finally,!the!project!plans!to!show!the!(conflictual)!interests!of!corporate!actors!concerning!the!
definition!and!understanding!of!CSR!as!well!as!the!planning!and!implementation!processes.!!
With!this!focus,!the!project!wants!to!highlight!a!micropolitical!perspective!on!the!intraH
organizational!processes!related!to!CSR.!Here,!the!project!aims!to!combine!studies!on!CSR!with!a!
more!broader!organizational!literature!on!micropolitics!(Crozier!&!Friedberg,!1995;!Cyert!&!March,!
1963;!Gray!&!Silbey,!2014).!This!idea!derives!from!research!once!summarized!under!a!“processual!
perspective”!on!CSR!(Wang,!Tong,!Takeuchi,!&!George,!2016).!Nevertheless,!this!research!largely!
focuses!on!the!processual!definition!of!CSR!on!the!field!level!(York,!Hargrave,!&!Pacheco,!2016)!or!
in!regard!to!the!interaction!between!the!organization!and!its!stakeholders!(Crilly,!Hansen,!&!Zollo,!
2016).!Therefore,!we!know!relatively!little!about!which!groups!inside!corporations!have!an!
interest!in!CSR!issues!and!how!these!interests!are!influenced!by!organizational!structures.!Since!
we!often!understand!organizations!as!unitary!actors,!we!know!little!about!the!intraHorganizational!
relationships!concerning!CSR!issues.!Interests!might!collide!with!other!interests!of!the!organization,!
until!now!for!example!summarized!as!conflicts!between!shortHterm!and!longHterm!aims!(Slawinski!
&!Bansal,!2015;!Slawinski,!Pinkse,!Busch,!&!Banerjee,!2015).!Nevertheless,!we!can!also!imagine!
conflicts!with!the!interests!of!organized!labor!(potential!job!losses!due!to!environmentally!friendly!
changes)!or!between!corporate!departments!due!to!a!change!in!power!distributions!(less!freedom!
in!the!selection!of!suppliers!due!to!CSR!provisions).!
!
I!am!still!in!the!process!of!data!collection.!So!far,!the!first!stage!of!data!gathering!involved!a!series!
of!qualitative!faceHtoHface!and!telephone!interviews,!which!I!conducted!since!2015!with!interview!
partners!from!Germany!and!Japan.!These!two!countries!were!selected!due!to!a!variety!of!
corporate!governance!structures!in!these!two!countries,!since!both!countries!represent!a!mixture!
of!older!coordinated!with!newer!more!liberal!structures.!This!allows!for!a!higher!variability!in!
organizational!structures.!The!interview!partners!included!representatives!of!all!three!relevant!
corporate!groups:!financial!representatives!(big!owners!such!as!banks,!investment!funds,!
foundations!etc.),!representatives!of!corporations!in!Germany!and!Japan!(topHlevel!and!CSR!
management)!and!employee!representatives!(work!councils!and!unions).!Additionally,!I!also!
conducted!interviews!with!NGOs!active!in!monitoring!the!environmental!performance!of!
corporations.!I!conducted!a!total!of!42!interviews,!20!in!Germany,!and!20!in!Japan.!All!interviews!
were!based!on!two!sets!of!questions!that!allowed!me!to!stimulate!narration:!First,!I!asked!
interviewees!to!give!me!an!example!for!an!environmental!initiative!in!their!corporation.!Second,!I!
asked!about!the!detailed!process!of!decisionHmaking!and!implementation!as!well!as!about!
conflicts!with!other!corporate!actors.!The!interviews!lasted!between!30!to!90!minutes!and,!if!
possible,!they!were!tapeHrecorded!and!transcribed.!
!
!

Organization!of!Value!Creation!and!Work!in!the!Japanese!Wind!Power!Industry:!Outline!of!a!Study!
of!Organizational!Diversity!in!Face!of!Institutional!Change!
Professor!Jörg!Sydow!(Freie!Universität!Berlin)!and!Dr!Manuel!Nicklich!(Freie!Universität!Berlin)!

!
Fukushima!2011!has!changed!the!perspective!on!renewable!energies!essentially,!also!in!Japan.!The!
Japanese!government!has!started!to!support!research!and!development!of!wind!energy!
(particularly!offshore)!and!decided!to!quadruple!the!installed!capacity!until!2030.!However,!
despite!the!incidents!in!Fukushima!as!a!potential!triggering!event!opening!up!opportunity!
structures,!there!is!rather!a!limited!diffusion!of!renewables.!Although!the!capacity!has!
continuously!increased!over!the!last!15!years!Fukushima!seems!to!have!a!greater!impact!in!other!
countries,!such!as!Germany.!
!
Given!the!notion!that!emerging!fields!often!form!and!change!around!particular!opportunities!
(Zietsma!et!al.!2017),!we!assume!that!an!institutional!change!in!the!field!of!Japanese!energy!
production!is!taking!place.!But!since!certain!settings!–!such!as!the!number,!status!and!origin!of!
involved!actors!for!example!–!influence!pace,!linearity!and!scope!of!change!(Zietsma!et!al.!2017:!
419)!it!is!an!open!question!what!this!means!for!energy!transition!and!practices!within!the!field!of!
Japanese!renewable!energy!sector.!
For!the!Japanese!wind!power!industry,!one!can!observe!that!important!Japanese!manufacturers!
such!as!Hitachi,!Japan!Steel!Works!(JSW),!Mitsubishi!Heavy!Industries!(MHI),!and!Toshiba!
increasingly!engage!in!wind!turbine!manufacturing.!The!field!of!wind!turbine!manufacturing!is!
nevertheless!still!in!flux!and!the!question!arises!how!the!field!will!be!configured!in!terms!of!
business!models,!organization!of!value!creation,!work!organization!and!employment!relations!
against!the!background!of!the!traditional!manufacturer!́s!involvement.!
Given!the!importance!of!these!aspects!for!established!companies!(incumbents)!as!well!as!new!
market!actors!(new!entries)!the!following!research!questions!will!be!central!for!our!study!of!the!
field!of!wind!turbine!manufacturing!in!Japan:!!
•% What!is!the!role!of!wind!energy!in!Japan!́s!energy!transition?!Which!actors!are!involved,!which!
structures!enable!and!constraint!the!development!of!the!field,!and!which!are!the!drivers!of!
field!formation!in!wind!turbine!manufacturing?!
•% What!means!the!involvement!of!incumbents!in!this!field?!Is!there!an!adaption!of!traditional!
Japanese!organization!of!value!creation!and!work!culture!or!a!fundamental!change!in!
already!existing!patterns?!Are!there!differences!between!the!manufacturers!in!terms!of!
employment!relations!and!how!can!they!be!explained?!In!order!to!answer!these!
questions!data!will!be!collected!mainly!with!the!help!of!interviews!with!managers!and!
worker!representatives!on!a!firmHlevel!as!well!as!representatives!of!state!agencies,!nonH
governmental!organizations!and!associations!on!an!industry!level.!Previous!research!on!
wind!turbine!manufacturing!in!Germany!(HBS!Grant!2013H678H2)!allows!to!observe!
commonalities!but!also!central!differences!between!Japan!and!Germany.!
Preliminary!results!show!that!there!is!a!rather!endogenous!change!within!the!field!of!Japanese!
energy!sector,!which!is!first!and!foremost!initiated!and!managed!by!the!incumbents!of!the!field,!
thereby!preserving!their!status.!This,!however,!might!explain!that!change!within!the!Japanese!
energy!sector!remains!rather!slow.!For!there!is!still!a!lack!of!ecologically!oriented!entrepreneurial!
firms!–„EnviroHCapitalists“!(Anderson!and!Leal,!1997)!–!as!well!as!of!political!support,!which!might!
be!able!to!challenge!the!position!and!practices!of!the!incumbents.!!
!

IT!startup!communities!and!ecosystems!–!a!comparison!between!Tokyo!and!Bangalore!
!
Ms!Agata!Kapturkiewicz!(PhD!Candidate,!Saïd!Business!School)!
!
This!paper!presents!preliminary!results!of!a!comparative!research!of!IT!startup!communities!and!
ecosystems.!It!forms!an!initial!phase!of!a!doctoral!project,!which!aims!to!investigate,!among!other!
questions,!what!aspects!of!startup!communities!and!startup!ecosystems!are!location!specific!and!
what!aspects!are!universal,!as!well!as!what!is!the!role!that!startup!communities!play!within!startup!
ecosystem!as!one!of!its!elements.!This!focus!is!important!because!although!‘startup!community’!is!
often!cited!as!a!vital!element!to!creating!successful!entrepreneurship!ecosystem,!its!role!and!
characteristics!are!still!under!researched!and!insufficiently!understood.!!
!
The!study!tackles!the!above!questions!though!a!comparison!of!the!cases!of!Tokyo,!Japan,!and!
Bangalore,!India,!conducted!in!the!spirit!of!grounded!theory!and!engaging!theoretical!perspective!
of!institutional!analysis.!The!findings!on!the!Tokyo!part!of!the!project!are!based!on!the!Masters!
dissertation!on!‘IT!startup!communities!in!Tokyo’,!written!in!May!2016,!and!preceded!by!an!inH
depth!empirical!fieldwork.!The!results!on!the!case!of!Bangalore!are!based!on!the!initial!fieldwork!
research!conducted!in!April!2017.!!
!
!
Changing!institutional!settings!for!startHups:!The!role!of!institutional!organizations!in!Japan!
!
!

Dr.!Thomas!Schmidt!(Freie!Universität!Berlin)!

The!research!project!will!contribute!to!developing!new!theory!in!the!field!of!entrepreneurial!city!
ecosystems!in!mature!economies!like!Japan.!Applying!case!study!and!quantitative!methodologies,!
we!will!analyze!how!various!institutional!organizations!in!the!Tokyo!ecosystem!support!the!
process!of!new!venture!creation.!More!specifically,!we!follow!Richard!Florida's!(2002)!conception!
of!"quality!of!place"!and!analyze!(1)!what!is!there!(2)!who!is!there,!and!(3)!what!is!going!in!Tokyo’s!
emerging!entrepreneurial!city!ecosystem.!Tokyo!is!Japan’s!economic!center!and,!recently,!an!
entrepreneurial!ecosystem!has!emerged!in!proximity!to!the!established!corporate!landscape.!
Usually,!these!startHups!maintain!strong!ties!with!large!Japanese!firms,!and!our!research!aims!to!
explore!the!enabling!and!constraining!mechanisms!for!startHups!that!stem!from!this!specific!
institutional!setting.!
!
!
Globalisation!and!Institutional!Change!–!antiHdiscrimination!in!Japan!in!2016!(and!beyond?)!
!
Professor!Ian!Neary!(University!of!Oxford)!
!
Developments!in!the!world!economic!system!are!not!the!only!forces!that!have!encouraged!
globalisation!–!‘the!making!of!the!world!into!a!single!space’.!The!emergence!of!an!international!
human!rights!regime!at!the!end!of!the!C20th!based!mainly!on!the!UN!is!another!–!welcomed!by!
liberals!and!condemned!by!conservatives!in!almost!equal!measure.!However!in!2016!an!
undeniably!conservative!Abe!government!adopted!a!series!of!policies!aimed!to!address!different!
aspects!of!discrimination!in!Japan.!How!can!this!apparent!contradiction!be!explained?!The!paper!
will!start!by!briefly!describing!the!Japan’s!integration!into!the!international!framework!and!point!
to!some!of!the!comments!on!the!situation!in!Japan!made!by!committees!of!the!UN.!It!will!then!
outline!the!legislation!introduced!during!2016!and!consider!whether!this!amounts!to!the!leaders!

of!the!Japanese!state!accepting!that!it!has!a!positive!obligation!to!support!human!rights!legislation.!
Finally,!I!will!conclude!with!some!observations!on!the!strengths!and!weaknesses!of!the!2016!
measures!and!what!this!might!indicate!about!the!nature!of!Japan’s!involvement!in!this!dimension!
of!globalisation.!
!
!
Lawyers,!collective!actions,!and!legislative!changes!in!Japan!
!
Dr!Adrienne!Sala!(EHESS)!
!
In!this!presentation!we!will!briefly!shed!light!on!the!concept!of!“cause!lawyers”!developed!in!the!
AngloHSaxon!literature!at!the!end!of!the!1990s!to!analyse!a!particular!type!of!judiciary!and!legal!
activism!(Sarat!&!Scheingold!1998;!2006).!We!will!focus!on!several!cases!of!Japanese!activistH
lawyers!who!managed!to!obtain!significant!legal!and!social!changes!since!the!late!1960s.!We!will!
analyse!the!role!of!these!lawyers!as!potentially!“new”!form!of!social!movements!and!explore!the!
following!questions:!Can!we!apply!the!analytical!concept!of!cause!lawyering!to!the!Japanese!cases!
of!activistHlawyers?!How,!when!and!why!do!social!movements!turn!to!and!use!lawyers!and!legal!
strategies?!Does!the!Japanese!lawyers’!institutionalization!change!their!actions!or!constraint!the!
achievement!of!their!goals?!
!
!
AltHlabour!activists!as!field!challengers!in!the!Japanese!labour!movement!!
Mr!Jan!Niggemeier!(PhD!Candidate,!Freie!Universität!Berlin)!

!
Previous!research!on!Japanese!industrial!relations!has!put!a!strong!focus!on!established!forms!of!
organised!labour!and!their!struggle!to!revitalise!in!regard!of!the!new!challenges!for!the!labour!
movement.!During!times!of!intensified!global!economic!integration,!Japanese!mainstream!trade!
unions!are!remarkably!hesitant!to!take!a!strong!position!towards!urgent!societal!problems!and!
instead!maintain!a!distinctive!enterpriseHbased,!ultraHcorporatist!stance.!However,!apart!from!the!
mainstream!trade!union!movement,!the!increasingly!important!role!of!emerging!alternative!forms!
of!labour!activism!has!been!mostly!neglected!in!research!so!far.!In!reaction!to!mainstream!unions’!
shortcomings!to!approach!urgent!societal!and!political!issues,!activists!in!newlyHemerging,!lessH
institutionalised!forms!of!labour!activism!on!the!grassrootsH!level,!such!as!community!unions,!
workers’!cooperatives!or!social!movementHtype!advocacy!networks!fill!a!niche!in!the!Japanese!
labour!movement.!The!research!project!elucidates!transformations!within!the!broader!Japanese!
labour!movement!along!examples!of!different!forms!of!alternative!labour!activism,!which!in!the!
role!of!field!entrepreneurs!challenge!incumbent!structures!of!organised!labour.!It!aims!to!find!out,!
how!strategic!decisionHmaking!about!organisational!structures!approached!agendas!as!well!as!
applied!tactics!by!the!involved!actors!impacts!field!transformations.!Approaching!this!
phenomenon!from!both!social!movementH!and!organisationHtheoretical!perspectives!allows!to!
understand!the!underlying!processes!of!field!transformation!in!Japanese!labour!activism.!This!
analysis!is!based!on!field!research!conducted!in!Japan!in!2016,!including!interviews!with!organisers!
and!members!of!trade!unions!and!several!different!altHlabour!organisations!as!well!as!participant!
observation!within!group!activism.!
!
!
!