Corporate Governance

This book explores current thinking on corporate governance by way of a detailed study of the governance practices of fourteen Japanese companies. The author was granted extensive access to these Japanese companies, as well as to their partner companies, their shareholders, and their banks, and is therefore able to provide a detailed insight into the way that Japanese companies are actually governed on a day-to-day basis. The book suggests that current mainstream conceptualizations of corporate governance are inadequate, as they do not help to understand the way that these Japanese companies are directed and controlled in practice. In the majority of cases, governance operates through a system which draws on the reciprocal obligations, responsibilities, and trust generated in everyday interactions at the individual and organizational level. The conclusions of the research have important implications not only for our understanding of the Japanese system of corporate governance, but also for international corporate governance policy and research in general. In particular, the book commends greater recognition that alongside the currently dominant concern 'controlling' the behaviour of company managers, the governance of companies might equally be considered in terms of the responsibilities, reciprocal obligations, and trust inherent in everyday interactions. The book is equally accessible and relevant to both academics and to those involved with corporate governance issues on a day-to-day basis, including financial services providers, lawyers, policymakers, and company directors.

Simon Learmount is Daiwa Fellow at the ESRC Centre for Business Research, Judge Institute of Management Studies, University of Cambridge, and is a Shimomura Fellow at the Development Bank of Japan. He has a Ph.D. and an MBA from the University of Cambridge. Formerly he worked as Sales and Marketing Director of an international healthcare organization, and Managing Director of an international educational organization. In both positions he worked extensively in Japan.