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The genealogical structure of Japanese firms: Parent‐subsidiary relationships
Author(s) -
Ito Kiyohiko,
Rose Elizabeth L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
strategic management journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 11.035
H-Index - 286
eISSN - 1097-0266
pISSN - 0143-2095
DOI - 10.1002/smj.4250151004
Subject(s) - subsidiary , business , industrial organization , core (optical fiber) , parent company , organizational structure , marketing , core competency , exploratory research , conceptual framework , economic geography , management , multinational corporation , economics , sociology , computer science , social science , anthropology , telecommunications , finance
We analyze the genealogical structure of large Japanese firms, with particular emphasis on the relationship between parent firms and spinoff subsidiaries. The wide use of spinoffs and subsidiaries in Japan provides for flexible organizational mutations that appear to facilitate increased competitiveness and offer the opportunity to obtain benefits through a deliberate separation of core competencies. We discuss a conceptual framework for the spinoff arrangement, the results of an exploratory empirical analysis of the relationship between parent and subsidiary organizations, and implications of the use of this organizational structure. We suggest the importance of a consideration of the genealogical aspects of large Japanese firms in strategy research.