Technological Breakthrough and Intra-firm Organization: The Case of Japan

This paper analyzes the intra-organizational characteristics of the Japanese firm, Kaisha. We want to know how they have been related to the successful story of the Japanese economy, especially to their capability to make a rapid technological breakthrough during the past half century. Intra-firm characteristics will be dealt with from four different but mutually interrelated aspects, which include production organization at the workshop level, incentive system, labor-management relations, and corporate governance. Each will be discussed in turn.