ABSTRACT
This chapter compares the structural characteristics of large manufacturing firms in Japan, Korea, and China and the implications of these characteristics for the long-term performance of firms. Structure of ownership of firms is one of the most important determinants of firm behavior and its performance. In Japanese firms, ownership is quite dispersed and ownership and management are separated such that shareholders with an effective voice in management matters are extremely rare. The relations between management and workers are diverse depending upon the country, and the differences are reflected in the performance of the firms. Japanese firms are defined by open and dispersed ownership, professional management, cooperative owner-management-labor relations, long time horizons, and multidivisional forms with the head office. Enterprise reform along the lines of separation of ownership and control emphasized the confinement of the role of the state authorities to the role as the legal owner of enterprises, investment, and marketing.
