ABSTRACT

Does the victory of Vodafone in the battle for control over the assets of Mannesmann’s mobile phone service signal the beginning of the end of German corporatist capitalism? Do the similar cases of hostile takeovers by foreign companies in Japan imply the end of the Japanese postwar industrial system? Both in Germany and Japan, restructuring had been the task of corporate insiders. Stable ownership combined with bank control kept unfriendly outsiders from gaining control over company assets. The recent cases clearly indicate that these structural obstacles are no longer insurmountable. However, what does this imply for the German and Japanese systems of corporate governance? The answer is not at all clear. There is room for at least three interpretations.