ABSTRACT
Family business represents the majority of companies in Japan and, as in most advanced countries, contributes substantially to employment and income. This chapter aims to critically review empirical contributions on family business in Japan and to develop a comprehensive model by utilizing the existing research output. The rationale behind this model is to allow for a better understanding of the challenges and the transitions under way in Japan's family firms and to give directions for future research. The chapter discusses different approaches to categorize family businesses. Several issues can cause tensions or, in terms of corporate governance, agency costs in family businesses. The chapter identifies the following five major areas of potential conflicts: family–management conflicts, ownership–stakeholder conflicts, family–ownership conflicts and interfamily conflicts. It shows the different paths on which transitions in family businesses take place. There is obviously scope for further research, especially on non-listed family firms in Japan.
