KEIRETSU ORGANIZATION IN A CHANGING ECONOMIC CONTEXT: THE EVOLUTION OF DEBT AND EQUITY TIES AMONG KEIRETSU FIRMS

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of debt and equity ties among keiretsu firms between the early 1990s and the later part of the decade. During this time frame, the stable shareholding relations characteristic of the Japanese inter-corporate network faced significant pressures from the opening of the Japanese equity market and globalization of financial markets. We investigate whether the traditional “stakeholder model” of the Japanese firm is threatened by North American “shareholder” models. Using multiple measures of keiretsu ties, our analysis suggests this is not the case. Overall, we provide evidence of strengthening ties, although in the case of equity, there has been an evolution away from institutional investors.

Citation

McGuire, J. and Dow, S. (2004), "KEIRETSU ORGANIZATION IN A CHANGING ECONOMIC CONTEXT: THE EVOLUTION OF DEBT AND EQUITY TIES AMONG KEIRETSU FIRMS", Roehl, T. and Bird, A. (Ed.) Japanese Firms in Transition: Responding to the Globalization Challenge (Advances in International Management, Vol. 17), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 115-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0747-7929(04)17005-4