Publications

November 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

A Politician in a Leather Suit and the Paradox of Japanese Capitalism

By: Karthik Ramanna and Matthew Shaffer

Two lost decades later, capitalism in Japan embodies peculiar contradictions—preserving wealth and social stability in the face of declining economic power. Scant transparency in Japanese corporate practices plays an important role in this phenomenon. Sometimes... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Civil Society or Community; Japan; Tokyo

06 Aug 2001
Research & Ideas

Go Global—or No? Can You Make the Case?

"Good point, Tom, and that isn't all we'll need. We also have to have somebody in Asia. Either Singapore or Tokyo would be an ideal base. Probably Tokyo works better because more potential clients are... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

January 1999 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Mobile Communications Tokyo, Inc.

Describes a young Japanese telecommunications equipment and software company. The founder and president, Hatsuhiro Inoue, has just seen revenues double over the last two years and expects further rapid growth. The company currently has three product lines:... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Initial Public Offering; Financial Markets; Telecommunications Industry; Tokyo; United States

30 Aug 2011
First Look

First Look: August 30

The Tokyo Stock Exchange Survey David F. Hawkins and Jin YamamotoHarvard Business School Case 112-017 Tokyo Stock Exchange survey raises questions about Japan's readiness to adopt IFRS in 2016. Purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Apr 2011
What Do You Think?

When Should the Public Sector Take Over in a Meltdown?

the management provided by nuclear power provider Tokyo Electric Power Co. in efforts to control a meltdown at its Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. At the same time, the global public sector stood on the sidelines, waiting for... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Energy; Utilities

31 Oct 2006
HBS Case

Governing Sumida Corporation

goal of listing the company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was realized in 1998. Changes to the company's retirement policy encouraged a more performance-oriented culture, and in 2000, Yawata made English the company's official language,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Electronics

February 1998 (Revised February 1999)
Case

Amway Japan Limited

In April 1997, the president of Amway Japan (AJL, Tokyo, Japan), pondered how to reverse the first performance decline the company has experienced since entering the Japanese direct selling market in 1979. Established as the tenth overseas subsidiary of Amway Corp. of... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Business Subsidiaries; Distribution Channels; Customer Satisfaction; Consumer Products Industry; Michigan; Tokyo

March 1986 (Revised December 1986)
Case

British Telecommunications, PLC

Presents a description of international equity markets, including comparisons of the U.S., Japanese, and British markets and recent trends toward deregulation of these markets. The decision focus of the case is on the initial public offerings of British... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Initial Public Offering; Capital Markets; Canada; London; Tokyo

05 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Can Putin Score Olympic Gold?

nations, says Greyser. In 1964, Japan made a similar overture with the Tokyo Games to point to its recovery from defeat in World War II. China used the Beijing Games in 2008 to showcase itself as an economic and political superpower. "The... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Sports; Advertising

July 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Building a Mishap-Free U.S. Navy

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Herman B. Leonard, Michael W. Toffel and Michael Norris

In 2021, Kevin “Bud” Couch, a retired Navy captain who was now working as a civilian employee of the Navy Safety Center, was trying to determine how best to reduce the risk of Navy mishaps. The Navy had experienced a series of major mishaps in 2017 that had led to a... View Details

Keywords: National Security; Safety; War; Ship Transportation; Risk Management; Operations; Singapore; Tokyo; San Diego

07 Jul 2009
First Look

First Look: July 7

2009. Purchase the video supplement: http://hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=409714 Purchase the supplement (D), 409-118: http://hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=409118 Tokyo Electron Ltd. Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

December 1991
Article

Bargaining and Market Behavior in Jerusalem, Ljubljana, Pittsburgh, and Tokyo: An Experimental Study

By: A. E. Roth, V. Prasnikar, M. Okuno-Fujiwara and S. Zamir

Keywords: Markets; Behavior; Information; Israel; Pittsburgh; Tokyo; Slovenia

Find at Harvard

23 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 23

juncture where Daniel Lamarre (CdS's CEO) is looking for new opportunities for growth. Lamarre is pondering the likelihood of success of Cirque's first resident show in Asia at Tokyo Disney Resort, its entry in the Macao market, and a new... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

10 Apr 2007
First Look

First Look: April 10, 2007

Harvard Business School Case 207-109 Taka Haneda, a proprietary trader at the Tokyo office of Goldman Sachs, has just learned that the Nikkei 225 will undergo a significant redefinition over the coming week. He faces several billion... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

21 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 21, 2009

markets for its principal assets? The case also examines how management at State Street responded to the deterioration in its capital ratios generated by "fair value" accounting. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

12 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 12, 2017

generating sponsorship revenue? KCON LA and KCON Tokyo have made a profit for multiple years in a row, and KCON NY was in the black for the first time in 2016, but other KCONs lost money. What can they do to further grow the Bibigo brand... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

02 Jan 2001
Research & Ideas

Can Japan Compete? [Part One]

Tokyo or Osaka. I came across another interesting one recently: a company called Disco is a world leader in precision cutting tools. It is based in Hiroshima. By being outside the establishment and not members of keiretsu, they seem to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace & Hilah Geer

August 2011
Article

Independent Invention During the Rise of the Corporate Economy in Britain and Japan

By: Tom Nicholas

Independent inventors accounted for approximately half of all patents in Britain and Japan by 1930, despite the rise of the corporate economy and the spread of industrial R&D. A mixture of patent renewal and historical citations data reveals that the quality of... View Details

Keywords: Independent Innovation and Invention; Development Economics; Research and Development; Patents; System; Motivation and Incentives; Tokyo; London; United States