| Research Abstract |
The purpose of this research project was to clarify the behavior structural, and functional characteristic of Japanese firm and firm groups in the historical perspective, mainly focusing on the period from the World War One to the Post Oil Crisis. The research period was divided into five sub-period such as 1) the interwar (1914-1937), 2) the wartime (1937-45), 3) the postwar reform (1945-55), 4) the high growth era (1955-1973), and 5) the post high growth era (1974--). Our focus was put on the corporate governance and finance of the Japanese large firms as well as the organizational capability of top management. In the first year (FY 1995), our main efforts were put on setting up our own data base of the high growth era concerning the ownership structure, capital composition, and corporate performance, using the data tape (later Compact disk) supplied by the Japan Development Bank. Next year, we tried to extend our data base to the wartime, and postwar reform period, adding the data for the presidential turnover in order to highlight the evolutionary process of the contingent governance structure. Third, and last year, the remaining taskwas to set up the data base for the interwar period. However, it was not regrettably finished, mainly because getting the uniformed firm level data for this period was so difficult that we had to gather necessary data from various sources. Products of this research project were presented and published in various occasion as is shown in column (11), including papers for estimating the investment function with the constraints of cash flow and regressing the presidential turnover on corporate performance in the historical perspective. The remaining task mainly composed of the structural and behaviors difference between zaibatsu comapanies and independent companies during interwar and wartime period would be clarified Soon as a follow up of this research project.
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