2013 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Transferring innovations from abroad to Japan
Project/Area Number |
25780232
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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Research Institution | Hitotsubashi University |
Principal Investigator |
EDMAN Jesper 一橋大学, 大学院国際企業戦略研究科, 講師 (20615976)
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Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
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Keywords | Innovation / Human resource / Global / Foreign |
Research Abstract |
During H25, I interviewed firms to undersatnd how they are implementing innovative foreign HR practices. I did 7 interviews in the auto, finance, advertising, insurance and resource industries. The findings indicate there is strong interest in diversity and new HR practices. The firms had introduced new initiatives and are experimenting with ideas like paterntiy leave. However, the goals of these practices were often unclear. Manyfirms said paternity leave was important for globalization, but they were unsure exactly why this was the case. Many ideas were championed by CEOs with foreign experience, yet middle managers were not always supportive, regardless of their international experience. One conclusion is that there is strong interest in introducing innovative HR practices, but the reason for doing so, and the method of implementation are unclear. I purchased CSR data from Toyo Keizai on the HR practices of 3,000 companies and collected data from Nikkei NEEDS Database. I used grant money to hire an RA who combined the two databases; I plan to begin the quantitative analysis shortly. The RA also collected archival data on the growth of new HR practices. The goal was to understand how foreign HR innovations are being evaluated in the public sphere. The data suggests the emphasis on diversity comes from an interest in work-life balance; as a result, diversity does not mean national diversity (i.e. hiring foreigners), but rather male-female diversity. This is linked to demographic challenge and the need to introduce more women into the workforce.
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Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.
Reason
Generally progressing smoothly, however, I was unable to visit foreign subsidiaries because of a PR and financial crisis at headquarters of my preferred firm. In the next year fiscal year (H26) I plan to ask again to be able to make the visits and collect more data.
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Strategy for Future Research Activity |
I will follow the original plan to visit the overseas subsidiaries of the companies and also distribute an internal survey to understand attitudes with the firm towards the introduction of foreign HR practices.
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Expenditure Plans for the Next FY Research Funding |
The reason was that the planned trip to the foreign subsidiary was cancelled due to the company's financial problems and internal crises at headquarters. I will visit the foreign subsidiary this coming year instead, after having assured the support of headquarters. Should headquarters still be in a crises and be unwilling to support my research, I will opt for another firm in the insurance industry to conduct my study.
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