Business portfolio management (BPM) has historically undergone cycles of profitability-orientation and growth-orientation. In the first half of the Heisei era, Japanese firms faced a conglomerate discount and sought to restore profitability through business selection and concentration. In the latter half of the era, however, firms that implemented structural reforms began prioritizing a balance between profitability and growth. Given the potential for learning managerial capabilities through (unrelated) diversification, Japanese firms are now expected to adopt a more growth-oriented BPM to foster learning.

This article examines the organizational aspects of internal capital markets (ICMs), which facilitate capital allocation across business divisions in diversified firms. After introducing the fundamental concepts of ICMs, the article reviews how organizational structures, processes, and members influence their functioning by drawing on previous studies. Additionally, the article explores research opportunities that may particularly interest scholars studying Japanese firms.

In the context of competitive advantage in diversified companies, two types of economies of scope have been identified: intra-temporal and inter- temporal scope economies. The latter has attracted significant attention, particularly regarding resource redeployment. This study conducts a longitudinal analysis of inventor mobility using semiconductor-related patents in Japan. The findings reveal that resource redeployment among inventors frequently involved transfers between organizations. However, no evidence suggests that semiconductor firms actively redeployed internal inventors in response to business downsizing after the 2000s.

Using an event study methodology to analyze the impact of corporate misconduct on stock price performance, this study reveals the following five findings: (1) misconduct negatively affects stock prices, (2) the negative impact of accidental misconduct is limited, while intentional misconduct has a significant effect, (3) falsified production sites and manipulated testing data have the most severe negative impact, (4) misconduct at subsidiaries creates negative spillover effects on the parent company, and (5) good corporate governance may mitigate the negative impact, but is likely to lead to adverse outcomes.

A crisis in my family plunged me into deep despair, making it difficult to work or carry out daily activities. I had nearly lost hope of resuming my everyday life and career when a pivotal event triggered a rapid recovery. This experience led me to explore the recovery process through an autoethnographic study based on systems theory and decision-making theory. The findings of this study highlight the following four key insights: First, exposure to information with a high degree of vividness and similarity can be a necessary precursor for people in despair to experience hope. Second, using a leverage point and activating a positive reinforcing feedback system can lead to rapid recovery. Third, addressing underlying systemic issues can reveal an individual’s inherent resilience. Finally, from the perspective of prospect theory, the happiness derived from overcoming despair can be significant, even if returning to a pre-crisis state is impossible.

The increasing incidence of corporate fraud worldwide has renewed interest in studying the relationship between governance structures and fraud occurrence. Previous studies have predominantly examined the effect of external directors on preventing fraud. However, the efficacy of internal directors in preventing fraud is crucial to understanding corporate fraud in the context of Japan. This is because (a) Japanese corporate boards are dominated by insiders, and (b) external directors may be ‘grey’ and are not fully independent. This study examines board composition and corporate fraud in Japan focusing on the attributes of internal directors to test whether board homogeneity affects fraud occurrence. We construct panel data consisting of about 9,000 firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange between 2015 and 2020. Panel regression results show that longer tenure of internal directors is associated with higher fraud. More importantly, we find that higher share of lifetime directors is associated with higher fraud risk, and that neither external nor internal directors from parent firms are effective in preventing fraud in the Japanese context. Results advance our understanding of the intricate and context-specific relationship between board composition and corporate fraud. Our study makes a strong empirical addition to behavioural agency theory and homophily theory.

Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, this study examines the relationship between climate for inclusion and helping behavior. The study proposes a moderated mediation model in which climate for inclusion influences helping behavior through psychological safety, with this indirect effect depending on employees’ reported access to resources. To test these hypotheses, the study utilizes time-lagged data (N=263) collected through an online survey of permanent employees working in large Japanese companies. The findings indicate that climate for inclusion is positively associated with helping behavior and that this relationship is mediated by psychological safety. Furthermore, the effect of climate for inclusion on helping behavior is contingent on employees’ access to resources. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of why climate for inclusion fosters helping behavior and provide insights into how organizations can encourage employees to engage in supportive actions.