IUJ Repository (International Univ. of Japan)
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Human Resource Management in Japanese Companies Expanding into Developing Countries: A Case Study of Hunan Heiwado Employing Local Staff in order to Realize Their Business Model and Creating a Competitive Advantage
Get PDFThis paper investigates how a corporation effectively used local staff in order to realize its business model in its expansion into an emerging market and to obtain a competitive advantage. The case study is of Heiwado, a retailer with the majority of its stores in Shiga prefecture, and its human resource management after expanding into Hunan province, China, in the late 1990s. This paper first explains Heiwado’s business model and considers how they dealt with human resource management in order to realize this business model, focusing on training of local staff and evaluation and remuneration in order to increase staff motivation. There were two findings from the case study investigation. First, Heiwado became involved in human resource training, investing money in training to encourage changes in work values, previously not employed in the area, in order to ensure that local staff fulfilled staff requirements necessary to generative its core business model value. Second, Heiwado flexibly applied evaluation and remuneration practices, taking into account their experience in Japan and traits of the local staff.departmental bulletin pape
Business Strategy and Overcoming Lack of Market Institutions upon Entering Emerging Markets: Case Study of Heiwado's Entry into China
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to examine how businesses confront lack of market institutions when entering an emerging market and building and implementing a business model to realize a corporate business strategy, in addition to how those businesses respond to the lack and establish competitive superiority. The case study used in our research was Heiwado Co., Ltd., a retailer that has established stores mainly in Shiga prefecture and that started business in China's Hunan Province in 1990. This case study allowed us to confirm that lack of market institutions impart a significant impact on the success or failure of a company's entrance into an emerging market, and also that adroitly handling these restrictions allows a company to build and implement a business model with competitive superiority.departmental bulletin pape
On fundamental performance of a marketable permits system in a trader setting: Double auction vs. uniform price auction
Get PDFThe marketable permits systems have been widely suggested as a potential solution for environmental problems. A critical feature in the market is that an agent can be both sellers and buyers of permits, so-called "trader settings." Although properties of the marketable permits in non-trader settings are well-documented, little is known in a trader setting, particularly about how different auction mechanisms perform and how much each of them achieves efficiency. To answer the questions, we have designed and implemented two different auction mechanisms of trader settings for marketable permits in controlled laboratory experiments: (i) Double auction (DA), and (ii) Uniform price auction (UPA). To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first which designs and implements UPA for marketable permits in a trader setting, and makes a direct comparison with the performance of DA on the same ground. We obtain the following novel results: (1) UPA is more efficient than DA in a trader setting, which is in sharp contrast with the established result in non-trader settings, (2) UPA generates more stable price dynamics and (3) UPA induces subjects to reveal more truthfully about abatement costs for emissions through their trading behaviors. With these results, we conclude that UPA is more likely to work better than DA in a trader setting.departmental bulletin pape
Evaluating the potentials of a marketable permits system in the field: An application to forest conservation in Shaktikhore, Nepal
Get PDFA new paradigm in natural resource management has moved towards more decentralized mechanisms to reverse the degradation. One of such mechanisms is a marketable permits system (MPS). Although the properties of MPS have been studied and identified to be effective in controlled laboratory experiments, little is known about how MPS works in the real field setup. To fill the gap, this paper seeks to evaluate the effectiveness and potentials of MPS in the real forest conservation by implementing a framed field experiment. Shaktikhore, Nepal has been chosen for the experimental site, since farmers' livelihood there depends on forests and they are able to report their valuation of forestry from economic and environmental points of view. This experiment elicits economic valuation of local farmers for each unit of forestland, derives aggregate demand and supply of the permits, and with a uniform price auction (UPA), MPS field experiments were carried out to see equilibrium prices and efficiencies of the market. The results suggest that MPS is effective with high efficiency of 80% in the real field. For this success, UPA institution is identified to be the key element because (i) farmers with elementary education could understand and follow the rules of trading and (ii) they are induced to reveal their valuations of forestland through bids to buy and offers to sell. To our knowledge, this study is the first that designs and employs UPA institution under trader settings, showing the successful performance of such a MPS scheme in the real field of developing nations. Overall, our research suggests that MPS could be the effective policy option for "real" practice of natural resources management even with less administrative expertise, limited education and fewer resources to implement.departmental bulletin pape
Extensive vs. Intensive Margin in Japan
Get PDFThis paper studies the role of extensive and intensive margins of labor adjustment over business cycle in Japan. We find that the intensive margin accounts for much of total hours worked variation, and its contribution to the fluctuation of total hours worked is about 77%. This result is in sharp contrast with those in the U.S. and European countries where the extensive margin mainly accounts for the overall variability in total hours worked. The implication of a recent rise in non-regular employment for firms' labor adjustment behavior is also discussed.departmental bulletin pape
Environmental Shocks, Collaborative Networking, and Organizational Performance: Evidence from Hurricane Rita
Get PDFThe literature has found that there is a link between an organization's environment and its performance. Some organizational theorists argue that management plays only a marginal role in this link. The present study objects to this argument. The literature on public management has observed that stability in an administrative system and collaborative networking with external actors can manage environmental influences. In an emergency context, public management literature has given more emphasis on collaborative networking than stability due to the need for timely application. Focusing on the role of collaborative networking in the environment performance link in an emergency context, this study examined the negative influences of Hurricane Rita on organizational performance. Furthermore, this study investigated how collaborative networking with emergency-relevant actors moderates the negative relationship. From Texas school district data, it was found that days of school closure due to Hurricane Rita (environmental shocks) lowered the overall students' academic achievement (organizational performance), but superintendents' regular meetings with external actors in preparation for emergencies (collaborative networking) moderated the decrease in students' academic performance. The findings of this study support the proposition that management matters to organizational performance.departmental bulletin pape
Back to Normal: Collaborative Emergency Management and Organizational Recovery
Get PDFCurrent emergency management has emphasized management through collaboration. Unlike the normative and theoretical emphasis on collaborative emergency management, empirical evidence to support its impacts on organizational recovery is lacking. To fill this gap, this study conducts a natural experiment. Using Texas school districts and Hurricane Rita cases, this study examines how collaborative emergency management at the preparedness stage influences organizational recovery after an emergency. Findings show that after controlling for the severity of Hurricane Rita measured by the size of hurricane wind forces and districts’ distance from the coast, school districts reopened their closed schools due to Hurricane Rita faster when superintendents had actively prepared for emergencies through collaboration with external emergency-relevant organizations. This study is expected to contribute to an understanding of emergency management with empirical support that collaborative emergency management matters.departmental bulletin pape
Real options approach to renewable energy investments in Mongolia
Get PDFMany developing nations are in transition from non-renewable to renewable energy in electricity generation. This research analyzes this type of changing investment environment for renewable energy projects such as wind farms and solar-thermal plants with the application of real options theory. The main intent is to explore the potential and to provide further insights for such a transition in developing economies through studying the case of Mongolia under coal price uncertainty. To evaluate the comparative attractiveness of either continuing to use non-renewable (coal-based) infrastructure or switching to renewable energy, we formulate social revenue functions for the two environments under the assumptions that coal-based operations generate negative externalities and renewable energy is externality-free. Framing the problem as a type of real options, we arrive at the optimal trigger prices of coal for switching technologies. With this analytical framework, we further pose some possible scenarios with respect to electricity price as well as negative externality valuation, and characterize when renewable energy investments become attractive. In sharp contrast to conventional wisdom in real options theory, we identify some situations where option values for switching technologies become negative in some price domains, and welfare losses are incurred. Overall, the result raises the possible risks in developing nations that waiting to switch energy sources yields huge losses under input price uncertainty. To avoid such a case in Mongolia, the government should remove coal subsidies and increase electricity prices or switch to renewable energy earlier rather than holding the option to wait, especially when people are willing to pay more for the removal of negative externalities.departmental bulletin pape
Fiscal Stimulus and Labor Market Dynamics in Japan
Get PDFThe paper studies effects of fiscal expansion on the Japanese labor market. First, using a structural VAR model, we find that the unemployment rate falls and employment rises following an increase in government spending. We also find that fiscal expansion affects flows in and out of unemployment. While an increase in government spending increases the job-finding rate, it reduces the separation rate. We then incorporate search and matching frictions into a standard dynamic general equilibrium model, and study whether the model can explain what we observed in data. While the model fails to predict the exact size of the impact of the government spending shock on the Japanese labor market variables, it can consistently capture the empirical pattern of responses of labor market variables to the shock.departmental bulletin pape
Voluntary participation in community collaborative forest management: A case study of Central Java, Indonesia
Get PDFThis paper examines voluntary participation in community forest management, and characterizes how more participation may be induced. We implemented a survey of 571 respondents and conducted a case study in Central Java, Indonesia. The study's novelty lies in categorizing the degrees of participation into three levels and in identifying how socio-economic factors affect people's participation at each level. The analysis finds heterogeneous responses across the three levels and also finds that publicly organized programs, such as information provision and benefit sharing, are highly effective. Overall, the results suggest a positive perspective and further corrective measures for the success of community forest management.departmental bulletin pape