Corporate organization in Japan and the United States: Is there evidence of convergence?

We investigate the changing structure of Japanese and US companies and ask whether there are signs of national convergence in corporate organization. We present three types of evidence to address this question: longitudinal data, cross-sectional survey data and structural equation models (SEM). The models are ideal types of Japanese and US companies and relate human-resource strategy and corporate governance to organizational outcomes such as employment practices and the role of the executive human resources (HR) function. We find mixed evidence of convergence. The longitudinal data show some Japanese companies becoming more like those in the US, and the SEM results show a Japanese-style model emerging in some US companies. However, there is also evidence of continuing differences in corporate governance, employment and executive-decision-making in Japan and the US.