An Empirical Analysis Of Firm Revitalisation, innovation By Sectors And Revitalisation Institutions | Gentoku Yoshikawa & Chihiro Watanabe

During the ?lost decade? of the 1990s, a significant number of Japanese firms in broad industrial sectors experienced critical business circumstances. However, by means of intensive institutional efforts both by firms and government, quite a few firms succeeded reconstructing their operations and some of them were able to revitalize themselves in 2004.This paper attempts to empirically analyze and identify the structural sources that have enabled firms in certain sectors to succeed in their revitalization, and the relationship between firm revitalization innovation and revitalization institutions. First, based on a comprehensive review of Japan?s 31 business sectors over the last 13 years, it is demonstrated that institutional structure incorporating comprehensive strategies to activate business sectors assists firm revitalization innovation at the sector level. Second, based on the analysis of revitalization institutions in Japan, it is demonstrated that revitalization institution in Japan is chiefly triggered by national strategies incorporating the measures leveraging the reorganization of firms.Third, it is demonstrated that co-evolutionary dynamism between national-level strategy, firm-level strategy, and subsequent sectorlevel countermeasures played key role in the functioning of revitalization institutions. Finally, based on the comparative analysis between Japan and US firms on their revitalization, it is demonstrated that revitalization institutions contribute to firm revitalization innovation in Japan.