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Impact of CEO Succession in Japanese Companies: A Coevolutionary Perspective

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  • Tomoaki Sakano

    (School of Commerce, Waseda University, 1-104 Totsuka-machi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8050, Japan)

  • Arie Y. Lewin

    (The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Box 90120, Durham, NC 27708-0120)

Abstract

In this paper, we set out to investigate whether strategic leadership matters at a moment in the life cycle of the firm when a change is made in the top leadership. By far, most of the conceptual and empirical literature on the consequences of CEO succession involves United States companies. Therefore, in this paper, we set out to investigate the impact of CEO succession on strategic and organizational changes in Japanese companies.The empirical study consisted of a matched control group design involving 81 Japanese companies experiencing a CEO succession event and 81 companies with continuity of their CEO leadership. The results of the study can be summarized as follows. Overall CEO succession was not associated with radical strategic and organization changes. Japanese companies did engage in evolutionary organization and strategic adaptations during the five year period of the study but independent of CEO succession. The governance structure moderates organization changes (independent of CEO succession) in particular when the firm was affiliated with a main bank and the firm was experiencing severe financial pressure.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomoaki Sakano & Arie Y. Lewin, 1999. "Impact of CEO Succession in Japanese Companies: A Coevolutionary Perspective," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(5), pages 654-671, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:10:y:1999:i:5:p:654-671
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.10.5.654
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    Cited by:

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    2. Arie Y. Lewin & Chris P. Long & Timothy N. Carroll, 1999. "The Coevolution of New Organizational Forms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(5), pages 535-550, October.
    3. Arie Y. Lewin & Henk W. Volberda, 1999. "Prolegomena on Coevolution: A Framework for Research on Strategy and New Organizational Forms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(5), pages 519-534, October.
    4. Motohiro Nakauchi & Margarethe F. Wiersema, 2015. "Executive succession and strategic change in Japan," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 298-306, February.
    5. Fabian Jintae Froese & Ralf Bebenroth, 2012. "Performance Outcome of Leadership Succession at Foreign Subsidiaries in Japan. Does Nationality Matter?," Discussion Paper Series DP2012-07, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    6. Hadem, Michael, 2010. "Bedingungen und Konsequenzen des Wechsels von Finanzvorständen - Eine Analyse in großen börsennotierten Unternehmen," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 43681, July.

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