Abstract
This study investigates how Fujifilm, facing the sharp decline in the traditional photographic film market, strategically redesigned its board-level governance structure to achieve both corporate turnaround and the simultaneous creation of new businesses across diverse industries. Through comprehensive case analysis of this exemplary successful transformation, the research systematically elucidates the complex process by which Fujifilm overcame existential crisis and established a robust foundation for sustainable competitive advantage. The study demonstrates how the fundamental trade-off between centralization and diversification in corporate governance was effectively reconciled through three key bridging mechanisms: (1) hybrid leadership combining decisive authority with collaborative decision-making approaches, (2) mosaic domain assignments enabling cross-functional expertise integration, and (3) cyclical utilization of organizational slack resources for strategic flexibility. These interconnected mechanisms enabled both rapid and decisive crisis response capabilities and the organizational capacity for systematic diversification and continuous innovation initiatives. This research significantly extends existing upper echelons and corporate turnaround literature by highlighting that the integrated design and coordinated operation of centralized and diversified governance structures is absolutely critical for successful corporate transformation during periods of environmental discontinuity. By rigorously analyzing both the quantitative evolution of board and top management team structure (using comprehensive panel data from securities reports) and rich qualitative evidence (from extensive interviews, public sources, and internal company documents), the study provides a sophisticated multi-layered explanation of how governance dynamics fundamentally shape organizational outcomes. The findings offer novel practical design principles for large enterprises seeking agile and sustained transformation in rapidly changing business environments.
