Adaptation toward COVID-19 among Japanese Companies: An Analysis of Relationships between Environmental Adaptation and Diversity of Top Management Team, and Environmental Adaptation and Workplace Investment

Abstract

It is an important research issue to develop approaches to adapt to environmental change for Japanese companies with low sensitivity to changes. This study regards COVID-19 as a major environmental change and analyzes relationships between (1) top management team (TMT) diversity and adaptation to environmental change and (2) adaptation to environmental change and workplace investments. The sample comprises Information and communications and Services industries listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. We conducted regression analysis using cross-sectional data. The results reveal that TMT diversity has a positive impact on adapting to the environmental change and that companies adapting to environmental change make proactive workplace investments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study contributes to the literature on the workplace and the upper echelon theory.