The present paper deals with changes and shifts of perspective of corporate social responsibility, or corporate understanding of CSR. According to Frederick (1986, 1994, 1998a), the ways of thinking of CSR can be categorized into four types: CSR1 (corporate social responsibility), CSR2 (corporate social responsiveness), CSR3 (corporate social rectitude), and CSR4 (cosmos, science, religion). Basically, CSR1 prescriptively identifies the content of the social responsibility of the corporation as a social institution and the basis of its justification; CSR2 discusses how to effectively fulfill those various responsibilities; CSR3 judges ethical and social consistency in an organization's decision-making and other behaviors in relation to its social responsibilities. In CSR2 and CSR3, how to fulfill the corporate social responsibilities as a business organization and its quality are discussed. The changes of CSR1-2-3 can be understood as a series of transformation on a continuous line, while CSR4 accompanies a paradigm shift in the ways of thinking. CSR4, which has come under a rather strong influence of the science of complex systems, is characterized by breaking off from its corporate-centered point of view and a separatist or dichotomous viewing business and society. The present paper reveals the differences and shifts of CSR perspectives by comparing CSR4 with CSR1-2-3 as well as by considering the logic for the concept of CSR4. In other words, it deals with characteristics of four CSR perspectives and differences between CSR1-2-3 and CSR4. It, furthermore, develops Frederick's views and also refers to the scope and possibilities of CSR4 in irradiating corporate social responsibility phenomena.

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The aim of this article is to discuss the dynamism of ba. Though there are varying definitions of ba by different researchers, in this article it is defined as an inter-firm relationship structure formed by a leading SME (small and medium-sized enterprise). In this interpretive theoretical model, the ba is initially constructed by a core SME in order to achieve its own business strategy. However, as the ba grows and develops, the member firms of ba tend gradually to conduct coordination in spontaneous manner without relying on the core SME and without loosing their own management autonomy. For the illustration of the model, this article presents a case study of ba which was first initiated by TOSEI-ELECTROBEAM and now includes 13 SME members in Tokyo Tama area. The more detailed internal mechanism of ba development could be framed in the following processes. The development process of ba is based on 1) capability of the core SME generated from its own past experience, 2) its business strategy and strategic position, 3) its role played in settlement at the time of early stage, 4) change its role with growth of ba and generation of the new mechanism inside. Based on the case study, following facts and implications are revealed. First, in former times of the ba formation, the core SME, with accumulated internal capabilities, plays a critical role in not only organizing and managing groups but also building technological knowledge and skill of its own. The extent of efficiency of a particular ba may vary according to these mechanisms. Second, the mechanism of ba development includes potential change. The case study presents that in the early stage the core SME had great leadership and control of ba, but other members gradually became autonomous and generated capability to coordinate ba dynamism, rather than just remaining passive and static. The key element of this phenomenon is that the core SME not only foster other members but also encourage them to act spontaneously based on its past experience. The case study shows that there are three important implications to make the dynamism; 1) not to control member firms in rigid structure like vertical integration, 2) to encourage them to make spontaneous actions, 3) ba being economic and effective for every member.

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The purpose of this thesis is to examine whether information technology has influence on the improvement of the manufacture spot and the subcontract management on the actual condition or not. And, this thesis focuses on the small and medium-sized enterprises located in the first layer having the long-term supply relationships with the prime contractor. This thesis points out that in this case there are few rooms that the subcontractor develops a new product by use of the information technology. This analysis has the following two objects: 1) The first object is to analyze the relationships between the large company producing the last product and the small and medium-sized subcontract enterprises. 2) The second object is to analyze the subcontractor's product innovation based on the process innovation by use of the information technology. According to this research, we find that 1) most of the small and medium-sized enterprises make use of the information technology as a process innovation through TQM. As a result, the small and medium-sized enterprises having the long-term supply relationships with the prime contractor, shorten more the time for delivery and improve the productivity by use of the information technology. 2) By detailed hearing research, 2/3 and more processes from the order to the delivery are occupied by the inner processes of the small and medium-sized subcontract enterprises.

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FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) has been one of the most important driving forces to a country or to a region. FDI not only provides money, but also has brought business and technical know-how, and has opened overseas sales channels in China. Therefore continued FDI to China and its regions will bring higher economic growth. China has performed very well in attracting FDI at the national level; however, there has been a remarkably unbalanced distribution at the regional level. Japan, as the 3rd largest direct investment country in China, has shown more remarkable unbalanced distribution at the regional level than at the whole. It has become very important to clarify what the determinants of the location of FDI in China for policy-making are. In this paper, first of all we will discuss the relationship between the transitions of Chinese Government policy in foreign investment and the changes of location of FDI in China. After that, we will focus on only determinants (excluding the policies) of the location of Japanese FDI by examining 4,403 cases of Japanese investment from the statistical point of view. Specifically, this study made a multiple regression model by using the number of Japanese investments in 28 regions in China in 1996-2002 as dependent variables and 10 independent variables in the same regions in 1995-2001. From this study we extrapolated the following factors which can affect Japanese FDI location as follows: (1) the number of Japanese investments in the region in the past 2 years as the most important positive factor overall, being much larger β than the others; (2) the number of tertiary students in the region as the second positive factor; (3) the number of students in special schools in the region as a negative factor (although we cannot say this factor indicates a true relation of cause and effect, since it has been influenced by other factors); and, (4) road density in the region as also a positive factor.

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Different from adopting the conventional "vertical integration" concept, Taiwanese Semiconductor Industry is fast developing a new industrial structure, "vertical disintegration" which emphasizes on the specialization of each semiconductor manufacturing process. Such approach raised the attentions both in academic and in practice. As a result, a rich body of research about Taiwan's Semiconductor Industry started surfacing. Most research emphasized on the policies of Taiwanese government, e.g., how to promote the development of the semiconductor industry, how they can be the world industry leader, etc. I, however, proposed urgent needs for studies to investigate the issues of competitive advantages of the semiconductor firms, especially those of the semiconductor foundry. I performed in depth case study analyses of two major Taiwanese firms. The results addressed several such issues and provided insights to this new structure and I linked its characteristics to business performance and success. The study has three major findings. First, TSMC and UMC remained in leading positions not just by having productive capability, product technology capability, and design service support capability, but also by having an excellent productive process system and a knowledge management system. Second, TSMC and UMC integrated design and manufacturing functions into the firms, and built a platform of optimum production system and opened this optimum platform to all customers worldwide to acquire the economies of scale and scope. Third, compared with the IDM companies, I found that, Taiwanese semiconductor foundry showed the characteristics of a destructive innovation, termed "New-Market Destructions Type", and these characteristics led to business success.

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This paper analyzes organizational dynamics triggered by the "fiction." I define the fiction as an espoused plan (1) which is developed to gain external resources, (2) which is officially announced to the public, and (3) which is deliberately based on unrealistic assumptions. Existing studies, such as new institutionalism and symbolic management, argue that while organizations often adopt formal policies, plans, or programs that display conformity to demands of important external stakeholders in order to acquire resources from them, they may also decouple these formal structures from actual practices in the organizations to buffer internal practices from external influence while still maintaining legitimacy from important external stakeholders. I argue that it is not as easy to decouple the informal practices from the formally adopted policies as existing studies assume, because organizations are not unitary entities and so actors other than policy-makers may use fictions for their own interests. Once the policy-makers announce fictions as formal policies to stakeholders, the policies are treated as "facts" in public. Therefore the actors other than policy-makers can use those "facts" in public debate for their own interests that may be conflict with policy-makers'. I draw on a case of restructuring plans of Japan National Railway to show how the fiction can lead organizations to make the distorted decisions that are different from or contradictory to the original intention of policymakers although they know that their plans are fictions.

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Continuity and change exhibit a duality in both individual and organizational life. We mean, by duality, that organization must have attributes that simultaneously contradictory. One attribute without the other leads to decline. Much of the organizational literature has suggested that the essence of organizational process management involves this duality. Each of continuity and change is related to fundamentally different types of processes, which are control-oriented processes and exploration-oriented processes. Most prior work in this area suggests that these two fundamentally distinct processes are antithetical. These work insist that the pursuit of one is assumed to exclude the pursuit of the other. However, there is a growing understanding that survival of organization will increasingly depend on the capacity to balance or integrate these two processes. This paper focuses on Duality Management at individual level and suggests that the simultaneous pursuit of two processes can be achieved by switching cognitive gears. By drawing on concepts from the related theories concerning stress and human adaptation, we also suggest that the possibility of switching at individual level is increased under conditions of moderate level of tension or arousal. Moreover, relations between such a state of constructive tension at individual level and organizational change are considered. Building on these foundations, we discuss the implications of the role of organization for the duality to coexist.

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Research and Development (R&D) of biotechnology including basic research, applied research, utilization, and commercialization are promoted through formation and development of inter-organizational network. This inter-firm network is called R&D network in this paper. R&D network consists of two or more alliances, such as Joint Venture, Cooperative R&D, Licensing and Cross-Licensing. This paper argued R&D network formation in biotechnology industry. Especially, the problem how to discover emergent partner in the upstream industry is discussed. In this paper, the social network perspective is adopted as an analytical framework. By using a social network perspective, not only the direct relation between an organization and a partner but an indirect relation can be caught within a view. In this paper, the case study about the biotechnology business of TAKARA SHUZO CO., LTD. is also performed. TAKARA SHUZO is the company which succeeded in forming and developing the alliance with a university or a venture business from the infancy of biotechnology industry to present. As a result of empirical analysis, not only reputation of emergent partner who is indirectly relating to organization but also the reputation of the organization which is invisible asset of an organization played an important role in the formation and development of R&D network. A partner's reputation is useful to an organization discovering and choosing a partner. The reputation of an organization is useful to an organization being discovered and chosen from a partner. The human network which collects a emergent partner's reputation, and the structure which processes a emergent partner's reputation systematically built while TAKARA SHUZO developed the biotechnology business affect the reputation of an organization. The reputation of an organization is invisible asset of the organization because it has path-dependent character and is dependent on the history of the organization. Therefore, this paper suggested formation and development of R&D network can be understood as a chain of emergent partner's reputation and organization's reputation.

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In the theory of multinational corporations, many scholars have been discussing why economic activities should be organized within a firm, and why foreign direct investment should occur. Internalization theory explains this issue from the failure of markets. Another point of view explains this issue from "the organizational advantage". In this alternative view to the theory of the firm, firms are regarded as social communities for internal transfer of knowledge. That is to say, the reason why foreign direct investment occurs is that firms have a superior efficiency to transfer knowledge across borders. This paper develops the latter theory of the firm by considering internal mechanisms of the firm that are able to transfer knowledge more efficiently than markets. The author focuses on socialization that is a typical internal mechanism of the firm. Socialization is the internal mechanism that control individual activities in the firm by making a behavioral context based on trust and commitment. Since this behavioral context encourages voluntary activities of individuals, recipients of knowledge in the firm may be able to acquire enough absorptive capacity that is necessary for knowledge transfer. As a result, the firm may transfer knowledge, in particular tacit knowledge, more efficiently. Based on a field-study of three Japanese multinational corporations in Thailand, the author examines how the behavioral context is created and how the behavioral context influences the efficiency of knowledge transfer. The result implies that the behavioral context is created through long term teaching processes between sources of knowledge and recipients of knowledge. In particular these processes are important for recipients to acquire problem solving capacity in manufacturing processes that is characteristic of tacit knowledge. As various troubles take place in manufacturing processes, recipients need long term experience in problem solving to acquire this capacity. The behavioral context fosters these teaching processes. Having enough skills and abilities of manufacturing processes is a precondition for sources of knowledge to make the behavioral context based on trust.

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