Conclusion: Significance of Comparative Study of Business Management in Japan and Germany

Following the preceding chapters’ topics, this chapter clarifies the implications of the comparative study of business management in Japan and Germany through re-examining the changes in management and corporate expansion after World War II. First, it investigates the pursuit of economic rationality, which is emphasized in business management in each country and is deeply concerned with the characteristics of a country's capitalism. Following that, changes in business management and corporate expansion in both countries are investigated about some important enterprise-related factors. How differences of the postwar reforms, industrial development and industrial structure, inter-firm relationships system, and regional environment in Japan and Germany influenced each country’s specific development of business management and how Japanese-style management and German-style management determined corporate expansion is analyzed. The significance of the German business management model that evolved in the European environment is examined by contrasting Germany’s situation in Europe with Japan's situation in Asia. The origins of differences in contemporary economic and business conditions in relation to economic relations with the United States, as well as how corporate expansion in Japan and Germany following World War II determined each country’s path toward global-regionalization, will be clarified.