IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/abaman/v22y2023i4d10.1057_s41291-023-00228-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unraveling the stagnation of employee pay in Japanese firms: the impact of profit creation, employee productivity, and employee share

Author

Listed:
  • Yuanyuan Gong

    (Okayama University)

  • Shige Makino

    (Kyoto University)

  • Aqi Liu

    (China Merchants Group Limited)

  • Huanchen Liu

    (Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics)

  • Jingyi Wang

    (University of New South Wales)

Abstract

This study investigated the causes of stagnant employee pay in Japanese firms. By analyzing agency theory and Japanese governance structure, we argue that pay levels are affected by profit creation, employee productivity, and employee share. Dysfunctional processes in these areas can result in pay stagnation. Our findings demonstrate that employee productivity and profit creation have equally significant impacts on pay levels, whereas employee share affects pay only with high employee productivity. These results suggest that the main reason for stagnant employee pay in Japan is not a failure of profit sharing but rather a failure to link corporate and employee capabilities to a firm’s earning power.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuanyuan Gong & Shige Makino & Aqi Liu & Huanchen Liu & Jingyi Wang, 2023. "Unraveling the stagnation of employee pay in Japanese firms: the impact of profit creation, employee productivity, and employee share," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(4), pages 1743-1772, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:abaman:v:22:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1057_s41291-023-00228-3
    DOI: 10.1057/s41291-023-00228-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41291-023-00228-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41291-023-00228-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hildreth, Andrew K G & Oswald, Andrew J, 1997. "Rent-Sharing and Wages: Evidence from Company and Establishment Panels," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(2), pages 318-337, April.
    2. Brian K. Boyd & Alain Salamin, 2001. "Strategic reward systems: a contingency model of pay system design," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(8), pages 777-792, August.
    3. Gary S. Becker, 1962. "Investment in Human Capital: A Theoretical Analysis," NBER Chapters, in: Investment in Human Beings, pages 9-49, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Frank, Robert H, 1984. "Are Workers Paid Their Marginal Products?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(4), pages 549-571, September.
    5. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    6. Aoki, Masahiko, 2010. "Corporations in Evolving Diversity: Cognition, Governance, and Institutions," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199218530.
    7. Ryo Kambayashi & Takao Kato, 2017. "Long-Term Employment and Job Security over the Past 25 Years," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 70(2), pages 359-394, March.
    8. Aino Tenhiälä & Tomi Laamanen, 2018. "Right on the money? The contingent effects of strategic orientation and pay system design on firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(13), pages 3408-3433, December.
    9. Shige Makino & Derek Lehmberg, 2020. "The past and future contributions of research on Japanese management," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(1), pages 1-7, February.
    10. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alves, Paulo & Couto, Eduardo Barbosa & Francisco, Paulo Morais, 2016. "Executive pay and performance in Portuguese listed companies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 184-195.
    2. Shaikh, Ibrahim A. & O'Brien, Jonathan Paul & Peters, Lois, 2018. "Inside directors and the underinvestment of financial slack towards R&D-intensity in high-technology firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 192-201.
    3. Tortia, Ermanno, 2014. "L'impresa come bene comune," AICCON Working Papers 131-2013, Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit.
    4. Da Teng & Douglas B. Fuller & Chengchun Li, 2018. "Institutional change and corporate governance diversity in China’s SOEs," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 273-293, May.
    5. Young Mok Choi & Kunsu Park, 2019. "Foreign Ownership, Agency Costs, and Long-Term Firm Growth: Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-17, March.
    6. Giuseppe Cinquegrana, 2014. "Effetti differenziali delle politiche monetarie sugli investimenti delle imprese industriali italiane: un?analisi con metodologia panel," RIVISTA DI ECONOMIA E STATISTICA DEL TERRITORIO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(3), pages 40-78.
    7. Stavros E. Arvanitis & Theodoros V. Stamatopoulos & Dimitris Terzakis, 2018. "Is There a Non-linear Relationship of Market Value with Cash and Ownership?," SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, SPOUDAI Journal of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, vol. 68(1), pages 3-25, January-M.
    8. Anabela Carneiro & Pedro Portugal, 2004. "Market Power, Dismissal Threat, and Rent Sharing: the Role of Insider and Outsider Forces in Wage Bargaining," CEF.UP Working Papers 0403, Universidade do Porto, Faculdade de Economia do Porto.
    9. Hu, Juncheng, 2021. "Do facilitation payments affect earnings management? Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    10. David Greenaway & Alessandra Guariglia & Zhihong Yu, 2014. "The more the better? Foreign ownership and corporate performance in China," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(7-9), pages 681-702, September.
    11. Mary Kehinde Salawu, 2017. "Factors Influencing Auditor Independence among Listed Companies in Nigeria: Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) Approach," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 9(8), pages 191-203, August.
    12. Riaqa Mubeen & Dongping Han & Jaffar Abbas & Iftikhar Hussain, 2020. "The Effects of Market Competition, Capital Structure, and CEO Duality on Firm Performance: A Mediation Analysis by Incorporating the GMM Model Technique," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-18, April.
    13. Barcos, Lucía & Barroso, Alicia & Surroca, Jordi & Tribó, Josep A., 2013. "Corporate social responsibility and inventory policy," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(2), pages 580-588.
    14. Mikael Carlsson & Julián Messina & Oskar Nordström Skans, 2016. "Wage Adjustment and Productivity Shocks," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(595), pages 1739-1773, September.
    15. Ayman Hassan Bazhair & Mohammed Naif Alshareef, 2022. "Dynamic relationship between ownership structure and financial performance: a Saudi experience," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(1), pages 2098636-209, December.
    16. Hall, Bronwyn, 2002. "The Financing of Research and Development," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt5rf0x9gz, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    17. Mukhopadhyay, Jhuma & Chakraborty, Indrani, 2017. "Foreign institutional investment, business groups and firm performance: Evidence from India," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(PA), pages 454-465.
    18. Sabien Dobbelaere & Jacques Mairesse, 2010. "Comparing Micro-evidence on Rent Sharing from Three Different Approaches," NBER Working Papers 16220, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Jacques Mairesse & Bronwyn H. Hall & Benoît Mulkay, 1999. "Firm-Level Investment in France and the United States: An Exploration of What We Have Learned in Twenty Years," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 55-56, pages 27-67.
    20. Neeraj Gupta & Jitendra Mahakud, 2020. "CEO characteristics and bank performance: evidence from India," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 35(8), pages 1057-1093, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:abaman:v:22:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1057_s41291-023-00228-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.