Title

Is the Japanese Distribution System Becoming More Accessible to Foreign Firms?

Abstract

Complexities in the Japanese distribution system are well-publicized. An emerging body of literature has documented recent changes in the Japanese distribution system. In this paper, it is examined whether foreign firms' accessibility to the Japanese distribution system has changed in a favorable direction in recent years. Furthermore, as foreign firms vary widely in terms of institutional barriers and complexity they face in the Japanese market, the authors also investigate the determinants of inter-firm heterogeneity in their assessment of the Japanese distribution system.

Keywords:Japan, distribution system, institutional inertia, business networks

Ralf BEBENROTH
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration
Kobe University
Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe
657-8501 Japan
Phone: (81) 78 803 7036
Fax: (81) 78 803 7059

Nir KSHETRI
Bryan School of Business and Economics
The University of North Carolina-Greensboro
Greensboro, NC 27402-6165
USA
Phone: 1-336-334-4530
Fax: 1-336-334-4141

Reinhard HÜNERBERG
Fachbereich 07, Marketing
University of Kassel
D-34109 Kassel, Diagonale 12
Germany
phone ++ 49 (0)561 804 3022
fax ++ 49 (0)561 804 3523