Abstract
One of the unique features of Japanese management is the lifetime employment system found in large firms. In a study of two samples, Japanese executives and personnel directors, several theoretical models of the causes and effects of lifetime employment were tested. A control model received strong support. Lifetime employment is offered within a rhetorical context of loyalty and benevolence based on cultural values. Its impact, however, is to increase the control of Japanese employees by managers.
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*Jeremiah J. Sullivan is Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing and International Business at the University of Washington School of Business. He specializes in research on Japanese management and is currently finishing his third book on Japan, The Gentle Invaders: Japanese Managers in America.
**Richard B. Peterson is Professor of Management and Organization at the Schools of Business Administration at the University of Washington in Seattle. His primary research interests are in International Management and Industrial Relations with special attention on Japanese management, problem-solving bargaining, and union/nonunion grievance systems.
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Sullivan, J., Peterson, R. A Test of Theories Underlying the Japanese Lifetime Employment System. J Int Bus Stud 22, 79–97 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490293
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490293