Japanese Financial Services Organizations: Contrasting Market Experiences between 1985 and 1993

By the late 1980s, Japanese business corporations had achieved international competitive advantage in several industry sectors and the strategies of the Kaisha were frequently analysed as sources of good practice. In the financial services sector, such a strategy of international market penetration had led to Japanese banks becoming the largest in the world. By 1993, however, the strategies of the financial services organizations were somewhat different. Retrenchment was as prevalent in the 1990s as had been diversification and expansion in the 1980s. Summarizes these contrasting positions and describes a broad spectrum of business experiences for the period 1985 to 1993.