COMPETING CAPITALISMS: CAPITAL INVESTIMENT IN AMERICAN, GERMAN, AND JAPANESE FIRMS

摘要

This study8 explains one way the home cuntry institutional environment causes strategy differences across firms from different countries. It contrasts the investment conduct of American, German, and Japanese firm in the 10 largest manufacturing industries. We find profound national differences among these firms that are stable across industries. These differing conducts are tied to the institutional enviorments of the home market. The shareholer firms of the United States make investments primarily in response to expected investment returns, measured by Tobin's Q ratio. The coalitional firms of Germany and Japan make investments primaril7y in response to the availability of internal finance, measured by operating cash flow.