The Conceptual Model For Cultural Factors Of Entrepreneurship
The attempts to explain the cultural homogeneity of Japanese companies – and of their cultural factors – frequently make references to Japan’s cultural singularity. The academic debate on this subject is undoubtedly the most dynamic among Asian countries and one of the most active in the world. Many authors and scholars have contributed to this debate since the second half of the 19th century. One of the most well-known is Lafcadio Hearn, but he is, by all means, not the only one. There have been many Westerners and Japanese – especially since the Meiji period – that have fallen in love with Japan and have written about the Land of the Rising Sun. The reasons for this go beyond the country’s landscape, gastronomy, literature, history, courtesy, and traditions. There is something else, something intangible, a set of widespread, untold values that are passed from generation to generation. They resist and prevail through times of significant social change, as the Meiji restoration or the current period we live in, particularly after the recession that Japan suffered in the 1990s. These values are nurtured by various sources – such as tradition, history, religion, and regulation – and they are preserved within society in an incredibly homogenous manner.
Scholars of the cultural singularity in Japanese companies frequently contribute with a large number of cultural factors brought about by tradition and history. To explain different aspects of corporate management, and according to each study’s approach, the emphasis is put on some factors or others. A lot has been written about these cultural factors, especially at reaching conclusions from specific cases (Kneller, 2007; Aoyama, 2009). However, any kind of cross-country analysis of these cultural factors has been much less widely published, with some rare exceptions (Suzuki et al., 2002; Sagie et al., 2003).
Indeed, the goal of this chapter is to fill this gap, enhancing knowledge about Entrepreneurship with a cross-country analysis on the impact of cultural factors, using models and data from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), Global Report (2017). Suitability to use the GEM framework is based on previous works, such as those by Bygrave et al. (2003) and Sternberg and Wennekers (2005).
Based on the GEM model, this chapter develops a cross-country analysis of GEM metrics onto its six areas, showing some evidence that could seem paradoxical. In more detail, it is seen that the US leads most of the indicators, and China has become an emerging star, but it is not easy to understand some of Japan’s indicators unless some non-explicit factors are taken into consideration. Furthermore: what is behind such low rates in Japan regarding Self–Perceptions and Societal Values towards Entrepreneurship that strongly impact Aging initiatives? What is different in Japan with regards to others that affects so dramatically on these indicators, pointing out a singular path regarding Entrepreneurship among the rest of the most developed countries, and consequently leading to a very different ecosystem?
An attempt to answer to above questions is developed in the last paragraph of this chapter, which explains why metrics in Japan show such low values, proposing answers based on Japan's own geographic, historical, and mind-set features.