DIVERSIFICATIONSTRATEGYANDFINANCIALPERFORMANCE:ANEMPIRICALSTUDYOFJAPAN’STEXTILEINDUSTRYASLIM.COLPANANDTAKASHIHIKINOª(KyotoUniversity,InstituteofEconomicResearch,andªKyotoUniversity,GraduateSchoolofEconomicsandtheUniversityofTokyo,InstituteofSocialScience)DIVERSIFICATIONSTRATEGYANDFINANCIALPERFORMANCE:ANEMPIRICALSTUDYOFJAPAN’STEXTILEINDUSTRYAbstractIntheadversarialmarketenvironmentthatJapanesetextileindustryhaslongfaced,thetopmanagementofthelargesttextileenterpriseshasadoptedthekeystrategyofdiversificationintonewproductmarkets.WeexaminehowtheproductdiversificationofJapanesetextilefirmsaffectedtheirfinancialperformancesfrom1979to2002.Wefindthatthedissimilarbusinessmodelsthatthemanagementadoptedintermsofdiversificationyieldedcontrastingperformances.Theresultsalsosuggestthattheeffectsofdiversificationstrategiesvariedoverdifferenttimeperiods.Ultimately,whentheenterprisesattempteddiversifyingtheirproductandbusinessportfolios,itwasnotthecapabilityinvestmentsinmarketingorfinancefunctionsthatwouldnurturesustainablecompetitiveadvantages.Onlythemanagement’scommitmenttothedistinctivecapabilitiesintechnologyensuredthefirms’continuousgrowthandprofitabilityIntroductionDiversificationhasbeentheprimarystrategicmeasureforeconomicadjustmentsemployedbythelargeenterprisesinJapan’smaturedtextileindustry,eversinceforthemacro-andmicro-economicreasonstheenterprisesstartedexperiencingthechronicandstructuraltroublesinthe1970s.ThispaperexaminestheeffectivenessintermsoffinancialoutcomesofproductdiversificationstrategiesthattheJapanesetextilefirmshavefollowedsincethelate1970s.Asthesampleofthelargestcompaniesincludesthosewithdifferentoriginsandevolutionarypatterns,thetextileindustryofJapanisanappropriategroundtotestthelong-termeffectivenessofvariouselementsandtypesofresourcesandcapabilitiesthattheenterprisesutilizedfordiversificationmeasures.1Withafewexceptions(Kodama,1995,DeliosandBeamish,1999,GembaandKodama,2001)theempiricalanalysesofrecentdiversificationmeasuresadoptedbytheJapanesefirmshavebeeninadequate,especiallywhencomparedtothoseontheU.S.companies.Thisstudyamplifiesthepreviousresearchthroughstatisticalapproachesandtakesthetextilebusinessesofthecountryasacontrolledindustry-levelsample.Thepaperbasesitsbasicconceptualframeworkontheresource-andcapabilities-basedviewsofthefirm.Theresearchinparticularanalyzestheeffectsoffirms’dissimilarresourcesandcapabilitiesonthedifferentdirectionsandextentofdiversificationaswellastheprofitabilityofrelevantenterprises.OurgoalhereistopindownwhichbusinessmodelsfunctionedmosteffectivelyfortheJapan’slargeenterprises.Wethentestwhethertheinteractionsbetweendiversificationconductanditseconomicconsequenceschangeovertime.Inourlongitudinalanalysis,weexaminethisissuebytakingthecontrastingenvironments:theboomingyearsofthe1980sandthedepressiondecadeofthe1990s.Thefollowingsectionbrieflyproposestheconceptualframeworkthatisemployedbasedontheresource-andcapabilities-basedviewofthefirm.Thepaperthenprovidestheliteraturesurveyaroundourresearchquestionsandformulatesthemajorhypothesesofthestudy.Afterselectingthesample,specifyingthevariables,andclarifyingthemethodology,wetesttheperformancedifferencesamongtheenterprisesthatadvocateddifferentbusinessmodelsforeachofthetwotimeperiods.Weemploymultipleregressionmodelsthataredesignedtoinvestigatetheeffectsontheprofitabilityofthebasicdiversificationcategories,relatedandunrelatedentropy,aswellasotherstrategiccontents.Keyfindingssuggestthateconomicenvironmentsexhibitedconsiderableinfluenceonstrategicrelationshipsbetweendiversificationanditsoutcomes.AstheJapaneseeconomygrewrapidlyanddemandfortextilesexpandedwiththephenomenaleconomicboomparticularlyinthesecondhalfofthe1980s,largeenterpriseswithdifferentbusinessmodelsindiscriminatelycouldrecordsubstantialprofits.Thisdemand-pullprosperityeventuallymaskedtheineffectivediversificationschemesthat2themanagementofsomecompaniesimplemented.Nevertheless,withthecomingofeconomicdownturnandcontracteddemandintheearly1990s,therealsurvivorsofthediversificationgamebecameclear.Ultimately,inastrenuousenvironmentinwhichtheJapaneseenterpriseslostoverallpricecompetitiveness,astextilebusinessesasawholebecametechnology-andcapital-intensive,onlyaccumulatedtechnologicalresourcesandcapabilitiesandtheircoordinateddevelopmentanddeploymenthavegeneratedthecontinuousflowofprofits.TheoreticalAntecedentsoftheAnalyticalFrameworkTheapproachesofthisarticlearebroadlybasedontheresource-andcapabilities-basedviewofthefirm(Teece,1982,Dosi,CoriatandPavitt,2000).Theresource-basedtheoryisspecificallyconcernedwiththeorigins,functions,evolutionandsustainabilityofrent-generatingheterogeneousresourcesandcapabilitiesaccumulatedwithinfirms.Itthusprovidesan“adequateunderstandingofthefirmthatrequiresageneticanddevelopmentalapproach,anemphasisonhistoricaloriginsandgrowthstages–howtheenterpriseistransformedasnewwaysofdealingwithachangingenvironmentemerges”(Selznick,1957,p.211).Accordingtotheresource-basedtheory,firmsareacollectionofemployableresources.Companiesdifferbecausetheyaccumulatedi