ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS CULTURE IN JAPAN AND THE US

It seems to me likely that entrepreneurship will take a different path in Japan than it has in the U.S. Given the prominence of large organi zations in key areas of Japan's economy and the emphasis its society p laces on lifetime employment relationships, many of the ''startups'' o f the sort that transformed the American business are more likely to h appen within existing firms rather than as new enterprises. Such devel opment, called ''intrapreneurship'' in the U.S. requires new instituti onal structures and rewards. Such changes will not come easily, becaus e they run against the grain of Japanese society and business culture, yet I believe that success will come to those who can execute such st rategies. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.