Firm Credibility,Employee Loyalty and Origins of Corporate Culture in Japan

Abstract

所謂'信譽'是指誠實守信的聲譽,它是交往雙方長期誠實、公平、履行諾言的結果。由于企業是一個以創造利潤為目的的經濟實體,產品的質量、價格、服務使客戶感到安全、安心、滿意,由此產生企業與客戶間的信譽所帶來的經濟利潤不是一次性的,于是企業與客戶間的信譽才有可能引領和營建其他層面多種組合的信用,它是企業存在和持續發展的內在動力。企業信譽需要相應的條件去支撐,其中員工對企業的忠誠是獲取企業信譽的首要條件。日本企業員工對企業的忠誠在世界企業界也是極具特色的企業文化之一,企業信譽和員工對企業的忠誠兩者密不可分,都是特定歷史文化積淀的產物。從'豐田召回門'事件討論日本企業信譽和員工的忠誠,探討日本企業文化的歷史源頭,可以在更深的層面理解日本企業向近代工業社會轉型的特征,以區別于西方近代工業社會中的企業文化。 Commercial credibility concerns reputation based on truthfulness and trustworthiness,which derives from recurrent relationships based on honesty,equity,and promise-keeping among transacting parties.A firm is a for-profit organization.Credibility is conducive to sustaining profitability,which hinges on enduring and multidimensional satisfaction of customers with product quality,price,and service offered by the firm.The factors that contribute to the credibility of a firm, employee loyalty is of primary importance. The organizational loyalty demonstrated by Japanese employees is extraordinary in the world. It is closely correlated with the credibility of their companies. Both are shaped by Japan's peculiar historical and cultural traditions. Using the worldwide recall of Toyota's automobiles as the point of departure, this article discusses the relationship between firm credibility and employee loyalty in Japan, with a view to exploring the origins of the country's corporate culture. This discussion provides the basis for a further examination of the key cultural and organizational characteristics demonstrated by Japanese companies during the transformations in the modern era, which stands in sharp contrast with those in the West.