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^aGraduate School of Economics, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. E-mail: wailerdsak@hotmail.com

^bInstitute of Social Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. E-mail: asuehiro@iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp

The origins of directors and executives have been the subject of much recent discussion in Asian countries, with concern being expressed about corporate governance and management effectiveness. As an investigation of the origins and determining factors for East Asian directors and executives, this article is based on a wide array of data taken from corporations listed on the stock exchanges in Japan and Thailand. The results of this investigation show that although there has been much argument over the appointment of outside directors to company boards, and the ongoing collapse of the lifetime employment system in Japan, the ratio of internally promoted directors and executives remains high, particularly in companies with widely held shares. Also, it has been widely assumed that most Thai directors and executives are family owners, that their associates have poor management skills, and that other managers are brought in from outside as needed. Our results, however, indicate a significant increase in well-educated professional managers. The data point to the creation of internal managerial labor markets in Thailand. Regardless of ownership pattern, the companies most likely to have a high level of internally promoted executives are large long-established ones or sometimes those in regulated industries.

Asian Business & Management (2004) 3, 85-104. doi:10.1057/palgrave.abm.9200071

top executives; internal labor market; ownership pattern; managerial enterprises; Japan; Thailand