Knowledge management in banking industry : comparative analysis between U.S. and Japan

Abstract

Japanese banking firms have been in a turbulent period from the last decade due to deregulations and bad loans from collapse of a bubble economy. As a result, there have been many bankruptcies and merger & acquisitions (M&As) among Japanese banking firms. On the other hand, U.S. banking firms have already met with similar experiences from the 1970s to 1980s. After these turbulent eras, U.S. banks revived by restructuring and focusing on their core competence. They are strong from the viewpoint of profitability, size and stability. In this sense, it is generally said that U.S. banking firms are 10 years ahead from Japanese banking firms. Therefore, I think it is useful for Japanese banks to research and learn how U.S. banks corresponded to turbulence situations and how they revived. In this thesis, I focus on knowledge management in banking firms, because human resource and both internal and external knowledge is one of the most important assets for banks. Even though banking firms have many business fields for which knowledge is useful, I pick up and examine following aspects by using comparative analysis between Japanese and U.S. banking firms. 1. Employment System and Organizational Structures: The employment systems and organizational structures of banking firms are key to how they manage their knowledge because knowledge belongs to the employees and organizations. 2. Customer Relationship Management: How to make the best use of customers' knowledge is important for banks, and banks need to focus not only on internal knowledge but a!so external knowledge. 3. Outsourcing: Acquiring knowledge and skills from outside sources is becoming more and more important for banks because of innovations in information technology and severe competition among many rivals.