Technological leadership and late development: evidence from Meiji Japan, 1868–1912
利用企业族谱数据，研究发现明治时期财阀企业更可能成为行业先驱，但过度多元化会削弱其技术领导力，对理解后发国家工业化有参考价值。
Large family‐owned conglomerates known as zaibatsu have long been credited with leading Japanese industrialization during the Meiji period (1868–1912), despite a lack of empirical analysis. Using a new dataset collected from corporate genealogies to estimate entry probabilities, it is found that characteristics associated with zaibatsu increase a firm's likelihood of being an industry pioneer. In particular, first entry probabilities increase with industry diversification and private ownership, which may provide internal financing and risk‐sharing, respectively. Nevertheless, the costs of excessive diversification may deter additional pioneering, which may account for the loss of zaibatsu technological leadership by the turn of the century.