Career mobility in the embedded market: a study of the Japanese financial sector

The coexistence of domestic and foreign firms in Japan provides a fascinating test bed through which to examine how local firms adapt to global pressures, and how employees navigate the changing institutional environment. I employ a mixed methods approach using in-depth interviews and two separate datasets of finance professionals in Japan. My analysis reveals that there is greater mobility and greater employee heterogeneity in the foreign firms. Mobility is a one-way transition from domestic to foreign firms, intermediated by status distinctions between firms. My findings also suggest that mobility in the foreign firms is constrained by local norms and conventions.