The Light and Shadow of Corporate Reconstruction: Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) are both representative Japanese automobile manufacturers. However, there is a commonality and a difference between the two. The commonality is that both of them had sunk into the doldrums. Subsequently they aimed at corporate reconstruction by attracting investments from foreign manufacturers and appointing non-Japanese as executives. The difference is in the results obtained by the two manufacturers. This paper examines why Nissan succeeded in saving itself, while MMC failed in its reconstruction.In order to discuss the above issues, the paper uses Jungian psychology for its theoretical foundations. Jungian psychologists, in particular, often research traditional folk tales in order to learn about the unconscious. The reason for the success of the approach is that mental illness has been a universal phenomenon throughout human history and Jungian psychology refers to these unchanged phenomena as the 'collective unconscious'. Folk tales are, thus, a part of humanity’s psychological treasury and Jungian psychologists search for clues to support their counselling in these tales. This paper applies the same methodology to studying Japanese business in considering Nissan and MMC.