Why is Decision-Making in Japanese Companies Slow and Distorted?
A survey of 200 CxOs by Roland Berger reveals that 60% of executive decisions in Japanese companies involve matters they shouldn't handle. The bureaucratic 'approval stamp rally' drains resources, with 75% of decisions revised before execution due to ambiguous authority and departmental silos.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 24, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 24, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 25, 2026 at 02:48 (16h 16m after Collected)
Roland Berger Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Representative Director: Yuzuru Ohashi, hereinafter Roland Berger), one of Europe's largest management consulting firms, conducted the "3rd Awareness Survey of Listed Company CxOs and Corporate Planning Leaders" regarding organizational decision-making, targeting 200 CxOs and corporate planning leaders of listed Japanese companies.
For the previous "2nd Awareness Survey of Listed Company CxOs and Corporate Planning Leaders," please click here.
The main points of the survey results are three-fold:
① 60% of the decisions made by management in Japanese companies are "decisions they should not originally be making." The reality is that the approval stamp rally erodes management resources, leaving less than 40% of their time to be spent on decisions they should actually make.
② "Who decides" greatly influences the quality of the decision. The more the right decision-maker is involved in an issue, the less likely the decision is to be revised—about 47% of decisions are put into action without revision. Eliminating unnecessary consideration loops and minimizing the intervention of the wrong decision-makers is crucial.
③ Furthermore, in 60% of companies, the wall between the business division and the corporate department acts as a bottleneck in decision-making, sapping driving force.
① 60% of the decisions made by management in Japanese companies are "decisions they should not originally be making." The reality is that the approval stamp rally erodes management resources, leaving less than 40% of their time to be spent on decisions they should actually make.
Of the decisions in which they are involved, less than 40% are those they "should originally decide themselves," and the remaining 60% are cases where they are "dragged into" issues that should be decided by other departments, superiors, or subordinates.
The background is that bureaucratic culture, complex approval flows, and hierarchical organizational structures are eroding the precious resources of management time and focus.
Going further, for the 60% considered to be "matters someone else should decide," it can be said that there is a possibility that the judgments made are not accompanied by will or a sense of ownership.
② "Who decides" greatly influences the quality of the decision. The more the right decision-maker is involved in an issue, the less likely the decision is to be revised—about 47% of decisions are put into action without revision. Eliminating unnecessary consideration loops and minimizing the intervention of the wrong decision-makers is crucial.
Of all decisions, about 75% are revised before execution, meaning the decision is overturned. Only 25% are executed without revision.
When a person is properly involved in an agenda they should be deciding on, that decision is less likely to be revised before moving to execution. In other words, a decision by the right participants is of high quality, making it harder for the organization to fall into unnecessary loops. In fact, 47% of decisions are put into action without revision.
On the other hand, there are many cases where decisions move to execution while the rightful decision-maker remains ambiguous, and as a result, the probability of the decision being overturned increases.
Therefore, narrowing down the decision-makers clearly and reorganizing the organizational structure and decision-making flow to achieve this is an urgent task.
③ Furthermore, in 60% of companies, the wall between the business division and the corporate department acts as a bottleneck in decision-making, sapping driving force.
It is a common issue that collaboration between business departments becomes a bottleneck due to silos, and it is an expected result that cross-regional communication is often an issue particularly in Japanese companies.
However, the number of companies answering that communication between business departments and corporate departments is a bottleneck in decision-making reached 60% of the total, surpassing issues between business departments or regions.
The background to the normalization of increased judgment costs, where frontline decisions are blocked by the corporate wall and decision-making is left hanging, is a difference in the level of understanding and passion for the business.
It goes without saying that collaboration between business departments and corporate departments is important for the optimal allocation of management resources in corporate operations and communication with the capital market.
Therefore, it is essential to eliminate the wall existing between business departments and corporate departments. In addition, there is a simultaneous need to streamline the decision-making process and build a structure where only those who can discuss from the perspective of enhancing corporate value engage in focused discussions (formation of a "true" CXO team).
Upon receiving the results of this survey, Seiichi Tamura, Senior Partner and Head of the Corporate Transformation Team at Roland Berger, stated as follows:
"Decision-making means deciding on a 'will.' Where there is no 'will,' there is no 'decision-making.' Setting aside young employees, even among mid-level executives and core personnel, we see people saying, 'That's something the company decides.' The company does not have a personality. The company will not 'make a decision' even if you wait. What is important is to have a 'will' yourself and clash it with the 'will' of others. Giving decision-making authority where there is 'will.' That is the essence of this problem, and nothing other than increasing the speed and quality of decision-making."
Shusaku Nomoto, a Roland Berger alumnus and transformation advisor, stated as follows:
"What we can see from the survey results is that decision
For the previous "2nd Awareness Survey of Listed Company CxOs and Corporate Planning Leaders," please click here.
The main points of the survey results are three-fold:
① 60% of the decisions made by management in Japanese companies are "decisions they should not originally be making." The reality is that the approval stamp rally erodes management resources, leaving less than 40% of their time to be spent on decisions they should actually make.
② "Who decides" greatly influences the quality of the decision. The more the right decision-maker is involved in an issue, the less likely the decision is to be revised—about 47% of decisions are put into action without revision. Eliminating unnecessary consideration loops and minimizing the intervention of the wrong decision-makers is crucial.
③ Furthermore, in 60% of companies, the wall between the business division and the corporate department acts as a bottleneck in decision-making, sapping driving force.
① 60% of the decisions made by management in Japanese companies are "decisions they should not originally be making." The reality is that the approval stamp rally erodes management resources, leaving less than 40% of their time to be spent on decisions they should actually make.
Of the decisions in which they are involved, less than 40% are those they "should originally decide themselves," and the remaining 60% are cases where they are "dragged into" issues that should be decided by other departments, superiors, or subordinates.
The background is that bureaucratic culture, complex approval flows, and hierarchical organizational structures are eroding the precious resources of management time and focus.
Going further, for the 60% considered to be "matters someone else should decide," it can be said that there is a possibility that the judgments made are not accompanied by will or a sense of ownership.
② "Who decides" greatly influences the quality of the decision. The more the right decision-maker is involved in an issue, the less likely the decision is to be revised—about 47% of decisions are put into action without revision. Eliminating unnecessary consideration loops and minimizing the intervention of the wrong decision-makers is crucial.
Of all decisions, about 75% are revised before execution, meaning the decision is overturned. Only 25% are executed without revision.
When a person is properly involved in an agenda they should be deciding on, that decision is less likely to be revised before moving to execution. In other words, a decision by the right participants is of high quality, making it harder for the organization to fall into unnecessary loops. In fact, 47% of decisions are put into action without revision.
On the other hand, there are many cases where decisions move to execution while the rightful decision-maker remains ambiguous, and as a result, the probability of the decision being overturned increases.
Therefore, narrowing down the decision-makers clearly and reorganizing the organizational structure and decision-making flow to achieve this is an urgent task.
③ Furthermore, in 60% of companies, the wall between the business division and the corporate department acts as a bottleneck in decision-making, sapping driving force.
It is a common issue that collaboration between business departments becomes a bottleneck due to silos, and it is an expected result that cross-regional communication is often an issue particularly in Japanese companies.
However, the number of companies answering that communication between business departments and corporate departments is a bottleneck in decision-making reached 60% of the total, surpassing issues between business departments or regions.
The background to the normalization of increased judgment costs, where frontline decisions are blocked by the corporate wall and decision-making is left hanging, is a difference in the level of understanding and passion for the business.
It goes without saying that collaboration between business departments and corporate departments is important for the optimal allocation of management resources in corporate operations and communication with the capital market.
Therefore, it is essential to eliminate the wall existing between business departments and corporate departments. In addition, there is a simultaneous need to streamline the decision-making process and build a structure where only those who can discuss from the perspective of enhancing corporate value engage in focused discussions (formation of a "true" CXO team).
Upon receiving the results of this survey, Seiichi Tamura, Senior Partner and Head of the Corporate Transformation Team at Roland Berger, stated as follows:
"Decision-making means deciding on a 'will.' Where there is no 'will,' there is no 'decision-making.' Setting aside young employees, even among mid-level executives and core personnel, we see people saying, 'That's something the company decides.' The company does not have a personality. The company will not 'make a decision' even if you wait. What is important is to have a 'will' yourself and clash it with the 'will' of others. Giving decision-making authority where there is 'will.' That is the essence of this problem, and nothing other than increasing the speed and quality of decision-making."
Shusaku Nomoto, a Roland Berger alumnus and transformation advisor, stated as follows:
"What we can see from the survey results is that decision