Hodaka Morita is a Professor of Managerial Practice at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB). His research offers innovative insights into industrial organization economics and organizational economics. In industrial organization economics, he examines topics such as collaboration between competing firms, partial equity ownership, knowledge transfer and spillovers, post-production services, foreign direct investment (FDI), and entry regulation. His notable publications include “Knowledge Transfer and Partial Equity Ownership” and “Free Entry and Social Efficiency under Vertical Oligopoly,” both featured in the RAND Journal of Economics, and “FDI in Post-Production Services and Product Market Competition” in the Journal of International Economics. In organizational economics, his research explores areas such as human capital investment and labor turnover, promotion dynamics, Japanese employment practices, and firm boundaries and group identity. Key works include “Internal Promotion and External Recruitment: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis,” published in the Journal of Labor Economics, “Group Identity and Relation-Specific investment: An Experimental Investigation,” in the European Economic Review, and “Choice of Technology and Labor Market Consequences: An Explanation of U.S.-Japanese Differences,” in the Economic Journal. His research has also appeared in other leading journals, including American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization, and Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

Before joining CKGSB, Professor Morita held academic positions at Hitotsubashi University (Japan) and the University of New South Wales (Australia), where he taught courses on industrial organization, Japanese business and economy, organizational economics, and intermediate microeconomics, and supervised a number of PhD and Master students. As a visiting professor at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, he delivered a highly rated MBA course on Japanese business and economy.

Professor Morita has been recognized with prestigious honors, including the Australian Research Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, which enabled him to dedicate five years to research beginning in 2009. He has also secured significant research grants from the Australian Research Council and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Currently, Professor Morita serves as the Chief Editor of the Hitotsubashi Journal of Economics and as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. He has organized prominent academic conferences, including Asia Pacific Industrial Organization Conference 2019 held in Tokyo. Most recently, Professor Morita was appointed to the Nikkei Newspaper Economics Panel, a distinguished group of 47 leading Japanese economists providing expert insights on economic issues.

Industrial Organization, Organizational Economics, Japanese Economy and Business

Selected Publications 

• “Welfare Improving Horizontal Mergers in Successive Oligopoly” (with Arghya Ghosh and Chengsi Wang). Journal of Industrial Economics, 2022, Vol. 70, pp. 89–118.
• “FDI and Quality-Enhancing Technology Spillovers” (with Xuan Nguyen). International Journal of Industrial Organization, 2021, Vol. 79, Article 102787
• “Knowledge Transfer and Partial Equity Ownership” (with Arghya Ghosh). RAND Journal of Economics, 2017, Vol. 48 (4), pp. 1044-1067.
• “Training and Intrinsic Motivation in Nonprofit and For-Profit Organizations” (with Jed DeVaro and Nan Maxwell). Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2017, Vol. 139, pp. 196 – 213.
• “Continuous Improvement and Competitive Pressure in the Presence of Discrete Innovation” (with Arghya Ghosh and Takao Kato). Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2017, Vol. 135, pp. 1 – 14 (Lead article).
• “Formal Contracts, Relational Contracts, and the Threat-Point Effect” (with Hideshi Itoh). American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 2015, Vol. 7 (3), pp. 318 – 346.
• “Internal Promotion and External Recruitment: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis” (with Jed DeVaro). Journal of Labor Economics, 2013, Vol. 41 (2), pp. 227 – 269 (Lead article).
• “Group Identity and Relation-Specific Investment: An Experimental Investigation” (with Maroš Servátka). European Economic Review, 2013, Vol. 58 (February), pp. 95 – 109.
• “Firm Dynamics and Labor Market Consequences”. Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization, 2012, Vol. 28 (2), pp. 235 – 264.
• “Competitor Collaboration and Product Distinctiveness” (with Arghya Ghosh). International Journal of Industrial Organization, 2012, Vol. 30 (2), pp. 137-152.  
• “FDI in Post-Production Services and Product Market Competition” (with Jota Ishikawa and Hiroshi Mukunoki). Journal of International Economics, 2010, Vol. 82, pp. 73 – 84.
• “Competition, Monopoly Maintenance, and Consumer Switching Costs” (with Michael Waldman). American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 2010, Vol. 2 (1), pp. 230 – 255. 
• “Free Entry and Social Efficiency under Vertical Oligopoly” (with Arghya Ghosh). RAND Journal of Economics, 2007, Vol. 38 (2), pp. 539-552.
• “Multi-skilling, Delegation, and Continuous Process Improvement: A Comparative Analysis of US-Japanese Work Organizations.” Economica, 2005, Vol. 72, (February), pp. 69-93.
• “Durable Goods, Monopoly Maintenance, and Time Inconsistency” (with Michael Waldman). Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 2004, Vol. 13, (Summer), pp. 273-302.
• “Choice of Technology and Labour Market Consequences: an Explanation of U.S.-Japanese Differences.” Economic Journal, 2001, vol. 111, (January), pp. 29-50.