Inclusive Survival and Innovation Through Householding: Interpreting Narratives of a Japanese Family Firm

Abstract

A typical Japanese family firm tends to be small and resilient over generations. Some of the activities and practices of such firms provide valuable information about the persistence of family businesses. Through the narratives of a couple who run a 100-year-old family firm in Japan, this chapter explicates how and why they succeeded in the bold transformation of their business during times of adversity.

The couple proposed two different stories about the four business model innovations throughout the firm’s history. Even though this innovation process can be explained as “entrepreneurship,” it is more deeply understood by focusing on the social aspects of “family.” The couple innovated their business using householding practices that supported their kin, employees, and community, with an ideal of perpetuity rather than of the maximization of profit. These practices gave meaning to the firm’s existence and its need to survive.

The household is a competing term for family, being broadly defined by the dimensions of its forms, activities, and values. This study focuses on the householding perspective, showing how and why householding practices drive business model innovations in Japanese settings. To conclude, the distinctive inclusiveness of householding, in terms of membership and leadership, is also explored.

Citation

Akizawa, H. (2022), "Inclusive Survival and Innovation Through Householding: Interpreting Narratives of a Japanese Family Firm", Trevinyo-Rodríguez, R.N. and Gallo, M.Á. (Ed.) The Power of Inclusion in Family Business, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 43-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80117-578-420221003