Management That Inherits the Founder’s Identity
Case Study of Kakiuchi Co., Ltd.
##article.authors##
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Yasuto Ishitani
Shunan University, Faculty of Economics and Business Management
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2509-9444
https://researchmap.jp/yasuto.ishitani
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51094/jxiv.787Keywords:
founder identity, organizational identity, strategy, entrepreneurship, case studyAbstract
Yasuo Kakiuchi, who founded Kakiuchi Co., Ltd., was known for “wanting to become the second ‘Edison’ by inventing various types of machines.” He later became known locally as the “Edison of Kochi.” His successors at the company have now strengthened this effort by creating an organizational identity for the company as the “company with the genes of the Edison of Kochi that takes care of all machinery needs.” They are also expanding on the founder’s entrepreneurship by implementing a threefold strategy to engage in contract manufacturing of cutting-edge industrial machinery for top niche manufacturers, manufacturing and selling the company’s own highly functional and convenient products, and developing products requested by industries, the government, and academic circles. Through a case study of this company, this article describes how the strategies and organizational practices of the founder’s successors have been influenced by a sense of entrepreneurship imbued with the founder’s identity and how they have promoted the formation of an organizational identity similar to that of the founder. It also highlights that the strategic work and organizational identity work of the successors have been based on the identity forged by the founder.Conflicts of Interest Disclosure
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Submitted: 2024-06-28 12:22:48 UTC
Published: 2024-07-02 04:20:03 UTC
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