Why are most of the oldest companies in the world from Japan?
In: 24
A combination of factors – many of which have been touched on here.
First off: While Japan has seen many internal struggles, there hasn’t been a lot of changing *national* borders; which means that the Japanese people have tended to stay more or less the same over time. In contrast, in China, India, and Europe, national borders have been much more subject to change; and when foreigners invaded, they often took over the jobs (but not the companies) along with the government. There are some long-lived companies in those areas, but they tend to be in more nationally stable sections.
Second: The Japanese have tended to favor tradition and heritage; and tend to prefer doing business with companies with a proven history – even if the history is in an adjacent business. This is what allowed Nintendo to move from playing cards to board games to electronic games; but also has served other Japanese companies as well. This has also sheltered some companies from civil wars; because the conquerors would rather take over a business with tradition that shut it down and start their own.
Finally, Japanese businessmen show far more willingness to adopt heirs than other nationalities. In Europe and America in particular, there is a tendency of family companies that grow large to end up dying off two to four generations after the initial growth as the children of the previous owners don’t show the same skill in business that their parents did. In contrast, Japanese business leaders legitimately view the business as their family; and have a history of adopting people (usually sons) who show promise in the business – and in so doing, making sure they have legal heirs that will take care of the business.
Latest Answers