抄録・内容(英) | In recent years, business succession is recognized as an important problem for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is because the SMEs that entered the postwar high-growth era caused a change of generation, and there is concern about the decline in the global competitiveness of Japanese industries due to difficulties in the transmission of accumulated skill. Business succession among SMEs in Japan is considered to be quite a natural phenomenon within the family. Although this custom has declined, particularly in the field of commerce after business conditions deteriorated, the desire to continue a family business is rather unique among countries in Southeast Asia. In South Korea and China, for instance, business is conducted only as a means for earning a livelihood, and business succession is not adhered to within the family. Why is there still an incentive to continue family businesses in Japan? In order to explain this question, assets succeeded to in commerce should be classified into four categories: tangible assets such as cash, claims, stocks, buildings, etc; expertise (individual skill) in handling and selling products; the network of customers and suppliers (related skill); and "shop curtain” as a generic term for these intangible assets. Tangible assets are saleable in the market, and thus, they are preferred to other assets in South Korea and China. This is because they can be easily converted into money for other businesses. On the other hand, intangible assets are not saleable because they are company-specific (except for brand assets); therefore, people would prefer not to invest too much money in intangible assets. However, there is an incentive for business succession in Japan, where intangible assets possess a significant competitive edge. As long as there are no schools that provide business education, the only means for the transmission of intangible assets is through family businesses. Defending a shop curtain, which is the symbol of family businesses, becomes the business norm. When such a norm has been gradually established, the idea of business succession within the family becomes prevalent among the SMEs. |