Competitive strategy of family businesses through CSV - case study of a family business in Mie Prefecture, Japan

Many companies, not only in Japan but also around the world, are family businesses and are the main drivers of the economy. For any revitalisation of local communities, the innovation of regional companies is indispensable and if such innovation is realised through regional partnerships and leads to a solution of the challenges confronted in the region and the society at large, it will realise the best possible scenario by which both the society and businesses will prosper. In other words, it is not appropriate for a company to pursue only its own interests. Michael E. Porter has proposed the concept of creating shared value (CSV) and pointed out the importance of sharing values with the regional community. This paper proposes a hypothesis in which CSV, which is important for business management, can also become a source of competitive advantage for companies and analyses the strategic management of a family business in Mie Prefecture. Through detailed case studies, the paper demonstrates that CSV can become an effective competitive strategy for family business and also clarifies conditions for CSV to generate sources of competitive advantage.