Study of e-Business Strategy in Japanese Family Business and Long-Established Companies

Abstract

This report discusses difficulties in mail-order service, as well as the effects of its introduction, in long-established companies. While previous studies only discussed the merits of e-business, it has surfaced with the progress of research that many companies hesitate to actively introduce mail-order service despite the resulting sales growth. They mentioned as the biggest cause of their hesitation that it would require more employees and make operations complicated. For instance, a long-established sake brewer, which offers mail-order service, deals with a flood of online orders with all employees mobilized on such occasions as Father's Day and toward the year end. A long-standing souvenir shop in Hokkaido, which sells local specialties of Hokkaido through mail-order service, is not active in the service as having trouble in handling orders, despite a 20% sales growth from the mail-order service. These issues will also be discussed.