The study on the telecommunication apparatus business and the role of entrepreneurial activities in the Meiji Era

2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 15530242
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Economic history
• Research Institution: Aoyama Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: HASEGAWA Shin Aoyama Gakuin University, School of Business Administration, Professor, 経営学部, 教授 (40144050)
• Project Period (FY): 2003 – 2004
• Keywords: telecommunication apparatus / OKI Co. / Nippon Electric Co. / entrepreneurial activity / Kibataro OKI / Kunihiko IWADARE / Kunihiko IWATARE / Western Electric Co.

Research Abstract

The purpose of this research is to analyze the characteristic of the telecommunication apparatus business during the Meiji era when was the rise period of the telecommunication industry, by focusing on the entrepreneurial activity of Kibataro OKI and Kunihiko Iwadare (Iwatare). This research analyzed the entrepreneurial activity of Kibataro OKI that is the founder of Oki Co. first of all. The existing research on Kibataro OKI of is asserting that OKI is the owner of domestic production principle thought and did not resign the competition with the foreign enterprises. However, by analyzing the letters of Mr. Carlton that Western Electric Co. dispatched to Japan, the fact that Kibataro OKI was in agreement to the cooperation with Western Electric Co. become clear. The reason that cooperation did not realize finally, Western Electric Co. did not select OKI as a cooperation partner. Kibataro OKI promoted the import business of Western Electric Co.'s products and the growth of telecommunica tion apparatus business in Japan. As above, the entrepreneur activity of Kibataro OKI was the contents that were not able to understand in the words called "The domestic production principle" and had the characteristic called an active entrepreneur activity such that even the cooperation with the foreign enterprise would be selected. On the other hand, Kunihiko IWADARE, the founder of Nippon Electric Co., played the role that mediates Kibataro OKI and Western Electric Co., and he demonstrated excellent consulting ability and obtained the approval of Western Electric Co.. Finally, Western Electric Co. entrusted the establishment of NEC that was a subsidiary company to IWADARE. OKI Co. and NEC furthermore brought about the development of telecommunication apparatus business, while repeating competition and cooperation, and the existence of the entrepreneurs of two different types, OKI and IWADARE, caused synergy effect to the progress of the telecommunication apparatus business in the Meiji Era. About such contents, I reported in the Conference of Forum for Entrepreneurial Studies conference on July 4, 2004.