Abstract
This article examines entrepreneurial activities in Chinese domestic cotton spinning industry (minzokubo) in the 1930s. Contrary to previous studies that have described “declining” tendency of minzokubo, this article gives attention to its “rising” tendency. The entrepreneurial activities based on the development of minzokubo are analyzed.
First, the adoption, by Chinese entrepreneurs, of experts in textile manufacturing technology as middle-managers is pointed out. In the following section, changes in interfirm relationships, administrative management, capital accumulation, and market strategy for producing high-quality cotton goods are described. Further, the author pays special attention to such business activities as raw cotton cultivation, manufacturing of textile machinery, and supply of technicians. Along with the reform of administrative management, the profits gained were well reserved in the firms. In order to secure the domestic market, the entrepreneurs aggressively introduced the vertical integration strategy from spinning to weaving, finishing, and even to raw cotton cultivation and textile machinery production. All this was lead by the major minzokubo.
The entrepreneurs and their families in China kept firm control of the top management even in the 1930s. They tried to found such business associations as the Greater Japan Cotton Spinners' Association, which did not function satisfactorily. However, the intimate link among entrepreneurs played an important role in the development of minzokubo, which was based on Chinese tradition. Chinese entrepreneurs learned many lessons from the foreign firms, but denied their rule of China.
