2013 Volume 34 Pages 147-164
The purpose of this study is to examine the “legitimacy factors” expressed by corporations in their process of achieving social innovation initiatives in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake.
As a case study of social innovation by a corporation, this study examined the “Ten Yen for Every Parcel We Deliver” initiative program initiated by the Yamato Group and analyzed qualitatively the process through which the program was conducted. In particular, the study focused on how the idea arose, how the final model was established, and what kind of legitimacy was expressed to acquire the necessary resources and empathy. As a result of the examination, three factors were detected that affected the legitimacy of the “Ten Yen for Every Parcel We Deliver” initiative program: “corporate culture,” “a sense of crisis in society caused by the earthquake” and “the Yamato Group’s awareness of CSR activities before the earthquake.” Furthermore, the study discloses the fact that these three factors of legitimacy were not already in place at the time the idea arose, but were created flexibly after the event as the situation demanded, obtaining consent and support from the stakeholders of the Yamato Group.
