抄録
The pharmaceutical industry, which developed through the Meiji and Taisho eras, is apparently one of the most important technological industries. However, only a few papers have been published regarding the entrepreneurships of the industry early on. It is crucial to research this subject in order to explore the process of how highly technical companies progressed in the early stage of modern industrialization in Japan. This paper focuses on two distinguished entrepreneurs, Gisaburo Shiono Jr. and Chobei Takeda the Fifth, who were both from the Dosho district of Osaka City. Gisaburo Shiono Jr. founded Shionogi & Co., Ltd. and Chobei Takeda the Fifth founded Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited; both of which are currently outstanding companies in the Japanese pharmaceutical market. The paper reveals that the two entrepreneurs started out by importing chemical materials from western Europe and North America, and then expanded their activities into manufacturing pharmaceutical materials in their own firms. Finally, they succeeded in developing their own new medicine products. Their lifetime histories, surveyed along with management activities, are described to clarify the process of each company's development through a few wartime experiences including World War I. Their achievements were quite similar, but the processes used were different. The case of Gisaburo Shiono Jr. shows his risk management skills, which filled his lack of technological leadership. The case of Chobei Takeda the Fifth shows his ability to gradually adapt the company to change throughout a long history of changing environment.
PMID: 27149784 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
