Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the mechanism that fosters GNT (Global-Niche-Top) firms. The study conducts a comparative case study of two GNT firms. Both of them were founded in Kochi Prefecture and captured a dominant market share in the global high performance paper industry.

Based on the case studies, the study identifies five key factors in the growth of GNT firms: 1) Targeting markets with non-cost competition, 2) Improvement of existing technologies, 3) Reflection of feedback from customers, 4) Large scale investment in production capacity, and 5) Leadership of top management in implementing these actions.

The two case studies show that the regional cluster effect has a limited role in GNT firms’ growth and that external links with the firms and universities in other geographical areas is more important than internal links.