2023 Volume 20 Pages 195-213
This paper focuses on Hokkaido Kouseisha, a drycleaning business established in 1956 to help people with disabilities become self-reliant. As such, it was founded at the dawn of the “social enterprise” and “social business” concepts with the mission of providing a place to work for people with disabilities. Established as an association of people with disabilities, Hokkaido Kouseisha was a pioneer of WISE in Japan. Today, it is a hybrid organization consisting of a non-profit social welfare corporation and a for-profit corporation called the Kouseisha Group and has grown to become one of the leading drycleaning companies in Hokkaido. How did Hokkaido Kouseisha come about and how did it grow? We analyzed its efforts chronologically, focusing on the process of its founding and the first 10 years, taking into account the historical background. It became clear that Hokkaido Kouseisha transformed into a hybrid organization as a result of choosing the optimal solution in the process of building an organization to explore and develop its business. In addition, while various stakeholders were involved in Hokkaido Kouseisha, it is likely that it had a strong relationship with the public sector. In the initiatives of this organization, we can trace the origins of social business in Japan.
