The Mechanism of Business System Formation in the Gear Market: Case Study of Kohara Gear Industry

Abstract

In the mechanical gear market, customers demand high-mix, low-volume production. This is a company that has dared to take on the inherently contradictory task of providing a wide variety of products with short delivery times at low cost. In this paper, we attempt to clarify how the company has created an original business system by transforming its business system and the kind of strategic decisions on which this was based, taking into account internal resources, external contexts and time horizons. By revisiting the decision making process of leadership from the perspective of the process tracing method, we identify the success factors and causal mechanisms of achieving sustainable growth and business system transformation.