Around the year 2000 in Japan, it was said that small-value e-commerce transactions weren’t profitable due to credit card processing fees. For digital goods in particular, it was even suggested that offering them for free was preferable. Consequently, various electronic payment methods were devised and implemented. Amidst this, Nippon Shinpan developed its EC Total Payment Solution, a system thoroughly engineered to be superior for users both technically and economically. They aggressively promoted sales while dramatically reducing the system usage fees for card payments based on field sales judgment. As a result, “EC Card”—meaning credit card payments on the internet—survived and became viable even for small-value e-commerce transactions.

This paper examines how a founder’s entrepreneurial identity (formed initially by the founder) was dynamically reinforced and developed in conjunction with strategic decisions, ultimately exerting a sustained influence across generations. This case study focuses on Hirose Paper Mfg. Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of wet-laid nonwoven fabrics primarily targeting the industrial functional paper market. In the case company, the founder established the entrepreneurial identity before the company’s founding. This identity aligned with a business system centered on horizontal collaboration with technology trading companies and a core technology strategy built upon that system. Subsequent generations inherited the strong connection between identity and strategy, established by the founder. It ultimately played a foundational role in enabling later generations to attain a global niche leadership position in the microfiltration/ultrafiltration membrane substrate market for filtration applications in the liquid treatment sector.