Sachiko Nakagawa and Rosario Laratta
In recent years, Japanese co‐operative banks have been attracting new interest among academics and the population generally as institutions through which deprived communities can…
Abstract
Purpose
In recent years, Japanese co‐operative banks have been attracting new interest among academics and the population generally as institutions through which deprived communities can be revitalized. They have been shown to be capable of promoting both social co‐operation and economical development through the financing of new social enterprises by investments coming mainly from local residents and existing social organizations. This paper aims to address the central questions of what Japanese co‐operative banks can do to encourage co‐operation among local residents and social enterprises so that they willingly invest their money in the development of their local community.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to explore these questions, two Japanese co‐operative banks are compared by means of a questionnaire survey and semi‐structured interviews with their investors and boards of directors. The main reason for focusing this investigation on these two banks was that despite the similarity of their political, economical and demographical backgrounds, one of them showed a steady growth in local investment while the other failed to produce a similar level of local engagement.
Findings
The findings of the paper clearly demonstrated that when a co‐operative bank acts as “community organizer”, undertaking tasks which are outside its usual sphere of activities as financier, and its board includes members of the social enterprise sector, its positive impact on community development is more effective. However, it also became clear that a vital feature of this kind of endeavour is the utilization of expertise derived from members of the local community.
Originality/value
The paper makes an important contribution to the understanding of co‐operative banks as community organizers. Its originality lies primarily in the fact that it was the first time that this type of research has been conducted on Japanese co‐operative banks.
Details
Keywords
Rosario Laratta, Sachiko Nakagawa and Masanari Sakurai
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the emergence of social enterprise in Japan by looking at the predominant types of social enterprise in the country, their industries and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the emergence of social enterprise in Japan by looking at the predominant types of social enterprise in the country, their industries and target groups, their challenges and strength.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper adopts an analytical approach, building on previous work; it is grounded on the social construction theory, which has the advantage of apprehending social phenomena from different viewpoints.
Findings
The study identifies three different conceptual approaches to explain the emergence of social enterprise in Japan. It then demonstrates that there exists a link between the approaches identified and the emerging social enterprise types in the country. Furthermore, it discusses the strategies used by those emerging social enterprise types in choosing their particular legal forms (in the absence of a specific legal form for social enterprise in Japan) and shows how this choice is normally determined by the constraints associated with those organisational forms. From this perspective, the paper outlines the major contemporary issues affecting social enterprises in Japan and focuses on two key challenges: the systems of regulation and the financial viability. In discussing the financial challenge it presents the dual attitude of the Japanese government towards the development of the social enterprise sector.
Originality/value
This paper builds up the theoretical foundations for the understanding of the social enterprise sector in Japan and it will stimulate further researches on the future development of the sector.