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Research on Japan's General Trading Firms

Author

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  • Hideki Yoshihara

Abstract

Nearly two decades ago Hitoshi Misonou published his famous article "Are the General Trading Firms Declining Like the Setting Sun?" [Sōgō Shōsha wa Shayō de Aruka] (1961), which triggered years of active debates in the literature on Sōgō Shōsha or general trading firms. In this article Misonou argues that the trading firms' decline was evidenced by the falling rate of return, despite the spectacular growth of their sales volume. He took note of the limits of the trading firms' management capability as one cause of this unfavorable performance. Thus he states: "Can a firm be fully capable of managing and controlling its operations over markets and over merchandise, which are expanding indefinitely within the limits of one business entity?" (p. 1). A general trading firm is engaged in dealing with over a hundred countries in several thousand kinds of goods. In addition, it is involved domestically as well as overseas in natural resource development, manufacturing, and tertiary industry. For a general trading firm that is on a large scale and diverse, it is indispensable to build up a management system — rational management organization and management control, for example — in order to achieve a high level of business performance. Still, it is a very difficult task. One must agree with Misonou that the limits of its management capability are indeed crucial for a general trading firm.

Suggested Citation

  • Hideki Yoshihara, 1981. "Research on Japan's General Trading Firms," Japanese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(3), pages 61-86.
    • Handle: RePEc:mes:jpneco:v:9:y:1981:i:3:p:61-86
    DOI: 10.2753/JES1097-203X090361
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