A Case Study on the Technical Professionals Development System of the World’s Oldest Company Kongo Gumi in Japan
Authors:   Asia-Europe Perspective Association, Lim Oeseuk 
Published: June 2018

Kongo Gumi is a Japanese construction company and the world’s oldest company operating for over 1,400 years. It is phenomenal in light of the reality that Korean long-lived companies just pass 100 years. Why can Kongo Gumi survive for a long time of 1,400 years? This question is the background and the critical mind to the beginning of the study.
Prior studies on the long-lived company present various factors of longevity. In particular, they lay great emphasis on craftsmanship as the long-lived factors of Japanese companies. But their concept of craftsmanship is generally abstract and not specific because it is overemphasized in the viewpoint of mind.
Overcoming this disadvantage, this study will suggest detailed matters about technical professionals development system for master craftsman, based on data represented concretely field work of Kongo Gumi. The purpose of study is to draw the characteristics of technical professionals development system of Kongo Gumi, define these characteristics as longest factors of Kongo Gumi, and suggest implications find out through this study.
For the purpose of study, the first was to review prior studies related to long-lived companies. As a result of review, there were a lot of studies related to long-lived companies of family business, but were not studies focused to technical professionals development system of specific company.
The next is to design the framework of this study after suggested the following two premises to secure the logical consistency of description and the validity of study results.
First premise is that skilled manpower carpenter is critical influence factor on survivorship and growth of organization because of business characteristics of Kongo Gumi, as restoration and repair of wooden building such as buddhist temples and shinto temples. Therefore, empirical reliability analysis of the causal relationship between the longevity of the Congo Gumi(the dependent variable) and skilled manpower(independent variable) are omitted.
Second premise is that the characteristics of technical professionals development system with skill manpower became foundation on survivorship of Kongo Gumi as the world’s oldest company. Therefore, empirical correlation analysis of the causal relationship between the technical professionals development system(independent variable) and longest-lived factors(dependent variable) don’t add.
The framework of study was designed with two such logical promises as follows. Firstly, the personnel management philosophy was formed on the basis of founding ideology when Kongo Gumi was founded. Secondly, technical professionals development system was made and maintained with skill manpower of Kongo Gumi.
Next, master craftsman produced through technical professionals development system play pivotal role in persistiveness of Kongo Gumi as the world’s oldest company. Therefore, the key objectives of this study is technical professionals management system of Kongo Gumi. Firstly, it distinguished with spiritual education and skill training in the viewpoint of types of education and training. Secondly, it departmentalized with on the job training and self improvement in the viewpoint of education and training methods.
The data related to education and training is analyzed on the basis of analytical framework. As a result, it is understood that Kongo Gumi’s founding ideology is the succession of Japanese traditional culture, and his personnel management philosophy is the procurement and maintain of master craftsman for the succession of Japanese traditional culture.
As a result of in-depth analysis, it is understood that there are nine characteristics in technical professionals development system of Kongo Gumi as follows.
Firstly, the spiritual education by on-the-job training is on the basis of strengthening self-esteem and preserving tradition, the spiritual education by self-improvement is on the basis of emphasizing efforts and se