Organizational Culture and Management Strategy in Small Rural Economies

In recent years, the world has faced serious climate change, the spread of infectious human-livestock diseases, and the expansion of major conflicts between nations, all of which are rapidly threatening the stable supply of food essential for human survival. Another major problem is the exhaustion of agriculture in hilly and mountainous areas with less favorable production conditions. On the other hand, several rural areas in Japan have accepted many migrants from urban areas who are finding a way to make the most of local subsistence businesses based on a “small economy” and “agriculture as a way of life.” In this chapter, we explain a definition of “community vitalization” and “small economy” as a case study in Japan, where farm and rural community management is developing in disadvantaged areas, and then investigate a definition and analytical framework of organizational culture and management strategy in community-based small rural economies, focusing on regional individuality and village functions. Business diversification is an important direction of management strategies for small rural economies based on endogenous development and local self-sufficiency, which is rapidly being reevaluated in Japan and other Asian countries, especially in hilly and mountainous areas. The regional network of diverse stakeholders (people and organizations) plays an important role in the sustainability of the small rural economy based on local self-sufficiency. In particular, the significance of the regional diversification of the agri-food business, which is carried out through the collaboration of diverse farms, is increasing, particularly in hilly and mountainous areas.