An Analysis of Key Success Factors in Developing Communities in the Framework of Strategic Management

本研究的目的是通过战略管理的概念和理论视角观察日本人口稀少地区，揭示在各种地缘政治和社会约束下可行和有效的振兴这些地区的关键成功因素。研究结果分为三篇文章。作为实现上述目的的第一步，第一篇论文试图得出一个战略概念，该概念可用于从改善其长期社会福利的角度评估一个地区的整体行为在多大程度上具有战略意义。第二篇论文首先探讨了人们为振兴地域所做努力的本质。由此得出，一个地区的振兴就是用居民自己的大脑和双手来制定一个战略，并一步一步地实施。本文接着描述了在日本人口稀少地区根深蒂固的各种地缘政治和社会制约复兴进程的因素。最后，第三篇论文将描述如何在九州的一些地区进行开创性和全面的努力，为日本所有人口稀少的地区提供重要的经验教训，这些地区必须在即将到来的极端严峻的金融条件下生存。

The purpose of the present research is, by observing under-populated areas in Japan through conceptual and theoretical lenses of strategic management, to reveal key success factors that underlie feasible and effective means for revitalizing these areas under various geopolitical and social constraints. Research results are described in three articles. As the first step to attain the above-stated purpose, the first paper tries to derive a concept of strategy that can be used to evaluate to what extent an area's behavior as a whole has been strategic from the standpoint of improving its long-term social welfare. The second paper then tries at first to explore the essence of people's efforts to revitalize their regions. As a result, it was derived that revitalizing an area is exactly equivalent to craft a strategy with its residents' own brains and hands and to implement the strategy step by step. The paper proceeds to describing various geopolitical and social constraints of the revitalization process that have been deeply rooted in under-populated areas in Japan. Finally, the third paper will describe how pioneering and full-scale efforts in some Kyushu regions have been conducted to derive important lessons for all under-populated areas in Japan that have to survive under extremely severe financial conditions to come soon.