Serviceology for designing the future

Takashi Maeno · Yuriko Sawatani
Tatsunori Hara Editors

Serviceology
for
Designing
the Future
Selected and Edited Papers of the 2nd
International Conference on Serviceology


Serviceology for Designing the Future


ThiS is a FM Blank Page


Takashi Maeno • Yuriko Sawatani •
Tatsunori Hara
Editors

Serviceology for Designing
the Future
Selected and Edited Papers of the 2nd
International Conference on Serviceology


Editors
Takashi Maeno
Graduate School of System
Design and Management

Keio University
Yokohama
Japan

Yuriko Sawatani
Graduate School of Entrepreneurship
Tokyo University of Technology
Tokyo
Japan

Tatsunori Hara
The University of Tokyo
Kashiwa
Japan

ISBN 978-4-431-55859-0
ISBN 978-4-431-55861-3
DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55861-3

(eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016942046
© Springer Japan 2016
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Preface

Services are not merely key economic activities, but also major factors that improve
our quality of life, make local communities prosperous, and then provide a foundation for solving emerging issues. In an increasingly globalized market, it is
necessary to increase the economic value of products and services, as well as to
enrich their value (life value) for every individual citizen using those services. In
addition, in order to bring solutions to emerging social issues, such as an aging
society and social security, and to global challenges, such as energy and environmental issues, it is necessary to design a system that facilitates co-creative consensus-building efforts among the stakeholders in the services sector.
Traditionally, service-related research has developed in individual fields such as
management, marketing, information engineering, and design engineering. However, to provide better services to our society, it is critical that social sciences,
human sciences, and engineering sciences work together as well as establish a
strong partnership between industry and academia. There, we need to create an
academic understanding of the activities that relate to social and economic services,
which means it is necessary to establish an understanding of the comprehensive
services that include not only the narrowly defined services industry but also the
development of services by manufacturers. Moreover, it is necessary to develop a
framework to cocreate high customer satisfaction in alliance with customers.
The Society for Serviceology (SfS) was launched in Japan in October 2012 and
is expected to be developed globally. SfS aims to contribute to efforts concerning
various industrial issues by organizing the vast knowledge of services and to

establish “academics for society” relating to services.
The Second International Conference on Serviceology (ICServ2014) was held
September 14–16, 2014, in Yokohama. It covered (1) fundamental research in
serviceology, such as mechanism design for services, service innovation and
design, service management and marketing, service theory, service economy and
productivity, system design and management, and product service system (PSS),
and (2) technological research into services such as data assimilation and human
modeling, enhancing service analysis, and testing with VR/AR/MR. Some concrete
v


vi

Preface

applications and business implications related to tourism and hospitality, healthcare
services, public and urban services, regional development, and policymaking were
also discussed.
The conference was sponsored by the Graduate School of System Design and
Management, Keio University. We would like to thank the members of the organizing committee, the program committee, and all conference participants for their
contribution to the success of the conference.
General Chair
ICServ2014
Yokohama, Japan

Takashi Maeno


Contents

Part I

Service in General

A Survey of Business Models in Japanese Restaurant and Retail
Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kenju Akai, Keita Kodama, and Nariaki Nishino
Employee Satisfaction Analysis in Food Service Industry – Resultant
of Questionnaire to the Restaurant Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tomomi Nonaka, Toshiya Kaihara, Nobutada Fujii, Fang Yu, Takeshi
Shimmura, Yoshihiro Hisano, and Tomoyuki Asakawa
Exploration of Service System and Value Co-creation Mechanism
in Islamic Banking in Pakistan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amna Javed, Youji Kohda, and Hisashi Masuda
The Ordering of Fast Food Using Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kiyoteru Kitano, Yutaka Yamauchi, and Takeshi Hiramoto
Evaluation of Taxiing at a Large Airport Considering Customer
Satisfaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hiroya Daimaru, Satoshi Shimada, Shinsuke Shimizu, Jun Ota,
and Tatsunori Hara
Research of the Social New Transportation Service on Electric Full
Flat Floor Bus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Toshiki Nishiyama
Analysis of Business Process Innovation Using Outsourcing . . . . . . . . .
Takeshi Takenaka, Naoki Tomotake, Rui Suzuki, Masumi Yoshida,
Taiki Yamada, and Shigeaki Shiraishi

3

23

37
51

67

79
97

vii


viii

Part II

Contents

Context Based Service and Technology

Mixed Reality Navigation on a Tablet Computer for Supporting
Machine Maintenance in Wide-Area Indoor Environment . . . . . . . . . . 109
Koji Makita, Thomas Vincent, Soichi Ebisuno, Masakatsu Kourogi,
Tomoya Ishikawa, Takashi Okuma, Minoru Yoshida, Laurence Nigay,
and Takeshi Kurata
Business Structure of e-Book Service as a Product Service System:
A Game Theoretic Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Nariaki Nishino and Keisuke Okuda
Service Field Simulator: Virtual Environment Display System
for Analyzing Human Behavior in Service Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Takashi Okuma and Takeshi Kurata
Part III

Healthcare Services

Improvement of Sharing of Observations and Awareness in Nursing
and Caregiving by Voice Tweets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Kentaro Torii, Naoshi Uchihira, Yuji Hirabayashi, Testuro Chino,
Takanori Yamamoto, and Satoko Tsuru
A System Promoting Cooperation Between Medicine and Dentistry
Using Key Performance Indicators and Importance-Performance
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Shuichiro Nagaosa, Hironobu Matsushita, Jun Yaeda, Takashi Shinagawa,
Norihiro Sonoi, Hiroyuki Nakamura, Hiromi Ohta, Masatoshi Usubuchi,
Yasuhisa Arai, and Yasunori Sumi
Designing the Amount of Image Delay in Tele-surgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Iwane Maida, Hisashi Sato, Tetsuya Toma, and Takashi Maeno
Visualization of Muscle Activity During Squat Motion for
Skill Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Koshiro Yanai, Qi An, Yuki Ishikawa, Junki Nakagawa, Wen Wen,
Hiroshi Yamakawa, Atsushi Yamashita, and Hajime Asama
Extraction and Evaluation of Proficiency in Bed Care Motion
for Education Service of Nursing Skill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Junki Nakagawa, Qi An, Yuki Ishikawa, Koshiro Yanai, Wen Wen,
Hiroshi Yamakawa, Junko Yasuda, Atsushi Yamashita, and Hajime Asama
Exploratory Analysis of Factors of Patient Satisfaction in HCAHPS
Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Masumi Okuda, Akira Yasuda, and Shusaku Tsumoto

Contents

Part IV

ix

Public and Urban Services

One Cycle of Smart Access Vehicle Service Development . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Hideyuki Nakashima, Shoji Sano, Keiji Hirata, Yoh Shiraishi, Hitoshi
Matsubara, Ryo Kanamori, Hitoshi Koshiba, and Itsuki Noda
The Value of Community for Resolving Social Isolation . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Keiko Aoki, Kenju Akai, and Nariaki Nishino
Basic Study of Mobility of Elderly People from the Perspective
of Their Emotional Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Ryoichi Tamura, Yasuyuki Hirai, and Nermin Elokla
Workshop-Based Policy Platform for Public-Private Partnership
(WP5): Designing Co-creative Policy-Making Platform for Regional
Development of Nagano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Toshiyuki Yasui, Takashi Maeno, Seiko Shirasaka, Yoshikazu Tomita,
and Kanenori Ishibashi
System Design of Happy Town Using Four Factors of Happiness . . . . . 303
Shiko Kurihara and Takashi Maeno
Part V

System Design and Management

Evaluation of the Productivity Improvement by Information
Presentation in Surveillance Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Mitsunari Uozumi, Kouichi Yamada, Shuto Murai, Hajime Asama,

and Kaoru Takakusaki
Personalized Information Service Model that Reflects
Individual’s Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Yuri Nakagawa, Yuuki Matsuda, and Tetsuro Ogi
Ranking Smartphone Apps Based on Users’ Behavior Records . . . . . . . 345
Song Luo, Maiko Shigeno, and Wenbo Ma
Contribution of ICT Monitoring System in Agricultural Water
Management and Environmental Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Koshi Yoshida, Kenji Tanaka, Ryunosuke Hariya, Issaku Azechi,
Toshiaki Iida, Shigeya Maeda, and Hisao Kuroda
A Questionnaire Assessment of the Contributing Factors
to Empathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Miki Nishio and Takashi Maeno


x

Part VI

Contents

Regional Development and Policymaking

Evaluation of Countermeasures for Low Birthrate and Aging
of the Population in a Suburban New Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Yoshiki Ito, Tomomi Nonaka, and Masaru Nakano
Analysis of Value Co-creation Between Farmers and Land Improvement
District in Japan Through Irrigation Service Improvement by Good
Water Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Tasuku Kato, Kana Nakano, and Toshiaki Iida

Analysis of Multi-language Knowledge Communication Service
in Intercultural Agricultural Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Masayuki Otani, Kaori Kita, Donghui Lin, and Toru Ishida
A Value Co-Creation Model for Multi-Language Knowledge
Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Donghui Lin, Toru Ishida, and Masayuki Otani
Part VII

Service Innovation and Design

Field-Oriented Service Design: A Multiagent Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Toru Ishida, Donghui Lin, Masayuki Otani, Shigeo Matsubara, Yohei
Murakami, Reiko Hishiyama, Yuu Nakajima, Toshiyuki Takasaki,
and Yumiko Mori
Experience Plot: A Template for Co-Creating Customer Journey . . . . . 465
Yoshitaka Shibata and Takumi Matsuda
Kizashi Method – Grasping the Change of Future User’s Values . . . . . . 481
Takuya Akashi and Yukinobu Maruyama
Service Practices as Organizational Phenomena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Nozomi Ikeya
The Findings from the First Service Design Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
Yuriko Sawatani, Naoto Kobayashi, and Yoshinori Itoh
An Evaluation Method of a Service Business Model Using Wants Chain
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Kazuto Imazeki, Toshiyuki Yasui, and Takashi Maeno
Design Method of Target Customer’s WANTs for a Service Based
on Classification of Services Using WANTs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
Kazuto Imazeki, Toshiyuki Yasui, and Takashi Maeno
Business Model Generation Canvas as a Method to Develop
Customer-Oriented Service Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551

Akane Matsumae and Karl Burrow


Contents

xi

Aligning Product-Service Offerings with Customer Expectations . . . . . 567
Paolo Gaiardelli, Giuditta Pezzotta, Barbara Resta, and Lucrezia Songini
User-De-centeredness in Service Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
Yutaka Yamauchi
A Probe-Based Approach for Designing Inspirational Services at
Museums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
Kumiyo Nakakoji and Yasuhiro Yamamoto


Part I

Service in General


A Survey of Business Models in Japanese
Restaurant and Retail Industries
Kenju Akai, Keita Kodama, and Nariaki Nishino

Abstract This study explores the service models of Japanese restaurant and retail
chains using publicly available data on companies. The sample includes 18 restaurants and 8 retail stores. The centralized kitchen in some of the restaurant chains
reduces the time for cooking and preparing foods, which decreases the price of the
foods and increases the quality of the services. Meanwhile, retail companies like
AEON MALL Co., Ltd. and Fast Retailing Co., Ltd own the original supply chain

used by their affiliated companies, which is then adapted to the companies’ circumstances such as customer demands and economic cycles.
Keywords Service model • Restaurants • Retails • Survey

1 Introduction
The low productivity of services in Japan requires research into the services
industries. However, since this area of research is a fairly new one for most
researchers, and industries and sectors vary significantly from each other, systematizing or discerning the various service models can be difficult. Additionally, the
service practice includes various business categories and human factors that are
affected by economic cycles, which makes identifying present and future issues in
service difficult. As a result, solutions to the complexity of service and the direction
of this solution are still unknown. Japanese traditional service involves a highquality, detailed response to customers’ requirements. This approach is based on
human experiences and tacit knowledge but is sometimes not rational and efficient
in the practice. This approach, which relies heavily on Japanese human behaviors,
hinders the overseas expansion of “Japanized” service. Thus, to facilitate this
expansion, a clear process for service provision is needed.
For example, fast food chain McDonald’s is highly successful in many parts of
the world because its products, customer relations, commercials, and service
quality are good, but more importantly, because its product and service delivery

K. Akai (*) • K. Kodama • N. Nishino
School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail:
© Springer Japan 2016
T. Maeno et al. (eds.), Serviceology for Designing the Future,
DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55861-3_1

3


4

K. Akai et al.

systems are defined by the individual stores and are well-known and appreciated by
the customers. In Japan, however, no such service approaches have been found
suitable for overseas markets. Further, its rapidly aging society poses the risk of
insufficient human resources, on which the Japanese economy heavily relies. In
addition, this insufficient labor force causes work-related health issues like stress,
and worse, death. In fact, the OECD [1] reports that the labor productivity per hour
in Japan for 2012 is US$41.6, less than that in the U.S. (US$60.2), France (US
$57.7), and Germany (US$55.8). Thus, for today’s economy, Japan needs a new
systematic service approach that benefits employers, employees, and customers not
just in Japan but in other parts of the world. Such an approach will increase Japan’s
competitiveness. This limitation in the services industry motivated us to explore the
service models of restaurant and retail chains in Japan. These two industries provide
products and services simultaneously. They are good case for considering the
business model for service; how to provide products to the customers.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Sections 2 and 3 describe the
service models of the restaurant and retail chains in the study, respectively, while
Sect. 4 presents the conclusions of the study.

2 Related Literatures
Cook et al. [2] surveyed historical service definitions and service classifications
from 1964 to 1996. Judd [3] wrote the first article about classifying services and
classified services into three categories: rented goods services, owned goods services, and non-goods services. The advantage of this classification is it defines each
category of services and distinguishes between products and services.
Lovelock [4] classified services according to the common characteristics, used in
marketing strategy. He used five 2 Â 2 or 3 Â 2 matrixes for the classifications,
based on the following criteria: (i) service act (tangible or intangible) and service
receiver (people or things), (ii) delivery (continuous or discrete) and relationship

between provider and receiver (“membership” or no formal relationship), (iii)
extent of customization and judgment in meeting receiver needs, (iv) supply constraints and demand fluctuations, and (v) interaction between provider and receiver
(receiver goes to provider, provider goes to receiver, or both transact) and availability of service outlets (single or multiple).
Shostack [5] viewed services as processes and focused on their complexity and
divergence. He defined a service’s complexity as the number of steps required
completing a process and a service’s divergence as the degree of freedom allowed
or inherent in a process step or sequence. Classification by these two characteristics
is useful for describing structural change.
Bowen’s [6] study provided an empirically based classification using a cluster
analysis of receiver perceptions. Ten services were analyzed and classified into four
categories by seven characteristics: importance of employees, customization, ability to switch firms, employee/customer contact, services directed at people or


A Survey of Business Models in Japanese Restaurant and Retail Industries

5

things, continuous benefits, and difference. The results offer several insights into
strategic marketing, especially in to product or service receiver perceptions.
Several studies have also attempted to develop service classification schemes.
Cook et al. [2] classified services from both a macro view and a micro view. In a
macro sense, services are classified based on organizational ownership or intent
(for-profit, private not-for-profit, and public). In a micro sense, organizations are
interested in two aspects of services (product and process). The product and process
packages are affected by marketing-oriented service dimensions and operationsoriented service dimensions, respectively.
Liu and Wang [7] clearly described services as a process by defining four
dimensions of service and integrating them into an open system. The “provider”
as an “input” has three attributes: people, equipment, and knowledge. The “process” as an “operation” has three attributes: customization, standardization, and
contingency. The “patron” as an “output” has three attributes: humans, things, and
information. The “place” as an “environment” has three attributes: front field, back

field, and virtual space. With this system, a service provider can integrate these
modules into its business strategy.
In summary, these works have taken characteristics of services into consideration: intangibility, perishability, simultaneity, and heterogeneity in developing
classifications of services. The objective of such classifications is mainly “to
facilitate the development of meaningful strategies and guidelines for service
marketing and operations” (Cook et al. [2]).

3 Restaurant Service Models
3.1

Sample of Restaurant Chains

This study focuses on some firms that represent various types of restaurant chains
(Table 1).

3.2

Service Models of the Restaurant Chains

The firm information provided in this subsection was obtained from the asset
securities reports from EDINET, a corporate disclosure system developed by the
Financial Services Agency [8]. The study focused on the two types of flows in the
firms: product flow and operation flow. These flows were extracted from the annual
security reports and modified with additional information from other resources.


6

K. Akai et al.

Table 1 Sample firms that represent various types of restaurant chains
Enterprise name
Plenus Co., Ltd.

Store name
Yayoi

Saizeriya Co., Ltd.

Saizeriya

Matsuya Foods
Co., Ltd.
Zensho Co., Ltd.

Matsuya

Hiday Corp.

Chuka Soba
Hidakaya
Gyoza no
Ohsho
Kourakeun

Ohsho Food
Service Corp.
Kourakuen Corp.

Sukiya

Classification
Eating places, except
specialty restaurants
Eating places, except
specialty restaurants
Japanese restaurants, fast
food restaurants
Japanese restaurants, fast
food restaurants
Chinese restaurants

Number of stores
Japan: 257, Thailand:104,
and Singapore: 4
Japan: 1010

Chinese restaurants

Japan: 661 and China: 4

Ramen (Chinese noodle)
restaurants
Yakiniku (grilled meat)
restaurants
Miscellaneous specialty
restaurants (curry)

Japan:513 and Thailand: 3

Japan: 973; China:1
Japan:1962; China: 35,
Thailand: 8, and Brazil: 1
Japan: 319

Amiyaki Tei Co.,
Ltd.
Ichibanya Co., Ltd.

Amiyaki Tei

Sagami Chain Co.,
Ltd.
Kappa Create Co.,
Ltd.
Watami Co., Ltd.

Sagami

Watami

Drinking houses and beer
halls

Starbucks Coffee
Japan, Ltd.
Doutor Coffee Co.,
Ltd.
McDonald’s Holdings Co. Japan Ltd.
B-R 31 Ice Cream

Co., Ltd.

Starbucks
Coffee
Doutor

Coffee shops

Japan: 191, China: 54,
Taiwan: 18, Korea: 2,
Malaysia: 3,
Singapore: 8, and
Philippines: 3
Japan: 985

Coffee shops

Japan: 1096

McDonald’s

Fast food restaurants

Japan: 3146

Eating and drinking
places, n.e.c. (ice cream)

Japan: 1157

KFC Holdings
Japan Ltd.

Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice
Cream
Kentucky Fried
Chicken

Japan: 1180

Fujiya Co., Ltd.

Fujiya

Eating and drinking
places, n.e.c. (fried
chicken)
Eating and drinking
places, n.e.c. (cakes)

CoCo
Ichibanya

Kappa-Sushi

Soba and udon (Japanese
noodle) restaurants
Sushi bars

Japan: 119

Japan: 1269, China: 44,
Taiwan: 21, Korea: 21,
Thailand: 22, Singapore: 3,
and Indonesia: 1
Japan:128
Japan: 359

Japan: 732


A Survey of Business Models in Japanese Restaurant and Retail Industries

3.2.1

7

Plenus Co., Ltd. – Yayoi

Yayoi is a chain of Japanese combination meal restaurants. An associated company
operates and sells ingredients and shipping supplies to the captive stores and
affiliated stores, from which it earns royalties (Fig. 1).

3.2.2

Saizeriya Co., Ltd. – Saizeriya

Saizeriya is a chain of Italian-style restaurants and cafe´s Operated by Saizeriya Co.,
Ltd., the factory functions as a centralized kitchen and oversees production and
logistics. The significant efficiency and systemization of this company enables it to
charge low prices. The company has a private, 816.8 acre factory farm called

“Commissary” and a cold chain system that can store and transport vegetables at
4  C after harvesting [9]. This system makes it more efficient for the restaurants to
serve foods [10] (Fig. 2).

3.2.3

Matsuya Foods Co., Ltd. – Matsuya

Matsuya is a restaurant chain that mainly serves beef-on-rice and set meals.
Matsuya Foods Co., Ltd. has two consolidated subsidiaries and one
non-consolidated subsidiary. The consolidated subsidiary M.T.T Co., Ltd. performs
all the maintenance and sanitation in and sells kitchen equipment to all the
Restaurants, while the consolidated subsidiary M.L.S Co., Ltd. launders and repairs
staff uniforms and collects garbage for the restaurants. The non-consolidated
subsidiary, Matsuya Farm Co., Ltd., farms ingredients used in the stores (Fig. 3).

3.2.4

Zensho Co., Ltd. – Sukiya

Sukiya is a restaurant chain that mainly serves beef-on-rice meals. The central
office of Zensho Co., Ltd. directly operates and develops the meals for the restaurants. Zensho Co., Ltd. has four consolidated subsidiaries: Techno Support Co.,
Ltd., which performs the maintenance in all the restaurants; Global Foods Co., Ltd.,
which purchases the stock of ingredients and sells them to the restaurants; Global
Fig. 1 Service model of
Plenus Co., Ltd. – Yayoi


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K. Akai et al.

Fig. 2 Service model of
Saizeriya Co., Ltd. –
Saizeriya

Fig. 3 Service model of
Matsuya foods Co., Ltd. –
Matsuya

Fresh Supply Co., Ltd., which transports the stock of ingredients to the restaurants;
and Global Table Supply Co., Ltd., which sells consumable products and kitchen
equipment to all the restaurants. The company procures ingredients in bulk for the
restaurants [11] (Fig. 4).

3.2.5

Hiday Co., Ltd. – Hidakaya

Hidakaya is a chain of Chinese-style restaurants. Hiday Co., Ltd. has a farm in
Gyoda City, Saitama that functions as a centralized kitchen for all the restaurants.
This farm oversees the production, ingredient orders, and logistics for all Hidakaya
restaurants. The company has both captive stores and franchise stores (Fig. 5).

3.2.6

Ohsho Food Service Co. – Gyoza no Ohsho

Gyoza no Ohsho is a chain of Chinese-style restaurants. Ohsho Food Service
Co. operates its own captive stores and sells ingredients to the franchise stores.

The company provides each store discretion in developing its own menu, unlike in
other companies [12] (Fig. 6).


A Survey of Business Models in Japanese Restaurant and Retail Industries

9

Fig. 4 Service model of
Zensho Co., Ltd. – Sukiya

Fig. 5 Service model of
Hiday Co., Ltd. – Hidakaya

Fig. 6 Service model of
Ohsho Food Service Co. –
Gyoza no Ohsho

3.2.7

Kourakuen Co. – Kourakuen

Kourakuen is a restaurant chain that mainly serves ramen. Kourakuen Co. operates
its own captive stores. It also sells ingredients such as noodles and soups, consumable products, and kitchen equipment to its franchise stores; provides administrative guidance; and oversees construction management and administration and store
design for such stores. Its consolidated subsidiary, SCREEN Co., Ltd., creates print
promotions, makes a TV commercial, and organizes events for all the restaurants. It
is rare for a restaurant chain to have its own advertising company, and there is not
much information available on this advertising company’s promotion strategy for
the restaurant chain (Fig. 7).

3.2.8

Amiyaki Tei Co., Ltd. – Amiyaki Tei

Amiyaki Tei is a chain of grilled meats restaurants. The central office and subsidiary Suehiro Restaurant System Co., Ltd. operates the restaurants. The central office


10

K. Akai et al.

Fig. 7 Service model of
Kourakuen Co. –
Kourakuen

operates two kinds of restaurants. They procure ingredients and perform processes
in bulk by sharing a centralized kitchen (Fig. 8).

3.2.9

Ichibanya Co., Ltd. – CoCo Ichibanya

CoCo Ichibanya is a chain of curry house restaurants. Ichibanya Co., Ltd. operates
both captive stores and franchise stores. The company provides administrative
guidance and kitchen equipment to its franchise stores in return for a fee. In
addition, the company earns royalties by licensing its brand to the franchise stores.
This company uses its own original franchise system, called the “blue system.”
Generally, beginner restaurateurs can easily open a restaurant by simply signing a
franchise contract. In contrast, the blue system requires interested people to take at
least 2 years to acquire a qualification for opening a store In order to ensure that

such people have sufficient management knowledge and skills for operating a store.
Moreover, the blue system provides continuous support to the franchise restaurants
but does not charge them royalties. In this way, the blue system is unique [13] and
can more effectively increase the number of stores [14] (Fig. 9).

3.2.10

Sagami Chain Co., Ltd. – Sagami

Sagami is a chain of Japanese-style noodle restaurants. The central office operates
both captive stores and franchise stores. It has two consolidated subsidiaries. One is
A.S. Sagami Co., Ltd., which supplies ingredients to the stores. Because this
subsidiary also provides administrative guidance to another restaurant chain, the
central office assists in supplying ingredients to the restaurants. The other is Sagami
Service Co., Ltd., which provides Sagami Chain Co., Ltd with insurance (Fig. 10).


A Survey of Business Models in Japanese Restaurant and Retail Industries

11

Fig. 8 Service model of
Amiyaki Tei Co., Ltd. –
Amiyaki Tei

Fig. 9 Service model of
Ichibanya Co., Ltd. – CoCo
Ichibanya

Fig. 10 Service model of

Sagami Chain Co., Ltd. –
Sagami

3.2.11

Kappa Create Co., Ltd. – Kappa-Sushi

Kappa-Sushi is a chain of restaurants that serve conveyor-belt-style sushi. Two
consolidated subsidiaries jointly operate the restaurant chain: Kappa Create Co.,
Ltd. and Kappa Create Supply Co., Ltd., which purchase the stock of ingredients
and supply them to the restaurants. There is not enough information available
regarding the subsidiaries’ roles (Fig. 11).

3.2.12

Watami Co., Ltd. – Watami

Watami is a chain of Japanese casual dining restaurants. The consolidated subsidiary Watami Food Service Co., Ltd. operates the restaurants, while the consolidated
subsidiaries Watami Farm Co., Ltd. and Touma Green Life Ltd. oversee farm
production of ingredients used in the restaurants. Watami Merchandising Co.,
Ltd. oversees the production and wholesale of ingredients. Watami Co., Ltd.


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K. Akai et al.

Fig. 11 Service model of
Kappa Create Co., Ltd. –
Kappa-Sushi

Fig. 12 Service model of
Watami Co., Ltd. – Watami

operates both captive stores and franchise stores. A notable point is that Watami
Co., Ltd. totally conducts from primary sector to third one (Fig. 12).

3.2.13

Starbucks Coffee Japan, Ltd. – Starbucks Coffee

Starbucks Coffee is a chain of coffee shops. Starbucks Coffee Japan, Ltd. has been
granted the right to open and operate Starbucks coffee shops in Japan by Starbucks
International, Inc. and the right to use the brand, design, labels, skills, and knowhow by SBI Nevada, Inc. Starbucks Corporation in the United States supplies
coffee beans to the company, while, SAZABY LEAGUE Ltd. Provides the company with store management skills and know-how. In addition to running the coffee
shops, Starbucks Coffee Japan, Ltd. designs clothing and other non-food items sold
at its shops.
Although most coffee beans are traded at the commodity futures market in
New York City [15], Starbucks Corporation does not procure its beans through
this market in order to protect itself from the risk of price fluctuations [16]. Since
Starbucks Corporation operates only captive stores, it is better able to maintain the
quality of the products and services at its stores [17] (Fig. 13).

3.2.14

Doutor Coffee Co., Ltd. – Doutor

Doutor is a chain of coffee shops. The consolidated subsidiary Doutor Coffee Co.,
Ltd. operates the coffee shops and wholesale for franchise stores and usual stores. In
addition, Magna, Inc. and D&N Confectionery Co., Ltd. provide this company with

kitchen equipment and cakes, respectively. Doutor Coffee Co., Ltd. earns royalties
from its franchise stores (Fig. 14).


A Survey of Business Models in Japanese Restaurant and Retail Industries

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Fig. 13 Service model of
Starbucks Coffee Japan,
Ltd. – Starbucks Coffee

Fig. 14 Doutor Coffee Co.,
Ltd. – Doutor

3.2.15

B-R 31 Ice Cream Co., Ltd. – Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream

Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice Cream is a chain of ice cream shops. B-R 31 Ice Cream Co.,
Ltd. has a contract with Baskin-Robbins Franchising LLC that enables it to produce
and sell ice cream in Japan and receive technical assistance and franchise management know-how, including information on earning royalties. As shown in Fig. 15,
Fujiya Co., Ltd. supplies the ice cream to the stores. The company lend the stores by
franchise contract with Fujiya Co., Ltd. and other related companies.

3.2.16

McDonald’s Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd. – McDonald’s

McDonald’s is a chain of fast food restaurants well known for its hamburgers.

McDonald’s Holdings Company (Japan), Ltd. has a contract with McDonald’s
Corporation in the United States, to which it pays royalties. The contract enables
the company to operate captive stores and franchise stores and earn royalties from
the franchise stores. The consolidated subsidiary EveryD Mc, Inc. provides support
to the restaurants and customers, while the consolidated subsidiary JV Co., Ltd.
manages promotional activities for the restaurants.
A notable point in the company’s operations is the significant efficiency of its
supply chain, from procuring stock to logistics, through the use of IT systems. This
type of operations is unlike those of other restaurant companies [18]. For this
reason, the company is No. 2 in Gartner, Inc.’s “Supply Chain Top 25 for 2013”
[19] (Fig. 16).


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K. Akai et al.

Fig. 15 Service model of
B-R 31 Ice Cream Co., Ltd. –
Baskin-Robbins 31 Ice
Cream

Fig. 16 Service model of
McDonald’s Holdings
Company (Japan), Ltd. –
McDonald’s

3.2.17

KFC Holdings Japan Ltd. – Kentucky Fried Chicken

Kentucky Fried Chicken, also known as KFC, is a fast food chain that mainly serves
fried chicken. Two consolidated subsidiaries, Kei Ado Co., Ltd. and Kei Foods, as
well as KFC Holdings Japan Ltd. operate the restaurants. KFC Holdings Japan Ltd.
has a master franchise and licensing contract with Yum! Restaurants Asia Pte. Ltd.
in Singapore. These two entities do not form a capital alliance (Fig. 17).

3.2.18

Fujiya Co., Ltd. – Fujiya

Fujiya is a chain of cake shops. It is operated by several consolidated subsidiaries,
namely Fujiya Food Service Co., Ltd., Dalloyau Japon Co., Ltd., and FujiyaHohoku., Ltd. Fujiya Co., Ltd. and the consolidated subsidiaries sell cakes to and
manage the locations of the restaurants. Fujiya Co., Ltd. is in partnership with B-R
31 Ice Cream Co., Ltd. regarding the production and sales of ice cream and with
Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd., the parent company, regarding the production and sales
of baked goods. It is rare for a restaurant company to be run by several subsidiaries
(Fig. 18).