What Makes Companies to Survive over a Century? The Case of Dongwha Pharmaceutical in the Republic of Korea

Considering their significant impacts on national economy, local communities, employees, suppliers, and other stakeholders, firm survival is an important goal for most companies. However, firm longevity is not an easy result to achieve, and it becomes more difficult as business environments shift dramatically. The average life span of companies listed in Standard and Poor's 500 was 61 years in 1958, but it fell to less than 18 years in 2016. Nevertheless, more than 3000 companies over 200 years old still operate in Japan, mostly family inherited small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and Germany has many centenarian companies, especially in the manufacturing industry. However, in the Republic of Korea, with over 4000 years of history, there are no companies older than 200 years and only seven companies with over 100 years of history. Centenarian companies in Korea are very limited, and even after surviving over 100 years, they continue to face severe challenges they need to overcome in order to survive. However, it is not clearly proven what factors affect the survival of companies for over a century. Since SMEs contribute to the economic development and survival of a country, it is important to investigate the secrets of their longevity, which has become even more difficult than ever. However, as there is very limited research on firm longevity, the findings from this case study of Dongwha Pharmaceutical, balancing the continuity of tradition and innovation, provide significant implications and practical guidelines for Korean SMEs for their survival and sustainable management, which is an economic and business aspect of sustainability.