Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho's entrepreneurial spirit still relevant in AI era, global business history congress finds

Lotte said research spotlighting the entrepreneurial spirit of its founder, Shin Kyuk-ho, was presented at the 2026 World Congress of Business History, held July 30 in Toronto, Canada. The congress is an international academic conference held every four years, bringing together business history researchers from North America, Europe, Japan and other parts of the world to share their findings.

Baek In-su, a professor at Osaka University of Economics, delivered the presentation under the title "Boundless Advantage: A Dynamic Study of Lotte Founder Shin Kyuk-ho's Entrepreneurial Journey Across Borders." Baek had previously presented research on Shin's entrepreneurial spirit in 2023 under the theme "Shin Kyuk-ho of Lotte: A Borderless Market Pioneer." This time, he reexamined that legacy through a new concept he calls "boundless advantage" — defined as the capacity to transform knowledge and resources acquired by crossing borders of nation, industry and organization into new sources of growth.

The research divides Shin's life into four stages — youth, early and late middle age, and old age — and analyzes the boundaries he faced at each stage and how he overcame them. It credits the boundless advantage Shin developed by crossing boundaries in literature, politics, industry and organizational management as the foundation for Lotte Group's growth.

The study also draws lessons for contemporary business leaders, arguing that executives should learn expertise outside their own fields, apply it within their organizations, and take a long-term view in developing successors and future talent. Krauter, a professor at the University of Graz in Austria, asked to receive the presentation materials and suggested that expanding the research into an international comparative study alongside cases of transnational entrepreneurship from other countries would be highly meaningful.

"The entrepreneurial spirit of founder Shin Kyuk-ho is a case that can offer today's entrepreneurs a direction for sustainable growth," Baek said. "Any entrepreneur who dreams of starting a business must be able to learn new opportunities, nurture talent, and contribute to society and the future — even in the AI era."