THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS MODEL IN JAPANESE MANNUFACTURING FIRMS

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This research focuses on the way that Japanese manufacturing firms can succeed in growing their business by utilizing the technological capabilities they have accumulated since last century.First year I visited about thirty manufacturing firms which had been challenging new business and got the material and data from them. Through analyzing it, I found three key factors which were essential for them to enlarge the business : making most use of advanced information and communication technology (ICT), exploiting outstanding human skills like the craftsman, building new business model through inter-organizational alliance.This year I have concentrated my research attention on the third factor that is to work on new business through interfirm alliance, especially on the management issues that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) start it in cooperation with external organizations including large firms. The following five issues are very important to accelerate their business growth. (1) A core firm in the alliance exercises the leadership to make the business strategy. (2) The organization which holds higher levels of resources and capabilities should be selected to the partner of the alliance. (3) The lack of business publicity and credibility in SMEs could be compensated by the alliance. (4) Marketing activities should be done to combine with product/service development simultaneously. (5) The alliance could achieve not only the superiority of product/service quality, but also the expansion of business processes to strengthen the competitive edge.