Determinants of Comparative Advantages and Disadvantages in the IT Industries in Japan

这个项目的目的是调查日本IT行业比较优势和劣势的决定因素，也就是说，表征所谓的日本型公司。重点研究了日本企业在治理和决策过程中所使用的信息媒介。我们特别检验了以下假设：“一方面，日本IT公司在生产小型和集成产品（如计算机和其他电子产品的零件和设备）方面具有比较优势。”日本企业表现出深度协调的能力，这有利于生产小型和集成产品。另一方面，日本企业在开放和广泛的协调方面不太好；因此，日本企业在生产计算机软件和电信网络服务等所谓的网络产品方面处于相对劣势。其中一个主要原因是，在日本公司中，文件化信息的使用水平远低于西方公司；大家的理解是，为了进行广泛和公开的协调，必须使用文件资料。在这个项目中，收集证据来肯定地证明上述假设。所收集的证据虽然仍处于碎片化信息的水平，但由日本和美国政府“用于公共监管的文件”组成，特别是在电信领域，“教科书材料代表了美国和日本公司治理的基本内容”。研究发现，在这两种情况下，美国的文件都表现出更系统和广泛的组成和内容，这被认为是美国政府和公司广泛协调的基础。

The objective of this project was to investigate the determinants of comparative advantages and disadvantages in the IT industries in Japan, that is to say, to characterize what is called Japan-type corporations. The main focus was to consider information media used for the governance and decision making in Japan-type corporations. In particular, we tested the following hypothesis : "Japanese IT corporations, on the one hand, have comparative advantages in producing small and integrated products such as parts and equipment for computers and other electronic products." Japanese corporations exhibit the capability of deep coordination, which is useful in the production of small and integrated products. On the other hand, Japanese corporations are not so good in open and wide coordination ; as a consequence, Japanese corporations have comparative disadvantages in producing what is called network-type products such as computer softwares and telecommunications-network services. One of the major reasons of this lies in that, in Japanese corporations, the use of documented information is limited at a level far lower than in western corporations ; it is understood that the use of documented information is necessary for conducting wide and open coordination.In this project, evidences are collected to prove the hypothesis stated above affirmatively. The evidences collected, although still at the level of fragmented information, are composed of 'documents used for public regulation', particularly in telecommunications, by the Japanese and U.S.government, "text-book materials representing the essential contents of corporate governance in U.S. and Japan". It is found that, for both of the two cases, U.S.documents exhibit more systematic and extensive compositions and contents, which are considered to be the basis of wide coordination in U.S.governments and corporations.