Entrepreneurship in the Information Age: Beyond Craftsman Tradition and the Future of Japan's Capitalism

这个项目探讨了随着经济从工业经济向信息经济转型，日本企业家精神的关键但鲜为人知的方面。虽然创业一直是经济发展中众多研究的焦点，但对于创业的定义、形成过程以及如何有效地促进创业，还没有达成共识。此外，很少从跨国家的角度审视创业精神，因此，区域传统、文化规范和商业惯例等重要基础在很大程度上被忽视了，因为它们是创业精神的驱动力。该项目通过对日本三个不同地区的历史和当代研究，探讨区域文化背景对创业的作用变化。该项目旨在1)审查信息部门企业家的风险处理和激励产生特征；2)分析不同的区域环境(工业网络、社会互动和文化实践)如何作为企业家的催化剂；以及3)评估21世纪创业促进政策的作用。该项目将对每个地区的企业经理和政府官员进行访谈，并将重点分析与创业的社会文化基础以及与该地区的地理联系有关的因素。研究将提供经验证据，有助于形成一个将经济和文化激励因素纳入创业研究的理论框架。该项目还将为区域和国家之间的信息经济发展比较研究奠定基础。在实践中，了解世界第二大经济体的创业动态对全球经济的增长和稳定具有影响。

This project explores critical, yet poorly understood aspects of Japan's entrepreneurship as the economy shifts from industrial to the informational economy. Although entrepreneurship has been a focus of numerous studies in economic development, there is no consensus on its definition, process of formation, and how it can be effectively promoted. Furthermore, entrepreneurship is seldom examined with a cross-national perspective, and as a result, important foundations, such as regional tradition, cultural norms, and business practices, have largely been ignored as drivers of entrepreneurship. This project addresses the changing role of regional-cultural contexts for entrepreneurship, through historical as well as contemporary studies of three distinctive regions in Japan. The project seeks to 1) examine risk-handling and incentive-generating characteristics of entrepreneurs in the information sector; 2) analyze how different regional contexts (industrial networks, social interactions, and cultural practices) function as catalysts for entrepreneurs; and 3) assess the role of entrepreneurship promotion policy for the 21st Century. The project will involve interviews of firm mangers and governmental officials in each region, and the data will be analyzed with a focus on those factors relating to the socio-cultural foundations of entrepreneurship and the geographical ties to the region.The research will provide empirical evidence that could lead to the development of a theoretical framework that integrates economic and cultural incentives in the study of entrepreneurship. The project will also generate a foundation for comparative research on the development of informational economy between regions and countries. In practical terms, understanding the dynamics of entrepreneurship in the world's second largest economy has implications on the growth and stability of the global economy.