THE DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS MODEL IN JAPANESE MANNUFACTURING FIRMS

本研究旨在探讨日本制造企业如何利用其自上个世纪以来所积累的技术能力，成功地发展其业务。第一年，我走访了大约30家一直在挑战新业务的制造企业，并从他们那里获得了材料和数据。通过分析，我发现了三个对他们扩大业务至关重要的关键因素：最大限度地利用先进的信息和通信技术(ICT)，挖掘工匠等优秀的人类技能，通过组织间联盟建立新的商业模式。今年我的研究重点放在第三个因素上，即通过公司间联盟来开拓新业务，特别是中小企业与包括大公司在内的外部组织合作开展新业务的管理问题。以下五个问题对加快他们的业务增长非常重要。(1)联盟中的核心企业行使制定商业战略的领导权。(2)应选择资源和能力水平较高的组织作为联盟的合作伙伴。(3)联盟可以弥补中小企业在商业宣传和公信力方面的不足。(4)营销活动应与产品/服务开发同步进行。(5)联盟不仅可以实现产品/服务质量的优势，而且可以通过业务流程的扩展来增强竞争优势。

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.