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This paper illustrates how Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), focuses on culture and talent engineering to nurture business sustainability, innovation and growth. The authors of this paper worked directly with TMC directors, business leaders, executives, organizational architects and talent operators to determine the main components and characteristics of their talent strategy. The authors have also explored how key elements of traditional Japanese business practices were considered when developing the corporate strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2012, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology initiated a project entitled "Improving Higher Education for Industrial Needs" in which 147 universities have participated. One of the main purposes of this project is to identify what industrial needs and help develop university students' employability skills through active learning as there has been a growing concern that university graduates lack employability skills that industry seeks. However, Japanese university instructors are unfamiliar with or lack skills for adopting active learning approaches in their courses. This study explores what skills industry needs, examines how these skills can be developed and assessed at university, and describes a course entitled "Business Planning in Practice" that intends to develop these skills through active learning offered at the Nagoya University of Commerce and Business, one of the universities participating in the national project. Business Planning in Practice has been selected as an active learning target course for the Improving Higher Education for Industrial Needs to demonstrate how a university course can employ active learning approaches. The findings show that the skills that industry needs are discovery skills, these skills could be nurtured in the form of research skills at university, and Business Planning in Practice had positive impacts in improving these skills through active learning approaches. This paper concludes with suggestions for how Japanese universities could establish an environment to create innovative human resources.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the correlation between the evaluation of performance strategies in leading automotive organisations located in Japan during four economically significant periods. Furthermore, the article aims to determine key performance factors that have had an influence on automotive organisations in the most recent and current period. The sample group includes 14 large and very large corporations. This paper draws on both theoretical and empirical research. A questionnaire was created as part of the research and was pre-tested in order to increase its internal validity. The actual survey was conducted through semi-structured interviews with managers at the top management level. To address the aim, non-parametric statistical methods have been used (Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman correlation), mainly due to the relatively small testing sample of companies and the Shapiro-Wilk test failing at the five percent level of significance. Additionally, exploratory data analysis methods have been applied. Despite the noticeable deviation in the period of economic recession, the results indicate an increase in the significance of the individual factors in the periods in question. Another interesting finding is the growing power of factors oriented at innovation and the future environment. This means that, for the companies, measuring these factors will be crucial henceforth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically analyses how individuals in companies evaluate the contributions of basic research by universities and public research institutes to industry from multiple perspectives: manager as a spokesperson of the company (science-based industry or others), position within the company (managers or inventors), affiliations of inventors (large pharmaceutical companies or biotech start-ups), and educational background. This paper focuses on the case of Japan. Questionnaire surveys were sent to managers and inventors in established companies and startups across several industries. This study found that, 1) the more science-oriented the company, the higher their managers evaluate academic research, 2) inventors evaluate academic research more highly than managers, 3) inventors from biotech start-ups evaluate academic research more highly than inventors from large companies in the pharmaceutical industry, and 4) the more advanced their educational background, the more highly inventors evaluate academic research. This study suggests that 'closeness to science' is an important factor for companies to evaluate contributions of basic research to innovation. The findings also suggest that problems within the current educational systemare an indirect cause of the innovation crisis in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability of the Japanese university system encourages conformity, which may also stifle creativity and initiative. Japan needs reforms that inject flexibility and reverse the traditional focus of education. Current reform proposals to expand graduate education, break down the chair system, and expand university-industry collaboration are seen as inadequate for a new knowledge creation model. (Author/MSE)

Academic landscape of innovation research was analyzed by citation network analysis, which was divided into three main clusters; with "technological innovation" as the central core together with "innovation fundamentals" and "innovation management". Historically, research on innovation started from innovation management, such as innovational organization research, but research in the other two cluster areas is currently more active. With this background, we prepared a historical overview of national innovation system policy in Japan and the United States. Finally, we compared the trend of global innovation research with that of the national innovation systems in Japan and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly innovative firms are more competitive and achieve greater performance than their less innovative counterparts. Innovation orientation has been commonly used to assess an organization's innovative culture. To date, most innovation orientation research has explored its relationship with performance. However, the literature is unclear as to what innovative companies do differently to achieve superior performance. This study advances innovation orientation research by examining differing business practices of high versus low innovative Japanese firms. The various business practices include culture management, open innovation, analytics, innovation management software, crowdsourcing, design thinking, measuring innovation, stage-gate, and scientific discovery. Using data from 261 Japanese firms, this study finds that high innovators, as compared to low innovators, are more likely to engage in many of these business practices. Until this study, some of these business practices were not empirically shown to be correlated with high innovators, much less explored in the same study. This paper also offers a stepwise approach for executives seeking to enhance competitiveness via innovation. Specifically, executives should first look to creating an innovation orientation and subsequently implement such business practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the management approaches that play a key role for innovation success in a stable and unstable environment. Design/methodology/approach: Tunisia and Japan were chosen as a research sites to assess the accuracy of management approach adopted in each environment. Japan, as a developed, stable and predictable market, involves a traditional/conventional management mode known as administrative control approach (ACA) for successful innovation. However, we argue that a developing country is characterized by its unstable environment and requires an opportunity-based approach (OBA) that lies in the firm's openness to search and benefit from environmental opportunities. Findings: The paper confirms that OBA improves product innovation success in an unstable environment, for innovation in a stable one. Originality/value: The paper provides a comprehensive comparison between innovation driven management approaches towards stable and unstable environments through multi-group structural equation modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assumption that 'local search' constrains the direction of corporate R&D is central in evolutionary perspectives on technological change and competition. In this paper, we propose a network-analytic approach for identifying the evolution of firms' technological positions. The approach (1) permits graphical and quantitative assessments of the extent to which firms' search behavior is locally bounded, and (2) enables firms to be positioned and grouped according to the similarities in their innovative capabilities. The utility of the proposed framework is demonstrated by an analysis of strategic partnering and the evolution of the technological positions of the 10 largest Japanese semiconductor producers from 1982 to 1992. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early 2000s brought over an intrinsic change in the way businesses operate. Many organizations experienced a fundamental transformation in the way people connect, work and co-create value for the business and the wider scope of stakeholders. This transformation was supported by the rapid development and implementation of collaborative technology, as well as by a major metamorphosis of working styles: remote work (tele-work), alternative employment, dual carriers (double employment) and many others. Corporate Japan has also experienced a major shift from the traditional physical office-based, life-time employment to a wide variety of working agreements and collaboration styles. This paper analyzes how digital technology has eased cross-divisional collaboration and value co-creation at NTT Communications, a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Corporation, the largest telecommunications company in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following a recent acquisition and integration of Alico, one of the strongest non-Japanese insurers operating in the Japanese market, MetLife announced in 2014 that it would change its corporate name from MetLife Alico to MetLife Japan. The rebranding exercise would mean much more than a simple change of names - it led to infer an implicit change of culture, work style and user interactions. While this change did not seem to mean much to policy holders in Japan, whose premiums were well secured by legal bindings, it meant a lot to employees - especially ex-Alico employees, who were starting to feel somewhat left out by the rebranding initiative. This paper monitors the cultural transformation process which occurred at MetLife Japan between 2014 and 2015 and focuses on the internal communications process, in order to illustrate the various phases of change and the impact of corporate actions on employee engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that features of Japanese organizations, previously held to be the foundations of innovation, change and flexibility, can equally be significant barriers to change, innovation and adaptation in turbulent economic environments. This paper draws on two in-depth case studies of Japanese organizations. It shows how, in both cases, these firms displayed specific weaknesses in the ways in which they integrate and bundle knowledge, in particular around their research and development (R&D) functions. Despite the adoption of strategies of technological innovation and internationalization, the data suggest that the pursuit of both strategies is beset by barriers of inertia. Embedded internal network connections and knowledge-sharing routines between central R&D and other divisions are inappropriate for the revised strategy. Existing external connections, with preferred suppliers and customers within keiretsu structures, and close relationships with existing R&D partners retard these firms' strategic flexibility. With a limited variety of latent routines, knowledge, capabilities and agency to draw on when needed, these firms have limited organizational responsiveness and high levels of path-dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a new point of view regarding the knowledge management of new product and service development (NPSD), a high-tech field requiring the merging and integration of different technologies and business models. As case studies, we examine the dynamism of the knowledge creation process in NPSD at traditional Japanese telecommunication companies, as they merge and integrate the different elements of broadband wired and wireless network technologies and business models, and we analyse the new knowledge creation process of NPSD in two cases. In a short period of time, strategic teams at the companies formed strategic communities outside the company including customers, and then formed a network that transcended the strategic communities' boundaries. The synthesizing capability of the leadership-based strategic communities comprising community leaders inside the networked strategic communities enabled strategic teams to build new business models aimed at customers and achieved successful NPSD ahead of other competitors. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out theory and measurement of how intangible investment might capture innovation and what data on intangibles look like for the EU, Japan, and the US. We also look at complementarities between information and communications technology (ICT) and intangibles, spillovers from intangibles to growth, and policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

During the formative years of biotechnology, ‘star’ bioscientists possessed intellectual capital of extraordinary scientific and pecuniary value. In America and Japan, 35 percent of star bioscientists became involved with firms in commercialising their discoveries (a crucial determinant of success) versus 7 percent in Europe. Did star involvement come at expense of scientific progress? No, the publication rate of these ‘involved stars’ increased very significantly whilst actively involved with firms. Furthermore, citations per article were unchanged or significantly increased; so quality was maintained. Top academic scientists and firms working together led to faster commercial and scientific progress – a truly virtuous circle. Durante los años formativos de la biotecnología, los bioinvestigadores “estrella” acumulaban un capital intelectual de extraordinario valor científico y pecuniario. En América y Japón, el 35 por ciento de bioinvestigadores “estrella” se involucraron con empresas en la comercialización de sus descubrimientos (determinante crucial del éxito) comparado con un 7 por ciento en Europa. ¿Fue este involucramiento a costa del progreso científico? No, la tasa de publicación de estos investigadores estrella aumentó muy significativamente mientras que estaban activamente involucrados con dichas empresas. Es más, el número de citas de sus artículos no cambiaron o aumentaron significativamente, y por tanto la calidad se ha mantenido. Los investigadores más eminentes y las empresas punteras trabajando juntos nos llevan más rápidamente al progreso comercial y científico – un círculo virtuoso verdadero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on an empirical study on automakers' management of supplier involvement in product development in Japan, this paper shows that when the design of a component is outsourced to a supplier, how much automakers know about the component matters for them to gain a better outcome. While the actual tasks of designing and manufacturing components could be outsourced, automakers should retain the relevant knowledge to obtain better component design quality. The paper argues that knowledge partitioning should be distinguished from task partitioning, and provides some implications for the knowledgebased theory of the firm.The results indicate that effective pattern of knowledge partitioning differs by the nature of component development project in terms of technological newness. For regular projects, it is more important for the automaker to have a higher level of architectural knowledge (how to coordinate various components for a vehicle) than of component-specific knowledge, which is supposed to be provided by the supplier. However, when the project involves new technology for the supplier, it is important for the automaker to have a higher level of component-specific knowledge to solve unexplored engineeringproblems together with the supplier. In innovative projects, effective knowledge partitioning seems to demand some overlap between an automaker and a supplier, rather than efficient and clear-cut boundaries that are optimal for regular projects. Such "fluid" nature of knowledge boundaries contingent on the project types poses a challenge for firms seeking both technological leadership and efficiency in established products.Developing and maintaining knowledge about an outsourced component is by no means easy. When the actual design tasks are outsourced, automakers miss substantial opportunities to gain relevant knowledge through leaming by doing. Also, obtained knowledge may be diffused among competitors through shared suppliers. Another problem for automakers is that component-specific knowledge is important for only limited cases (innovative projects). Even worse, component-specific knowledge has a trade off relationship with architectural knowledge.Such an inherent dilemma of managing knowledge, however, may provide some automakers with the opportunity to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Additional analysis shows that one automaker managed both types of knowledge better than others in a manner that deals effectively with the dilemma. Its organizational mechanisms include career development policies, extensive documentation of technological information, intemal training programs, and incentive schemes. The difficulty in implementing those mechanisms in a consistent and complementary manner seems to explain why there was a significant variance among automakers in knowledge level, even when the actual tasks were carried out by a shared supplier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses Toyota's, Honda's and Nissan's efforts in battery, hybrid, and fuel cell electric vehicles (BEVs, HEVs and FCVs). Its aim is to increase understanding of the process constituting a paradigmatic shift in technology. In particular, the paper aims to elucidate how automakers managed their early moves. Based on interviews, patent data and previous literature, key aspects relating to the automakers successful early moves into vehicle electrification (as seen in 2010) are outlined. Toyota's (and Honda's) aim of in-house knowledge development in the new technologies is among the aspects emphasised as distinctive compared to other world automakers. Furthermore, spill-over in terms of branding and sales and a deliberate development of the corporate culture are proposed as potential new first-mover objectives and consequences. Finally, this paper argues that Toyota, Honda and Nissan are capable of not only incremental but also more-than-incremental innovations, as illustrated by their position in the electrification race. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the various trajectories taken in the reception of Japanese creative practice in the United Kingdom -- focusing on a changing dynamic in the presentations of traditional forms at large-scale events in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and the contemporaneous consumption of innovative outputs of Japanese sartorial culture. An introductory section mobilises archival material to document early instances of cultural exchange between the two island nations. The main body of the discussion compares developing emphases on material and popular culture in a series of international festivals with the tactics employed by Japanese fashion designers entering a new market. The analysis highlights the manner in which the discipline has both distanced itself from, and re-inscribed, earlier constructions of Japanese identity -- using 'flagship' stores as 'advertising beacons' in the metropolis, opening 'guerilla' outlets and offering forms of artistic patronage. The conclusion integrates findings from a case-study conducted on a major retrospective exhibition to suggest that in a creative hierarchy the fashion designer now occupies the position of auteur and despite a century having elapsed since an initial cultural collaboration drew an audience of approximately 20% of the population, legacies of Orientalism continue to operate in the consumption of Japanese fashion in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dealing with knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) has become an important strategy for many firms. Services that heavily rely on professional knowledge are needed by Japanese manufacturing corporations (JMCs) for solving different problems. This article explores the impact of the utilization of KIBS on the innovation of JMCs in Japan. The goal of the paper is threefold: first, we focus on the different divisions of JMCs that have dealt with KIBS and analyze the impact of KIBS on their innovation respectively; second, we separate the types of innovation into radical innovation and incremental innovation and then analyze what and how the service delivery method contributes to each type of innovation; and finally we discuss in more depth the details of an efficient service delivery method. The results show that first, KIBS contribute more to the radical innovation of a client rather than incremental innovation and second, face-to-face is the most efficient method of service delivery from KIBS to the JMCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The “national systems of innovation” (NSI) framework for analyzing innovative performance and policy has been an important and influential area of scholarship for nearly 20 years, since the first articulation of the concept in Freeman (Technology policy and economic performance: lessons from Japan, 1987). Surprisingly, however, the large literature on national systems of innovation has devoted little attention to the role of defense-related R&D investment and innovation. This paper surveys the role of national defense within national innovation systems, focusing in particular on the United States during and after the Cold War, including a brief description of post-9/11 trends in defense-related and national security investments in R&D. I also summarize some of the abundant literature on the role of defense-related R&D and procurement within specific sectors of U.S. industry, including aircraft, machine tools, and information technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This is a study that aims to explore a new conception of marketing management based on the analyses of the demand side in Japanese high-tech industries. Currently, due to the rapid development of technologies, conventional marketing and management methodologies sometimes cannot explain why emerging technologies and new usage diffuse epidemically among consumers in a short time. Design/methodology/approach - As a major example of successful technological development this study focuses on a collaborative structure between Japanese high-tech manufacturers and two types of consumer communities! "otaku" and "kogal" The paper explores a hypothesis that each of the two consumer communities gives a different type of feedback to the manufacturers, and thus Japanese manufacturers can develop and improve their products very efficiently. Findings - Japanese management has been understood as "kaizen," - a management way to improve the efficiency of the supply side. However, today's Japanese high-tech companies focus relatively on the demand side and have found interesting dynamics cf consumer behaviors which can make one technology more valuable and useful in the daily lives. The paper also shows a comparative framework from the viewpoint of the user-collaboration to contrast the basic difference of management styles among the USA, Europe, and Japan, and suggests that each company in each region can use other region's collaboration dynamics to develop its products, or build a technological standard more efficiently. Originality/value - The hypothesis and framework in this paper can be expected to fill a vacuum in studies on Japanese management after the 1990s, as a successor to "kaizen" methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The keiretsu structuring of assembler-supplier relations historically enabled Japanese auto assemblers to remain lean and flexible while enjoying a level of control over supply akin to that of vertical integration. Yet currently there is much talk of breakdowns in keiretsu networks. This paper examines some recent developments in Japanese parts-supply keiretsu. We argue that keiretsu relationships are drifting from 'hy-brid' or 'network' (i.e., keiretsu) governance modes toward the extremes of arms-length contracting and top-down administration. These changes are best understood through a combination of transaction cost and learning perspectives on alliance. Consistent with transaction-cost economics, the shift in purchase-supply relationships can be traced to changes in the nature of parts transactions and keiretsu-governance structures. A learning perspective on alliance complements and extends transaction-cost theory, providing additional explanation of the sources of change and the specific governance choices being made. Our first two cases document a drift in Toyota's keiretsu supply network toward a hierarchical form in the management of parts-supply transactions. Toyota has effectively internalized its transactions with Daihatsu by taking a controlling interest. Toyota's strategy toward long-term partner Denso, on the other hand, was very different. Toyota built, from the ground up, an in-house capability in electronic components, thus scaling down its dependence on Denso. A third case considers a general trend in the Japanese auto industry toward greater standardization of parts. With the routinization of quality, reliability, and speed in supply management, the need for keiretsu-style governance has declined. The withering of keiretsu obligations is also traceable to globalization and the continuing weakness of the Japanese economy, which have prompted Japanese firms to question received business practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing CI capability, organisations need to move to a level of development in which strategic goals are communicated and deployed and where improvement activity is guided by a process of monitoring and measurement against these strategic objectives. Policy deployment of this kind is more prevalent in Japanese examples and in a handful of cases in Western firms. Implementing it poses significant challenges and requires a different and additional toolkit of enabling resources. This paper reports on the experience of policy deployment in Japan and in Western enterprises and explores some of the implementation issues raised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Under the pressures of rapid industrialization and urbanization, many Asian countries are facing the challenge of reducing air pollution and CO2 emissions simultaneously while maintaining their economic growth. Under such a circumstance, a growing attention is focused on successful implementation of co-benefit policies that are designed to reduce both air pollutants and CO2 emissions. However, the concept of co-benefit policies must be developed further in order to identify its quantitative and qualitative validity, which can be assessed using a reliable methodology for the estimation of co-benefits and through clarification of the importance of this approach for stakeholders in urban environmental policy-making. Based on a systematic review of co-benefit research and air pollution control policies in Japan, we investigated the local air pollution control policy in Kawasaki City, one of the industrial centers of Japan, and confirmed that it has contributed both to the sharp decline of atmospheric sulfur dioxide (SO2) levels and to energy efficiency improvements in local industries. Our results suggest that preventive actions and local-scale compliance enforcement tools (that are uniquely designed and act as a form of agreement between government and individual firms) could contribute significantly to successful implementation of co-benefit policies in the long-term. We conclude our paper with a discussion of linkages between low-carbon technology innovations and policy designs that could further nurture co-benefits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study compares the short-term behaviour of finance directors the UK and in Japan, in the context of their corporate governance systems, using the funding, structure and evaluation of Research and Development (R&D) projects as indicators. The empirical part of the study consists of two questionnaire studies carried out in the UK and Japan. A number of personal interviews were also carried out with UK and Japanese senior finance managers. The results of the study indicate different management behaviour with respect to short-termism in the UK and Japan. There is a statistically significant difference in perceptions between the finance directors of two countries. Managers in both countries appreciate and would like to use long term performance criteria to assess and manage R&D projects. In practice however, Japanese finance directors are much better protected from short-term pressures than their UK counterparts in dealing with most aspects of their management R&D. These differences in behaviour are identified and possible reasons for them are offered in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Success in the global marketplace increasingly requires that firms develop capabilities in innovation. In this paper we argue that firms can use employment and compensation practices to foster innovation and support for innovation by employees. Conversely, some employment and compensation systems will inhibit innovation. A system that allows gain sharing by employees and provides employment assurance will foster innovation in the firm. However, a system that compensates employees with a fixed wage and allows for termination at will contains anti-innovative incentives. The former system is the prototypical Japanese system (particularly in large firms), while the latter system is the prototypical American system. The commercial success of Japanese firms is increasingly attributed to successful innovation, particularly in processes. We argue that this success is partly attributable to the Japanese-style system of employment and compensation. None of this suggests, however, that the Japanese-style practices constitute a universally superior system of employment and compensation. The Japanese-style system will not necessarily be beneficial to firms, nor be preferred by employees. The preferences of both employees and firms will depend upon market circumstances. In stable domestic markets in relatively full employment economies, companies derive competitive advantage from mass production and scale economies. Under such circumstances, the American-style system is likely to be preferred by both employees and firms. However, when the firm operates in a volatile international market the preferences of both employees and firms will shift toward the Japanese-style system. The employment and compensation systems of both countries were well suited to the market circumstances under which they evolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of impressive stories about artificial intelligence or Industry 4.0 , the USA, Japan and Western Europe experience a severe productivity crisis since about 2005. This article fills a gap in recent attempts at understanding the productivity crisis, arguing that there is a negative impact of supply-side labour market reforms on innovation and productivity. The negative impact of more flexible labour relations is significant in medium-high and high-tech sectors with a high 'cumulativeness' of knowledge, that is if the historical accumulation of firm-specific and often tacit knowledge is important for innovative competencies. In low-tech sectors as well as for high-tech entrepreneurship, where cumulativeness of knowledge is low, there is little or no effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a telling example of allegedly "Bad Buddhisms" in the contemporary world, one need look no further than urban Japan and its numerous "Priests' Bars" (Bozu bâzu) that allow a heady interaction of Buddhism and alcohol. While listening, lecturing, and sometimes even mixing drinks, priests of various denominations are proprietors for a new type of upâya practice (or "skillful means") for disseminating the dharma. They have the opportunity to encourage their clientele towards solving personal problems and perhaps even awakening as they violate the fifth Buddhist precept which warns monks of the dangers of intoxication. The priests in charge of these bars are well aware of the prohibition against alcohol, and yet, given a variety of social problems facing Japanese workers and citizens, feel compelled to experiment in delivering the teachings of their traditions. Though "bad" from the perspective of Buddhist practitioners outside Japan (as well as that of traditional Buddhist studies), these bars remain a constructive means for moving Japanese Buddhisms into the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total quality management (TQM) and innovation have long been discussed as major contributors to organizational success. TQM has been discussed with regard to management practices while innovation is discussed with regard to technological change. However, a vague relationship has been established between these two due to the challenge to establish statistical relationship. The main purpose of this research is to empirically study the application of TQM for innovation. Fourteen companies from Japan, India and Thailand are considered in an empirical exploratory research to uncover the relationship between TQM and innovation. Three factors of TQM (human factor, technology factor and information factor) are considered to see the effect on process innovation and product innovation. The research findings indicate that TQM facilitates the development of innovation capabilities in organizations through harmonized management practices in a sequence of inter-related incremental innovation initiatives. Moreover, this research indicates that the innovation speed achieved by TQM is found to be dramatic as compared to traditional innovation. However, it was not only the speediness of the innovation achieved using TQM that surprises, but also its response to different market needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The aim of this study is to propose and test a model of innovation process management and to clarify the managerial strategies required to achieve it in Japanese enterprises. Design/methodology/approach - The authors conducted empirical tests of the model using the data from the questionnaire surveys of Japanese companies, and an illustrative case study. Findings - It was found that there was a high likelihood that the IP of Japanese companies thought to have had success with innovation matched the proposed model. The support for the model from the Japanese data is sufficiently strong so as to suggest that certain managerial factors should generally be implemented in order to succeed with innovation. The authors then conducted a case study on a notably prominent Japanese company, Toyota, interviewing senior executives both in Japan and Australia. This was done in order to further verify and enrich the findings of the model development and the empirical survey study. The authors found specific practices and capabilities that were statistically significant in Japan's manufacturing companies in general, which were also deeply engrained within Toyota in particular. The importance of structured process in Toyota in particular and generally in the Japanese manufacturing sector was confirmed, comprising scanning, idea occurrence, strategy formulation, resource procurement, implementation and value creation. Originality/value - This study is one of few that shows the particular approach used in Japanese manufacturing companies. That systematic approach led Japanese manufacturing companies to be at the forefront of innovation for three decades from 1975, and able to successfully expand internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on a study that examined university-level data, characteristics of industry-university linkages in Japan. The results of statistical analysis present a contrasting picture regarding the characteristics of knowledge interactions according to the size of industrial partners. On the one hand, on the basis of direct connections, university-based scientists with high research potential are linked with large firms in broad areas through highly interactive spillover channels such as joint research. On the other hand, through the intermediation of liaison offices, university-based scientists with low research potential are linked with small firms, through less interactive spillover channels such as technical consultation.

This study, based on detailed data obtained from carefully selected samples of about 200 Japanese and American firms, seems to be the first comprehensive empirical investigation of the differences between Japan and the United States in innovation cost and time. Whereas the Japanese have substantial advantages in this regard in some industries (notably machinery), they do not seem to have any substantial advantage in others (notably chemicals). Whereas they have great advantages in carrying out innovations based on external technology, they do not seem to have any in carrying out innovations based on internal technology. Japanese firms allocate their resources quite differently than do American firms, a larger percentage of total innovation cost being devoted to tooling and manufacturing equipment and facilities, a smaller percentage being devoted to marketing startup. A large part of America's problem in this regard seems to be due to its apparent inability to match Japan as a quick and effective user of external technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]