The Fetal Stirrings of Service Innovation: Reflections on the Japanese-European Symposium
December 15 (Thursday) 2005
On Wednesday, December 14, the Fujitsu Research Institute and the Japanese-German Center Berlin, together with the support of the German Institute for Economic Research and the Keizai Koho Center, hosted the Japanese-European Symposium at the Keidanren Kaikan in Tokyo. The symposium's theme was “Deregulation and Innovation in Japan and Europe: Chances for Japanese Corporations,” and despite being held at the end of the year, the audience was large enough to fill the Keidanren Kaikan's international conference hall. The majority of the audience consisted of businesspeople with a keen interest in overseas investment and how to increase productivity when doing business abroad.
The program kicked off with Bart van Ark, professor of economics at Groningen University and consulting director of the U.S. Conference Board, speaking on an international comparison of “Productivity in Europe, Japan and the United States.” Following Profesor van Ark was Professor Axel Werwats, head of the Department of Innovation, Manufacturing, and Service at the German Institute for Economic Research, who spoke about “Deregulation and Innovation in the European Market.” Third, FRI senior fellow Dr. Tadahiko Abe presented on “Innovation through Service Science.” Following Dr. Abe was Kirsi Valtari, Vice President of Technology at Elisa, who spoke about “ICT and Corporate Services in Europe.” Next, Masamoto Yashiro, chairman of the board of directors at Shinsei Bank, discussed “Banking Service Innovation and the Role of IT.” Last to present was FRI research fellow Dr. Martin Schulz, who presented on “Chances for Japan's Investment in Europe.”
Over the course of the symposium a number of new insights and new issues were elucidated. Professor van Ark presented detailed data analysis showing that the U.S. had expanded noticeably in service productivity over the past 10 years, while Europe and Japan had lagged behind in comparison. Professor van Ark noted that the root cause of this difference seems to lie in the differing methods of IT use. Professor Werwatz pointed out that deregulation is progressing in various forms in Europe, and this is helping to spur innovation by corporations. Dr. Abe investigated the innovative improvements in the efficiency and quality of the U.S. service sector under the guidance of the new discipline of service science, and pointed out that Japan is also showing signs of moving in this direction. Ms Valtari spoke about the diffusion of mobile technology and the information revolution that it is spurring in Europe. Chairman Yashiro stressed that while technology plays an important role in management, what is more important is the capabilities and strategies of management in understanding and effectively using that technology. Lastly, Dr. Schulz closed by describing the groundbreaking movements in the trans-border flow of goods and people in Europe, spawned by the expansion of the EU, and explained the information technology that supported this in conjunction with the continued expansion of the comprehensive services market. Dr. Schulz offered this growing services market as a major chance for investment by Japanese companies in the years to come.
One of the main threads that wove through all of these presentations was the new expansion of business-oriented services in the information age. If businesses accurately and efficiently manage the flow of information, they can dramatically increase their productivity. The field of service science that Dr. Abe raised is a method for explaining scientifically the innovation in services stemming from information technology; in today's information age, service innovation may well indeed become the next industrial revolution that will engulf the global industrial world. Highlighting the recent moves within Japan and Europe's industrial arenas, this symposium provided us with a glimpse of the momentous shift awaiting us as we advance into the next era.