The Technology Development Strategy of Japanese Enterprises: The Increasing Importance of International Standardization

ABSTRACT

From the perspective of corporate strategy, the current competitive strength of Japanesecompanies, which account for a large share of the world's markets, can be attributed to (1) theacquisition of niche markets, (2) the establishment of highly advanced technology which othercompanies could not emulate, (3) the creativity to think of unusual product combinations whichforeign manufacturers would never think of, and (4) the creation of added value throughpartnerships between companies in different fields or between manufacturers and users.Above all, one of the main strengths of Japanese companies has been their ability to quicklydevelop advanced technology which could not be emulated by other companies.

The above-mentioned companies can be said to have established international standards in theirown fields. However, in most cases, these companies had no clear plans to establish suchinternational standards from the start. Rather, the development of these international standardswas the end result of their activities. To establish international standards in the future, it willbe necessary for companies to have a clear focus on the establishment of international standardsfrom the early stages of product or technical development, while continuing with efforts todevelop cutting-edge technology as quickly as possible. Rather than waiting for standardizationto result from market competition or the establishment of government standards, companies willengage in activities aimed at achieving standardization in conjunction with corporateassociations, or will see standardization arise from new developments in networking, which willincrease the need for rapid standardization in many fields.

Of the fields in which international standardization will become increasingly important in thefuture, there are many fields in which Japanese industries are in an advantageous position.While continuing to promote their technical superiority, companies which have cutting-edgetechnology must also pro-actively carry out activities for standardization through publicorganizations for standardization and at forums and consortiums for corporate associationsworking toward standardization.

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Conclusion