価格下落脱却に向けた企業のR&D対応

主席研究員 安部 忠彦

2003年1月

目次

はじめに
I.販売単価下落の実態
1.販売単価の動向
2.企業の販売単価下落への対策
II.需要創出、差別化に向けた企業サイドの対応
1.新商品の開発、高付加価値化と研究開発
2.研究開発が新商品開発、高付加価値化につながりにくい理由
III.需要創出・差別化型企業に向けて
1.横並びからの脱却
2.独創的差別化技術・特許戦略へ
3.新規需要の開拓

要旨

1.日本経済においてはデフレが続き、ほとんどの製品で販売単価が下落している。販売単価下落の理由は、国内ライバル企業と競争が激しいこと、需要が減少していることである。販売単価下落に向けた対策では、現状では仕入れコスト削減が行われ、今後は新商品開発と製品の高付加価値化が目指されている。
2.新商品開発や製品の高付加価値化のためには、研究開発活動が重要だ。しかし90年代後半に、日本企業はIT製品中心に研究開発を活発に行ったが、新商品開発や高付加価値化に成功したとはいえない。

3.新商品開発や高付加価値化に成功できなかったのは、第1に多くの企業が多数の同じモノを作り、フォロワー的性格となり価格競争が激化した。多数のモノを作るため、適切な経営資源配分と投資タイミングを適切化することが困難になった。第2に従来市場にこだわり、新規市場開拓の努力を怠った。第3に、ブレークスルー型技術開発よりもインクリメンタルな技術開発に片寄り、高い付加価値を取れなかった。

4.今後企業は事業の再編成や他社との交換を行い、特徴ある製品をもつ企業に変わる必要がある。そのような決断のできる経営者のみが経営者の資格をもつ。また、新規分野として、健康や安心、安全などの価値を付加した市場を開拓する必要がある。そのために文科系人材を含めた研究開発活動が必要である。更にブレークスルー型技術を生み出すために、研究者に不満が多い特許報酬の高額化が必要だ。特許の価値評価は会社の外部の専門家が行う仕組みが相応しい。

Corporate R&D as a Response to Find a Way Out of the Present Fall in Prices

Senior Fellow Tadahiko Abe

CONTENTS

Introduction

I.The Present State of Falling Unit Sales Prices
II.Corporate Response to Finding a Way Out by Creating Demand and Differentiating their Product Specialization
III.The Way to Become Company Capable of Creating Demand and Differentiating its Product Specialization

SUMMARY

1.The Japanese economy remains in the grips of a persistent deflation, with unit sales prices of almost all products continuing to fall. The reasons for this are the extremely tough competition on the domestic market and the slump in demand. Actions to respond to this challenge are currently taken to reduce material purchase costs. For the future, the goal is to develop new products and higher value-added content.

2.The development of new products and their value-added enhancement require R&D. Although in the late 1990s, Japanese companies were actively engaged in R&D focusing on IT products, they have not been successful in achieving such goals.

3.The first reason that prevented them from being successful is that many companies tried to create identical products and became band-wagon hoppers with the result of unleashing fierce price competition. The second reason is that they paid too much attention to their conventional markets and neglected new ones. The third reason is that they focused not so much on breakthrough technologies but directed their R&D thrust on the development of incremental techniques which detracted them from their high value-added goal.

4.Looking to the future, it will be necessary to restructure and replace old corporate organization and to bring about a greater degree of product differentiation. Only managers capable of making these decisions will have what it takes to be a manager. The new fields where market development will be needed are the value-added areas focusing on health, comfort, and safety. This will require the inclusion of social science graduates into R&D. For creating breakthrough technologies, it will also be necessary to offer researchers much higher patent rewards to overcome the great dissatisfaction that currently exists in the research community. The best system for evaluating the value of patents is to have the assessments done by outside specialists.