Akiya Nagata

R&D spillovers, patents and the incentives to innovate in Japan and the United States

National surveys of R&D labs across the manufacturing sectors in the US and Japan show that intraindustry R&D knowledge flows and spillovers are greater in Japan than in the US and the appropriability of rents due to innovation less. Patents in particular are observed to play a more central role in diffusing information across rivals in Japan, and appear to be a key reason for greater intraindustry R&D spillovers there, suggesting that patent policy can importantly affect information flows. Uses of patents differ between the two nations, with strategic uses of patents, particularly for negotiations, being more common in Japan.

Coevolution of patent strategy and product strategy

In the era of knowledge, the fit between the environment such as market and national patent system and product and patent strategies determines the longevity of a product. Patent strategy and product strategies coevolve by influencing each other through technology choices. This study offers a model to explain the coevolution of patent and product strategies.

R&D Information Flows and Patenting in Japan and the United States

National surveys of R&D labs across the manufacturing sectors in the U.S. and Japan show that intraindustry R&D knowledge flows and spillovers are greater in Japan than in the U.S. and the appropriability of rents due to innovation less. Patents in particular are observed to play a more central role in diffusing information across rivals in Japan, and appear to be a key reason for greater intraindustry R&D spillovers there, suggesting that patent policy can importantly affect information flows. Uses of patents differ between the two nations, with strategic uses of patents, particularly for negotiations, being more common in Japan.

A paradox of knowledge management in the case of a Japanese retail company

This paper attempts to show a paradox relating to the introduction of knowledge management, by the case study of Japans retail company. When companies introduce knowledge management, if the reasons for establishing knowledge databases are seen only in terms of improving the efficiency of knowledge utilisation, there is a risk that competitiveness will be reduced due to the resulting loss of resources of experience-based knowledge.

Classification of the patent strategy of the Japanese firms by market environment and the characteristics of technology

This paper attempts to offer a theoretical framework to explain why firms in different industries take different patent strategies. The framework categorizes patent strategies based on the interaction between market characteristics and product characteristics. In this paper, product life cycle and autarky of elemental technology are selected as the axes to explain the differences of patent strategy.

Analysis on Inhibiting Factors for Innovation in the Petrochemical Industry

Research and development in the Japanese petrochemical industry has been yielding high results scientifically, however, this is a typical case where such results do not easily lead to the commercialization of products or practical implementations. This research will provide an understanding of the current status, with regards to the management of research and development using data obtained from a survey conducted on managers of research centers and corporate organizations for R&D that belong to business enterprises of the industry in question, as well as clarify the inhibiting factors for innovation. It has been pointed out that a factor behind the inferior international competitiveness of the chemical industry in Japan has to do with the relatively small scale of relevant business enterprises. With this in mind, we conducted an examination on issues relating to the size of firms, as well as that of research centers and corporate organizations for R&D that impact innovation. As a result, on levels of both overall firms and business establishment, those with a relatively smaller size were found to be more advantageous with regards to efficiency of research and development.