Tomohiro Machikita

Knowledge transfer channels to Vietnam for process improvement

Purpose – In the globalized economy, it is becoming increasingly necessary for firms in emerging economies to adopt advanced knowledge and technology from external sources, both domestic and abroad. This paper aims to identify knowledge flows through domestic and international customer‐supplier relationships that cause gaps in quality assurance, cost reduction, and timely delivery among firms in emerging countries.Design/methodology/approach – The authors constructed an original dataset on production networks within manufacturing firms in Vietnam (including Hanoi and the surrounding region) and estimated statistical models for the relationship between face‐to‐face interactions within a supply chain and QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery). Findings from in‐depth interviews with Japanese firms in emerging economies complement the quantitative analysis.Findings – The incidence of face‐to‐face interactions between two firms within a production chain via resident engineers significantly explains the variation in per...

The effect of internal and external sources of knowledge on product innovation in Southeast Asia

This paper examines the effect of internal and external sources of knowledge on the introduction of new products based on new technologies or information to the firms responded to the questionnaire survey conducted in four Southeast Asian countries. We estimate binary probit models. The estimation results verify that local firms make full use of locally available sources of new technologies or information to achieve the product innovation. On the other hand, foreign-owned firms depend mainly on internal R&D capacities and cooperation with local universities.

Measuring Search Frictions Using Japanese Microdata

This paper estimates matching functions to measure search frictions in the Japanese labor market and presents determinants of search duration to explain the effect of unemployment benefits on a job seeker fs behavior. We employ administrative micro data that track the job search process of individuals who left or lost their job in August 2005 and subsequently registered at their local public employment service. Our finding is that the matching function would exhibit decreasing returns-to-scale for job seekers and vacancies, rather than constant return-to-scale. We also find that generous unemployment benefits lengthen (shorten) the duration of job search for job seekers who voluntarily (involuntarily) leave employment.

An empirical study on industrial upgrading and sourcing of new technologies: Firm-level evidences in Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam

This paper analyzes bottlenecks that have discouraged firms from being innovative and their magnitudes. We estimate a number of statistical models of the effects of firm-level perceptions of business environments on decision-making on innovation, namely introduction of new goods, adoption of a new production method, and acquisition of a new source of supply. While local business conditions affect innovation activities, there is non-negligible heterogeneity as well. For these analyses, we develop ldquoD-score,rdquo which is a difference between degrees of importance and satisfaction. This indicator of policy demands from firms introduced in the models as independent variables allows deriving practical policy recommendations. We used a sample constructed by mail surveys to firms in Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam in October 2007.

Interactive learning-driven innovation within production chains in developing economies

This paper presents a simple framework of the innovations that result from interfirm learning through exchanges of engineers in upstream-downstream relations within a production chain. To examine the framework, we empirically investigate the impact of mutual knowledge exchanges on product and process innovation using a survey of firms self-reporting customer and supplier data in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Evidence from interconnected firms within a production chain suggests that firms with mutual exchanges between engineers and customers achieved product innovations with new technologies and new markets. However, this is not true for simple improvement of products or process innovation. Mutual exchanges with engineers between producers and suppliers within a chain can be expected to play an important role in the case of costly innovation and in situations unknown to the firms.

The geographic extent of global supply chains: evidence from Southeast Asia

We study the extent to which inter‐firm relationships are locally concentrated and what determines firm differences in geographic proximity to domestic or foreign suppliers and customers. From micro‐data on self‐reported customer and supplier data of firms in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, we measure the distances between firm pairs, that is, the distance to the main supplier and the distance to the main customer for the surveyed firms. The distances to suppliers and customers are shorter for indigenous firms in these Southeast Asian countries; but the arms length differs across countries. The distance between firm pairs differs widely across firms within narrowly defined industries and countries. We find that both firm‐level transaction costs and capabilities affect the distances between customers and suppliers. The distance to suppliers is longer for firms that have accepted guest engineers from the main supplier to maintain production processes. Further, we find that the distances to suppliers and customers are longer for firms that have undertaken organisational change or improved marketing practices.

Industrial upgrading with shifting resource toward external information sources

Using data from an original and unique firm-level survey conducted in Southeast Asia, this paper examines the impacts of shifting from exploiting internal resources to exploring external information sources on product innovations and engaging foreign market for firms in emerging economies. This paper explores how the impacts of a shift toward external links vary across knowledge resources from trade and non-trade partners as well as across domestic and international partners. We also present findings regarding how the impacts of shifting to exploring external information sources vary between local firms and foreign affiliates. A 10% shift in resource allocation from internal resources to external links can generate a 1.4 percentage point increase in the likelihood of costly product innovation as well as a 1.9-3.8 percentage point increase in the probability of foreign market participation.

Connectivity in the technology transfer process among local ASEAN firms

This study investigates the mediating role of human factors in absorbing externally available information into product innovations of firms in four Southeast Asian countries. This absorption process consists of two sub-processes, namely the acquisition process from which outside information is employed to the firms innovative capacity and the transformation process in which innovative capacity creates innovation. This study attempts to identify human elements essential to indigenous innovative capacity building. As such elements may help the absorption process, this study focused on personnel with experience of working with multinational enterprises (MNEs) and indigenous employees of the firm. As for the transforming capability, organizational learning process, including quality control (QC) and cross-functional teams are examined. The analysis indicates that MNEs have the largest impact as external linkages and for the connectivity with external linkages such as MNEs and public organizations and universities, the best mediators are top management and factory managers who have working experience with MNEs, whereas indigenous employees such as local engineers, managers, and line leaders are the best mediators for connectivity with locals.