Innovation and East Asian and Global Management of Startups and SMEs (Japanese)

This research is a sequel to the "Global Management and Innovation of Japanese Companies" study conducted in fiscal 2005. It studies innovation and East Asian and global management of Japanese startups and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); a topic about which only very little research has been conducted. The present economic environment is characterized by the advance of the knowledge-based economy and of a globally optimized international division of labor. Amid this, these companies in Japan are endeavoring to achieve sustained corporate growth by extending the fields in which innovation is possible in their supply of goods and services, not only within Japan, but also to the East Asian region and the global market, by conducting the necessary East Asian management and global management, and by achieving business results in the East Asian market, including Japan. In view of this, my research seeks to elucidate the desirable forms of new organizational management which incorporates such innovation with East Asian and global management, and the direction of new corporate growth in the future. To that end, I (1) developed a comprehensive framework for the research, divided between goods and services, and (2) developed an approach to classifying the level of, and direction toward, East Asian management and global management. By means of case studies of startups and SMEs that are undertaking (or intending to undertake) advanced innovation-led East Asian and global management, I largely confirmed the validity of this comprehensive framework and approach. With respect to the systematic supply of goods and services with differing product characteristics, the research clarifies the essential common management and control conditions (the development and implementation of overall optimum mechanisms for customer-oriented function-specific chains) for ensuring that results are achieved in markets. The paper also makes suggestions in regard to matters that became clear in the course of the research, including East Asian and global management by startups and SMEs, and innovation in the East Asian region. This research is a first step toward the conduct of full-scale research through a new framework in this sphere, and I would be pleased if it were to serve as reference material for future research in related fields.