Part 1 Using Knowledge to Create Society and Economy for a New Era
Chapter 2 In the Era of Mega-Competition for Knowledge
Section 3 International Competition and Cooperation
1. International Strategies of Companies
Against the background of intense international competition,
companies are attempting to select optimum bases for their activities in an effort
to achieve advantage. In order to do so, there are two aspects: the objective
of securing competitiveness mainly in terms of cost, and the objective of facilitating
entry into markets of counties where bases are located. The percentage of research
and development taking place overseas is increasing ( Fig.
2 ), and the shift overseas of research and development functions is progressing.
This is thought to be to enable companies to provide products closely related
to local needs in a timely manner. In recent years, while production bases for
mass-produced core products are being shifted overseas where advantages exist,
there is a tendency to leave research and development bases that carry out development
and trial manufacture of high added value products within Japan, in an effort
to maintain the level of infrastructure technology.
Fig. 2 Trends in Research and Development Expenses Per
Company of Local Subsidiaries and the Percentage of Research and Development
Expenses Incurred Overseas
The companies of various countries, including Japan, are actively
engaged in cross-border technical tie-ups in a bid to share risks and costs,
and to promote the optimum use of resources. The number of such alliances increased
dramatically from the 1980s to the 1990s. In particular in the fields of IT and
life sciences which have become increasingly important in recent years, the number
of technical tie-ups is increasing dramatically. However, the number of technical
tie-ups involving Japanese companies is in decline ( Fig.
3 ).
Fig. 3 Trends in Strategic Technical tie-ups in Companies