 |
 |
Dear AIB members, The Academy of Multinational Enterprises (Japan) is pleased to announce that Volume 3, Issue 2 of Japan MNE Insights (newsletter) is now available online (http://www.mne-jp.org/english/pdf/NLfinal_vol3No2.pdf). This issue includes two special essays, and we would like to share with you the summary of the special essays. *Masaaki Kotabe, "Have Japanese Companies Lost Sight of the Paradigm Shift in Competitive Advantage?"* Synopsis: Apple is known for its technological capabilities. Since the dawn of the 21st century, why has Apple, a U.S. company, been able to introduce more innovative products one after another to the world and so profitable than has Sony, a Japanese company? Apple developed various groundbreaking products such as iPod (2001), iPhone (2007), and iPad (2010). However, it is still fresh in our memory that in the last quarter of the 20th century, it was Sony that had been instrumental in introducing many innovative products globally, including cassette players, Walkman, CD players, DVD players, Blu-ray discs, and PlayStation. Just like Apple today, Sony used to be known for its technological capabilities. Yet, U.S. patent statistics show that Sony has maintained its high technology stock over the years; but it has not been blessed with many globally successful products in the last 20 years. On the other hand, Apple’s technology stock was nowhere near Sony’s level when Apple introduced those groundbreaking products successively. However, Apple has significantly increased its R&D investment and increased its technology stock in the last several years to a level comparable to that of Sony. However, even Apple seems to be experiencing a kind of technology paralysis without successful products now, similar to the one experienced by Sony earlier. The conundrum is that there even appears to be a negative, rather than positive, link between investment in technology and market performance. *Takeshi Fujisawa, "The Switching Model of International Competitive and Cooperative Entry Modes: Highlighting the Validity of a Revised Transaction Cost Approach to the Theory of MNE" * We hope that you will find the contents interesting and share them with your colleagues. With kind regards, Dr. Tamiko Kasahara Editorial member of Japan MNE Insights The Academy of Multinational Enterprises (Japan) (http://www.mne-jp.org/english/) ____ AIB-L is brought to you by the Academy of International Business. For information: http://aib.msu.edu/community/aib-l.asp To post message: [log in to unmask] For assistance: [log in to unmask] AIB-L is a moderated list.