Empirical Studies on "Japanese-style" Open Innovation

Although the innovation system in Japan has been said to be characterized by the "not invented here" (NIH) attitude primarily taken by large companies, a shift to open innovation involving external collaboration is becoming increasingly important given technological progress and more intense global competition. According to RIETI's new product development process survey, active research and development (R&D) collaborations with business partners, such as suppliers and customers, are found for Japanese firms. This pattern might be different from the concept of open innovation by Henry Chesbrough, which refers to technology transactions taking place in the open market. In this project, we conduct empirical research on "Japanese-style open innovation," and draw some policy implications for science, technology and innovation policy in Japan.

April 2, 2013 - March 31, 2015