Title: Creating and sustaining competitiveness: an analysis of the Japanese robotics industry

Authors: B. Bowonder, T. Miyake

Addresses: BEL Professor on Technology Management, Administrative Staff College of India, Bella Vista, Hyderabad – 500 049, India. ' United Nations, ESCAP, Bangkok – 10200, Thailand

Abstract: Initially the major Japanese firms acquired their robotics technology from US firms. The Japanese firms have dynamically developed the competitiveness from then on through globalization, alliances and innovation. Their approach was to assess the generic skills needed for sustaining the competitiveness, and to develop these skills at the level of the firm. Functional integration helped the firms to learn and accumulate new skills faster than their competitors.

Keywords: Japan; robotics industry; robot applications; competitiveness; industrial robots; user-manufacturer interaction; globalisation; alliances; innovation; functional integration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.1994.025592

International Journal of Technology Management, 1994 Vol.9 No.5/6/7, pp.575 - 611

Published online: 23 May 2009 *

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