Title: Empirical trials and evaluation of an industry/academia collaborative agent system supporting the launch of new enterprises

Authors: Mitsuru Kodama, Hideo Ohira, Taichi Kawakami, Atsushi Kaneko, Toru Suzuki

Addresses: Department of Management, College of Commerce, Nihon University, 2-1, Kinuta 5-chome, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8570, Japan. ' Cross Media Business Department, Mobile Multimedia Division, NTT DoCoMo, Inc., 2-11-1 Nagatachou Chiyodaku, Tokyo 100-6150, Japan. ' Multimedia Department, Business Communications Headquarters, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation, Urban-Net Otemachi Bldg. 18F, Otemachi 2-2-2, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-0004, Japan. ' Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., Otemachi 2-3-6, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8141, Japan. ' Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., Otemachi 2-3-6, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8141, Japan

Abstract: The development of skills among individuals in society is essential to the creation of a new business. Information systems utilising information technology (IT) foster the sharing of new information and knowledge, transcending the limitations of time and space, and offer possibilities in generating new knowledge innovations. In this paper, we describe our development of an industry/academia collaborative agent system aimed at developing individual skills and creating new business innovations for promoting the launch of new enterprises, and the empirical trials we conducted using synchronicity and asynchronicity in the combined use of a videoconferencing system and the internet aimed at mutual and self study and information collection activities concerning the provision of management information content and starting an enterprise. Through these trials, along with clarifying the validity of synchronous distance learning in promoting collaborative learning for busy working people, we clarified the importance to asynchronous distance learning of a framework for the active exchange of information from human resources and the latest learning information utilising mailing lists and other means.

Keywords: collaborative agent system; knowledge sharing; distance learning; videoconferencing; new enterprises.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMED.2004.004389

International Journal of Management and Enterprise Development, 2004 Vol.1 No.2, pp.136 - 154

Published online: 10 May 2004 *

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