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JAPAN’S USE OF COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH TO BUILD A COMPUTER INDUSTRY: LESSONS FOR THE UK?

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The announcement by Japan’s Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1981 of its intention to use government-sponsored collaborative research to lead the world towards ‘Fifth Generation’ computing prompted a sudden enthusiasm for collaboration in Europe and the US. The UK was at the vanguard of this movement to ‘learn from Japan’ and used pre-competitive collaborative research as the central organizing theme of its Alvey Programme to strengthen the country’s ability to compete in advanced information technology (IT). While Alvey produced a number of benefits, commercialization of research outputs fell short of popular Western perceptions of Japan’s achievements. However, a review of MITI schemes prior to the Fifth Generation announcement reveals that, for the most part, they were neither pre-competitive nor collaborative. Moreover, problems with abstracting the operation of MITI’s schemes from other aspects of Japan’s national innovation system undermine their value as a model for UK policy.

SKU: 0810-90288629193 Category: Tag:

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By Tim Ray

The announcement by Japan’s Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1981 of its intention to use government-sponsored collaborative research to lead the world towards ‘Fifth Generation’ computing prompted a sudden enthusiasm for collaboration in Europe and the US. The UK was at the vanguard of this movement to ‘learn from Japan’ and used pre-competitive collaborative research as the central organizing theme of its Alvey Programme to strengthen the country’s ability to compete in advanced information technology (IT). While Alvey produced a number of benefits, commercialization of research outputs fell short of popular Western perceptions of Japan’s achievements. However, a review of MITI schemes prior to the Fifth Generation announcement reveals that, for the most part, they were neither pre-competitive nor collaborative. Moreover, problems with abstracting the operation of MITI’s schemes from other aspects of Japan’s national innovation system undermine their value as a model for UK policy.

page: 90 – 106
Prometheus: Critical Studies in Innovation
Volume 13, Issue 1

SKU: 0810-90288629193

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