Abstract
The Fundamental Law of Science and Technology was established in Japan, which has caused more attention to academia-industry cooperation and to take a much interest in fostering venture businesses. However, such movements do not guarantee any break-through, since technological opportunities appear only in certain limited periods. Detailed historical survey of several cases of innovations shows that every case involves a period of technological development, termed the technological trajectory, and a period of diffusion of new products resulted from the innovation, termed the diffusion trajectory. An important period for academia-industry cooperation lies around the junction of the two trajectories, where business opportunities for venture businesses also are concentrated. Ten years around this junction is the most effective period for R&D investment. The technological opportunity for synthetic dyes in the late 19th-century Germany existed in 1860s; for electronics in late 1960s to 1970s; and for biotechnology from late 1970s to 1980s. The opportunity for the next-generation industry should be found in technological trajectories that are ripe for commercializing their new products.
