2017 Volume 6 Issue 1 Pages 68-73
The limit of technology is the critical issue for the business. So it is said that companies have to estimate the limit of their technology and obtain the new technology which has more potential. However, there are some cases where the expected limitation is overcome. Though some papers such as Christensen (1992) and Henderson (1995) discuss the reasons of this phenomenon, it isn't enough because these literature don't trace the process of single company. So I'll consider what factors impose and revising the technological limits by using the case of Tokaido Shinkansen. I use the SCOT approach as the framework for analyzing the cases. The framework is proposed in Pinch and Bijker (1987) and Bijker (1995). The former is the original version and the latter isthe updated version. I try to think which frameworks have more accuracy. The cases are (a) the development of Shinkansen, (b) the improvement of Shinkansen and (c) the development of Nozomi. In conclusion, the Pinch and Bijker (1987)'s original framework is better for case (c). And Bijker (1995)'s framework is better for case (a) and (b). The factors which impose the limit are (1) criterion formed by the experience, (2) the opinion of experts and the practice of foreign countries, and (3) the regulation and organizational conflict. The factors which revise the limit are (1) leadership, (2) the organizational reform, (3) research method different from conventional method, and (4) basic research and knowledge acquisition.
