The science and technology indicators in Japan have been developed as an important infrastructure, along with relevant statistics, for studies of science and technology policy. While this kind of activity in Japan started almost 20 years behind the U.S., the Japanese indicators have realized some unique features, such as the cascade structure designed to provide a general view of science and technology activities of a nation and the development of the General Indicator of Science and Technology. The Japanese indicator development attracted much attention from researchers in OECD and Asian countries. They also influenced the design of science and technology survey, including the revision of the questionnaire, in Japan. However, many problems have yet to be solved. For example, incongruent criteria hinder accurate comparison of the Japanese and American situations, though corrective measures have been taken. While much effort is made for data acquisition, very limited resources are available for maintenance, management and correction of the accumulated data. Furthermore, other infrastructures, including relevant documents and databases, accumulation of case studies, network building for their efficient use, development of methodologies, and education and training of competent staff, are still unsatisfactory. These infrastructures are indispensable .for evidence-based studies and establishment of the science and technology policy, of which the importance should be still better understood in this country.

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Silicon-Valley has turned out many high-tech start-ups even after the IT Bubble burst. Many students from abroad who have studied technology and science have gathered in the region. They have established their own start-ups. They repeat entrepreneurial activities until getting IPOs or Buyouts. These serial entrepreneurial activities are supported by the fact that potential executives and engineers are pooled in the region and are thrown into start-ups exactly when necessary. In addition, VC's early reductions of start-ups which do not show probability of growth accelerate serial entrepreneurial activities.

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The present work intends to identify common features in the "successful" academic start-ups in Cambridge, U.K. and discuss key factors for their success. Being one of the few areas in addition to Silicon Valley with significant aggregation of high-tech businesses chiefly consisting of start-ups, Cambridge is characterized by a business environment where many factors interact, e.g. informal human network involving serial entrepreneurs, support of new businesses by consulting firms and science parks, financing by many venture capitalists including gap funds from universities and angel investors, and a pool of highly educated people including entrepreneurs and engineers. This paper examines Cambridge Display Technologies and Astex Therapeutics as examples of successful academic start-ups in the area. Both the companies rely on recent research outcomes at Cambridge University as the technological bases. Described are the founders including University researchers, the management teams, business lines involving both inhouse development and intellectual property licensing to or alliance with existing companies, and the mechanism of financing from various sources such as the University gap fund, angel investors and other venture capitalists.

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This paper describes MarkAny Co. Ltd. as an example of Korean academic start-ups, which have recently been attracting attention. Start-ups in South Korea had generally been smoothly progressing in the last 20 years, but the number of companies showed a steep increase until 2001 and an abrupt decrease starting in 2002 because of the collapse of the "card bubble". The national research institutes drove the development of industrial technology in the country in the 1970s and 1980s, during a period when technology was in its infancy, but their role needs now to be reviewed due to the increased influence of universities and private enterprises. MarkAny was established in the late 1990s, a time when many new start-ups were beginning, by students of Sangmyung University, Hankuk University for Foreign Studies, Yonsei University and Hanyang University along with some students from China. In spite of investments from Samsung Electronics and some Japanese and Korean VCs since 1999, the company experienced severe financial losses due to premature markets more than three times. Restructuring and revising strategy helped the company overcome these crises and resume its growth, particularly owing to the growth of the document security market since late 2003. MarkAny, with its efforts in technology and product development for new markets and its global strategy, is expected to enter another expansion phase.

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Three Japanese academic start-ups were studied to discern their common characteristics from individual features. While established in approximately the same time, the companies are focused on different technologies (information technology, biotechnology, and biotechnology plus materials, respectively) from different institutions (a national research institute, a national university and a private university, respectively). The unified frame for comparison included (i) top management team (inventors, business founders), (ii) technology development (nature of the technology, intellectual properties), (iii) business development (business concept and planning, resources), (iv) network, and (v) legal, political and institutional aspects. Analysis showed that (1) the different technology development models for information technology and biotechnology influences business developments, such as alliance with other organizations or effects of legal, political and institutional factors, (2) the difference also affects the constitution of the top management teams, and (3) effects of financing schemes and original research institutions which have been revealed for academic start-ups in the U.S. do not necessary apply to the Japanese counterparts. The present study revealed effects of the basic technologies on the business activities of academic start-ups, thus showing a possibility of categorizing academic start-ups by technology. It also suggests, by comparison with earlier studies, some idiosyncrasies of the Japanese business climate in terms of supporting academic start-ups. However, the legal, political and institutional aspects discussed in the paper may be somewhat different from the actual situation because of the past limited period from which data were obtained. In addition, some of the issues presented in the paper need further verification by quantitative data.

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The resource-based view (RBV) has recently been attracting attention as a framework for entrepreneurship study. The present work presents an RBV analysis of the growth process of ACCESS Co., Ltd. as an example of Japanese high-tech start-ups. The company had limited resources at the time of foundation, and had been threatened by the mortarity risk until a certain level of resource accumulation was achieved. ACCESS has, however, successfully overcome such a risk by pursuing more than one stable business lines in parallel, and building up technical expertise, while managing R & D activities so as to avoid the threats of Microsoft. The competitive edge and growth of the company result from the management capability to make right decisions, and from the identification, accumulation and enhancement of its core competence.

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知識社会への移行とともに,ICT製品の高機能化,製品ライフサイクルの短縮化が進んでいる。これは,製品を提供する企業にとって開発投資負担の劇的な増大をもたらす。そのため,企業の枠を超えたコラボレーションによる技術仕様の標準化と,それによるイノベーションの重要性が高まっている。現代社会におけるイノベーションのインフラとしてデジュリ標準は非常に重要な役割をしているにもかかわらず,標準化に時間を要するなど問題もある。特に互換性が重要であるものの,技術革新の速いICT分野においては,デジュリ標準と企業の要求とのギャップが生じている。このような状況のもと,標準化の問題点を解決すべくコンソーシアムによる「自主的でオープンな標準化」が最近増加しつつある。自主的でオープンな標準化を行うコンソーシアムは,協業を組織化して,標準を開発し,標準を市場に普及させていく必要がある。そこで,本研究ではコンソーシアムによる標準化のマネジメントを調査,分析し,効果的なマネジメントを提案する。企業向けの基盤ソフトウェアメーカーを調査対象業界としてとりあげ,コンソーシアムによる標準化の現状を調査した。その過程において,まず先行研究より,標準化において,「標準化のライフサイクル」が存在することを見出し,それを「萌芽期」,「開発期」,「普及期」の3つのライフステージに分類した。次に,コンソーシアムのマネジメントの実態を調査し,結果を標準化のライフサイクルの観点からまとめた。そして,自主的でオープンな標準化を行うためのコンソーシアムを設計・運営するために求められる,効果的で,影響力を持つためのマネジメント要因を分析し抽出した。

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本研究では,特許の権利化過程における技術的範囲の変動量を支配する主な因子が,進歩性等欠如の拒絶理由に対する補正による構成要件の追加であるものと考え,更にこの補正による技術的範囲の変動量は,出願前に行った先行技術調査の度合いに応じた出願人の意思決定傾向(先行調査重点型,引例差別化型)に支配されるものと考えた。そして,この意思決定傾向が,実際に出願する際の特許明細書の定量的指標に依拠し,それにより技術的範囲の変動量を予測できるものと考えた。この技術的範囲の変動量について説明するための因果モデルを提案した。この因果モデルにおいて,目的変数を,特許発明の技術的範囲の変動量を規定するXCLD(予測改変格成分数)とし,説明変数を,クレーム数,総格成分数,サブクレームにおける総格成分数の増加割合,クレーム比率,クレーム化グループ比率とし,出願人の意思決定傾向を表示するためのパラメータとしてredocを提案し,実際の特許案件をサンプルとして,ロジスティック回帰分析モデルによる分析を行うことにより,上述した説明変数が,目的変数をそれぞれ有効に支配する点について検証することができた。さらに,本研究では,提案した因果モデルを利用したシミュレーション方法の提案を行ったところ,特にモンテカルロ法を利用したXCLD予測においてより有用性を見出すことができた。

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科学技術と社会が健全な関係を維持するためには,科学技術と社会のコミュニケーションが求められる。本論は,科学技術の専門家が負う説明責任に焦点を絞り,責任が生じる局面の抽出を通して,科学技術における説明責任の概念に迫るものである。まず,説明責任の関連用語(アカウンタビリティ,知る権利,情報公開)の語義の分析に基づき,分野を科学技術に限定せずに,日本社会における説明責任の一般的な概念を整理した。さらに,社会システムを構成する一要素としての科学技術の特殊性を抽出した。これらの結果を踏まえて,科学技術の専門家に説明責任が生じる次の4つの局面を切り出した。(1)資源が負託されたとき,(2)権限が負託されたとき,(3)人体(個人/集団)に対する影響が生じるとき,(4)社会(現在/将来)に対する影響が生じるとき。これらと現行の科学技術政策において説明責任が生じるとされている局面を比較し,その差異について指摘した。本論によって,科学技術の専門家は自分たちがいつ社会に説明すべきかが分かり,自律的に説明責任を遂行することができるようになる。また,社会の側も,いつ専門家に責任追及すべきかを判別することが可能となる。さらに,説明責任を課せられた側と課す側がその責任の概念を共有できれば,専門家と社会の双方の参加による,「社会のための科学技術」の実現の一助となる。

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