The Japan Research Industry Association (Kenkyu Sangyo Kyokai) has recently been established. "Research Industry" refers to the industry undertaking or supporting R&D. This Association aims at promoting R&D by seeking to solve problems allied with the R&D enterprise such as the enhancement of basic research and the furtherance of cooperation among industry, government, and universities. The current R&D environment is undergoing severe strains mainly as a result of the increasing outlays required to keep up with increasingly sophisticated and complex technologies. This fact is prompting the Association to create co-operative structures within the research industry.

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This article presents Toshiba Corporation's policy, organization and management on basic research as well as the management of its Research and Development Centre (RDC), in particular that of the Advanced Research Laboratory (ARL) set up within the latter in 1988. Toshiba's R&D organization consists of three types of entities: development sections and development laboratories in the business groups and corporate laboratories. The RDC's R&D cover all of Toshiba's business domains, these being in the areas of energy and electronics. The process of setting R&D themes takes one of two paths: one is the "Long and Mid-range research Programme" where R&D themes and targets are examined systematically; the other is the so-called "R&D Planning by Individual Researchers". Basic research at RDC involves "purposive basic research", that is, constructing images of suture applications, examining the essence of the research by clearly defining the target, and undertaking basic research wherever deemed necessary. The mission of the ARL is to carry out purposive basic research on advanced materials or devices that are likely to form the core of new business fields. The flat-type organization of the ARL allows the director of the labolatory ot manage all the research themes directly. Besides the ability to solve problems, researchers at the ARL are expected to generate research problems on their own and to display a capacity for self-management.

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The major thoughts of this paper are that the impact of technological advancement on economic development is ever increasing, that the closer technology is to science, the more advanced are the technological problems companies have to solve. that fusions of different kinds of technology are necessary for applied research. And that the speed at which R&D is conducted is higher than ever before. Businesses should become more involved with basic research; that is, their R&D should include both the basic and applied levels. This paper outlines the R&D organization at Sumitomo Electric Co. and describes its past and present research efforts on normal temperature superconductivity as an instance of an R&D planning that combines basic and applied research. The paper concluded that the future of research on superconductivity is uncertain; Sumitomo Electric Industries wishes nevertheless to pursue this line of research hoping it will eventually bear fruit. The scope of a single company in this realm of R&D is, however, very limited and it is necessary therefore to enhance the co-operative ventures as well as international interaction among researchers.

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This study is about the current state and prospects of the KRI and similar firms. The KRI is a firm undertaking commissioned research; such firms constitute a unique type in Japan. Given that Japanese firms tend to be secretive about R&D and that the mobility of people with relevant skills is low, being therefore difficult for firms to obtain the best brains around, new trends are appearing pointing to an increasing eagerness to enter new fields of business, to the mounting costs of R&D, and to the ever-increasing uncertainty of results. These trends are breaking the traditional secrecy of R&D among Japanese firms. In this context, firms undertaking commissioned research are bound to play a larger role in the future concerning the national development of technology.

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The development of the information -oriented society, the diversification of customer's needs, the trend regarding the protection of intellectual property, and the growing intensity of global environmental problems, are drastically changing society, the market and technology. To meet the increasing complexity of technologies and the evershortening time span available to carry out R&D and to merchandize new products, it is necessary to design long-term strategies, to set up flexible R&D systems, and to combine R&D with production. SHARP's R&D organization is divided into three groups I a vertical way. One consists of six laboratories under the R&D division responsible for basic and applied research; another consists of seven laboratories under each production division in charge of applied research and development; the third consists of the engineering section of each production division in charge of commercialization. Moreover, horizontal project teams are also formed. SHARP uses the matrix organization system to allocate the developments of fundamental technologies efficiently and carries out a considerable amount of basic research, especially object-oriented basic research. The successful accomplishment of these tasks requires original managerial methods for R&D planning.

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This article presents the process involved from the creation of Ultra fine fiber to the development of its applications and discusses the R&D strategy adopted. The development of technology for ultra fine fiber started when its potential was assessed during research efforts into the common features of the high quality textiles among natural materials. After a technological breakthrough, the application was changed to make suede-like artificial leather. In so doing, the functions and fields of application were broadened. As a result of its research efforts in this area, Toray corporation has met with success in the market and other firms have also undertaken R&D to make ultra fine fiber. Another consequence of these efforts has been the advancement of the related technologies. Future R&D endeavours in this area are likely to be geared towards the needs of the market.

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This article describes several aspects concerning the R&D planning for new businesses and new products by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. The R&D organization of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation consists of two layers, one comprising thirteen R&D laboratories in the Corporate R&D Headquarters, and the other gathering a number of R&D units set up within the factories of the business groups. The R&D expenditures are distributed regardless of the company's sales/profit ratio. Two fifths of the R&D budget is assigned to the corporate laboatories and the rest to the R&D units in the factories. The criteria for allocating the R&D funds are described. Further, the article describes the fields of research the company is engaged in, the management of the R&D projects, and the decision-making process for selecting the R&D themes. Finally, the article discloses the technologies that Mitsubishi Electric Corporation considers will become the sources of major future business and products.

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In 1990, the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Japan established a Forum for Fundamental Problems of Research Industry. The forum issued a report on the present status of research industry in Japan and problems to be solved for its future development. According to the report, R&D investment by the Japanese private sector has been rapidly increasing, and is now at the level of about 10 trillion yen per year, enough to be regarded as an Industry in itself. It is also said that various research support activities are gaining in importance and sales. Those activities include testing, evaluation, analysis, the provision of research information, and the provision of human resources. On the other hand, the report points out that there exist many problems to be solved for future development of the research industry in Japan. Facilitating basic research, attracting human resources, internationalization, and strengthening research fundamentals are examples.

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This paper consists of four chapters that deal with technological innovations and business cyles, transitions in the technological paradigm, paradigm shifts and co-operation strategies in the chemical engineering industry, and the international competitive power and other characteristics of Japanese companies. Current trends of technological innovation and the present techno-economic paradigm are described, and advice is given on which strategies to adopt depending on the changes in the technological phases. The that technological innovation is the driving force of economic growth, and that technological progress and the process of market formation are subject to lifecycles, condition the strategic reactions of companies. These reactions will further depend on the technological phases the companies are in. Indicators to extend business to new fields are drawn from case studies and problems concerning basic research are discussed.

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先報のシュミレーション用モデルを適当な近似関係の導入により改変し、シュミレーション解析に便利な2組の関係式群を得た。その結果、まず主要な政策パラメターについて、各企業とも共通して目指すべき変動方向を示すことができた。次に税前利益は、政策ぱらめたー間に特定の関係条件が成立する場合に極大化することを示し、その条件を明らかにした。また限界利益と研究開発費の比率は、企業間の自由競争の結果次第に平準化し、製造業を通じて共通の特定値に収斂する可能性を示し、そこから研究開発費の適値は限界利益の12%程度であると推定した。次に日本の大部分の企業では経営合理化の努力の結果、税前利益はほぼ極大化していると推定し、そこから例えば物的固定費支出の適値は税前利益の2.3倍程度であると推定した。また、研究開発投資効率について新しい考え方を提案し、それについての統計的平均値を示した。さらに従業員1人当たりに換算した研究開発費が、企業の将来性を判断するための尺度になるという統計的な調査結果は合理的な根拠を持つことを示した。

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先報のシミュレーションモデル、およびそれによるシミュレーション解析の結果を利用して、主として研究開発活動を巡る経営システムの合理化を試みた。まず、長期経営計画を合理的に立案策定する方法と手順を示し、次に研究開発部門の新製品事業化態勢をそれに整合させることにより、研究開発の巨視的な枠組を経営計画内容と定量的に整合させる道筋を示した。次に、新製品事業化計画の事業性の事前評価法とそれがテーマに登録されてからの事中評価管理法、ならびにそれが事業化されて以後の事後評価管理法について、新製品事業化活動に関する経営効率の向上という観点から、このモデルを利用した新手法を開発して提案した。そしてさらに、このモデルとそのシミュレーション結果の経営活動に対する別な応用例として、素材系企業の川下施行による事業多角化の合理性の検証とその結果、経営分析の際の利用法の例、あるいはさらに経営幹部層の研究開発活動に対する理解を促進するための利用法について述べた。最後に、こうした経営システムの合理化が研究の独創性に及ぼす影響についても触れた。

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