In recent years, Japan's software industry has increased its revenue. However, with strong need to reduce the sale price, both firms and employees share the pain. The main products by the Japanese software industry are ordered software such as software to be imbedded in home appliances or software for system of financial institutions. Therefore, software industry faces the difficulty to raise the price, and the firms need to deploy the offshore development in order to cut the cost.
The major destination of the offshore development is China. The reasons are cheaper wage, huge number of engineers, ability of learning Japanese, and geographical accessibility. When using the offshore development, firms need to achieve both reducing the cost and stabilize the demand fluctuation. Many large firms establish their subsidiary for cheap product and accept additional demand at mother plant. Small and medium firms use the intermediating company, which has long experiences of business with both Japanese and Chinese business.
After several years since offshore outsourcing to China started, we cannot observe the strengthening of the collaboration of firms in the clustering such as Dalian Software Park. Rather than that, firms are facing the need to change their strategy because the wages are increasing even in China.
JEL Classification: F15, F21, L86
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