The Impact of New Technologies on Industrial Organization

Joint project between the DIJ and the Centre for Japanese Studies, University of Marburg

It is often said that new technologies would lead to a change in economic paradigms. With special attention to the information and communication (I&C) industries (and here again focusing on EDI, electronic data interchanges), we investigate how new technologies really influence growth and innovation, and what potentials they create for a national economy. To answer these questions is especially important for Japan, since it was often thought, because of the vertical structure of her economy and the inability to modularize, Japan would not be able to adopt and use those new technologies.

The project was completed with an international conference in Autumn 2003 in Tokyo, at which the following questions were be discussed:

(1) General remarks on EDI and the institutional framework of information and communication technology: what opportunities are I&C technology and EDI offering for enterprises, and what influence do institutional settings have on the situation?

(2) Structure and usage prosesses: what kind of interaction between corporate processes and structures are seen with the introduction of new information and communication technologies, mainly EDI? Which effects (intended and not intended) can be seen? How can the current modes of transformation be explained?

(3) Potential for the long run: what opportunities do I&C technologies and EDI offer except for (known and visible) rationalization? Do they, for instance, offer new opportunities for communication, for learning processes or for the development of competitive strategies?

Project partner:
Professor Dr. Cornelia Storz, Centre for Japanese Studies, University of Marburg
(e-mail: storz@staff.Uni-Marburg.DE,
Web: http://www.uni-marburg.de/japanz/mitarb/storz_a.htm#11 )