Technological advantage and market loss: Siemens and the X-ray machine business in Japan (1900–1960)

This paper focuses on the involvement of Siemens on the market for radiology equipment in Japan between 1900 and 1960 from a business history perspective. It explores why the German multinational was unable to keep its dominant position on the Japanese market in the interwar years, despite its technological competitiveness. In particular, it examines the strategic choices made by the firm (export, licensing, direct investment) in relation to the changing economic and technological environment, highlighting the importance, for foreign multinationals, of working together with national trading firms involved in the distribution of drugs and products for doctors, as the Japanese medical market was already well structured when the country opened up to the West. Four phases have been identified. At first, before World War I, German manufacturers of X-ray machines, especially Siemens, enjoyed a virtual monopoly in Japan and favored an export strategy. The political and technological shifts that occurred during the war (interruption of trade with Germany, development of the Coolidge X-ray tube by General Electric) led to a more competitive market in Japan. Siemens reorganized its involvement in this business via a contract signed with a domestic medical goods trade company, Goto Fuundo (1926). Yet this proved insufficient to overcome the competition, and Siemens finally decided to relocate some of its production facilities for X-ray machines in Japan by entering into a joint venture with Goto (1932). Relations between Siemens and Goto were severed by the war, and Goto tried until the 1950s to go it alone in this field but failed due to a lack of organizational capability. As for Siemens, it reverted to its export strategy approach, re-entering the market in the 1950s.Siemens, Goto Fuundo, X-ray machines, medical market

Making Japanese tea a big business: The transformation of ITO EN since the 1960s

Although traditional industries are commonly dominated by numerous SMEs focused on their respective domestic markets, the Japanese tea industry experienced the emergence and rapid growth of large enterprises in the 1990s. This article analyzes the strategy that enabled such a change, focusing on the most important Japanese tea producer, ITO EN, which developed bottled green tea in 1985. Based on an approach of business history and industry studies, the article argues that the shift in the 1990s was made possible by the transformation of the true nature of the tea industry in going from a commodity business to a branded consumer-goods business

Technological advantage and market loss: Siemens and the X-ray machine business in Japan (1900–1960)

This paper focuses on the involvement of Siemens on the market for radiology equipment in Japan between 1900 and 1960 from a business history perspective. It explores why the German multinational was unable to keep its dominant position on the Japanese market in the interwar years, despite its technological competitiveness. In particular, it examines the strategic choices made by the firm (export, licensing, direct investment) in relation to the changing economic and technological environment, highlighting the importance, for foreign multinationals, of working together with national trading firms involved in the distribution of drugs and products for doctors, as the Japanese medical market was already well structured when the country opened up to the West. Four phases have been identified. At first, before World War I, German manufacturers of X-ray machines, especially Siemens, enjoyed a virtual monopoly in Japan and favored an export strategy. The political and technological shifts that occurred during the war (interruption of trade with Germany, development of the Coolidge X-ray tube by General Electric) led to a more competitive market in Japan. Siemens reorganized its involvement in this business via a contract signed with a domestic medical goods trade company, Goto Fuundo (1926). Yet this proved insufficient to overcome the competition, and Siemens finally decided to relocate some of its production facilities for X-ray machines in Japan by entering into a joint venture with Goto (1932). Relations between Siemens and Goto were severed by the war, and Goto tried until the 1950s to go it alone in this field but failed due to a lack of organizational capability. As for Siemens, it reverted to its export strategy approach, re-entering the market in the 1950s

Excursion Ardèche (13-15 mai 1977)

International audienceLes massifs hercyniens ont été longuement érodés pendant le Permien. Des sédiments gréseux et dolomitiques du Trias se sont ensuite déposés sur une plate-forme uniformisée et peu profonde. Toutefois la monotonie de l'ensemble n'excluait pas l'influence de reliefs sous-marins d'origine hercynienne. Les termes liasiques montrent à la fois une épaisseur réduite et des variations de faciès dues à une plate-forme sous-marine instable. Les influences obéissent d'une part à la direction cévenole (NE-SW) et d'autre part à une direction qui lui est orthogonale. A partir du Callovien les conditions deviennent homogènes dans l'ensemble de la région et paraissent le rester jusque dans le Jurassique terminal

Regulating Two-Sided Markets: An Empirical Investigation

Two-sided market theory predicts that platforms may subsidize the participation of one type of agent by extracting surplus from another type to internalize indirect network externalities. However, few empirical studies exist to evaluate the impact of government intervention in these markets. We use confidential bank-level data to study the impact of government-encouraged fee reductions for payment card services when merchant acceptance is not complete. We find that consumer and merchant welfare improved when the interchange fees, transfers among banks, were reduced. Furthermore, bank revenues increased because the increase in the number of transactions offset the decrease in the per-transaction revenue

Deux espèces nouvelles d'Ostracodes du Crétacé inférieur vocontien

Donze Pierre. Deux espèces nouvelles d'Ostracodes du Crétacé inférieur vocontien. In: Travaux du Laboratoire de Géologie de la Faculté des Sciences de Lyon. Nouvelle série, 1967 pp. 63-67

Les Ostracodes berriasiens des massifs subalpins septentrionaux (Bauges et Chartreuse)

Donze Pierre. Les Ostracodes berriasiens des massifs subalpins septentrionaux (Bauges et Chartreuse). In: Travaux du Laboratoire de Géologie de la Faculté des Sciences de Lyon. Nouvelle série, 1964 pp. 103-160

Deux espèces nouvelles d'Ostracodes du Crétacé inférieur vocontien

Donze Pierre. Deux espèces nouvelles d'Ostracodes du Crétacé inférieur vocontien. In: Travaux du Laboratoire de Géologie de la Faculté des Sciences de Lyon. Nouvelle série, 1967 pp. 63-67

Cytherelloidea sufflata, nouveau nom pour Cytherelloidea inflata Donze, 1964

Donze Pierre. Cytherelloidea sufflata, nouveau nom pour Cytherelloidea inflata Donze, 1964. In: Travaux du Laboratoire de Géologie de la Faculté des Sciences de Lyon. Nouvelle série, 1966 p. 141