Defying value-shift : how incumbents regain values in the industry with new technologies

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 92-94).Historically, incumbent assembly firms with unquestionable strong positions in such industries as the automobile, consumer electronics, computer and mobile phone industries, have lost power when new technology is introduced; at the same time, supplier firms have taken over the power and gained value in the industry. We characterize this phenomenon as value-shift. Many industry experts have intuitive understandings of this phenomenon but not many scholars have identified its mechanism with a full-fledged theory. This paper identifies a mechanism that causes value-shift within the TV set industry, suggesting its application to other industries. This thesis then proposes a clear spectrum of strategies for incumbent assembly firms to prevent value-shift. At the same time, it indicates a set of strategies for supplier firms to take over the industry leadership. The work firstly defines value-shift and presents evidences that it exists in various industries by calculating the transition of value-added. By quantifying the impact of the value shift with this calculation, the thesis urges incumbent firms to take immediate actions to defy the value-shift. Then the thesis closely examines recent technology transition from the Cathode Ray Tube to the Liquid Crystal Display and describes how the value-shift took place in the TV set industry. From this industry analysis, the thesis describes the mechanism of the value-shift and discussed the possible strategies that incumbent firms could use to maintain their power over the industry. Finally, the thesis suggests the generalized mechanism of value-shift as an evolution in four stages using the modularity theory. The thesis implies the proposed mechanism is generally applicable by citing examples from other industries and suggests possible actions for both parties: for the incumbent firms to defy the value-shift and for the supplier firms to obtain industry leadership.by Yukari Kuramoto.M.B.A

Analysis of In Vivo Nuclear Factor-B Activation during Liver Inflammation in Mice: Prevention by Catalase Delivery

ABSTRACT Nuclear factor-B (NF-B) is a transcription factor that plays crucial roles in inflammation, immunity, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Until now, there have been few studies of NF-B activation in whole animals because of experimental difficulties. Here, we show that mice receiving a simple injection of plasmid vectors can be used to examine NF-B activation in the liver. Two plasmid vectors, pNF-B-Luc (firefly luciferase gene) and pRL-SV40 (Renilla reniformis luciferase gene), were injected into the tail vein of mice by the hydrodynamics-based procedure, an established method of gene transfer to mouse liver. Then, the ratio of the firefly and R. reniformis luciferase activities (F/R) was used as an indicator of the NF-B activity in the liver. Injection of thioacetamide or lipopolysaccharide plus D-galactosamine increased the F/R ratio in the liver, and this was significantly (P Ͻ 0.001) inhibited by an intravenous injection of catalase derivatives targeting liver nonparenchymal cells. Imaging the firefly luciferase expression in live mice clearly demonstrated that the catalase derivatives efficiently prevented the NF-B-mediated expression of the firefly luciferase gene. Plasma transaminases and the survival rate of mice supported the findings obtained by the luminescence-based analyses. Thus, this method, which requires no genetic recombination techniques, is highly sensitive to the activation of NF-B and allows us to continuously examine the activation in live animals. In conclusion, this novel, simple, and sensitive method can be used not only for analyzing the NF-B activation in the organ under different inflammatory conditions but also for screening drug candidates for the prevention of liver inflammation

2D/3D seismic imaging of Kumano-nada in the central Nankai Trough- as a mission for the IODP Implementing Organization -

http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/kairei/kr06-06/