Empirical study on Consumer Innovation by using Social Media in Japan

Consumer innovation occurs when consumers improve existing products and develop new products by themselves. Consumers innovate products in Japan, although the incidence is lower than that of Western countries. On the other hand, social media spreads all over the world. Some previous studies indicate that network communities of social media are useful for consumer innovation. However, these empirical studies have not been researched yet in Japan. This paper reports the results of a survey of into consumer engagement with product innovation by analyzing the questionnaire survey data, how to promote consumer innovation in Japan is clarified. Especially, the role of social media and its community and motivations of a lead user who is a consumer innovator are elucidated. We clarify the lead user plays a central role in the network community and wants monetary incentive. From these findings, we demonstrate how to combine consumer innovation with Japanese firms

Open Innovation Success Factors by ICT Use in Japanese Firms

The innovation by an independence principle is a limit in Japanese firm today. The expectation for the open innovation that positively uses outside resources on business has risen in Japanese firm. In open innovation, the strategy that expands sharing information and using the resource from supplier to customer for the innovation is needed. Therefore, the use of ICT is indispensable for the promotion of the open innovation. In this paper, we discussed how to utilize ICTs for open innovation activities in order to achieve more effective innovation outcomes in Japanese Medium-sized Enterprises. We conducted a mail survey for Japanese Medium-sized Enterprises in industries such as manufacturing, construction, and information and telecommunication in January 2010. Based on their replies, we applied the some logistic regression analyses. As results, the following points are clarified. Firms which achieve open innovation are enhancing the innovation by cooperating and exchanging information with the following entities: (i) affiliate companies which have the excellent technological knowhow; (ii) customers which locate inside or outside of the region; and (iii) firms in the same industry inside of the same region. The firms cultivate mutual trust for a long time and jointly develop frequently the new products and services. And they have frequently exchanged the customer needs, new release information of the rival companies and a high-tech trend with each other. They use CTI and SCM to use information and knowledge for designing and developing a new product and service. Moreover, it can be confirmed that the firm which top management is familiar with ICT and exercises the leadership for ICT use. In addition, the firm not only introduced ICT but also reformed organizational structures, systems, and company's rules at the same time. These analysis results will provide useful suggestions for SMEs to practice open innovation in the future. --Open Innovation,ICT,Japanese firms

Empirical analysis of internal social media and product innovation: Focusing on SNS and social capital

Recently social media such as Blog and SNS has been introducing by many firms for means of sharing information inside the firm, in particular to promote product and process innovation. This paper attempts to examine the relationship between social media and product innovation, and research questions are summarized as follows: (i) whether social capital influences the use of social media; (ii) whether social media promotes product innovation; and (iii) whether the effect of social media on product innovation is different in the manufacturing and service industry. The analysis clarifies that social capital in the firm is indispensable for the effective use of social media. Managerial attitudes toward innovation and social media are requirements for firms to promote product innovation. Managers thus should make an effort to raise social capital and nurture reciprocal culture for SNS use inside the firm. The paper finds that social media for product innovation is more important in the service industry than manufacturing. Social media makes it easy to obtain customers' information and share it among related sections, because social media enables to expand channels to make contact directly with the customer in the service industry.Social Media , Product Innovation,Social Capital,Ordered Probit Regression

R&D and non-R&D in the innovation process among firms in ASEAN countries: Based on firm-level survey data

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify factors promoting innovation in the framework of R&D based on surveys conducted on firms in five ASEAN countries, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach - The analytical method divided sample firms into two categories, namely, “the R&D group” and “non-R&D group.” The analysis attempts to identify which of the internal capabilities, consisting of technology, human factors and organization factors, promote innovation. Ordered probit analysis is employed. Findings - Findings from the estimations indicate that the two groups pursue product innovation differently. The R&D group promotes innovation by cross-functional teams of production, engineering, and marketing and IT use, whereas the non-R&D group promote product innovation by HRD programs for workers, group awards for suggestions or QC, and ISO9000 series. Research limitations/implications - The number of samples related to the non-R&D group is too small to conduct statistical analysis. External linkages played an important role in the authors’ previous studies. The introduction of external linkages into the model may yield different results, though the analysis would become more complex. Practical implications - The results of this paper provide the solid basis of policy to promote innovation and upgrading SMEs in the region. Social implications - Many ASEAN SMEs successfully achieve innovation without owning specified in-house departments or sections to conduct R&D. Originality/value - The features of this paper lie in the original firm-level survey data and rigorous estimation method using ordered probit analysis, which are new to this literature

Estimation of Cadaveric Age by Ultrasonography

(1) Background: While decreasing bone mineral density (BMD) with age in living people has been well documented, a correlation between age and bone mineral density in deceased people has only been reported in a few studies. A correlation between age and BMD in deceased people was investigated as an objective tool for age estimation of unidentified remains. (2) Methods: The Bone Area Ratio (BAR) was measured in 402 autopsy cases (143 females and 259 males over the age of 20). (3) Results: The correlation coefficient in the females was r = −0.5476, and the correlation coefficient in the males was r = −0.2166, indicating a stronger correlation in females than in males. A comparison of the BAR values in the deceased females for each age group with that in live females found no significant differences in the BAR values. BAR values in the deceased were similar to in live individuals, and this did not change with duration of the postmortem interval. (4) Conclusions: Measuring the BAR value based on bone mass using ultrasonic waves is rapid and easy, even for those lacking forensic training, and may be used to estimate the age of an individual and the likelihood of fracture due to trauma

Preliminary Evaluation of Three-Dimensional Primary Human Hepatocyte Culture System for Assay of Drug-Metabolizing Enzyme-Inducing Potential

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a common reason for withdrawal of candidate drugs from clinical trials, or of approved drugs from the market. DILI may be induced not only by intact parental drugs, but also by metabolites or intermediates, and therefore should be evaluated in the enzyme-induced state. Here, we present a protocol for assay of drug-metabolizing enzyme-inducing potential using three-dimensional (3D) primary cultures of human hepatocytes (hepatocyte spheroids). Hepatocyte spheroids could be used up to 21 d after seeding (pre-culture for 7 d and exposure to inducer for up to 14 d), based on preliminary evaluation of basal activities of CYP subtypes and mRNA expression of the corresponding transcription factor and xenobiotic receptors (aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) and pregnane X receptor (PXR)). After 2 d exposure of hepatocyte spheroids to omeprazole, phenobarbital and rifampicin (typical inducers of CYP1A2, 2B6 and 3A4, respectively), CYP1A2, 2B6 and 3A4 mRNA expression levels were significantly increased. The mRNA induction of CYP2B6 remained reasonably stable between days 2 and 14 of exposure to inducers, while induction of both CYP1A2 and 3A4 continued to increase up to day 14. These enzyme activities were all significantly increased compared with the control until day 14. Our findings indicate that our 3D hepatocyte spheroids system would be especially suitable for long-term testing of enzyme activity induction by drugs, either to predict or to verify clinical events