New IT Business Models in the "Asian Age" - Multilateral Collaboration and Business Innovation

China, after its implementation of foreign direct investment policy in December 1978, has continued to receive investments from international companies, and this has been one of the primary driving engines behind the Asian business development. Electronics products originating either from U.S.A. or Europe have experienced tremendous industry shifts to the Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China. This paper examines, from the general perspective, the recent development of the Asian electronics industry and business models focusing on the personal computers and mobile communication products. Based on the analysis of the basic characteristics of the business models developed in Asia, future strategic directions for Japanese firms in the “Asian Age” will be discussed. Due to the interconnected global environment, the competition field has increasingly become leveled out. In the light of the global nature of the playing field, a multilateral collaboration approach will be emphasized and a complementary relationship will be sought.IT Business; "Asian Age"; China; Multilateral Collaboration

Economies of Vertical Integration in the Japanese Water Supply Industry

The merging of some water utilities in Japan has become possible since the 2000 Outline of Administrative Reform and the 2001 Water Act Revision. There are two avenues to merge water utilities, horizontal consolidation and vertical integration. Horizontal consolidation enables water distributors, such as the large water supply systems, to merge into one. Vertical integration enables water distributors and water wholesalers, such as the bulk water supply systems, to merge into one. However, these wide area consolidations or integrations havenÂft been promoted at local government level due to an absence of authority. Further, promotion has also been hindered by the lack of previous studies to support the economies of wide area consolidations or integrations. This paper focuses especially on the vertical integration between the water intake-purification and water distribution stages. To investigate economies of vertical integration, I estimate translog cost function in the Japanese water supply industry and test the separability hypotheses among water intake, purification and distribution stages. The results show that the economies of vertical integration exist between the water intake-purification and water distribution stages, so that the bulk water supply systems and the large water supply systems will be able to merge in order to achieve greater cost efficiency.

A private-public comparison of bus service operators

Due to the steady increase in the use of private autos in Japan, the bus business is facing hard times. In particular, bus services owned by public organizations have been struggling with increases in operating deficits and subsidies, so that recently in many cities there has been a call for restructuring. Publicly and privately owned bus operators co-exist in the Japanese market. Although their financial situation is not completely healthy, privately owned bus operators have performed better than their publicly owned counterparts. The main purpose of this study is to find the key factors causing the differences in efficiency between private and public bus operators, especially in these areas: efficiency in service production, wage, utilization of vehicles, and cost. In this study, we will make an analysis using observations of both private and public bus operators in the Kansai region in Japan for the five years from 1996 to 2000. After we examine the performance differences between the two sectors, we will estimate with econometric methods certain functions such as the production function of bus services and the wage function. Based on these functions, we will evaluate the differences in efficiency between private and public bus operators.

Comparisons of efficiencies between two types of DMUs : an application to Japanese public water companies

A water supply system composed of water production facilities and transmission facilities obtains water from various sources such as surface water, groundwater and so on. Although there are many empirical studies such as measuring efficiency, productivity and/or returns to scale for water supply organizations, almost all of them neglect the variety of water sources. The main purpose of this study is to compare the efficiencies of two types of DMUs (decision making units) e.g. water companies whose major source is underground vs. those whose major source is non-underground. In this study, using observations of Japanese public water companies, we will apply rank-sum-test of DEA (data envelopment analysis) approach developed by Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney to identify whether the differences between two gropes are significant. After we examine whether two groups of DMUs have different distribution functions of efficiency, we will measure efficiencies of two gropes and compare them.

Economies of Vertical Integration in the Japanese Water Supply Industry

The merging of some water utilities in Japan has become possible since the 2000 Outline of Administrative Reform and the 2001 Water Act Revision. There are two avenues to merge water utilities, horizontal consolidation and vertical integration. Horizontal consolidation enables water distributors, such as the large water supply systems, to merge into one. Vertical integration enables water distributors and water wholesalers, such as the bulk water supply systems, to merge into one. However, these wide area consolidations or integrations havenft been promoted at local government level due to an absence of authority. Further, promotion has also been hindered by the lack of previous studies to support the economies of wide area consolidations or integrations. This paper focuses especially on the vertical integration between the water intake-purification and water distribution stages. To investigate economies of vertical integration, I estimate translog cost function in the Japanese water supply industry and test the separability hypotheses among water intake, purification and distribution stages. The results show that the economies of vertical integration exist between the water intake-purification and water distribution stages, so that the bulk water supply systems and the large water supply systems will be able to merge in order to achieve greater cost efficiency

A private-public comparison of bus service operators

Due to the steady increase in the use of private autos in Japan, the bus business is facing hard times. In particular, bus services owned by public organizations have been struggling with increases in operating deficits and subsidies, so that recently in many cities there has been a call for restructuring. Publicly and privately owned bus operators co-exist in the Japanese market. Although their financial situation is not completely healthy, privately owned bus operators have performed better than their publicly owned counterparts. The main purpose of this study is to find the key factors causing the differences in efficiency between private and public bus operators, especially in these areas: efficiency in service production, wage, utilization of vehicles, and cost. In this study, we will make an analysis using observations of both private and public bus operators in the Kansai region in Japan for the five years from 1996 to 2000. After we examine the performance differences between the two sectors, we will estimate with econometric methods certain functions such as the production function of bus services and the wage function. Based on these functions, we will evaluate the differences in efficiency between private and public bus operators

Identifying scale economies for different types of water supply organizations in Japan

Although water supply systems include activities such as water intake; water purification; and water distribution, many water supply organizations are not always equipped with all three activities. In fact, Japan has two types of water companies: one that operates water intake and water purification (type 1); and the other which mainly operates water distribution (type 2). Many previous studies have attempted to identify scale economies for water supply organizations, but have failed to take into account which water supply systems operate. In this analysis we categorize Japanese water supply organizations into three types: type 1 - which operates water intake and water purification; type 2a - which not only operates water distribution, but also operates water intake and water purification; and type 2b - which operates water distribution, but purchases water from type 1 companies. After that, we estimate scale economies for each type of water supply organization using translog cost function. Furthermore, we take into account their water sources, especially type 1 and type 2a, because we consider that differences of water sources might affect the cost structure of water supply systems

The effects of subsidies on the cost structure of Japanese water supply organizations

The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of subsidies on the cost structure of Japanese water supply organizations by estimating the translog cost function. Geographical conditions, such as network density and water sources, are also controlled in this model. The empirical results indicate that low network density, lack of own water sources and increasing subsidies lead to higher costs. It has also been found that subsidies have caused wasteful use of labor, capital and other input factors, and have diminished scale economies

Comparisons of efficiencies between two types of DMUs : an application to Japanese public water companies

A water supply system composed of water production facilities and transmission facilities obtains water from various sources such as surface water, groundwater and so on. Although there are many empirical studies such as measuring efficiency, productivity and/or returns to scale for water supply organizations, almost all of them neglect the variety of water sources. The main purpose of this study is to compare the efficiencies of two types of DMUs (decision making units) e.g. water companies whose major source is underground vs. those whose major source is non-underground. In this study, using observations of Japanese public water companies, we will apply rank-sum-test of DEA (data envelopment analysis) approach developed by Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney to identify whether the differences between two gropes are significant. After we examine whether two groups of DMUs have different distribution functions of efficiency, we will measure efficiencies of two gropes and compare them