2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A study on the features of product development in Japan
| Project/Area Number |
10430022
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Commerce
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| Research Institution | KOBE UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
TAMURA Masanori Kobe University, Faculty of Sciences, Professor, 経営学研究科, 教授 (40030712)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TAKASHIMA Katsuyoshi Kobe University, Faculty of Sciences, Professor, 経営学研究科, 教授 (30197090)
ISHII Junzo Kobe University, Faculty of Sciences, Professor, 経営学研究科, 教授 (50093498)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1998 – 2000
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| Keywords | product development / Japanese style / sales management / intra-firm communication / behavior-based control / team selling / innovation / information technology |
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| Research Abstract |
In this research, we propose that Japanese style of product development is affected by the features of behavior of sales persons and intra-firm communication.
At first, we explain that Japanese companies develop products for the benefit of wholesalers and major retailers since Japanese manufacturers make much of long term relationships to these distributors. Therefore, (1) Japanese manufacturers develop the products which resemble competitors' products, (2) they diversify their products, (3) sales forces have the important roles to collect information about the needs of distributors for product development.
Furthermore, empirical researches show the importance of two features. (1) Japanese firms use the outcome-based sales force control systems for maintaining customer relationship and collecting customer information, which are in contrast to other countries. (2) Japanese firms introduce sales process innovation, such as behavior-based control systems and team selling, to stimulate communication between departments for customer adaptation and efficient R ＆ D.
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