A Comparative Study on the Relationship between Mobile Communication Technology and the Society

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23530270
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied economics
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: MARUKAWA Tomoo 東京大学, 社会科学研究所, 教授 (40334263)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KAWAMATA Takahiro 長崎県立大学, 国際情報学部, 准教授 (40316170)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 携帯電話産業 / モバイル通信 / 大衆資本主義 / 技術進歩

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The peculiar development of Chinese and Japanese mobile phone industries was the focus of this study. In China, more than 1,500 mobile phone manufacturers entered the industry at its peak. Through several field works, we have found two features of China’s industry that seem to explain its dynamic development. The first is what we call “mass capitalism,” which denotes a situation that even people with scarce financial and human capital try to become entrepreneurs. The second is what we call “catch-down innovation,” which refers to the development of new products catered to the demand of the low-income population in developing economies by the firms in developing economies. We found these features in some other industries in China too.

Free Research Field

中国経済、工業経済