ABSTRACT
New-product development is one area of strategic decision-making. This chapter and the next deal with the process of decision-making in Japanese corporations. The analysis in this chapter is based on the detailed analysis of more than fifteen cases and two mail questionnaire surveys conducted in 1980. (The method of survey is explained in Appendix 8.1.)
8.1 NEW-PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Seiko company was the first to develop the crystal quartz watch and came to hold the largest share in the world market. Honda developed a good-quality small motor-cycle and they too soon dominated the world market. Japanese camera manufacturers were sensitive to the change of demand and to the change of technology, and they developed the electrically controlled automatic shutter mechanism, the mini-sized camera, and auto-focus camera, and successfully competed with the German camera manufacturers. In the area of shipbuilding, Japanese shipbuilders found that the new demand was for bulky goods carriers, for instance crude oil carriers, and they made all-out efforts to produce large, standardized, low-priced ships, using innovative production methods. The shipbuilders also diversified into several areas by introducing new products, to override the fluctuating demand for boats. These are the reasons why they too began to dominate the world shipping market.
