GLOBAL COLLABORATION AND TECHNOLOGY IMPACT FOR REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT-A Successful Case in Japanese Flower Industry-

ABSTRACT: Knowledge spillover on advanced technology is thought to be one of the most significant measures for encouraging regional industries as well as forming regional industrial cluster. However, in many rural areas, it is not easy to produce spillover itself because of lack of effective knowledge source and lack of capability of surrounding regional enterprises for utilizing spilled out knowledge/technology, in addition to the difficulty of forming an effective industrial cluster. The case researched here is one successful example of local business on lily bulbs, in Kochi. Kochi is a warm, mild climate, rural area in Japan, suitable for growing lily bulbs. However, one problem for this industry was the difficulty to ship/grow lily bulbs in winter because lily bulbs cannot be cropped in cold seasons. The company’s unique idea was to import lily bulbs to Japan, located in the north hemisphere, from some countries in the southern hemisphere by using freezing containers and large freezing compartments and ship the bulbs to the flower farmers after warming them up. By this measure, they could monopolize the winter bulb market in Japan. This case implies us significance of finding a competitive business model in rural regions. Here, global collaboration is one very important element to find such a business model. Even by using conventional technology (what we call low-tech), not by using advanced technology (high-tech), regional industries can be effectively encouraged by adapting technologies to such a suitable business model