Catalyst Role of Government R&D Inducing Hybrid Management in Japan: Lessons for Emerging Economies

Japan has achieved conspicuous technology advancement and subsequent productivity increase by overcoming threats and constraints of sustainable development of economy and society. The achievement can be attributed to a sophisticated combination of industrial efforts and government stimulation. This paper analyzes the government role in inducing industrial strength in Japan. Empirical analyses were conducted focusing on technology driven development trajectory between Japan and the US over the last two decades. The results reveal that Japan incorporates sophisticated mechanism enabling the hybrid management of technology fusing indigenous strength and learning ability. While the combination of government and industry stagnated in the 1990s, a swell of reactivation emerged in the early 2000s. This can largely be attributed to revitalization of the mutual interaction between government and industry. Such a catalyst role of government R&D inducing the hybrid management demonstrated by Japan would provide a new insight in emerging economies