THE IMPACT OF GENERIC COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES ON CORPORATE RESEARCH-AND-DEVELOPMENT - AN EMPIRICAL-STUDY IN JAPAN

This project sought to explore the impact of generic competitive strat egies on corporate research and development (R&D) in Japanese technolo gy-based companies through an extensive survey. It results in the gene ration of information on how Japanese firms approach the integration o f R&D and corporate strategic management. Research hypotheses are empi rically tested on the basis of the feedback provided by R&D managers f rom eighty-five leading companies in Japan. The results suggest that b oth cost leadership and differentiation have considerable impact on co rporate R&D. However, Japanese managers particularly place great empha sis on the overall differentiation, because the strategy enables compa nies to satisfy the increasing demand of customers from a broad range of market segments, We also find out that Japanese managers in differe nt types of industries and different sizes of firms tend to perceive e ach generic strategic alternative similarly important. Finally, we con clude that consistency with a firm's competitive strategy is considere d essential for strategic R&D management.