Introduction of Architecture-based Industry Analysis and Proposal for Chinese IT Industry Policy — A Proposal to Promote New Global Joint Venture Company between Japan and China

摘要

The aim of this paper is to propose a new alliance model between Japan and China. The product architecture theory first appeared in US and Japan as a powerful tool to analyze the competitive advantage of firms and it has also been applied to the comparative advantage of nations. US firms have been successful in the modular mode architecture such as computer &- digital networks, while Japanese firms have been successful in the integral mode architecture such as automobile、 key parts/components and key materials. According to the industry analysis by Fujimoto & Shintaku [ 2005], Chinese firms have been and will continue to be very competitive in the modular mode product.The dynamic change of product architecture from integral to modular mode has been accelerated by the innovation of microprocessor & microcode technology, and this dynamic change has brought out the latent power of Chinese firms. But these firms have faced the following three problems: (1) Heavy legal claims for patent/license from outside of China. (2) Many products have been less value-added products which are made of value-added key parts imported from the outside. (3) Labor cost is not and will not be a key factor of the competitive advantage of Chinese firms.