Analysis on Inhibiting Factors for Innovation in the Petrochemical Industry

Research and development in the Japanese petrochemical industry has been yielding high results scientifically, however, this is a typical case where such results do not easily lead to the commercialization of products or practical implementations. This research will provide an understanding of the current status, with regards to the management of research and development using data obtained from a survey conducted on managers of research centers and corporate organizations for R&D that belong to business enterprises of the industry in question, as well as clarify the inhibiting factors for innovation. It has been pointed out that a factor behind the inferior international competitiveness of the chemical industry in Japan has to do with the relatively small scale of relevant business enterprises. With this in mind, we conducted an examination on issues relating to the size of firms, as well as that of research centers and corporate organizations for R&D that impact innovation. As a result, on levels of both overall firms and business establishment, those with a relatively smaller size were found to be more advantageous with regards to efficiency of research and development.