Differences in competitive strategies between the United States and Japan

A taxonomy (called product genesis) of the process of bringing an idea from the laboratory to the marketplace is presented. A discussion of the competitive threshold follows. In a comparative fashion, the traditional strategic approaches in both Japan and the US are discussed in the areas of human resources, production processes, and business objectives. These strategies are mapped against the various stages of product genesis. The hypothesis is developed that the competitive threshold for Japanese firms is much further downstream than the onset of competitive sensitivity in US companies; i.e. US companies protect applied research activities, whereas their Japanese counterparts still cooperate in this area but protect design or prototyping of products and processes