Some characterization of R&D based venture firms in Japan-new styles of management

In Japan, especially after the 1990s, a large number of R&D based small venture firms have been newly established. This new type of firm is quite different from traditional small and medium enterprises (SMEs). They do not produce their product, rather they are developing new products based on product technology. The authors have interviewed more than forty R&D based venture firms, and analyzed their characterizations and behaviors. They observed that, in Japan, there are two different kinds of innovations-process innovation and product innovation