0000000000283320
AUTHOR
Yuji Tou
Operationalization of un-captured GDP - Innovation stream under new global mega-trends
With the understanding that current ICT-driven global development depends on a trend shifting from traditional co-evolution of computer-initiated ICT, captured GDP, and economic functionality to new co-evolution of the Internet, un-captured GDP, and supra-functionality beyond economic value, the following hypothetical view was postulated: The disparity between the world's ICT leader countries with respect to happiness/welfare amidst great stagnation (Finland) or conspicuous economic growth (Singapore) can be attributed to the difference of the state in the above shifting trends. The foregoing hypothetical view was demonstrated on the basis of an empirical analysis measuring dependency on un…
A New Perspective on the Textile and Apparel Industry in the Digital Transformation Era
The textile and apparel (fashion) industry has been influenced by developments in societal socio-cultural and economic structures. Due to a change in people’s preferences from economic functionality to supra-functionality beyond economic value, the fashion industry is at the forefront of digitalization. The growing digitalization in the fashion industry corresponds to digital fashion, which can satisfy the rapid shift in consumers’ preferences. This paper explores the evolving con-cept of innovations in digital fashion in the textile and apparel industry. Specifically, it centers on the evaluation of Amazon’s digital fashion initiatives, which have made the platform the Un…
CO-Evolution Between CCC-Driven Cash Flow Management and Transformation of R&D : Amazon’S Endeavor
Amazon became the world R&D leader in 2017 by rapidly increasing R&D investment. The company’s extremely large amount of R&D funds is the result of an ample free cash flow generated by sophisticated cash conversion cycle (CCC) management. Increased R&D induced business advancement and lean cost structure construction leading to further increase in cash flow which has stimulated interaction between vendors, customers, and Amazon via the Amazon marketplace. Activated interaction accelerated CCC advancement, a subsequent free cash flow increase, and user-driven innovation, thus accelerated the transformation of routine and periodic alteration activities into significant improvement simultaneou…
A SOLUTION TO THE DILEMMA BETWEEN R&D EXPANSION AND THE PRODUCTIVITY DECLINE: LESSONS FROM THE R&D MODELS IN AMAZON AND FINLAND
As a consequence of the two-faced nature of information and communication technology (ICT), a majority of ICT leaders have been confronting the critical problem of a dilemma between R&D expansion and productivity decline in the digital economy. However, Amazon has been able to accomplish a skyrocketing increase in R&D and market capitalization. Finland has also accomplished balanced advancement not only of welfare but also economic resurgence. This paper attempted to elucidate the miracle of two ICT leaders. By means of a comparative empirical analysis of respective development trajectories, the sources of their success were analyzed thereby the comparative advantage and disadvantag…
Amazon's initiative transforming a non-contact society : Digital disruption leads the way to stakeholder capitalization
Contrary to the decisive role of R&D centered on information and communication technology (ICT) in the digital economy, its excessive expansion has resulted in declining productivity due to the two-faced nature of ICT. Consequently, the novel concept emerges of innovation that maintains sustainable growth by harnessing the vigor of soft innovation resources (SIRs). Pioneering endeavors can be observed at the forefront of the global ICT leaders. World R&D leader Amazon has been harnessing the power of users that seek SIRs. This functions as a virtuous cycle, leading to the transformation of R&D by fusing a unique R&D system with a sophisticated financing system. With this orchestration, Amaz…
Consequences of the Digital Economy : Transformation of the Growth Concept
The digital economy is transforming the traditional concepts of economic growth.The recent reversal trend in GDP growth of ICT leaders can be attributed to effective utilization of soft innovation resources in Finland and adherence to traditional resources in Singapore.Confronting a productivity decline in the digital economy, global information and communication technology (ICT) leaders are transforming business models into those with uncaptured GDP creation. This can be attributed tothe harnessing soft innovation resourcesagainst a productivity decline. This in turn activates a self-propagating function and induces supra-functionality beyond economic value corresponding to a shift in peop…
The transformation of R&D into neo open innovation- a new concept in R&D endeavor triggered by amazon
Amazon was the world's top Research and Development (R&D) firm in 2017. Its R&D investment was double that of 2015, five times that of 2012, and ten times that of 2011. Such a rapid and notable increase in R&D investment has raised the question of a new R&D definition and focus in the digital economy, which Amazon insists includes both “routine or periodic alterations” (traditionally classified as non-R&D) and “significant improvement” (classified as R&D). Using an empirical analysis of Amazon's R&D model as a system, this paper attempts to provide a convincing answer to this question. It has been identified that Amazon, which is based on R&D as a culture, has been promoting companywide exp…
A SOLUTION TO THE DILEMMA BETWEEN R&D EXPANSION AND THE PRODUCTIVITY DECLINE: LESSONS FROM THE R&D MODELS IN AMAZON AND FINLAND
As a consequence of the two-faced nature of information and communication technology (ICT), a majority of ICT leaders have been confronting the critical problem of a dilemma between R&D expansion and productivity decline in the digital economy. However, Amazon has been able to accomplish a skyrocketing increase in R&D and market capitalization. Finland has also accomplished balanced advancement not only of welfare but also economic resurgence. This paper attempted to elucidate the miracle of two ICT leaders. By means of a comparative empirical analysis of respective development trajectories, the sources of their success were analyzed thereby the comparative advantage and disadvantag…
Neo Open Innovation in the Digital Economy : Harnessing Soft Innovation Resources
Successive increases in R&D that creates new functionality are essential for global competitiveness. However, unexpectedly, as a consequence of the two-faced nature of information and communication technology (ICT), excessive R&D results in a marginal productivity decline leading to a decrease in digital value creation. In order to overcome such a dilemma, global ICT firms have been endeavoring to transform themselves into disruptive business model. Neo open innovation that harnesses soft innovation resources may be a solution to this critical question. On the basis of an empirical analysis focusing on forefront endeavors to this dilemma by global ICT firms, this paper attempted to demonstr…
Soft Innovation Resources: Enabler for reversal in GDP Growth in the Digital Economy
While Finland and Singapore have been maintaining world digital leaders position, they demonstrate interlaced contrast: high welfare with low GDP growth in Finland and higher GDP growth with lower welfare in Singapore. This provokes an uncaptured GDP postulate that Finnish wellbeing has developed more than one might conclude by GDP. However, a recent reversal in the GDP growth trend suggests the possibility that uncaptured GDP contributes to remove structural impediments in GDP growth.This paper demonstrates this hypothesis. An empirical analysis elucidating the inside the national accountings and institutional systems revealed that soft innovation resources have substituted for service cap…
A new perspective of innovation toward a non-contact society - Amazon's initiative in pioneering growing seamless switching
This paper elucidates the inside of the black box of Amazon's unique research and development (R&D) dynamism that made it the world's top R&D leader by transforming “routine or periodic alterations” into “significant improvement” during the R&D process. This dynamism also succeeded in transforming the COVID-19 pandemic period into a springboard for new innovation, leading to Amazon's notable growth notwithstanding the pandemic. An empirical analysis using a techno-economic approach focusing on Amazon's endeavor to develop a series of advanced digital fashions (ADFs) and online-based luxury brands (neo-luxury) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. Amazon became a global appa…
CO-EVOLUTION BETWEEN CCC-DRIVEN CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT AND TRANSFORMATION OF R&D – AMAZON'S ENDEAVOR
Amazon became the world R&D leader in 2017 by rapidly increasing R&D investment. The company’s extremely large amount of R&D funds is the result of an ample free cash flow generated by sophisticated cash conversion cycle (CCC) management. Increased R&D induced business advancement and lean cost structure construction leading to further increase in cash flow which has stimulated interaction between vendors, customers, and Amazon via the Amazon marketplace. Activated interaction accelerated CCC advancement, a subsequent free cash flow increase, and user-driven innovation, thus accelerated the transformation of routine or periodic alteration activities into significant improvem…
Fashion-driven Textiles as A Crystal of A New Stream for Stakeholder Capitalism – Amazon's Endeavor
Fashion reflects changes in socio-economic and cultural life which, in turn, changes fashion, and apparel boosts such change. Thus, in response to a shift in people’s preferences from economic functionality to supra-functionality beyond an economic value, the fashion industry has been gaining momentum worldwide. In the digital economy, the fashion industry is in the midst of global dynamic change stimulating volatility, velocity, variety and dynamism, which necessitate a digital solution. Digital business leader Amazon has succeeded in constructing an R&D-driven disruptive businesss model. This can be attributed to a virtuous cycle among user-driven innovation, advancement of the …
Fashion-driven Textiles as A Crystal of A New Stream for Stakeholder Capitalism : Amazon’s Endeavor
Fashion reflects changes in socio-economic and cultural life which, in turn, changes fashion, and apparel boosts such change. Thus, in response to a shift in people’s preferences from economic functionality to supra-functionality beyond an economic value, the fashion industry has been gaining momentum worldwide. In the digital economy, the fashion industry is in the midst of global dynamic change stimulating volatility, velocity, variety and dynamism, which necessitate a digital solution. Digital business leader Amazon has succeeded in constructing an R&D-driven disruptive businesss model. This can be attributed to a virtuous cycle among user-driven innovation, advancement of the Internet, …
A new paradox of the digital economy - Structural sources of the limitation of GDP statistics
The Internet has dramatically changed the way we conduct business and our daily lives by provided us with unprecedented services and conveniences. However, contrary to such accomplishments, productivity in industrialized countries is now experiences an apparent decline. This has raised the question of a possible productivity paradox in the digital economy. The limitation of GDP statistics in measuring the advancement of the digital economy has thus become an important subject. This paper analyzed the structural sources of this problem. Utilizing the results of empirical analyses of national, industrial, and individual behavior in the digital economy, solutions to these critical issues were …
Harnessing soft innovation resources leads to neo open innovation
Advancement of the digital economy has transformed the concept of the growth crossover in nations and firms, both concerning input and output. Advanced economies have been confronting a dilemma between input increases and output decreases. Contrary to traditional expectations, excessive increase in input has resulted in a productivity decline in output. A solution to this dilemma can only be expected by harnessing the vigor of soft innovation resources that lead to neo open innovation in the digital economy. This paper attempts to demonstrate this hypothetical view. Based on an empirical analysis of the development trajectories of 140 countries and 500 global ICT firms, dynamism, resulting …
Institutional systems inducing R&D in Amazon- the role of an investor surplus toward stakeholder capitalization
Abstract Amazon demonstrated a conspicuous increase in R&D and became the world's top R&D firm in 2017 with a skyrocketing increase in market capitalization, making it close to being the world's biggest company. Such a remarkable accomplishment can be attributed to Amazon's institutional systems, which orchestrate techno-financing systems that fuse a unique R&D transformation system and a sophisticated financing system centered on the cash conversion cycle (CCC). These institutional systems support and endorse aggressive investment in R&D that incorporates the characteristics of uncertainty, a long lead time, and successive inflows of very large amounts of funding without interruption. Whil…
A New Concept of R&D in NEO Open Innovation : Transformation of R&D Triggered By Amazon
Amazon was the world’s top R&D firm in 2017. Its R&D investment was double that of 2015, quintuple that of 2012, and tenfold that of 2011. It deploys a unique R&D model as conducting “routine or periodic alternations” and “significant improvement” simultaneously. Since traditionally the former is classified as non-R&D, Amazon’s rapid and notable increase has raised the question of a new R&D definition in the digital economy. By means of an empirical analysis of the Amazon’s R&D model, this paper attempted to provide a convincing answer to this question. Amazon has invested considerable resources in extremely innovative business areas, which has developed its assimilation capacity. In parall…
Co-Evolutionary Coupling Between Captured and Uncaptured GDP Cycles : Cross Learning from Amazon and Finland Models for Sustainability
A solution to the critical problem of a dilemma between R&D expansion and productivity decline that a majority of information and communication technology (ICT) leaders have been confronting in the digital economy is expected. It can be expected by a spinoff from economic functionality-seeking GDP-based coevolution cycle to supra-functionality beyond an economic value-seeking uncaptured GDP-driven coevolution cycle. However, the transformation dynamism remains a black box. By means of numerical simulations based on empirical analyses of the development trajectories of global ICT leaders, focusing on Amazon and Finland, together with an intensive review of preceding analyses, this paper atte…
Transformative direction of R&D– lessons from Amazon's endeavor
Amazon jumped up to the world's top Research and Development (R&D) firm in 2017. Such a rapid and notable increase in R&D investment has raised the question of a new R&D definition in the digital economy, which Amazon insists includes both “routine or periodic alterations” (traditionally classified as non-R&D) and “significant improvement” (classified as R&D), as Amazon transforms the former into the latter during its R&D process. A convincing answer to this question will give rise to insightful suggestions regarding a new concept of R&D in the digital economy. peerReviewed
Fusion of technology management and financing management - Amazon's transformative endeavor by orchestrating techno-financing systems
Amazon became the world R&D leader in 2017 by rapidly increasing R&D investment. Its R&D investment in 2017 was double that of 2015, 5 times that of 2012, and 10 times that of 2011. This rapid increase continued in 2018, and Amazon accomplished a skyrocketing increase in its market capitalization, closing to being the world's biggest company. Such a rapid increase in R&D and subsequent market value has raised questions about how to conduct R&D and secure a large amount of funds needed for high-risk investments. Amazon has provided hypothetical answers to both of these questions. Amazon has been conducting innovative R&D to transform routine or periodic alterations into significant improveme…