Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Japan

Kathryn Ibata-Arens is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at DePaul University in Chicago. She was recently a Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership Abe Research Fellow in the Faculty of Commerce, Doshisha University, Kyoto (2005-2006). Her work has appeared in journals including Asian Business and Management, Review of International Political Economy, and Enterprise and Society.

• 1. Introduction; 2. Regions and firms; 3. Innovation theory: firms, regions and the Japanese state; 4. Japan's quest for entrepreneurialism; 5. Inter-firm networks; 6. The Kyoto model; 7. Regions in comparison; 8. Conclusion; Appendix; References; Index.

“Kathryn Ibata-Arens is the international leader in tracking and analyzing changes in Japan's industrial policy. Her work is particularly important in studying reactions from below to governmental initiatives and how Japanese smaller and medium-sized firms sometimes manage to succeed in the face of numerous official and financial obstacles. This is new research on Japan's industrial organization and capacity for innovation.” Chalmers Johnson, author of MITI and the Japanese Miracle