Mechanisms for Long-Term Innovation: Technology and Business Development of Reverse Osmosis Membranes

This book explores how a long-term innovation can take place based on historical analyses of the development of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane from the early 1950s to the mid-2010s. The RO membrane is a critical material for desalination that is a key to solve water shortages becoming serious in many places of the world.

The authors conducted in-depth field studies as well as analyses of rich archival data to demonstrate how researchers, engineers, managers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers interacted each other for this material innovation to be realized. A series of historical analyses in this book uncovered that initial government supports, strategic niche markets, emergence of breakthrough technology, and company-specific rationales played significant roles for companies to overcome four types of uncertainty, technological, market, competition, and social/organizational ones, and enabled the companies to persistently invest in the development and commercialization of the RO membrane.

This book depicts that innovation does not arise on a sudden, but that it is actualized through long lasting process with turns and twists, which is driven by many non-economic rationales beyond economic motives.

Masatoshi Fujiwara

Masatoshi Fujiwara is a Professor of Graduate School of Business Administration at Hitotsubashi University. He received his BA, MA and Ph.D. (commerce and management) from Hitotsubashi University. He has been doing qualitative research on the dynamic aspects of knowledge accumulation and utilization within large established firms. His paper on the diversification strategy and innovation was awarded by the Japan Academy of Business Administration. His research interest is in strategic management and innovation, and he is currently focusing on the dynamic interactions among established firms and start-ups. He is also interested in ambidextrous capability, looking at established Japanese firms that succeeded in managing two contradictive business models at the same time.

Yaichi Aoshima

Yaichi Aoshima is currently Professor of Institute of Innovation Research at Hitotsubashi University. His research interests include the management issues related to innovation and new product development, focusing on justification processes of mobilizing resources for innovation, and co-evolution of industry, technology, and firm capabilities. His research fields ranged from the electronics industry, the advanced material industries and the environment and energy industries. He has recently extended his research to explore possibilities of new business creation by collaboration between large established firms and start-ups. He holds a Master’s degree in Commerce and Management from Hitotsubashi University and Ph.D. in Management from MIT Sloan School.