At Hitachi Research Institute, the "New Frontier Project" undertakes research subjects selected from among the priority research subjects for their potential to cause innovations in society henceforth.
Fusion Frontier for the Future
Enhancing international competitiveness through acceleration of technology convergence
Given the intensification of global competition and the rise of countries such as China and South Korea, it is necessary to provide products and services with higher added-value in order for Japan to enhance its international competitiveness and the quality of life of people.
Industrial structure outlook utilizing scenario planning method
With society becoming more complex and uncertainty about the future increasing, there is greater interest in "scenario planning," a method that copes with future uncertainty by organizing and analyzing potential uncertainty. The purpose of this research is to utilize scenario planning in the field of macro economic forecasts.
Management innovations by utilizing finance functions
In the context of increasing globalization of the economy and technological innovations characterized by financial infrastructure development and IT, finance functions have come to play an important role in the creation of corporate value.
The Ambient Information Society
The new trend of IT beyond 2010
We are looking at the word of "Ambient" (meaning "encompassing" or "environmental") as a keyword that describes the information society of the future where a secure, safe, and pleasant social environment is deliberately created by collaboration between IT and social systems.
The business model for the second Internet Revolution and convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting
In recent years, large changes are taking place in the ICT field. The first change is the convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting, and the second change is the advancement in Web services following the quantitative and qualitative expansion of websites and users. These two changes will influence corporate management and people's lifestyles, and these changes are also likely to exert considerable influence on enterprises , which conduct business under the current environment.
Service innovations in knowledge societies by applying scientific principles
IT solutions have made contribution up to now primarily in improving the efficiency of routine business processes. However, in today’s society, the domain of non- routine, complex intellectual activities is increasing in weight and importance. Specifically, the domain includes (1) knowledge work where the work is not standardized and the quality of the results is emphasized more than the speed and costs, (2) service businesses in which the involvement of people is the key constituent, (e.g. customers’ preferences is a crucial element to achieve customer satisfaction, and service providers have to make decisions in course of service providing) , and (3) complex social systems where systems are intertwined in a complicated way and optimal decision-making is difficult. This research is involved in finding innovative methods to streamline and boost efficiency in fields where such intellectual activity plays a major role.
Impacts of global environmental change (climate change) on the East Asian economic system
Focusing on the East Asian economic zone, this study examines what impact global environmental change (Climate Change) will have on this economic area in 2020. The possible influence of four hypothetical scenarios of climate change is discussed with respect to four aspects; (1) changes in the business environment, (2) changes in the status of food and water resources, (3) migratory movements, and (4) the role of East Asia. In our reports, we mention the sense of balance that Japanese companies should have as "Asian companies."
Knowledge Work Square
Business space that accelerates knowledge work
With new thresholds being reached by the knowledge economy society, in order to strengthen corporate competitiveness, it has become essential to create new knowledge and to effectively use knowledge inside and outside the corporate organization. While utilizing technologies such as IT, it is important to configure business space that stimulates high intellectual productivity by creating new work styles.
