In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Buddhaditta Bose, "Spanning the Chain and Capturing Value in the Clinical Research Outsourcing (CRO) Industry"

The clinical research outsourcing (CRO) industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that has grown over time and is dominated by a few global top CROs. There is no significant Indian player in the market because the global top CROs have strategically chosen to be at the higher end of the value chain. It is therefore imperative that an Indian CRO, like Reliance Life Sciences (RLS), focus its strategy on spanning the chain and providing higher value add to capture the attention of the clients and successfully compete in the marketplace thereby becoming a leading player in the market.

Bose's research looks at the industry value chain and the relative positioning of the case in point - RLS with respect to the value chain and provides recommendations on how RLS can climb up the value chain. His research also highlights the macro view of the industry in context of the basic theme of the research mentioned above.

Girish Masand, "Advanced Tools for Complete Characterization of Biopharmaceutical Products"

Characterization of biopharmaceuticals plays a key role in the identification, structural elucidation and quantitation of chemical constituents or chemical impurities in current protein based therapeutics. For a biopharmaceutical protein to be well characterized, it is essential to be able to define the natural molecular heterogeneity, impurity profile, and potency of that product with a high degree of confidence. Given the continuing development of new technologies in this field, and the complex nature of biopharmaceutical drugs, the recent guidance documents have been drafted to include more stringent and detailed analytical data requirements for product registration. In order to move faster through the regulatory framework and obtain product approval, it is important for any biopharmaceutical company to keep abreast of the current and emerging trend in analytical technologies.

Masand's research provides an assessment of current practices at Reliance Life Sciences and newer trends in analytical characterization of biopharmaceuticals, which will help Reliance Life Sciences to broaden its current perspective of product characterization, sequentially helping to launch its pipeline products at a faster pace.

Masatsugu Mitsuyama, "Strategy of Cable TV Companies - To Get Through the Competitive Environment, What Will Cable TV Companies Do?

In 1948, cable television (CATV) originated in the United States with the purpose of enhancing poor reception of local over-the-air television signals. Since its origin, the CATV industry has grown steadily, expanding its service line-ups and advancing its service features. However, in last two decades, the environment surrounding the CATV industry changed. Competitors such as DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon and AT&T entered into multi-channel video service. With advanced service features and attractive pricing, these competitors promote existing CATV customers to switch providers and the CATV industry continued to decrease the number of video customers in the last 8 years. Mitsuyama analyzes the CATV industry's approach to get through this competitive environment. Service advancement seems to be a key factor for CATV companies to differentiate themselves. He makes argument especially on "advanced interactive services", on which the CATV industry is focusing its efforts.

Masahito Sugita, "Creation of New Business in Japan and U.S. - Consideration in the Trend Toward a Cloud Computing World"

"Cloud Computing" is a new concept in the structure of computing systems, and is spreading gradually into our lives and businesses. The big shift from the present computing style to the cloud computing style, especially in the fields of enterprise IT systems, is predicted to occur within the next 3 to 5 years. This will fundamentally change information and communication technology (ICT) business models around the world.

Sugita analyzes the impacts of cloud computing on the ICT businesses and the structure of industry, and investigates new strategies suitable for the changing business environments from the point of view of creating new business in Japan and the U.S.

In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Hironori Iwane, "Smart Grid Strategies Concerning Renewable Energies in the United States and Japan"

The topic of Smart Grid has become more and more popular because technologies concerning it are effective for efficiency improvement and renewable energy increase in electric power systems. However, Smart Grid is an ambiguous term and its meanings vary with different audiences. Therefore, it is increasingly difficult to identify what Smart Grid is or understand the potential benefits or concern for future electric power systems. As the result, grasping strategies for future electric power systems is complicated. This research focuses on clarifying the future strategies for electric power systems in ambiguous renewable and Smart Grid circumstances.

Daiju Nakahashi, "Current and Future Trends of the Smart Grid in the U.S. and Japan - A Study of New Business Opportunities"

The Smart Grid is a next generation power grid that controls the supply and demand of electricity by using advanced information and communications technology. The Smart Grid is considered revolutionary in the power industry - just as the Internet was to the IT industry. In recent years, worldwide interest in the Smart Grid has increased due to its close relationship to renewable energy. In particular, the interest in the United States has grown significantly since the Obama administration unveiled its plan to invest heavily in the Smart Grid. Nakahashi's research in the Smart Grid examines current trends in the United States and Japan and analyzes opportunities for new businesses.

Tomohiro Yamaguchi, "Mobile Industry in the U.S. and Japan:  The Differences and Direction in Each Country"

With the rise of smartphones, such as the iPhone and Android phone, the mobile internet market is dramatically growing in the United States. In Japan, on the other hand, the closed nature of the market is seen as a problem, which is sometimes called "Galapagos", with the negative connotation of the nature. Yamaguchi considers the difference between both markets, and attempts to answer the questions -"Which market is leading?" and "How much is it leading?" Finally, Yamaguchi will conjecture the direction of the future.

In this session of the Shorenstein APARC Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Hirofumi Takinami, "Political Economy of the Financial Crises in Japan & United States - A Comparative Study on the Bailout of Financial Institutions"

Currently, the United States is suffering from a financial crisis.  Japan has struggled with a financial crisis from the late 1990's to the early 2000's.  What implications can be drawn from these crisis experiences of the two largest economies in the world?  As one part of a collaborative research with Professor Phillip Lipscy on "Policy Innovation in Japan and the United States:  A Comparative Study of Response to Finiancial Crises", Takinami analyzes which elements are crucial in the use of bailout of financial institutions as a means to address financial crises.  Stressing that taxpayers' understanding and market sentiment are key, he makes arguments especially on the "learning effect" of Japanese financial crisis and the importance of action by the national leader and his/her secretarial organizations.

Takashi Uchida, "Comparative Research Study of Manufacturing Between the United States and Japan"

Manufacturing consists of upstream (raw material suppliers), middle stream (casting, dyes, metal press, etc.) and downstream (automobile companies, machinery companies, and electric companies).  To accurately view the structure of manufacturing as "supply chain", Uchida analyzes where manufacturing value comes from.  In particular, Uchida takes a look at the automobile market, comparing the difference between manufacturing in Japan and the United States.

Zheng Wang, "Valuation and Integration of Intangible Assets in Mergers and Acquisitions"

In modern economies, a large proportion of a company's assets tend to be intangible, such as brand names.  Intangible assets have become one of the key factors behind a company's competitive strength.  In particular, obtaining a target's intangible assets has been the major driving force in M&A activities during the past years.

M&A for intangible assets tends to be more complicated than for tangible assets, mainly due to the challenges in terms of valuation and post-deal integration.  In this research presentation, Wang analyzes some special issues in valuation and integration of intangible assets in M&As, and tries to draw useful lessons on M&A for intangible assets through case study.

On Tuesday, September 7, 2010, the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development in collaboration with the Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and Stanford Law School hosted a special conference on Climate Policy Instruments in the Real World.

This conference featured presentations by leading researchers on the political, economic, and regulatory challenges associated with major climate policy instruments.  The goal of this conference was to transfer the state-of-the-art in policy-relevant academic research on key aspects of climate policy design and analysis to the business, regulatory and policymaking communities.  Each presentation was followed by comments from two discussants that develop the practical implications of the research results presented for decision-makers in industry and government.

Topics our experts explored included: setting a price for carbon, engaging the developing world in climate change mitigation, the role of renewable energy sources in climate change mitigation, mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gases from the transportation sector, managing intermittency in the electricity sector, and mechanisms for adapting to climate change.  

We would like to thank everybody for their participation on September 7, 2010.

For more conference information, please visit:

http://www.certain.com/system/profile/web/index.cfm?PKwebID=0x1992925e31&varPage=home

Thank you to all our sponsors:

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