Transectorial Innovation, Location Dynamics and Knowledge Formation in the Japanese Electronic Musical Instrument Industry
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TRANSECTORIAL INNOVATION, LOCATION DYNAMICS AND KNOWLEDGE FORMATION IN THE JAPANESE ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT INDUSTRY Timothy W. Reiffenstein M.A., Simon Fraser University 1999 B.A., McGill University 1994 DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Department of Geography O Timothy W. Reiffenstein 2004 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY July 2004 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Timothy W. Reiffenstein Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title of Thesis: TRANSECTORIAL INNOVATION, LOCATION DYNAMICS AND KNOWLEDGE FORMATION IN TKE JAPANESE ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT INDUSTRY Examining Committee: Chair: R.A. Clapp, Associate Professor R. Hayter, Professor Senior Supervisor N.K. Blomley, Professor, Committee Member G. Barnes, Professor Geography Department, University of British Columbia Committee Member D. Edgington, Associate Professor Geography Department, University of British Columbia Committee Member W. Gill, Associate Professor Geography Department, Simon Fraser University Internal Examiner J.W. Harrington, Jr., Professor Department of Geography, University of Washington External Examiner Date Approved: July 29. 2004 Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request fiom the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Bennett Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT This thesis explores the relationships between technological discontinuities, spatial discontinuities and regional industrial concentration through a case study of knowledge formation in the Japanese electronic musical instrument (EMI) industry between 1960 and 1995. The investigation aims to highlight the social and institutional dimensions of innovation that emerge during episodes of radical technological change, specifically in relation to problems posed by transectorial innovation, that is the translation of knowledge from new leading sectors to other industrial sectors. Although largely neglected in economic geography, transectorial innovation is of strategic importance during these episodes because it redefines the technological boundaries of previously stable industrial sectors. Conceptually, the thesis elaborates on the geographical dimensions of inter- sectoral change in a framework that integrates perspectives from evolutionary economics, especially the idea of techno-economic paradigms; recent research on knowledge transfer including with respect to the idea of 'translation'; and related research in economic geography concerned with problematizing inter-regional innovation networks. Empirically, the thesis explains how the transition from digital to analog sound synthesis, a technical discontinuity, relates to a spatial shift in the industry's centre of gravity from the US to Japan, in particular to firms located in Hamamatsu, most notably Yamaha and Roland. Successive chapters analyze the rise and fall of the US industry; the ascendancy of Japanese firms; the geography of patent data; the motives, conflicts and consequences of technology transfer for respectively US and Japanese engineers, and; the structure of the EM1 production system in Hamamatsu. The research design is multi-perspective in orientation and draws on primary and secondary sources, the most important of which include interviews with Japanese and US R&D engineers, patent data compiled and analyzed by the author and the translation of Japanese sources such as industry histories and engineering biographies. The thesis contributes to the industrial geography of Japan by framing Hamamatsu as a learning region that has benefited fi-om synergistic diversification. More generally, for economic geography, it stresses the inseparability of tacit and codified knowledge, but emphasizes the underestimated role that codification, qua translation, plays in mobilizing knowledge in ways that disrupt heretofore settled industrial geographies. DEDICATION I do not find it easy to get sufficiently far away from this Book, in the first sensations of having finished it, to refer to it with the composure which this formal heading would seem to require. My interest in it, is so recent and strong; and my mind is so divided between pleasure and regret - pleasure in the achievement of a long design, regret in the separation from many companions - that I am in danger of wearying the reader whom I love, with personal confidences, and private emotions. Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, Preface to the 1850 Edition This thesis is dedicated to my Mom, who long ago signalled my attention to the fundamental relationship between music and mathematics, the underlying theme in music's digital revolution. Musical genes bless my maternal line and whatever umble talents I possess merely channel what I like to think is the Irish part of my ancestry. I am also grateful for the opportunity to have taken piano and guitar lessons when I was a kid. At mathematics, I am no fool, and my cultivated aversion to the discipline in no way relates to my mother having been a math instructor, as well as my tutor. Indeed, my brother John and I fondly remember our parents' subtle reminders that 'Mathematics is not a spectator sport'. My mother also deserves recognition for turning me on to The Beatles and Dickens. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank my senior supervisor, Professor Roger Hayter, for his mentorship over two degrees. Back when I was a Master's student, Dr. Hayter fostered my geographical imagination of Japan and sagely advised me to begin language training courses. This excellent guidance has continued from near and far over the course of the PhD program. I am additionally grateful for the opportunity to do collaborative fieldwork in Japan and it is symbolic that we visited the site of that country's first modern factory in Kagoshima together. Through our eight year relationship Dr. Hayter's promptness in reading, commenting on, and returning drafts has been exemplary. Finally, I have fond memories of meetings with Roger in which his nimble mind would segue from insightful critiques of my work to the Canucks enduring goaltending woes. Thanks must also go to the three other members of my supervisory committee: Dr. David Edgington, Professor Trevor Barnes and Professor Nick Blomley. Dr. David Edgington has enhanced my scholastic development as a member of my supervisory committee over two degrees. I presented succeeding versions of my PhD research findings at a number of conferences and Dr Edgington has repeatedly asked questions that challenged me to improve my conceptualization of the problem. Moreover, I have benefited by David's superior knowledge of Japan. Dr. Barnes' work inspires me and I feel honoured that he has been a key part of my supervisory committee. Indeed, a paper he presented at the Canadian Regional Science Association in May 2003 stimulated my detour through the 'science studies' literature. I remember Dr. Blomley's self- vi introduction to my MA cohort in the fall of 1996 as he livedlworked through the ideas that appear in Unsettling the City (2004). At critical junctures Dr. Blomley has improved my project by questioning the 'taken for granted' assumptions of my research design. I would also like to acknowledge my examiners, Professor J.W. Harrington and Dr. Warren Gill. Dr. Harrington has long supported my efforts as a graduate student and I would like to thank him for travelling to my defence armed with some tough questions. Dr. Gill's research inspired the musical theme of my thesis so I am honoured that he took part in my defence. As the musician on the panel, he was right to remind me of all the aesthetic drawbacks of digital instruments and I am amazed at how he found a way to relate these critiques to the industry's geography. I would like to thank Professor Yoshitaka Ishikawa for his supervision over the two years I spent as a research student at Kyoto University. I am especially grateful for his encouragement that I present a paper at the Jimbun Chiri conference, a highlight of my sojourn in Japan. In terms of the practicalities of fieldwork, Professor Jun Nishihara needs to be commended for his tireless enthusiasm and assistance during my stays in Hamamatsu. Special thanks must also go to Dr. Kazuhiro Uesugi and his family in Kokubunji for their hospitality. I would like to thank all my interviewees for their cooperation and insights, and for their patience when explaining the intricacies of electronic engineering to a layperson. This research has been financially supported by a SSHRC doctoral fellowship and by a Monbusho research fellowship. I would like