Research Presentations (session 4 of 5) - Fukuda, Huang, Muramatsu and Yang

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Wataru Fukuda, Shizuoka Prefectural Government, "Software Solutions of Tourism Promotion"

In his research, Fukuda investigates the possibilities of expanding the inbound tourism market in Japan, especially in the Shizuoka prefecture, a local area of Japan.  He provides an overview of the online travel industry and how they are expanding their market with new technologies and innovations.  After reviewing how software services for international travelers is currently being used in Japan, he focuses on specific applications with the highest potential to make Shizuoka more accessible and attractive for international travelers.  Additionally, he reviews regulations and obstacles that could prevent these new technologies and innovations from being implemented.  As a result, Fukuda suggests that the suppliers of local tourism provide their services with a holistic utilization of the applications.

Catherine Huang, Beijing Shanghe Shiji Investment Company, "How the U.S. Capital Market Helps Enterprises Grow From the Infant State to Mature Businesses"

China is slowing down its pace for development, facing the so-called “middle income trap”.  While the attention to the macroeconomic picture is necessary, it is not sufficient.  Extraordinary monetary policies buy time, but they do not solve the fundamental problem.  The focus needs to be on the structural reforms – the microeconomic entities, to which the capital market acts like a lifeline, will drive future growth.  The productivity, competition and innovation in all sectors – all of which are largely fueled by an efficient, healthy and accessible capital market – ensure a productive supply-side growth.  In her research, Huang explores the culture, participants and regulatory system of the U.S. capital market and tries to figure out what China’s capital market development can learn from this system.

Yuichiro Muramatsu, Mitsubishi Electric, "Manufacturing Industry with Big Data Analysis on IoT"

The Internet of Things (IoT) is major technology that connects devices and cloud service.  Cloud service computes device data and returns meaningful results for abnormal detection, performance improvement and prediction.  One key component of IoT is big data analysis.  Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s 2015 Whitepaper states that innovation in the manufacturing industry by using IoT and big data analysis is about to launch, but few cases exist in Japan.  Innovative companies like Netflix, Uber and AirBnB are data driven companies and the manufacturing industry is also expected to have smart factories with big data analysis.  In his research, Muramatsu investigates the use of big data analysis on IoT and identifies useful cases of business efficiency and the methodology that supports big data analysis.

Fred Yang, MissionCare, "Private Hospitals in Taiwan and the Implications"

In most East Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, private hospitals are the majority in the market.  In China, even though private hospitals have been in fast growth for the past 10 years, their size remains small and the market is still dominated by large public hospitals.  In the most recent move of healthcare reform in China, the government emphasized and encouraged the entry of private-non-profit hospitals into the market. 

In the National Health Insurance Administration’s (NHIA) Open Information System, a set of quality indicators is computed based on hospitals’ reimbursement data.  A committee comprised of representatives from government, academia and hospitals select these indicators and the data is published to the general public on a quarterly basis. 

By using statistical tools such as descriptive analysis, univariate analysis, and multivariable analysis, Yang focused on the comparison of hospital performance by ownership in Taiwan.  The results revealed limited differences among three types of hospitals by ownership, which is consistent with findings of most studies.  Based on his findings, Yang provides policy implications to the market and policy makers that include 1) hospital ownership might not be a key determinant of a hospital’s quality and 2) the real challenge to the government may be creating an environment where hospitals are committee to improve the quality of care.