GLOCOM conducts research based on the three focus points of a technology-driven society, an innovation-creating society, and global social changes, and explores how the knowledge and information society will cause us to evolve.
The accelerating pace of technological innovation has various effects on areas ranging from our daily life to business. We promote research on how changes in technologies will affect our society and what kinds of technologies we can use to resolve social issues from the perspectives of both technology and society.
Innovation that creates new value is becoming increasingly important as existing businesses become saturated, and predicting the future grows more difficult due to dramatic changes in our current era. We conduct practical research on how the mechanisms that create innovation are changing, and what kind of approach is required to promote innovation in companies and in society.
We are entering a new phase of economic interactions on a global scale that includes fluctuations in the center of the global economy, increasing disparities within developed countries, and concerns over technology leading to unemployment. We seek to gain an integrated understanding of changes and interactions on various levels, ranging from international trade and regional economies to organizational forms and values, as we deepen our understanding of a new global social vision and explore ways of resolving these issues.
A wide range of topics arising in the information society are organized as shown in the figure below, based on the areas in which GLOCOM currently has particular expertise, such as contributing to public policy, private business, or both.
We support open data policies that open up government and local government data to the public, leading to the utilization of data by companies and the advancement of government and democracy. Our research in this area is multifaceted, including evaluation of policies, international comparisons, and uncovering needs related to data.
Open data / Data Utilization / Democracy
A variety of issues have been pointed out in the age of SNS, such as the risk of online scandals, fake news, and social fragmentation. This research will clarify the mechanisms and realities of SNS through data analysis, and provide guidance on how people, companies, and governments should utilize and deal with SNS.
Social Media / Democracy / Internet Scandals / Fake News/ COVID-19
We promote the introduction of digital technology into culture-related industries and policies, and support the further promotion of Japanese culture and its dissemination to the world. We will conduct surveys and research on overseas trends and the current situation in Japan, support domestic and international stakeholder collaboration, and present an image of cultural industries in the post COVID-19 world.
Culture / Stakeholder Collaboration / COVID-19
We will look at the global shift in the view on education and learning and educational informatization based on an uncertain future. We will cover the following topics: decomposition and restructuring of school education in response to COVID-19 measures, learner-centered stationary ICT utilization, improvement of learning efficiency and intellectual productivity through cloud utilization, digital citizenship education, and trust building among educational stakeholders.
Educational Informatization / Digital Citizenship / Digital Transformation
The concept of smart cities represents a new stage of the utilization of IoT and personal data in a wide range of service fields. Based on domestic and international case studies, we will study incentives for data sharing and citizen participation, and the creation of new value brought about by data sharing.
Smart City / IoT / Personal Data
From communication with citizens during disasters and pandemics to stockpiling in preparation for disasters, cooperation and role sharing among related parties such as local governments, companies, and citizens is crucial. Through research, we will seek out issues and ideal forms, and design specific systems.
Disaster Response / COVID-19 / Stakeholder Collaboration
The development of information technology has greatly changed the nature of tourism. We will analyze the behavior of today’s tourists, who use mobile devices, GPS, and social media, and derive from this a response for how the tourism industry should be in this age, including pressing issues such as countermeasures against infectious diseases.
Tourism / Social Media / COVID-19
We will envision new types of citizens who will play an active role in the digital society and take responsibility for the realization of a better society, and identify education, systems and services, and various policies that the public and private sectors can provide to foster and support such citizens.
Educational Informatization / Digital Citizenship /Social Media /Democracy /Literacy
As a result of COVID-19, our lifestyles have reached a major turning point in terms of work styles, education, medical care, and entertainment. Internationally, a new post COVID-19 paradigm is emerging in areas such as economic activities and international cooperation, and its implementation is being promoted in many countries. We will aim to clarify the role that ICT should play in this “new normal” era, which demands a new state of affairs and common sense, and to implement it in society.
COVID-19
We evaluate the various areas of application of digital technology that are newly opening up, such as the replication of reality and the construction of fictional reality, in relation to social issues and user needs, and contribute to the formation of strategies that are beneficial to companies, governments, and municipalities.
Culture / Social Media
We will present empirical studies and strategies related to business models that need to be transformed in the new economic environment, such as the use of big data and the enormous growth of platforms. In addition, we will discuss the challenges of DX strategies, such as fostering a new corporate culture rooted in design thinking and organizational transformation to enable the creation of new customer experiences and value, as well as transformation to address risks, based on case studies.
Digital Transformation / Organizational Management / Big Data / Platform / Data Utilization / Covid-19
Understanding the potential for innovation (transformation of prototyping, open innovation, acquisition of usage data, etc.), which is increasing along with the progress of digitalization in the manufacturing field, we make policy proposals, formulate visions for the future, and support open innovation.
Digital Fabrication / Open Innovation
The possibility of unemployment due to technology, the increase in the number of generations reaching retirement age, huge disasters, infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and climate change are increasing opportunities to rethink the growth economy-based society. From the accumulation of related research, it has become clear that the role of the information society, such as interaction with friends, the exercise of autonomy, and social participation and connection, is a pathway that influences affluence. We will explore the possibilities and management implications of ICT in such a mature society.
Mature Society / Climate Change / Disasters / COVID-19
