Management of Technology and Innovation in Japan

Exploiting “Interface Capabilities” in Overseas Markets 147
any customers/partners, a firm would assimilate the customer/partner-specific
knowledge, and thereby could customize the products for the customers/partners.
If the interface activities which enhance specific knowledge exchanges with
customer/partner firms are routinized within a firm, the interface activities would
be applicable to any customer/partner firms. The interfirm interface of the firm
could be open to any of customer/partner firms even though specific knowledge is
exchanged with the firm and customer/partner firms. Thus, the open interfirm interface
allows the firms to exchange both of “specific” and “generic” knowledge.
The routinized interface activities of a firm could be applied to any customer/partner
firms. Focusing on the interface between firms, the study posits that
a firm could have “interface capabilities”, which are nurtured in the close interaction
with incumbent customer/partner firms. As are specific to the firm, the interface
capabilities are distinguished from the specific knowledge of customer/partner
firms (Figure 2). Irrelevant to customer/partner firms, the interface
capabilities could help a Japanese firm assimilate the specific knowledge of the
requirements of customer/partner firms and reflect the knowledge on the products.
• Assimilated Relational Specificity
Intrafirm Technologies and
Product Development
Capabilities
Intrafirm Technologies and
Product Development
Capabilities
Manufacturer-Customer/Partner Relationship
Relation-Specific
Interface
Interface
Capabilities
Customer/Partner-Specific knowledge
• Relational Specificity Mediated by Interface Capabilities
Manufacturer Customer/Partner
Customer/Partner-Specific knowledge
Other Customer/Partner Firms
Fig. 2. Decomposability of interface capabilities and specific knowledge
Furthermore, the interface capabilities may help a firm insulate and secure the
internal technologies and associated product development capabilities from the
idiosyncratic knowledge of each of specific customer/partner firms. As is the case
in the automobile industry, Japanese suppliers may be frequently required to customize
the component designs for the customer manufacturers. However, even in
the automobile industry, the interfirm relationship does not necessarily compel the