Japanese IT-Skill Dilemma

Abstract

Japanese companies are facing a dilemma regarding their IT skills. Although many Japanese feel the need to expand the scope of their information systems by implementing newer technologies, they are still obsessed with the “not-made-for-us syndrome.” Japanese IS vendors have been unable to establish a new business model, because the integration of new and old technologies is not easy. When considering the IT skills in Japanese firms, our attention is primarily focused on the characteristics of traditional IT skills before focusing on the newly required skills, because the traditional IT skills have developed strong inertia that prevents change. We will analyze the current situation of the Japanese IT-skill dilemma and discuss methods to resolve it.