The Emerging Value Network in the Mobile Phone Industry:

The case of Japan and its im-plications for the rest of the

worldReviewer : Johnsir Ohjohnsir@korea.ac.kr

Value Chain vs. Value Net-work

• value chain is connected with mul-tiple activities between firms

• value network is linked with multiple sellers and buyers and relevant to network industries such as PC and in-ternet

The emerging value net-work

The Result: Entertainment• Java and Vector graphic (e.g. 3D,

Flash)• Mini-MIDI ringtones• MP3 with lyrics• Games• Downloadable at i-appli

The Result: General Internet sites• NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a wireless internet

service popular in Japan• Unlike Wireless Application Protocol or

WAP, i-mode encompasses a wider varietyof internet standards, including web access,e-mail and the packet-switched network that delivers the data

• e-mail, sports results, weather forecast, games, financial services and ticket booking

• Content is provided by specialized services,typically from the mobile carrier, which allowsthem to have tighter control over billing

The Result: Publishing

http://www.colorzip.co.kr/sub/info_03.asp

The Result: Location-based services

http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2009/03/let_your_phone_speak_to_the_car.html

Osaifu-Keitai

http://www.nttdocomo.com/services/osaifu/index.html

The Result: Retail and ticketing systems

• BitWallet, based in Tokyo, is an electronic money service provider that started Edy from November 2001

• Edy is a contactless electronic money service based on FeliCa technology developed by Sony Corporation

• As of August 2006, more than 40,000 retail shops and websites in Japanincluding convenience stores, airports, restaurants, supermarkets, amusement parks and game centers, etc. 

The Result: Broadcasting• One-Seg is a terrestrial digital TV broadcasting service for

mobile devices• This service is called "One-Seg" because the bandwidth of

the single channel (6 MHz) allocated to each broadcaster is divided into 13 segments and one of those segments is used for mobile devices

• Just as with terrestrial digital broadcasts, data broadcasts can also be received at the same time as video

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/service/function/1seg/

Implications• Firms involved, complex relationships• Strategic approach• Complexity of critical mass• New interface standards• New methodology• Interdependency • Policy involved

Discussion• What reason to retard m-commerce

in Korea?

• Aren’t there any superior assets to Japan in mobile circumstance?