from The Trap of Differentiation Academia and the Trap of Differentiation

  • Could it be that academia’s novelty-oriented evaluation attitude promotes a differentiation trap?
    • For short fixed-term employment
      • The need to produce results within the employment period, and the risk an individual must take when investing time in a “radically non-traditional idea” that may or may not be successful.
    • Is the peer review mechanism different from the market mechanism?
      • In the marketplace, a small number of enthusiastic fans can sustain a business even if the majority of customers are repulsed, see Hostile Brands
      • Is it difficult to continue research in academia that is repugnant to the majority of researchers in that field?
        • Not really? I don’t know, depends on the mood of the field.
        • For example, at physics conferences, even occult presentations are given the opportunity to present themselves, but the room for such presentations is set aside.
    • The composition is very similar: “Experts think there is a difference, but broadly speaking, there is no significant difference.”
      • Maybe the composition is a little different depending on who the “customer” is.
        • For companies doing business with the market, there are multiple “buyers” or “customers” who are willing to pay for their products
        • For most researchers, the “buyer” or “customer” who pays for their research is the “employer” and not the singular
          • Except for professors who are doing a lot of joint research with companies.
          • Five Forces by [Michael Porter
          • The fewer buyers there are, the stronger the buyer’s bargaining power becomes. Relatively speaking, your bargaining power becomes weaker.
  • Q: Are you arguing that novelty is the most important value in academia?
    • A: No. In academia, there are more people who value novelty than in business.
    • In business, novelty is valued by a minority, and compared to the strategy of bringing successful American businesses to Japan and imitating them Time Machine Management, which is often successful, I think you would agree that academia values novelty more than business. The value that academia places on novelty over business may be agreed upon.

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