【Survey of 477 Companies】New Business Promotion Foundation: 12% Advanced, 33% Passive — Visualizing Management-Frontline Perception Gap Across 6 Axes

Archetype Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Tatsuhiko Kanno; hereinafter "Archetype"), a business development support company, conducted an industry-wide survey on the new business execution capabilities of Japanese companies (valid responses from 477 companies, 19 industries + government/public institutions) and announced its results.

The survey measured the policies of the management side and the actual conditions of the front-line side across 6 axes (specificity of strategy / seriousness of resource allocation / decision criteria and withdrawal rules / path to commercialization / stance on external utilization / data and AI utilization). Among the 477 companies, only 12% of organizations had a management-side promotion foundation in the "Advanced Zone" (25 points or more out of 30), while 33% were in the "Passive Zone" (15 points or less). The management strategy for data and AI utilization was the lowest among the 12 survey questions, revealing a structure where management's policy development is not keeping pace with front-line implementation.

6-axis x Management/Frontline Gap Distribution. ①-⑤ show "management leading" surpassing "front-line leading", but only ⑥ Data/AI utilization reverses with front-line 33% > management 15%. This is the only axis where front-line trials precede management policies.

Key Findings

Discovery 1: 4-Category Distribution of Promotion Foundations — 12% Advanced, 33% Passive, 55% Intermediate

We classified 477 companies into 4 categories based on the total score of the 6 management-side axes (max 30 points).

Advanced Zone (25 points or more): 58 companies, 12% Active Zone (20-24 points): 103 companies, 22% Average Zone (16-19 points): 157 companies, 33% Passive Zone (15 points or less): 159 companies, 33%

The "Intermediate Zone", combining the Active and Average Zones, accounts for 55%, with one in three companies falling into the Passive Zone. Only 12% of companies have reached a mature stage in their new business promotion foundation, indicating that raising the execution foundation is a challenge for many Japanese companies.

New Business Promotion Foundation 4-Category Distribution of 477 valid responses. Compared to 12% in the Advanced Zone, 33% are in the Passive Zone, with one in three companies stagnant at 15 points or less (total score of 6 management-side axes x 5-level scale, max 30 points).

Discovery 2: Management's "AI Strategy" is the Lowest Level Among 12 Survey Questions

The management-side data/AI utilization policy score (Q12) was 2.76 out of 5 levels, the lowest value among the 12 questions in this survey. On the other hand, the front-line AI implementation score (Q13) was 3.01, and in the axis of AI utilization, organizations where "the front-line surpasses management" reached 33% (out of 477 companies), making it the highest "front-line leading" ratio among the 6 axes.

This indicates a structure where front-line personnel have begun independently incorporating AI into their work before management has established an AI strategy.

Average scores (5-level) and differences between management side and front-line side for the 6 axes. ⑥ Management side for AI utilization at 2.76 is the minimum value among 12 questions, and is the only case where the front-line side (3.01) surpasses the management side. ① Strategy has the maximum gap of +0.35 (front-line 3.35 > management 3.00).

Discovery 3: External Collaboration has "Management Policy Existing," but 33% of Companies Fail to Achieve Front-line Results

Regarding the stance on external utilization (axis ⑤), organizations where "management leads front-line" (management policy is more advanced than front-line results) reached 33% (out of 477 companies). Conversely, "front-line leading" organizations accounted for 18%, the lowest result among the 6 axes.

This suggests a reality where even if management sets policies such as startup collaboration and promotion of open innovation, it does not lead to concrete business results such as PoCs or joint development.

Discovery 4: Management x Front-line Gap Distribution by Axis

We visualized the company ratios of "management leading", "alignment", and "front-line leading" for each axis.

6-axis x Management/Frontline Gap Distribution. ①-⑤ show "management leading" surpassing "front-line leading", but only ⑥ Data/AI utilization reverses with front-line 33% > management 15%. This is the only axis where front-line trials precede management policies.

For axes ①-⑤, the ratio of "management leading" (management policy more advanced than front-line results) exceeds "front-line leading" (front-line reality surpasses management policy). However, only for axis ⑥ Data/AI utilization, the structure is reversed, with management leading at 15% versus front-line leading at 33%.

Note that for axis ① only, n=408 because 69 companies that answered "not indicated / not set" for Q1 (presence of promotion policy) skipped Q3 (specificity of policy) due to the survey design.

Original Framework: 6-Type Classification

We developed a framework that automatically classifies organizations into 6 types based on 12 answer patterns. The determination is a mechanical process based on the flowchart below, a reproducible method that yields the same results regardless of who performs the classification.

6 types are automatically classified with a 4-step determination rule (408 companies). In Step 1, the alignment degree of all 6 axes is determined; if aligned, it proceeds to "Highly Aligned Type" or "Underdeveloped Foundation Type". If not aligned, Steps 2-4 determine based on external preference, front-line leading, and maximum gap axis, assigning it to one of the 6 types.

Distribution of 6 types (out of 408 companies)

6 types distribution (408 companies)