New Business Approach to Gerontechnology in China

Concerns with the aging global population have been growing and have led to a call for further investment in innovative senior-friendly products to promote healthy and independent living. New and old businesses have strived to adopt different business models to assist them in addressing this challenge, but they may have been using the wrong approach. This chapter provides a holistic overview of the current global advancements in gerontechnology products and services and how Chinese businesses can learn from past and present cases to penetrate a new market of special users who have targeted needs and demands. Gerontechnology products and services fall under five main categories, namely, housing, social, health, mobility, and communication. Each category is elaborated in detail regarding the composite functions and technologies of the products and services associated with it. Case studies focusing on robotics in Japan, smart homes in the USA, and automated vehicles in Europe are presented and examined to determine the learning points that companies can leverage during their expansion and development of gerontechnology products and services. Every new market brings both challenges and opportunities and perspectives on ageism and technology, geographical differences, technological literacy, as well as privacy and security concerns reveal the main issues that businesses in the gerontechnology industry should recognize. The new business model for the elderly care services industry should, therefore, be customer-centric and design-centered.