Norio Kambayashi – författare

Following the burst of the “economic bubble” in the 1990s, many Japanese companies were required to reform their management systems. Changes in corporate governance were widely discussed during that decade in studies on “Japanese management.” These discussions have resulted in little progress, however, since Americanization became the dominant discourse concerning governance and the management system. There have been few studies conducted from an academic point of view on the internal aspects of organizations that practice traditional Japanese management theory.

This book examines how, and the degree to which, the development of market principles accompanying the advances of globalization has affected the traditional Japanese system. It focuses on four aspects of corporate management: management institutions, strategy, organization, and human resource management. The aggregation of the new management system in Japanese companies is regarded as a distinctive Japanese-style system of management. With emphasis on these four aspects, research was conducted on the basic structure of that system, following changes in the market,technology, and society. Further, specific functions of the basic structure of the Japanese-style management system were studied. Those findings are included here, along with a discussion and analysis of the direction of future changes.

The purpose of this book is to clarify the mission and history of Kobe University Business School (KUBS), not only for the development of management education but also for the familiarization of industry in Japan with the ideas of modern management. Kobe University was the first in Japan to establish a faculty of business administration and has continued to conduct research and education in the field to this day. Under the influence of Germany and the USA, the academic area of management in Japan has achieved unique development not witnessed in other countries. Since 1902, when its predecessor, Kobe Higher Commercial School, was established, KUBS has been a pioneer of research and education in management studies in Japan by overcoming many obstacles and difficulties.

Even now in the age of globalization, the spirit of innovation and liberal academic style, from the time of its establishment, are inherent in KUBS, and the faculty members have made great efforts to beinnovative in management studies. This book aims to explore the mission and history of KUBS and to elucidate the development process of Japanese-style management research and education by introducing the diverse areas of management studies and the profiles of researchers.