A Pioneer of Management Research and Education in Japan: Challenges from Kobe University Business School

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 be innovative 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.

Norio Kambayashi

He was born in 1965, graduated from the Faculty of Business Administration, Kobe University, and completed the master’s course at the Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University, and the doctoral course at the University of Warwick Business School, UK.

In 1992, he became Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Business Administration, Kobe University. D. in Business Administration from the University of Warwick, UK. D. in Industrial and Business Studies. He is Member of the 23rd and 24th terms of the Science Council of Japan, President of the Japan Society of Human Resource Management, President of the Japan Academy of Business Administration (current), Director of the Japan Society for the History of Business Administration (current), Executive Director of the Japan Society for Information Management (current), and Director of the Forum for Entrepreneurial Research (current).

Kyohei Hirano

He was born in 1979, graduated from the Faculty of Economics, University of Kitakyushu, and completed Ph.D. course at the Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe University. In 2008, he became Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business Administration, Kobe University. Now he is Professor at the Faculty of Business Administration, Konan University. His research interests are the economic history, business history, and history of technology in Japan.

He has served on the boards of the Japan Academy of Business Administration and the Japan Society of Business History until 2022, and is currently a board member of the Japanese Society for the History of Industrial Technology and the Japanese Society for the History of Chemistry.

Izumi Mitsui

She is Professor of Business Administration at Nihon University, College of Economics, Tokyo, Japan. She was Professor of Management Philosophy at Tezukayama University in Nara. She also taught at Fukushima University, Faculty of Economics, as Associate Professor. She stayed at Yale School of Organization and Management as Visiting Professor. She earned B.A., M.A., and Ph. D. degrees at Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo. She is Board Member of The Academy of Management Philosophy (Japan) and Ex-Vice President of The Society for the History of Management Theories (Japan). She is Leading Researcher on M.P. Follett’s management thought in Japan. Her research interests are the history of management thought, the comparative study of the western and eastern management philosophy, and the anthropological study of business administration.