From the Director

Business studies is an academic field that seeks to understand the diverse phenomena surrounding firms, markets, and other forms of economic activity through a wide range of scholarly perspectives. At the same time, it is a field firmly rooted in practice, one that has evolved through continuous engagement with the realities and transformations of business and society.

Advancing research on business requires us to observe firms and markets closely, to identify new questions and insights from practice, to conduct rigorous analyses using data derived from the business world, and to bring the knowledge we generate back not only to the academic community but also to industry and society at large. Such engagement, in turn, gives rise to new dialogue, new opportunities for observation, and ultimately new research questions. I believe that it is precisely this continuous interaction between scholarship and practice that drives the advancement of business research.

The Research Institute of Business Administration at Waseda University has long served as a bridge between academia and industry. We support business research conducted by scholars both within and beyond Waseda while fostering diverse connections with the business community. Yet our mission extends beyond supporting research. By bringing researchers and practitioners together, generating new research questions, and disseminating the knowledge that emerges from these interactions to society, we seek to serve as a driving force for advancing business research at Waseda University.

To fulfill this mission, the Institute organizes research groups across a broad range of specialized fields and promotes research activities tailored to their respective agendas. We also actively foster meaningful interaction between scholarship and practice through seminars and lectures, as well as collaborative and commissioned research with companies and other organizations. When researchers and practitioners bring their knowledge and perspectives together—and, at times, challenge one another’s assumptions—new questions emerge and new knowledge is created. The Institute is committed to creating ever more opportunities for such intellectual exchange.

Waseda University is one of Japan’s leading research and educational institutions, consistently producing internationally recognized scholarship across a broad range of business-related fields. Building upon the strong research foundation established over many years, we must continue to look ahead and aspire to even greater heights. By further strengthening our ties with researchers and the business community, both in Japan and around the world, the Research Institute of Business Administration will continue to enhance its role as a center for creating and disseminating new knowledge to the world.

Connecting scholarship with practice. Generating new questions. Creating new knowledge and bringing it to society. And allowing that knowledge, in turn, to inspire the next generation of research. Our aspiration is for the Research Institute of Business Administration to stand at the heart of this virtuous cycle and to help propel business research at Waseda University forward.

With this vision in mind, we will continue to strengthen and expand the activities of the Institute. I sincerely look forward to your active engagement with, and continued support for, our endeavors.

Junichi Yamanoi
RIBA Director
(Professor of the Waseda University Faculty of Commerce)