The Institute of Business Sciences, based at the University of Tsukuba’s Tokyo Campus (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo), is a faculty organization that promotes cutting-edge research in two main fields: business administration and law. Although the institute was established in 2011, the parent educational organization dates back to 1989, so it has a history of about 35 years. In the meantime, the scale of the project has expanded with the expansion of related educational organizations, and now there are about 50 faculty members in four research groups.
The four research groups that make up the Institute of Business Sciences each conduct distinctive research and education. In the field of business administration, the Research Group on Systems Management is oriented toward fusion research of analytics, such as mathematics and information, and business administration, while the Research Group on Global Business Management, in which foreign faculty members make up the majority, is strong in research and education of global management. In the field of law, the Research Group on Business Law focuses on cutting-edge legal issues in fields closely related to business, while the Research Group on Legal Studies is unique in that it covers all basic fields of substantive law and includes not only researchers but also practitioners.
In addition to these features, the educational organizations related to each research group are all graduate schools for working individuals with the aim of training highly specialized professionals. Working professionals enrolled in the program enter with various business-related challenges and concerns. After learning the knowledge and theories provided by faculty members, they combine these insights to develop solutions to the issues they face. On the other hand, faculty members are expected to engage in their research with an awareness of not only the academic value of their research but also the return of research results to business and society. This rich experience in such needs-driven research has led to joint research with industry, academia, and government, and we usually conduct joint or funded research with a variety of companies.
Recent changes in the business environment, such as the use of generative AI and the introduction of telecommuting, have been rapid and significant. To respond to these changes, the Institute of Business Sciences has set “Strategic Management of Digital Business Platforms” as its research theme, and plans to conduct research on the relationship between people and AI in business, as well as on organizations and institutions in virtual spaces. In order to carry out such research, we believe that organic collaboration with research organizations and companies with different specialties will become even more important in the future. The Institute of Business Sciences will continue to promote research that anticipates the changes in business and society that will occur in the future, while utilizing a research base rooted in a 35-year tradition.
Naoki Makimoto, Dean, Institute of Business Sciences