About us　- Japan Academy of Business Administration –

Officers and committee members2025
Officers and committee members2024
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The Japan Academy of Business Administration (JABA), founded on July 10, 1926, is the second oldest of the scholarly business management organizations in the world, as the Verband der Hochschullehrer für Betriebswirtschaft e. V. (VHB) was founded in 1924 and the Academy of Management (AoM) was founded in 1936.

The JABA membership had, at beginning, debated whether the organization’s name would include the designation of “Business Administration” or “Commerce.” While the academic field of business administration was not in existence in Japan at the time, the members adopted the name, The Japan Academy of Business Administration. The Academy’s membership numbered 342 in 1927, immediately following its founding, and in fifty years by 1977, it had increased to 1,677.

Today, with almost 1,800 members and as one of the largest scholarly societies in social science in Japan, JABA has been playing an extensive role in a variety of research fields. The discipline of business administration studies has expanded and JABA, as a scholarly organization in the comprehensive business administration field, has expanded its subjects of study to many sectors, not only in for-profit business management but also in non-profit business administration and hospital management, these in response to increased demand in these fields.

Welcome to the Japan Academy of Business Administration

The Japan Academy of Business Administration (JABA), a comprehensive academic society for management studies, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the year 2026. It is the oldest academic society related to management studies in Japan and one of the most historic in the world. As members of this academic community, we believe it is our responsibility to honor our long-standing traditions without falling into complacency. At the same time, we must remain attentive to the evolving dynamics of society and management, and endeavor to contribute to illuminating their future trajectories. To that end, we believe it is essential to encourage greater participation of researchers in the field of business administration in our society, and to promote active research exchange and intellectual dialogue among members through national conferences, regional meetings, and our Journal of Business Management.

One of the key strengths of JABA lies in its inclusiveness of diverse perspectives within the field of management studies, as our membership comprises researchers from a wide range of specialized disciplines. Presentations at our national and regional conferences are open to all forms of academic research related to management and organization. As a result, they encompass a wide range of topics and methodologies, including empirical studies with diverse approaches, theoretical and philosophical discussions, methodological debates, historical analyses, and international comparisons. Our membership represents a broad spectrum of academic fields, including general management, organizational theory, organizational behavior, human resource management, strategic management, international business, corporate governance, managerial finance, management information systems, business ethics, business history, history of management thought, technology management, operations management, risk management, small business studies, nonprofit organizations, entrepreneurship, marketing, and accounting. In addition, we provide various opportunities for interaction with practitioners and hold sessions in English, creating multiple venues for diverse and wide-ranging discussions.

To foster the development of early-career researchers, JABA has established a system within the open-topic presentation sessions at the national conference that allocates ample presentation time to graduate students and provides careful feedback from session chairs based on prior review of their submitted conference papers. For particularly outstanding presentations, we will provide further guidance and support to help the presenters develop their work for potential publication in our Journal of Business Management. The journal, first published in 1997, currently publishes three issues per year and features more than ten peer-reviewed articles submitted through open calls. A well-established peer review system is in place, and the review process is relatively short compared to other established journals. While acceptance may not always be easy, the journal’s rigorous review process enhances its credibility as a trusted domestic peer-reviewed publication, making it a valuable platform for disseminating research.

JABA played a significant role in the establishment of International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management (IFSAM), alongside management associations from countries such as the United States and Germany, and hosted the first World Congress in Tokyo in 1992. Since then, we have remained actively involved as a founding member of IFSAM, hosted the World Congress again in Tokyo in 2014, and currently have two members of JABA serving on the IFSAM Executive Committee. We also engage in academic exchange with management associations in various countries, including Germany and Italy. We will continue to maintain and strengthen these relationships in order to further promote the globalization of management studies in Japan.

Finally, various projects are being planned to commemorate the 100th anniversary of our founding, scheduled to take place between 2026 and 2027. We hope this will serve as an opportunity to reflect on the history of JABA while looking forward to the future and beyond, with a global perspective. Taking this opportunity, we sincerely invite management researchers to join JABA and humbly ask our supporters for their continued and increased support and cooperation.

Takuji Hara

President, the Japan Academy of Business Administration
September 2025