After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nuclear power is included as an option in the energy strategy; however, nuclear power plants carry the risk of severe accidents, and regions have been divided further by nuclear power money. Above all, the TEPCO Fukushima nuclear power plant accident has made nuclear power generation a high-cost structure. To move towards a true carbon-free society, along with the phase-out of nuclear power generation, it is imperative that we progress in renewable energy development such as solar and wind power generation. At that time, we should expand ‘heartware' that will alter people's consciousness in addition to enhancing hardware and software, and the local community should take the lead with the public sector such as the local government and universities.

 Global warming is becoming an increasingly serious problem, and around the world, the movement toward decarbonized societies is accelerating. This paper first summarizes the most recent developments in the international community and Japan toward building decarbonized societies. The paper covers the Paris Agreement, the international framework for combating global warming adopted in Paris, France in 2015, the IPCC 6th Report, COP26 (Glasgow Climate Accord), and the “Green Growth Strategy Through Achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050”. These studies confirm that the world is working toward the goal of limiting the temperature increase to less than 1.5℃ above pre-industrial levels, and that Japan has positioned the creation of decarbonized societies as a growth strategy and is mobilizing all its policies to innovate in these areas.

 As a research topic in management studies, the paper then discusses perspectives and approaches available when considering the movement toward building decarbonized societies. The paper proposes a perspective on exploring value creation processes through co-creation among different actors. In other words, the current movement toward decarbonized societies represents a shift from the fossil fuel-based “carbon societies” that have existed since the Industrial Revolution, which can be viewed in the context of dynamic transformation of socioeconomic systems. To transform existing socioeconomic systems into new ones, their constituent entities - government, business, and citizens - need to collaborate and co-create. This paper argues that the role of business administration is to analyze processes of collaboration and co-creation, and to derive valuable insights into value creation for decarbonization.

 The paper also discusses the construction of smart cities as an important move toward decarbonization. Companies from various industries are participating in a smart city project promoted by Panasonic in an initiative to create new value through the co-creation among such companies. Based on the results of the fact-finding survey in this project, the paper presents a 7-stage hypothetical model of knowledge co-creation processes among firms in different industries. The 7-stages are “exploration”, “fluctuation”, “synchronization”, “concentration and distribution”, “fusion”, “trajectory” and “convergence”. Furthermore, through comparison with the “Environmental Future City” project promoted mainly by the government, the paper derives the finding that the level of exploration is important in the co-creation of knowledge between different entities. In other words, if exploration takes place at a deeper level, the subsequent knowledge co-creation process will be richer, and conversely, at a shallower level, the knowledge co-creation process will be poorer. The paper then argues that stimulating the demand for exploration among different entities and enabling exploration at a deeper level requires “loose” relationships between entities that are non-explicit, i.e. they have vague goal settings and vague division of roles, etc.

 In today's society one of the most significant problems is the safety of potentially dangerous technological systems surrounding us. A great number of innovations have been implemented to enhance safety. Ironically, these innovations also facilitate the speed, scale, and complexity of the relevant technological systems, thereby increasing potential risks. The introduction of enhanced safety measures has reduced the number of accidents, but may possibly exacerbate the severity of the damage in the event of an accident. For example, the speed and frequency of Tokaido Shinkansen, the bullet trains between Tokyo and Osaka, have gradually increased as a result of the various safety measures being implemented. Moreover, these innovations aimed at improving safety promote the substitution of autonomous systems for human operators. The development of autonomous vehicles, for instance, has been widespread in recent years. However, it is apparent that more advanced self-driving technology than level 2 will not be able to prevent serious accidents in the real world of open and mixed traffic, unless its speed is substantially slowed down to reduce the physical impact in the event of a collision. Therefore, a fundamental issue arises regarding the values of the society: which is more important, safety or efficiency? Our society places a high value on efficiency, and innovations have been geared towards enhancing efficiency. Even innovations aimed at safety have been consumed for increasing speed, size, and frequency, or for reducing human power and employment, rather than for improving safety itself. This situation cannot be changed without a shift in our society's values. Essentially, our society's values shape the gigantic inertial force of capitalist companies that create most technological systems towards efficiency. The society's values can be changed if we, as individuals, behave differently towards the same goal. Changing our society's vales 180 degrees might seem unrealistic, but a 90-degree-turn may seem acceptable: allocating safety innovations towards enhancing safety only, while maintaining status quo in terms of speed, size, and frequency of the relevant technological system. Therefore, we can resolve more social problems through innovations if we accept the change in society's values and acts accordingly.

 In Japan, there is a growing awareness of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. However, simultaneously, issues such as bribery, accounting fraud, and manipulation of the measured data in the various industries cannot be ignored. This study explores whether there is a solution to escape the complicated situation of both efforts to have a positive social impact and the problems of corporate fraud. This leads to the idea that a market mechanism is needed to evaluate ethical companies. In other words, businesses may need to compete to create a better world to change the chaotic state in which both wrongful behaviors and corporate social responsibility exist. Positive deviance (PD) in the academic field of Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) is one of the approaches. PD in POS is defined as “intentional behaviors that significantly depart from the norms of a referent group in honorable ways.” The purpose of PD is to lead business norms to excellence and ensure that other organizations follow the updated standards. In Business Ethics, this is equivalent to a moral role model based on virtue theory, in which people learn about the good values that should be cultivated, learn from the lifestyle of real heroes, and share values. With the emergence of followers, it is more than just one episode; it establishes a new standard of value. This study examines some cases of PD in business and proposes that PD is positioned as an entity that transforms business norms into competition to create a better world.

 This paper describes in detail the forefront of the author's research on innovation management, while also reviewing the history of and past trends in research on innovation management.

 It describes research on innovation management in three traditional areas─new product development, new business development within the organization, and independent startups─ including the author's research findings.

 It then proceeds to describe the latest research on innovation management, including the author's research findings, in business model innovation, innovation for digital transformation (DX), and social innovation. In particular, it describes in detail a decade of research by the author on business model innovation.

 This paper discusses the direction of corporate governance reform in Japanese companies. When discussing the direction of reform, the most important issue has been “dialogue” with the stock market and investors. Currently, the importance of dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders is also being emphasized. However, the importance of dialogue with the stock market and investors has not been denied. The concept of governance is sometimes narrowly defined as a mechanism to reflect shareholders' intentions and expectations in corporate management. This paper does not adopt such a narrow definition. It will incorporate the intentions and expectations of diverse stakeholders, including those of employees. We will argue that “dialogue” with the stock market and investors is important, but not the only way. We will argue from the standpoint that reform is still in its infancy, that there is no “one-size-fits-all” governance structure at present, and that trial and error is required.

 In the U.S., after discussions on “Board 1.0” and “Board 2.0,” discussions on “Board 3.0” are active. In addition, the revised Corporate Governance Code in the U.K. presents in-depth best practices for the relationship between employees and the company. The key point of the revision is the incorporation of employees' opinions. The emphasis is on how to reflect their opinions in corporate management and how to reflect them to society through corporate management. Internationally, the debate continues.

 This paper pays particular attention to listed subsidiaries. In particular, we will focus on the role they have played in the creation of new businesses. A prime example is the birth and growth of Toyota Motor Corporation. The history of Fujitsu and Fanuc, both of which were created out of Furukawa Zaibatsu, is also a representative example. In addition to these, many other examples can be observed. Today, listed subsidiaries are spoken of in a negative light. It is argued that they should not exist in the stock market. Foreign investors are particularly negative. However, a review of a century of new business creation in Japan shows that spin-offs have played an important role. In some cases, they have contributed to the transformation of the parent company's business structure. There is no empirical analysis that shows that listed subsidiaries have harmed the interests of minority shareholders. Listed subsidiaries should naturally interact with the stock market. At the same time, they should also deepen dialogue with the parent company, which has commitments, to fulfill the growth of both businesses.

 Japan has a history of governance by employees and labor unions. In the so-called “GAFA,” labor unions have also been organized. As mentioned above, the UK Corporate Governance Code recommends dialogue with employees. In light of these international trends, it is necessary to have a deep discussion on how dialogue with employees should be conducted.

 After the establishment of Kishida Cabinet that suggested the “new capitalism”, the corporate governance reforms in Japan entered the new phase. The task that the reform faces should be dual and layering; to realize technological innovation and economic dynamism by strengthening the role of the capital market without falling into the trap of short-termism and to establish a framework for companies to internalize the social values and sustainable development. Put it differently, the goal is not to move simply closer to the U.S. governance model or to revive the traditional Japanese model, but to newly design a “Japanese model 2.0.” It would be a hybrid of those two models. From those perspectives, this short report first summarizes the economic consequences of the corporate governance under Abenomics. Then, it suggests crucial focal points for designing Japanese model 2.0, emphasizing the redefinition of the purpose of Japanese firms, and an appropriate ownership structure that could support the purposeful corporation. Lastly, it outlines the recent “quiet” changes of ownership structure in the 2010s based on my current research.

　This book focuses on the international horizontal transfer of production technology systems in Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) and clarifies the effects of such transfers by MNCs' overseas subsidiaries. It defines a production technology system as “a system that refers to the combination or totality of various production technology elements,” and it considers the transfer of a production technology system from one overseas factory to a fellow overseas factory in another country within the same multinational corporation group as an “international horizontal transfer.”

　This volume consists of two major parts. The first, consisting of Chapters 1 through 4, is theoretical and constructs an analytical framework by critiquing the results of previous studies. The second part, Chapters 5 and 6, is empirical and conducts quantitative and qualitative analyses based on that analytical framework. The specific contents of each chapter are described below.

　Firstly, the Introduction points out that the research trend on MNCs has come to focus on knowledge transfer among business locations, and that international horizontal transfer of production technology systems encourages “learning from overseas factories through teaching,” an effect that has been overlooked by previous studies.

　Chapter 1 in the theoretical section explains the contribution of this book to the multinational enterprise (MNE) theory by describing the achievements and limitations of five classics on MNEs that are considered to be relevant to the topic of this research. Chapter 2 further clarifies the contribution of this book by discussing previous studies on technology transfer and demonstrating the achievements and limitations of technology transfer research. Chapter 3 confirms the structure of knowledge transfer as “cause - process - effect,” through an examination of previous studies on knowledge transfer. Based on the results of the above studies, Chapter 4 establishes “factor - process - effect” as the basic analytical framework for this exploration, and it also identifies the basic constructs that are incorporated into this analytical framework.

　Next, Chapter 5 in the empirical section explains how data was collected through a questionnaire survey of 391 manufacturing subsidiaries of Japanese multinationals located in six countries and regions (the U.S., Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan) that have been in operation for at least five years. Using correlation, multiple regression, and covariance structure analyses, this chapter details the discovery of the existence of the following causal chain (a causal mechanism): technology transfer (technical guidance) - explicitness of the production technology system (ease of teaching) - development of conceptual skills. Chapter 6 describes a comparative case study of two Japanese multinational manufacturing companies, in which the presence of the aforementioned causal chain is confirmed, proving that “learning on the teaching side” does in fact occur.

　Finally, the last chapter presents two conclusions based on the results of the above analyses. First, by making production technology systems explicit, the international horizontal transfer of such systems indirectly enhances the conceptual skills of engineers and workers on the teaching side. Second, MNEs can encourage further growth and self-reliance in their overseas subsidiaries (factories) by transferring production technology systems to them through international horizontal transfers, in addition to ordinal transfers from the parent factory in the home country. The findings of this book reveal a new aspect of human resource development and therefore contribute to the development of management study.

　This paper is a summary of a paper, “A Study on the Students' Scribbles during the Foundation Phase of the Faculty of Business Administration,” the authors published in the Journal of Business Management, No.48. The paper analyzes students' scribbles written in Keieigaku Nyumon (1932) and Keieigaku Tsuron (1935), which are published by Yasutaro Hirai and kept in the collection of the Kobe University Library for Social Sciences. The scribbles, written during the period from the educational system reform to around 1950, bring the voices of the students back to life. The voices included encouragement for Hirai, who had been advocating the significance of management studies since the pre-war era, whereas others showed criticism toward Hirai as well as adverse comments by the students who had been relying on the commerce studies. In this paper, the authors consider these scribbles as historical documents and discuss the emotional history of the students who went through the process of foundation of the new faculties and academic disciplines. For the students of that time, the scribbles were a means of anonymously expressing their “voices of the heart”, as is the SNS in contemporary society.

　This essay is a commentary on my article “Survival strategies of long-established companies in hostile environments: A comparative study of existing and bankrupt firms,” which received an award from the Japan Academy of Business Administration.

　The original paper conducted a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) using publicly available data about 18 long-established Japanese listed companies to examine the strategic factors that made the difference between survival and failure in the post-bubble period. The analysis revealed three strategic patterns typical of companies that have achieved extraordinary longevity of over 300 years old. Moreover, commonalities among companies that had lived for a long time but gone bankrupt in the hostile environment were examined.

　This essay also discusses additional limitations in the original paper based on the discussions held after publication. Finally, I explain the intent behind the research design of the original paper and make some recommendations regarding the prerequisites for the future development of studies on long-established companies.