Shuhei Inada: From Administrative Engineering to Business Administration

It has been nearly three years since I transferred from the Faculty of Science and Technology at Keio University to my current affiliation. Originally, I spent many years researching methodologies to improve factory productivity. My acquaintances frequently ask me why I moved from the Faculty of Science and Technology to a business school, but I usually give a vague answer like "because it seemed interesting." To be honest, I decided to transfer because I wanted to broadly explore ideas and methodologies for the sustainable growth of Japanese manufacturing companies, without being restricted by the boundaries between the humanities and the sciences.

It is said that the average lifespan of a Japanese manufacturing company is just under 40 years. Compared to other business sectors such as wholesale, insurance, and finance, the lifespan of manufacturing companies is relatively long, yet it still remains at around 40 years. It is truly that difficult for a company to survive over the long term.

Fortunately, since moving to the Graduate School of Business Administration, my opportunities to visit factories and speak with corporate executives and management have increased significantly. Among these companies, some are steadily improving their performance, while others are struggling to grow. In the field of business administration, a theory called "Ambidextrous Management" has been proposed for some time. Regardless of whether the corporate executives were aware of this theory, I strongly feel that the former companies are practicing a well-balanced combination of "exploitation" and "exploration"—the core of ambidextrous theory. Another characteristic is that corporate management policies, including management philosophies, have permeated the manufacturing floor, and the entire company is working together to create a workplace that aligns with those policies. In any case, they do not get caught up in short-term management ups and downs, but rather carry out management with a long-term perspective, which seems to be the driving force behind their high level of management.

My current focus is on how to apply the knowledge gained from these successful companies to other firms and link it to improvements in management quality. From a researcher's perspective, I want to find a path that allows more manufacturing companies to achieve sustainable growth by constructing a theoretical framework based on the actual conditions of the companies. Moving to a new base of activities has greatly expanded my research horizons, but at the same time, the amount of things I need to study has also increased significantly. I intend to steadily explore methodologies that will enable more manufacturing companies to achieve sustainable growth.