Japanese Business in the Digital Age

Call for papers & proposal requirements

The main theme of the book is Japanese business in the digital age.  We seek proposals for the book that highlight how the Japanese industry is adopting (or adapting) digital technologies and how it is addressing the challenges posed by the emerging technologies. We expect papers from all management areas impacted by digital technologies including manufacturing, human resources such as training and development, economic and financial impacts along with service perspectives.

Proposal should include the following:

• Title of the Chapter
• Names of authors and their affiliation (institution they represent)
  • Corresponding author should be identified with a (*)
  • Email of corresponding author should be noted
• Proposals should be between 400-500 words in length highlighting the key issues it will address
• Five keywords
• Bios of all authors (between 150-200 words)

Review Process

Proposals submitted will be reviewed by the Editors and an initial structure of the book will be created. After a shortlisting process, selected authors will be invited to submit full papers (about 3000-4000 words). Full Papers submitted will be peer-reviewed by a team of academics and practitioners from around the world. The review process will be coordinated by the Editors and an Editorial Board. The Editors and the Editorial Board members will be introduced when the call for full papers is made.

Objective and Background

Business today is facing unprecedented change mainly due to adoption of new (digital) technologies. We are noticing manufacturing and services being transformed further due to advanced robotics, emergence of artificial intelligence, growth of digital networks which are growing in size and capability as the number of connected devices explodes, advanced manufacturing (such as 3D printing), and collaborative connected platforms including machine to machine communications. Adoption of digital technology has caused process disruptions in both manufacturing and services sector and led to new business models and new products. While most of these examples are in front of us and we read and hear about them in media, this book targets not-so-obvious disruptions (e.g. in the education sector, in services and changing business models) along with some obvious ones (e.g. 3D printing and in addressing mobility issues).

This book explores the impact of such changes from a Japanese perspective on the workforce, education to prepare the workforce for tomorrow, ways to finance technology advancements, the impact of new products and services, impact on supply chains, etc. It will attempt to paint a big picture in which a previously manufacturing centric successful economy adopts change to retain and rebuild success in the global environment.

About the Editors

Anshuman KHARE is Professor in Operations Management at Athabasca University, Canada. He joined Athabasca University in January 2000. He is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and has completed two post-doctoral terms at Johannes Gutenberg Universität in Mainz, Germany. He is also a former Monbusho Scholar, having completed a postdoctoral assignment at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. He has published a number of books and research papers on a wide range of topics. His research focuses on environmental regulation impacts on industry, just-in-time manufacturing, supply chain management, sustainability, cities and climate change, online business education, etc. He is passionate about online business education. Anshuman serves as the Editor of IAFOR Journal of Business and Management, Associate Editor of "International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education" published by Emerald and is on the Editorial Board of International Journal of Applied Management and Technology.

Hiroki ISHIKURA is a professor for the Department of Commerce in Osaka Gakuin University, Japan and used to be an assistant professor Kyoto University.  He received a Doctor of Engineering degree from Kyoto Institute of Technology and graduated from Fukui University textile engineering department. His research interests lie inn Manufacturing Systems. He is closely involved with academic societies such as the International Journal of the Japan Society for Production Management (Editor in Chief), International Journal of Standardization (Editor in Chief), International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management (UK) as Editorial Board Member and the Society for Standardization Research (Vice Chairman), the Society of Japan Production Management (Director), the Textile Machinery Society of Japan (Fellow), International and Domestic Technologies, Japan (Secretariat) and Textile Research Journal, USA as a reviewer.

William W. BABER has combined education with business throughout his career, his professional experience has included economic development in the State of Maryland, language services in the Washington, DC area, supporting business starters in Japan, as well as teaching business students in Japan, Europe, and Canada.  He is at the Graduate School of Management at Kyoto University where he is Associate Professor in addition to holding courses at University of Vienna and University of Jyväskylä.  

Contact / Coordinating Editor

Dr. Anshuman Khare

Professor for Operations Management

ATHABASCA UNIVERSITY 

201 - 13220 St. Albert Trail

Edmonton AB T5L 4W1

CANADA

E-mail: anshuman.khare@fb.athabascau.ca

Timeline and Deadlines

September 2018 – December 2019

• Call for proposals: August1, 2018
• Receipt of proposals: October 31, 2018
• Call for papers after review of proposals: November 30, 2018
• Receipt of full papers: April 30, 2019
• Review and revisions to be completed by July 31, 2019
• Preparation of manuscripts and handover to publisher by September 30, 2019

Target Date of Publication: The target date for publication is December 2019 provided everything goes as planned.