Yoshitaka Okada, a Professor of Sociology and Business, was the Director of the Institute for International Strategy (IIS) at Tokyo International University until March 2021. He was also the Director of the Center for Inclusive Business and CSR (CIBC) within the IIS at TIU. He obtained a Ph.D. in Economic Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981. After that, he started his academic career at the International University of Japan, where between 1982 and 1993 he advanced from Research Assistant to Assistant Professor, then Associate Professor and finally full Professor. In 1994, he became a Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts (known as the Faculty of Comparative Culture at the time) at Sophia University, where he remained until 2014. During that time, he served as Director of the Institute of Comparative Culture (2002-2008) and Dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts (2009-2013). Before moving to TIU in 2014, he was appointed Professor Emeritus by Sophia University.

As an invited professor, Okada has taught at Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration (1992), the Economics Department at the University of Victoria (1991), the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs and Economics Department at Carleton University (Ottawa, 1990), the Sociology Department and Graduate School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1987), and De La Salle University (Manila, 1985). In addition, he was invited as an overseas visiting scholar to St. John’s College at the University of Cambridge, where he conducted research for three months beginning in April 2001. From there, he continued his research at the University of Oxford, affiliating with St. Antony's College, the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, and the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology until February 2002. From October 2008 to March 2009, he was a visiting researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Cologne, Germany, where he conducted research on bio and nano ventures.

Okada's Ph.D. dissertation, “Investment Policies and US and Japanese Multinational Corporations”, was based on research in Indonesia. Since then in addition to his teaching, he has been involved in high-profile projects such as: (1) a United Nations University project on “Self-reliance in Science and Technology for National Development in Japan”, (2) an eight-country comparative research project on “The Social System of Production” led by Professor Rogers Hollingsworth of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, (3) a seven-country comparative research project, organized by the World Bank, on “Institutional and Policy Priorities for Technological Development”, (4) his own project on “Competitive- Cum-Cooperative Inter-firm Relations and Dynamics in Japanese Semiconductor Industry”, (5) a joint project with three others on "Institutional Restrictions and Organizational Flexibility for Transforming the Japanese High-Tech Innovation System", (6) a Japan-UK comparative research project on “Relations among Advanced Technology Innovations, Inter-firm Relations, and Technology Supporting Institutions in the Semiconductor and the Bio Industries”, (7) a research project on "Influence of Socio-Economic Institutions on Risk Recognitions of Entrepreneurs: Cases of Japan's High-Tech Industries", (8) action research on “The Redevelopment of Businesses in the Disaster-stricken Tohoku Area”, and (9) “Institutional Interconnections, Inclusive Business and Cross-boundary Cooperation: Comparative Research among Japanese/European/North American/Local Companies in India and Africa”.

Okada has been invited to present at conferences organized by research institutes, international organizations, government agencies and universities. Examples include the Presidential Council on National Branding, the Korean Government (2010), the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (1999), Frederich Naumann Stiftung (Hong Kong, 1997), World Bank (1992, 1993, 1994), Chilean Development Agency (1998), University of Illinois-Urbana (1987), McMaster University in Canada (1990), University of Utah (1987), University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands (1991), and Universiti Sains Malaysia (Penang, 1996 & 1998). He is also quite active in presenting papers at events sponsored by international academic associations, especially in the Society for Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE), which elected him to its executive council (2003-2006). In addition, he has served as an editorial board member of Socio-Economic Review, the official journal of SASE (2001-2013).

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Okada, Y. (2013). 制度変革とＢＯＰビジネス: 持続可能性と分散知識 (Institutional change and BOP business: Sustainability and dispersed knowledge). 国際ビジネス研究 (Journal of International Business), 5(2), 15-29, 136.

Okada, Y. (2008). From vertical cooperation to horizontal inter-firm cooperation: Shift for dynamic innovation in Japan’s semiconductor industry. Asia Pacific Business Review, 14(3), 379-400.

Okada, Y. (2004). Institutional persistence and companies' struggles for survival: Case of Japanese semiconductor industry. Journal of Asian Business, 20(3), 41-76.

Okada, Y. (1999). Path-dependent globalization: The state and financial deregulation in Japan. Humanomics, 14(4), 19-48, & 15(1), 19-48.

Kojima, S., & Okada, Y. (1997). Catching up to leadership: The role of technology-support institutions in Japan’s casting sector. World Bank Technical Paper, 384. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.

Okada, Y. (1985). Indigenization policies and structural cooptation by multinational corporations. Development and Change, 16(4), 603-634.

Slesinger, D. P., & Okada, Y. (1984). Fertility patterns of Hispanic migrant farm women: Testing the effect of assimilation. Rural Sociology, 49(3), 430-440.

Okada, Y. (1983). Dilemma of Indonesian dependency on foreign direct investment. Development and Change, 14, 115-132.

Books

Okada, Y. and Stanislawski, S. (Eds.), (2021). Institutional Interconnections and Cross-Boundary Cooperation in Inclusive Business: Case Studies from India and Africa. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing.

Okada, Y. (Ed.), (2006). Struggle for survival: Institutional and organizational changes in Japan’s high-tech industries. Tokyo, Japan: Springer-Verlag.

Okada, Y. (2000). Competitive-cum-cooperative inter-firm relations and dynamics of the Japanese semiconductor industry. Tokyo, Japan: Springer-Verlag.

Okada, Y. (Ed.), (1999). Japan’s industrial technology development: The role of cooperative learning and institutions. Tokyo, Japan: Springer-Verlag.

Book Chapters

Okada, Y. (2014). Creating shared value (CSV) and supply chain management (SCM) in developing countries. In Japan Forum of Business and Society (Ed.), CSR and Corporate Governance (pp. 54-73). Tokyo, Japan: Chikura Shobo.

Okada, Y. (2012). ＢＯＰビジネスの可能性：考え方とケース (The potential of BOP business: Ways of thinking and case studies). In 大石芳裕(Y. Oishi), 桑名義晴(Y. Kuwana), 田端昌平(S. Tabata), & 安室憲一(K. Yasumuro) (Eds.), 多国籍企業と新興市場 (Multinational corporations and emerging markets) (pp. 263-284). Tokyo, Japan: 文真堂(Bunshindo).

Okada, Y. (2009). From vertical to horizontal inter-firm cooperation: Dynamic innovation in Japan’s semiconductor industry. In K. Jackson, & P. Debroux (Eds.), Innovation in Japan: Emerging patterns, enduring myths (pp. 93-114). London, U.K.: Routledge.

Okada, Y. (1999, October). Cooperative learning and Japan’s techno-governance structure: Case studies. Best practices in managing technology systems and extension institutions. CD publication with papers presented at a conference organized by The Policy Level Group on Small and Medium Enterprise of APEC and The Chilean Development Agency. Santiago, Chile: Chilean Development Agency.

Okada, Y. (1997). Indigenization policies and cooperation strategy of multinationals: The Philippines in the 1980s. In N. Kobayashi (Ed.), Management: A global perspective (pp. 346-366). Tokyo, Japan: The Japan Times.

Shishido, T., Hayashi, T., Inukai, I., Kimura, S., Uchida, H., Okada, Y., and Tada, H. (1994). Japan. In S. Chamarik, & S. Goonatilake (Eds.), Technological independence: The Asian experience (pp. 294-352). Tokyo, Japan: United Nations University Press.

Okada, Y. (1992). Technology and U.S.-Japan relations. In T. Leuenberger, & M. E. Weinstein (Eds.), Europe, Japan and America in the 1990s (pp. 132-161). Heiderberg, Germany: Springer-Verlag.

English, E. H., & Okada, Y. (1991). Japan? Rising sun or western star. In F. O. Hampson, & C. J. Maule (Eds.), Canada among nations 1990-91: After the Cold War (209-240). Ottawa, Canada: Carleton University Press.

Reports and Articles

Okada, Y. (2014). 東北被災地支援： ふるさと価値観と復興へのビジネスモデル (Tohoku redevelopment support: Furusato values and business models for redevelopment). 創価経済論集 (Soka Keizai Ronshu), 38(2, 3), 5-16.

Okada, Y. (2008, March). Japanese and U.S. systems of cooperative learning for high technological dynamics: Transformation of techno-governance structures and practices. Paper submitted to the National Council of Applied Economic Research, the Government of India, Delhi, India.

Okada, Y. (2005). 企業の社会的責任(CSR)と人権 (Corporate social responsibility and human rights). 世界経済評論 (World Economic Review), 49(11), 33-40, & 49(12), 34-44.

Okada, Y. (2005). 人権とCSR、そして中国におけるサプライ・チェイン・マネッジメント (Human rights and CSR, and supply-chain management in China). In 谷本寛治(K. Tanimoto) (Ed.), グローバライゼーションと企業の社会的責任 (Globalization and Corporate Social Responsibility), 労働政策研究報告書 (Labor Policy Research Report) No. 45 (pp. 48-78). Tokyo, Japan: 労働政策研究・研修機構 (Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training).

Okada, Y. (1999, August). Authenticity and modernity in Japan’s industrial development. Asian Monographs No. 27. Cairo, Egypt: Center for Asian Studies, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University.

Okada, Y. (1998). Institutions, corporate environment and transformation of Japanese management. Sangnum Forum 1(1), 37-79.

Okada, Y. (1991). Cooperative sectoral governance structure of Japanese automobile industry in North America: Framework for analysis. Ottawa, Canada: Asian Pacific Research and Resource Center.

Okada, Y. (1990). 日米半導体産業におけるガヴァナンス構造の比較 (Comparison of governance structures in U.S. and Japanese semiconductor industries). 世界経済評論 (World Economic Review) 3, 40-53, & 4, 59-65.

Okada, Y. (1987, June). フィリピンと太平洋協力 (The Philippines and Pacific cooperation). 国際問題(International Affairs) 327, 38-52.

Okada, Y. (1984). 多国籍企業と現地化問題I & II: 従属か相互依存か (Multinational corporations and indigenization: Dependency or interdependence?). 世界経済評論 (World Economic Review) 28(6), 36-45, & 28(7), 28-34.

Okada, Y., & Slesinger, D. (1982). The use of the multiplicity sampling procedure in a study of migrant agricultural women. CDE Working Paper 82-28, submitted to the Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Paper Presentations

International Conferences and Lectures:

Okada, Y. (2013, September). Creating shared value (CSV) and supply chain management (SCM) in Developing Countries. A paper presented at the CSR and Corporate Governance International Joint Conference, Co-hosted by Japan Forum of Business and Society (JFBS), Humboldt University International CSR Conference (HU CSR) and Japanese German Center Berlin (JDZB), Tokyo, Japan.

Okada, Y. (2013, May). Redevelopment of disaster-stricken Tohoku: Furusato embeddedness and inclusive business models for resource-deprived people. A paper presented at the Practical Wisdom from the Japanese Spiritual and Philosophical Traditions Conference organized by the Academy of Business in Society and Yale University, funded by the European Foundation for Management Development, Tokyo, Japan.

International Academic Associations:

Okada, Y. (2014, July). Institutional changes and inclusive business: Sustainability and dispersed knowledge. A paper presented at the Society for Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, Chicago & Evanston, IL.

Japanese Academic Associations:

Okada, Y. (2015, December). Institutional interconnections, inclusive business and cross-boundary cooperation: Conceptual framework for comparative research on Japanese/EU/US/local companies in India and Africa. A paper presentation at the East Japan Section of the Academy of Multinational Enterprises at Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan.

Ohtsuka, T., Nagasawa, K., Inohara, T., Okada, Y., Zomahoun, D. C. R., & Agbovou, F. (2014, May). Improving the road and railway transportation network in the Republic of Benin. A paper presented at the Japan Industrial Management Association at Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan.

Okada, Y. (2014, May). Redevelopment of disaster-stricken Tohoku Furusato embeddedness and inclusive business models for resource-deprived business people. A power point presentation delivered at the International Session of the Transcultural Management Society at the Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan.

Okada, Y. (2014, February). 途上国サプライチェインマネージメントに於けるＣＳＲと共通価値創造（ＣＳＶ） (CSR and creating shared value (CSV) through supply chain management in developing countries. Presented at the Japan Forum for Business and Society Study Meeting at Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.