Takabumi Hayashi (Ph.D. in Economics, Rikkyo University) is Professor Emeritus of Rikkyo University, Tokyo. He successively filled the position of senior lecturer at Fukuoka University, associate professor and professor of International Business at Rikkyo University, and Professor at Kokushikan University, Tokyo. His recent research arears are innovation systems and R&D management, focusing on knowledge creation and diversity management. His works have been widely published in books and journals. His book Multinational Enterprises and Intellectual Property Rights (in Japanese; Moriyama Shoten, Tokyo, 1989.)” is widely cited, and Characteristics of Markets in Emerging Countries and New BOP Strategies (in Japanese; Bunshindo, Tokyo, 2016) received the award from Japan Scholarly Association of Asian Management (JSAAM) in 2018. Paradigm Shift in Technologies and Innovation Systems(co-edited with J.Cantwell, Springer, 2019), and Base of the Pyramid and Business Process Outsourcing Strategies (co-edited with H.Hoshino and Y.Hori, Springer, 2023) are widely read. He has been sitting on the editorial board of several academic journals.
Yoshikazu Sakamoto (Ph.D. in Commerce, Keio University) is a Professor of Business Administration at the College of Commerce, Nihon University, Japan, and an Associate Fellow of the Center for Evolution of Global Business and Institutions (CEGBI) at the School for Business and Society, University of York, the UK. He received his Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. from Keio University, Japan. His research interests lie in the business history of global supply chains and innovation. His book “R&D of Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) after Dissolution” (in Japanese; Chikura, Tokyo, 2008)” is focusing on the R&D management of a ‘big company’ from a historical perspective. He is an advisory committee member of the Euro-Asian Management Studies Association (EAMSA). He received the Best Reviewer Award 2018 from EAMSA. He is also a member of the European Business History Association (EBHA) and the Business History Conference (BHC).