Interdisciplinary Engagement as an Acculturation Process: The Case of Japanese Studies

Linking regional expertise with disciplinary theory-motivated rigour is one of the key challenges for Japanese Studies. With Acculturation Theory as the theoretical basis, this paper develops and examines a framework that distinguishes variations in interdisciplinary engagement strategies among scholars working at the interstices of Japanese Studies and Business Studies. The findings should assist Area Studies scholarship in identifying how to shape relations with recipient Social Science disciplines—both at the individual and institutional level. We chart intergroup relations from two perspectives: (i) national and international institutions and (ii) interview data obtained from scholars working in Japanese Business Studies. We find variations in how Japanese Studies scholars interact with the field of Business Studies. These result from emphasis placed on the maintenance of Japanese Studies scholarship on the one hand and openness to engagement with the business discipline on the other. Integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalisation reflect realistic ‘sojourning’ (or interdisciplinary engagement) options available to Japanese Studies scholarship. By conceptualising interdisciplinarity as an acculturating change process, our framework offers a systematic understanding of why, how and to what effect Area Studies interacts with Social Science disciplines.