In this presentation, transdisciplinarity in business communication will be shared, based on in-depth interviews with Japanese scholar-practitioners. The challenges include confidentiality issues and insufficient understanding of Japanese corporations to research while opportunities include the possibility of raising not only individual but corporate reputation as part of ESG (Environment Social Governance).
Transgressing disciplinary boundaries or transdisciplinarity is now one of the most significant agendas in Applied Linguistics. When the concept of transdisciplinarity is taken as one transcending academia (not only transcending disciplines within academia), it is especially important for research on ESP (English for Specific Purposes) or Professional Communication in which collaboration between academia (professors) and professionals is essential. The collaborations vary from identifying shared problems and goals, formulating legitimate knowledge, collaborative analysis and interpretation of data and even publication, as pointed out by Perrin and Kramsch (2018). The author, as a director of JBCA (Japan Business Communication Association), has been facing the challenge of how to maximize and incorporate contributions from business professionals into research. Then, she has been conducting in-depth interviews with Japanese scholar-practitioners (practitioners engaged in research as well) on the challenges they face when they try to conduct research (including academic publication), the opportunities they enjoy, and the goals both professors and professionals could share in the future. The challenges include the difficulties of sharing the latest information due to confidentiality, and lack of understanding by Japanese corporations of the need to engage in extra-corporate activities that do not produce immediate profits. On the other hand, opportunities include the possibility of raising corporate as well as individual reputations. In particular, if professional contribution to research and active knowledge exchange becomes widely regarded as part of ESG (Environment Social Governance), it might increase collaboration between professors and professionals that leads to mutually beneficial outcomes. In the presentation, all the challenges and opportunities collected from more than ten in-depth interviews with Japanese professionals will be shared.
