Mobility Principle among Japanese Professors: Based on the Example of Professors in the Economics Field

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the actual conditions of Japanese professors' mobility and to carry out an analysis of the principle on which university researcher mobility is based and of the relationship between mobility and research performance. Design/methodology/approach: Using the Japanese university researcher database which covered job title, research background, research publication performance and so on, the study analyzed the relationship between mobility and the publication rate before/after move. Findings: The paper finds that moves from a research to an education university rarely occur. Moves from an education to a research university, on the other hand, occur with relative frequency. To achieve a move, a high publication rate is required. Post-move publication rate increased greatly for those who moved from an education to a research university and also those who moved from an education university to another education university. Research limitations/implications: In Japan, company employees make decisions depending on expectations of further fulfilment in their companies rather than on mercenary calculations of present best interests. It was discovered that researchers have a desire to move to a better university or one with a better research environment for a brighter future. It is thought that while company employees depend upon the future within the firm, professors depend upon the future within the academic community. Originality/value: Up to now the relationship between mobility and research performance of professors is not necessarily clear in Japan. In this study of the economics field it has become more apparent. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 2 notes.)