Lost and Gained in Translation: The Role of the ‘American Model’ in the Institution-Building of a Japanese University Press

Abstract

This paper presents a case study of the early history of the University of Tokyo Press (UTP), which was founded in 1951 as the first university press affiliated with a national university in Japan. We concentrate on how the American model of university publishing was used in inventive and creative ways, not only to build up and manage the UTP but also to create and solidify the emerging institution of university press publishing in Japan. Drawing upon the ideas of Scandinavian institutionalist school of organizational analysis, we contend that a certain ‘translation’ of an existing organizational model often constitutes an integral part of institutional entrepreneurship. We also argue that the process of institutional translation is inseparably related to the UTP members’ search for workable missions and organizational identity within financial and institutional constraints. The UTP case suggests that to be a successful institutional entrepreneur, one has to be an effective rhetor as well.