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The study investigates the methodologies and mechanisms necessary for researchers to engage in effective social implementation of their findings.

April 1, 2026Open Access

Social Implementation of Research Results by a Researcher in an Organization

Puntos clave

The study investigates the methodologies and mechanisms necessary for researchers to engage in effective social implementation of their findings.
Qualitative analysis of internal observations by the first author at a corporate research lab.
Collaboration with a social science researcher for interpretation and analysis.
Case studies of social implementation practices using a conceptual framework of community of practice and katari.
Identified the importance of cultivating a social contribution mindset among researchers.
Highlighted the necessity for researchers to engage in new communities of practice with mentoring support.
Demonstrated that verbalizing social implementation intentions (katarihajime) initiates a transformation in mindset and actions towards social implementation.

Resumen

Japan faces multiple pressing social challenges, including population aging and decline, labor force shortages, educational disparities, healthcare and long-term care issues, and environmental and energy problems.Substantial public funding has been allocated to address these challenges, facilitating diverse research and development initiatives across various private enterprises and institutions; however, many research outcomes fail to achieve social implementation.One contributing factor to this implementation gap appears to be researchers' limited ishiki (mind) 1 of social implementation, exemplified by the perception that "researchers need not engage in social implementation."Prior studies largely overlooked the concrete methodologies and mechanisms of social implementation practice, the specific minds researchers and stakeholders should cultivate, and the specific actions they should undertake.The first author of this study is an organizational researcher engaged in new technology research and development at a corporate research laboratory.Therefore, this research examines the methodology and mechanisms of social implementation practice by clarifying what mind researchers should possess, what actions they should undertake, and what conditions are necessary to foster such a mind and enable such actions.The first author, as a practitioner = researcher, observed and documented the transformation of their own mind, actions, and telling approaches based on an internal observation method perspective, subsequently conducting detailed analysis and interpretation in collaboration with the second author, a social science researcher.This study posits that community of practice (CoP) and katari () act are the principal elements of social implementation practice, using them as a conceptual framework to analyze the practice cases.The research findings reveal the following insights.(1) Researchers must cultivate a mind of social contribution-recognizing that "technologies developed through research and development should be socially implemented"-and must begin verbalizing (katarihajime) this mind.They must also begin verbalizing (katarihajime) this mind.(2) Researchers must engage in LPP in another CoP possessing functions not held by their current CoP, in which a mentor who provides close accompaniment is essential.(3) Regarding the methodology and mechanism of social implementation practice: participation in a new CoP serves as a catalyst for transforming mind and action, with researchers' katarihajime (beginning verbalizing) their mind for social implementation as the initial step.Through the support of accompanying mentors, by continuing katariawase-a mutually responsive katari act that mediates mono (what is told)-mind and meaning undergo transformation, kataritsukuri (creating by verbalizing)" of social implementation occurs, and a new CoP that realizes social implementation is generated.and social implementation" (p.85).The term "social implementation" originated in Japan from discussions on "social technology" at the Research Institute of Science and Technology for Society (RISTEX), an organization within the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) (Kaya and Okuwada, 2015).Internationally, terms such as "technology transfer" and "social innovation" serve as concepts analogous to social implementation.From the late 1990s through the early 2000s, multiple studies examined the technology transfer of research outcomes from overseas enterprises, universities, and research institutions (Grosse, 1996;Bozeman, 2000;Akubue, 2002;Markman et al., 2005).Subsequently, around 2011, research on social innovation emerged, addressing social challenges through value creation by introducing new business models (Dacin et al., 2011;Westley and Antadze, 2011).Meanwhile, in Japan, from the early 2000s onward, in response to industrial stagnation following the collapse of the bubble economy, "management of technology" (MOT) gained attention as a strategic management approach for advanced technologies, leading to related research (Kojima, 2006;Nishizaki, 2006).The concept

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