Paper short abstract:

This paper explores how ethnography was introduced to, and spread through, the Japanese business scene, in the decade following 2000. Through recurring interviews in various firms and with magazine reporters, the paper highlights the "feedback loop" between mass media and firms' business affairs.

Paper long abstract:

As a business tool, ethnography has been gaining popularity in various industries such as marketing, design and engineering, to name but a few. On one hand, ethnography is regarded as a most promising technique, which uncovers hidden needs and leads to exciting new products and services. On the other hand, depending on the context, ethnography can be an authoritative source for a firms' advertising. Through recurring interviews with ex-managers and researchers of various firms, as well as business magazine reporters, this paper explores how ethnography was introduced to, and spread through, the Japanese business scene, in the decade following 2000. The way ethnography was introduced to the business community is rather convoluted and far from straightforward. (ⅰ) The explanations of ex-managers of companies that were first to adopt ethnography, described as "early adopters", were only focused on business issues. (ⅱ) The researchers at the companies' laboratories assert that ethnography entered Japan though endogenous developments in academia. (ⅲ) Recognising this trend, the mass media (reporters from business magazines) sought other examples from various companies that they then reported on. These were companies that were doing consumer research and work in the field. These companies, described as "followers", did not know the English term "ethnography", but recognised the trend through being reported on and proceeded to employ this in the PR. One could see this as a "feedback loop" between mass media and firms' business affairs.