Business Studies - Shogyogaku

It is a field of social science that studies commerce, but there are three main schools of thought that correspond to the breadth and narrowness of the concept of commerce. The first is commerce studies based on the narrowest concept of commerce, which considers only the buying and selling of goods for resale. Its core content is the theory of commodity buying and selling, such as wholesale and retail, or the theory of commodity distribution. The second is commerce studies based on the narrow concept of commerce, which considers the entire distribution activity of goods from producers to consumers. Its core content is also the theory of commodity distribution, but it is not limited to wholesale and retail, and it also includes the collection function, the distribution function of raw materials, the exchange function, etc., and further includes the subjective actions of merchants (commercial management), such as purchasing, inventory, product planning, price policy, advertising, and market research. The third is commerce studies based on the broader concept of commerce, which considers the distribution or exchange of goods, capital, and services in the entire economic activity. In the broad sense of commerce, not only does it cover the central theories of commodity distribution and commercial management in the narrow sense, but it also covers tertiary industries such as finance, insurance, securities, trusts, warehousing, ports, transportation, communications, information processing, and consulting, which are used to ensure the smooth running of economic activity as a whole, forming a specific theory. Simply comparing these does not make it a "science," so most commerce studies in the broad sense first discuss the essence of "commerce," forming a basic system in which the original commerce of buying and selling goods is the core commerce, and various other industries such as finance are auxiliary commerce. Of the three types of commerce studies mentioned above, the narrowest sense is extremely rare, and most are either broad or narrow, but even when the academic position is taken in the narrow sense, there are many descriptions in books and other sources that refer to the scope of commerce in the broad sense.

There has been a long-running debate as to whether commercial science can be established as an independent academic field, and there is a strong negative view that it is merely a collection of knowledge and technology about commerce. Although it is not necessarily related to the negative view, the similar name "commercial science" has a strong connotation of the totality of knowledge and technology about commerce, or a general term for various academic fields related to commerce. In other words, commercial science is understood to be a collective noun that includes commercial science in the narrow sense, finance theory, insurance theory, securities theory, etc. As mentioned above, apart from the German-based academic theory, American marketing theory has been rapidly replacing commercial science, especially after World War II. The relationship between the two is complex, but marketing theory is characterized by its emphasis on the logic of the subject and its strong coloring of management theory.

[Mitsuo Morimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

商業を研究対象にする社会科学の一分野であるが、商業概念の広狭に対応して、大きく分けて三つの考え方がある。第一は、物資の再販売のための売買活動のみをもって商業とする最狭義の概念にたつ商業学である。その中心内容は、卸売り・小売りなどの商品売買論もしくは商品流通論になる。第二は、生産者から消費者に至る物資の流通活動全体をもって商業とする狭義の概念にたつ商業学である。その中心内容は、やはり商品流通論になるが、卸・小売りに限定されることなく、集荷機能、原材料流通機能、取引所機能などを加えたものとなり、さらに購買、在庫、商品計画、価格政策、広告、市場調査など、商人（商業経営）の主体的行動をも加えたものになる。第三は、経済活動全体における財貨、資本、サービスの流通ないし交換取引をもって商業とする広義の概念にたつ商業学である。広義の商業学では、狭義の商業学の中心内容である商品流通論や商業経営論はもとより、経済活動全体を円滑に進行させるための金融、保険、証券、信託、倉庫、港湾、運輸、通信、情報処理、コンサルティングなどの第三次産業が対象として含まれ、各論を形成することになる。これらを単に並列しただけでは「学」として成立しえないから、広義の商業学の多くは、まず「商」の本質を論じ、いわば本来の商である商品売買業を基幹商業とし、金融等の商品売買業以外の諸業種を補助商業とする基本体系を形成している。以上の広狭3種の商業学のうち、最狭義の商業学はきわめてまれで、広狭いずれかが多いが、学問的に狭義の立場をとる場合でも、著書などの記述では広義の商業の範囲にまで言及するものが少なくない。

　商業学が独自の学問として成立するかについては長い間議論が続いており、それは商についての知識・技術の寄せ集めにすぎないとの否定論も根強い。否定論との必然的関連はないが、商学という類似名称の場合には、商についての知識・技術の総体、もしくは商についての諸学の総称という意味合いが強い。すなわち、商学とは、狭義の商業学と金融論、保険論、証券論等々の集合名詞であるという理解である。以上どちらかといえばドイツ系の学問論とは別に、アメリカ系のマーケティング論がとくに第二次世界大戦後、急速に商業学に代位しつつある。両者の関連は複雑であるが、マーケティング論は主体の論理を前面に押し出し、経営論の色彩が濃厚である点に特色があるといえよう。

［森本三男］

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