James Abegglen

James Christian Abegglen (February 15, 1926 – May 2007) was an American and Japanese business theorist and professor in management and economics at Sophia University. He was one of the founders of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 1963, and the first representative director of its Tokyo branch, founded in 1966.

Early life and education Abegglen was born in Michigan in 1926. During World War II, he served in the 3rd Marine Division to fight at Guadalcanal Island and Iwo Jima. When the war ended he was assigned to Strategic Bombing Survey (USSBS) as a researcher and returned to Japan. Following the war, Abegglen attended the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in anthropology and psychology. He earned a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard.

Career Abegglen revisited Japan in 1955 as a researcher of the Ford Foundation, to study Japanese industrial organization and personnel practices which led to the publication of his work The Japanese Factory. He died of cancer on May 2, 2007, aged 81, in Tokyo, Japan.