Scholars and professionals have argued understanding various influences would be helpful to plan and implement successful international collaborative research; however, there are furthermore unexpected challenges and unintended consequences in international research collaborations. The objective of this study is to develop a better understanding of the factors that influence stakeholders in international research collaborations and explore how to refine research planning and research implementation procedures at the individual, institutional, national, and international levels across nations.

The purpose of this study is to compare perspectives of the key stakeholders in international research collaborations between Sweden and Japan. The research question driving the analysis in this study is as follows: In what ways could we refine roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders to be more supportive to international collaborative research?

This study utilizes a qualitative research method with the conceptual framework (three influencing factors and the responsibilities of stakeholders) related to international research collaborations. In this study, the three influencing factors refer to “research infrastructure,” “research policies,” and “research operation & management.” The responsibilities of stakeholders will be analyzed and outlined by utilizing the construction process of grounded theory, based on the interview data collected in this study. With the approval of the Sophia University Ethics Committee for Research on Human Subjects, the primary investigator of this study conduct interviews toward the stakeholders.

This study focuses on analyzing experiences, knowledge, and wisdom of the key stakeholders who have established and developed international initiatives, international programs, international collaborative research, and other related international events between Sweden and Japan. The principal investigator of this study examines responsibilities of the stakeholders and the three influencing factors and their influences in maintaining and advancing international collaborative research.

There were thirteen individuals who participated in the interviews in this study: five of them were affiliated with Japanese institutions, and eight of them were affiliated with Swedish institutions. All of the interview participants have established and advanced international research communities between Sweden and Japan. By applying a qualitative research methodology, this study examines the key stakeholders’ experiences, knowledge, and wisdom collected through the interviews, at the individual level.

The study results indicate two suggestions to refine the international collaborative research between Sweden and Japan. First, stakeholders need to understand who would be the upcoming driving forces leading international research collaborations in a specified discipline research or transdisciplinary research. Second, research administrators and international officers could be collaboration hubs at each institution to establish and develop trusted relationships among stakeholders in international research collaborations.

The results of this study analysis indicate that international collaborations need to be promoted through research collaborations, educational exchanges, and leadership engagement through various academic and professional communication channels. The study results will be beneficial to all individuals who are responsible for refining research support structures, advancing international communities, and promoting international collaborative research across nations.