We have proposed a systems theory approach to management information system (MIS) development. The approach is called a model theory approach. In general an MIS is required to perform both a problem solving and a transaction processing functions. extSLV is produced as a general solver for the problem solving function when the model theory approach is applied to the function. extSLV has been applied to various problems for an MIS. This paper applies extSLV to a linear quadratic (dynamic optimization) problem (LQP), to examine its generality.

The LQP. which is described by a differential equation, is adopted for four reasons to examine generality of extSLV. First, the LQP is the most typical analytical dynamic optimization problem. Second, because extSLV has been applied only to MIS problems, it is suspected to be applicable only to a combinatorial problem, whose search space is a finite set. The paper will demonstrate that extSLV is not necessarily restricted to a finite search space by dealing with the LQP. Third, as a data processing aspect of an MIS indicates, numerical processing is a base of an MIS. If extSLV can handle a problem described by a differential equation, it can be expected to satisfactorily address numerical aspects of MIS problems. Regarding non-numerical problem solving it has been demonstrated that extSLV is quite effective for it. Fourth, since the target problem is an analytical one, we can delve into deeper properties of extSLV than those MIS development can reveal.

The paper shows that extSLV can address the LQP without any modification and furthermore, because of the back tracking function on local optimization it can present a non-conventional solution to a problem which cannot be solved analytically.

This paper requires some background knowledges which may not be considered within the domain of management information system. They are briefly introduced in Appendices. The essence of the paper, however, should be understood without consulting Appendices.

In this paper, it is a research of the information system (IS) at smaller enterprises and is deliberated about efficacy of reconstruction for management information system (MIS). MIS needs reconstruction because of following around the change of business environment. At frame work of reconstruction, it is important to grasp the transition of information technology (IT) which constructs the existent IS, as the structure of the switched system is influenced by the existent IS. But, there are a few stream researches for IS induction of smaller enterprises, and few frame work of reconstruction considering the actuality. Therefore, for especially smaller enterprises in Akita prefecture, the classification and the analysis are executed for transition of from new IS induction to reconstruction aiming at management function and IT, basing on the visit research by Akita prefectural government for enterprises in that area. As the result, it was confirmed that the management efficiency is improved, by reconstructing MIS.

There are some markets where the utility which a user derives from consumption of a product increases with the number of other users utilizing it among the markets of various products, for a user often places higher value on a product if others also use it. When this occurs, the market is said to display network externalities.

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the nature of the market of this type and clear up the points to attain the competitive advantage there. In such a market corporations perform very interesting information strategies. Though the problem of network externalities has lately attracted considerable attention, there is no systematic study or well-organized treatise on these information strategies. This paper clarifies the information strategies in such a market.

To be concrete, corporations preannounce there that they will put a new product on sale and it will be compatible with the product now in use. They sometimes make public that they will build a new factory to manufacture the new product. They also emphasize that their product on sale is gaining the largest share in the market in order to activate bandwagon effect.

In recent years, some local governments have adopted new procurement models for information systems (IS) in order to foster the local software industry. One model is to allow a joint-venture formed by several software firms to make a contract with the local government. The other model is to divide a set of IS development work into small tasks and to procure them from multiple software firms respectively. Both of two models aim to contribute to growth of the local software industry through providing the local software firms, most of which are small, with the tasks. In this research, we describe these models by a concept of architecture and argue that these models with the same purpose have contrastive effects as a result of architecture. Through a comparative case study, we conclude that the latter model is likely to be more effective than the former in respect of giving opportunities of entry more widely to the local small software firms.

The purpose of this paper is to develop “IT management effectiveness” as the first-generation instrument for the measurement of the overall effectiveness/style of IT management. To do this, based on the preceding research, we revisit the causal model that consists of six primary indicators, i.e., awareness and actions of top management, linkage between management and IT, IT development capability, IT investment and deployment, IT readiness, and business value creation from IT. After the introduction of IT management effectiveness/style, we apply this measure to the data collected from 509 major companies selected from among various types of businesses in Japan. Then, we find that the relationships between industry/size of companies and the primary indicators of the framework exhibit different tendencies significantly.

As professional organisations, medical institutions present unique challenges for their proper governance and management efficiency. Although Balanced Scorecard (BSC) was originally developed as a management tool to ameliorate the weakness of accounting-only measurements, it has been widely implemented in public and medical sectors, especially in the north America. The article, after a brief introduction, first reviews the BSC approach (Section 2), then explores difficulties and challenges when implementing BSC in medical institutions (Section 3). Section 4 describes the case of BSC implementation in a hospital, followed by discussions in Section 5, as well as concluding remarks (Section 6). It is found that, if accompanied by good information management in information sharing amongst employees, and if the introduction process is reasonably customized to accommodate the specific situational conditions, there is a good chance that BSC be successfully implemented in the medical institution as a tool to realize good governance and management efficiency.