Despite Drucker's assertion that the development in information technology will necessitate a completely new set of principles to manage knowlege-based or information-based organizations, there seems at present a paucity in empirical researches into the existing such organizations, of which examples include symphony orchestras, universities and hospitals. To enrich the repository of theories and evidences on knowlege-based or information-based organizations, which should constitute a basis of social infrastructure in the information age, the article investigates the organization and its processes of symphony orchestra, mainly through interviews with a conductor and players at various positions and parts in two symphony orchestras. It is found that the symphony orchestra has a dual structure of hierarchical-and-flat organization, and that the difference between the symphony orchestra and the traditional model of Japanese organization lies not in simplistic dichotomies such as a hierarchical-vs-flat structure, but more in detailed workings and know-hows of the management of organization. Also found is the significant difference from general descriptions of knowlege-based or information-based organizations which are presently of speculative nature. Discussion on the status of the research on knowlege-based or information-based organizations, along with a future research programme on the topic, concludes the article.

In this paper we focus on Information Infrastructure as a Industrial Platform. Under the perspective of information infrastructure such as NII (National Information Infrastructure) or GII (Global Information Infrastructure) they emphasize on the structure of hard network and large scale software servers on the network. Against the perspective we grasp the industrial structure as a virtual agglomeration of local and small servers and clients on the network. We analyze information infrastructure from the industrial structural point of view.

This paper deals with the analysis of global activity of Japanese business and their relation to the information infrastructure in Asian countries. For the analysis, we use the result of questionnaire that were asked in out study to the Japanese joint venture companies. As the quantitative method cross tables and also multivariate analysis are emploid. As a result, it is found that the gap existing in the level of information infrastructure is increasing gradually in Asian countries. Especially, in Thailand, Indonesia and Philippin there are slight improvement despite the investment to the information infrastructure. However, the Japanese business also doing their best to overcome the difficulties, and we find small difference depending on the location of companies. As a conclusion, it is suggested the current trend of High-Tech in Japanese information infrastructure must be coordinated with that of the developing countries.

The present paper aims at evaluating and comparing governmental policies for encouraging information industry such as software industry. Information industry is characterized by its unique feature: it deals with information technology and/or knowledge, and it costs almost none to make a copy of it while its research and development requires a huge amount of money and man-hours.

We first show that if the society seeks to develop sound information industry seriously it has to introduce incentive mechanism or public policy for driving the R & D activity as well as for preventing piracy of information technology. After proposing and examining several conditions from different view points, each of which represents desirability of the mechanisms in an original. way to this paper, we then compare four types of incentive mechanisms in terms of them. One of our results shows that legal regulation does not always work as the best device for encouraging information technology.

In this paper we report results of an empirical assessment of the productivity of information systems in Japanese manufacturing industries. A production function is estimated on the basis of the datasets published from MITI and the Bank of Japan.

Our results indicate that information technology capital has made a substantial contribution to output. We find that between 1985 and 1991, return on investment (ROI) for computer capital averaged 4%. This value is far greater than ROI for other types of capital (4%). We find also that increases in information systems labor and expense have only a small impact on total sales.

In this paper, we will discuss a theory of social information systems and its basic models. In order to develop the theory, we will propose its basic models under a concept of autogenesis in complex systems, and also present problems of the theory to be dealt with.

Of the basic models, first, a mutual learning approach will be proposed. The approach is based on an autopoietic cycle model observed in organization. Using the model, we will characterize an organizational learning in terms of a property of emergency. The approach may illustrate the process of emergency, in that a creation and a collapse of autopoietic cycles are described in terms of a fluctuation in a vector of behavior and in a matrix of connection information. We will employ the approach to develop a virtual platform of organization and society.

Secondly, we will advocate a concept of Artifical Society. The concept sustains autogenesis and emergence of virtual society on computer display. In this research, a social stratification model will be proposed as one of the typical realization of the Artificial Society. The social stratification model will describe a process of a stratification and collapse of a society from distribution of social entities. On simulation of the model, we observe that the information scope of social entity and the internalization of its environment play important roles through the process. So, we may develop a new method of description and analysis of society as complex system.

In conclusion, our model would contribute to develop a theory of social information systems.

Organizational intelligence based on empirical knowledge or know-how is a key to competitive advantage. This paper first identifies problems and issues in implementing knowledge systems and in the recent related researches. Then it proposes a new approach to establishing organizational intelligence. "Human-inclusive systems approach" can facilitate to combine human intuition and computer's logical functions. "Knowledge bottom-up approach" can encourage effective knowledge acquisition. "Knowledge management" is proposed to design organizational intelligence. Application of "SOFT Science and Technology" concept is also discussed to systematize organizational intelligence research.