In this study, we shed light on inter-organizational relationships in a supply chain, which consists of suppliers and customer-oriented buyers. In particular, we conduct, under inter-organizational cost management, the effect of demand uncertainty and customer-oriented buyers on inter-organizational management. Our analysis reveals that an increase in the degree of uncertainty lowers the supply chain profit. On the other hand, customer-oriented buyers have a positive result for supply chain management. This result supports the effectiveness of the customer-oriented management that Japanese firms have taken, such as market-oriented product development in cost management.

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The research aimed to elucidate the actual state of equipment investment management processes in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and identify factors influencing these processes. An interview survey was conducted with 10 SMEs located in the Kushiro and Nemuro regions of Hokkaido. Based on the results of the interview survey, qualitative data analysis (QDA) was performed to describe the reality of equipment investment management processes in SMEs. Factors influencing equipment investment management processes in SMEs, including strategy, keiretsu, external experts, and the external environment, were also examined.

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The content of digital transformation (DX) in management accounting is studied based on the case of a company that considers a digital platform. First, DX of management accounting (management accounting DX) was defined by organizing the definition of DX in this study and the scope of management accounting covered by it, with reference to the meaning of DX first proposed and the 2018 DX Report by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Next, judgement conditions based on the defined management accounting DX were developed and previous studies were reviewed. The results showed that there were not enough previous studies on management accounting DX both domestically and internationally, and most of them were conceptual studies. Therefore, we decided to conduct an exploratory research on actual cases in this study. Consequently, action research with regional banks has revealed that management accounting DX is indispensable for the realization of digital platforms. Management accounting DX is required to fit into the digital business strategy of the company as a whole, but conversely, the speed and content of management accounting DX may have an impact on the realization of the company’s digital business. Furthermore, the case study results show three implications for new management accounting possibilities through DX: hybridization, embedding, and actionization. This will contribute to management accounting research and management practices in the future.

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This paper focuses on the production work of “Anime.” Cultural contents, which includes Anime is the intellectual and creative property. The commercial success of Anime requires existing management accounting methods or accounting perspectives. Accordingly, this paper conducts a case study of an animation production company, which manages profitability in the manner of a mini-profit center. The result shows that the production of content requires creativity to create the “fun” factor, and the management accounting system can ensure that while ensuring profit.

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Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) are currently used in a wide range of the organizations as the companies’ main information systems. Most previous studies find that those are superior to the conventional management information systems in terms of the function of integration and process standardization. In this paper, based on the assertion by Jensen and Meckling (1992) that “knowledge transfer costs are extremely important in the discussion of decentralization”, we investigated the impact of ERP introduction on this relationship between information asymmetry and decentralization in the organization, using a questionnaire for 1,501 managers working at the companies with more than 300 employees. From this empirical analysis, we found that it has the effect of weakening this positive relationship. On the other hand, it was also found that there is a possibility the effect of implementation with the cloud type would decrease compared to the on-premise type.

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This paper explores the applicability of neuroscience to management accounting studies. The application of neuroscience is meaningful when social science studies analyze humans living in the real world. I conduct a literature review and reveal the entity that neuroeconomics, consumer neuroscience, management and management accounting studies have applicated insights and technologies from neuroscience. Finally, based on these prior studies, I discussed the applicability of neuroscience to management accounting studies in terms of hypothesis development and the analysis of results, the method of testing hypothesis, using the theories by reference from neighboring fields, and analyzing research questions such as how a wide range of members in organizations respond to controls.

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The peer review system has been introduced and operated in management accounting related academic research journals. The peer review system is intended to improve the quality of academic research and to contribute to the accumulation of excellent research. But due to the short history of this system in the field of management accounting, the common understanding of the system has not been obtained among researchers. In this study, we report the results of a questionnaire survey of the peer review system. We focus on the contributors’ perceptions of the peer-review system, which have not been revealed so far. Knowing how contributors respond to the peer review system will contribute to our understanding of the two functions of the peer review system: the “quality filtering function” and the “quality improvement function” of peer review.

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