STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT MATURITY AND ITS EFFECT ON ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF JAPANESE SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Purpose:Using a conceptual framework of Sledgianowski and Luftman (2001), this paper empirically investigates how Japanese SMEs view their Strategy Alignment Maturity, Short-term Linkage, and Organizational Performance. The author examines a theoretical framework for assessing strategic alignment maturity by using a survey data of Japanese small and medium companies. The relationship between strategic alignment maturity and the mutual understanding of business and IT objectives between business and IT executives is analyzed. Methodology: The methodology of this study is quantitative. Three hundred fifty-four (354) Japanese firm-level data collected have beenanalyzed using structural equation modeling. Main Findings:The results show that factors associated with IT-Business Alignment Maturityof Japanese SMEs are statistically significantly positively related to organizational performance. However, those are statistically significantly negatively related to Short-term Linkage.Although the linkage of information system plans with organizational objectives (business plans) are positively related, this study implies that the linkage of information systems and each factor of IT–Business Alignment Maturity is rather weakas previous empirical literature suggested. Applications:This study can be applied to the firm-level analyses where IT-Business Alignment Maturity and Short-term Linkage are in issue. Novelty/Originality:The author examines the relationship between strategic alignment maturity and organizational performance by using a survey data of Japanese small and medium companies

Market Entry Pattern And Timing In An Industry With Technological Evolution: The Liquid Crystal Display Industry

This paper examines whether the process of entering the market, as well as industry-specialized assets and positioning in the applied technologies should differ between early entrants and late entrants in the LCD industry, where the industry evolves and provides different types of displays and where LCD technologies have become major parts of new applied product generations.  The study also investigates whether all firms follow the same strategic decisions upon entering the market when they enter at similar times, whether early or late.  According to the findings, early entry into the LCD industry is positively related to experience in the LCD related R&D activities.  As accumulated outputs are regarded as a measure implied by the standard form of the learning curve, this is consistent with prior studies on first-movers.  Patents most likely protect their technological advantages.  Large-capital late entry into the LCD industry is positively related to company size as these firms have excess capital to spend on R&D.  The late entrants are established firms in their core industries; possess related assets or excess capacities that enable them to enter into the LCD market.  On the other hand, smaller-capital late entrants into the LCD industry have no accumulated R&D activities or production of applied products, which implies that they are free riding off of early entrants’ investment

Prediction of Purchase Behaviors Based on Customer Demand Value Using Factorization Machines

This study focuses on Integrated Marketing Communication which is an important factor of Customer Relationship Management. The purpose of this study is to compare the customer sales data of two different types of stores in the confectionery industry, using the framework which is “Sources of Communication Messages in a Relationship”. In addition, this study proposes the method to categorize the customer’s pursuit values for each store based on sales data. And also this paper proposes the new approach that can promote sales while increasing the value of usage in customers’ living, based on devising a method to improve the efficiency of customer direct mail delivery, using Factorization Machines. The result shows the value that customers desire in each two shops is different from not only on-site investigation but also customer sales data. Furthermore, a customer demand value is defined in this study, the customer direct mail delivery is established to combine customer demand value with the result of purchase behavior prediction using Factorization Machines, makes that the value of usage in customers’ living increase and sales promote

HERA実験装置の物理

In the HERA machine they studied ep→eH interactions. At the first, electrons and protons are accelerated and stored in two separate rings. Its circumferens is 6.3km. The superconducting magnets are used for proton ring and the conventional magnets are used for electron ring. During a run, when QCD is turned on the quarks may radiate (and absorb) gluons which in turn may split into quark-antiquark pairs or gluon pairs. These are shown in Feynman diagram Fig 2-1

希釈ボーズ・アインシュタイン凝縮における超流動ジャイロスコープの実験的観察

I wrote an outline of a paper written by reseachers at Clarendon Laboratry, University of Oxford, titled "Experimental Observation of a Superfluid Gyroscope in a Dilute Bose-Einstein Condensation" They have observed three-dimensional Gyroscopic effect and realization of a superfluid Gyroscope as discussed by Stringari in [4]. The experiment is performed on Rb^ condensate produced by forced rf evaporative cooling in a time orbiting potential trap, In this experiment, they combine two striking superfluid effects. 0ne is the production of guantized vortices, and the other one is reduced moment of inertia associated with the excitation of the scissors mode. From this they deduce the angular momentum associated with the voltex line and found a value close to h per particle as predicted for a superfluid