The Innovation Mechanism in Target Costing

Target costing research studies the series of activities that handle cost management at the development and design stages of new products. The knowledge creation activities of each participant are positioned as essential elements in the target costing activities that create the cost in the new product development and design stages. Based on introspective conduct, the essence of knowledge creation is found in new knowledge creation activities triggered by psychological phenomena such as the blurring of concepts and knowledge fluctuation. The potential for generating new creative knowledge are triggered when given information that cannot be processed with the existing knowledge system. Target cost constitutes such information under some conditions. Information that suppresses knowledge creation exists. With such information, there is little knowledge fluctuation and low potential for generating original knowledge. Whether target cost constitutes information that promotes or suppresses knowledge creation is determined by the extent of participants’ knowledge fluctuation in the product planning stage before the target cost is indicated, and the size of the gap between target cost and drifting cost

The Consistency Between Investment Management Process and Business Strategy

This paper examines the management process for each strategic type of firm (namely, Defenders, Prospectors, Analyzers, and Reactors) as a new way of analyzing capital budgeting from a managerial accounting perspective. Using a 2009 survey of Japanese manufacturing firms, we reveal the following. To start with, Defenders seldom search for new investment projects because they establish a stable status in a limited operation domain. Therefore, the principal purpose of capital investment in this strategic type is to improve cost competitiveness. As a result, Defenders develop the investment project in their own way, and then evaluate profitability thoroughly following implementation. In contrast, Prospectors continuously search for market opportunities, and evaluate and select projects in order to pioneer new product markets and profit opportunities. Thus, the main purpose of capital investment in this strategic type is to produce new products. Consequently, Prospectors emphasize profitability and timing in the development phase, and then carefully compare the alternative projects available. Finally, Analyzers carefully deliberate and decide upon the optimum timing of investment in order to seize upon market opportunities using their existing technology. As a result, this strategic type does not aggressively pursue capital investment

The Effects of Business Strategy on Economic Evaluation Techniques of Capital Investment

This paper explains firms’ adoption of economic evaluation techniques according to differences in their business strategy and their business environment using mail survey data. Many recent studies focus only on the discount cash flow (DCF) methods, while our research examines the factors determining the use of non-DCF methods as well as DCF methods, and shows the rationality of their use. We discover that the use of non-DCF methods, such as payback method and accounting rate of return, is rational when the use of DCF methods is not valid. We find that business environment characteristics, such as (1) the complexity of the environment, (2) uncertainty, and (3) automation of the production line, affect the choice of the evaluation technique. Furthermore, we find that whether a firm’s strategic type is an analyzer or not affects the adoption of the economic evaluation technique

Matching Capital Investment Management with Business Strategy

Most competitive strategic theory employs the assumption that firms should undertake appropriate management actions for each particular strategy. Studies in managerial accounting also use this to examine how the practice of business management fits the firm’s strategy. This paper clarifies how the consistency between a firm’s business strategy and investment management efforts affects business performance. We employ a mail survey of Japanese manufacturing firms conducted in 2009 to identify Miles–Snow strategic types among respondent firms and test hypotheses concerning the effects of the interaction between investment management and firm strategic tendencies on firm performance, as measured by the return on assets. We find that investment management for Defender-type firms corresponds with traditional managerial accounting methods such as planning and control, while that for Prospector-type firms does not

Odor Detection and Recognition Ability in Patients with Alzheimer\u27s Disease

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) manifests early with prominent olfactory dysfunction. The olfactory symptoms appear long before cognitive impairment and other typical AD symptoms. Here, we tested odor detection and recognition acuity in AD patients and in age-matched controls to determine the relationships between olfactory test scores and anxiety level, cognitive function, and disease and therapy duration.We found that while AD patients had the same odor detection sensitivity as healthy subjects, most patients exhibited impaired odor recognition. AD patients had significantly lower cognitive function and trait anxiety scores than healthy subjects according to our assessments using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Trait anxiety scores are thought to be lower in AD patients because of atrophy of the limbic system, particularly the amygdala (AMG). It has been reported that trait anxiety level is dependent on amygdala activity, therefore, the low activation of the AMG is linked to reduced trait anxiety in AD.However, we found that trait anxiety correlated positively with odor detection ability in AD patients. Although the function of the AMG is reduced in AD patients, it still contributes to odor detection in AD patients with high trait anxiety

Imperfection of Japanese Supplier Relationship: An Empirical Research of Changing Inter-Organizational Management Control

Japanese supplier relationships, or Keiretsu systems, are recognized as a major contributing factor of competitive advantage of Japanese firms. Some Western firms have introduced this practice and have achieved outcomes such as significant cost reduction and/or outstanding quality improvement. Against the reputation, Keiretsu systems among Japanese firms are facing various difficulties. Especially, costs of maintaining systems become significant. Some portions of Japanese firms abandon their existing value chain and introduce recent Western practices including global sourcing and electronic purchasing. But little is known how Japanese firms have perceived their supply chain and try to change. In this paper, changes of supplier relationships and supply chain management among Japanese firms are examined. Firstly, characteristics of Japanese firms’supplier relationships are figured out through the comprehensive literature surveys. Secondly, the closer look of Japanese supply chain management are presented. The main focus here is the collaborative efforts between buyers and suppliers, especially at both R&D and production stages. Thirdly, the result of questionnaire survey is presented. Questionnaires were mailed to 353 manufacturing companies listed their stocks in Section One of Tokyo Stock Exchange. Finally, the new avenue of inter-organizational managerial accounting research is indicated to stimulate the future research in this field