Sociological investigation into the type and development of informatization process

我们的研究始于对日本组织内部信息化现状的调查，主要是在数据处理领域。1997年，我们走访了日本的一些主要制造业，如索尼、丰田、松下和一些百货公司，并采访了这些企业负责信息化政策的关键人物。1998年，我们对上述企业进行了多次走访，采访了多名或多或少负责企业信息化工作的人员。我们得到了许多资料和解释，但我们不禁感到难以把握上述企业信息化的基本特征或本质特征，以及整个日本社会的信息化特征。在1999年，我们认为除非改变调查的领域，否则我们无法弄清日本企业和日本社会的本质。于是我们决定去纽约的硅谷，并成功地和一些机构和相关人士预约了时间。与日本经济开发公司（EDC）的工作人员会面，对了解日本企业和日本社会信息化进程的特点非常有用。

Our research began with the investigation of the present state of informatization within Japanese organizations, mainly in the domain of treatment of data. In the year of 1997, we visited some major manufacturing industries in Japan, such as Sony, Toyota, Matsushita, and some department stores and had interviews with the key persons who were responsible for the informatization policies of those enterprises.In the year of 1998, we visited several times the above mentioned enterprises, and had interviews with many persons who were more or less responsible for the informatization thereof. We were given many materials and explanations, but we could not help feeling difficult to grasp the fundamental or essential characteristics of informatizations of those abovementioned enterprises, and of informatization of Japanese society in general.In the year of 1999, we thought we cannot make clear the essential points of Japanese enterprises and Japanese society, unless we change the field of investigation. So we decided to visit Sillicon Alley, New York, and succeeded in getting appointments with some organizations and some people concerned. Meeting with the EDC (Economic Development Corporation) staffs was very useful to clarify the characteristics of informatization processes of Japanese enterprises and Japanese society.