D. SUMMARY OF MAJOR ARTICLES

(1)Wakabayashi Naoki. (1991). "The Innovation of Organizational Media and Its Impacts on an Organizational Communication." Sociologos,15. 85-99.

There have been many industrial sociological researches and analyses about the diffusion of information networks in business organizations. However, though the information network is an organizational communication medium which has changed an organizational communication structure, there have been few studies about it from the viewpoint of organizational communication studies.
Because many researchers in organization studies have regarded this change as the automation of decision-making in the vertical channel. But this article argue that an introduction of an information network in an organization changes the coordination mechanism between many divisions or departments, by the use of it, as organizational media ,in a horizontal channel along a sequence of their operations. By doing so, we try to construct the framework of the applied organizational sociology to study organizational changes caused by the innovation of the information technology in the informational age.

(2) Wakabayashi, Naoki. (1993). "Informatization and Intra- organizational Communication." In A. Naoi, K. Seiyama, and T. Mamada (eds.). The New Wave of Japanese Society. Tokyo : University of Tokyo Press. 201-223.

This article argues that if we divide two types of social functions of organizational communication - (a)information exchange flow and (b) interpretation code sharing -, then the informatization of organizational communication system is mainly advancing on information exchange flow. However interpretation code sharing problem is important in the informatizaition of business organization in reconsidering my and other's research output of implementation problem of computer information system. Because social integration of business organization has to be newly reconstructed through reconstruction interpretation code system ,when communication system is newly mediated by computer or other new organizational media.

(3) Wakabayashi Naoki. (1994). "The Implication of Communication Process Approach to Genesis and Reproduction of Organizational Structure." The Bulletin of the Institute of Socio-Information and Communication Studies, University of Tokyo, 47. 99-122.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the implication of communication process approach to change of organizational structure; especially in the phase of genesis and reproduction of it. Recent sociological macro theories, such as self-organizing theory, Luhmann's autopoethis, Giddens's structuration theory, Bordieu's habitus theory, focus mainly on structurizing phase of social change. However, in so far as organizational sociology is concerned, we don't have yet haven good empirical research approaches based on structurizing theory, because such structurizing theories are too ideal to study the changing state of social organization.
Few studies of organization, including broadly organizational studies, have ever tried to consider the process of sense-making and sharing of common meaning among members in social organization. But, as Weick and his colleagues demonstrated, organization is being structured in selection process of increased variety in that process. Until now, only their organizing studies have focused on communication process in that organizational members make a common sense of a situation and then construct shared meaning system. Especially they pointed out that this sense-making process in communication in organization decides causal action paths which are believed among members, and then controls interlocking of actions among members and departments. In short, in this sense-making process, members decide configuration of organizational structure in every point in time, although their actions are restricted by organizational structure. They especially calls this phase "organizing". Following their argument, I argue that we can empirically research interaction between members' action praxis and organizational change from communication process.
Main organization studies, especially contingency approach, have focused mainly on information amount processing process and neglected sense-making process. As Daft acutely pointed out, main streams consider reduction of uncertainty from the viewpoint of effective processing of information amount, and then neglected reduction of equivocality in sense-making process. "equivocality" refers the state in organization that more than one interpretation of a situation stand among members in opposition. In that case members can't decide common action program and then can't either corroborate their activities. "Organizing process" is very process in that members construct common meaning system and interexpectation structure in order to reduce equivocality when exchanging communication messages.
Through actual communication process, sense-making communication occur mainly in a special type of communication media. As Daft and Huber pointed out, one type of communication media as meeting, integrator, contact between manager, is suited for reduction process of equivocality, because their capacity of immediate feedback and various cue promote sense-making. Another type of communication media as regulation and rules, computer information system, is suited for reduction process of uncertainty, because these media have capacity to transmit and process vast amount of information.
Reexamining traditional research in coordination and communication process, they have also mainly clarified communication amount and configuration of flow network but neglected the process of generating / sharing / legitimizing of common interpretation schema in organization. So future researches of organizing in communication process have to investigate sense-making process in various communication points.

(4) Sugiyama, Mitsunobu, et al. (1995). "Informatization of the Interfirm Transaction Network and Structural Change of the Market System : A Research of the Infomatization Process of Distribution Channel from VAN to EDI ," The Research Bulletin of the Institute of Socio-Information and Communication Studies, The University of Tokyo , 5. 1-132.

Since recently MITI's distribution policy orienteering of informatization of the interfirm transaction network is changing from the Value Added Network (VAN) to the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the range of standardization of interfirm electronic ordering system has expanded from firm-group-wide to market-wide in Japan . However, agents of the standardization have many problems related to interfirm relations and transactions. Only a few economic and managerial studies of informatizaion in market transaction and the interfirm network have ever tried to investigate the institutional transformation of interfirm relations and transactions. The purpose of our paper is to examine the institutional change of interfirm relations and transactions owing to the use of the electronic ordering system, studying the case of advanced business VAN "Planet".
In this research we can summarize the following 5 points. (1) The use of VAN makes the transaction relation between VAN-user firms more closed. (2) The use of VAN makes ordering office work efficient and reduces the amount of it. (3) Manufacturers leading this VAN managed the standardization of transaction institutions before the introduction of VAN to wholesalers. (4) Setting the price is done not through VAN, but through negotiation among manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. (5) By the use of sales data from VAN, manufacturers perform higher marketing activity and rationalize sales activity.
Based on the research results, we can draw following two policy implications in order to make an efficient EDI a part of the socio-economic infrastructure. (1) The transformation of transaction conventions is followed by the required rationalization of a distribution mechanism. (2) Considering that the Japanese style of interfirm relations and transactions makes VAN more closed, the EDI policy developed by government authorities tries to secure the autonomy of an individual firm's activity and standardize the market-wide code system and make the application of rules market-wide.


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