Michiko Miyamoto

Empirical Analysis of Japanese Football Games Using Structural Equation Modeling

This paper presents a framework and an empirical result for two football games played by Japanese professional football teams, focusing on their offence. By using ball possession data, this study analyses the performance of midfielders’ and forwards’ tasks, such as assists, breaking down, passthrough, and traps to determine associations among selected strength and performance variables which lead to scoring. The structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the framework.

Proposing a Model to Catch the Momentum of Games: Visualization of Momentum in Japanese Professional Baseball

There are some researches about positive streaks (points scored by one team) lead participants to predict the streak’s continuation (belief in the hot hand or momentum effect), but negative streaks lead to prediction of its end (gambler’s fallacy). In basketball, the validity of “hot-hand fallacy” from successive shoot success was examined [1], and in volleyball, factors that influence momentum on players were explored by using survey data [2]. However, both papers have concluded that the existence of momentum is based on psychological or subjective randomness.

Measuring Tactics of Taking the Ball Away from Defenders in the Japanese Football League

Football tactics continue to evolve; such as individual play, total football, one-to-one defense, zone defense, pressing, Gegen (counter) press, positioning soccer, reaction football and vertical fast attack. Among these tactics, the simplest and easy-to-score attack is to take the ball from defenders at a high position. The takeover of the ball is a play, which will be the beginning of the attack for the offense, so taking the ball away is important for any teams in order to win and enter into the top group. In this research, we focus on this tactic and consider effective tactics in contemporary football by comparing top, middle and lower teams of the Japanese Football League.

Analysis of Japanese Football Games by the Tracking Data and Sport Live Event Annotations

The purpose of this study is to learn what kind of play would lead to opportunities and to pinches, by using data from the tracking system, as well as live coverage of the real-time sport broadcasting from a game played by Shonan Bellmare and Kashima Antlers, Japanese professional football teams. In this study, we present a novel approach for sports event detection based on analysis and alignment of tracking data and real-time sport broadcasting. Based on these results of analyses, we will evaluate tactics and movements of main players from the standpoint of the better team management.

Analysis of Pitching Skills of Major League Baseball Players

This study examines the pitcher’s deciding ball after pushing a batter with two strikes of an aged pitcher group (31 to 43 year-old) and a younger pitcher group (20 to 30 year-old) by using an actual tracking data of the Major League Baseball in 2015. The regression analyses are conducted for all pitchers and for each age group on different pitch types; i.e., two-seam, cutter, splitter, forkball, straight and so on. We also analyze relationships between pitchers’ knocking out batters and their pitching characteristics measured by pitch movements by using a framework and empirical analyses. The results of the research model using Structural Equation Modeling show what makes the pitcher advantageous over the batter.

Critical factors in IT project teams

This paper presents a framework and empirical analyses for the survey data from 1,678 managers and professionals working in a collaborative environment for Japanese software houses to understand relationships among factors of factor groups; the project manager, project team members, and the organization, which may lead to project success/failures. The results of the research model using SEM show that all three models are positively, closely related to each other. Among those three models, a relationship between factors related to the project manager and factors related to the organization is very strong and positive, while a relationship between factors related to project team members and factors related to the organization is weak.

Competitive Forces, IT Strategy and Business Strategy: An Empirical Study on Japanese SMEs

Michael Porter’s classic framework, “Five Forces” presents the state of competition in an industry depends on five basic forces, such as threat of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of customers, threat of substitute products or services, and the industry jockeying for position among current competitors (Porter in How competitive forces shape strategy. Strategic Planning, 2000) [23]. In this paper, a relationship between each of five forces and IT strategy, and a relationship between those and business strategy are examined among Japanese SMEs. Empirical findings in this research present threat of new entrants and bargaining power of customers are positively related to IT strategy as well as business strategy of the firms, while other forces are negatively related to those strategies.

Searching a Fit in IT Alignment for Japanese Firms

A firm develops a business strategy, chooses the structure and management processes, aligns IT, and ensures that employees are trained and their roles are well designed in traditional theories of how information technology applied [27]. This paper empirically investigates a fit between the strategy, organization’s structure, management processes, individual roles and skills, and IT, in order to achieve the strategy to gain a competitive advantage among Japanese enterprises by using the MIT90s framework [18]. 258 Japanese firm-level data collected have been analyzed using structural equation modeling. These results would contribute for achieving a strategic sit for the Japanese firms by showing effective tasks and environment to be focused.

Five domains of information technology governance in Japanese SMEs; An empirical study

IT governance is an integral part of overall enterprise governance (ITGA, 2003) and as such, the responsibility of top managers. Five IT governance domains of small to medium enterprises in northern part of Japan are examined, including IT Strategic Alignment, IT Value Delivery, IT Resource Management, IT Risk Management, and IT Performance Management.