The actual organization and use of information systems in American, European and Japanese firms are investigated and compared with theoretical conclusions. Finally, following the experimental evolution of the information products over the past twenty years, the results presented indicate that information and communication firms are now starting to offer the kind of business information systems predicted by the analysis.
The transformation of business information systems technology can be followed in the Chronicle, which is provided on diskette and which covers the development of modern IT and telecommunications industries. The data are arranged to allow researchers to reconfigure the data according to their own needs.

I Theory.- I The Economics of Innovation, Coordination, Selection, and Knowledge Transfer.- II The Organization of Production, Markets and Administrative Control Systems -- A General Theory of Innovation and Information, or the Experimentally Organized Economy.- III The Firm as an Experimental Machine -- Its Decision Problem.- II Practice.- IV The Firm -- Its Control System in Practice.- V The Universal Information System -- a Fantasy or a Feasible New Product?.- VI The Experimental Evolution of a New Information Product.- III A Chronicle of Events That Mark the Experimental Evolution of a New Information Product.- VII Systems Components and the New Information Product Defined.- Supplement 1 Office automation and business information systems market -- announcement of entry.- Supplement 2 Spin-off, start-up and major innovations chronology.- Supplement 3 Interviewed firms.