TY - JOUR AB - Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to propose the input‐occupancy‐output analysis for grey situations and to manage the economic systems with missing information. The situation is realistic in practice.Design/methodology/approach– During the decision‐making process of an economic system, the managers often get some uncertain data for the missing information. Then, it becomes difficult to analyze the complex system by using the input‐occupancy‐output analysis. Since the uncertain data are grey numbers, the decision maker can control it by using grey system theory and the input‐occupancy‐output analysis.Findings– Get the grey direct consumption and occupancy coefficient matrices and the computational formulas of their matrix‐covered sets. The grey model of input‐occupancy‐output analysis and its covered solution are also obtained.Research limitations/implications– The chaos of the grey statistic data should satisfy a level of accuracy and it is key to get the number‐covered set that the true data belongs to.Practical implications– A feasible approach to control the economic system that the accurate data are difficult to be obtained.Originality/value– Give a new approach to study an economic system by using grey system theory. VL - 38 IS - 3/4 SN - 0368-492X DO - 10.1108/03684920910943985 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/03684920910943985 AU - Li Qiao‐Xing AU - Liu Si‐Feng ED - Mian‐yun Chen ED - Yi Lin ED - Hejing Xiong PY - 2009 Y1 - 2009/01/01 TI - The grey input‐occupancy‐output analysis T2 - Kybernetes PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 306 EP - 313 Y2 - 2024/04/23 ER -