INDIVIDUAL INNOVATIVE USE OF ERP SYSTEMS

Although many studies have discussed Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) use at the organizational level, no study according to our knowledge, has identified the factors influncing innovative use of ERP by the end users (Sudzina, 2010). This research-in-progress paper describes the preliminary findings of a survey, which is designed to recognize the factors which can influnce the end user innovative use of ERP systems. Moreover, this study argus that the innovative use on individual levels could impact the productivity of organizations

Maturity Model Development for Digital Servitization of Manufacturing SMEs

Manufacturing businesses seek to increase their revenue streams through new business models. In the context of the continuing digitization of the manufacturing sector, new business models based on digital servitization offerings are at the centre of attention. However, due to the inherent complexity involved in devising such offerings and suitable business models, many companies struggle to embark on this new value-adding pathway that is not yet well understood. Current research has highlighted the general challenges and barriers faced by manufacturing businesses, along with developing tools and roadmaps for successful transition to digital servitization. However, most studies have only focused on servitization in general, omitting the specific “digital” aspect which brings about different challenges. Accordingly, the authors first introduce the concept of digital servitization in general terms, to then discuss different types of it, along with typical barriers to entry and implementation challenges. A critical element of any digital servitization endeavor is to first assess the current state of a business, to define the desired outcome of the process, and to identify the steps and actions required to accomplish the desired end goal. This is accomplished by means of maturity models that also help in terms of benchmarking current and future state against competitors. The authors introduce the research aims and questions, the research methodology and present results from a systematic review of the literature on maturity modelling, including an overview of the maturity modelling methods encountered and their respective dimensions and levels. Finally, conclusions are drawn along with the current state of the research and future work that will be conducted

Technostress: how does it affect the productivity and life of an individual? Results of an observational study

Objectives: Technostress is an emergent phenomenon related to the pervasive use of technology and is associated with the increased computerisation and digitalisation seen over recent decades. This crosssectional observational study aims to investigate the impact that stress from the use of technologies (i.e. technostress) has on the productivity and life of an individual. Study design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Data were collected using a previously proposed and validated questionnaire. The questionnaire was translated into Italian and transformed into an online format with a Google Docs form. The questionnaire was then associated with a link and QR code (also available in paper format) and disseminated manually and through the use of e-mail and social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. Results: The study sample included 313 individuals, 54.6% of whom were women. The mean age of the sample participants was 34.7 years. The dependent variables were technstressors (i.e. techno-overload, techno-invasion, techno-complexity, techno-insecurity and techno-uncertainty), role stressors (i.e. role overload and role conflict) and productivity. In the multivariate analysis, techno-overload was significantly associated with female gender (b ¼ 0.128; P ¼ 0.018) and unemployment (b ¼ 0.303; P < 0.001); techno-invasion was significantly associated with female gender (b ¼ 0.098; P ¼ 0.081) and degree-level education (b ¼ 0.149; P ¼ 0.008); techno-complexity was significantly associated with female gender (b ¼ 0.107; P ¼ 0.057) and being married (b ¼ 0.113; P ¼ 0.046); techno-uncertainty was significantly associated with unemployment (b ¼ 0.337; P < 0.001); role overload was significantly associated with female gender (b ¼ 0.160; P ¼ 0.014) and productivity was significantly associated with degree-level education (b ¼ 0.125; P ¼ 0.057). Conclusions: This observational study evaluated the phenomenon of both work-related and noneworkrelated technostress of 313 individuals aged between 16 and 65 years. The present study investigated the impact of five techno-stressors, two role stressors and productivity. The results indicate that different techno-stressors are significantly associated with female gender, degree-level education and unemployment. Further research in this field is required to better understand and clarify the epid

An adoption model of cloud enterprise resources planning for Malaysian small and medium enterprises

The Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system offers promising benefits for the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). It helps to address many of the challenges faced by SMEs and significantly promotes them in terms of business operations and use of resource. Despite its benefits, the research on cloud ERP adoption among SMEs in developing countries has not been fully explored, leading to a low rate of cloud ERP adoption among SMEs. Furthermore, the factors which influence SMEs to adopt the cloud ERP system are still unclear. In an attempt to tackle the aforementioned situation, this research investigated the influencing factors that have determined and enhanced cloud ERP adoption rates. To identify factors and develop the model used in this research, the researcher conducted a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The model was proposed based on three integrated Information System (IS) predominant theories, namely, Technology- Organization-Environment (TOE) framework and Fit-Viability Model (FVM) with extension of Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory to scrutinize the influential factors leading towards Cloud ERP Adoption. Thirteen hypotheses were developed to test and validate the model based on the decision to adopt cloud ERP. A positivism paradigm with quantitative approach was applied to conduct this research. Purposive sampling technique and a survey method were applied and data were collected from SMEs who have already adopted cloud ERP that provided 174 usable responses. The analysis was conducted by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique through Partial Least Squares (SmartPLS 3.2.7) software to determine the significant relationships of the independent factors to Cloud ERP Adoption. The results showed that Task- Technology Fit, Task Interdependence, Relative Advantage, Compatibility, System Trust, Security, Top Management Support, Employee Cloud ERP Knowledge, Cost Saving, and Competitive Pressure were significantly related to Cloud ERP Adoption. On the other hand, Security was found to have no relationship (p > 0.05) with Task- Technology Fit. Similarly, Government Support and Vendor Support were found to have no relationship (p > 0.05) with Cloud ERP Adoption. In line with this, the research model can be explained as 65.2% of variance from all the independent variables. This implies that the model has substantial predictive power to explain cloud ERP adoption. Finally, this model can be used to guide cloud ERP ecosystems to enhance their knowledge so as to successfully evaluate and adopt the cloud ERP system

Differential Adoption of Cloud Technology: A Multiple Case Study of Large Firms and SMEs

Firms across the industry segments have been exploring cloud computing to derive benefits out of its technological features. Even though literature pertaining to cloud adoption by firms exists, the factors based on cloud-specific characteristics are mostly anecdotal in nature. Following a multiple case study approach, we identify factors specific to cloud technology adoption by firms. We further explain the differential adoption of the cloud between large and small firms. Overall we obtained 11 variables that differentiate large firms and SMEs in their adoption behaviour. We further contribute to theory by mapping the extracted variables of cloud adoption to Diffusion of innovation theory (DOI) and Technology organization Environment framework (TOE)

Towards ML-based Platforms in Finance Industry – An ML Approach to Generate Corporate Bankruptcy Probabilities based on Annual Financial Statements

The increasing interest in Machine Learning (ML) based services and the need for more intelligent and automated processes in the finance industry brings new challenges and requires practitioners and academics to design, develop, and maintain new ML approaches for financial services companies. The main objective of this paper is to provide a standardized procedure to deal with cases that suffer from imbalanced datasets. For this, we propose design recommendations on, how to test and combine multiple oversampling techniques such as SMOTE, SMOTE-ENN and SMOTE-Tomek on such datasets with multiple ML models and attribute-based structure to reach higher accuracies. Moreover, this paper considers to find an appropriate structure while maintaining such systems that work with periodically changing datasets, so that the incoming datasets can be analyzed regularly via this procedure

GAMIFICATION IS ALL ABOUT FUN: THE ROLE OF INCENTIVE TYPE AND COMMUNITY COLLABORATION

As the transformation of various services into appealing game-like experiences is in its infancy, limited research exists in the area and in particular on the way each gamification design decision affects intended outcome. In the present study we investigate the impact of two game elements (incentive type and community collaboration) on user´s experienced fun during participation in a gamified service. Via an experiment (N=108), we examine the role of Incentive Type [Accomplish an achievement versus Receive discounted offer], as a motivator for participation, and Community Collaboration, as participation setting (individual pursuit of goals versus collaborative pursuit of goals), on experienced fun in the context of a gamified consumer service. The service is aimed at assisting consumers in their efforts to adopt an ecologically conscious consumer behaviour. Results indicate that the selection of community collaboration as a form of interaction presents significant difference in experienced fun during participation, whereas accomplishing an achievement opposed to receiving discounted price does not

Tracing the Clouds. A research taxonomy of cloud-ERP in SMEs

Cloud computing is an enabler and accelerator of digital transformation, which has brought many advantages that only large companies had before for any start-up and small firm could benefit. Cloud-based computing in the form of SaaS (Software as a Service) has given rise to a revolutionary new way of delivering software applications via the Internet on a pay-per-use basis. Cloud-ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions have become more affordable, easier to implement, simpler to maintain, and thus especially suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which have limited resources and may not be willing to invest in on-premise solutions. Employing this technology empowers integrated management of business processes and has the potential to add technical and strategic business value for small businesses. Given the claimed significance of SMEs in a structure of the world economy, we embarked on a detailed study of the existing published literature to determine the status quo of research on cloud-ERP technology in SMEs and how it has evolved in terms of quantity, content, and publication outlets. This is achieved by systematically reviewing 74 articles from 43 journals and 22 conferences published between 1 January 2010 and 30 June 2019. Using the ERP life-cycle-based framework by Esteves and Pastor (1999), articles are classified according to six life-cycle phases: adoption decision, acquisition, implementation, use and maintenance, evolution, and retirement. The findings, derived from a meta-analysis, illustrate that while current literature and studies related to the adoption decision phase are very rich, research on other phases of the ERP life cycle lacks strong empirical validation, due to a limited amount of publications. This study presents a comprehensive, structured literature review on cloud-based ERP adoption among SMEs and provides both academics and practitioners with a holistic view of the state of the current body of knowledge on the topic along with an understanding of how cloud-ERP in SMEs research is evolving