Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Research: An Annotated Bibliography

Despite growing interest, publications on ERP systems within the academic Information Systems community, as reflected by contributions to journals and international conferences, is only now emerging. This article provides an annotated bibliography of the ERP publications published in the main Information Systems journals and conferences and reviews the state of the ERP art. The publications surveyed are categorized through a framework that is structured in phases that correspond to the different stages of an ERP system lifecycle within an organization. We also present topics for further research in each phase

Interface: assessment of human-computer interaction by monitoring physiological and other data with a time-resolution of only a few seconds

Earlier publications have shown that a Heart Period Variability (HPV) -based methodology, after careful adaptation, could be a powerful technique for monitoring mental effort in Human-Computer Interaction. This paper outlines the INTERFACE testing workstation developed by researchers of our department. This system is based on the simultaneous assessment of HPV, time data of keystroke and mouse events, video images of users’ behaviour and screen content, etc. It is capable of identifying quality attributes of software elements with a time-resolution of only a few seconds. Our series of experiments demonstrate the practical usability of this improved methodology for testing user interfaces. The method of analysis allows us to decide what types of problems are significant to the users, and what types of problems set back the users only slightly. On the other hand, the method allows us to decide, to what extent the found problems and their assessed severity concern all the users in general, or how these things depend on the type and characteristics of the users. At the end of this paper, we will give a brief description of the further development of this INTERFACE methodology: we are in the process of integrating also another physiological channel – Skin Conductance (SC)

Configuration of actors and roles in establishing ICT

Establishing technologies has brought mixed socio-economic impacts across nations and regions. Researchers have studied the relationships between the establishment technologies and its impacts through identifying innovative processes, major actors, and available resources. However, the challenge to this literature is how less resourced countries have achieved greater prosperity than better resourced countries by establishing Information and Communication Technology (ICT). To understand and analyze this phenomenon, we propose a typology of the configuration of roles and actors in establishing ICT based on an innovation framework. The proposed typology can be used not only to explain different socio-economic impacts among countries or regions, but also to suggest a constructive way in establishing ICT through reconfiguring involved actors in the key roles

DEVELOPMENT OF A MEASUREMENT SCALE FOR BUSINESS PROCESS STANDARDIZATION

Process-oriented companies face the dichotomy of process standardization versus process diversity. On the one hand, multinational companies try to realize returns of scale by standardization. On the other hand, markets require businesses to adapt to local needs and government regulations. As of to-day, there is no framework available to measure the degree of process standardization. This is both a problem for companies that want to assess their degree of standardization as well as for research that aims to investigate standardization and its connection with other concepts. In this paper, we address this research gap from the perspective of scale development. We utilize a well-acknowledged method for devising a measurement instrument to specifically and directly measure the degree of standardiza-tion in business processes. Various application scenarios and future research areas are pointed out

A Theory of Industry Level Activity for Understanding the Adoption of Interorganizational Systems

Increasingly we wish to ask and research questions about the adoption of interorganizational systems and electronic commerce at the industry level but are hampered by the lack of a theory of concerted purposeful action at this large level of analysis. In this paper we give the outlines of such a theory and indicate the uses to which it can be put. Particular attention is paid to how the routine day-to-day activities of the firms and support organizations that make up an industry group can be coordinated in such a way that we can speak of an industry as engaged in purposeful activity. We contend that only through a deep understanding of the possibilities and nature of routine coordinated activity at this level can issues concerning promotion, implementation and adoption of interorganizational systems by whole industries be properly framed

Representation and Communication of Pharmaceutical Expert Information

Pharmaceutical expert information is characterized by steady increase in extent and complexity as well as by strong interweavement and penetration with interdependent references. These properties suggest the utilization of modern hypermedia technology, organizing knowledge as a network of linked pieces, enabling more intuitive, faster and easier navigation within the growing information space. There is a need for a suitable, role oriented external representation of pharmaceutical expert information. The application of pharmaceutical expert information when analyzing medications for contraindications and interactions is mainly mechanical in nature. It requires to follow references and to compare codes. The electronic availability of medication information, which is often forced by drug dispensing systems, is not exhausted when these procedures are performed manually at the screen. There is a need for automatization of these procedures. This automatization requires a suitable internal representation of pharmaceutical expert information. The universality of pharmaceutical information systems leaves open their conceptual environment. The different kinds of application scenarios pose strong requirements on the formalization of expert information. A universal representation has to be found which captures the nature of pharmaceuticals including common properties of drug classification systems. The diversity of the latters within the different healthcare organisations is to be regarded as the most serious barrier aggravating global communication within the healthcare system

Evolutionary diffusion theory and the exdoc community: greater explanatory power for e-commerce diffusion?

Improved understanding of the innovative technology uptake (ITU) problem is important for the further development of e-commerce and its integration into mainstream business activities. The discovery of a more effective explanatory theory thus presents exciting possibilities for improved understanding of issues affecting acceptance levels of new technologies in this area. This paper pioneers the application of Evolutionary Diffusion Theory (EDT) within an Information Systems context. The set of axioms the authors have derived from the literature of EDT is used to review the implementation of EXDOC, an online document delivery system introduced by the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) to food exporters and successfully diffused across a number of industry sectors. The authors’ application of these EDT axioms to the EXDOC case study data demonstrates the theory’s explanatory depth for reviewing uptake of innovative technology – both as an instituted process and as a socially-embedded activity

Examining the Influence of ERP Systems on Firm Specific Knowledge and Core Capabilities: A Case Study of SAP Implementation and Use

There is a paucity of in-depth research on the effects that enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have on firm-specific intangible assets, such as firm-specific knowledge and core capabilities. Accordingly, this paper explores the implementation of SAP in two operational units of the Boxit Group—a global player in the manufacture of paper and packaging. Leonard-Barton’s (1995) theory of knowledge creating activities, knowledge sets, and core and non-core capabilities is employed as a conceptual framework to examine the implementation and use of SAP modules in the firm studied. The findings of this in-depth exploratory case study illustrate that the introduction of SAP-specific business routines can threaten established core, enabling and supplemental capabilities and related knowledge sets. The integration of SAP’s embedded business routines and reporting functionality contributed to the creation of (a) highly rigid reporting structures; (b) inflexible managerial decision-making routines; and (c) reduced autonomy on the factory floor in the firm studied. SAP thus endangered the firm-specific knowledge creating activities that underpinned core operational capabilities in this organization. Finally, Leonard-Barton’s conceptual framework is extended to incorporate insights into the manner in which ERP systems such as SAP affect the various aspects of organizational knowledge sets