A Conceptual Model for ASP Adoption

The much-heralded provision of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications via hosting houses has been deemed to have failed. Many investigations have taken place, most of which have analysed the failure from the customer perspective, trying to understand why the end user did not endorse the Application Service Provision (ASP) model. As the end user stands to gain substantial benefits from the ASP model these studies are perhaps not focusing on the correct component of the value chain. This paper critically examines the ASP value chain and identifies the winners and risk takers within it. A flaw in the supply of ASP is highlighted and a conceptual model for ASP adoption proposed

A conceptual model of enterprise application integration in higher education institutions

Copyright @ 2013 EMCIS.It is eminent that several applications’ systems are deployed at different levels in Higher Education (HE), ranging from academic and administrative to staff and students record systems. Many of these systems suffer from different problems due to the lack of integration such as data redundancy, inconsistency and maintenance cost. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) can provide substantial benefits to these systems, such as assisting with business process integration, facilitating e-service based transformation and supporting collaborative decision-making. However, some factors that influence EAI adoption process in HE will be defined. This paper introduces a conceptual model to explain the outcome of using EAI in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Analyzing the combination of the existing classification of EAI factors with the HE factors will enhance the implementation of EAI in HEI at both organizational and operational levels. A pilot study at King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be presented in this paper to show that the integration of the multiple information systems gives an integrated view to facilitate information access and reuse. Moreover data from different information systems is combined to gain a more comprehensive basis to satisfy the educational needs

The Potential of Critical E-Applications for Engaging SMEs in E Business: A Provider Perspective

YesAgainst a background of the low engagement of SMEs in e-business this paper investigates the emergence of, and potential for, critical e-applications defined as `an e-business application, promoted by a trusted third party, which engages a significant number of SMEs by addressing an important shared business concern within an aggregation.¿ By a review of secondary data and empirical investigation with service providers and other intermediaries the research shows that such applications can facilitate the e-business engagement of SMEs. There are three key findings, namely: the emergence of aggregation specific e-business applications; the emergence of collaboratively based `one to many¿ business models; and the importance of trusted third parties in the adoption of higher complexity e-business applications by SMEs. Significantly this work takes a deliberately provider perspective and complements the already considerable literature on SME IT adoption from a user and network perspective. In terms of future research the importance of a better conceptual understanding of the impact of complexity on the adoption of IT by SMEs is highlighted

Adoption of Application Service Providers: Issues in Trust and Security

My three-essay dissertation focuses on outsourcing and Application Service Providers (ASPs). Paper 1 is unique in that it is among the first to look at healthcare outsourcing scenarios using ASPs. Initial research was presented at the Academy of Health (poster) and published in the Journal of Healthcare Information Management. A refined model looking specifically at the trust and privacy concepts was recently presented at HICSS 2005 (nominated for Best Paper). An extended version of this paper will be submitted to Information Systems Research. The empirical paper uses PLS analysis with survey data. Paper 2 explores multiple theoretical frameworks to connect practitioner views with research on adoption of ASPs. The paper contributes by investigating the variant constructs that later map to common themes. The paper uses different theoretical views to develop a conceptual model of ASP adoption. An extended version of this paper will be submitted to Academy of Management Review in June 2005. Paper 3 investigates Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs). The contribution centers on the decision to outsource security which has traditionally been an in-house service. The larger impact on competitive advantage for firms that employ MSSPs will be looked at. The empirical paper will use PLS analysis with online surveys. This research-in-progress has been submitted to AMCIS 2005. Data collection will start in August 2005. Analysis will be completed by December 2005. The dissertation will be defended by Summer 2006

Contemporary Flat-Tax Reforms in Eastern Europe. Causes of Diverse Approaches : A comparison of Slovakia, Czech Republic and Germany.

The paper deals with the issue of contemporary flat-tax reforms in Eastern Europe and aims to account for the different approaches that various European countries adopted towards the idea of a flat-tax. Empirically, the work is based on detailed studies of Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany. The analysis considers three factors being decisive for the flat-tax feasibility: 1./ party system institutionalization, 2./ coalition/opposition cohesiveness, 3./ labor union institutionalization. First, the study is concerned with each of the factor's influence on the political decision-making process in the three country cases. Secondly, on country paired comparisons the findings for each of the countries are mutually contrasted. Although all identified factors seem to be at play with regard to flat-tax feasibility, I argue that it is either the strength or the weakness of labor unions' institutionalization and welfare identity that underlie the political decision-making in the East and the West and as a result determine the flat-tax (un-)feasibility. The absence of welfare identity in the East allows for higher coalition cohesion in favor and weaker opposition against the flattax adoption in contrast to the West.Series: Discussion Papers SFB International Tax Coordinatio

A management architecture for active networks

In this paper we present an architecture for network and applications management, which is based on the Active Networks paradigm and shows the advantages of network programmability. The stimulus to develop this architecture arises from an actual need to manage a cluster of active nodes, where it is often required to redeploy network assets and modify nodes connectivity. In our architecture, a remote front-end of the managing entity allows the operator to design new network topologies, to check the status of the nodes and to configure them. Moreover, the proposed framework allows to explore an active network, to monitor the active applications, to query each node and to install programmable traps. In order to take advantage of the Active Networks technology, we introduce active SNMP-like MIBs and agents, which are dynamic and programmable. The programmable management agents make tracing distributed applications a feasible task. We propose a general framework that can inter-operate with any active execution environment. In this framework, both the manager and the monitor front-ends communicate with an active node (the Active Network Access Point) through the XML language. A gateway service performs the translation of the queries from XML to an active packet language and injects the code in the network. We demonstrate the implementation of an active network gateway for PLAN (Packet Language for Active Networks) in a forty active nodes testbed. Finally, we discuss an application of the active management architecture to detect the causes of network failures by tracing network events in time