29,427 research outputs found

    Adoption Management: A Review of the Benefits Management and the Adoption Literature

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    The adoption of Information Systems (IS) has been, and is predicted to remain, one of the key topics for IS research and practice. Despite the extensive and rich insights provided across IS literature streams, there remains a significant amount of IS implementation projects that struggle with adoption and benefits realization. This paper argues that a knowledge gap exists because research has paid little attention to the definition, manifestations, and effects of adoption management. The article proposes a definition and reviews findings related to adoption management at the cross-section of the adoption and benefits management literatures. The article answers the research questions: What findings on managing adoption do the adoption and the benefits management literature provide? How do the adoption and the benefits management literatures differ in their examination of managing adoption? What limitations in relation to managing adoption are identified when combining adoption literature and benefits management literature? Through a systematic literature review, the findings show that adoption management is constructed across the two literature streams as practices, tools, and supportive contexts. While some articles treat adoption management in their core sections, many focus on adoption management as an after-thought in the discussion section, and none of the articles explicitly labels it adoption management. We discuss these and other gaps and provide avenues for future research

    Capturing System Intentionality with Maps

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    International audienceConceptual modelling has emerged as a means to capture the relevant aspects of the world on which it is necessary to provide information. Whereas conceptual models succeeded in telling us how to represent some excerpt of the world in informational terms, they failed to guide system analysts in conceptualising purposeful systems, i.e. systems that meet the expectations of their users. This chapter aims to investigate this issue of conceptualising purposeful systems and to discuss the role that goal driven approaches can play to resolve it. It considers the challenge of new systems having a multifaceted purpose and shows how intention/strategy maps help facing this challenge

    Management Control and "Coherence" : Some Unresolved Questions

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    Clothed in various formulations, the question of “coherence” is central to management control. Thus it is widely accepted that different forms of control “cannot be used effectively in every situation” (Merchant, 1998: 32, 69) – a statement referring to the contingency framework. It is also argued that “congruence [is] one of the prime determinants of the effectiveness of management” (Merchant, 1998: 159-160), congruence here being defined both in terms of the managers’ adequate understanding of organisational objectives, and in terms of appropriate mirroring of the objectives by the measured performance dimension. Finally, there is general agreement on the idea that the dominant form of control (i.e. action-, result- or personnel-orientated) is “likely to change (…) as (…) needs and capabilities change” (Merchant, 1998: 259), this involving again the idea of an effective fit between modes of control and the organizational situation. These different statements refer to various aspects of “coherence” in organizations, and the issues mentioned are not specific to management control: coherence issues also concern strategy, marketing, information systems and human resource management. The objective of this article is to reveal the diversity of content that the concept of "coherence" possesses. This “inventory” reveals that, whilst most management control claims on coherence refer to various forms of what call be termed “strategic coherence”, there are many other meanings of the concept, which can be gathered around the notion of “psychological coherence”. This review enables us to reconsider coherence-related questions, which, we suggest, are incompletely answered within the usual frameworks of coherence deployed. In Part One we examine the different terms which are used to designate the concept of coherence. We show that in the French and English languages we cannot strictly “align” the meanings of the different words which are used in association with the concept. This semantic inventory also shows that "coherence" can be understood either in reference to the idea of a totality, or not. Part Two considers the variety of theories of “coherence” which, either in the management sciences or in associated fields (such as organization theory, industrial and occupational psychology, etc.) provide the conceptual supports for management discourse, including those in the management control domain. This section reveals both the diversity and sometimes the incompatibility of these theories. In Part Three we re-examine different coherence-related questions. We show that in some cases, the usual perspectives on coherence lead to a reductionist view of management as a human activity, which can be detrimental both to organisations and their participants. We also disclose some missing points in common claims on coherence and finally suggest that, beyond a rationalistic façade, appeals to coherence might have rhetorical aspects participating in legitimisation processes. The Conclusion proposes news ideas and directions of research on “coherence”.Coherence; Management control; Organisational change Coherence; Management control; Organisational change Coherence; Management control; Organisational change

    Two theoretical interpretations of the dissonance between fertility intentions and behaviour

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    In the paper we outline two possible theoretical interpretations for the inconsistency often observed between fertility intentions and fertility behaviour. We draw on socio-psychological models of human behaviour which emphasise the role of normative-affective factors on decision-making processes. The first interpretation is based on the observation that family and fertility choices are gradually shifting from a zone where behaviour is normative regulated to a zone of normative indifference, where mere rational decision-making based on cost-benefit considerations is at work. The dissonance between fertility choices and declared intentions depends on the fact that the former are based on rational considerations, while the latter are still constrained by a normative familistic philosophy. The second interpretation assumes the existence of an interposing mechanism in the sequence expectations-behaviour. These mechanisms, as anxiety and avoidance dispositions, filter the passage from individual value orientations in the affective sphere to their actual behaviour. We base our argument on two sets of information. First, we use a survey which allows us to construct empirical indicators of psychological dispositions connected to expectations related to family and fertility behaviours (Abacus 1996, Italy). Second, we analyse 54 non-structured interviews conducted in Northern Italy, which give a detailed picture of the hypothesised mechanisms and suggest new directions for research.

    An evaluation of the goal-oriented approaches for modelling strategic alignment concept

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    Several frameworks have been proposed in Requirements Engineering (RE) discipline that use goal-oriented approach to model the concept of strategic alignment. Understanding the concept of strategic alignment from the perspective of Management Information Systems (MIS) discipline and evaluating goal-oriented approaches in the context of strategic alignment appear to be the fundamental weakness in the RE frameworks that claim to model strategic alignment. In this research we developed a list of constructs by analysing the concept of strategic alignment embedded in strategy map which is one of the widely used frameworks to develop strategic alignment in MIS discipline. In this regard we analysed details of a case study conducted to develop strategic alignment. Against the identified list of constructs we evaluated five well-known goal-oriented approaches and presented their level of effectiveness to model the concept of strategic alignment. Š 2011 IEEE

    Backcasting as a Tool for Sustainable Transport Policy Making

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    This paper describes the backcasting approach used in the OECD’s Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) Study, in which several countries participated. The backcasting approach can be seen as an innovative tool for policy making, which aims at generating alternative images of the future. These images have been thoroughly analysed as to their feasibility, consequences and policy implications. Here, results and implications for backcasting shown in the Netherlands case study are highlighted and conclusions drawn that EST criteria will only be attainable if a substantial increase in development of technology and stringent behavioural adaptations, with changes in economic structures at an international level, are assumed. If EST is to be realised, measures will have to be taken and instruments will have to be implemented in the short term. Timely implementation will probably mean a necessary radical change in the current Dutch policy ‘life cycle’

    A model based realisation of actor model to conceptualise an aid for complex dynamic decision-making

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    Effective decision-making of modern organisation requires deep understanding of various aspects of organisation such as its goals, structure, business-as-usual operational processes etc. The large size and complex structure of organisations, socio-technical characteristics, and fast business dynamics make this decision-making a challenging endeavour. The state-of-practice of decision-making that relies heavily on human experts is often reported as ineffective, imprecise and lacking in agility. This paper evaluates a set of candidate technologies and makes a case for using actor based simulation techniques as an aid for complex dynamic decision-making. The approach is justified by enumeration of basic requirements of complex dynamic decision-making and the conducting a suitability of analysis of state-of-the-art enterprise modelling techniques. The research contributes a conceptual meta-model that represents necessary aspects of organisation for complex dynamic decision-making together with a realisation in terms of a meta model that extends Actor model of computation. The proposed approach is illustrated using a real life case study from business process outsourcing industr

    Deriving projects from the organisational vision using the Vision-to-Projects (V2P) Framework

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    Organisations initiate and execute projects at an ever-increasing ratein order to achieve their strategic intentions. Many of these, however,find it difficult to measure the contribution that these projects maketowards the realisation of the organisational vision. In order to effectthese changes in a cumulatively beneficial way, a holistic approachis needed. The Vision-to-Projects (V2P) Framework was developed tofacilitate such an approach and can be applied to all organisationaltypes. This article shows how participatory action research was appliedin the development of the V2P Framework. While largely validatingthe theoretical framework, it did indeed reveal several beneficialmodifications to improve its applicability. The main results of this research are twofold. It firstly provides organisations with a framework that can be used to derive projects from the organisational vision and strategies, thereby ensuring continuous alignment. Secondly, it shows the successful use of participatory action research in the field of project management thathas been dominated, thus far, by quantitative research methods

    A model based approach for complex dynamic decision-making

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    Current state-of-the-practice and state-of-the-art of decision-making aids are inadequate for modern organisations that deal with significant uncertainty and business dynamism. This paper highlights the limitations of prevalent decision-making aids and proposes a model-based approach that advances the modelling abstraction and analysis machinery for complex dynamic decision-making. In particular, this paper proposes a meta-model to comprehensively represent organisation, establishes the relevance of model-based simulation technique as analysis means, introduces the advancements over actor technology to address analysis needs, and proposes a method to utilise proposed modelling abstraction, analysis technique, and analysis machinery in an effective and convenient manner. The proposed approach is illustrated using a near real-life case-study from a business process outsourcing organisation
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