Appropriate Information Technology In Emerging Economies: An Application For Strategic Decision-Making In Manufacturing Industries

Competing in global marketplace has pressured managers respond to shifting market trends by increasing product quality, business process reengineering, and decreasing time to market for new products.  Within emerging economies top executives have realized that adoption of appropriate information technologies such a decision support systems (DSS) and group decision support systems (GDSS) have led to changes in the existing organizational structure and communication mechanisms.  This paper explores the advantages and constraints of DSS and GDSS in formulating manufacturing strategies in emergent economies.  We argued that to fit appropriate information technology to organizational design top executive would benefit from strategic information systems planning process.  This process enables top executives to invest in appropriate information system that fits their structural arrangements and organizational culture.  Moreover, we explored the impact of DSS and GDSS on executive decision-making capabilities.  We also explored the methodology for implementation of appropriate information systems in manufacturing firms in emergent economies

Integrating group Delphi, fuzzy logic and expert systems for marketing strategy development:the hybridisation and its effectiveness

A hybrid approach for integrating group Delphi, fuzzy logic and expert systems for developing marketing strategies is proposed in this paper. Within this approach, the group Delphi method is employed to help groups of managers undertake SWOT analysis. Fuzzy logic is applied to fuzzify the results of SWOT analysis. Expert systems are utilised to formulate marketing strategies based upon the fuzzified strategic inputs. In addition, guidelines are also provided to help users link the hybrid approach with managerial judgement and intuition. The effectiveness of the hybrid approach has been validated with MBA and MA marketing students. It is concluded that the hybrid approach is more effective in terms of decision confidence, group consensus, helping to understand strategic factors, helping strategic thinking, and coupling analysis with judgement, etc

The impact of triadic strategic alignment on organisational performance in Yemen

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Business ManagementTo survive and succeed in the very competitive business environment, firms should have a clear business strategy supported by appropriate information technology (IT) and marketing strategies. Whilst many prior studies argue that strategic alignment between, for example, business strategy and IT strategy generally enhances organisational performance, strategic alignment including multiple factors has received little attention and strategic orientation of firms is rarely considered. This research, drawing on configurational theory and strategic management literature, aims to understand the performance impact of triadic strategic alignment between business, IT, and marketing strategies based on strategic orientation of firms. A number of hypotheses are proposed to examine the relationship between triadic strategic alignment and organisational performance through the use of structural equation modelling, and to identify generic types of triadic strategic alignment. The hypotheses are tested through MANOVA using data collected in a questionnaire survey of 242 managers in Yemen. The findings indicate that (1) there is an ideal triadic strategic alignment for prospectors and defenders; (2) triadic strategic alignment has a positive impact on organisational performance; and (3) triadic strategic alignment provides a better indication of the nature and performance impact of strategic alignment. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to support the arguments and to clarify how strategies should be aligned. This research also contributes to managers’ knowledge and understanding by suggesting how a firm should coherently align its strategies to improve organisational performance