Enterprise application reuse: Semantic discovery of business grid services

Web services have emerged as a prominent paradigm for the development of distributed software systems as they provide the potential for software to be modularized in a way that functionality can be described, discovered and deployed in a platform independent manner over a network (e.g., intranets, extranets and the Internet). This paper examines an extension of this paradigm to encompass ‘Grid Services’, which enables software capabilities to be recast with an operational focus and support a heterogeneous mix of business software and data, termed a Business Grid - "the grid of semantic services". The current industrial representation of services is predominantly syntactic however, lacking the fundamental semantic underpinnings required to fulfill the goals of any semantically-oriented Grid. Consequently, the use of semantic technology in support of business software heterogeneity is investigated as a likely tool to support a diverse and distributed software inventory and user. Service discovery architecture is therefore developed that is (a) distributed in form, (2) supports distributed service knowledge and (3) automatically extends service knowledge (as greater descriptive precision is inferred from the operating application system). This discovery engine is used to execute several real-word scenarios in order to develop and test a framework for engineering such grid service knowledge. The examples presented comprise software components taken from a group of Investment Banking systems. Resulting from the research is a framework for engineering servic

Deferred Action: Theoretical model of process architecture design for emergent business processes

E-Business modelling and ebusiness systems development assumes fixed company resources, structures, and business processes. Empirical and theoretical evidence suggests that company resources and structures are emergent rather than fixed. Planning business activity in emergent contexts requires flexible ebusiness models based on better management theories and models . This paper builds and proposes a theoretical model of ebusiness systems capable of catering for emergent factors that affect business processes. Drawing on development of theories of the ‘action and design’class the Theory of Deferred Action is invoked as the base theory for the theoretical model. A theoretical model of flexible process architecture is presented by identifying its core components and their relationships, and then illustrated with exemplar flexible process architectures capable of responding to emergent factors. Managerial implications of the model are considered and the model’s generic applicability is discussed

On the role of domain ontologies in the design of domain-specific visual modeling langages

Domain-Specific Visual Modeling Languages should provide notations and abstractions that suitably support problem solving in well-defined application domains. From their user’s perspective, the language’s modeling primitives must be intuitive and expressive enough in capturing all intended aspects of domain conceptualizations. Over the years formal and explicit representations of domain conceptualizations have been developed as domain ontologies. In this paper, we show how the design of these languages can benefit from conceptual tools developed by the ontology engineering community

Interaction systems design and the protocol- and middleware-centred paradigms in distributed application development

This paper aims at demonstrating the benefits and importance of interaction systems design in the development of distributed applications. We position interaction systems design with respect to two paradigms that have influenced the design of distributed applications: the middleware-centred and the protocol-centred paradigm. We argue that interaction systems that support application-level interactions should be explicitly designed, using the externally observable behaviour of the interaction system as a starting point in interaction systems design. This practice has two main benefits: to promote a systematic design method, in which the correctness of the design of an interaction system can be assessed against its service specification; and, to shield the design of application parts that use the interaction system from choices in the design of the supporting interaction system

ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history

Theory borrowing in IT-rich contexts : lessons from IS strategy research

While indigenous theorizing in information systems has clear merits, theory borrowing will not, and should not, be eschewed given its appeal and usefulness. In this article, we aim at increasing our understanding of modifying of borrowed theories in IT-rich contexts. We present a framework in which we discuss how two recontextualization approaches of specification and distinction help with increasing the IT-richness of borrowed constructs and relationships. In doing so, we use several illustrative examples from information systems strategy. The framework can be used by researchers as a tool to explore the multitude of ways in which a theory from another discipline can yield the understanding of IT phenomena

A model-driven method for the systematic literature review of qualitative empirical research

This paper explores a model-driven method for systematic literature reviews (SLRs), for use where the empirical studies found in the literature search are based on qualitative research. SLRs are an important component of the evidence-based practice (EBP) paradigm, which is receiving increasing attention in information systems (IS) but has not yet been widely-adopted. We illustrate the model-driven approach to SLRs via an example focused on the use of BPMN (Business Process Modelling Notation) in organizations. We discuss in detail the process followed in using the model-driven SLR method, and show how it is based on a hermeneutic cycle of reading and interpreting, in order to develop and refine a model which synthesizes the research findings of previous qualitative studies. This study can serve as an exemplar for other researchers wishing to carry out model-driven SLRs. We conclude with our reflections on the method and some suggestions for further researc

How EA-Driven Dynamic Capabilities Enable Agility: The Mediating Role of Digital Project Benefits

As the modern business environment is highly volatile and demanding, orchestrating all business and IT components and capabilities are crucial. Firms use enterprise architecture (EA) for this purpose. However, it is currently by no means clear how EA-driven firm capabilities facilitate becoming agile. When firms are agile, they can recombine digital resources to change the business practice while also coping with uncertainty and recovering rapidly from disruption through innovative digital technologies. This study embraces the dynamic capability view (DCV), develops a model, and validates the associated hypotheses using cross-sectional data from 177 firms using a Partial Least Squares approach. The outcomes show that EA-driven dynamic capabilities are a crucial antecedent of digital project benefits. In turn, these benefits positively enhance agility. The findings shed light on becoming agile, and this study providing insights and guidance on achieving the EA-driven benefits

Technological, organisational, and environmental factors affecting the adoption of blockchain-based distributed identity management in organisations

Background: Blockchain is a disruptive technology with the potential to innovate businesses. Ignoring or resisting it might result in a competitive disadvantage for organisations. Apart from its original financial application of cryptocurrency, other applications are emerging, the most common being supply chain management and e-voting systems. However, there is less focus on information and cybersecurity applications, especially from the enterprise perspective. This research addresses this knowledge gap, focussing on its application of distributed identity management in organisations. Objectives: The main objective is to investigate technological, organisational, and environmental (TOE) factors affecting the adoption of blockchain-based distributed identity management (BDIDM) in organisations to determine the most critical factors. Secondary objectives include determining whether the blockchain type affects BDIDM adoption and whether the TOE-BDIDM model measuring the phenomenon is effective and appropriate. But given the relative newness of blockchain, the initial goal consists of intensively exploring the topic to understand the practicality of adopting BDIDM in organisations and establishing whether claims made around it are factual than just due to the blockchain hype. Methodology: The study uses meta-synthesis to explore the topic, summarising 69 papers selected qualitatively from reputed academic sources. The study then surveys 111 information and cybersecurity practitioners selected randomly in South African organisations to investigate the TOE factors affecting BDIDM adoption. To do so, it utilises an online questionnaire rooted in an adapted TOE model called TOE-BDIDM as a data collection instrument. The analysis of this primary data is purely quantitative and includes (i) Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) of the measurement model, i.e. confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); (ii) binary logistics regression analysis; and (iii) Chi-Square tests Results: Meta-synthesis revealed theoretical grounds underlying claims made around the topic while spotting diverging views about BDIDM practicality for the enterprise context. It also identifies the TOE theory as more suitable to explain the phenomenon. Binary logistics regression modelling reveals that TOE factors do affect BDIDM adoption in organisations, either positively or negatively. The factors predict BDIDM adopters and non-adopters, with Technology Characteristics being the most critical factor and the most that could predict BDIDM non-adopters. Organisation Readiness was the second critical factor, the most that could predict BDIDM adopters. Overall, TOE-BDIDM effectively predicted 92.5% of adopters and 45.2% of non-adopters. CFA indicates that TOE-BDIDM appropriateness for investigating the phenomenon is relatively fair. The Chi-Square tests reveal a significant association between Blockchain Type and BDIDM adoption. Implications: The discussion highlights various implications of the above findings, including the plausibility of the impartiality of typical privacy-preserving BDIDM models like the Selfsovereign identity: The majority of respondents preferred private permissioned blockchain, which tends to be centralised, more intermediated, and less privacy-preserving. The rest implications relate to the disruptiveness nature of BDIDM and the BDIDM adoption being more driven by technological than organisational or environmental factors. The study ends by reflecting on the research process and providing fundamental limitations and recommendations for future researc