A FRAMEWORK FOR THE STRATEGIC POSITIONING OF INTRA-COMPANY ICT RESEARCH ORGANIZATIONS

By the early twentieth century, Schumpeter had already stressed the importance of innovation for a sustainable development of enterprises. Innovation is especially important for information and com-munication technology (ICT) companies as their business model is based on rapidly changing tech-nology. They therefore often profit from innovation developed in intra-company research organiza-tions. However, ICT research organisations often face a special challenge: the integration of research results into existing ICT architectures. This challenge has neither been analysed in literature on in-formation systems nor on innovation management. In order to gain a deeper understanding of this challenge, we analysed case studies in four intra-company research organisations, among them one in-depth case study. Our research shows that an intra-company ICT research organisation can make a decision based on three important strategic parameters: (a) the desired degree of innovativeness, (b) the desired degree of integrability into existing architecture, and (c) the desired degree of orientation towards prospective users’ needs. Based on our case study analysis, we argue that these three strate-gic goals are concurrent, i.e. to achieve one of them makes it difficult to achieve the others. Adhering to contingency theory, we believe that there is not one best strategic position, but that the quality of a strategic position depends on environmental contingency factors. In addition to the development of the framework, we consider contingency theory and formulate two hypothetical propositions. They de-scribe stable strategic positions of intra-company ICT research organisations in our framework, de-pendent on contingency factors. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first research publication dealing with the special requirements of intra-company ICT research organizations and the challenge of integration. Nevertheless, our research is limited by its exploratory nature and by the relatively small number of case studies taken. For generating more hypotheses, further explorative research in the field has to be done. Moreover, in order to confirm the assumptions our framework is based upon and the hypothetical propositions generated, further confirmative research is necessary

Effective knowledge transfer to SMEs

EIM examined to what extent small and medium-sized enterprises may be stimulated to absorb more know-how in respect of for instance new process technology to use that know-how for in-company business process upgrading. The study focuses primarily on the cluster of businesses hardly involved in technological innovation, and examines to what degree knowledge about marketing and know-how management is employed to stimulate the absorption of know-how among retarded businesses.

A Holistic Approach for E-Business Engineering

In the recent years, the broader application of web-based technologies caused radical changes and a consequent rapid development within the entrepreneurial environment. In order to exploit first-mover advantages, enterprises often preferred a quick-paced introduction of E-Business solutions, hence neglecting more holistic and integrated approaches. This fact implied that E-Business solutions were usually simply and hastily embedded into the existing business processes and organizational structures. As a result, E-Business projects often did not reach the striven targets or even failed, with the consequently growing lack of trust towards the above-mentioned business approach. Hence, there is a clear need for action in the field of methodical development, deployment and integration of E-Business solutions into the entrepreneurial structure. We present an integrated framework for the engineering of E-Business, which is the result of a 3 year experience at FIR

Evaluating organisational readiness for virtual collaboration

This chapter endeavours to clarify some of the concepts related to the virtual organisation and to move away from the definition of a “virtual organisation” as one with few or no tangible assets, existing in virtual space created through information communication technologies (ICT) (Warner & Witzel, 2004). The authors focus on the concept of an organisation, which is “virtually organised,” employing ICT for the majority of its communication, asset management, knowledge management and customer resource management, across a network of customers, suppliers and employees (Venkatraman & Henderson, 1998). The authors consider the concepts of virtual organisations and virtual organising and develop an instrument that can be used to evaluate organisational readiness to exploit virtual networks. The instrument can be used initially to measure the value of virtual models to the organisation and then reapplied to measure the extent to which these values are actually embraced

Three Levels of Alliance Management

alliance, management

From Supply Chains to Total Product Systems

The evolution of supply chain management and practice has had an integral and expanding role in contemporary global economic and socio-political change over the past 25 years or so. Thi srole is moving closer to centre stage with the emergence of business models equating to 'total product systems'. The impacts of advanced supply chain practice include driving fundamental changes in approach to product design, the concept of 'product', production methods, distribution, marketing, aftermarket support and end-of-life (EOL) reprocessing. Viewed in their full context, methods in supply chain management (SCM) have major influences on societal functioning and on economic development at global, national and local levels. Even the supply chains for simple products can involve several different industries and link many companies, large and small. Those for complex products may span several technological domains and economic sectors, linking hundreds or sometimes thousands of companies

The Effect of Supply Chain Management Practices on Operational Performances in Selected Wheat Flour Factories in Adama, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of supply chain management practice and its effect on the operational performance of selected wheat flour factories in Adama city. Descriptive and explanatory research designs were used. The sample of the study was senior officers/executives in charge of SCM practice of the targeted factories who have rich experiences about the operation and management of supply chain practices in their respective factories. Those executives include general manager, production or technical manager, supply or purchasing manager, marketing manager, commercial manager, and inventory manager. The major data collection tools in this study were questionnaires and interviews. In the questionnaires, there are a set of questions included in each aspect of the SCM which were derived from extensive literature as well as the researcher’s discussion with supply chain professionals. The collected data were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Accordingly, the major analysis of the findings indicates that the practice of the factories regarding their relationship with suppliers was focused on helping them to meet the factory’s needs rather than building long term stable strategic partnership. In relation to the internal integration of the factories, the finding reveals that there is a strong internal operation within the factories. Key terms: Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Management Practice, Operational Performance, Wheat flour factories. DOI: 10.7176/IEL/10-3-02 Publication date: November 30th 202

INFORMATION SYSTEMS CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SUSTAINABLE PURCHASING POLICY

Sustainability has become a central corporate concern as well as a key factor of success in terms of both image and productivity. In turn, the purchasing function is crucial to the definition and implementation of a sustainability policy. It drives a company’s sourcing activities and connects its other functions (i.e. internal customers) to external suppliers and providers. In short, sustainable purchasing plays a key role in global strategy and therefore requires high performance tools. Information systems, which have come under heavy criticism due to their negative environmental effects, can provide support services while also stimulating and disseminating sustainable purchase policies. This is because despite their poor reputation, purchasing information systems - which are usually designed to manage transactions and generate quick and significant gains through costcutting – have evolved to become virtual communities of practice where purchasers collaborate with one another and with internal or external partners to create sustainable value. The present study combines a literature review with a qualitative study to illustrate this emergence and show how information systems can and will contribute to the development of corporate sustainable purchasing policies. Using an exploratory approach and constructivist positioning, a “business forecasting” method is implemented to suggest a possible future for sustainable purchasing management, along with a new role for information systems. Towards this end, a scenario is co-constructed by 12 purchasing function experts responding to questions about their customs and practices and talking about their experiences, the effects of the rising wave of environmentalism, the problems they face in implementing and optimizing information systems and their professional. They also offer a few predictions and suggest new methods and modes of coordination. The study traces the development of new and innovative modes of sustainable purchasing management. These are aligned with a company’s global strategy thanks to the use of innovative information systems facilitating the dissemination of policies that purchasing departments implement both internally and externally through the integration of suppliers. Purchasing functions and information system departments work together to reduce the environmental footprint of technology and to exert greater influence on collaboration and teamwork by building an economic environment that is more viable and livable and also fairer. The originality of this article resides both in its sophisticated methodology, which associates several complementary approaches, and in its conclusions, which anticipate a probable future

Design of a Sustainable Competitiveness Evaluation and Execution System (SuCEES)

To be competitive is the major reason why companies continuously improve their performance and innovate their processes, products and services. The recent decades revealed an increase number of companies that felt into bankruptcy, independently of their size, sector or market status. In fact, this is a phenomenon, which have been a concern among big companies and even start-ups. It is understood that to survive and to succeed, business leaders need to be aware about trends to be able to visioning future competitiveness environments, and to anticipate actions to respond to each daily challenges. In this context, the difference between successful or failed strategies lies on knowing, not only the trends, but also the actual performance of the company and its competitive strength. To do so, strategic planning and evaluation frameworks and models should be used in a systematic and integrated way, based on reliable data and appropriate indicators, to define suitable and timeless strategies, objectives and goals. However, this is not enough, one of the major failure modes of strategic planning is companies’ inability to implement proper actions to achieve those goals, fact known as the “execution gap”. The aim of this research is to contribute to the improvement of companies’ strategic planning process and, consequently, to boost their competitiveness and to reduce their exposure to bankruptcy. With this purpose, SuCEES (Sustainable Competitiveness Evaluation and Execution System) was designed, which is an integrated system founded on an alternative definition of sustainable competitiveness based on resilience, innovation and sustainability concepts. Composed by evaluation and execution frameworks it: i) allows the measurement of companies’ competitiveness positioning, competitive advantage and competitiveness risk, by scoring seven competitiveness drivers, and; ii) supports the definition of companies’ strategic objectives, their translation into operational targets and actions needed, as well as the achievement of results, through monitoring and control tools. SuCEES was validated by the participation of a pool of experts and through two case studies, conducted in companies Electrolux Poland and Visteon Portugal