A grounded theory research investigation into the importance of social relationships and networks within corporate Information Systems projects

The purpose of this research is to consider the importance of social relationships and networks within the structures of Information Systems projects. A grounded theory research was conducted making use of project documentation to identify core categories which were supplemented with a survey directed at all levels of project team members. Interpretive patterns from grounded theory enabled inferences to be drawn on the role of social relationships and networks within IS projects. The social and political nature of IS projects requires that social relationships and networks are considered when project teams are created and monitored throughout the project lifecycle since project management philosophies and methodologies are not enough to achieve project success. Social relationships and networks were found to have three impact types on IS projects being a) influence, b) friendships and c) advice. Social relationships and networks were found to impact IS projects in areas of leadership, project culture, social relationships within project teams, the use of external social networks and the managing of external influences. The choice of limiting the research to a single large corporate organisation requires that further research is needed to corroborate the findings in order to make generalisations. The research findings provide practical considerations and highlights potential problems areas in the project lifecycle that need to be taken cognisance of irrespective of the chosen project management methodology. CopyrightDissertation (MComm (Informatics))--University of Pretoria, 2010.Informaticsunrestricte

Salford postgraduate annual research conference (SPARC) 2012 proceedings

These proceedings bring together a selection of papers from the 2012 Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference (SPARC). They reflect the breadth and diversity of research interests showcased at the conference, at which over 130 researchers from Salford, the North West and other UK universities presented their work. 21 papers are collated here from the humanities, arts, social sciences, health, engineering, environment and life sciences, built environment and business

Assessing overall network structure in regional innovation policies: a case study of cluster policy in the West Midlands in the UK

Revisiting the theoretical roots of the key concepts of “embeddedness” and “networks” that underpin many recent regional innovation polices, this paper strives to achieve a more systematic understanding of the overall network structure of geographic agglomerations, which helps to form a more convincing model of regional development based on learning. This also helps to establish an analytical framework with indicators to assess the overall network structure in regional innovation policies. Employing the framework, the examination of cluster policy in the West Midlands highlights its weakness in addressing the overall cluster network structure and the contingent factors influencing the structure. The analysis suggests that there may be similar weaknesses in other regional innovation policies and the theories underpinning them as they share a common weakness in addressing the structural characteristics of overall networks

Securing intellectual capital:an exploratory study in Australian universities

Purpose – To investigate the links between IC and the protection of data, information and knowledge in universities, as organizations with unique knowledge-related foci and challenges.Design/methodology/approach – We gathered insights from existing IC-related research publications to delineate key foundational aspects of IC, identify and propose links to traditional information security that impact the protection of IC. We conducted interviews with key stakeholders in Australian universities in order to validate these links.Findings – Our investigation revealed two kinds of embeddedness characterizing the organizational fabric of universities: (1) vertical and (2) horizontal, with an emphasis on the connection between these and IC-related knowledge protection within these institutions.Research implications – There is a need to acknowledge the different roles played by actors within the university, and the relevance of information security to IC-related preservation.Practical implications – Framing information security as an IC-related issue can help IT security managers communicate the need for knowledge security with executives in higher education, and secure funding to preserve and secure such IC-related knowledge, once its value is recognized.Originality/value – This is one of the first studies to explore the connections between data and information security and the three core components of IC’s knowledge security in the university context

Social relationships in IT project teams: its role, complexity and the management thereof

Compared to other projects, information technology (IT) projects, characterized by emergency and uncertainty, are unique. To implement an IT project successfully, many aspects need to be monitored and carefully controlled and managed. One such aspect is social relationships. All IT professionals are exposed to, and in many cases involved, in the phenomenon of social relationships. These relationships are used by software project team members for personal as well as professional purposes. In most cases the impact of these relationships on the success or failure of any given IT project is ignored by IT management. Little attention is given thereto in the literature and this paper attempts to make a contribution in terms of giving a broad perspective of the complexity, the impact, as well as the management of such relationships. This paper demonstrates that these relationships play a significant role and should be managed in such a way that the team members and the project as a whole can reap the benefits thereof. A conceptual framework is proposed for the management of these relationships

Role and impact of social relationships and networks in a software project team environment – a conceptual framework

The establishment of social relationships between information technology (IT) project team members is a phenomenon all IT professionals are exposed to and, in many cases, involved in. Furthermore, these relationships are used by IT project team members for personal as well as professional purposes. The question is what positive or negative contributions do these kinds of relationships have on the project itself? Past studies have placed little focus on these social relationships and networks, and have failed to take cognisance of their importance in the IT project environment. This paper demonstrates that social relationships and networks in the IT project environment play a significant role in project teams and should be managed in such a way that the team members and the project as a whole can benefit from them. A partial grounded theory (GT) research approach was followed. Interpretive patterns from GT enabled inferences to be drawn about the role and impact of social relationships and networks in IT project teams. The research findings provide practical considerations and highlight potential problem areas. A conceptual framework is proposed to support management in decision making and to give them a better understanding of the complexities involved in such relationships

Corporate Influencers in Business-to-Business Sales: A Grounded Theory Study

The importance of professional social media usage by business-to-business (B2B) sales employees has been well acknowledged, but the understanding of corporate influencers in B2B marketing a more thorough investigation. Literature has primarily focused on salespeople’s social media behavior, performance outcomes and effects on customer relations. However, little is known about salespeople’s motivation to act as corporate influencers, their actual activities on social media when they enact this role, as well as opportunities and challenges of salespeople who purposefully take on a corporate influencer role. We use a grounded theory approach to investigate this phenomenon. Based on in-depth interviews with experts from various B2B industries, we identify intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors that drive LinkedIn usage as well as opportunities and challenges of corporate influencer activities. These findings extend previous corporate influencer research. Moreover, we offer actionable practical implications

Cultural Influences on the Antecedents of Trust in B2B Relationships : A Study of Financial Services in the United Arab Emirates

This study investigates the impact of cultural values on trust in the corporate banking industry in the United Arab Emirates. A substantial literature exists concerning trust in inter-firm relationships, and considerable research has been conducted into trust in the banking industry. However, uniquely, this study focuses on trust in business-to-business relationships within the banking industry in the cultural context of an Arab country. The bulk of the empirical research reported concerning trust in business-to-business relationships has been conducted in Europe and North America, while a considerable amount of research into related concepts such as guanxi has been conducted within Chinese cultures. However, little empirical research has investigated trust in business-to-business relationships from the perspective of an Arab culture. Culture in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is influenced by Islamic tradition and by Bedouin tribal values. The social and cultural characteristics that prevail in the Arab context are very different from those in nations influenced by Western or Chinese culture. Consequently, this study yields unique insights that would develop our understanding of culture and ‘shared values’ in the development of trusting business relationships with Arab businesses. The focus of this research is on the individual and on individual practices in their social setting, to explore the role of culture as antecedents of trustPeer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

A content and comparative analysis of strategic management research in the Baltic area

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a research agenda for qualitative studies in the field of strategic management (SM) in the Baltic area. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 167 SM-related articles in this area between 2000 and 2013 were found. The content within title, abstract and authors’ keywords was analysed by means of a multiple correspondence analysis based on the HOMALS technique. Findings – The intellectual structure of SM in the Baltic area is to some extent similar to the global structure of the field. Hence research on this topic in the Baltic area is well integrated in the field. Three topics of interest have been identified while the fourth seems to offer more limited opportunities for qualitative studies. These are: entry and competition; strategic behaviour and the micro-foundations of strategy; the growth-performance relationship; and global strategies. Research limitations/implications – Despite the modest number of articles in our sample, the findings are consistent with past research on the structure of the SM field. The classification of articles into qualitative- and quantitative-based methods helped provide a research agenda. Practical implications – SM scholars in the Baltic area may find this paper as an interesting input to their quest for finding and justifying their own research path. Originality/value – This is an original literature review. The use of a quantitative method in the literature review and the suggested matrix is a second original contribution to evolving methodologies for content analysis. The method allows the inclusion of large samples while limiting the use of scholars’ intuition. </jats:sec