A review of studies on information systems and SMEs in high ranked IS journals (2000-2014)

This paper identifies novel approaches to future small and medium enterprise (SME) research from a review of articles, and then introduces the papers in this AJIS special section which evidence these approaches. More specifically, the paper makes an important contribution by reviewing 61 articles in high ranked IS journals (2000-2014) and introducing three new facets which are used to analyse research on SME adoption/use of IS (units of analysis, SME sizes and SME types) not considered in previous literature review studies. These facets provide thebasis for proposing various future research opportunities. The editorial then introduces the four papers in this special section covering the research theme on SMEs, and highlights the contributions they make using the three facets

A review of studies on information systems and SMEs in high ranked IS journals (2000-2014)

This paper identifies novel approaches to future small and medium enterprise (SME) research from a review of articles, and then introduces the papers in this AJIS special section which evidence these approaches. More specifically, the paper makes an important contribution by reviewing 61 articles in high ranked IS journals (2000-2014) and introducing three new facets which are used to analyse research on SME adoption/use of IS (units of analysis, SME sizes and SME types) not considered in previous literature review studies. These facets provide the basis for proposing various future research opportunities. The editorial then introduces the four papers in this special section covering the research theme on SMEs, and highlights the contributions they make using the three facets

Small and medium enterprises and the effectiveness of technology business incubators in Saudi Arabia

Multiple studies have examined incubators in developed countries. However, as the literature review illustrates, there is a dearth of research concerning Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) in developing countries. This research presents two theoretical perspectives arrived at while investigating the effects of TBIs on technology small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia (SA). SMEs are important to the success of economies. Many governments have thus used various initiatives to support SME growth. Business incubators are one such mechanism, identified as a successful tool for promoting development of SMEs worldwide. TBIs is to support technology SMEs by providing them with both tangible and intangible services. This research adopts a case study approach to investigate the effects of TBIs on technology SMEs. Data was collected from nineteen participants using semi-structured interviews and documentation; all participants were Saudi with a range of links to TBIs and SMEs. They included incubator managers, incubated technology business owners, and non-incubated business owners. Data was then analysed using hermeneutics and other qualitative techniques. Research findings include that the ‘ecosystem’ for SMEs in SA is weak, and that there is a general lack of awareness regarding TBIs in SA. A further discovery is that TBIs have a positive impact on SA SMEs incubatees. This finding was based on the comparative study of incubated technology businesses and non-incubated technology businesses. Results also show that TBIs in SA have an impact on the scale of new business startups, they reduce start up and operational costs, and heighten the development of technology SMEs and their credibility in the marketplace. Furthermore, the findings identify obstacles that SMEs encounter when attempting to join TBIs. To offer a grounding to the phenomena under investigation, the researcher applied institutional theory, and found that SA TBIs and SMEs are subject to four types of isomorphic pressure. This research puts forward two novel theoretical contributions. First, it presents a way of understanding pressures on SMEs and how SMEs are related to isomorphism and competitive pressure by showing different timeframes for different kinds of isomorphic pressures on SA SMEs. Second, the research looks at the impact of the ‘ecosystem’ on the isomorphism pressure stages. Additionally, this research addresses the knowledge gap regarding the effects of TBIs in developing countries, specifically in SA. It also offers a comparative study between incubated and non-incubated technology SMEs

The adoption of e-business technology by SMEs

The paper examines the key factors influencing the adoption ofe-business technology by SMEs. To this end, the paper draws on a rangeof literatures on the diffusion of new information and communicationtechnologies (ICTs), many of which have hitherto been treated asseparate. The reasons for this are two-fold. First, e-businesstechnologies are the latest in a line of new ICT technologies. Whenexploited successfully, ICTs have increased firm competitiveness eitherby raising the efficiency of internal communication and organisationand/or supply chain relationships, or by facilitating the development ofnew/improved products and services. Second, it is hypothesised that manyof the factors affecting the successful adoption of new technologies aregeneric in nature. With regards to SMEs specifically, consideration ofearlier research may assist us in identifying a set of enablers andbarriers to e-business adoption. Hence, by explicitly acknowledging thecontext and prior history of research in the area, we are able to mapout the dimensions of future theoretical and empirical research ine-business adoption by SMEs. In addition to drawing together factors identified by existing research,the paper highlights the implications of network externalities for thetiming of technology investments and the returns that accrue to earlyand late adopters. It also draws attention to a number of problemsassociated with the analytical concept of ‘the SME’ when it is appliedto this area. The research proceeds by clearly defining thetechnological and organisational characteristics of the e-business modeland a brief consideration of the trends in adoption in the UK vis-à-visadoption in the other G7 countries. Together these set up a detailedconsideration of the internal and external factors influencing adoption.A qualitative approach, in the form of a detailed case study, is thenused to explore the potential usefulness of the factors that have beenidentified. The results of these findings are then drawn together in theconcluding section of the paper.economics of technology ;

A Phenomenological Investigation of Information and Communications Technology at a Public Sector Enterprise in India

This paper applies the method of “phenomenology” to a comprehensive study of information and communications technology (ICT) deployment at one of the largest government sector banks in India. The efficacy of the phenomenological approach for academic investigation of global ICT issues is argued in this paper. The study finds that the emerging architecture of ICT strategy in this corporation contains five dimensions. In declining order of their importance, these dimensions are (1) organizational ICT culture, (2) organizational politics, (3) organizational sociology (4) economics of ICT, and (5) ICT infrastructure. The significance of these findings is discussed in the paper and an extended note on the methodology of phenomenology is included. The ranking of ICT strategy dimensions and demystification of phenomenology are the contributions of this research to the Information Systems discipline

Conceptualising the relationship types and attributes that enable stakeholders to recruit SME farmer users into IS design

It can be difficult for organisations which develop an information system (IS) for use by many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to recruit SME personnel during IS design. The paper addresses this problem by exploring the nature of relationships that organisational stakeholders can use to recruit SME personnel during IS design, which has received little attention in the literature. We present an interpretive, revelatory case study of the insights from managers and field officers who recruited SME farmers during the design of an inter-organisational IS. We identified three relationship types, based on an existing framework in the literature derived from stakeholder theory: between managers of organisations; between managers and field officers; and between field officers and farmers. We extend this framework by incorporating relationship attributes based on social capital concepts: ties, shared cognition, structure, homophily and bridging capital. We found that the complex interplay of the three relationship types, and the degree of strength of the social capital attributes of these relationships, help explain how farmers were recruited into, or were discouraged from participating in, a lengthy IS design process

The Impact of Multilevel Contextual Factors on IS Adoption at the Inter-organizational Level

Inter-organizational information systems (IOIS) offer many potential benefits to organizations, and IOIS adoption has increased in the last few decades. However, IOIS adoption varies significantly across different contexts, and little research has investigated how contextual factors affect IOIS-adoption variances at the inter-organizational (IO) level in depth—particularly from a multilevel perspective. This paper proposes a novel multilevel framework to analyze what combinations of contextual factors at the national, industry, inter-organizational, and organizational levels influence IOIS-adoption variances at the inter-organizational level. We present an in-depth, exploratory case study of the Indonesian grocery industry that identified three inter-organizational configurations between manufacturers, distributors, and retailers with IOIS-adoption variances. We found that the combinations of multilevel contextual factors varied for each configuration and, thus, explain the IOIS-adoption variances we observed at the IO level in a nuanced and holistic way. We argue that our multilevel framework may help scholars avoid contextual fallacy by encouraging them to examine the influence of higher-level factors on IOIS-adoption variances at the IO level and to avoid the atomistic fallacy that results when they make the wrong assumption that IOIS adoption at the organizational level implies adoption at a higher level

Legacies from nurturers in tourism; Inspiring people for communities.

In this paper a review of pre-requisites for supply side competency in developing community based tourism is offered. Using an interpretive and phenomenological approach, the skills, aptitudes and capacity to nurture within the community, are considered in a focus on improving a destination’s ability to sustain tourism as an element of development. This development agenda is dependent on marshalling an array of skills in a complex, differentiated and individualised marketplace. It is difficult to achieve triple-bottom line sustainability without acknowledging key skills in nurturing planning, policy interpretation, building of networks and partnerships, building relationships with other hosts in the community, understanding and interpreting triple-bottom line sustainability, mentoring others, understanding lifestyle choices, innovating whilst at all times enjoying and living a chosen life (Tinsley and Lynch, 2001). Nine UK based informants prioritise the antecedents of successful tourism development from a community based approach. This paper seeks to identify and illuminate practices amongst stakeholders termed ‘nurturers’ that develop tourism and destinations through excitement of image and identity, engagement of many and often diverse groups of people, capturing values and beliefs that are often inimitable and working with supportive public sector stakeholders.N/

Strategies for designing and implementing knowledge management systems: An interpretive case study of two Western Australian house-building firms

Knowledge management is a relatively new concept that has received substantial attention in the academic and industry literature particularly in the information systems field. Proponents of knowledge management argue that it has been driven by the desire of organisations for greater innovation, cost reduction and process improvements (Wilson. Jackson & Smith 2003). Little research, though, has been conducted from a knowledge management perspective into how Western Australian house-building enterprises develop and implement information systems. The WA house-building industry forms part of the wider building and construction community. Most construction firms are small to-medium-sized enterprises that differ from large organisations in that they generally lack internal expertise, financial resources and have IS and IT landscapes that have been shaped by the dominant role played by the owner or manager of the firm (rink 1998). The exponential rise in communication technologies - such as the Internet, Intranets and mobile digital imaging - is rapidly changing the environment in which the WA house-building industry operates. These emerging technologies are reducing the need for firms to rely on sophisticated proprietary systems to collect, store and disseminate their knowledge. This situation brings with it its own sets of issues that must be intelligently managed. A strategic approach will leverage technologies to support knowledge-in-action within the social and cultural context of the organisation. At the same time, space must be created to permit the emergence of tools that may strengthen organizational performance and sustainable competitive advantage. The critical point taken up by this research was that there is a range of considerations in the planning and implementation of an information system, and the use of multiple knowledge management theories in tandem may facilitate this. The theoretical problem guiding this study was to expand knowledge management theory to include the W A house-building industry. The first objective of this study was to identify how WA house-building enterprises approached their knowledge management initiatives. The second was to construct a framework for analysing the factors that may be used to assist local managers in predetermining the critical success factors and outcomes of their knowledge management initiatives. A case study methodology incorporating an interpretive perspective was adopted within the research. Case samples were limited to two Western Australian house building enterprises. This study contributes to a better understanding of the Western Australian house building industry and their approach to developing and implementing knowledge management systems. Furthermore, the discoveries and recommendations presented in this research can be applied to the wider construction industry and small to medium sized business communit