Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Systems in management 7th annual ANZSYS conference 2001: The relevance of systems thinking in the contemporary world

Welcome to Perth, Western Australia, and to the Systems in Management 7th Annual ANZSYS Conference 2001 the relevance of systems thinking in the contemporary world hosted by the We-B Centre, School of Management Information Systems at Edith Cowan University. The conference provides an opportunity for sharing and networking among academics and industry specialists in systems and related fields. The conference has drawn participants from national and international organizations. All submitted papers were subjected to an anonymous peer review process managed by the Conference Committee. Stringent review criteria resulted in an unprecedented number of papers declined this year. Based on these reviews, the final programme was determined. A total of 54 papers were submitted for consideration and 39 were accepted for presentation. The Conference Committee would like to recognise the efforts of many people who have contributed to the success and support in the organising of this conference and without their efforts the conference could not have occurred. The authors are thanked for their continued support to the Systems in Management 7th Annual ANZSYS Conference 2001 and we hope that the conference will receive similar support into the future. The reviewers deserve a special vote of thanks for their commitment and dedication in having their reviews conducted professionally. This year saw the launch of our Best Paper and Paper of Distinction award program. Papers nominated for this honour received particularly rigorous reviews. The winners will be announced at the conference. Thank you and enjoy the conference

Organisational Ambidexterity in SME Context: A Multi-Level Perspective Focused on Portuguese Technological Firms

The study of organisational ambidexterity (OA) has been an important field of research for management, especially because of the importance of this theme for the competitiveness of companies. In this sense, this doctoral thesis in Management has, as its main objective, to provide a better understanding of how OA can be developed in the context of Portuguese small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). This study adopted a multilevel perspective, having explored a set of different paths implemented through five research articles: a literature review article, a theoretical article and three empirical articles. Thus, the first article is a literature review, and its main objective is to identify the factors that affect OA in SMEs. Based on 297 articles published between 2005 and 2020 in the Web of Science, Scopus and Science Direct databases, a multilevel perspective was adopted, covering the organisational, environmental, and individual levels. With this approach, four thematic areas were identified with which the OA investigation is related: innovation, organisational learning, dynamic capabilities, and SME performance. The main contribution of this research focuses on the identification of thematic areas of scientific research around OA, as well as the identification of a set of contingent factors, located at the organisational, environmental, and individual levels, which can potentially influence the development of OA in the context of SMEs. The second article sought to analyse the antecedents of OA considering the main characteristics of SMEs, such as their small size or their reduced internal structure. For this purpose, and based on the identified literature, an approach was adopted based on internal and external antecedents and what is its potential relationship with the characteristics of SMEs from the perspective of the exploration and exploitation concepts. Based on this relationship, ten theoretical propositions were identified. The third article is empirical in nature and adopts an individual-level perspective and aimed to analyse the influence of owner-managers' personality in the development of OA in the context of SMEs. For this purpose, five hypotheses based on personality traits and their influence on OA were formulated. A second-order structural equation model was used, and a structured questionnaire addressed to the owner-managers of 224 Portuguese SMEs in the information technology (IT), telecommunications, audio-visual and IT consulting. The results obtained suggest the positive influence of the personality traits of extraversion and conscientiousness in OA and the negative influence of the personality trait of neuroticism in OA. The fourth article is also empirical in nature and sought to study the influence of environmental dynamism and technological capability in OA and the moderating role of environmental dynamism in OA. With this objective, a second-order structural equation model was used, and a structured questionnaire addressed to the ownermanagers of 224 Portuguese SMEs in the information technology (IT), telecommunications, audio-visual and IT consulting sector. The main results obtained reveal a positive effect of technological capability in OA as well as a moderating effect on the relationship between technological capability and OA. Finally, the fifth and last article adopts an organisational level perspective and aimed to understand how Quality Management Systems based on ISO 9001 (QMS) can help inhibit or facilitate OA in SMEs. In this article, a qualitative approach was adopted, using four case studies and a interview protocol previously developed for this purpose. The results obtained highlight the importance of the changes caused by the QMS for the development of ambidextrous behaviours in SMEs and reveal that not all the changes caused by the QMS in SMEs acted as facilitators of the OA. The different studies carried out within the scope of this research lead us to consider that the development of OA in the context of SMEs is dependent on a set of factors of a multilevel nature, namely in terms of the specific characteristics of this type of companies, personality traits of the owner-managers and the external influence of the environmental dynamism in which these companies operate. This study was based on an important set of theories, such as the Contingency Theory, the Dynamic Capabilities Theory, the Upper Echelons Theory, or the model of the five factors or personality traits (Big-Five personality traits). This PhD thesis in Management supports the idea that the development of OA in SMEs is dependent on the degree of influence of activities related to exploration and exploitation. This study suggests that OA is a complex phenomenon, and that exploration and exploitation will tend to be difficult to balance, which leads us to think that in SMEs these activities can be balanced alternately or that they can coexist in a complementary and orthogonal way. In this sense, this study highlights the role of SMEs in customer relationships, the influence of contingent factors such as environmental dynamism in exploration and exploitation, the external influence on OA and in the technological capacity of these companies, as well as the influence of the characteristics of the personality of its ownermanagers. This investigation also presents contributions to theory and practice, as well as future lines of research related to this theme.O estudo da ambidextria organizacional tem sido um importante campo de pesquisa para a gestão, sobretudo pela importância que esta temática se reveste para a competitividade das empresas. Neste sentido, esta tese de doutoramento em Gestão possui, como objetivo principal, proporcionar um melhor entendimento acerca da ambidextria organizacional (AO) em contexto de pequenas e médias empresas (PME) portuguesas. O caminho de investigação definido adotou uma abordagem multinível, tendo sido explorados um conjunto de diferentes perspetivas concretizadas através de cinco artigos de investigação: um artigo de revisão de literatura, um artigo teórico e três artigos de natureza empírica. Assim, o primeiro artigo, é uma revisão da literatura e tem como principal objetivo identificar os fatores que afetam a AO em contexto de PME. Tendo por base 297 artigos publicados entre 2005 e 2020 nas bases de dados Web of Science, Scopus e Science Direct, foi adotada uma perspetiva multinível, abrangendo o nível organizacional, ambiental e individual. Com essa abordagem identificaram-se quatro áreas temáticas com as quais a investigação da AO se encontra relacionada: inovação, aprendizagem organizacional, capacidades dinâmicas e desempenho das PME. O principal contributo desta investigação centra-se na identificação das grandes áreas temáticas de investigação científica em torno da AO, assim como a identificação de um conjunto de fatores contingenciais, situados ao nível organizacional, ambiental e individual, que potencialmente podem influenciar o desenvolvimento da AO em contexto de PME. O segundo artigo procurou analisar os antecedentes da AO à luz das principais caracteristicas das PME, como a sua reduzida dimensão ou a sua reduzida estrutura interna. Para esse efeito, e tendo por base a literatura identificada, adotou-se uma abordagem baseada nos antecedentes internos e externos e qual o seu potencial relacionamento com as caracteristicas das PME sob o prisma dos conceitos de exploration e exploitation. Com base nesses relacionamentos foram identificadas dez proposições teóricas. O terceiro artigo tem uma natureza empírica, adota uma perspetiva de nível individual, e teve como objetivo analisar a influência da personalidade dos proprietários-gestores no desenvolvimento da AO em contexto de PME. Para esse efeito foram formuladas cinco hipóteses baseadas nos traços de personalidade e a sua influência em AO. Recorreu-se a um modelo de equações estruturais de segunda ordem e a um questionário estruturado dirigido aos proprietários-gestores de 224 PME portuguesas do setor das tecnologias de informação (TI), telecomunicações, audiovisual e consultadoria em TI. Os resultados obtidos sugerem a influência positiva dos traços de personalidade da extroversão e conscienciosidade em AO e influência negativa do traço de personalidade de neuroticismo em AO. O quarto artigo tem igualmente uma natureza empírica e procurou-se estudar a influência do dinamismo ambiental e da capacidade tecnológica em AO e o papel moderador do dinamismo ambiental em AO. Com este objetivo recorreu-se a um modelo de equações estruturais de segunda ordem e a um questionário estruturado dirigido aos proprietários-gestores de 224 PME portuguesas do setor das tecnologias de informação (TI), telecomunicações, audiovisual e consultadoria em TI. Os principais resultados obtidos revelam um efeito positivo da capacidade tecnológica em AO assim como um efeito moderador na relação entre capacidade tecnológica e AO. Por fim, o quinto e último artigo, adota a perspetiva de nível organizacional e teve como objetivo perceber como os Sistemas de Gestão da Qualidade baseados na ISO 9001 (SGQ) podem ajudar a inibir ou a facilitar a AO em PME. Para este artigo adotou-se uma abordagem qualitativa, com recurso a quatro estudos de caso e a um questionário de entrevista previamente desenvolvido para o efeito. Os resultados obtidos ressaltam a importância das mudanças provocadas pelos SGQ para o desenvolvimento de comportamentos ambidextros nas PME e revela que nem todas as mudanças provocadas pelos SGQ nas PME atuaram como facilitadores da AO. Os diferentes estudos efetuados no âmbito desta investigação leva-nos a considerar que desenvolvimento da AO no contexto das PME encontra-se dependente de um conjunto de fatores de natureza multinível, nomeadamente ao nível das características especificas deste tipo de empresas, dos traços de personalidade dos seus proprietáriosgestores e da influência externa do dinamismo ambiental onde estas empresas se inserem. Esta investigação teve por base um importante conjunto de teorias, como a Teoria Contingencial, a Teoria das Capacidades Dinâmicas, a Upper Echelons Theory, ou o modelo dos cinco fatores ou traços de personalidade (Big-five personality traits). Esta tese de doutoramento em Gestão permite sustentar a ideia de que o desenvolvimento da AO nas PME encontra-se dependente do grau de influência das atividades relacionadas com exploration e exploitation. Este estudo sugere que a AO é um fenómeno complexo e que exploration e exploitation tenderão a ser difíceis de serem equilibradas, o que nos leva a pensar que, nas PME, essas atividades poderão ser balanceadas alternadamente ou que poderão coexistir de forma complementar e ortogonal. Neste sentido, este estudo realça o papel das PME no relacionamento com clientes, a influência dos fatores contingenciais como o dinamismo ambiental em exploration e exploitation, a influência externa na construção da AO e na capacidade tecnológica destas empresas, assim como a influência das caracteristicas de personalidade dos seus gestores-proprietários. Esta investigação também apresenta contributos para a teoria e para a prática, assim como linhas de pesquisa futuras relativas a esta temática

Linking Research and Policy: Assessing a Framework for Organic Agricultural Support in Ireland

This paper links social science research and agricultural policy through an analysis of support for organic agriculture and food. Globally, sales of organic food have experienced 20% annual increases for the past two decades, and represent the fastest growing segment of the grocery market. Although consumer interest has increased, farmers are not keeping up with demand. This is partly due to a lack of political support provided to farmers in their transition from conventional to organic production. Support policies vary by country and in some nations, such as the US, vary by state/province. There have been few attempts to document the types of support currently in place. This research draws on an existing Framework tool to investigate regionally specific and relevant policy support available to organic farmers in Ireland. This exploratory study develops a case study of Ireland within the framework of ten key categories of organic agricultural support: leadership, policy, research, technical support, financial support, marketing and promotion, education and information, consumer issues, inter-agency activities, and future developments. Data from the Irish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (Teagasc), and other governmental and semi-governmental agencies provide the basis for an assessment of support in each category. Assessments are based on the number of activities, availability of information to farmers, and attention from governmental personnel for each of the ten categories. This policy framework is a valuable tool for farmers, researchers, state agencies, and citizen groups seeking to document existing types of organic agricultural support and discover policy areas which deserve more attention

New pathways to football refereeing development

The main goal of the present thesis is to contribute to football refereeing development, theoretically and in practice. The thesis includes one theoretical and three empirical studies. Study 1 provides a comprehensive panorama of football refereeing research. Through an integrative review, 267 full text articles, published in peer-review journals, were grouped into seven themes and 54 sub-themes. In addition to summarising the current state of the literature, possible paths for future research on the topic of football refereeing were outlined. Study 2 aims to identify, categorise and analyse the distinctive characteristics of top level referees that excel. Ninety-three subcategories (e.g., leadership, resilience, game reading) and 1833 units emerged from the data analysis process and were grouped into seven themes. Participants’ responses concerned Individual characteristics (82.00%), Group characteristics (14.02%), and Organisational characteristics (3.98%). Study 3, expand the results of the study 2, and based on our analysis of the opinions of 24 football experts, we demonstrate the multidimensionality of excellence in the performance of football referees. Finally, concerning the lack of research on football refereeing teams, Study 4 test how individual and team cognitions promote team adaptation and team performance within the football refereeing context. Results supported our three hypotheses: (i) team adaptation was positively associated with team performance; (ii) self-efficacy affects positively team adaptation; and (iii) as mental model increase within teams, the relationship between self-efficacy and team adaptation will be enhanced. Hence, it was found a mediation indirect effect of self-efficacy on performance through team adaptation. We believe that this thesis summarises the current state of literature on football refereeing and outlines possible paths for future research, not only at the individual level but also at the group / team and organisational level. It also contributes to the identification of the characteristics of high level football referees, aiming to promote the growth of competency development models of different areas (eg., technical, tactical, psychological) and levels (e.g., individual, team), that allow the referee, the refereeing and the football evolution.A presente tese pretende contribuir para o desenvolvimento teórico e prático da arbitragem do futebol. A tese inclui um estudo teórico e três estudos empíricos. O Estudo 1 fornece um panorama abrangente da literatura sobre a arbitragem do futebol. Através de uma revisão integrativa, analisaram-se 267 artigos publicados em revistas científicas com revisão por pares, que foram agrupados em sete temas e 54 subtemas. Além de resumir o estado atual da literatura, foram sugeridas linhas de investigação para a arbitragem do futebol. O Estudo 2 visa identificar, categorizar e analisar as características distintivas dos árbitros de topo que se destacam entre pares. Noventa e três subcategorias (por exemplo, liderança, resiliência, leitura do jogo) e 1833 unidades emergiram do processo de análise de dados e foram agrupadas em sete temas. As respostas dos participantes diziam respeito a características individuais (82,00%), características de grupo (14,02%) e características organizacionais (3,98%). O Estudo 3, expande os resultados do estudo 2. A análise das opiniões de 24 especialistas em futebol, evidenciou a multidimensionalidade da excelência no desempenho dos árbitros de futebol. Finalmente, considerando a falta de investigação sobre as equipas de arbitragem que dirigem os jogos de futebol, o Estudo 4 testa como as cognições individuais e de equipa promovem a adaptação e o desempenho da equipa de arbitragem. Os resultados sustentaram as três hipóteses que formulámos: (i) a adaptação da equipa foi positivamente associada ao desempenho da mesma; (ii) a autoeficácia afeta positivamente a adaptação da equipa; e (iii) o aumento do modelo mental das equipas, contribuirá para o aumenta da relação entre a autoeficácia e a adaptação da equipa. Verificou-se, também, a existência de um efeito indireto de mediação da autoeficácia no desempenho, por meio da adaptação da equipa. Acreditamos que esta tese resume o estado atual da literatura sobre a arbitragem do futebol e delineia caminhos possíveis para futuras pesquisas, não apenas ao nível individual, mas também ao nível de grupo / equipa e organizacional. Contribui, também, para a identificação das características dos árbitros de futebol de alto nível, com o objetivo de se criarem modelos de desenvolvimento de competências de diferentes áreas (ex: técnica, tática, mental) e níveis (ex: individual, equipa), que permitam a evolução do árbitro, da arbitragem e do futebol