Hard And Soft ICT Capital And Cloud Computing Benefits

The Cloud Computing (CC) is a new innovative model of sourcing the information and communication technologies (ICT) services required by firms for supporting their activities, so it is necessary to investigate the level of benefits that CC offers to firms, as well as their determinants. However, limited empirical research has been conducted in this direction. Our paper contributes to filling this research gap. It formulates a set of research hypotheses concerning the effects of firm’s ‘hard ICT capital’, and also some types of firm’s ‘soft ICT capital’, on the benefits offered by CC, having as theoretical foundation the ‘resource-based view’ theory. These research hypotheses are tested using data collected through a survey from 115 Greek firms, from which CC benefits regression models are estimated. It has been concluded that the sophistication of firm’s ICT infrastructure (an overall measure of firm’s hard ICT capital) has a positive impact on CC benefits. Furthermore, three of the examined types of soft ICT capital have been found to impact positively CC benefits: the information systems (IS) inter- connection/integration capability, the ICT strategic planning and alignment capability, and the internal relationship between firm’s ICT unit and business units. Our findings reveal some aspects of firm’s ICT capital that affect the generation of value from this new innovative CC paradigm, which can be useful to CC service providers, and also management and ICT firms’ practitioners and consultant

AN ANALYSIS OF ICT ACTIVITY BEHAVIOR OF GREEK BANKS IN THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

The influence of the external environment on ICT use, management and exploitation by firms has been widely recognized and researched for long time. However, quite limited research has been conducted on the impact of one of the most serious disruptions that repeatedly occur in firms external environment, the economic crises of various intensities and durations, which cause economic recession and sharp, rapid and strong decrease of the demand for products and services, and have quite negative short- medium- and long-term consequences. Our study contributes to filling this important research gap, by analysing the behaviour of the core ‘system-relevant’ Greek banks with respect to their ICT activity in the first years 2010-2014 of the severe Greek economic crisis, examining a wide range of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ aspects of their ICT activity concerning important ICT resources and capabilities as well as ICT plans. For this purpose, we have adopted a mixed methodology, including a combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques (interviews with ICT General Directors of the above banks combined with questionnaire filling). It has been concluded that the main priority of core Greek banks in the economic crisis with respect to their ICT activities has been the rationalization of their ICT processes/practices and improvement of their ICT capabilities, especially their ICT strategic alignment capability, to a large extent, followed by the reduction of their ICT-related expenses, mainly for ICT personnel payroll, and for investments in new ICT technological resources (new hardware and software), and the adaptation of their ICT plans to the crisis conditions, both to a moderate to large extent. Our findings enable a better understanding of the impact of economic crisis on important ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ aspects of ICT activity, concerning important ICT resources and capabilities, as well as ICT plans, in a highly important and ‘information-intensive’ sector, which has been historically a heavy and experienced user of ICT. Furthermore, our findings reveal interesting multi-dimensional patterns of ICT behaviour /management (concerning a wide range of both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ aspects of ICT activity) in economic crisis, which might be of wider interest and usefulness to firms for managing ICT in such difficult recession times

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

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

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Evaluation: Diffusing CRM Benefits into Business Processes

Although CRM is one of the fastest growing management approaches being adopted across many organizations and particularly tourism and hospitality firms, the deployment of CRM applications has not always delivered the expected results while many CRM initiatives have failed. Consequently, the inability of CRM applications to deliver expected benefits has not only intensified the validity of previous findings and claims regarding the ICT productivity paradox, but it has also boosted current research. However, although the latter provides anecdotal evidence of the impact of ICT management practices on CRM effectiveness, there is a lack of empirical studies examining the relationship between CRM management and performance aspects. This study aims to fill in this gap by investigating the relation between firms’ CRM applications and exploitation with their ICT management practices and CRM benefits. The investigation and validation of the former are valuable, since it would enable managers to maximize CRM benefits by identifying and allocating the appropriate resources, time and efforts to CRM implementation. Relations are tested by gathering data from Greek tourism and hospitality companies. Findings provide useful practical suggestions for CRM evaluation and implementation strategies, while implications for future research are analyzed

ICT INVESTMENT EFFECTIVENESS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN POST OFFICE: RECONSIDERING THE APPROACHES OF THE PAST 20 YEARS

Organisations have invested and continue to invest considerable resources in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Much of this investment is made on the basis of guarantee than an expected return will occur. This study presents the results of an empirical study of the impact of ICT investment on performance at the South African Post office (SAPO). Six years of historical data, from 2005 to 2010, were obtained from the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the SAPO and analysed. This included appropriate IT data and financial data from the organisation’s financial statements and balance sheet. ICT investments were tested against financial performance indicators such as return on ICT investment, operating leverage, turnover growth, net profit, organisational risk, IT cost efficiency ratio and IT efficiency ratio. Within the period studied, it was observed that ICT investments at SAPO were negatively correlated with most of the financial indicators such as return on ICT investment, operating leverage, turn-over growth, net profit, organisational risk and IT efficiency ratio. This study therefore suggests that ICT investments at SAPO for the mentioned period did not have desirable impact on financial performance of the organisation. In order to realise tangible financial benefits of the ICT investments at SAPO, the research results suggest that a longer period needs to be considered, and should also include like non-technological determinants such as competence and experience levels of IT personnel, alignment of IT strategy with business strategy and business process re-engineering to suit new systems needs to be considered too prior to making any investments in ICT

Technological innovation in creative clusters. The case of laser in conservation of artworks in Florence

The field of laser application to the restoration and cleaning of cultural assets is amongst the most thriving developments of recent times. Ablative laser technological systems are able to clean and protect inestimable works of art subject to atmospheric agents and degradation over time. This new technology, which has been developing for the last forty year, is now available to restorers and has received a significant success all over Europe. An important contribution in the process of laser innovation has been carried out in Florence by local actors belonging to a creative cluster. The objects of the analysis are the genesis of this innovation in this local Florentine context, and the relationships among the main actors who have contributed in it. The study investigates how culture can play a part in the generation of ideas and innovations, and which are the creative environments that can favour it. In this context, the issue of laser technologies for the restoration of cultural heritage has been analysed as a case study in the various paths taken by the Creative Capacity of the Culture (CCC).innovation, creative cluster, art restoration

Demand and Technology Determinants of Structural Change and Tertiarisation: An Input-Output Structural Decomposition Analysis for four OECD Countries.

The paper provides fresh empirical evidence on the relative role of changes in final and intermediate demand as affecting the changes in the sectoral structure of advanced economies. These latter have led, over the last three decades, to the massive growth of service sectors. The paper draws upon the recently released OECD Input- Output (I-O) tables. The empirical analysis is based on an I-O Structural Decomposition Analysis carried out on 13 manufacturing and service sectors, from the end of 1960s to the end of 1990s. Although heterogeneous sectoral patterns emerge, we find that the structural changes leading to the growth of services, particularly KIBS (Knowledge Intensive Business Services), are mainly (domestic) demand-led, whereas the role of foreign trade remains marginal even in the last decade. We infer that, even in the case of the most technologically advanced service sectors, (domestic) demand constraints affect the degree of exploitation of technological opportunities and the patterns of growth.Structural change, Growth of Services, Input–Output.