An ES process framework for understanding the strategic decision making process of ES implementations

Enterprise systems (ES) implementations are regarded costly, time and resource consuming and have a great impact on the organization in terms of the risks they involve and the opportunities they provide. The steering committee (SC) represents the group of individuals who is responsible for making strategic decisions throughout the ES implementation lifecycle. It is evident from recent studies that there is a relationship between the decision making process and ES implementation success. One of the key elements that contribute to the success of ES implementations is a quick decision making process (Brown and Vessey, 1999; Gupta, 2000; Parr, et al., 1999). This study addresses the strategic decision-making process by SC through its focus on four research questions (1) How can the strategic decision-making process in the implementation of ES be better understood, during each phase of the ES implementation lifecycle? (2) What is the process by which the SC makes strategic decisions? (3) How are fast decisions made? and (4) How does decision speed link to the success of ES implementation? Process models of ES implementation will provide a framework to investigate the strategic decision making process during each phases of the ES implementation lifecycle. Patterns in the decision making process will be explored using strategic choice models. This study develops a research model that focuses on the decision making process by steering committee to explore research questions. It concludes with identifying contributions to both IS research and business practitioners

A Taxonomy of Web-Based Inbound Open Innovation Initiatives

The term “open innovation” describes the opening of innovation processes of organizations to include external knowledge as well as external paths to market. Various concepts are grouped under the umbrella term “open innovation,” and topics such as crowdsourcing are increasingly receiving attention from researchers as well as practitioners. Unfortunately, the broad coverage and the fact that research on open innovation is a relative young research area also led to a very fragmented usage of the term. In this paper, we seek to contribute to the clarification of the term open innovation, and develop a taxonomy of web-based inbound open innovation initiatives from an organizational perspective. Based on a literature review and the examination of 49 examples we develop a taxonomy consisting of the dimensions process phase, outcome focus, group of participants, knowledge visibility, and facilitation

The Moderating Effect of Top Management\u27s Collective Mindfulness on the Relationship between Top Management Support and IS Function Performance

As an exploratory study we apply the concept of mindfulness to examine the moderating influence of cognitive processes of top management on the relationship between its support for the IS function and the overall IS function performance. In doing so we enhance our understanding of the underlying cognitive processes associated with top management in their support toward the IS function. We trace the origins of mindfulness in the psychology area to its final possible assimilation in IS research. We then broaden the potential application of collective mindfulness in IS research and embark on developing a scale of collective mindfulness in the IS context. Examination of such possible moderating influences in the context of top management support and IS performance may open doors for future, much deeper, integration of mindfulness in IS research and may help both research and practice in the continued quest for achieving reliable performance of IS

An empirical taxonomy of IS decision-making processes

Decisions to invest in information systems (IS) are made by many organisations on a very regular basis. Such decisions can vary from quickly identifying the problem, screening options and choosing a solution in a very straightforward way, to very extensive and repeated search, screen, design and negotiation activities which can take many years. There has been little explicit research into the process by which managers and organisations decide to develop IS applications. This research addresses this by analyzing 20 IS decision-making processes, using a phase-based as well as an attribute-based approach. Mintzbergs typology is used to characterize seven types of IS decisions from a phase-based or process-based perspective. For the attribute approach, the decisions have been analyzed on the basis of subjective/objective and offensive/defensive contrasts and placed in one of four categories: innovative, rational, necessary or political. The paper concludes by identifying five factors that result in major differences in IS decision-making processes. These issues are: (1) whether there is scope to design a solution, (2) whether distinct alternatives have to be searched for, (3) the degree of urgency and necessity from the perspective of the decision-makers, (4) whether the decision can be subdivided in order to follow a gradual process path (planned versus incremental) and (5) the number and power of stakeholders involved in the process and the extent that their interests vary and contrast. The paper suggests that managers deciding on IS applications should be aware of these factors in order to design a process that fits best with the specific circumstances: no single process should be considered universally applicable. This conclusion is in contrast with many decision-making models rooted in the MIS-field, which suggest to use prescriptive and rational approaches to organise IS decision-making processes.

Using Grounded Theory in the Analysis of Literature: The Case of Strategic Information Systems Planning

Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) has been widely researched, yet continues to be ranked as a key concern to IS managers. There have thus been calls for a strong theory to underpin SISP. In this study a theory is developed by integrating the findings from several major research studies published in the academic literature. The method employed is the grounded theory method, which is a qualitative research approach whose goal is specifically the generation of theory from data. The resultant theory possesses some unique characteristics as a result of using the grounded theory method

A FRAMEWORK FOR INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS CAPABILITY ON STRATEGIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS PLANNING OUTCOMES

The Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) process is critical for ensuring the effectiveness of the contribution of Information Technology (IT)/Information Systems (IS) to the organisation. A sophisticated SISP process can greatly increase the chances of positive planning outcomes. While effective IS capabilities are seen as crucial to an organisation’s ability to generate IT-enabled competitive advantages, there exists a gap in the understanding of the IS competencies which contribute to the forming of an effective SISP capability. In light of these gaps, this study investigates how do IS competencies impact the SISP process, and its outcomes? To address this question, a model for investigating the impact of IS collaboration and IS personnel competencies on the SISP process is proposed. Further research is planned to undertake a survey of top Australian organisations in industries characterised by high IT innovation and competition, to test the proposed model and hypotheses

Taxonomy of Digital Platforms: A Platform Architecture Perspective

Digital platforms—technical core artefacts augmented by peripheral third-party derivatives—afford organizations to integrate resources in networked business ecosystems. Although digital platforms widely differ in their configurations, digital platforms’ dimensions and characteristics to disentangle different digital platform configurations are under-researched. To bridge this void, we employ Nickerson et al.’s method for taxonomy development to systematically derive a taxonomy of digital platforms. Specifically, we embrace a platform architecture perspective to capture the configuration of digital platform’s components. The resultant taxonomy facilitates a more pronounced understanding and grouping of digital platforms as configurations of certain dimensions and characteristics. Our findings suggest that digital platforms exhibit characteristics on at least four dimensions—namely, infrastructure, core, ecosystem, and service dimensions. Second, through instantiating the taxonomy, we find that digital platforms that exhibit similar characteristics share identical architectural profiles and, therefore, belong to one of three digital platform archetypes—namely, orchestration, amalgamation, and innovation platforms

Examining IS Curriculum Profiles and the IS 2010 Model Curriculum Guidelines in AACSB-Accredited Schools

The IS 2010 Model Curriculum Guidelines were developed to provide recommendations for standardized information systems curricula while simultaneously allowing for customization within individual programs. While some studies have examined program adherence to the IS 2010 Model Curriculum Guidelines, a more detailed analysis of IS curriculum profiles has not yet been conducted. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe IS curriculum profiles that exist among 127 AACSB IS programs using the IS 2010 guidelines as a framework for analysis. A cluster analysis reveals four distinct profiles of IS program structure: Independent, Focused, Adoptive, and Flexible. Prototypes of each profile are described along with significant differences between each profile as revealed by a discriminant analysis. Identifying and describing these curriculum profiles offers a snapshot of the state of the IS curriculum as a whole and provides a resource for programs seeking to examine and modify their respective curriculum models

IT Governance For Systems Support And Maintenance – Views From CIOS In Multinational Enterprises

This paper explores IS governance as it relates to systems support and maintenance (SS&M). We argue, that can be critically supportive of business operations, decision making, innovation and knowledge management strategies. Based on interviews with high level IS practitioners from large IT companies, we find that the value of SS&M as a potential link between the IT side and the business side of the organization, while recognized is still under-utilized. We enumerate and discuss a number of reasons for this situation from an IT governance perspective and call for a comprehensive research agenda to develop an integrated approach to link SS&M more closely