An Investigation of How and Why Managers Use Tablets to Support Decision Making

Managers are very mobile and a large proportion of their work is dealing with decisions. Although many managers use tablet computers in their work, there is little research on tablets’ role in managerial decision support. This study aims to investigate how managers use tablets to support their decision-making and the reasons behind it. Anchoring on Task-Technology Fit theory, interviews were conducted with 17 managers who use tablets for work-related decision-making. The study reveals managers’ tablet usage patterns in terms of location, tablet applications, decision activities and types. This study has also found that a range of tablet characteristics and decision-task characteristics affect managers’ use of tablets to support decision-making at work. This exploratory study contributes to both academia and industry by providing evidence on the tablet decision support area, and affording organisations, tablet vendors and tablet application developers informative findings for further improvement in the provision of tablet-based decision support

An Investigation of the Managerial Use of Mobile Business Intelligence

As a new trend in business intelligence (BI), mobile BI has been gaining increasing adoption by managers. However, there is little academic research about the managerial use of mobile BI. Adopting the key constructs of Task-Technology Fit theory and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology as the theoretical lens, this exploratory study aims to deliver a preliminary understanding on why and how managers use mobile BI, from both the managers’ and the vendor’s perspectives. A case study was conducted with a large government authority whose mobile BI vendor is an industry leader worldwide. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven senior managers from this organization and the vendor. Through discussing the reasons why managers use mobile BI and their use patterns, a series of emergent propositions are drawn. The empirical results from this study not only contribute to this currently underexplored area of mobile BI, but also help enable the industry to make mobile BI products that better suit managers’ needs. Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/pajais/vol10/iss3/4

Ambidexterity as practice : individual ambidexterity through paradoxical practices

Following the turn to practice in organization theory and the emerging interest in the microfoundations of ambidexterity, understanding the role of individuals in realizing ambidexterity approaches becomes crucial. Drawing insights from Greek philosophy on paradoxes, and practice theory on paradoxes and ambidexterity, we propose a view of individual ambidexterity grounded in paradoxical practices. Existing conceptualizations of ambidexterity are largely based on separation strategies. Contrary to this perspective, we argue that individual ambidexterity can be accomplished via paradoxical practices that renegotiate or transcend boundaries of exploration and exploitation. We identify three such paradoxical practices at the individual level that can advance understanding of ambidexterity: engaging in “hybrid tasks,” capitalizing cumulatively on previous learning, and adopting a mindset of seeking synergies between the competing demands of exploration and exploitation

The Effect Of Mobile BI On Organisational Managerial Decision-Making

Managerial decision-making has always involved the use of numerous distinct information resources. Modern managerial decision-making processes require a wealth of information that is enhanced and transformed into knowledge in order to take effective action. Mobility in business is increasingly exercising influence on core business processes of organisations. Recent advances in wireless technologies coupled with the rapid growth of mobile devices in business have led to a new era in business computing. Mobile Business Intelligence (Mobile BI) is a system that has been conceived to assist, accelerate and to enhance the managerial decision-making processes. Drawing from an array of previous studies that attempted to measure the value of Business Intelligence (BI) and other IT systems in organisations, this study develops a new kind of measure which is based on an understanding of the distinct properties of Mobile BI systems in an organisational-oriented context

Preface to selected papers from ACIS 2016

Prefac

DRIVERS FOR THE ADOPTION OF MOBILE DEVICE MANAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS

The diffusion of mobile devices rapidly increased in the last decade. Nowadays, smartphones are part of our daily lives, both with respect to private and professional use. This leads to several challenges for enterprises, like the trend to Bring Your Own Device or IT consumerization. IT executives are forced to ensure a high level of security, provide services for employees and support the enterprise productivity. In this context, several software solutions have been introduced to manage the mobile IT, one of which are mobile device management (MDM) systems. However, until now, there is a lack of research concerning possible factors that may influnce the adoption of MDM systems in enterprises. Based on the well-established Technology Organization Environment (TOE) Framework a model for MDM adoption in enterprises is constructed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Data was gathered by means of an online survey, in which 95 IT executives from German enterprises participated. Overall, it could be found that perceived security benefits, costs, firm-size, and the BYOD culture significantly influnce MDM adoption, while regulations, business partners, employees´ innovativeness with IT and the amount of mobile device usage have no significant influnce

Understanding VR/AR in marketing & sales for B2B: an explorative study

Abstract. The research explored the impact of immersive reality technologies, particularly VR and AR, in marketing and sales for the B2B sector. Study interests were fuelled by both an industrial hype and vehement investments on these technologies, especially in the last five years. However, the potential of these technologies is still unexplored and widely misunderstood by businesses as the innovations are slowly taking off. Additionally, existing literature showed a need to clearly define various simulated realities in the continuum, including VR and AR, as well as a general misunderstanding of the potential of immersive reality technologies, and a shortage of studies covering holistically different VR/AR applications in marketing, especially for the B2B sector. Therefore, this research aims to bridge the gap between managerial and academic’ understanding by providing a holistic framework explaining the impact of immersive reality technologies in B2B marketing and sales and provide a clear distinction between VR and AR in the Virtuality-reality continuum. This research also aims to assist marketers and managers in embracing these technologies to better meet the needs of future generations. The study adopted a qualitative exploratory approach allowing researchers to gain an in-depth understanding of the topic from an industrial perspective. The study used an abductive thematic analysis approach to analyse empirical results and ten semi-structured interviews with eleven VR/AR providers for primary data collection. Results were structured based on four main themes, namely: VR and AR definitions, customer technology adoption factors, VR/AR impact and applications on B2B marketing, and last, VR/AR impact on sales performance outcomes. This study contributes to the existing literature by proposing a tentative definition for each terminology “VR” and “AR” separately that merges academic perspectives and industry insights. Overall, empirical study suggests that immersive reality technologies can affect both marketing activities and sales performance outcomes for the B2B sector. However, successfully embracing these technologies calls for collaboration to overcome financial, technical and social barriers while also enhancing aspects like the user experience to step out of the still immature VR/AR market. VR and AR together have an impact on marketing for B2B by enhancing customization, non-verbal communication, learning and experiential marketing while also creating memorable experiences that stick in the minds of the consumer. Concerning the customer’s purchasing journey, this study extends existing literature to cover all customer purchasing stages, including the pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase. Results emphasize the pre-purchase phase as the most impacted by immersive reality technologies, followed by post-purchase and purchase stages, respectively. Finally, this study suggests that the use of VR/AR as sales support tools can yield positive efficiency returns through higher task performance and a reduction in sales-related costs, and positive effectiveness returns through greater customer and social engagement, stronger collaborative business relationships and the enhancement of proactive (sales planning) and reactive (adaptive selling) behaviours in the sales process

Management as a system: creating value

Boston University School of Management publication from the 1990s about the MBA programs at BU, aimed at prospective MBA students

BUILDING THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MOBILE ENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS IN THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY

The use of mobile enterprise applications (MEAs) is becoming part of the computing landscape in organizations. To build a strong business case for a MEA project, justifying the financial investment, it is necessary to include realistic benefits to be derived from the use of MEAs. Also, it is equally important to include the possible risks to the benefits being realized so that mitigating actions can be put in place. Then the benefits need to be managed. Yet the benefits from MEAs are not clearly understood. Hence the purpose of this study was to describe the benefits from using MEAs and the impediments to the benefits realization. This was done by analysing qualitative data collected from stakeholders in 3 MEA projects in a single organization in the insurance industry. The practical contribution of the study includes a list of tangible and intangible benefits that can be used to build business cases for MEA projects. Also, the risks that organisations need to manage to realize the expected benefits are described. The academic contribution of this study is the addition to the body of knowledge regarding business cases for and benefits from MEAs. Keywords: Mobile enterprise applications, mobile apps, MEA benefits, risks to benefits, mobile business proces