Relationships of technical, semantic, and organizational factors on electronic government information systems interoperability in Jordan

Information systems (IS) interoperability has been considered from the main characteristic of successful electronic government (e-Government) projects in the past twenty years. As information systems and technologies are being developed and improved, debates on their success have been constantly discussed by researchers and scholars. Achieving interoperability among different organizations is a complex task and affected by various aspects. Previous studies have shown that many e-Government projects in developing countries, like Jordan have encountered various problems after the implementation phase. Hence, the objective of this study is to develop an e-Government IS interoperability model for the public sector in Jordan. This study examined the technical, semantic, organizational, and information technology (IT) capability factors that impact IS interoperability focusing on IS interoperability as the key concept to reach successful implementation of interoperability in Jordanian government. To explore the study constructs and their relationships a variety of published literatures concerning the scope of the study has been critically reviewed. Data were collected using the survey method, and 335 questionnaires were distributed to IT staff in 25 Jordanian ministries. Two hundred and thirty one usable questionnaires were returned. The data were analyzed using the partial least squares-structural equation modeling technique (PLS-SEM). The findings revealed that the technical factors (IT infrastructure, security and privacy), a semantic factor (standardization), organizational factors (business process management, IT human resources, return on investment, and risk management), and IT capability (IT knowledge and IT operations) positively affected IS interoperability. On contrary, there was no moderating effect of the IT capability in the relationship between technical, semantic, and organizational factors and IS interoperability among ministries in Jordan. Technical, semantic, organizational, and IT capability factors are good for promoting e-Government IS interoperability

Design and development of a context sensitive rural development software application for eService provisioning

After more than a decade since South Africa realized the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the role it can play to deliver services, the country is still confronted by a number of challenges challenges that hinder the implementation of a fully-fledged ICT-based system in a form of electronic government to better deliver services and information. While rural development remains as one of the country’s greatest concerns, ICT is among approaches and perspectives that are recognized for not only accelerating rural development but also for providing the country’s economic growth. This research was set to investigate approaches to implement ICT solutions for rural development and service provisioning in the context of electronic government. The research focused more on the technical skills to implement such ICT systems for the benefit of rural development and e-government stakeholders that have an interest in design and development of an integrated and interoperable solution to accelerate service delivery, especially in rural communities. A mixed methods approach was used throughout the research accompanied by an evolutionary prototyping to development the desired prototype. A study was then conducted to gain an understanding of the state and the needs of rural communities to date. The results of the study yielded a number of urbanized service providers that rural dwellers need to timeously visit to consume services. Scenarios to design and develop the intended prototypes were then drawn from these results. The overall implementation of the prototypes produced an integrated platform that allows multiple disparate systems to communicate, share and use information. The qualities of the prototype are what this research recommends to relevant to stakeholders in order to implement an integrated and interoperable e-government system that elevates rural development programs and service delivery

A systematic methodology to analyse the performance and design configurations of business interoperability in cooperative industrial networks

This thesis proposes a methodology for modelling business interoperability in a context of cooperative industrial networks. The purpose is to develop a methodology that enables the design of cooperative industrial network platforms that are able to deliver business interoperability and the analysis of its impact on the performance of these platforms. To achieve the proposed objective, two modelling tools have been employed: the Axiomatic Design Theory for the design of interoperable platforms; and Agent-Based Simulation for the analysis of the impact of business interoperability. The sequence of the application of the two modelling tools depends on the scenario under analysis, i.e. whether the cooperative industrial network platform exists or not. If the cooperative industrial network platform does not exist, the methodology suggests first the application of the Axiomatic Design Theory to design different configurations of interoperable cooperative industrial network platforms, and then the use of Agent-Based Simulation to analyse or predict the business interoperability and operational performance of the designed configurations. Otherwise, one should start by analysing the performance of the existing platform and based on the achieved results, decide whether it is necessary to redesign it or not. If the redesign is needed, simulation is once again used to predict the performance of the redesigned platform. To explain how those two modelling tools can be applied in practice, a theoretical modelling framework, a theoretical Axiomatic Design model and a theoretical Agent-Based Simulation model are proposed. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed methodology and/or to validate the proposed theoretical models, a case study regarding a Portuguese Reverse Logistics cooperative network (Valorpneu network) and a case study regarding a Portuguese construction project (Dam Baixo Sabor network) are presented. The findings of the application of the proposed methodology to these two case studies suggest that indeed the Axiomatic Design Theory can effectively contribute in the design of interoperable cooperative industrial network platforms and that Agent-Based Simulation provides an effective set of tools for analysing the impact of business interoperability on the performance of those platforms. However, these conclusions cannot be generalised as only two case studies have been carried out. In terms of relevance to theory, this is the first time that the network effect is addressed in the analysis of the impact of business interoperability on the performance of networked companies and also the first time that a holistic approach is proposed to design interoperable cooperative industrial network platforms. Regarding the practical implications, the proposed methodology is intended to provide industrial managers a management tool that can guide them easily, and in practical and systematic way, in the design of configurations of interoperable cooperative industrial network platforms and/or in the analysis of the impact of business interoperability on the performance of their companies and the networks where their companies operate