What role does corporate governance play in the intention to use cloud computing technology?

This paper aims to investigate the factors which promote the adoption of cloud-based technology. It strives for a better understanding of the impact of corporate governance on the adoption of this technology. This study concentrated on executives in companies where the use of cloud computing may give a competitive advantage. The main contribution of this work is to propose a model for the influence of corporate governance and other factors that determine the adoption of this technology. A questionnaire was prepared after taking into consideration the reviewed literature. The sample consisted of 164 technology companies from Southern Spain that already use the new economic models for digital solutions. The methodology used to analyze the structural model was the Structural Equation Model (SEM). The results of the survey showed the influence of Corporate Governance and the procedures and practices of the organization on the adoption of cloud computing and the associated business model. This study aims to point out the importance of corporate support and Knowledge Management for the correct and successful adoption of this technology and to show the effects on the new business model of billing for the use of available resources. View Full-Tex

Moderating effects of age and experience on the factors influencing the actual usage of cloud computing

Cloud computing technology (CCT) has attracted extensive attention of organizations to enhance their agility, flexibility and competitive advantage. Successful implementation of CCT depends on its acceptance and useby senior IT managers in the organizations. This study proposes an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) to predict actual CCT usage by the managers. A questionnaire is used to collect the needful data. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are performed to analyze the factor structure and measurement model. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the structural model. The results supported all the hypotheses of the model. The moderating effect of experience and age is also tested through multi-group analysis. Based on findings of the study, implications for CCT usage in the organizations are discussed

Individual Innovativeness in Higher Education : Antecedents and Consequences

Today, intense competition among higher education institutions (HEIs) is ongoing to achieve cutting-edge publications, attain research funding, possess scientific patents, keep abreast of emerging technologies and adapt quickly to everyday changes. Innovativeness has become the buzzword in HEIs, especially in those seeking prosperity and advancement. Innovativeness here refers to the individual’s disposition to accept changes, try new experiences, deal with ambiguity, take risks and embrace novel ideas. In the digital age, staff members experience nonstop changes in their workplace environments and have no option but to welcome such changes with open arms. Otherwise, they will most likely get a warm job farewell party. Despite the obvious significance of individual innovativeness, there remains a paucity of evidence on the antecedents and consequences of individual innovativeness in higher education. Two aims were established for this doctoral dissertation. For one, the dissertation sought to investigate the psychological and organisational factors contributing to individual innovativeness. For the other, the dissertation pursued the examination of the consequences of innovativeness and provided evidence on whether models studied in business and management fields are also valid for the higher education context. This article-based dissertation consists of four publications. Each one forms a part of the whole project. Study I, which was dedicated to organisational factors, explored how staff members perceive the cultures and growth atmospheres and the relationship between them in their departments/schools. It also examined whether differences exist in cultural perceptions based on staff members’ demographic variables. Study II, which was dedicated to psychological factors, examined the roles of implicit theory and goal orientation as predictors of innovativeness. Study III investigated the interaction between psychological factors (implicit theory and goal orientation) and organisational culture in predicting innovativeness. Study IV had a twofold objective. It inspected the staff members’ usage of technological devices, Office 365 (O365) Cloud services and social media. It also set out to prove the power of individual innovativeness in predicting technology usage. The research followed a cross-sectional correlational survey design. A total sample of 742 staff members working at Tampere University participated in the research. Two online self-reported questionnaires were administered during the 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 academic years. We analysed the data employing basic and advanced statistics, including structural equation modelling (SEM) and multilevel Bayesian path analysis. The findings suggested that one’s goal orientations are most relevant in interpreting his/her innovativeness or willingness to change. More specifically, individuals adopting mastery goal orientations (focusing on learning and improving one’s knowledge and skills) are more likely to be innovators, whereas individuals adopting performance-avoidance goal orientations (avoiding looking incompetent and incapable relative to others) are less likely to be innovators. Furthermore, our findings indicated that the dominant perceived culture at Tampere HEIs is Clan culture, which is characterised by coherent relationships among staff members and considerable attention paid to their professional development and gratification. In addition, only the Clan and Adhocracy culture types were found to support professional growth. Contrary to previous studies, this dissertation showed that departmental culture had neither a direct effect on innovativeness nor a moderation effect on the relationships between psychological factors and innovativeness. In terms of consequences, the results showed that technology was satisfactorily used by the staff members, although their professional usage was less than their personal usage. Our findings also confirmed that innovativeness is a significant positive–albeit weak–predictor of staff members’ usage of devices, non-academic social media and institutional O365 services. Finally, the dissertation showed that academics who were earlier adopters of academic social media and commercial services were later adopters of institutional O365 services. The findings have a number of important implications for theory and practice. Theoretically, this dissertation is one of the first attempts to integrate implicit theory and goal orientation, together with organisational culture, into one model predicting innovativeness. The model is also among the few that employ a multilevel modelling technique, which is more appropriate for this kind of data. It is worth noting that the results of the multilevel analysis emphasised the essential role of goal orientations, but not implicit theory, in predicting innovativeness. These results call researchers to revisit the mediation role of goal orientation between implicit theory and human attributes, taking into account the nested structure of their data. Moreover, this dissertation calls for a re-examination of the role of culture, taking the type of institution into account (academic vs business). Practically, the findings suggest several implications for HEI administrators and practitioners. First, the dissertation draws the attention of managers in that by allowing the staff flexibility, discretion and autonomy, this implicitly guarantees their professional growth. Second, administrators and supervisors should stimulate staff members’ orientations towards mastery goals and inhibit their orientations towards performance-avoidance goals. For example, feedback and appraisal should be self-referenced rather than other-referenced based. The criterion for performance judgment should focus on efforts rather than ability. Third, HEIs should take wise and fast decisions about technology adoption because late adoption implicitly means that staff members will resort to other commercial alternatives.Nykyisin korkeakoulut käyvät kilpailua huippujulkaisujen aikaansaamiseksi, tutkimusrahoituksen hankkimiseksi, tieteellisten patenttien hallitsemiseksi ja uusien teknologioiden seuraamiseksi ja omaksumiseksi muutosten hallitsemisessa. Innovatiivisuudesta on tullut korkeakoulusektorilla iskusana menestyksen ja edistyksen etsimiseen. Innovatiivisuudella viitataan tässä yksilöiden alttiuteen hyväksyä muutoksia, kokeilla uutta, käsitellä epäselvyyttä, ottaa riskejä ja ottaa vastaan uusia ideoita. Digitaalisella aikakaudella henkilökunnan jäsenten kokemukset jatkuvista muutoksista ja niiden avoin hyväksyminen on muodostunut välttämättömyydeksi. Ilman myönteistä suhtautumista he tulevat todennäköisesti saamaan lämpimät läksiäisjuhlat omasta työstään. Yksilön innovatiivisuuden ilmeisestä tärkeydestä huolimatta korkea-asteella on edelleen niukasti tutkimusta yksilöiden innovatiivisuuteen vaikuttajista ja seurauksista. Väitöstutkimukselle asetettiin kaksi tavoitetta. Ensinnäkin tutkimus pyrki selvittämään niitä psykologisia ja organisationaalisia tekijöitä, jotka vaikuttavat yksilön innovatiivisuuteen. Toiseksi tavoitteena oli tutkia innovatiivisuuden seurauksia ja todentaa ovatko liike-elämän ja johtamisen aloilla sovelletut mallit valideja myös korkeakoulutuksen kontekstissa. Artikkeliväitöskirja koostuu neljästä osatutkimuksesta. Organisationaalisiin tekijöihin liittyvä tutkimus I selvitti, miten henkilöstön jäsenet näkevät osastonsa/korkeakoulunsa kulttuurin ja kasvun ilmapiirin sekä niiden väliset suhteet. Lisäksi selvitettiin sitä, ilmeneekö henkilöstön jäsenten kulttuurikäsityksissä eroja heidän demografisten taustamuuttujiensa perusteella. Psykologisiin tekijöihin liittyvä tutkimus II selvitti implisiittisen teorian ja tavoiteorientaation roolia yksilön innovatiivisuuden ennustajina. Tutkimus III tarkasteli psykologisten tekijöiden (implisiittinen teoria ja tavoiteorientaatio) ja organisaatiokulttuurin yhteyksien merkitystä ennustettaessa innovatiivisuutta. Tutkimuksella IV oli kaksiosainen tavoite. Se tarkasteli henkilöstön jäsenten teknologioiden, Office 365 -pilvipalvelujen ja sosiaalisen median käyttöä. Samalla myös testattiin yksilön innovatiivisuuden merkitystä teknologian käytön ennustamisessa. Tutkimus toteutettiin poikkileikkausasetelmaisena korrelaatiotutkimuksena. Tutkimukseen osallistui eri osatutkimuksissa yhteensä 742 Tampereen yliopiston työntekijää. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin lukuvuosien 2015–16 ja 2016–17 aikana kahdella verkkokyselyllä. Tutkimusaineiston analyysissa käytettiin tilastollisten perusanalyysimenetelmien lisäksi edistyneempiä menetelmiä, kuten rakenneyhtälömallinnusta (SEM) ja monitasoista Bayesilaista polkuanalyysia. Tehdyt havainnot osoittavat, että yksilön tavoiteorientaatiot ovat kaikkein merkittävin selittävä tekijä yksilön innovatiivisuudelle tai muutostaipumuksille. Täsmällisemmin sanottuna yksilön soveltamat tavoitteiden hallintaorientaatiot (oppimisen ja tietämyksen sekä taitojen kehittämiseksi) ovat todennäköisempiä innovaattoreille, kun taas välttämisorientaation soveltaminen (vältetään epäpätevyyden tai kyvyttömyyden kokemuksia suhteessa toisiin) on vähemmän todennäköistä innovaattoreille. Lisäksi havainnot osoittavat, että hallitseva organisaatiokulttuuri Tampereen korkeakouluissa on ns. klaanikulttuuri, jolle ovat luonteenomaisia tiiviit ryhmäsuhteet henkilökunnan jäsenten välillä ja huomion kiinnittäminen henkilökunnan ammatillisen kehittymisen tukemiseen. Vastoin aiempia tutkimuksia tämä väitöskirja osoittaa, että osasto/tieteenalakulttuurilla ei ole sen paremmin suoraa efektiä innovatiivisuudelle, kuin kohtuullista efektiä psykologisten tekijöiden ja innovatiivisuuden välillä. Tulokset osoittavat, että henkilöstön jäsenet käyttivät teknologiaa tyydyttävästi, vaikkakin heidän ammatillinen käyttönsä oli vähäisempää kuin yksityinen käyttönsä. Havainnot vahvistavat myös sen, että innovatiivisuus on merkittävä positiivinen – vaikkakin heikko – ennustaja henkilöstön käyttämien teknologioiden, ei-akateemisen sosiaalisen median ja instituution Office 365 -palveluiden käytölle. Lisäksi väitöstutkimus osoittaa, että akateemisen sosiaalisen median ja kaupallisten palveluiden varhaiset omaksujat ovat myöhemmin myös instituution Office 365 -palveluiden omaksujia. Tutkimuksen havainnoilla on useita tärkeitä vaikutuksia sekä teorialle ja käytännölle. Teoreettisesti tämä väitöskirja on yksi ensimmäisistä yrityksistä integroida implisiittinen teoria ja tavoiteorientaatio yhteen organisaatiokulttuurin kanssa innovatiivisuutta ennustavassa mallinnuksessa. Malli on myös yksi harvoista, jossa on käytetty monitasoista mallinnustekniikkaa, joka soveltuu paremmin tämänkaltaisen aineiston analyyseille. On huomionarvoista, että monitasomallien analyysitulokset korostavat tavoiteorientaation keskeistä roolia, mutta eivät implisiittistä teoriaa innovatiivisuuden ennustamisessa. Nämä tulokset tarkentavat tavoiteorientaation välittävää roolia implisiittisen teorian ja yksilöiden attribuutioiden välillä ottaen huomioon datan sisäkkäisen rakenteen. Lisäksi tämä väitöstutkimus arvioi uudelleen organisaatiokulttuurin merkitystä ja pyrkii ottamaan huomioon instituution tyypin (akateeminen vs. liiketoiminta). Käytännössä havainnot antavat aihetta useisiin johtopäätöksiin korkeakoulujen johdolle ja toimijoille. Ensinnäkin väitöstutkimus kiinnittää huomion siihen, että henkilöstön joustavuuden, harkinnan ja itsenäisyyden salliminen tukee epäsuorasti heidän ammatillista kasvuaan. Toiseksi johdon ja esimiesten tulisi edistää henkilöstön suuntautumista kohti tavoiteorientaatiota ja vastaavasti ehkäistä heidän suuntautumistaan suorituksen välttämistä koskevia tavoitteita kohti. Esimerkiksi palautteen ja arvioinnin tulisi olla pikemminkin henkilöä itseään koskevaa, kuin muihin vertaamiseen perustuvaa. Suoriutumisen arvioinnin tulisi keskittyä myös mieluummin ponnisteluihin kuin kyvykkyyteen. Kolmanneksi korkeakoulujen olisi tehtävä viisaita ja nopeita päätöksiä teknologian omaksumisesta, koska myöhäinen omaksuminen tarkoittaa implisiittisesti sitä, että henkilöstön jäsenet mieluummin turvautuvat muihin kaupallisiin vaihtoehtoihin

Conceptualising antecedents of systems innovation on information security risks

Abstract : This research represents a comprehensive conceptualisation of antecedents of systems innovation and how they affect systems innovation in an organisational context. It further examines the relationship between information security risks and systems innovation. Antecedents of systems innovation are identified based on the existing theories such as Diffusion of Innovation (DoI) and Organisational Innovation. This research makes use of new systems and technologies which include Big Data/Cloud Computing, Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual/Augmented reality and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to examine organisations strides towards systems innovation. This research is underpinned by the increase in systems innovation and the growing concerns of information security risks faced by organisations. A quantitative method of analysis was used to analyse data using statistical methods with a view to identify relationships between variables. Data collected shows that systems and technology must have increased benefits in order to be adopted and the complexity of systems does not affect the adoption of such systems and technologies. Individual characteristics were found to have no effect in systems innovation whereas organisational and environmental elements highly influence innovation in the organisation. A relationship could not be established between systems innovation and information security risks. This research highlights the importance of ensuring that new systems and technologies adds value to the organisation and equally important is to ensure management of organisational and environmental elements that affect systems innovation. Information security risks should also not be a deterrence for systems innovation.M.Com. (Business Management

Cloud Computing Adoption Factors Affecting Academic Performance in UAE Public Universities

Cloud computing helps in reducing costs and providing accessibility, reliability, and flexibility especially in educational sector. This able to provide the best educational resources and facilities to all level of students effectively and efficiently. It also seen as a creative technological innovation that provides stable and on-demand access to the available network. Hence, this study aimed to measure the cloud computing adoption factors affecting the academic performance in UAE university. The factors are clustered into five groups namely, knowledge sharing; knowledge application; learnability; perceived self-efficacy; and perceived enjoyment. A questionnaire survey was conducted with the university students to gauge their opinions on the level of significant of each factor affecting the academic performance using 5-points Likert scale. Out of 400 questionnaire sets distributed using random sampling, 382 valid responses were extracted as the collected data. This data was analysed descriptively. The results of the analysis found that that cloud computing adoption factors in perceived self-efficacy group are ranked first in term of its significance in affecting academic performance. The second rank is factors in learnability group; the third is perceived enjoyment; the fourth rank is knowledge application and finally, the fifth rank is knowledge sharing. The impact of this research will be felt simultaneously in the IT and education sectors, particularly through assisting students in utilising cloud computing to store and exchange information for both their academic and personal lives

Innovation attributes and managers' decisions about the adoption of innovations in organizations: A meta-analytical review

The adop­tion of in­no­va­tions has emerged as a dom­i­nant re­search topic in the man­age­ment of in­no­va­tion in or­ga­ni­za­tions, al­though in­ves­ti­ga­tions of­ten yield mixed re­sults. To help man­agers and re­searchers im­prove their ef­fec­tive­ness, the au­thors em­ployed a meta-analy­sis in­te­grated with struc­tural equa­tion mod­el­ing to an­a­lyze the as­so­ci­a­tions be­tween the at­trib­utes of in­no­va­tions, man­agers' be­hav­ioral pref­er­ences, and or­ga­ni­za­tions' in­no­va­tion adop­tion de­ci­sions in a me­di­ated-mod­er­ated frame­work. Our find­ings of­fer ev­i­dence that at­trib­utes of in­no­va­tions in­flu­ence man­agers' be­hav­ioral pref­er­ences and, con­se­quently, adop­tion de­ci­sions in or­ga­ni­za­tions. We also ob­serve the sig­nif­i­cance of the con­text in which the adop­tion de­ci­sion oc­curs as well as the re­search set­tings em­ployed by schol­ars. Fi­nally, we dis­cuss the the­o­ret­i­cal con­tri­bu­tion and prac­ti­cal im­pli­ca­tions of our meta-an­a­lyt­i­cal re­sults

FOUR SCENARIOS FOR ADOPTION OF CLOUD COMPUTING IN CHINA

Selecting appropriate technology strategy is crucial to those designing ICT-based offering for specific geographical market. The antecedents of adopting particular technology can be used to identify opportunities and barriers of entry, but further information is needed for technology management on how adoption would take place. In this paper, it is argued that deploying a scenario method facilitates identification of future developments and setting a technology strategy, which matches the emerging needs and requirements of a specific market. Specifically, this paper examines the trends and developments affecting state of Cloud Computing business in China and creating incentives for stakeholders to adopt Cloud Computing. Based on expert interviews and scenario analysis, four alternative and possibly co-existing scenarios are derived. The macro-level scenarios serve as inputs and tools for company-specific examinations on technology strategy. Also, the scenarios facilitate identifying indicators on whether standard or flexible technology architecture is needed for this particular market

Acceptance model of SaaS cloud computing at northern Malaysian main campus public universities

Technology advancement has side effects, although it has moved in a fast pace that facilitated life and increased business revenue. To cope with negative aspects while looking for friendly technology, Software as a Service (SaaS) Cloud Computing emerged to preserve natural resources, effectively utilize computing and power consumption, while achieving performance, decreasing cost, and increasing revenue. Yet, there are paucity in empirical studies investigating salient factors affecting the usage, acceptance, or adoption of SaaS services from the individual perspectives specifically in higher education sector. The main objective of this study is to investigate the salient factors with proper model that includes technical, social and control characteristics, as well as user security predisposition. Besides, educational level has also proven to be influential in adopting innovations. Hence, probing its role is another objective. The last objective is to investigate differences between student and lecturer groups in the relationships postulated in the model. A survey with questionnaires was conducted on students and lecturers in four public universities in Northern Malaysia. The scope of the acceptance is to investigate the personal-level use of SaaS services. Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) and Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI) were applied. Results revealed appropriateness of the model although the role of Trialability and Subjective Norms were not significance. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge and literature in highlighting the role of these factors that SaaS providers could benefit in planning for new services and in promoting SaaS usage to universities

A review on cloud based knowledge management in higher education institutions

Knowledge Management (KM) is widely discussed by researcher and attracts many enterprisers to extract, dispense and use information in a systematic way under Knowledge Management System (KMS). New technology adoption within the knowledge management system is one of the core issue, identified by researcher and underlined as future research agenda. Cloud computing becomes the most adoptable choice for enterprisers to reduce infrastructure and maintenance cost by shifting business on the cloud. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are more enthusiastic about knowledge management due to its primary goal of knowledge creation and sharing. Cloud based knowledge management attract higher education institutions by changing the educational method and objectives due to innovative trends in technology. This exploratory research based on literature review for cloud-based knowledge management, targeting higher education institutions. This study highlights the benefits and challenges associated with cloud-based knowledge management system and its impact on knowledge