A characteristics framework for Semantic Information Systems Standards

Semantic Information Systems (IS) Standards play a critical role in the development of the networked economy. While their importance is undoubted by all stakeholders—such as businesses, policy makers, researchers, developers—the current state of research leaves a number of questions unaddressed. Terminological confusion exists around the notions of "business semantics”, "business-to-business interoperability”, and "interoperability standards” amongst others. And, moreover, a comprehensive understanding about the characteristics of Semantic IS Standards is missing. The paper addresses this gap in literature by developing a characteristics framework for Semantic IS Standards. Two case studies are used to check the applicability of the framework in a "real-life” context. The framework lays the foundation for future research in an important field of the IS discipline and supports practitioners in their efforts to analyze, compare, and evaluate Semantic IS Standard

Software defined radio : a system engineering view of platform architecture and market diffusion

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design & Management Program, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-181).As complexity and ambiguity in products and customer needs increase, existing companies are being forced toward new organizational models. New products require integrating knowledge across technologies, architectures, and functions in new ways, building product platforms that can adapt to changes in markets and product design throughout the product development process. In particular, the wireless telecommunications industry is plagued by multiple incompatible dominant second-generation standards, with each with separate migration paths to future third generation functionality. The high initial investments in spectrum and infrastructure, and corresponding switching costs, call out for a technological solution that can both evolve with the rapid advances in technology and potentially operates seamlessly across multiple incompatible networks to unify a highly fragmented system. In a system engineering context, this thesis investigates the use of software define radio technology (SDR) as a potential replacement for hardware solutions to the multiple air interface standard problem. This thesis investigates the role of product platform architectures in product market diffusion by studying the selection of appropriate system and product architectures, product market diffusion, and the formation of a system dominant design. Using software defined radio (SDR) technology in the wireless telecommunications industry as a case study, the emergence of SDR as a potential replacement for multiple mobile phone standards is investigated. Compared with interim compatibility solutions that combine multiple air interfaces through hardware. SDRs are an emerging technology that promises to combine multiple air-interfaces into a single wireless phone platform though software configuration. Market and organizational disruptions are determined, and how platform architecture concepts can be used to mitigate these disruptions. The history of the wireless telecommunications industry is presented to highlight the determinants of product and standards success in the wireless industry. The transition between first-generation (1G) wireless, second-generation (2G) wireless, and the interim high data rate second-generation (2.5 G) system currently being rolled out is discussed. Geographical differences in standards acceptance and the role of government policies are discussed. The strong network effects in the industry are illustrated by the late success of GSM technology in the United States market. The mode of technological standard interaction or competition is determined through the use of the Lotka-Volterra model of technological interaction and lessons learned applied to third generation systems. Plans for third generation (3G) wireless are presented, and the various transition paths from 2G to 3G are discussed. The challenges of transitioning between technologies (technological discontinuities) are highlighted through a discussion of the installed base of legacy equipment. Software defined radio (SDR) technology is presented, and a platform architecture is developed in the context of 3G market penetration. The use of appropriate flexible SDR system architectures in light of rapidly changing technological and market innovations is discussed.by Moise N. Solomon.S.M

Voice over IP

The area that this thesis covers is Voice over IP (or IP Telephony as it is sometimes called) over Private networks and not over the Internet. There is a distinction to be made between the two even though the term is loosely applied to both. IP Telephony over Private Networks involve calls made over private WANs using IP telephony protocols while IP Telephony over the Internet involve calls made over the public Internet using IP telephony protocols. Since the network is private, service is reliable because the network owner can control how resources are allocated to various applications, such as telephony services. The public Internet on the other hand is a public, largely unmanaged network that offers no reliable service guarantee. Calls placed over the Internet can be low in quality, but given the low price, some find this solution attractive. What started off as an Internet Revolution with free phone calls being offered to the general public using their multimedia computers has turned into a telecommunication revolution where enterprises are beginning to converge their data and voice networks into one network. In retrospect, an enterprise\u27s data networks are being leveraged for telephony. The communication industry has come full circle. Earlier in the decade data was being transmitted over the public voice networks and now voice is just another application which is/will be run over the enterprises existing data networks. We shall see in this thesis the problems that are encountered while sending Voice over Data networks using the underlying IP Protocol and the corrective steps taken by the Industry to resolve these multitudes of issues. Paul M. Zam who is collaborating in this Joint Thesis/project on VoIP will substantiate this theoretical research with his practical findings. On reading this paper the reader will gain an insight in the issues revolving the implementation of VoIP in an enterprises private network as well the technical data, which sheds more light on the same. Thus the premise of this joint thesis/project is to analyze the current status of the technology and present a business case scenario where an organization will be able to use this information

Dominant designs, new firm survival and competitive dynamics in nascent market categories

Technological change represents a key driver to shape new market categories and organizations. Characterized by a process of social technological variation, selection and retention, the growth of a nascent market category manifests changing competitive dynamics and the success (or failure) of entrepreneurial organizations, particularly in the face of dominant designs — technologies that achieve absolute dominance in specific market categories. In spite of accumulated research on dominant designs in diverse perspectives (e.g., economics, marketing and strategic management), the understanding of this dynamic process is yet incomplete. Building upon the punctuated equilibrium model of technological change, I address several research questions in regard to the interface between technological evolution, dominant designs, competitive dynamics, and institutional entrepreneurship. I conduct three separate yet interconnected studies in search of conceptual links among these areas of research.The first essay organizes the diverse but fragmented management literature on dominant designs based on the meta-theoretical scheme developed by Astley and Van de Ven (1983). The essay systematically reviews and assesses the “central perspective(s)” of over 89 relevant papers in influential journals in management, marketing and management related disciplines. Cumulative research streams on this topic have stayed within a single central perspective, the development of research across the four central perspectives has been uneven, and works incorporating multiple central perspectives have been limited in number. The essay argues for complex models that take into account the two boundary conditions — technological complexity and institutional environment — which have been implicit in the extant literature. The essay calls for more theoretically grounded works in collective action and strategic choice views, but the major opportunity lies in integrative works that will take this research one step closer to a comprehensive view of dominant designs.In the second essay, I posit a conceptual link between the punctuated equilibrium model of technology change and dynamics of entrepreneurship. I develop hypotheses addressing the relationships between competitive environment (including competitors), firm strategy (resources) and survival of entrepreneurial firms seeking the establishment of dominant designs. This effort to investigate the edge between technological change and entrepreneurship improves our understanding of the opportunities and threats facing new organizations in the technological field, as well as the strategies that innovative new ventures may deploy to enhance survival chance in turbulent industries.The third essay adds insights to the sustained work on the process models of dominant designs by empirically examining the association between technological evolution and competitive dynamics to define dominant designs. This essay discusses how the frequency and complexity of firms’ competitive actions surrounding dominant designs co-evolve along the life cycle of technological discontinuities. I examine the influence of three factors: the stage of the technological regime, the density in the market category, and the emergence of dominant designs in the market category. I found these factors strongly influence on firms’ competitive actions both directly and through interactions with related factors.Ph.D., Management -- Drexel University, 201

The socio-technical dynamics of ICT innovation: a social shaping analysis of portals

This PhD thesis presents a longitudinal study of the dynamics of the innovation process of a standardised technology. The study addresses the factors that shape technology decision-making along the entire technology life cycle - from design to implementation - within the context of a complex socio-technical setting. The development of the Internet led to acceleration in the diffusion of Inter-Organisational Networks and Systems (IONS), particularly of portals. Portals are defined as linked electronic platforms with a single point-of-entry, independent of time and space, and that enable collaboration through access to multiple sources from different organisational information systems. Organisations develop and implement portals to respond to market pressures, for example in order to rationalise procurement.The thesis attempts to expand the understanding of the socio-technical dynamics patterning both the decision-making process and the outcomes of complex ICT innovation projects. The thesis seeks to overcome the shortcomings of existing social and economic research on inter-organisational standardisation by redressing the limitations in terms of empirical scope and analytical frameworks of, on the one hand, studies of standard setting processes which neglect the wider and subsequent context of implementation and, on the other hand, of 'diffusion of standards' studies which ignore the way in which standards evolve in their implementation. This study specifically answers theoretical and practical questions of ICT innovation dynamics in a complex multi-spaced setting, combining economic, technical and sociological theories. The research draws on the Social Shaping of Technology (SST) perspective by explaining ICT innovations as historical and contexted actor-focussed technological change processes. The thesis develops a Multi-level Space of Innovation Dynamics (MSID) framework to capture the dynamics of standardised portal technology development and its outcomes on two levels: at a micro level, focusing on individuals and groups in the adopting organisation (zoom in), and at the meso level, addressing the effects that the dynamics have in the broader context of the sector (zoom out). Jorgensen's concept of 'arena' is used to analyse the way in which the actors involved at the company and the industry level are configured together. The turbulent dynamics are analysed as the outcome of complex processes of change involving the configuration and re-configuration of the various arenas and networks in which the array of involved organisational actors are embedded.The contribution to existing knowledge is based on the development of the MSID framework and its application to a complex multi-layered and longitudinal case study based in the automotive industry. The researcher's unique extensive access as a participant and analyst to the complex setting of the portal development was essential to develop the framework and to illustrate the ways in which theoretical concepts can be grounded in real empirical cases. The research finds that ICT innovations are shaped by history and context of the adopting organisation and the actors involved. The extremely complex organisational politics of decision-making processes were patterned by the configuration of the project and the management of expertise. Interactions and realignments amongst this complex set of socio-technical factors led to a drift in the subsequent outcomes. This study supports the socio-technical analysis of supply chains as mutually shaped by technology and the adopting user organisation. Finally, the study also provides organisations with rich sociological insights that could translate into the planning of similar technology-driven projects