Exploring ERP post-implementation modifications and their influence on business process outcomes: a theory driven model

The objective of this research in progress paper is to develop a theory-driven model to categorise post-implementation modifications to ERP systems and to understand the relationship between the identified categories and business process outcomes that are generated as a result of the modifications. While ERP systems can improve the efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility of business processes, the relationship between these outcomes and post-implementation modifications is not understood adequately. The model proposed here provides a theoretical foundation for research into the impact of modifications on business process performance, and brings clarity to the definition of an ERP modification by developing a typology of modifications

A Hybrid System Of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) And Informality

One of the current research trends in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) involves examining the critical factors for its successful implementation. However, there is limited beyond system implementation, focusing on flexibly of ERP to respond to changes in business. Therefore, this study explores a combination system, involving an ERP system and informality, which focus on providing a company with efficient and flexible performance simultaneously. The paper aims to understand the constraints of using a single ERP system, and to define a new system corresponding to these problems, which is achieved by studying four Chinese companies operating in different industries. The study reveals that an ERP with pre-determined business activities cannot react promptly to unanticipated changes in a business. Incorporating informality into an ERP can react to different situations by using different procedures that are based on the practical knowledge of frontline employees

Strategic signalling and awards: Investigation into the first decade of AIS best publications awards

Professional organizations for academics such as the Academy of Management and Association for Information Systems (AIS) create best publications awards to honour and promote exemplary contributions that align with the core values and priorities of their distinct fields. Despite the strategic importance of awards, researchers rarely investigate meaningful patterns implicit in the contribution characteristics of award-winning articles. We conduct a reconstructive study of the 10-year history of the AIS Best Publications Awards by outlining a framework that reveals contribution characteristics, demographic patterns, and citation histories of the award-winning articles. Comparing the AIS results to a complete sample of MIS Quarterly paper-of-the-year articles (1993–2015) demonstrates consistent patterns implicit in IS articles that win best publications awards. We develop a model that explains both how these awards shape patterns and discusses what changes might be needed as the field confronts new realities. Our analyses reinforce the importance of taking strategic actions to support the continuous development of the field and advance literature on change and evolving trends in academic fields

Combining social shaping of technology and communicative action theory for understanding rhetorical closure in IT

International audiencePurpose – Proposes the concept of rhetorical closure to address the phenomenon of pervasive IT “fashions”. Suggests that prevailing discourses surrounding IT are dominated by the rhetoric of closure and that such closure, although mutually constructed by suppliers, consultants and managers, has had several adverse consequences in terms of organizational change and results. Stimulates a critical thinking regarding the persistence of successive waves of new IT fashions and the consequences of closure on practice. Design/methodology/approach – Theoretical framework informed by political views within the social shaping school combined with Habermas’ theory of communicative action. Illustration of the argument is based on 22 semi-structured interviews (senior practitioners from client-firms, software suppliers and consulting-firms working on ERP projects). Findings – Outlines the nature of the “chain reaction” produced by rhetorical closure from individual practices to the segment level. Identifies occasions for breaking down rhetorical closure at the three levels of analysis. At the individual level, opportunities are related to daily users’ practices. At the organizational level, opportunities are related to ongoing organizational decisions and negotiations regarding IT adoption. At the segment level, opportunities are related to forming coalitions, networks and groups of users. Originality/value – Adopts an original perspective, examining the concept of rhetorical closure from a combination of two approaches: social shaping of technology and communicative action theory. Connects different types of closure to different types of rationality, and recognizes the specific validity claims underlying them. Calls into question current decision-making processes that sustain IT pervasiveness and taken-for-granted assumptions of inevitability associated with new IT fashions. Keywords Communication technologies, Cost benefit analysis, Cost effectiveness, General management<br/

IT Industry Analysts: A Review and Two Research Agendas

The firms involved in analyzing the information technology industry (IT), such as Gartner, Forrester, and IDC, are reputed to have a major impact on both IT vendors and IT adopters through their influence over how IT actually is acquired and used. The purpose of this article is to take stock of the nascent stream of research on industry analysts that has developed in recent years in order to shed some light on the IT analysis industry―to analyze the IT industry analysts, if you will. Using an organizational field-level lens, we look at the business models of the firms that operate in this industry. We examine the main institutional work that the analysts in these firms perform as status arbiters, institutional carriers, network brokers, IT fashion setters, and knowledge entrepreneurs. We examine the competitive and institutional pressures faced by analysts in these firms. Finally, we propose two research agendas: (1) to study the impact that this industry has had, and could continue to have, on the IT industry as a whole, and (2) to study how the relationship between the academic information systems community and the IT analysis industry might co-evolve

“Bigger than government”: exploring the social construction and contestation of net-zero industrial megaprojects in England

Industry is frequently framed as hard-to-decarbonize given its diversity of requirements, technologies, and supply chains, many of which are unique to particular sectors. Net zero commitments since 2019 have begun to challenge the carbon intensity of these various industries, but progress has been slow globally. Against this backdrop, the United Kingdom has emerged as a leader in industrial decarbonization efforts. Their approach is based on industrial clusters, which cut across engineering, spatial, and socio-political dimensions. Two of the largest of these clusters in England in terms of industrial emissions are the Humber and Merseyside. In this paper, drawn from a rich mixed methods original dataset involving expert interviews (N = 46 respondents), site visits (N = 20), a review of project documents and the academic literature, we explore ongoing efforts to decarbonize both the Humber and Merseyside through the lens of spatially expansive and technically complex megaprojects. Both have aggressive implementation plans in place for the deployment of net-zero infrastructure, with Zero Carbon Humber seeking billions in investment to build the country's first large-scale bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) plant alongside a carbon transport network and hydrogen production infrastructure, and HyNet seeking billions in investment to build green and blue hydrogen facilities along with a carbon storage network near Manchester and Liverpool. We draw from the social construction of technology (SCOT) literature to examine the relevant social groups, interpretive flexibility, and patterns of closure associated with Zero Carbon Humber and HyNet. We connect our findings to eight interpretive frames surrounding the collective projects, and make connections to problems, contestation, and closure

The social shaping of packaged software selection

As organisations increasingly engage in the selection, purchase, and adoption of packaged software products, howthese activities are carried out in practice becomes increasingly relevant for researchers and practitioners. Ourfocus in this paper is to propose a framework for understanding the packaged software selection process. Thefunctionalist literature on this area of study suggests a number of generic recommendations, which are based onrational assumptions about the process and view the decision making that takes place as producing the “besttechnology solution.’” To explore this, we conducted a longitudinal, in-depth study of packaged software selectionin a small organisation. For interpretation of the case, we draw upon the Social Construction of Technology, atheoretical framework arguing that technology is socially constituted and regarding the process of development ascontradictory and uncertain. We offer a number of contributions. First, we further our understanding of packagedsoftware selection with the critique that we offer of the functionalist literature, drawing insights from the emergingcritical/constructivist literature and expanding our domain of interest to encompass the wider environment. Second,we weave this together with our experiences in the field, drawing on social constructivism for theoretical support, todevelop a framework of packaged software selection that shows how various actors shape the process