ARCHITECTURE CONCEPTS FOR VALUE NETWORKS IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY

Value networks are one of the main forms of value creation today. Suppliers, manufacturers and customers form a dynamic collaboration structure. Networks and companies alike are always subject to external and internal influences which require changes in the way things are done. To make sure that the required changes take their intended effect, they have to be implemented on all levels of the enterprise architecture (EA). Research with respect to EA in value networks in the service industry (VNSI) is only in its beginnings. To understand the state of the art, we analyzed 88 papers with respect to the architecture layers in VNSI. Since we base on the fact that a successful introduction of change, e.g. new IT solutions, requires a holistic view on EA, we analyzed the papers according to their covering of the different levels of an EA. Our hypothesis is that most of the papers only cover very specific aspects without positioning their proposed solution in a holistic context. We propose a reference model based on a literature review as well as the results of the paper analysis. This reference model allows for a positioning of solutions in a holistic context and with that adds to a better basis for implementing change in VNSI

Learning in clinical practice: findings from CT, MRI and PACS

This thesis explores learning in clinical practice in the cases of CT, MRI and PACS in UK hospitals. It asks the questions of how and why certain evolutionary features of technology condition learning and change in medical contexts. Using an evolutionary perspective of cognitive and social aspects of technological change, this thesis explores the relationships between technology and organisational learning processes of intuition, interpretation, integration and institutionalisation. Technological regimes are manifested in routines, skills and artefacts, and dynamically evolve with knowledge accumulation processes at the individual, group and organisational levels. Technological change increases the uncertainty and complexity of organisational learning, making organisational outcomes partially unpredictable. Systemic and emergent properties of medical devices such as CT and MRI make learning context-specific and experimental. Negotiation processes between different social groups shape the role and function of an artefact in an organisational context. Technological systems connect artefacts to other parts of society, mediating values, velocity and directionality of change. Practice communities affect how organisations deal with this complexity and learn. These views are used to explore the accumulation of knowledge in clinical practices in CT, MRI and PACS. This thesis develops contextualised theory using a case-study approach to gather novel empirical data from over 40 interviews with clinical, technical, managerial and administrative staff in five NHS hospitals. It uses clinical practice (such as processes, procedures, tasks, rules, interpretations and routines) as a unit of analysis and CT, MRI and PACS technology areas as cases. Results are generalised to evolutionary aspects of technological learning and change provided by the framework, using processes for qualitative analysis such as ordering and coding. When analysed using an evolutionary perspective of technology, the findings in this thesis suggest that learning in clinical practice is diverse, cumulative and incremental, and shaped by complex processes of mediation, by issues such as disease complexity, values, external rules and choice restrictions from different regimes, and by interdisciplinary problem-solving in operational routines

Mapping and Developing Service Design Research in the UK.

This report is the outcome of the Service Design Research UK (SDR UK) Network with Lancaster University as primary investigator and London College of Communication, UAL as co-investigator. This project was funded as part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council Network grant. Service Design Research UK (SDR UK), funded by an AHRC Network Grant, aims to create a UK research network in an emerging field in Design that is Service Design. This field has a recent history and a growing, but still small and dispersed, research community that strongly needs support and visibility to consolidate its knowledge base and enhance its potential impact. Services represent a significant part of the UK economy and can have a transformational role in our society as they affect the way we organize, move, work, study or take care of our health and family. Design introduces a more human centred and creative approach to service innovation; this is critical to delivering more effective and novel solutions that have the potential to tackle contemporary challenges. Service Design Research UK reviewed and consolidated the emergence of Service Design within the estalished field of Design

Factors affecting supply chain integration in public hospital pharmacies in Kenya

The purpose of this study was to develop and empirically test the Supply Chain Integration Framework (SCI framework) in order to develop a framework to address the inefficiencies experienced in the public hospital pharmacies’ Supply Chain (SC) in Kenya. Supply Chain Management (SCM) can be regarded as a vibrant business entity that is changing and evolving continually because of constant changes in technology, competition and customer demands. The study investigated and analysed how the independent variables, namely SCI initiatives, performance improvement drivers, organisation environmental forces, workforce and management support, financial factors, flow and integration, regulatory framework and information sharing and technology influenced the SCI. The SCI was categorised into three components namely: customer order fulfilment, supplier collaboration and dedicated SC as the dependent variable. The literature reviewed established that globalisation and intensive worldwide competition, alongside technological developments, creates a completely new operating environment for organisations. The researcher reviewed various models and theories related to SCI which include systems theory, value chain models and value ecology models among others. An SCI framework was then developed to capture the interacting variables within the SCI network that could be adopted for the public hospital pharmacies in Kenya. The study was conducted using a survey questionnaire (Annexure B) that comprised both open and closed ended questions that were distributed to managers in public hospitals and pharmacies in Kenya. The population for the survey was 154 public hospital pharmacies in Kenya, with the final sample comprised of 280 respondents. The study was conducted using a survey questionnaire (Annexure B) that comprised both open and closed ended questions that were distributed to 325 respondents in 154 public hospitals and pharmacies in Kenya. The population for the survey was 154 public hospital pharmacies in Kenya, with the final sample comprised of 280 respondents. Exploratory factor analysis was used to ascertain the validity of the measuring instrument and the Cronbach alpha coefficients were used to measure the reliability of the measuring instruments. Key preliminary tests performed were the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test (KMO test) of sample adequacy, the Bartlett’s test of sphericity and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (Z-Statistic test) for normality and multi-collinearity diagnostic. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple linear regressions were the main statistical procedures used to test the regression model fit and the significance of the relationships hypothesised among various variables in the study. Statistical softwares, namely Statistica 10 (2010) and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 18, were used to analyse quantitative data. The study identified five statistically significant relationships between customer order fulfilment and workforce and management support, financial factors, flow and integration, information sharing and technology, supplier collaborations and dedicated SCI. In addition, a total of six statistically significant relationships exist between the supplier collaborations and SCI initiatives i.e. performance improvement drivers, workforce and management support, financial factors, flow and integration, information sharing and technology adoption as well as dedicated SCI. Furthermore, four statistically significant relationships were found between dedicated SCI and SCI initiatives, workforce and management support, financial factors, flow and integration, information sharing and technology adoption

The promotion of assets in the community

Espoon keskuksessa toteutetun osallistava budjetointi Mun Idea -hankkeen osatuoto

Technologies and Innovations in Regional Development: The European Union and its Strategies

The subsequent volume revolves around the Social-Fields-Approach (SOFIA) as an approach to conceptualization and operationalisation for the purpose of empirical research. It contributes a new perspective and approach in research on innovation. We believe that SOFIA can have implications for both academic research and practical applications in reshaping the existing instruments and governance arrangements in innovation policy. Whilst applying SOFIA, we urge researchers to leverage the plurality of different qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method approaches in innovation studies, including less conventional methods, such as QCA (Ragin, 2008). Diligent application of SOFIA can also subsequently lead to the development of high-level theoretical contributions

Design and Evaluation of Domain-Specific Platforms and the Special Case of Digital Healthcare

The implementation of digital innovations in the healthcare sector is faced with different barriers and challenges. The complex system of regulations, the lack of interoperability, and highly dynamic interorganisational networks lead to missing widespread adoption of eHealth solutions. Digital platforms can help to overcome these barriers by providing a holistic infrastructure. They create a modularised foundation that innovators can use to create own innovations and provide them to demanders of digital solutions. As intermediaries, they can be accessed both by healthcare professionals and eHealth solution providers. Providers can offer their eHealth services via the platform. Healthcare professionals can use these services to create own interorganisational information systems. In the field of information systems research, effects and strategies for two-sided platforms are well researched and the potentials of eHealth platforms are also discussed. However, the organisational and technological design and methods for the construction of platforms are fewer questioned. Nonetheless, platform owners can benefit from implementation strategies and architectural guidance to create sustainable platforms and surrounding ecosystems. This doctoral thesis questions how domain-specific platforms can be designed systematically. Conducting a design-science research process, it develops both a modelling system and the Dresden Ecosystem Management Method (DREEM) to support the development of platforms in different domains. Furthermore, it describes the design characteristics of two-sided platforms in the healthcare sector and provides an evaluation approach to analyse the platforms’ ability to create a viable innovation ecosystem in the healthcare sector. The doctoral thesis contributes by providing methodical guidance for platform owners and researchers to design and evaluate digital platforms in different domains and improves the understanding of platform theory in the healthcare sector.:A. Synopsis of the Doctoral Thesis 1. Introduction 2. Foundational Considerations 3. Requirements for Design Artefacts and Knowledge 4. Structure of the Doctoral Thesis 5. Conclusion B. Paper 1 - Governance Guidelines for Digital Healthcare Ecosystems C. Paper 2 - Revise your eHealth Platform! D. Paper 3 - Business Model Open ”E-Health-Platform” E. Paper 4 - Modelling Ecosystems in Information Systems F. Paper 5 - Designing Industrial Symbiosis Platforms G. Paper 6 - Management of Digital Ecosystems with DREEM H. Paper 7 - Guiding the Development of Digital Ecosystems I. Paper 8 - Towards Maintenance Analytics Ecosystems J. Paper 9- Sustainability of E-Health-Projects K. Paper 10 - ISO 11354-2 for the Evaluation of eHealth-Platform

An ecosystem inspired framework for digital government transformation

Traditional e-government and Digital Government Transformation (DGT) initiatives are often focused on technology transformation and business-IT alignment with the attempt to make government more efficient, transparent and easier to operate within. However, billions of public funding has been spent on those initiatives with very few anticipated benefits yielded. This thesis asserts that DGT will bring about true government transformation when business, people and culture are considered together. Many existing business/industry frameworks, architectures and best practices in the literature for DGT projects address only one or two of those dimensions. To focus on the development and delivery of transformational changes in DGT initiatives, this thesis will propose a solution framework for an integrative approach that brings about business transformation, technology transformation, with people-stakeholder-leadership oriented cultural transformation to form a holistic methodology framework for DGT that is beyond technology alone and will illuminate the road to success in DGT executions. This thesis will provide an ecosystem inspired framework together with tools and maturity model framework to guide a government-wide successful execution of the DGT journey that is iterative, measurable and with consideration of all aspects of business, technology and people. This thesis will approach DGT journeys by: 1. Implementing of a holistic framework to guide the DGT; 2. Considering people and culture for an effective DGT; 3. Providing an integrated approach that can bring innovative knowledge and cultural transformation together with the technology transformation; and by 4. Providing a measurement framework and metrics to guide the maturity of DGT projects. This thesis will be evaluated through four case studies including public sector, the defence force, and health ecosystems and is aimed at supporting public entities for better utilisation of resources, modernising operations, displaying better use of public funds, keeping trust high, saving time, offering fast learning, and better engagement and services for its stakeholders both internally and externally