An Analysis of Information Systems Research in Chinese Mainland

This study examines information systems (IS) research in Chinese Mainland in recent years and identifies the similarities and the differences between international and Chinese IS research in terms of research topics and research methods. The data consists of a total of 410 research papers published in ten leading Chinese academic journals related to IS over the five-year period from 1999 to 2004. Compared to IS research abroad, the following may be said of Chinese IS research: (1) Systems-related issues, especially system design issues, system implementation, analytical models and tools, DSS/ESS/EIS are emphasized in research topics, whereas human-related and research methodologies issues are scarce. (2) Empirical studies, including case study, survey and experiment, are few and far between. (3) The majority of non-empirical studies focus on applications and conceptual description of IS, mainly in different applied fields and introducing or illustrating hot topics abroad. The general shift from traditional issues such as system design to non-technical problems is still continuing. There is a need to go beyond mere description of IS related phenomenon and to move away from non-empirical to empirical studies

The Penetration of Business Information Systems in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Italy and Hungary: A Comparative Study

Information technology (IT) has become an integral part of an enterprise’s organizational life recently and represents an increasingly important factor for all kinds of organizations, since the services it provides have become almost essential by now for all types of enterprises in the European Union. However, company size and differences at country level might still play an important role in hindering IT adoption. The main reason for writing this article was to analyse IT penetration and usage in Italy and Hungary and find a well-grounded answer to the question of whether IT – in the form of business information systems – is regarded as a source of competitive edge or an essential condition for survival by different enterprises in different countries. To explore this topic, a survey was conducted by submitting an online questionnaire to a sample of Italian and Hungarian enterprises. The results indicate a noticeable difference in the IT development level of the two countries. In Italy information systems in general and systems for managers decision-making are more widespread, thus IT has already reached the level of an essential condition for survival there, whereas it is still seen as a source of competitive edge in Hungary. However, contrary to our initial assumption, the question of competitive edge versus condition for survival depends more on size categories rather than on individual countries

Information Technology Acceptance in South Africa: An Investigation of Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and Actual System Use Constructs

Information technology (IT) acceptance studies pay much attention to issues of significance in assessing the contributions of variables explaining IT usage for decision-making in organizations. Davis’ Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) states that Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) are the two factors that govern the adoption and use of information technology. Actual System Use (behavior) consists of the number of times of systems use. The author conducted a survey of 31 organizations in KwaZulu/Natal, a region in South Africa, which implemented an Executive Information System (EIS). A validated survey instrument was administered to an EIS stakeholder in each organization surveyed. This paper reports on the PU, PEOU, and Actual System Use constructs for organizations surveyed in South Africa

Effective applications of microcomputer-based management information and decision support systems for small and medium sized enterprises

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Firstly, this thesis reviews the literature on the application of microcomputer-based Management Information Systems (MISs) and Decision Support Systems (DSS) to Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). It is found that the hardware platform today is already sufficient for SMEs. However, information regarding successful implementation of MISs for SMEs is scarce and largely fragmented. DSS requires more focused and dedicated use of information to support managerial decision making. Unfortunately, the development of DSSs for SMEs is even more backward. Yet, there is an emerging need for SMEs today because business operations have become more sophisticated under intensified competition. With this scenario in mind, the author undertook intensive questionnaire and case surveys to find out the current development and trends for the effective applications of MISs and DSSs. In 1987, the author was awarded the Oshikawa Fellowship by Asian Productivity Organisation in Tokyo and started the present research. 446 completed questionnaire survey sheets from U.K. and Hang Kong have been received and analysed. 67 SMEs and related organisations in 6 developing/developed countries were also visited. This forms the knowledge for the development of expert systems (ES) for effective applications of MIS. The approach for DSS is based on a carefully selected business game which has most of the common business decision parameters. Intensive experiment with over 100 subjects was conducted in running the game, with an average time contribution of about 20 hours/person. The findings are again consolidated and structured into an ES. Longitudinal research was conducted in 5 representative SMEs. With the use of action learning and participation of the researcher, more in-depth firsthand information were obtained and analysed. These form part of the input to the ES as well. Both ES have been validated and further improved. The experimenters find these as keys to develop MIS/DSS for SMEs. A marketing plan is suggested to launch these two products so that they can become more easily available. Finally, recommendations are made on the effective use of the ES and for further development

State of the Art of Financial Decision Support Systems based on Problem, Requirement, Component and Evaluation Categories

Financial decision support has become an important information systems research topic and is also of highest interest to practitioners. Two rapidly emerging trends, the increasing amount of available data and the evolution of data mining methods, pose challenges for researchers. Thus, a review of existing research with the goal to guide future research efforts in this domain is timely. To structure our literature review and future research in this area, we propose a framework in the paper that integrates elements of decision support systems, design theory, and information mining. The framework is then applied in the paper. Our analysis reveals that the focus of existing research can be grouped into three major domain categories. More research is needed in two of the categories for which we found only very few IS studies, despite the high relevance of these topics due to increased turbulences in worldwide financial markets. Furthermore, we discuss the opportunities to make stronger use of heterogeneous data and of combined data mining techniques and to build upon the rich set of available evaluation methods

Exploring the Influence of Decision Style on Decision Support System Acceptance by GPs

While clinical DSS have many proven benefits in the medical field, their uptake by GPs has been limited. This research explores the influence of decision styles as a possible explanatory variable for the usage of DSS. Insight into the reasons why GPs do not use clinical DSS will allow the development of strategies to facilitate more widespread adoption with consequent improvements across many areas. Depth interviews were conducted with 37 GPs comprising a mix of education backgrounds, experience and gender. In addition respondents completed a decisions styles questionnaire. Results indicated that users of DSS were more likely to have an integrative decision style while non users adopted a flexible decision style. Decision style was also strongly correlated to education with overseas trained doctors more likely to have integrative decision styles and Australian trained GPs exhibiting flexible styles

Decision Support Systems Adoption Among Strategic Decision Makers in Higher Learning Institution in Yemen

It is claimed that higher education institutions in Yemen do not have clear visions, missions, strategic objectives, and they apply traditional management systems with complex procedures. In addition, there has been some ignorance of technology among the Yemeni strategic decision makers because they have not had a clear view of what Information Technology applications can contribute in developing their institutions and the strategic decision-making, and styles of the strategic decision makers. IT applications can also be used in investigating the perceived acceptance of the strategic decision makers towards decision support systems (DSS) technologies. Thus, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) has been adopted. A total of 121 forms of questionnaire were collected from the strategic decision makers in Sana’a University and Science and Technology University. Descriptive, regression and structural equation modeling analyses were run to test the hypotheses. The present study found that the research policy, adoption of information technology applications, curriculum, mission, organization of colleges and university, admission policies, financial policies, facilities and equipment, and institutional governance personnel are areas that require strategic decisions in the Yemeni higher learning institutions. Regarding decision making styles, the majority are technical-oriented (analytical and directive) strategic decision makers. The findings indicate that performance expectancy and strategic value expectancy have a significant positive influence on behavioural intention of the strategic decision makers to adopt the DSS. However social influence was found to have influence on behavioural intention when it was tested alone as an independent construct. The strategic decision maker’s decision making style moderates the relationship between efforts expectancy and behavioural intention only. However, administrative experience and professional achievement moderate the relationship between performance expectancy and strategic value expectancy, and behavioural intention only. As a conclusion, this study suggests that technology adoption can be a new strategic decision area