Diffusion of Helpdesk Systems – The Influence of Personal Networks on the Level of Adoption

The high importance of the availability of end user computing systems raises the need for effective and efficient helpdesk systems. However, research shows that the adoption and diffusion of such systems is surprisingly low. Classical approaches to deal with this problem solely focus on the system itself, especially by focusing on the quality of the helpdesk. But this neglects the fact, that problem solving often takes place in unofficial personal networks. This aspect gains importance due to the increasing relevance of team-based work structures. Motivated by this, we present a model of adoption of helpdesk system that considers the quality of personal networks as influencing factor for the level of adoption

Enterprise System Implementation: A Multimodal Approach to Social Network Knowledge Transfer

Organizations have struggled to provide adequate system-related knowledge support to end users during enterprise system implementation. Prior research has examined the influence of system-related knowledge sourced from end users within workplace social networks on implementation outcomes. Drawing upon the actor-network theory, this study extends the social network to include knowledge sourced from three institutionally mandated entities, the shared inbox, help desk, and service desk. This multimodal approach provides a comprehensive view of knowledge flows across the organization as opposed to a partial view confined to end user interactions. In addition, knowledge sourced from institutionally mandated entities will be of higher quality than that acquired through informal end user interactions, and can have a significant impact on implementation outcomes. This paper conceptualizes the shared inbox, help desk, and service desk as nodes within the network. Preliminary analysis is now being conducted on data collected from end users in the post-implementation phase of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The results of this study could provide additional insights into the impact of knowledge acquired from end users in comparison to knowledge sourced from support structures. Organizations could strategically allocate resources among support structures depending on its relevance to their operational context

The Role of Social Networks in Technology Appropriation over time

A number of factors and elements influence the introduction and long-term use of Information Systems (IS) in organisations. Studies in long-term technology use indicate that influences that support users’ decision to adopt technology are not sufficient to encourage long-term use. Based on two case studies in an educational setting, we suggest that social networks play a key role in facilitating technology appropriation and encouraging continued long-term use of technology. Findings indicate that supportive social networks are instrumental to share knowledge, enhance learning, build trust, encourage users to resolve complex problems and subsequently pursue and sustain technology use over long periods of time

Innovation Value Chains in East and Southern Africa and the Key Gaps

This review synthesises evidence on key gaps in East and Southern Africa’s innovation value chain (concept to commercialisation), e.g. in health technology, sanitation, clean energy, agricultural technology or bio-innovation. The course of building complex innovation value chains in East and Southern Africa – involving several actors and processes (e.g. idea generation, conversion of ideas into innovative products, and innovation diffusion or commercialization) – is hampered by several gaps and challenges. Some of the common gaps and barriers limiting innovation, private sector investment, and innovation commercialisation (in different sectors) include: lack of capital, i.e. access to affordable finance (short and medium term) for setup, inventory and working capital; weak market knowledge, i.e. lack of country, locality or sector awareness; weak business models or lack of proven commercial business models; lack of skills including on how to prepare projects; limited logistics, i.e. lack of infrastructure, logistics and supply chain partners makes delivery and supply of goods challenging and/or expensive; low customer demand – including lack of awareness, low rural purchasing power and expenditure; and inadequate regulation/policies and fiscal barriers, including high import costs and unfavourable tariff policies (BRILHO Business Case, 2016). The report is structured as follows. Section 2 briefly discusses the concept of innovation value chains, key development actors it involves, as well as the major gaps and challenges facing innovation in East and Southern Africa. Sections 3 and 4 present case studies of country programmes (from East Africa and Southern Africa, respectively) that support innovation value chains in different sectors. While discussing each programme, the report summarizes evidence on innovation, commercialization, value chains, inclusiveness, programme impact, gaps and challenges

The Analysis of Information Technology Best Practice Adoption in Saudi Arabia

Drawing on Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and Organisational Learning (OL) theories, the present study examined the CSFs of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) implementations. Organisations evaluated their manners of managing Information Technology (IT) and decided to move from technology management toward service management that is called Information Technology Service Management (ITSM). ITIL represents one of the most famous ITSM best practices. However, with the absence of a practical ITIL implementation approach based on a theoretical solid ground, many organisations faced unpredictable obstacles and waste valuable resources. The present research aimed to identify a theoretical basis that allows understanding the success of ITIL implementations. Therefore, I first reviewed and analysed the literature of ITIL implementation CSFs to identify appropriate theoretical basis. The analysis led to proposing 4i framework as an OL model to interpret the successful and failed ITIL implementations. I then investigated empirically three case studies: successful, failed and partially successful ITIL implementations. Interviews were used to collect retrospective data from essential people involved in ITIL implementations. The present research applied method triangulation as it also used documents as another data source to understand the longitudinal aspects of the case studies. Collected data was thoroughly analysed qualitatively using two analytical methods. First, to analyse the case studies, I used a thematic analysis approach, namely Framework analysis method. While the Framework analysis findings implied the existence of interrelations among ITIL implementation CSFs, it also exposed the influential roles of the time element and the order of events on learning. Therefore, I then reanalysed the case studies using the event narrative method that concentrated on the events of ITIL implementations and their sequences. The findings of the event narrative analysis proposed a network of CSFs of ITIL implementations. Accordingly, the present research introduce four conceptual terms related to CSFs: contextual CSF, dynamic CSF, supreme CSF and network of CSFs. Finally, through the discussion of research findings in light of related literature of ITSM, CSFs and OL, I extended the network of CSFs to propose the Model of Implementing ITIL Successfully (MIIS) as an extension of 4i framework to understand success and failure of ITIL implementations

Attitudinal influence on technlogy usage by faculty in higher education

textThe rapid inclusion of new technologies into educational curriculum has left some educators feeling ill prepared and anxious towards changes in teaching styles and curriculum necessary to put these innovations to use in their classrooms. It is imperative that we address this reluctance in order to provide inclusion of both faculty and students in the information revolution that began with the Internet and that continues to sweep the globe. Existing research takes primarily an external perspective to lack of technology usage in education; few studies have considered the psychological barriers that may contribute to technological and digital inequality within a University community. Real progress can be made in motivating technology resistant faculty by teaching them to differentiate between the characteristics of experts and novices, by providing them with the tools necessary to improve their self-efficacy to utilize new teaching technologies, and by providing the infrastructural support necessary to succeed.Curriculum and Instructio

User adaptations to system implementation in a mining company in Laos - A case study of organisational change

The purpose of this case study was to assess post–project implementation acceptance by users of new IS/IT systems in a mining company in Laos. The report investigated how the new system changed organisational working cultures and what avoidance or acceptance factors appeared. Also, it looked at how the new implemented systems contributed to the changes in business process and working procedures within Lane Xang Mineral Limited Company (LXML), which is a Lao subsidiary of a mining company from Australia. The change implementation was a strategic business integration of MMG, a Chinese-owned global mining company, headquartered in Melbourne that operated several mining subsidiaries in Australia, Africa, Latin America, and in Laos. In 2013, LXML went through a big change implementation in terms of IS/IT systems consisting of the upgraded computing facilities, I.T. services outsourcing, communication systems, and the introduction of the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Those changes inevitably brought about change in the company’s business processes and working procedures. As a result, it shifted LXML’s way of working from the conventional paper-based system to a more systematic and electronic approach. Following the change, the organisation as well as its staff were faced with cultural issues and mismatch business processes. To gain an understanding of the factors that impacted on the IS/IT implementation within Lane Xang Mineral Limited, this paper applied two analytical frameworks to the study of user acceptance and organisational cultural differences. Data gathering was conducted by an online survey and semi-structure online interviews with staff at different levels from within the organisation. The findings were then divided into enablers and barriers to user’s adaptation to the new systems implementation on individual and organisational level. The findings were also used to compare deductively with the analytical frameworks to verify their influencing categories. This paper is organised in three main sections, the first section introduces the case background and description of the issues from the case study. The second section is a justification of the significance of issues identified, and of the selected conceptual frames that were applied in the study. The third section is the analysis section, which explains data collection methodologies and the analytical details. Findings on the study will also be found within this section. At the end of the paper, the study is concluded by giving recommendations as a guide to I.T. Managers at the MMG headquarters in Australia and the LXML office in Laos, on transnational I.T. implementation within MMG. The recommendations could be taken as a guide for any other organisation (not only limited to the mining industry) to explore in order to plan for an effective I.T. implementation within their firms in the future

Using a Hybrid Technology Acceptance Model to Explore How Security Measures Affect the Adoption of Electronic Health Record Systems

While the adoption of computer systems is pervasive in most industries, few healthcare organizations have implemented electronic health record systems. Security is a major issue for these healthcare organizations. Security concerns include breaches of privacy and medical identity theft. This article uses a hybrid technology acceptance model (TAM) to explore why healthcare organizations are slow to adopt an EHR and slower to adopt biometric technology and single sign-on functionality despite the benefits of these systems. This paper advocates that healthcare organizations should adopt biometrics for authentication purposes, allow for multiple connections by each healthcare provider, and use single sign-on systems when implementing EHR systems. This research will also determine how costs, compliance issues, and security issues impact an individual’s attitude when asked to use EHR systems

Understanding Organizations’ Artificial Intelligence Journey: A Qualitative Approach

Background: With growth in Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption, challenges and hurdles are also becoming evident. Organizations implementing AI are challenged to find ways to leverage AI to produce optimum results and benefits for the organization. Understanding other organizations’ AI implementation journeys will help them start and implement AI. By understanding the different facets of AI implementation, they can strategize AI to gain business value. Though several studies have examined AI adoption, there are few studies on how firms implement it. We close this gap by studying AI adoption and implementations in various firms. Method: Using a qualitative approach of semi-structured interviews, we studied twenty global organizations of various sizes that have implemented AI. Results: The study categorizes the results into four major themes – facilitators, barriers, trends, and strategies for implementing AI. Our study reinforces the relevance of the TOE framework and Roger’s DOI theory in studying AI adoption. Organizational factors such as top management support, strategic roadmap, availability of skilled resources, and corporate culture influenced AI adoption. Their lack of data or poor data quality is a primary challenge. The privacy laws concerning data, as well as regulatory bottlenecks, further exacerbate this problem. We also identified and mapped the standard AI implementations to their AI technologies. We found that most of them exploit AI’s image and natural language processing capabilities to automate their processes. Regarding implementation, firms work with partners to obtain customer data and use federated learning. Conclusion: Understanding firms’ AI implementation journey will help us promote further adoption and experimentation. Organizations can identify areas where they can leverage AI to enhance value, prepare themselves for the future, start and proceed with AI implementation efforts and overcome barriers they might encounter