Study on the Support Systems for Corporate Governance

The problems generated by the information asymmetry within the agency relationships at corporation level, governments and capital markets led to a higher necessity for corporate governance (CG). The information system of corporate governance is a very complex one, which involves a series of actors, decision-making and transactional processes, technologies, procedures and good practice codes. In order to ensure the efficiency and efficacy of corporate governance as a premise for increasing company’s performance and position consolidation for the company on the capital market, it is necessary to analyze the way information technology could contribute to this undertaking. The purpose of this study is to analyze the architecture of the corporate governance systems and to identify and classify the systems and technologies involved in ensuring CG support in order to underlie the basis for developing a conceptual model for a hybrid and collaborative support system for corporate governance.Corporate Governance, Support Systems, Information Technology, Decision-Making, Performance

Evaluating IS/IT Projects: Revealing the Causes of Equivocality

Evaluating IS/IT projects and deciding on their continuation has been hampered by the problem of equivocality. Equivocal situations hinder decision-makers to clearly recognise potential problems and implications of these decisions, as well as to decide the course of action in a purposeful fashion. However, little attention has been devoted to examine the causes of such situations. Extant literature was analysed and synthesised to identify typical characteristics of equivocal situations and uncover the potential causes of equivocality. We developed a framework based on this review and used it further to assist the investigation and to corroborate the causes of equivocality through expert interviews. In this paper, we investigated the causes of equivocality in practice by eliciting insights from different perspectives of decision-makers and their perceptions toward equivocal situations. We found that equivocal situations prevailed are much strongly related to the Challenges in project management, the Complexity in process and the Sophistication of technology within the Content of evaluation. Intriguingly, we found less solid relations with the Lack of standards and the Failure of evaluation methods as these two factors did not emerge as dominant causes during our discussions with the experts

Developing a frame of reference for ex-ante IT/IS investment evaluation

Investment appraisal techniques are an integral part of many traditional capital budgeting processes. However, the adoption of Information Systems (IS) and the development of resulting infrastructures are being increasingly viewed on the basis of consumption. Consequently, decision-makers are now moving away from the confines of rigid capital budgeting processes, which have traditionally compared IS with non-IS-related investments. With this in mind, the authors seek to dissect investment appraisal from the broader capital budgeting process to allow a deeper understanding of the mechanics involved with IS justification. This analysis presents conflicting perspectives surrounding the scope and sensitivity of traditional appraisal methods. In contributing to this debate, the authors present taxonomies of IS benefit types and associated natures, and discuss the resulting implications of using traditional appraisal techniques during the IS planning and decision-making process. A frame of reference that can be used to navigate through the variety of appraisal methods available to decision-makers is presented and discussed. Taxonomies of appraisal techniques that are classified by their respective characteristics are also presented. Perspectives surrounding the degree of involvement that financial appraisal should play during decision making and the limitations surrounding investment appraisal techniques are identifie

Identity ambiguity and the promises and practices of hybrid e-HRM project teams

The role of IS project team identity work in the enactment of day-to-day relationships with their internal clients is under-researched. We address this gap by examining the identity work undertaken by an electronic human resource management (e-HRM) 'hybrid' project team engaged in an enterprise-wide IS implementation for their multi-national organisation. Utilising social identity theory, we identify three distinctive, interrelated dimensions of project team identity work (project team management, team 'value propositions' (promises) and the team's 'knowledge practice'). We reveal how dissonance between two perspectives of e-HRM project identity work (clients' expected norms of project team's service and project team's expected norms of themselves) results in identity ambiguity. Our research contributions are to identity studies in the IS project management, HR and hybrid literatures and to managerial practice by challenging the assumption that hybrid experts are the panacea for problems associated with IS projects

Life Cycle Assessment Practices: Benchmarking Selected European Automobile Manufacturers

With the rise of environmental concerns in the general public, re-appropriated by influential politicians, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become a widely used set of tools for the management of all impacts on environment by industrial products. LCA is carried out at the very early stages of product research, development and design. This is particularly true in the automobile industry where vehicle manufacturers Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are launching several new or re-vamped models each year. The automobile industry is therefore a very emblematic sector for best practices of LCA. The paper is based on available literature and interviews with top LCA professionals in Germany-based OEMsLife cycle assessment; automobile; best practices

Evaluating IS/IT Projects: Revealing the Causes of Equivocality

Evaluating IS/IT projects and deciding on their continuation has been hampered by the problem of equivocality. Equivocal situations hinder decision-makers to clearly recognise potential problems and implications of these decisions, as well as to decide the course of action in a purposeful fashion. However, little attention has been devoted to examine the causes of such situations. Extant literature was analysed and synthesised to identify typical characteristics of equivocal situations and uncover the potential causes of equivocality. We developed a framework based on this review and used it further to assist the investigation and to corroborate the causes of equivocality through expert interviews. In this paper, we investigated the causes of equivocality in practice by eliciting insights from different perspectives of decision-makers and their perceptions toward equivocal situations. We found that equivocal situations prevailed are much strongly related to the Challenges in project management, the Complexity in process and the Sophistication of technology within the Content of evaluation. Intriguingly, we found less solid relations with the Lack of standards and the Failure of evaluation methods as these two factors did not emerge as dominant causes during our discussions with the experts

Venture capital investor behaviour in the backing of UK high technology firms : financial reporting and the level of investment

This paper is an empirical investigation into the ways in which venture capitalists value (and invest in) high technology firms, focusing on financial reporting, risk disclosure and intangible assets. It is based on questionnaire returns from UK investors in diverse sectors, ranging from biotechnology, through software/ computer services, to communications and medical services. This evidence is used to examine: (a) the usefulness of financial accounts; (b) the implications of technopole investment; (c) the extent of investor control over the investee's AIS; and (d) the role of investor opinion (e.g. on disclosure, due diligence and risk reporting) in determining the level of equity provision

Strategic I/O Psychology and the Role of Utility Analysis Models

In the 1990’s, the significance of human capital in organizations has been increasing,and measurement issues in human resource management have achieved significant prominence. Yet, I/O psychology research on utility analysis and measurement has actually declined. In this chapter we propose a decision-based framework to review developments in utility analysis research since 1991, and show that through lens of this framework there are many fertile avenues for research. We then show that both I/O psychology and strategic HRM research and practice can be enhanced by greater collaboration and integration, particularly regarding the link between human capital and organizational success. We present an integrative framework as the basis for that integration, and illustrate its implications for future research