Bridging the IS-Line Interface: The Role of the Relationship Manager

IS Organizations are increasingly focusing on managing the interface between themselves and their clients within organizations to improve not only the level of customer service but also the utilization of firm investments in hardware and software. Several organizations have recently created full-time specialized positions, often termed \u27Relationship Manager\u27 to manage the relationship between IS and Line groups. This paper presents the results of an exploratory study to understand the role of the \u27Relationship Manager\u27(RM) and how people in these positions deliver value to IS and Line groups in the organization. Our findings are that the role of the RMs is complex, requiring a focus on the coordination of activities across the IS-Line interface in the short run while marshaling organizational energy towards initiatives that position the firm favorably in the medium and long term. Combining an intimate knowledge of the organization with expertise in IT, the RMs utilize their influential positions in the informal network within the firm to create and capitalize on opportunities to champion innovation and enable change

Educator Roles of the CIO

One of the most persistent concerns for CIO’s is the gap in understanding between the CIO’s and top management. This gap in understanding can be closed by having the CIO take on the role of educator to the TMT, bringing the understanding of IS by the TMT to a higher level. The educational roles of facilitator and mentor are specifically looked at to address how the CIO can most effectively handle the constructing or maintenance of mental models

What Really Matters: An Empirical Study on the Relative Importance of the CIO and the Maturity of the IS Organization in Producing Effective IS Performance

How do IS leader effectiveness and IS organizational maturity impact IS unit effectiveness? Drawing on existing CIO capabilities literature, IS organizational maturity literature and IS effectiveness literature, this paper proposes to gather and analyze survey data to compare the capabilities of the CIO with the IS unit’s organizational maturity to empirically determine which more influences IS effectiveness. The role of CIO in creating IS unit organizational maturity will also be tested

Critical Success Factors Influencing Adoption of Internet Technology by MSC & Non-MSC Companies

The Internet is transforming the way in which business strategies are formulated in the corporate world. Indeed, it is proving to be the most effective and influential strategic tool of the century by connecting thousands of companies and millions of people every minute. This paper highlights the salient factors influencing the adoption of Internet technology by MSC and 10n-MSC companies. Five organisational and two marketplace factors were used in this study. The final analysis confirmed that MSC and Non-MSC companies were influenced by six factors - perceived direct benefits, organisational compatibility, technical complexity, trading partner pressure, organisational support, and perceived direct benefits. All of the factors above except for technical complexity proved that Non-MSC companies were more affected by these factors than MSCn companies. Another factor, competitive pressure, was not an influential factor

THE STRATEGIC CO-ALIGNMENT FOR IMPLEMENTING INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN E-GOVERNMENT

Regulating agency in government, i.e. regulator, must co-align its information systems (IS) planning strategy with executing agencies, i.e. executors, for better e-government performance. Using an established strategic co-alignment model, we analyze the mutual participating strategies between regulator and executors and examine the outcomes and performance associated with that co-alignment choice. After conducting a large-scale survey study of government agencies in Taiwan, the co-alignment relationship between e-government IS policy regulator and executor is examined. Based on the findings, we discuss their implications for e-government research and practice

Evolution of the Role of Change Agent for CIOs during Their Time in Office

Information Systems research has investigated what roles CIOs should play but has paid very little attention to when these executives are more likely to be effective in their various roles. This paper focuses on the role of change agent, and proposes a three-stage model (“Conquest,” “Exploration,” and “Settlement”) describing what combinations of change agentry models CIOs follow during their time in office. The model suggests that CIOs predominantly follow the “advocate” model of change agentry at the beginning of their tenure, and combine both the “advocate” and “facilitator” models as they progress in their position. As they reach the end of their tenure, CIOs mainly adhere to a balanced combination of “facilitator” and “traditionalist” roles. The combinations of change agentry models CIOs tend to follow are explained by the patterns of evolution of five key characteristics: commitment to a paradigm, task knowledge, information diversity, task interest, and power and influence

Information Leadership: The CIO as Orchestrator and Equilibrist

The dominant interpretation of the function and role of the CIO is technology-related with business-ICT alignment as a core concept. We criticize this vision as a product of the dominant interpretive scheme and show how the logic of this scheme restricts the worldview of CIO’s and researchers. To overcome these restrictions, we adopt an alternative interpretive scheme based on our twenty years of experience with collaboration with information managers. This scheme is essentially generative and synthetic. We define the function and role of the CIO as the orchestrator of the information-related activities of the organization. To be successful, the CIO should further maintain equilibrium between inspiring and innovating the organization and informing and architecturing it. Finally, we argue for the use of a new language that can involve all stakeholders in these activities to make them enthusiastic participants. Based on this new view, the CIO can emanate information leadership

A Review of the Literature on the Empathy Construct Using Cluster Analysis

Empathy plays a central role in human behavior and is a key aspect of social functioning. The extensive research on the empathy construct in fields such as psychology, social work, and education has revealed many positive aspects of empathy. Through the use of cluster analysis, this research takes a new approach to reviewing the literature on empathy and objectively identifies groups of empathy research. Next, this study relates the information systems (IS) discipline’s focus on empathy research through the projection of IS empathy paragraphs into those clusters, and identifies areas of empathy research that are currently being largely overlooked by the IS field. The use of cluster analysis and projection for conducting a literature review provides researchers with a more objective approach for reviewing relevant literature

Investigation of Geobase Implementation Issues: Case Study of Information Resource Management

Billions of dollars have been wasted on failed information system (IS) projects over the last decade in the private and public sectors. More specifically, the tri-service environment of the U.S. military has not implemented a single successful geospatial IS (GIS). The lack of a service-wide insertion process for GIS was cited as the most significant cause for military GIS failures. GeoBase represents the USAF\u27s most recent GIS implementation. The GeoBase program focuses on Information Resource Management (IRM) and cultural issues. The GeoBase Sustainment Model (GSM), anecdotally developed by GeoBase leadership to reflect implementation issues and the IRM practices of the program, presents a prime research opportunity to examine the legitimacy of the initiative. Within the Federal Government, stricter control on IS has been established in an effort to increase the rate of IS project success. IRM has been offered as the solution. This researcher conducted a case study investigation of GeoBase implementation issues as perceived at the USAF-MAJCOM level to qualitatively assess the validity of the anecdotally constructed GSM. The researcher also assessed the model against key IRM dimensions. Based on a content analysis of the reported implementation issues, IRM documentation, and the GSM itself, the model adequately represented the reported implementation issues and the key IRM dimensions. However, the model was underspecified. Inclusion of communication, a category of reported implementation issues, and advisory committees, a major IRM dimension, would more fully specify the model. A fully specified model may act as the service-wide GIS insertion model, which is currently lacking. (12 tables, 14 figures, 75 refs.