Factors impacting knowledge transfer success in information systems outsourcing

Despite increased research interest on knowledge transfer in information systems (IS) outsourcing, the field still lacks sound and holistic understanding of the key factors influencing knowledge transfer success. The present paper attempts to provide a synthesis of existing theoretical perspectives and empirical findings related to the factors that facilitate or hamper knowledge transfer success in IS outsourcing. The data collection method is discussed and the key findings are presented. Conclusion is drawn and further research is suggested

Environmental modelling of the Chief Information Officer

Since the introduction of the term in the 1980’s, the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has been widely researched. Various perceptions and dimensions of the role have been explored and debated. However, the explosion in data proliferation (and the inevitable resulting information fuelled change) further complicates organisational expectations of the CIOs role. If organisations are to competitively exploit the digital trend, then those charged with recruiting and developing CIOs now need to be more effective in determining (and shaping) CIO traits and attributes, within the context of their own organisational circumstances and in line with stakeholder expectations. CIOs also need to determine their own suitability and progression within their chosen organisation if they are to remain motivated and effective. Before modelling the role of the future CIO, it is necessary to synthesise our current knowledge (and the lessons learnt) about the CIO. This paper, therefore, aims to identify and summate the spectrum of key researched ‘themes’ pertaining to the role of the CIO. Summating previous research, themes are modelled around four key CIO ‘dimensions’, namely (1) Impacting factors, (2) Controlling factors (3) Responses and (4) CIO ‘attributes’. Having modelled the CIOs current environment, and recognising the evolving IT enabled information landscape, the authors call for further research to inform the recruitment and development of the future CIO in terms of personal attributes and the measurable impact such attributes will have on their respective organisation

Policy Issues of e-Commerce Technology Diffusion in Southeast Nigeria: The Case of Small Scale Agribusiness

The benefits brought about by the emergence of e-commerce, e-business and other Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) applications have not been fully explored in the developing economies of the world. The less developed economies are still struggling to catch up with ICT application as opposed to its heavy deployment in the developed economies. Empirical evidence suggests that ICTs and other related technologies are increasingly emerging in the communities of the developing economies such as Nigeria. Rural actors engaged in the Agricultural industries (Agribusiness) feel that the implementation of ICTs can influence the development of new business processes and the way existing processes are organised. In the Southeast of Nigeria, which is a typical example of a less developed community, the impact of e-business technologies has yet to be determined. This paper identifies two classical traditional agribusiness supply chains and hence reports on the impact of e-commerce technology diffusion along the equilibrium of the supply chains, focusing on the elimination of intermediary actors from the chain. It provides an assessment of the Governments’ policies and strategies on e-commerce adoption for the sustainability of small-scale agricultural businesses. The paper examines the politics surrounding ICT implementations by actors engaged in the agribusiness sector. This research has motivated The South East State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, to give closer attention to their earlier policy of making Nigeria an ICT-enabled country

Factors Impacting the Success of ERP Implementations in Small and Medium Enterprises: An Empirical Assessment from Latin America

Les implementacions dels sistemes de programació de gestió integrada (ERP, en la sigla en anglès) s'estan consolidant com una de les principals tendències avantguardistes en l'àmbit de la tecnologia de la informació en el segment de les petites i mitjanes empreses (pimes). Malgrat que existeixen recerques relacionades amb l'estudi de l'adopció i de l'èxit de les implementacions d'ERP, hi ha una bretxa evident en la literatura a l'hora d'analitzar aquestes implementacions en el context de les pimes. Aquest article té l'objectiu d'examinar els factors que determinen l'èxit de les implementacions d'ERP, centrant-se específicament en la veta de mercat de les pimes que operen en zones en via de desenvolupament, com ara l'Amèrica Llatina. Es proposa un model que és corroborat empíricament amb dades obtingudes de 49 pimes llatinoamericanes. Una anàlisi de regressió múltiple permet corroborar 7 de les 8 hipòtesis presentades en el model, i evidencia alguns resultats que són consistents amb algunes recerques prèvies, però en ressalta d'altres que són únics en el context particular de l'Amèrica Llatina. Els resultats indiquen que les capacitats de facilitat d'ús proveïdes per l'ERP, com també l'èxit d'implementació del projecte de l'ERP i la satisfacció de l'usuari, són factors claus que impacten en l'èxit posterior a la implementació de l'ERP. D'altra banda, les iniciatives de gestió del canvi no van esdevenir tan determinants com s'evidenciava en recerques anteriors. El rol crític de la satisfacció de l'usuari com a mediador de la resta dels factors també va ser comprovat. Una aportació fonamental de la recerca és que l'èxit de la implementació de l'ERP va ser mesurat en termes dels beneficis incrementals de negoci obtinguts posteriorment a la implementació de l'ERP. S'analitzen les implicacions dels resultats en el context pràctic i de recerca, i se'n presenten línies de recerca prominents.Las implementaciones de los Sistemas de Administración de Recursos Empresariales (ERP por sus siglas en inglés) se están consolidando como una de las tendencias vanguardistas críticas en el área de tecnología de la información para el segmento de las pequeñas y medianas empresas (SMEs). Aún cuando existen investigaciones relacionadas con el estudio de la adopción y éxito de las implementaciones de los ERP, es evidente la brecha existente en la literatura a la hora de analizar tales implementaciones en el contexto de las SMEs. Esta disertación pretende investigar factores que determinan el éxito de las implementaciones de los ERP, con foco específico en el contexto de las SMEs operando en regiones en vías de desarrollo, tales como América Latina. Se propone un modelo el cual es corroborado empíricamente con datos obtenidos de 49 pequeñas y medianas empresas latinoamericanas. Un análisis de regresión múltiple permite corroborar 7 de las 8 hipótesis presentadas en el modelo, exhibiéndose algunos resultados que son consistentes con investigaciones previas pero resaltándose otros que lucen originales al contexto particular de América Latina. Los resultados indican que las capacidades de Facilidad de Uso provistas por el ERP, así como el Éxito del Proyecto de Implementación del ERP y la Satisfacción del Usuario son factores claves que impactan en el éxito posterior a la implementación. Por otra parte, las iniciativas de Gerencia del Cambio no lucieron tan determinantes como se evidencia en investigaciones anteriores. El rol crítico de la Satisfacción del Usuario como mediador del resto de los factores también fue comprobado. Un aporte fundamental de la investigación es que el éxito de la implementación del ERP fue medido en términos de los beneficios incrementales de negocio obtenidos posterior a la implementación del ERP. Se analizan las implicaciones de los hallazgos en el contexto de investigación y práctico y prominentes líneas de investigación son presentadas.Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems implementations are consolidating as a critical information technology initiative among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Even though research exists aimed at analyzing the adoption and success of ERP implementations, there is a significant gap in the literature studying the SME niche. This article examines the causes determining the success of ERP implementations, specifically considering the niche of SMEs acting in developing regions such as Latin America. The proposed model is corroborated empirically with data from 49 Latin American SMEs. The regression analysis technique allows corroborating 7 of the 8 hypotheses. Some results are consistent with previous research but others appear to be unique to the Latin American context. These results suggest that Ease to Use capacities provided by ERP, as well as Project Implementation Success and User Satisfaction of an ERP initiative are key factors influencing the overall success of an ERP implementation. However, Change Management seems to be not as critical as the other factors. The decisive role of User Satisfaction as a mediating variable is also corroborated. An innovative contribution of this dissertation is the success of an ERP implementation is measured by improvements in business performance. The implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed, and another promising research streams are outlined

Engineering: good for technology education?

Recent curriculum changes in the educational system of Australia have resulted in study options being available in Engineering for senior secondary students to use for university entrance. In other educational systems, Engineering is playing an increasingly important role, either as a stand-alone subject or as part of an integrated approach to Science, Mathematics and Technology. These developments raise questions about the relationship between Engineering and Technology education, some of which are explored in this paper

Business and Information System Alignment Theories Built on eGovernment Service Practice: An Holistic Literature Review

© 2019 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This chapter examines previous studies of alignment between business and information systems holistically in relation to the development of working associations among professionals from information system and business backgrounds in business organization and eGovernment sectors while investigating alignment research that permits the development and growth of information system, which is appropriate, within budget and on-time development. The process of alignment plays a key role in the construction of dependent associations among individuals from two different groups, and the progress of alignment could be enhanced by emerging an information system according to the investors’ prospects. The chapter presents system theory to gather and analyze the data across the designated platforms. The outcomes classify that alignment among business and information system departments remains a priority and is of worry in different ways in diverse areas, which provides prospects for the forthcoming discussion and research.Final Published versio

A Provisional Framework for Studying Information Connectivity in Food Networks

Through a discussion of peculiarities of food supply, involving focus on information connectivity, a preliminary framework is sought that underlines joint responsibility in a complete supply chain of actors working in network context to achieve safe, quality and economic provision of products to end-use.Food chains and networks, Complete chain and network approach, Information connectivity, Enterprise modelling, Product traceability, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization,

Integrating Emerging Areas of Nursing Science into PhD Programs

The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science aims to “facilitate and recognize life-long nursing science career development” as an important part of its mission. In light of fast-paced advances in science and technology that are inspiring new questions and methods of investigation in the health sciences, the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science convened the Idea Festival for Nursing Science Education and appointed the Idea Festival Advisory Committee to stimulate dialogue about linking PhD education with a renewed vision for preparation of the next generation of nursing scientists. Building on the 2010 American Association of Colleges of Nursing Position Statement “The Research-Focused Doctoral Program in Nursing: Pathways to Excellence,” Idea Festival Advisory Committee members focused on emerging areas of science and technology that impact the ability of research-focused doctoral programs to prepare graduates for competitive and sustained programs of nursing research using scientific advances in emerging areas of science and technology. The purpose of this article is to describe the educational and scientific contexts for the Idea Festival, which will serve as the foundation for recommendations for incorporating emerging areas of science and technology into research-focused doctoral programs in nursing

Indian Organised Apparel Retail Sector and DSS (Decision Support Systems)

Indian apparel retail sector poses interesting challenges to a manager as it is evolving and closely linked to fashions. Appealing mainly to youth, the sector has typical information requirements to manage its operations. DSS (Decision Support Systems) provide timely and accurate information & it can be viewed as an integrated entity providing management with the tools and information to assist their decision making. The study exploratory in nature, adopts a case study approach to understand practices of organized retailers in apparel sector regarding applications of various DSS tools. Conceptual overview of DSS is undertaken by reviewing the literature. The study describes practices and usage of DSS in operational decisions in apparel sector and managerial issues in design and implementation of DSS. A multi brand local chain and multi brand national chain of apparel was chosen for the study. Varied tools were found to be used by them. It was also found that for sales forecasting and visual merchandising decisions, prior experience rather than any DSS tool was used. The benefits realized were; “help as diagnostic tool”, “accuracy of records and in billing”, “smooth operations”. The implementation issues highlighted by the store managers were; more initial teething problems rather than resistance on the part of employees of the store, need for investment of time & money in training, due to rapid technological advancements, time to time updation in DSS tools is required . Majority of operational decisions like inventory management, CRM, campaign management were handled by ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or POS (Point of Sale). Prioritization as well as quantification of benefits was not attempted. The issues of coordination, integration with other systems in case of ERP usage, training were highlighted. Future outlook of DSS seems bright as apparel retailers are keen to invest in technology.