Fads and Trends in Business and Information Systems Engineering and Information Systems Research – A Comparative Literature Analysis

The business and information systems engineering (BISE) discipline, dominating in the German-speaking countries, where it is called“Wirtschaftsinformatik”, is currently undergoing a phase of increasing internationalization and the U.S.-based Information Systems (IS) discipline is often considered an ideal. Studies show that BISE has often dealt with fads in the past – for IS there are no findings reporting on the diffusion of fads. The objective of the paper is to close this research gap. The authors conducted a literature analysis to investigate the development of topics and terms in BISE and IS from 1994 to 2007. Titles, abstracts and keywords of 2,564 articles in three BISE journals and 5,647 articles in five IS journals were analyzed. The results show that BISE is topically more diverse and concrete than IS. In addition, the rate of fads is higher in BISE than IS. Being engaged in fads is not necessarily negative – rather, it may considerably contribute to the relevance of research. However, it has to be considered that an overly intense orientation on fads may negatively influence a cumulative research progress. Hence, the authors conclude that for BISE and IS, which both have a theoretical and pragmatic mission, a balanced ratio of short- and long-term topics seems appropriate

Different Paths of Development of Two Information Systems Communities: A Comparative Study Based on Peer Interviews

Information Systems (IS) is not a homogeneous discipline. Rather, it is comprised of various communities that are characterized by different perspectives and methods. With regard to the ongoing discussion about the profile of the discipline, this is a remarkable phenomenon. More specifically, it recommends analyzing the characteristic features of the various IS communities and explaining the diverse paths of development they took. Furthermore, it implies the question whether—and how—the current diversity could be overcome in order to foster a more focused competition as well as a more coherent presentation of research results on an international scale. This article contributes to such an investigation. It is focused on a comparison of the international English-speaking community predominantly (in particular in its early days) shaped by North-American IS researchers, which plays a leading role in the international scene, and the IS discipline in German-speaking countries (”Wirtschaftsinformatik” or WI, in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland), which constitutes the largest IS community outside North America that maintains its own approach. The focus of this article is mainly on describing the communities’ characteristics as the outcome of a social construction that is chiefly influenced by those individuals who participated in this construction. Against this background, eight scholars from North America and six scholars from German-speaking countries were interviewed at length. All were chosen as witnesses of and important contributors to the development of their discipline. As a result of this reconstruction, the article presents a rich picture of the communities’ history and characteristics as experienced and reported by the interviewees. The results obtained from this project indicate that neither of the two conceptions (IS or WI) can serve as an ideal model. Instead, a more intensive international exchange among the various research communities, including the Scandinavian and British scholars, should contribute to further develop the field into a more mature and satisfactory state

Dissemination of management into politics: Michael Porter and the political uses of management consulting

The article contributes to the literature on management dissemination by looking at how management fashions are diffused into and circulated in politics. The ideas of management have been increasingly disseminated into the realm of politics during recent decades. To illustrate how this takes place, this article examines the spread of Michael Porter’s ideas on national politics. Porter’s work is considered a management fashion that has been skilfully packaged; a new form of the 20th-century tradition of state-led social engineering which takes the form of management fashion-style packaging. For this he is seen as a global guru in national politics, and this development is regarded as a new form of consultocracy in the realm of democracies. In consultocracy, the ideas of management consulting are often adopted into politics as a common justifying rationality of power for the political elites. Thus we call for further research on the underlying dynamics of the power involved as management fashions are disseminated into the realm of politics

Management consulting.

Including a lengthy, comprehensive introduction, this important collection brings together some of the most influential papers that have contributed to our understanding of management consultancy work. The two-volume set encompasses the breadth of conceptual and empirical perspectives and explores those key ideas that have helped to advance our knowledge of this intriguing area. The volumes are divided into a series of thematic sections, affording the reader easy access to a great resource of information. Professors Clark and Avakian have written an original introduction which provides a comprehensive overview of the literature

The activity-based costing model trajectory: A path of lights and shadows

Purpose: To present a literature review showing the trajectory of the ABC model. Design/methodology: Literature review. Findings: This paper analyzes the history of the ABC model and its dissemination process, in the form of articles published in the specialized press. Research limitations/implications: The bibliometric study has been carried out based on specialized journals. Practical implications: Before a new strategic management tool is adopted, its strategic or operational contribution to the organization should be analyzed. The adoption of new tools based on current trends or as part of mimetic processes, could imply financial investments that do not produce the desired effects. Originality/value: This work is an analysis of the trajectory of the ABC model from its appearance to the present time.Peer Reviewe

NEW BUSINESS MODELS – FROM BUSINESS PROCESS REDESIGN TO THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Companies are today faced with challenges that are driven by the new technologies, innovations or the advent of new companies that are completely adapted to the digital era. Modern technological trends, such as social networks, mobile devices, cloud computing and data analytics together with the complexity of coordinating all these aspects are bringing several new issues and unanswered questions. One of the main challenges of the existing companies is transforming their business models into the digital ones. Easily said; however hardly done. Existing companies are heavily relying on the tradition and their past success making that transformation even harder. However, digital transformation cannot be done without rethinking existing business processes. Companies that want to remain competitive should have well-regulated and optimized business processes that are enabling them to efficiently perform their business. Moreover, changing business models is highly related with business process redesign, which requires additional endeavour particular in companies with a long tradition. The paper will thus focus on the challenges based on the new digital models and examine some practical examples of innovative digital products. Furthermore, the paper will also focus on the business process management as an important prerequisite for successful digital transformation. The paper thus analyses the possibilities to implement business process redesign and key challenges during business process redesign. Lastly, the paper will focus on the trends that should be researched in the future

NEW BUSINESS MODELS – FROM BUSINESS PROCESS REDESIGN TO THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Companies are today faced with challenges that are driven by the new technologies, innovations or the advent of new companies that are completely adapted to the digital era. Modern technological trends, such as social networks, mobile devices, cloud computing and data analytics together with the complexity of coordinating all these aspects are bringing several new issues and unanswered questions. One of the main challenges of the existing companies is transforming their business models into the digital ones. Easily said; however hardly done. Existing companies are heavily relying on the tradition and their past success making that transformation even harder. However, digital transformation cannot be done without rethinking existing business processes. Companies that want to remain competitive should have well-regulated and optimized business processes that are enabling them to efficiently perform their business. Moreover, changing business models is highly related with business process redesign, which requires additional endeavour particular in companies with a long tradition. The paper will thus focus on the challenges based on the new digital models and examine some practical examples of innovative digital products. Furthermore, the paper will also focus on the business process management as an important prerequisite for successful digital transformation. The paper thus analyses the possibilities to implement business process redesign and key challenges during business process redesign. Lastly, the paper will focus on the trends that should be researched in the future

Business excellence models in UK Universities: two contrasting case studies

The overall aim of the research was to explore the reason(s) for the apparent disparity in acceptance and adoption of Business Excellence Models (BEMs) in UK universities and to identify ways to help quality assurance staff make the best use of these models. BEMs provide organisations with management frameworks based around quality and are praised for allegedly improving global competitiveness and performance. BEMs are also criticised for allegedly being fads, over-promising and contradicting the nature of HE. This study also investigated whether BEMs were seen as fads and what makes them sustainable. Two contrasting case studies in London were examined: a research-intensive Russell Group university and a teaching-focused newer (Post 92s) university. 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Vice Chancellors/Pro-Vice Chancellors; senior managers; heads of department and professional services/quality assurance staff. In contrast to previous literature, only one interviewee thought BEMs were fads. All the Russell Group interviewees thought BEMs were applicable to the HE sector whereas some interviewees from the newer university were more sceptical. Advocates of BEMs cited their intrinsic value as well as operational benefits. Critics said BEMs were too complicated and conflicted with academic freedom. Although all the participants agreed that effective leadership was vital for successful implementation, they disagreed on what this meant. Some emphasised motivation and inspiration but others highlighted the need to occasionally force change. Participants generated six criteria for evaluating BEMs. Four of these ((a) improved student experience; (b) adequately trained and mentored staff; (c) increased community engagement and (d) compatibility with league table requirements) are found in previous literature. Two ((a) strong personal tutoring and (b) students informing resource allocation and report generation) are not. Participants also identified seven Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that influenced their institution’s choice of BEM. Three of these (team, process and collaboration) are found in previous literature. Four (location, brand, personal tutoring and transparency) are not. Finally, a conceptual framework was developed to explain how BEMs can be sustained. Three elements of the framework match previous literature (human resource management, institutionalisation and feedback). Four (leadership, resource allocation, monitoring and collaboration with the Student Union) are new

Web 2.0 in Healthcare: The Rise of a Fashion Wave? Examining the Discourse in the Literature

Electronic Health (eHealth) increasingly refers to possibilities that arise from the so-called innovation “Web 2.0”. Accordingto management fashion theory, many innovations can be classified as a fashion and only offer minor benefits fororganizations. Such fashions have a diffusion and a discourse lifecycle. In this study we shed light on the discourse on Web2.0 in healthcare. In order to explore how the discourse has emerged, we examine a selection of both the scholarly IS researchand practitioner-oriented literature. Our findings show that there is almost no academic discourse on Web 2.0 in healthcare inthe IS research literature. In contrast, we find an ongoing discourse on the subject with a wave-like shape in the domainspecificand practitioner-oriented literature. Our findings also provide some arguments for the debate on the link betweenscholarly IS literature and their practical relevance