ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history

Modernisation without flexible specialisation: how large firm restructuring and government regional policies became the step-parents of autarchic regional production systems in France

This paper discusses the adjustment of large firms in France, in particular how theyregionalised their production structures in the 1980s. Throughout the Golden Age,large firms had geographically reorganised their activities: strategic planning remained in Paris, while the actual production was decentralised into the provinces, primarily to address cost and labour conflict issues. A proto-regionalised production system was the result.When the large firms then faced a serious profitability crisis in the 1980s, and thetraditional state-financed way out of the problems was no longer available, they sawin these proto-regional production systems a chance to become more competitive. Inorder to make the necessary changes, they relied on the decentralisation policies ofthe governments in the 1980s. Using the examples of technology and training policy, the paper demonstrates how the large firms used the second-order effects of the new policies as a means to modernise their own operations -- Thema der vorliegenden Analyse ist die Frage, wie sich Großunternehmen inFrankreich im Verlauf der achtziger Jahre an stärker regionalisierte Produktionsstrukturen angepaßt haben. Während der goldenen sechziger und siebziger Jahre hatte sich ein proto-regionalisiertes Produktionsmodell herausgebildet: die strategische Planung blieb in Paris konzentriert, die Produktion wurde an kostengünstigere und weniger konfliktträchtige Standorte in der Provinz ausgelagert. In der tiefgreifenden Rentabilitätskrise in den frühen achtziger Jahren sahen die Großunternehmen in diesen Standorten eine Chance, ihre Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zu steigern. Deswegen kamen ihnen die politischen Initiativender verschiedenen Regierungen in dieser Zeit für eine stärkere Dezentralisierung inwichtigen Politikfeldern sehr entgegen. Am Beispiel der regionalen Technologiepolitik und der regionalen Bildungspolitik wird gezeigt, wie die Großunternehmen die Nebeneffekte dieser auf die Stärkung der Regionen zielenden Politikansätze für ihre Modernisierung nutzten

The Elements of Big Data Value

This open access book presents the foundations of the Big Data research and innovation ecosystem and the associated enablers that facilitate delivering value from data for business and society. It provides insights into the key elements for research and innovation, technical architectures, business models, skills, and best practices to support the creation of data-driven solutions and organizations. The book is a compilation of selected high-quality chapters covering best practices, technologies, experiences, and practical recommendations on research and innovation for big data. The contributions are grouped into four parts: · Part I: Ecosystem Elements of Big Data Value focuses on establishing the big data value ecosystem using a holistic approach to make it attractive and valuable to all stakeholders. · Part II: Research and Innovation Elements of Big Data Value details the key technical and capability challenges to be addressed for delivering big data value. · Part III: Business, Policy, and Societal Elements of Big Data Value investigates the need to make more efficient use of big data and understanding that data is an asset that has significant potential for the economy and society. · Part IV: Emerging Elements of Big Data Value explores the critical elements to maximizing the future potential of big data value. Overall, readers are provided with insights which can support them in creating data-driven solutions, organizations, and productive data ecosystems. The material represents the results of a collective effort undertaken by the European data community as part of the Big Data Value Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the European Commission and the Big Data Value Association (BDVA) to boost data-driven digital transformation

Open Innovation for the Construction Sector: Concept Overview and Test Bed Development to Boost Energy-Efficient Solutions

Open innovation has recently emerged as an important concept in both academic research and industrial practice, and it is now also becoming increasingly important in the public policy field due to the innovation challenges in different domains, such as climate change, sustainability, and growth to name a few, but only in some value chains (i.e., automotive, manufacturing, aerospace). According to a report by McKinsey and Co., the construction industry lags behind others in adopting innovations; in fact, less than 1% of the construction industry’s revenue goes back into technology research and development. This work focuses on the current debate on the underdeveloped application of the open innovation (OI) approach to the construction sector. Namely, the foundational question is whether the OI model can be the answer to boosting innovation for the decarbonization of buildings. The research goal is to go a step further by analyzing its internal effectiveness, focusing on introducing and defining the Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB) concept. The study provides a systematic and bibliometric literature review of OI starting from a critical analysis of the concept definition and the evolution of the paradigm from the initial application to the first declination for the construction sector. All the steps analyzed allowed us to make an overall and comprehensive review of the OI concept, which is usually applied to other sectors, considering the ecosystem as the most effective declination of the OI paradigm for OITB development for building envelope solutions, thus providing answers to the two objectives identified in the introduction. Finally, the limitations of prior OI studies and the challenges for the OITB new construction paradigm are discussed, and we make recommendations for future opportunities and approach development to tackle and boost energy-efficient envelope solutions for the construction industries

Competitive advantage during industry 4.0: the case for South African manufacturing SMEs

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, Uni- versity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fullfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg, May 2018With the expected disruption of industry 4.0 and the current challenges that SMEs face in South Africa, there is an increasing threat that SMEs will lose any competitive advantage they currently have. This exploratory study investigates how South African manufacturing SMEs can remain competitive during the fourth industrial revolution. Data, in the form of current literature, was analysed using thematic content analysis. From the analysis process, 8 emergent themes were used to organise the results of the study. Notable findings towards generating competitive advantage included: The location of SMEs within clusters, collaboration with disruption leaders, the sharing of outcomes across the value chain, the shift of business models towards a service and software orientation, the use of data driven insights to find and capture high margin markets and the increased effectiveness of labour through technology use. The study also found that the use of the IoT and cloud computing can significantly reduce infrastructure requirements and promote a competitive advantage.MT 201

Road to (k)nowhere : policy instrument selection in complex governance arrangements: the case of research and innovation policy in France and Italy

Research and innovation (R & I) are increasingly understood as essential assets in national, and supranational, strategies for economic, social, industrial and technological development. Public engagement in these activities dates back to the pre-WWII period. Nowadays, its relevance has been revitalised as a powerful strategy to respond to major social, economic and environmental challenges (e.g. Grand Challenges). On the other hand, also the private sector has gained greater prominence within the field of scientific, engineering and technological activities employed for economic development (Arnold, Boekholt, 2003). Starting from these evolutions, the present research investigates the politics of policy instrument selection in the R&I sector. This study sheds light on the political dynamics that can explain how (and why) public actors decided to intervene (or not) in governing the field of scientific and technological innovation. Through a comparative analysis between France and Italy, the research investigates how the interplay between institutional characteristics, different policy styles and interest intermediation patterns influence actors\u2019 interactions, their preferences for various instrument mixes and ultimately the evolution of national R&I policy mixes. By adopting policy instruments as a proxy for analysing actors\u2019 preferences, it has been possible to understand different patterns of interaction taking place between governing, and non- governing, actors along the policy design process. In order to disentangle these dynamics a multi-method approach based on the triangulation of different sources (semi-structured interviews, document analysis and national statistics) has been adopted. Then, through a methodological approach to qualitative data analysis inspired by within and cross-case analysis (Miles, Huberman, 1994), thematic (Boyatzis, 1998) and content analysis (Schreier, 2012), national policy instrument selection process have been investigated. The comparative analysis ultimately shows that when we focus only on how governments have used their power to steer target population towards their intended behaviours (e.g. the inducement embedded in instrument action) our two cases share many similarities in their aggregate R&I policy mix features. But if we look at the characteristics of how different instruments exercise social control (e.g. instrument shapes) and the relationship between policy makers and target population (e.g. delivery structure) our results display a greater variety. These differences reflect the alternative approaches the two countries have undertaken to interact with target population, as well as in the political entrepreneurship and organizational capacity of national R&I performers

European Parliament Preparatory Action: "Actual and desired state of the economic potential in regions outside the Greek capital Athens" Final Report

This is the final report of the European Parliament Preparatory Action: "Actual and desired state of the economic potential in regions outside the Greek capital Athens" (hereafter Preparatory Action or PA). It reviews the key activities of this preparatory action, its impacts, the remaining barriers to RIS3 implementation and presents a perspective on the way forward. Providing hands-on support to the refinement and implementation of the RIS3 strategy in the Greek Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (REMTh) has entailed the following activities: • Mutual learning: this has at core element of the preparatory action, and has offered a unique opportunity to all the stakeholders involved to share experiences and build a common understanding of RIS3, its potential and the real challenges to its implementation. • Optimisation of the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP) – the design, implementation and adaptation of a systematic participatory methodology for the EDP, centred on thematic focus groups. These events enabled the generation and articulation of innovation ideas and initiated the first necessary steps towards concrete projects. • Capacity building - two dedicated working groups were organised: one centred on issues of human resources mobility and one on RIS3 governance. Relevant stakeholders, under the guidance of an expert, discussed and formulated plans on how to tackle the different challenges at stake. • Identification of bottlenecks and systemic failures in RIS3 implementation - the region has good potential for diversification, but faces a wide set of legal and administrative barriers, which need to be addressed to enable the allocation of structural funds and other resources to support RIS3 implementation in an optimal way. • Communication and codification of activities - with the aim of replicating or adapting the activities of the preparatory action and the emerging learning opportunities for other regions, outcomes of all the events have been published on-line, as have methodological guidelines for the EDP process. Furthermore, further publications from these activities are foreseen in the near future. • Supporting tools for internationalisation and collaboration. The preparatory action has developed a set of online resources that aim at guiding the region in increasing its international outlook to RIS3 and its collaboration between research and industry. The Preparatory Action generated some very concrete impacts on the regions, among which the main ones are: • The mobilisation of a critical mass of researchers and business people (600+ people), which actively participated to the EDP focus groups and PDL events. This bottom-up process has increased mutual trust, created a 'momentum' in initiating change and increased the understanding of what RIS3 can contribute to this change. • The appreciation of networking and research-business collaboration across stakeholders and especially between research and business. Indeed, some informal networks have been organised, for instance in the wine and marble sector. • The creation of an action plan for both RIS3 governance and mobility of human resources. • Both the Managing Authority and regional stakeholders have better access to international counterparts, both in governance of RIS3 and in performing research and innovation. • The project has also determined a shift in perception as far as the European Commission is concerned, which is now perceived more as a collaborator. • The PA has stimulated and accelerated a discussion between the EC, regional and national authorities which has help to clarify – for the whole country – several aspects of RIS3 and Structural Funds. • The preparatory action has significantly influenced the way to design and implement the development strategy for the Region by engaging all relevant stakeholders from the outset.JRC.J.2-Knowledge for Growt

Development and implementation of the EU grand strategies: sociological, policy, and regional considerations of Agenda 2030

This book addresses the challenging and exciting issues of the implementation of the European Union’s grand strategies, with a particular interest in the implementation of the current Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals. It provides insight into the impact of this strategic process on some of the current global issues relevant to the European Union, such as the European and global energy market, food supplies, industrial components etc. Some of the challenges have such a strong short-term impact, that already accepted strategic priorities and decisions are being questioned and re-examined. This is a particularly exciting subject, both as a research topic and as a policy issue

Open innovation adoption: the role of technology exploration, technology exploitation and trust among SMEs and helices in triple helix model

Nowadays, it is almost impossible for businesses to craft competitive edges by pulling all in-house resources and capabilities alone. Innovation now demands a critical uplifting of a new dimension widely known as “open innovation”. Open innovation has been a main research focus and has mainly been targeted to large organizations where it have been proven to increase the organizations performance. As knowledge no longer resides within one particular industry alone, previous scholars have underlined the importance of embracing open innovation to SMEs to transform innovation processes. This study was constructed with the intention to look at the placement of open innovation among SMEs, specifically in the Malaysian triple-helix context. This study is developed to a threfold perspectives. Perspective I investigates the relationships of technology exploration, exploitation towards open innovation adoption and to investigate the mediating influence of trust on technology exploration and exploitation towards open innovation adoption. Perspective II investigates the success factors and challenges for the organizations to achieve the difficulty levels of the constructs in the light of open innovation; while Perspective III profiles the organizations based on the constructs involved. A total of 72 Malaysian SMEs involved in a triple helix project were involved in this study. The data collection was gathered through a likert-scale instrument. Two major analyses were used. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and the Rasch Measurement were used to achieve the targeted perspectives. Result from Perspective I shows that technology exploration is significantly related to open innovation adoption and trust has also been proven to have a significant mediating relationship between technology exploration and open innovation adoption. Conversely, technology exploitation has proven insignificant relationship with open innovation adoption and has therefore resulted to trust having a non-significant mediating effect to the relationship of technology exploitation and open innovation adoption. Perspective II resulted to the division between success factors and challenges items while Perspective III indicated six distinct organizations profiles. Discussions of the study are based on latent characteristics shared by respective group. The findings of this study will assist SMEs; government; research bodies; industry players; and policy makers to understand what motivates SMEs to adopt open innovation in the light of their ability level in dealing with various difficulties in technology exploration, exploitation and trust towards triple helices