Placing the Networks on the Web: Challenges and Opportunities for Managing in Developing Asia

Placing the networks on the Web poses a fundamental challenge, but also provides new opportunities for managing in Developing Asia. There is a huge efficiency gap between the region's manufacturing systems and the management of complementary, knowledge-intensive support services. The challenge is to reduce this gap as quickly as possible by embracing the Internet as a core business function, despite a weak base of accumulated knowledge of how to manage IT-based information systems. Asian companies, even the best, lag substantially behind their American and European counterparts. There is a potential vicious circle that needs to be broken: a belated transition to IT-based information systems has prevented the accumulation of knowledge, through trial-and-error, of how to design and implement an appropriate IT organization that reflects the peculiar strengths and weaknesses of diverse Asian management systems. Limited resources prevent any attempt to address these problems in a big leap forward. This implies that in-house efforts need to be supplemented with outsourcing of IT services. There is also a need for strategic partnering with major suppliers of Internet software and networking equipment. The opportunity is that the Internet provides almost unlimited opportunities for the outsourcing of mission-critical support services, such as ERP (enterprise resource planning), HRM (human resource management). Furthermore, fierce competition among major producers of Internet software and networking equipment has created a buyers' market - placing Asian firms in a reasonably strong bargaining position. These developments are generally not well covered by existing studies, which are primarily focused on developments in the U.S. and Europe. The paper tries to fill this gap, and explores how placing global production networks on the Web affects managing in Developing Asia. A conceptual framework is introduced in parts 1 to 3. That framework is then applied to one of the role models of managing in Asia, Taiwan's Acer Group. Part 1 introduces a taxonomy of expected benefits from Internet-enabled transformations of business organization. In part 2, we argue that the real issue is to analyze how the Internet reshapes the organization of global production networks. In part3, we access conflicting claims on how an increased use of the Internet to manage global production networks affects international knowledge diffusion. In part 4, the example of Taiwan's Acer Group is used to describe the challenge for Asian firms to embrace the Internet as a key management function. And in part 5, we ask what Acer's experience tells us about Developing Asia's opportunities.

The Internet's Effects on Global Production Networks: Challenges and Opportunities for Managing in Developing Asia

Placing global production networks (GPN) on the Internet poses a fundamental challenge, but also creates new opportunities for managing in Developing Asia. Network flagships can now select best-performing suppliers on a global scale, increasing the pressure on Asian suppliers. But the transition form EDI to the Internet may also provide new opportunities for Asian suppliers, by reducing barriers to network entry, and by enhancing knowledge diffusion. A conceptual framework is introduced to assess how the Internet reshapes business organization and GPN. That framework is applied to one of the role models of managing in Asia, Taiwan's Acer Group. The paper highlights a vicious circle that must be broken to reap the benefits of the Internet: Asian firms must reduce a huge efficiency gap between manufacturing and the management of supporting digital information systems (DIS). The challenge is to embrace the Internet as flexible infrastructures that support not only information exchange, but also knowledge sharing, creation and utilization. The Internet facilities this task: it provides new opportunities for the outsourcing of mission-critical support services.

Job Creation Through Building the Field of Impact Sourcing

Provides an overview of the field of impact sourcing - using business process outsourcing to create sustainable jobs for the lowest-income populations. Offers case studies, examines models, outlines challenges, and presents an action agenda

A Resource Based View of the Information Systems Sourcing Mode

This paper studies the relationships between the choice of a sourcing mode for information systems, the value of the resources used in systems development activities and the presence of those resources at sufficient level within the firm. The objective is to better understand the factors underlying the decision to keep the development of an information system inside the firm or to entrust it to an outside partner. A sourcing model is proposed using the resource-based theory. Two case studies drawn from a larger study are used to illustrate the concepts used in the research model. Data from these two projects illustrate how the model could be used to predict the sourcing mode retained by the managers for each project, given the availability of the necessary resources and the strategic value of the future system. Cette recherche tente de mesurer le lien entre le mode de gestion d'une activité (gestion interne ou impartition) et la valeur de l'activité d'une part, et la présence des ressources requises dans l'entreprise d'autre part. L'objectif est de mieux comprendre les facteurs sous-jacents à une décision d'internalisation ou d'impartition d'une activité. Deux cas sont présentés. Ces cas traitent de développement de systèmes informatiques. Ils permettent d'illustrer le pouvoir explicatif du modèle. Les données illustrent bien comment le modèle proposé peut être utilisé pour prédire le mode de gestion approprié d'une activité de développement de systèmes informatique.Resource-based theory, software development, outsourcing, management of software development projects, Théorie fondée sur les compétences, développement de logiciels, impartition, gestion de projets de développement de systèmes

BANKING INNOVATIONS RISK – PROFITABILITY RELATIONSHIP IN THE BANKING SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

The level of information technologies development in modern banks represents an essential factor in maintenance and consolidation of the position on the market. In this respect all Moldovan banks develop risk management policies with regard to banking IT’s and e-products and services, which they consider as the main part of banking innovations at the moment. The purpose of this article is to analyze each innovation (Information Security Services, Business Systems Controls, Business Continuity Management, IT Outsourcing, Information Systems Governance, IT Performance, Project Risk Management, IT Internal Audit) in terms of risks and benefits when these risks are managed properly.banking system, risk, information technologies

The Impact of I.T. on the Degree of Outsourcing, the Number of Suppliers, and the Duration of Contracts

It has long been accepted within theinformation technology (IT) researchcommunity that IT should have a profoundimpact on industrial organization. However,there has been as yet on the changes to be expected in the design of firms or industries; rather, there is an apparently inconsistent collection of conjectures and analyses. We are now able to offer an integrative framework for describing the impacts of IT on an industrial organization. Our analyses generally support the "move to the middle" hypothesis that states that the impact of IT on the organization of economic activity is to lead to a greater degree of outsourcing where this increased outsourcing is done from fewer suppliers with whom the buyer has long-term relationships.

The Knowledge Application and Utilization Framework Applied to Defense COTS: A Research Synthesis for Outsourced Innovation

Purpose -- Militaries of developing nations face increasing budget pressures, high operations tempo, a blitzing pace of technology, and adversaries that often meet or beat government capabilities using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies. The adoption of COTS products into defense acquisitions has been offered to help meet these challenges by essentially outsourcing new product development and innovation. This research summarizes extant research to develop a framework for managing the innovative and knowledge flows. Design/Methodology/Approach – A literature review of 62 sources was conducted with the objectives of identifying antecedents (barriers and facilitators) and consequences of COTS adoption. Findings – The DoD COTS literature predominantly consists of industry case studies, and there’s a strong need for further academically rigorous study. Extant rigorous research implicates the importance of the role of knowledge management to government innovative thinking that relies heavily on commercial suppliers. Research Limitations/Implications – Extant academically rigorous studies tend to depend on measures derived from work in information systems research, relying on user satisfaction as the outcome. Our findings indicate that user satisfaction has no relationship to COTS success; technically complex governmental purchases may be too distant from users or may have socio-economic goals that supersede user satisfaction. The knowledge acquisition and utilization framework worked well to explain the innovative process in COTS. Practical Implications – Where past research in the commercial context found technological knowledge to outweigh market knowledge in terms of importance, our research found the opposite. Managers either in government or marketing to government should be aware of the importance of market knowledge for defense COTS innovation, especially for commercial companies that work as system integrators. Originality/Value – From the literature emerged a framework of COTS product usage and a scale to measure COTS product appropriateness that should help to guide COTS product adoption decisions and to help manage COTS product implementations ex post

Managing Social Business Hybrids in Global Contexts: The Case of Impact Sourcing Service Providers

This dissertation consists of three related essays that seek to understand the core contingencies and strategies of managing social-business hybrids (SBHs) in global contexts. SBHs are also known as hybrid organizations that run commercial operations with the goal of addressing a social (or environmental) problem. I focus on the empirical case of Impact Sourcing Service Providers (ISSPs) which are SBHs that operate in the global business services industry. These organizations hire and train staff from disadvantaged communities to provide services to regional and international business clients. The first essay contributes to the growing interest in how hybrid organizations manage paradoxical social-business tensions. This study identifies two major growth orientations - ‘community-focused’ and ‘client-focused’ growth - their inherent tensions and ways that hybrids manage them. The former favors slow growth and manages tensions through highly-integrated client and community relations; the latter promotes faster growth and manages client and community relations separately. Both growth orientations address social-business tensions in particular ways, but also create latent constraints that manifest when entrepreneurial aspirations conflict with the current growth path. The second essay examines the strategic potential of hybrid business models in the face of Africa’s persistent difficulties with catching up in established markets. Focusing on the global business services industry in Kenya and South Africa and the practice of impact sourcing, this study argues that while regular providers struggle to compete with global peers, hybrid model adopters manage to access underutilized labor pools through community organizations, and target less competitive niche client markets. In this context, critical industry, institutional and firm-level factors affecting hybrid model adoption are identified further. The third essay investigates the variation in business model configurations of SBHs as a function of the background and aspirations of the social entrepreneur, and the level of domestic competition and global client expectations. This study further introduces the concept of liability of embeddedness, which relates to risks and costs facing hybrids targeting business clients outside of the geographic context within which their social mission is highly valued. This study contributes to research on international social ventures and international business, in specifying antecedents and contingencies of targeting international vs. domestic business clients as a social venture

A case-based model for assessing the effectiveness of information systems outsourcing

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The objective of the research reported in this paper is to construct a model for assessing the effectiveness of Information Systems (IS) outsourcing. “Lack of in-house expertise” and “cost effectiveness” are widely accepted as major factors of motivation for IS outsourcing. In contrast with the decision models which are executed before an outsourcing engagement (a-priori), this effectiveness assessment model will be an a-posteriori guide which will enable clients to assess their outsourcing performance and re-evaluate their business and management strategies. Although various decision models and analytical frameworks have been proposed before, the literature is not abundant on a complete qualitative model. This paper examines the factors for outsourcing effectiveness through qualitative research conducted with multiple case studies for information systems developed for public organizations in the specific context of Turkey. A conceptual model consisting of various hypotheses is constructed and qualitatively evaluated