The impact of organizational efforts on consumer concerns in an online context

As organizations spend a significant amount of their resources on online channels, it is vitally important to understand the effects of this cost on consumer behavior. The author developed and empirically tested an integrated model combining the effects of organizational efforts on consumer concerns, process satisfaction, and purchase intentions. The results of this effort suggested that consumers are still skeptical of the organizational efforts in an online context and their concerns remain a critical factor in influencing their satisfaction and purchase intention. The study provided insights for managers about how they may reduce shopping cart abandonment in online purchasing environment by focusing on consumer concerns. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

Using Rich Pictures to Represent Stakeholders’ Role during Enterprise Systems Upgrade Decisions

Upgrading Enterprise Systems (ES) is essential to supporting a system’s continuous improvement and stability. However, the decision to upgrade is influenced by different stakeholders’ needs and perceptions. This paper utilizes Rich Pictures to get a better understanding of the stakeholders’ role in the upgrade decision-making process from an organisational perspective. A qualitative survey design is adopted, utilizing semi-structured interviews to collect data from ten large organisations. Data accumulated was qualitatively analysed, and Rich Pictures were used to represent the data in the pictorial form. Analysis of results reveals complex interrelations between the stakeholders; this highlights the need for a reconciliation system to combine the different stakeholder perceptions during the upgrade decision-making process. The use of Rich Pictures in the study demonstrated the importance of balancing various stakeholders’ perceptions that influence ES upgrade decision-making. Further research is required to explore these influences in depth to produce a reconciliation system that creates a com-bined effect between all the stakeholders’ interests

A Conceptual Investigation of Maintenance Deferral and Implementation: Foundation for a Maintenance Lifecycle Model

Despite the fact that society and organizations rely heavily on Information Systems (IS) and software, the maintenance of vendor-supplied IS, in particular standard package software has gained little attention within the academic literature. This paper presents a conceptual study of the current state of research concerning the reasons for deferral and performance of vendor-supplied maintenance by the purchasing organization. These reasons have so far neither been investigated together nor from that perspective. Based on a systematic literature review and taking the purchaser’s viewpoint, reasons for maintenance deferral and performance are identified from the literature. They build the groundwork and foundation for a Maintenance Lifecycle and Process Model that provides a starting point to research vendor-supplied maintenance from the customer’s point of view

Turning Dust to Gold: How to increase inimitability of Enterprise System

There is an on-going debate over the long-term value propositions of enterprise systems (ES) for competitive advantage, with many arguing that ES have lost their potential to contribute to competitive advantage in the contemporary hyper-competitive markets. While acknowledging that an ES is a valuable, rare and non-substitutable resource that is common to all competitors, it is further questionable how ES contribute to competitive advantage. Using the fourth characteristic of the resource-based view, we investigate how inimitability of ES can contribute to competitiveness. Using qualitative evidence from nine case studies this study derives three conditions that facilitate ES to be inimitable

How Organizations Motivate Users to Participate in Support Upgrades of Customized Packaged Software

Support upgrades are undertaken to correct errors, improve speed, and otherwise improve an existing version of customized packaged software. Motivating such projects is especially challenging, because users typically anticipate little benefit. We investigated ways of motivating user participation in maintenance upgrading projects via an in-depth case study using the method of communicative framing. This argues that (1) the positivity or negativity of a frame, and (2) the credibility, salience, and consistency of the diagnostic, prognostic and motivational elements of the frame influence others\u27 willingness to believe and respond to a communication. Our case study explored user motivation and participation in an upgrade of SAP software in an organization where no upgrade had been performed in the past three years. We discovered that: (1) a negatively valenced communicative frame characterizing an external party as a threat is most likely to motivate users, and (2) framing the support upgrade simultaneously affected user motivation and reinforced the position of the IT support group

Fears and Triggers: A Conceptual Study of Vendor-Supplied Maintenance and Maintenance Deferral of Standard Package Software

Enterprises rely more on Information Systems (IS) and software than ever before. However the issue of maintaining a vendor-supplied IS, in particular standard packaged software, has been poorly represented within academic literature. This paper presents a conceptual study that synthesises the current state of research concerning the deferral or execution of vendor-supplied maintenance by the purchasing organisation. Based on a systematic review process that adopts the purchaser’s viewpoint, a series of fears and triggers emerge and are captured from the literature. Fears are articulated as reasons for the purchasing organisation deferring the installation of vendor-supplied maintenance, whereas triggers are events that upset the equilibrium of the purchasing organisation’s IS or software and require the installation of the vendor-supplied maintenance to proceed. Although prevalent in literature, fears and triggers have not previously been recognised as an area of focus for academic research

Turning dust to gold: how to increase inimitability of enterprise system

There is an on-going debate over the long-term value propositions of enterprise systems (ES) for competitive advantage, with many arguing that ES have lost their potential to contribute to competitive advantage in the contemporary hyper-competitive markets. While acknowledging that an ES is a valuable, rare and non-substitutable resource that is common to all competitors, it is further questionable how ES contribute to competitive advantage. Using the fourth characteristic of the resource-based view, we investigate how inimitability of ES can contribute to competitiveness. Using qualitative evidence from nine case studies this study derives three conditions that facilitate ES to be inimitable

The Effect of Domain and Technical Expertise on the Training Outcomes for Case Management Systems in High Domain Expertise Fields

The successful implementation of an enterprise system requires training and end users in the new systems and procedures. There has been no research reporting a relationship between Domain Expertise (DE) and the successful implementation of an enterprise system. This study sought to begin filling this knowledge gap by exploring the relationship between DE, technical proficiency, training outcomes, and perceived training effectiveness for a new enterprise system, specifically a Case Management System (CMS) in a small and medium enterprise (SME). The research examines different subjects of technical expertise including skills, abilities, and knowledge to increase professional acceptance in the high domain of expertise field. In order to understand the complex nature of expertise and the significant impact, an exploratory approach is undertaken. Purposive sampling was utilized to select the 88 respondents to participate in the research, in which the role of domain expertise and technical expertise is explored. Based upon analysis, research showed the relevance of domain expertise and technical expertise in the deployment of successful case management systems. The results contributed to literature by showing that how training influences soft skills such as tacit knowledge on organizational culture and potential clients, deliver best solutions to the project management. Meanwhile, the outcomes provided significant traits on perceived training effectiveness, which drive increase in knowledge, practical implication, and quality of project delivered, presentation skills, communication and problem-solving abilities. The study also contributed to the literature in terms of defining how technical and domain expertise not only effect the outcomes of case management systems but also develop greater coordination for dealing the intricacies, project difficulties, and task-related complexities

Upgrade Decision Support Model (UDSM) for enterprise systems: drivers and processes

Enterprise Systems (ES) have matured over the years, offering continuous improvement to the underlying technology and functionality, hence, it is reasonable to anticipate that organisations would upgrade their systems to realise the benefits of these improvements. However, the range of benefits and risks involved within upgrade projects, motivates only few organisations to upgrade; indicating that upgrade decision-making is not trivial, and requires a comprehensive consideration of the impacts, efforts, and benefits. To date, research on ES upgrade recommends practical guidance for managing and supporting upgrade projects, with few studies focusing on upgrade decision-making, yet the upgrade decision process remains one of the areas in post-implementation that is least explored. This research investigates the interrelated aspects of ES upgrade phenomena to explore the drivers and decision processes. A qualitative survey design was adopted to explore ES upgrade decision-making process and through web-based questionnaires and semistructured interviews, qualitative data from 41 respondents representing 23 organisations was collected, coded, and analysed. Drawing from the Technology-OrganisationEnvironment (T-O-E) framework and process view of decision-making to theorise the findings, this research proposes an Upgrade Decision Support Model (UDSM) to represent ES upgrade decision-making process. The model comprises of two phases namely exploration and evaluation. The evaluation phase consists of two processes, which are objective assessment and strategy selection. In addition, objective assessment includes three sub-processes these are technical analysis, functional gap-fit analysis, and impact assessment. The study findings indicate that the decision to upgrade is an outcome of understanding the upgrade need, possible impacts, and benefits. Thus, asserting the importance of assessing the level of change, effort required and modifications to be reapplied prior to the upgrade decision. Additionally, the findings advocate that there is a relationship between upgrade drivers and the selection of an upgrade strategy, which guides the processes undertaken during the decision-making. This research contributes key insights on ES upgrade decisionmaking offering a thorough understanding of the drivers and processes. In addition, it presents decision makers with a methodical strategy for approaching upgrade decisions; hence, enables the identification of possible challenges and measures to overcome these issues

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it : An Abductive and Contextual Exploration of Maintenance Deferral

Objective: To create academic insights into how organisations approach and manage the maintenance of vendor-supplied information systems software. Approach: Three iterations of the Peircean Abduction methodology lead to the identification, conceptualisation, and application of new knowledge in vendor-supplied Information Systems (IS) maintenance deferral by means of undertaking a qualitative multiple-case study. The research goals are achieved through the appropriation and application of theories from Peircean Abduction and Systemic Functional Linguistics. Research questions: The following abductive statement is created through the application of the Peircean Abduction methodology: The surprising observation, “some organisations, having invested in a vendor-supplied IS software solution, defer the implementation of vendor-supplied maintenance”, is made; However, if “the existence of deterrents to maintenance, requiring a trigger event before the implementation of maintenance” were true, then “maintenance deferral” would be a matter of course. Hence there is a reason to suspect that “the existence of both deterrents, and of triggers” is true. From this abductive statement, three research questions are deduced. The first research question investigates the existence, characteristics and influence of deterrents; the second question investigates the existence, characteristics and influence of triggers. As a consequence of this approach, the final question provides a general understanding of IS maintenance deferral. Methodology: Following the implementation of a systematic literature review methodology, six themes are identified: 1. an acknowledgement that problems exist when considering vendor-supplied software maintenance; 2. deterrents as a driver in behaviour; 3. the occurrence of tipping-points which require vendor-supplied maintenance to be undertaken; 4. the consequences of deferral; 5. the value of maintenance; and 6. the formalisation of a maintenance lifecycle. Taking the insights arising from the systematic literature review, a multiple-case study following the pragmatic framework is constructed from data collected interviewing twelve participants across a diverse set of ten organisations. An abductive approach to this research topic creates opportunities for a comprehensive, well-grounded exploratory contribution to a scarcely investigated research domain. Major findings: The translation of Peircean abduction to an interpretative context generates a rich and substantive contribution to theory and practice. The existence of both deterrents and triggers are strongly supported, leading to the conclusion that maintenance deferral is a matter of course. The development of a new abductive and Systemic Functional Linguistic model enhances the knowledge of maintenance deferral and allows refinement of historical IS maintenance models. Finally, the application of Systems Thinking situates insights from the application of their mode within their respective organisational environments