Analyzing the Role of Interorganizational Systems on Coordination Cost between Firms

It is believed that the adoption of Interorganizational systems (IOS) can enable organization to use the information processing capabilities to reduce coordination costs and improve performance. However, the past researches have shown mixed results about the impact of IOS on coordination costs. While drawing on transaction cost analysis, this paper suggests that analyzing the association of IOS use and coordination costs of interorganizations should consider different levels of asset specificity. To illustrate the explanatory power of this analysis, this paper presents a case study from China. The findings from the case study show that, when asset specificity is high, IOS use can reduce coordination costs for monitoring or cooperative purpose. While under a condition of low asset specificity, the association between IOS use and coordination costs is negative

ARCHITECTURE CONCEPTS FOR VALUE NETWORKS IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY

Value networks are one of the main forms of value creation today. Suppliers, manufacturers and customers form a dynamic collaboration structure. Networks and companies alike are always subject to external and internal influences which require changes in the way things are done. To make sure that the required changes take their intended effect, they have to be implemented on all levels of the enterprise architecture (EA). Research with respect to EA in value networks in the service industry (VNSI) is only in its beginnings. To understand the state of the art, we analyzed 88 papers with respect to the architecture layers in VNSI. Since we base on the fact that a successful introduction of change, e.g. new IT solutions, requires a holistic view on EA, we analyzed the papers according to their covering of the different levels of an EA. Our hypothesis is that most of the papers only cover very specific aspects without positioning their proposed solution in a holistic context. We propose a reference model based on a literature review as well as the results of the paper analysis. This reference model allows for a positioning of solutions in a holistic context and with that adds to a better basis for implementing change in VNSI