Exploring foundations for using simulations in IS research

Simulation has been adopted in many disciplines as a means for understanding the behavior of a system by imitating it through an artificial object that exhibits a nearly identical behavior. Although simulation approaches have been widely adopted for theory building in disciplines such as engineering, computer science, management, and social sciences, their potential in the IS field is often overlooked. The aim of this paper is to understand how different simulation approaches are successfully used in IS research, thereby providing hypotheses that allow deriving methodological guidelines for subsequent studies. A survey of 46 pieces of IS research provides the grounding for defining a taxonomy of simulation approaches and for identifying possible application patterns linking simulation approaches to their theory contributions, research domains and information views

Exploring foundations for using simulations in IS research

Simulation has been adopted in many disciplines as a means for understanding the behavior of a system by imitating it through an artificial object that exhibits a nearly identical behavior. Although simulation approaches have been widely adopted for theory building in disciplines such as engineering, computer science, management, and social sciences, their potential in the IS field is often overlooked. The aim of this paper is to understand how different simulation approaches are used in IS research, thereby providing insights and methodological recommendations for future studies. A literature review of simulation studies published in top-tier IS journals leads to the definition of three classes of simulations, namely the self-organizing, the elementary, and the situated. A set of stylized facts is identified for characterizing the ways in which the premise, the inference, and the contribution are presented in IS simulation studies. As a result, this study provides guidance to future simulation researchers in designing and presenting findings

Finance Function Performance Measurement-A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

 The practice of measuring performance of the finance function as a business support unit is not widespread. This study assessed the importance of measuring finance function performance, by ascertaining whether such measurement facilitates identification of the relative efficiency of business finance functions, and by establishing its impact, if any, on overall company performance. Focussing on a sample of companies in the South African Freight Forwarding industry, a performance metric was developed and implemented to measure finance function performance. Relative finance function efficiency was then evaluated using inputorientated data envelopment analysis (DEA) to identify ‘best in class’ performance and to benchmark participants’ performance. Further, value chain DEA (VC-DEA) was applied to evaluate finance function efficiency simultaneously with overall company efficiency. Results show that implementation of the performance metric together with DEA facilitated the benchmarking of the finance functions of the sample group and the establishment of improvement targets for the finance functions determined as inefficient. In addition, a link between overall company performance and finance function performance in terms of inputs was confirmed; however, this link was not conclusively established as regards finance function performance in terms of outputs. The contribution of the study includes confirmation that implementation of the performance metric together with DEA facilitates the critical evaluation of finance function performance, thus establishing the importance of measuring the performance of the finance functions. In addition, incorporating the use of DEA in a performance framework for the finance function as a business support unit has extended the range of applications of DEA. &nbsp

Leveraging IT for Business Innovation: Does the Role of the CIO Matter?

The evolving role of Information Technology (IT) in business innovation places increasing emphasis on the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). Yet, the role of the CIO in business innovation is understudied in the extant literature. Drawing on organizational theory of boundary spanning leadership, we posit that the CIO’s cross-functional role pertaining to entities and functions outside the IT organization help explain the firm’s propensity for IT-enabled business innovation. Our large-sample empirical analysis of U.S. firms largely supports our theoretical propositions. We empirically find that IT-enabled business innovation is more likely when the CIO reports to the Chief Executive Officer, has more interactions with the firm’s customers and is more involved in new product development. This study contributes to our understanding of the role of the CIO in IT-enabled business innovation and provides implications for practice

User adaptations to system implementation in a mining company in Laos - A case study of organisational change

The purpose of this case study was to assess post–project implementation acceptance by users of new IS/IT systems in a mining company in Laos. The report investigated how the new system changed organisational working cultures and what avoidance or acceptance factors appeared. Also, it looked at how the new implemented systems contributed to the changes in business process and working procedures within Lane Xang Mineral Limited Company (LXML), which is a Lao subsidiary of a mining company from Australia. The change implementation was a strategic business integration of MMG, a Chinese-owned global mining company, headquartered in Melbourne that operated several mining subsidiaries in Australia, Africa, Latin America, and in Laos. In 2013, LXML went through a big change implementation in terms of IS/IT systems consisting of the upgraded computing facilities, I.T. services outsourcing, communication systems, and the introduction of the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Those changes inevitably brought about change in the company’s business processes and working procedures. As a result, it shifted LXML’s way of working from the conventional paper-based system to a more systematic and electronic approach. Following the change, the organisation as well as its staff were faced with cultural issues and mismatch business processes. To gain an understanding of the factors that impacted on the IS/IT implementation within Lane Xang Mineral Limited, this paper applied two analytical frameworks to the study of user acceptance and organisational cultural differences. Data gathering was conducted by an online survey and semi-structure online interviews with staff at different levels from within the organisation. The findings were then divided into enablers and barriers to user’s adaptation to the new systems implementation on individual and organisational level. The findings were also used to compare deductively with the analytical frameworks to verify their influencing categories. This paper is organised in three main sections, the first section introduces the case background and description of the issues from the case study. The second section is a justification of the significance of issues identified, and of the selected conceptual frames that were applied in the study. The third section is the analysis section, which explains data collection methodologies and the analytical details. Findings on the study will also be found within this section. At the end of the paper, the study is concluded by giving recommendations as a guide to I.T. Managers at the MMG headquarters in Australia and the LXML office in Laos, on transnational I.T. implementation within MMG. The recommendations could be taken as a guide for any other organisation (not only limited to the mining industry) to explore in order to plan for an effective I.T. implementation within their firms in the future

The strategy for combining online and offline business model for MSMEs

Digital transformation has created an information revolution, eliminated boundaries, created a knowledge-based global market, and in MSMEs finding new business models, conducting business transactions and collaborating in all fields to form economic strength. Activities that are completely digital, even transaction activities are carried out digitally because they are faster, more effective and efficient. Therefore, MSMEs can apply a business model strategy that can combine online and offline activities. To increase their capability, MSMEs start with developing strategies to become hybrid businesses and combined online and offline business models. In this case, the authors conducted research on MSMEs that use strategies to combine online and offline business, this study offers guidance for MSMEs on what strategies should be used in achieving a business hybrid so that online and offline business models can be combined. In the formation of a business hybrid, there are five capabilities, namely, assimilative capability, ambidextrous capability, environmental capability, autonomous capability and digital and non-digital competitiveness capability. The ability of assimilative can improve managerial ability in the company, absorb knowledge or resources not only from the external environment, but can come from different business units within a company

Factors affecting the successful realisation of benefits from systems development projects: findings from three case studies

The return that organisations derive from investments in information systems and technology continues to disappoint. While there is a very significant body of literature on the factors that should facilitate a successful outcome from systems development, there is growing concern that these prescriptions are not having their desired effect. In this paper, we argue that the success of a systems development project should be measured in terms of its ability to deliver meaningful benefits, rather than the timely delivery of a technical artefact, and therefore organisations should adopt an explicit and proactive benefits realisation approach when investing in IT. Consequently, we sought to explore those actionable factors that might facilitate the effective realisation of benefits from systems development initiatives. Three organisations were identified that claimed to adopt a proactive approach to benefits realisation, and detailed studies of their systems development practices were conducted. Our analysis found that whilst one organisation had been successful in its adoption of a benefits realisation perspective, the other two had not, and this allowed us to identify those factors that helped to explain this difference in outcomes. In short, this paper makes an important contribution by identifying how a sub-set of traditional systems success factors might be enhanced, to give them a more explicit benefits realisation orientation. Moreover, it presents a coherent set of principles that can be used for deriving other factors and practices

A strategic theoretical framework to safeguard business value for information systems

The phenomenon of business value dissipation in mature organisations as an unintended by-product of the adoption and use of information systems has been a highly debated topic in the corporate boardroom awakening the interest of practitioners and academics alike. Much of the discourse tends to focus on the inability of organisations to unlock and realise the intended benefits to be harvested through large information systems investments. While the business case for investing in large technology programmes has been thoroughly investigated, the human agent that causes value erosion through his interaction with information systems (IS), has not received the studied attention it deserves. This study examines the use of technology in organisations by considering the dichotomy inherent in IS where its introduction for the purposes of creating new or sustaining existing business value subsequently also inadvertently dissipates value. The study proceeds to investigate the root people-induced causes resulting in the unintentional dissipation of value and presents an empirically validated model suggesting that human agents do not only create value for organisations through their use of IS, but at the same time, deliberately or inadvertently, dissipate value. The root people-induced causes resulting in the unintentional dissipation of value is delineated within a Theoretical Technology Value Framework that is constructed from a review of the extant literature, and delineates the overall unintentional value destroying causes and effects of IS on organisations. The Theoretical Technology Value Framework is forthwith applied as a basis for the development of a set of questions to support both qualitative and quantitative investigations from which an Archetypical Technology Value Model was derived. Finally, an Archetypical Technology Value Model is presented as a benchmark and basis to identify, investigate, mitigate and minimise or eliminate the unintentional value destroying effects of IS on Information Technology driven organisations. The study concludes with implications for both theory and practice and suggestions on how value erosion through the activities of the human agent may be identified, modeled and mitigated. Ultimately, recommendations are offered towards the crafting of more effective IS.School of ComputingPh. D. (Information Systems

Developed Status and Gender Effects on Computerized ToEFL Acceptance

The primary purpose of this study was to address gender and country developed status differences in computerized ToEFL acceptance. Based on previous studies, this study developed and tested a model, which included four latent variables: (1) perceived playfulness; (2) perceived usefulness; (3) perceived ease of use, and (4) behavioral intention to use. The study sample consisted of 237 international students, ranging in age from 18 to 44 years. Multigroup Structural Equation Modeling and Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause methods were used to test differences between subgroups for computerized ToEFL acceptance. This study did not find evidence of gender differences on computerized ToEFL acceptance. Moreover, participants' native country's developed status did not have an impact on the behavioral intention to use computerized ToEFL exam for international students. The implications for future research were discussed.Master of Art