Scaling Agility in Incumbent Firms: A Literature Review

Scaling agility as a process of applying agile concepts to more extensive parts of the organization promises incumbent firms to achieve the same benefits as their digital competitors. However, copying digital-born companies\u27 approaches seems problematic, as incumbent firms are distinct from their digital competitors. Thus, this research aims to consolidate what we know about scaling agility in incumbent firms. To answer this question, I conduct a structured literature review to understand scaling agility for incumbent firms better, resulting in the four dimensions of structure, methodology, governance, and dependencies with nine themes: coordination, processes, roles, effectiveness, risk management, budgeting, measurement, architecture, and culture/mindset. Moreover, the review develops six avenues for future research. With this, the literature review provides an integrative picture of scaling agility, enhances conceptual clarity, and helps practitioners by providing an overview to use in their efforts to scaling agility in incumbent firms

Factors affecting adoption of service -oriented architecture (SOA) at an enterprise level

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-112).Service-oriented computing is an emerging IT innovation. Among its manifestations is service-oriented architecture (SOA), an approach to designing and implementing IT solutions. Organizations adopting SOA are facing implementation challenges. Examining factors affecting SOA adoption at an organizational level can reduce uncertainty about SOA, its advantages and disadvantages, and implementation issues. This study uses quantitative analysis to investigate organizational SOA adoption in South Africa from DOI theory and TOE framework perspectives. Results highlight a number of factors influencing SOA adoption: use of multiple standards and platforms, complexity, compatibility, cost, top management support, good governance and strategy, adequate human and financial resources, vendor support for integration and development tools

Enterprise reference architectures for higher education institutions: Analysis, comparison and practical uses

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is currently accepted as one on the major instruments for enabling organisations in their transformation processes to achieve business-technology alignment. Despite that over the last years EA has been successfully adopted in many industries, Higher Education still represents one of the sectors with lower levels of adoption and maturity of EA practices. The present thesis puts the emphasis particularly on the study Enterprise Reference Architectures (ERAs), as a particular type of EA artefact, in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). After formally clarifying the concept of ERAs and giving a panoramic view of the current state-of-the-art of existing HEI-oriented ERAs, the thesis proposes an artefact framework build through a Design Science Research (DSR) approach aimed to facilitate practitioners their (re-)use or application in their own real practical settings. The purpose of the constructed artefact is to support practitioners when conducting the necessary adjustments to exiting HEI-oriented ERAs in order to be successfully applied for their specific needs.La Arquitectura Empresarial (AE) es actualmente reconocida como una disciplina que permite configurar procesos de trasformación organizativa a objeto de alinear el negocio con la tecnología. A pesar de que en los últimos años la AE se ha ido adoptando progresivamente de forma exitosa en diversas industrias, la educación superior representa todavía hoy en día uno de los sectores con menores niveles de adopción y de madurez en lo que se refiere a las prácticas de AE. La presente tesis hace especial hincapié en el estudio de las Arquitecturas de Referencia Empresariales (AREs), entendidas como un artefacto específico de AE, en Instituciones de Educación Superior (IES). Así, después de clarificar formalmente el concepto de ARE y de ofrecer una visión panorámica del estado del arte relativo a las AREs para IES existentes, la tesis propone un framework de trabajo construido a través de un enfoque de investigación basado en la Ciencia del diseño destinado a facilitar su (re-)utilización o aplicación práctica en dominios de trabajo reales. El objetivo del artefacto es proporcionar soporte práctico a los profesionales para realizar los ajustes necesarios a las AREs para IES existentes para que puedan aplicarlas con éxito a sus necesidades específicas.L'Arquitectura Empresarial (AE) és actualment reconeguda com una disciplina que permet configurar processos de transformació organitzatius a fi d'alinear el negoci amb la tecnologia. Tot i que en els darrers anys l'AE s'ha anat adoptant progressivament amb èxit en diverses indústries, l'educació superior representa encara avui dia un dels sectors amb menors nivells d'adopció i de maduresa pel que fa a pràctiques d'AE. Aquesta tesi posa especial èmfasi en l'estudi de les Arquitectures de Referència Empresarials (AREs), enteses com un artefacte concret d'AE, a Institucions d'Educació Superior (IES). Així, després d'aclarir formalment el concepte d'ARE i oferir una visió panoràmica de l'estat de l'art relatiu a les ARE per a IES existents, la tesi proposa un framework de treball construït a través d'un enfocament de recerca basat en la ciència del disseny destinat a facilitar-ne la seva (re-)utilització o aplicació pràctica en dominis de treball reals. L'objectiu de l'artefacte és proporcionar suport pràctic als professionals per realitzar els ajustaments necessaris a les AREs per a IES existents de forma que les puguin aplicar amb èxit a les seves necessitats específiques.Tecnologies de la informació i de xarxe

Responsible AI and Analytics for an Ethical and Inclusive Digitized Society

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Understanding organizational traps in implementing service-oriented architecture

Thesis (S.M. in Management Research)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-63).One of the major objectives of implementing service-oriented architecture (SOA) is to enhance IS agility and improve IT-business alignment. However, the contradictory experiences about SOA implementation turn out to be a paradox: why many organizations failed to meet their expectations about SOA implementation efforts, while others succeeded? Contrast to prior research on SOA, this study adopts the process perspective and provides plausible theoretical explanations for the "SOA implementation paradox". The study uses multiple case studies and literature review to develop a system dynamics model which highlights the feedback loops and time delay during the SOA implementation process. The results reveal the dynamic characteristics of learning curve of SOA implementation and two organizational traps (technology learning trap and implementation effectiveness trap) associated with SOA implementation. The theory of the organizational traps can be generalized to a broad context of innovative IS implementation. Further, the theoretical causes of the traps are discussed.by Xitong Li.S.M.in Management Researc

Exploring the adoption of precision agriculture for irrigation in the context of agriculture 4.0: The key role of internet of things

In recent years, the concept of Agriculture 4.0 has emerged as an evolution of precision agriculture (PA) through the diffusion of the Internet of things (IoT). There is a perception that the PA adoption is occurring at a slower pace than expected. Little research has been carried out about Agriculture 4.0, as well as to farmer behavior and operations management. This work explores what drives the adoption of PA in the Agriculture 4.0 context, focusing on farmer behavior and operations management. As a result of a multimethod approach, the factors explaining the PA adoption in the Agriculture 4.0 context and a model of irrigation operations management are proposed. Six simulation scenarios are performed to study the relationships among the factors involved in irrigation planning. Empirical findings contribute to a better understanding of what Agriculture 4.0 is and to expand the possibilities of IoT in the PA domain. This work also contributes to the discussion on Agriculture 4.0, thanks to multidisciplinary research bringing together the different perspectives of PA, IoT and operations management. Moreover, this research highlights the key role of IoT, considering the farmer’s possible choice to adopt several IoT sensing technologies for data collection

Digital transformation: incorporating social and human extensions into change models

This study is about incorporating social and human dimensions of the organisation into change models to support technology enabled change, also known as digital transformation. Organisations often manifest change through projects. Despite utilizing change models and frameworks, the rate of failure remains as high as 80%, leading to estimated financial losses of $900B USD a year, in addition to non-financial losses such as opportunity cost, change fatigue, loss of confidence and poor morale. Studies show that the majority of the root causes of failure are non-technical; yet change models and frameworks focus on the technical aspects, providing little guidance to the non-technical aspects (i.e. social and human). This study explores this omission with the aim of developing extensions to improve the success rate of organisational change. The context of the study is two multi-national organisations undergoing digital transformation: a telecommunication provider and a financial institution. The researcher, by virtue of his role as digital transformation leader, is embedded in both organisations which facilitates a deeper understanding of the change context and more informed interpretation of observations and data. Action Research principles support the researcher’s dual role and provide rigor and validity. The study uses Mixed Methods to collect data: two focus-groups sessions with 14 to 20 participants in each and 11 semi-structured interviews with change leaders. The researcher recognizes the ethical implications and tensions associated with Action Research, and maintains vigilance and balance throughout. The study outcomes represent proposed extensions to change models and are model agnostic. They include language, definitions of ‘social’ and ‘human’ aspects of organisational change, themes supporting social and human dimensions of change, weaving of the themes into a practical workflow, and a stakeholder categorization framework mapped to power of influence spectrum. In addition, an interconnected Organisational Model - Human, Business, and Environment - is presented. The proposed extensions aim to improve the success rate of digital transformation and as a result, contribute to boosting productivity, reducing operating costs and improving organisational performance

Enterprise architecture for small and medium-sized enterprises : CHOOSE

Enterprise architecture (EA) is a coherent whole of principles, methods, and models that are used in the design and realization of an enterprise’s organizational structure, business processes, information systems, and IT infrastructure. EA is used as a holistic approach to keep things aligned in a company. Some emphasize the use of EA to align IT with the business, others see it broader and use it to also keep the processes aligned with the strategy. Recent research indicates the need for EA in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), important drivers of the economy, as they struggle with problems related to a lack of structure and overview of their business. However, existing EA frameworks are perceived as too complex and, to date, none of the EA approaches are sufficiently adapted to the SME context. Therefore, in this PhD, we present the CHOOSE approach for EA for SMEs. The approach consists of four artifacts: a metamodel, a method, software tool support, and a visualization. The approach is kept simple so that it may be applied in an SME context and is based on the essential dimensions of EA frameworks. Five steps were taken: first, the problem of EA in SMEs was extensively analyzed. Next, the CHOOSE metamodel was developed during action research in SMEs. Then, action research in six companies was used to develop an adequate method (consisting of guidelines, a roadmap, and stop criteria) and to further refine this CHOOSE metamodel, while different types of software tools (PC, iPad, Android, ...) were developed to enable the evaluation rounds. Finally, a proper visualization was established

GOVERNANCE STRATEGIES FOR ENTERPRISE APPLICATION SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATIONS

Enterprise application system implementations are highly complex implementations that automate several business functions, such as financials, accounting, supply chain, customer services management, human resources management and reporting among others. This study aims at providing an alternative view of organization's enterprise application system (EAS) acceptance. Despite the large body of literature, there are still empirical inquiries to investigate the EAS system implementation from adopters' perspectives and how to identify risks in a multi-stakeholder and dynamic environment. The thesis consists of three essays on various aspects of relationship between enterprise application implementation in a multi-stakeholder environment and project governance. Valid measurement scales for predicting organization's acceptance of enterprise systems are in short supply. The first essay develops and validates new scales for two specific variables, integration and inter-dependency risks. These variables are hypothesized as key determinant for organizational success of enterprise application implementations by mitigating risks involved in a multi-stakeholder environment. A model of organization acceptance of enterprise systems was developed using these two scales and then tested for reliability from a total of 365 users and nine application groups. The measures were validated using ten different direct measures with reliabilities between 0.72 and 0.96. Integration risk was significantly related with perceived ease of use, consultant's product knowledge and training provided to the end users. Inter-dependency risk was significantly correlated with perceived usefulness, consultant's industry and product knowledge. Both integration and inter-dependency risks are significantly related with success of the new enterprise application. This study would benefit project executives by offering valuable managerial insights that enable them to appreciate and improve integration and inter-dependency of stakeholders. Implications for theory and practice are discussed for two sub-groups: that less experienced resources treat risks differently than more experienced resources, and business applications compared to technical enterprise applications. Academic community has not addressed governance of enterprise application projects that involve dynamic environments and how to mitigate integration and inter-dependency risks. In the second essay it is argued that acceptance of the system from end users is not enough? Adopters of new enterprise wide information technology solutions get most benefit when the solution continues to be adaptable when business, environment or other organizational priorities change - therefore making an implementation sustainable. The second essay discussed characteristics of sustainability of enterprise application implementation from organizational perspective. A case study was used to validate the characteristics of sustainability. The thesis sought to demonstrate the causal relationship between the organization's preparedness for sustainability and the emergence of implementation problems. The study extracted insight into the criticality of certain factors and the type of problems making decisions under weak governance situation. The third essay develops determinants for project governance success of enterprise application implementations by mitigating risks in a multi-stakeholder environment. This essay develops and validates new scales for five specific variables. Definitions of five variables were used to develop a model that was presented for content validity and then tested for reliability from a total of 117 project executives globally. The measures were validated with reliabilities between 0.73 and 0.94. Relationships between five measures were broken down to meaningful components and a three tier project governance structure was proposed to mitigate integration and inter-dependency risks in a multi-stakeholder environment