Post-Implementation Evaluation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems

The purposes of this dissertation were to define enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, assess the varying performance benefits flowing from different ERP system implementation statuses, and investigate the impact of critical success factors (CSFs) on the ERP system deployment process. A conceptual model was developed and a survey instrument constructed to gather data for testing the hypothesized model relationships. Data were collected through a cross-sectional field study of Indian production firms considered pioneers in understanding and implementing ERP systems. The sample data were drawn from a target population of 900 firms belonging to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The production firms in the CII member directory represent a well-balanced mix of firms of different sizes, production processes, and industries. The conceptual model was tested using factor analysis, multiple linear regression analysis and univariate Anova. The results indicate that the contributions of different ERP system modules vary with different measures of changes in performance and that a holistic ERP system contributes to performance changes. The results further indicate that the contributions of CSFs vary with different measures of changes in performance and that CSFs and the holistic ERP system influences the success achieved from deployments. Also, firms that emphasize CSFs throughout the ERP implementation process achieve greater performance benefits as compared to those that focus on CSFs during the initial ERP system deployment. Overall, the results of the study support the relationships hypothesized in the conceptual model

Business Strategy in E-bussiness environment

E-business is heralding what is being called “the new economy.” To help managers negotiate this new business landscape, this article review the business and technologies requirements of modern extended organizations and discuss how adaptive business objects and controlled interoperability are the key enabling technologies to the challenge of integrated value chains. We know unlike previous decades where enterprises prized independence, the next decade will be one of business alliances and competing, end-to-end value chains. Enterprise value chains comprised of powerful business alliance partners will exceedingly compete as single entities for customers. Such extended corporations reach out not only with business relationships; they must integrate their value business processes and information systems to realize their business goal

Organizational Activities Through Social Media Communication With Direct Communication

Interpersonal contact or contact that is inextricably linked to mass media. When individuals upload things and communicate with other participants, internal contact happens simultaneously with public communication, since whatever is shared can be automatically appreciated and seen by a large audience. With the potential for private information to become available, it is important to pay more attention to the role of social media. Not to stifle its development, but to optimize its utility. It is critical to improve each user's self-awareness, since what they upload will influence their self-image and the relationships they have with other parties. The freedom of expression and the freedom to communicate that social media provides should be used prudently by its consumers. When we share or disseminate knowledge, we must exercise caution and introspection. In other words, while contact through social networking has expanded and become more versatile, this versatility must be reined in to truly enjoy the benefits. Naturally, if we understand the components of organizational communication, as we communicate inside the organisation, we can understand our status in light of the scenario and circumstances. The advancement of the internet facilitated the emergence of modern modes of communication within organizations. Social networking has arrived and is reshaping the way we communicate in today's culture. There is no restriction to the correspondence of distance, time, and space

Strategic Information Systems Alignment: A Longitudinal Investigation

The alignment between business and information systems’ strategies (strategic IS alignment) has occupied researchers’ and practitioners’ interest over the past two decades. This is due to the belief that strategic IS alignment positively affects business performance. However, despite the concerted effort in seeking to understand the alignment phenomenon, executives in organizations continue to complain of the difficulty in achieving and sustaining alignment. This may be due to a lack of a comprehensive model of alignment that takes into account its dynamic nature and the factors that affect it over time. Therefore, this study seeks to add to our accumulated knowledge by proposing a functional form for the alignment trajectory and identifying some factors that may affect or predict the dynamic changes between organizations’ alignment trajectories. The study used longitudinal data drawn from several public databases and developed and tested a random coefficients model of strategic IS alignment. The results indicate that alignment is a nonlinear, dynamic phenomenon that is affected by prior IS success, and change in CIO, organizational size, and industry uncertainty. The findings suggest that prior IS success is associated with high initial magnitudes of strategic IS alignment and low rates of change in the strategic IS alignment trajectory. In addition, the findings suggest that CIO turnover is associated with higher initial levels of strategic IS alignment and high (and negative) rates of change in the strategic IS alignment trajectory. The results also show that larger organizations are associated with higher magnitudes of strategic alignment and that firms in stable industry environments, on average, have higher initial magnitudes of strategic IS alignment than firms in uncertain industry environments

An inter-organization workflow management system for virtual enterprises

Master'sMASTER OF SCIENC

Systematic Differences in Firm’s Information Technology Signaling: Implications for Research Design

Because research programs investigating IT-related phenomena are hindered by limitations in the availability of archival data, researchers have used a variety of data collection strategies including the gathering of firms’ IT signaling via press releases to the media. Little is known, however, about firms’ IT signaling propensities. Here, contents of firms’ press releases and annual reports are coded to test a model explaining a firm’s propensity to signal stakeholders about its IT-related activities. Results demonstrate that firms transmitting greater numbers of IT signals tend to be low performers in their industries, tend to reside in industries characterized by a transform industry IT strategic role and tend to be larger. Implications of these findings for research design are provided

An investigation of the effects of IT investment on firm performance: The role of complementarity.

The concept of complementarity has been introduced into IT-based firm performance research in order to address inconsistent magnitudes of the impacts from IT investments across studies. This dissertation seeks to understand the scope of IT investment complementarities, to examine the different ways in which different complementarities impact the payoff from an IT investment, and to empirically test the effects of complementary investments in the context of investments in SCM and CRM. The knowledge-based view of the firm (KBV) is employed in order to understand a boundary and different roles of complementarity. The KBV sees organizational capabilities from the aggregation of knowledge into capabilities and the deployment of knowledge assets in the form of capabilities. Knowledge aggregation requires individuals' specialized knowledge (human capital) and the aggregation mechanisms of structural, social, and community capital. The combination of these three forms of capital, together with human capital, constitutes organizational capabilities. Once constituted, the complementary deployment of capabilities is important. Foundational capability must be in place in order for the focal IT investment to deliver value, synergistic capability amplifies the economic benefits of the focal IT investment, and management capability is managers' organizing vision and capability to successfully deploy the focal IT investment.The research findings show that three forms of structural, community, and human capital have highly significant impacts on firm performance measured by Net Cash Flow, Gross Profit, and EBITDA. Synergistic capabilities and management capabilities are found to be highly significant in moderating between three forms of capital and firm performance measurements.The data for this study were drawn from secondary data sources: Annual Reports, Press Releases, and news articles. The dependent variables are drawn from COMPUSTAT. The data collection method for the independent variables was a keyword search. The research sampling frame is confined within a single value chain however distinctively different industry categories are represented within this value chain. This sampling strategy yielded a total of 111 firms that had invested in SCM and 45 firms that had invested in CRM