Resolving IT-Culture Conflict in Enterprise 2.0 Implementations

Social media technologies have grown from the personal recreation tools of college students to systems that can benefitbusiness. In addition to using social networking to market, sell, and manage external stakeholder relationships, someorganizations are leveraging social networking’s communication and collaboration tools to improve internal operations.However, implementing social networking systems (hereinafter SNSs) within an organization can prove challenging since thevalues associated with SNSs (i.e., having fun and getting to know people personally) may conflict with an organization’sculture (i.e., work, control, and authority). Therefore, the purpose of this case study is to understand how to resolve IT–culture conflict in workplace implementations of internal SNSs, often referred to as Enterprise 2.0

Towards An Integrated Effort For Managing IT Process Standards Implementation

Adopting IT process standards seems to be a trend for IT organizations to meet ad-hoc informational needs and to provide better business value. Due to the changing environments of IT organizations themselves, one key to IT success lies in not only the establishment, but also the sustainability of ad-hoc professional IT functions. As IT organizations face many kinds of process standards to implement for various IT functions and although the implementations may be different due to various IT domains, from the management point of view, these implementations may not exist individually. This article attempts to highlight a possibility of an integrated effort to effectively manage the implementations of IT standards in an IT organization. Such a shared management refers to the integrated institutionalization design, which provides a road map for all IT functions to systematically improve and sustain the implementation results. A case example is provided for demonstrating the proposed attempt

How Does Enterprise Social Media Help Retail Employees Innovate?

An increasing number of organizations have installed enterprise social media (ESM) platforms to allow employees to collaborate, work independently, and to innovate more easily. While research has started to explain how such technologies can lead to improved collaboration and productivity, their role in assisting employees in innovation processes remains unclear. In our research-in-progress we examine the case of a global retail organization that adopted ESM for all employees with the view to foster employee-driven innovation. We report on our on-going data collection and analysis, in which we focus on the salient mechanisms and contingency factors why ESM under some conditions facilitates employee-driven innovation and why under some conditions it does not. We report on on-going data collection, data analysis strategies and emergent findings, and conclude with a brief outlook on our future research strategies. \ \ Keywords: Enterprise Social Media, social networks, employee-driven innovation, case study.

The influence of cultural values on Enterprise System adoption, towards a culture – Enterprise System alignment theory

During the last decades, organizations worldwide have replaced their fragmented and home-grown information systems with standardized Enterprise Systems that span the entire organization. The logics embedded in Enterprise Systems, such as a centralized and integrated view on the firm, standardized organization-wide working processes, and data sharing, may or may not be congruent with the cultural context of the user organization. Especially in case of a limited alignment, the adoption and full use of the Enterprise System will require specific attention from implementers. By developing a theoretical explanation of how responses to Enterprise Systems are influenced by cultural values, we contribute to the development of a cultural alignment theory of Enterprise Systems. Drawing on Hofstede’s cultural values framework, we analysed 85 published cases from firms operating in different cultural contexts, which resulted in the modelling of two contrasting archetypical cultural profiles: one that is more, and one that is less, receptive to the logics embedded in Enterprise Systems. Our model provides implementers with the necessary insights to develop implementation strategies that take the cultural context into account

Strategies and Design Principles to Minimize Negative Side-effects of Digital Motivation on Teamwork

Digital Motivation in business refers to the use of technology in order to facilitate a change of attitude, perception and behaviour with regards to adopting policies, achieving goals and executing tasks. It is a broad term to indicate existing and emerging paradigms such as Gamification, Persuasive Technology, Serious Games and Entertainment Computing. Our previous research indicated risks when applying Digital Motivation. One of these main risks is the impact it can have on the interpersonal relationships between colleagues and their individual and collective performance. It may lead to a feeling of unfairness and trigger negative group processes (such as social loafing and unofficial clustering) and adverse wo rk ethics. In this paper, we propose a set of strategies to minimize such risks and then consolidate these strategies through an empirical study involving managers,practitioners and users.The strategies are then analysed for their goal, stage and purpose of use to add further guidance. The strategies and their classification are meant to inform developers and management on how to design,set-up and introduce Digital Motivation to a business environment, maximize its efficiency and minimize its side-effects on teamwork

Transactive memory systems and Web 2.0 in knowledge sharing: A conceptual model based on activity theory and critical realism

The aim of this paper is to advance understanding of interactive knowledge sharing (KS) processes through exploring the role of transactive memory systems (TMS) and Web 2.0. In the context of the information systems (IS) literature, there is little focus on their particular role in KS. To address this gap, this paper develops a conceptual model based on activity theory and critical realism outlining the role of TMS and Web 2.0 as mediating tools. This paper further reveals that their use as tools depends on deeper underlying structures/factors embedded within the community, namely, informal networks and trust among people. The new conceptual model and theoretical propositions are then illustrated by a qualitative study undertaken in Bulgarian organisations. This illustrative case provides support for the model, where TMS and Web 2.0 are found to facilitate knowledge sharing. It further demonstrates that informal networks and trust among people support the use and the positive effects of these tools. The contribution of this paper is in the new analytical approach and conceptual model developed which advances our understanding of interactive KS by explaining the linkages between the various factors involved

Challenges and Good Practices in Conversational AI-Driven Service Automation

Conversational AI offers novel opportunities for companies to automate customer interactions. However, many companies grapple with effectively implementing conversational AI. Utilizing an engaged, consortium-based research approach, we examine the unique challenges faced by six companies in the insurance and banking sector while implementing conversational AI solutions and identify best practices to address these challenges. Finally, drawing upon the lessons learned, we offer guidance for developing conversational AI capabilities and fostering conversational AI success stories

Enterprise resource planning systems implementation and upgrade (a Kenyan study)

In recent years there has been an increase in using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in large companies and government corporations mainly in developed countries. While there is wide adoption of ERP systems in Western economies, developing countries lag far behind. However, due to recent economic growth, developing countries such as Kenya are increasingly becoming major targets of ERP vendors. There is an urgent need for under- standing ERP implementation issues in developing countries, as ERP systems are still in their early stages in these countries. They face additional challenges related to economic, cultural and basic infrastructure issues. This research investigates the organisational and national context within which ERP is adopted and used in Kenya, and how the context and ERP influence each other. In general, this research is based on the need to study organisations in their societal contexts and information systems in their organisational settings. The research contributes to the controversial debate on the conflict between standardisation imposed by ERP systems and localisation of business practices. This study provides some key insights into the implementation and use of ERP systems in the public and the private sectors in Kenya. Case study findings suggest that the company sector plays an important role in ERP implementations in several key dimensions. ERP systems with in-built business practices express the tendency toward standardisation. In addition, the study investigates the challenges faced by organisations implementing ERP systems in Kenya and factors influencing ERP upgrade decisions. Findings of this research suggest that ERP implementation and upgrade is influenced by, but not necessarily bound by, existing contextual factors - national and organisational. Two models, namely, the Empirical ERP Implementation Model (EEIM) and the Upgrade Decision Model (UDM), are developed to represent ERP implementation and upgrade practices. The EEIM helps to identify why there will be particularly high variance in potential outcomes and further validates which organisational contexts and ERP implementation configurations create options during ERP implementation and usage. The UDM makes a novel contribution by showing how different forces interact to bring an aggregate of influences to a threshold level where an ERP system upgrade becomes necessary. The findings of this study also aid the management of organisations that are implementing ERP systems to gain a better understanding of the likely challenges they may face and to enable them to put in place appropriate measures to mitigate the risk of implementation failures. This study also proposes an IT strategy framework which can be used by organisations planning to implement ERP to align their business and IT strategy. Finally, the study provides practical guidelines to practitioners on ERP implementation and upgrade based on the experience of the case study organisations and the ERP consultants interviewed