We have a platform, but nobody builds on it – what influences Platform-as-a-Service post-adoption?

When higher-level management of a company has strategically decided to adopt Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) as a Cloud Computing (CC) delivery model, decision-makers at lower hierarchy levels still need to decide whether they want to post-adopt PaaS for building or running an information system (IS) – a decision that numerous companies are currently facing. This research analyzes the influential factors of this managerial post-adoption decision on the IS-level. A survey of 168 business and IT professionals investigated the influential factors of this PaaS post-adoption decision. The results show that decision-makers’ perceptions of risks inhibit post-adoption. Vendor trust and trialability reduce these perceived risks. While competitive pressure increases perceived benefits, it does not significantly influence PaaS post-adoption. Controversially, security and privacy, cost savings, and top management support do not influence post-adoption, as opposed to findings on company-level adoption. Subsamples constructed by the form of post-adoptive use (migration of IS, enhancement of IS, new IS development) exhibit better goodness-of-fit measures than the full sample. Future research should explore this interrelation of the form of post-adoptive use and the post-adoption influence factors

The Growing Threat of Agroterrorism and Strategies for Agricultural Defense

Due to the dynamic nature of human conflict, non-traditional terror tactics have evolved to undermine the socioeconomic stability of targeted societies. Considering the landscape in which terrorists operate, emphasis on more subversive methods of biological terror have become prominent in recent decades. Agroterrorism, or the use of plant pathogens to infect a nation’s cultivated crops, is an emerging topic due to its threat to global food security and economic stability. Although emergency preparedness objectives have been enacted at national, state, and even local levels, preemptive measures can no longer remain the sole responsibility of intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The agricultural and scientific communities are responsible for collaboration to improve security and pioneer new methods of disease resistance in susceptible crops. Plant immunology is an expanding field which explores the molecular defense mechanisms innately present within the plant kingdom and provides insight concerning novel methods of boosting the immunity of susceptible crops to existing and emerging pathogenic agents. This thesis serves to define the threat of agroterrorism from a national security and scientific perspective, identify notable plant pathogens, provide a brief survey of plant immunology, and discuss topics which can aid scientists, policymakers, and growers in efforts to secure the global food supply from those who would cause harm

The Internet of Things Will Thrive by 2025

This report is the latest research report in a sustained effort throughout 2014 by the Pew Research Center Internet Project to mark the 25th anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web by Sir Tim Berners-LeeThis current report is an analysis of opinions about the likely expansion of the Internet of Things (sometimes called the Cloud of Things), a catchall phrase for the array of devices, appliances, vehicles, wearable material, and sensor-laden parts of the environment that connect to each other and feed data back and forth. It covers the over 1,600 responses that were offered specifically about our question about where the Internet of Things would stand by the year 2025. The report is the next in a series of eight Pew Research and Elon University analyses to be issued this year in which experts will share their expectations about the future of such things as privacy, cybersecurity, and net neutrality. It includes some of the best and most provocative of the predictions survey respondents made when specifically asked to share their views about the evolution of embedded and wearable computing and the Internet of Things

Measuring the Business Value of Cloud Computing

The importance of demonstrating the value achieved from IT investments is long established in the Computer Science (CS) and Information Systems (IS) literature. However, emerging technologies such as the ever-changing complex area of cloud computing present new challenges and opportunities for demonstrating how IT investments lead to business value. Recent reviews of extant literature highlights the need for multi-disciplinary research. This research should explore and further develops the conceptualization of value in cloud computing research. In addition, there is a need for research which investigates how IT value manifests itself across the chain of service provision and in inter-organizational scenarios. This open access book will review the state of the art from an IS, Computer Science and Accounting perspective, will introduce and discuss the main techniques for measuring business value for cloud computing in a variety of scenarios, and illustrate these with mini-case studies

A review of studies on information systems and SMEs in high ranked IS journals (2000-2014)

This paper identifies novel approaches to future small and medium enterprise (SME) research from a review of articles, and then introduces the papers in this AJIS special section which evidence these approaches. More specifically, the paper makes an important contribution by reviewing 61 articles in high ranked IS journals (2000-2014) and introducing three new facets which are used to analyse research on SME adoption/use of IS (units of analysis, SME sizes and SME types) not considered in previous literature review studies. These facets provide thebasis for proposing various future research opportunities. The editorial then introduces the four papers in this special section covering the research theme on SMEs, and highlights the contributions they make using the three facets

A review of studies on information systems and SMEs in high ranked IS journals (2000-2014)

This paper identifies novel approaches to future small and medium enterprise (SME) research from a review of articles, and then introduces the papers in this AJIS special section which evidence these approaches. More specifically, the paper makes an important contribution by reviewing 61 articles in high ranked IS journals (2000-2014) and introducing three new facets which are used to analyse research on SME adoption/use of IS (units of analysis, SME sizes and SME types) not considered in previous literature review studies. These facets provide the basis for proposing various future research opportunities. The editorial then introduces the four papers in this special section covering the research theme on SMEs, and highlights the contributions they make using the three facets

Measuring the Business Value of Cloud Computing

The importance of demonstrating the value achieved from IT investments is long established in the Computer Science (CS) and Information Systems (IS) literature. However, emerging technologies such as the ever-changing complex area of cloud computing present new challenges and opportunities for demonstrating how IT investments lead to business value. Recent reviews of extant literature highlights the need for multi-disciplinary research. This research should explore and further develops the conceptualization of value in cloud computing research. In addition, there is a need for research which investigates how IT value manifests itself across the chain of service provision and in inter-organizational scenarios. This open access book will review the state of the art from an IS, Computer Science and Accounting perspective, will introduce and discuss the main techniques for measuring business value for cloud computing in a variety of scenarios, and illustrate these with mini-case studies

Determinants of Mobile Commerce Adoption in Developing Countries: Evidence from Rwanda

The rapid development of wireless technology and telecommunication networks has led to mobile devices playing an increasing role in people's lives. Businesses have recognised the value of mobile communication tools and trading platforms. A new type of technology-aided commerce – mobile commerce including mobile financial services – has gained importance in theory and practice. However, in the context of developing countries, the literature on the potential of mobile commerce and its driving factors is still limited. Along five empirical studies conducted in Rwanda, this research identifies the factors that drive the success of mobile commerce and financial services. It defines an appropriate infrastructure (power supply and network connectivity), a suitable regulatory setting, sufficient consumer awareness, and a proper distribution network as crucial for adopting mobile commerce and harvesting its potential. Thereupon, the research derives recommendations to Rwandan policymakers and practitioners in order to achieve economic growth, reduce poverty, and enhance national welfare Rwanda

Evaluation of an electronic document management system implementation success from an end user perspective in an industrial company

Most of the organizational information is stored in documents. Along with digitalization and global networks, the amount of information and electronic documents has increased massively. Electronic document management systems (EDMS) make it possible to manage the whole life cycle of a document, enhance document compliance, improve document visibility as well as to control and streamline processes electronically. This research investigated how implementation of the electronic document management system succeeded from an end user perspective in the case company. Success was defined to be the system users’ intention to use the system. Based on the previous literature, a new research model was developed to evaluate the user intention to use the newly implemented system and to figure out how different factors were related the intention. Data of the quantitative case study was used as an input for the research model. The data was collected with structured questionnaire from end users of the system in the industrial company. The questionnaire was generated on the basis of the research model which consisted of six research constructs: training, system characteristics, communication, ease of use, usefulness and intention to use. As a result, training and system characteristics were positively associated with perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the system. However, communication was not significantly related to perceived usefulness. Similarly, perceived ease of use was not positively associated with the intention to use the system. However, perceived ease of use was positively associated with the usefulness of the system. A useful system increased the intention to use the system which was defined to be the success in this research. All the research constructs had high mean value from respondents. Mean of 4.4/5 referred to as high commitment of the user’s intention to use the system and thus, it can be considered that the implementation was successful from the end user perspective. As a conclusion from the research, it is useful to put effort on training and system characteristics in the future implementations because those had the strongest impact on perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the system. If users feel that the system is easy to use it will increase the perceived usefulness of the system which will finally increase the intention to use the system