Information technology innovation diffusion: an information requirements paradigm

Information technology (IT) innovation research examines the organizational and technological factors that determine IT adoption and diffusion, including firm size and scope, technological competency and expected benefits. We extend the literature by focusing on information requirements as a driver of IT innovation adoption and diffusion. Our framework of IT innovation diffusion incorporates three industry-level sources of information requirements: process complexity, clock speed and supply chain complexity. We apply the framework to US manufacturing industries using aggregate data of internet-based innovations and qualitative analysis of two industries: wood products and beverage manufacturing. Results show systematic patterns supporting the basic thesis of the information processing paradigm: higher IT innovation diffusion in industries with higher information processing requirements; the salience of downstream industry structure in the adoption of interorganizational systems; and the role of the location of information intensity in the supply chain in determining IT adoption and diffusion. Our study provides a new explanation for why certain industries were early and deep adopters of internet-based innovations while others were not: variation in information processing requirements.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72203/1/j.1365-2575.2007.00260.x.pd

Understanding the Barriers to the Assimilation of Interorganizational Technologies in Channel Relationships

Organizations are increasingly focusing on their value chain activities in an effort to improve their performance, especially in the recent economic times. Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of their channel activities has become a focal point for many organizations. Interorganizational systems (IOS’s) have played an important part in this effort. While in theory, IOS’s have the ability to enhance the degree of cooperation and coordination between two channel partners, often the results obtained are not what is expected. Hence, it becomes very important to understand the barriers to the assimilation of these technologies. Drawing upon theoretical perspectives of governance, including transaction cost analysis (TCA), control theory and agency theory, we develop an integrative model that examines the factors that influence an organizations assimilation process. The model identifies and examines three stages of assimilation: technological, exploitive and explorative assimilation that add value to an organization. The model features asset specificity, technological uncertainty, performance documentation, agent orientation and bilateral governance mechanisms as antecedents to assimilation. It also examines the moderating effects of bilateral mechanisms. Our results suggest that theories of governance provide an additional lens to examine assimilation phenomena. In specific, our empirical analysis leads to several key findings: (1) channel partners who are locked in to the relationship with high levels of asset specificity are more likely to assimilate the technology; (2) bilateral governance mechanisms are a key force in the assimilation process, with both direct and moderated effects; (3) organizations that view the channel partner as an agent of the firm are less likely to adopt the technology, especially when the relationship exhibits low levels of bilateral governance mechanisms. Together these findings provide new insights into barriers to the assimilation of IOS’s in channel relationships

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Strategies to Mitigate Supply Chain Disruptions in Grocery Businesses

Supply chains have become more complex in the global economy, which has made supply chain disruptions inevitable. Disruptions can cause loss of profitability and hinder business growth. The goal of this multiple case study was to explore strategies to mitigate the effects of disruption in grocery store supply chains. The conceptual framework for this study was the resource dependency theory, which stipulates that firms rely on other businesses in the external environment for critical resources to create a competitive edge. Four purposively selected participants from 4 grocery store businesses in Northwest Arkansas participated in semistructured interviews and provided organizational documentation for this study. The participants were supply chain managers who had knowledge about disruptions and had successfully mitigated disruptions in their grocery stores\u27 supply chains. Yin\u27s 5-step process was used to analyze data, which involved compiling the database, disassembling data, reassembling data, interpreting data, and making a conclusion. Four themes emerged from the data analysis: supply chain partners\u27 collaboration, multiple supply base and supplier qualification, inventory management, and information technology and communication. The uninterrupted flow of grocery merchandise to the community could result in a positive social change by helping to ensure that community members have timely access to food

Delivering virtual value : the role of virtual value creation in e-grocery business models and resulting implications for today’s grocery retail firms

In recent years, the e-commerce sector across industries has grown rapidly, with the e-grocery market yet to produce any clear winners. This was mainly due to high customer expectations and substantial commercial difficulties, making it very complicated to profitably serve the market. With the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the e-grocery field has experienced particular attention and growth. The UK’s Ocado is regarded as an exception in the e-grocery sector due to its pioneering position in robotic automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI), its ongoing transformation to a global solutions business as well as extraordinary share performance, recently making it the most valuable grocer in the UK. To identify distinctive components of e-groceries along the value chain, customer expectations were discovered through surveys, after which commercial difficulties were identified using expert interviews. Further, the Ocado model was analyzed, which allowed to illustrate how it addresses expectations and difficulties by leveraging the virtual value chain (VVC). It became clear that Ocado achieves cost-decreasing and differentiation advantages by building a value matrix, enabling it to profitably serve the market. The study therefore lays out that virtual value creation is becoming an increasingly important component in grocery retailing. Subsequently, scenarios for uptake of VVC adoption among stakeholders in the retail sector were created. The outcome suggests that a business-as-usual scenario in VVC uptake is most likely. In this case, firms will ramp up their IT operating budgets by 2-5% p.a., responding to new realities in both physical and online retailNos últimos anos, o setor de comércio eletrónico cresceu rapidamente, embora a e-grocery ainda não tenha evidenciado nenhum vencedor claro. Isto deve-se maioritariamente às altas expectativas dos clientes aliadas a dificuldades comerciais, tornando complicado atender o mercado de forma lucrativa. Com o desenrolar da Covid 19, o setor de e-grocery tem recebido particular atenção e evidenciado crescimento. A Ocado UK é considerada excecional na indústria de comércio eletrónico devido à sua posição pioneira em automação robótica e inteligência artificial (IA) e pela sua contínua transformação num negócio de soluções globais, tornando-a recentemente a mercearia mais valiosa do Reino Unido. De forma a identificar os distintos componentes de e-grocery na sua cadeia de valor, as expectativas dos clientes foram primeiro determinadas através de inquéritos, sendo posteriormente identificadas possíveis dificuldades comerciais através de entrevistas com especialistas. Além disso, o modelo Ocado foi analisado, com um foco na forma como aborda as expectativas e dificuldades de utilização da cadeia de valor virtual (VVC). Como resultado, o estudo conclui que a criação de valor virtual se está a tornar um componente cada vez mais importante na comercialização de alimentos, sendo então gerados cenários para a aceitação do uso do VVC pelas partes interessadas no setor. O resultado indica que o mais provável é um cenário de adoção na lógica de negócios como o habitual. Neste caso, as empresas aumentarão os seus orçamentos operacionais de TI em 2 a 5% ao ano, em resposta às novas realidades

An empirical investigation of the adoption and usage of electronic data interchange in the hotel industry

This dissertation examines the application of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) adoption and use in the hotel industry. EDI is a type of interorganizational information system that facilitates the exchange of business documents in structured, machine processable form. The research model links EDI adoption to four usages: purchasing, accounting, financing and strategic. Based on relevant literature, six theories were selected from which, nineteen hypotheses were proposed for the relationships between EDI adoption and usage; The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire that was mailed out to 1200 hotel manager with the title of purchasing managers, controllers, and management information systems managers. The managers had the option of mailing in the questionnaire or go to the following Web Site: http://www.unlv.edu/faculty/ramdeen/EDIsurvey.htm and fill out the questionnaire then submit. The usable responses were 287 (23.92 rate); The hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis. The analysis supports the following hypothesis: (1) EDI purchasing and financing usage is positively related to property size, (2) trading status is positively related to purchasing use, (3) business presence/feedback and quality is positively related to strategic use, (4) uncertainty is positively related to purchases and strategic use, (5) analyzability is positively related to strategic use, and (6) interdependence is positively related to purchase and strategic use; EDI is one of the many ways hotels may exchange information. This study shows that EDI can be use by hotels for purchasing, financing and strategic purposes. For hotels to improve their internal usages of EDI two conditions must be accomplish. First, hotels must improve the information flow between their trading partners. Second, the information flow must be sufficient to stimulate intraorganizational usages. It is anticipated that the role of EDI in hotels will continue to grow in the future. Presently, EDI in hotels are more confine to purchasing (purchase or purchase order processing), and strategic use (long-term procurement contracts and linkages to electronic funds). In the future, EDI could become an important tool for hotels to use in conducting business in both an interorganizational and intraorganizational way; Research on EDI is still in a growth stage. By identifying and testing relevant intraorganizational variables, this study offers insights to practitioners managing internal activities within hotels that are currently using or planning to use EDI. Further, the dissertation provides avenues for future research aimed at understanding the applications of EDI technology and its administrative capabilities that could benefit both practitioners and academics

The Impact of Cloud Computing in Supply Chain Collaborative Relationships, Collaborative Advantage and Relational Outcomes

The purpose of this study is to explore the collaborative advantages and relational outcomes that organizations obtain from having strong collaborative relationships. With business competing as supply chains of multiple relationships, the reliance on inter-firm relationships has increased and become central strategy for organizations. Logistics computing technologies in the cloud may facilitate collaboration in the supply chain, although there are conflicting viewpoints regarding cloud viability. This study also evaluates the effect that cloud computing technology has on collaborative advantage and relational outcomes in small and large organizations. The model developed here is based on a cross-disciplinary theoretical perspective, which combines the relational view of the firm, the transaction cost economics and the task technology fit theories. This study demonstrates that maintaining collaborative relationships provide value added capabilities that logistics organizations require in order to remain competitive and be successful in some cases strengthen by the use of cloud computing

Understanding Collaborative Dynamics: A Critical Review and Inductive Investigation

Collaboration has been a topic of discussion for over 20 years. Managers are consistently calling for better collaboration and researchers have argued that managing tightly coupled relationships creates a co-mingling of complementary competencies that establishes distinctive advantages for firms. Even though there have been a few exemplar companies that have been capable of truly developing these complementary competencies, few companies truly understand the dynamics of a collaborative capability. This dissertation reviews the theoretical conceptualization and operationalization of tightly coupled relationships and through an interpretive analysis, begins to provide clarity to the following questions: * Under what conditions are tightly coupled relationship strategies justified? * What are the elements that constitute effective relationship strategies? * How can these elements be dynamically configured to deliver superior value and firm performance? Essay 1 sets up the theoretical foundation for the dissertation through an in-depth review of the current collaboration/integration literature and delineates and summarizes contrasting dimensions in supply chain relational strategies. An orienting conceptual framework is developed to provide clear insights for the analysis that is conducted in essay 3. Essay 2 focuses on the ontological and epistemological aspects of hermeneutics and promotes the use of this methodology for future research in the supply chain field. Because this methodology is new to the supply chain field a full methodological guideline is described and explained. Through a hermeneutical analysis, Essay 3 evaluates the operationalization of tightly coupled relationships using interview data from a combination of 11 manufacturers and retailers who practice collaborative behavior. The literature review and the orienting conceptual framework from Essay 1 are used to set the stage for the hermeneutical analysis. From the analysis, a framework is developed for use in future research

The First 25 Years of the Bled eConference: Themes and Impacts

The Bled eConference is the longest-running themed conference associated with the Information Systems discipline. The focus throughout its first quarter-century has been the application of electronic tools, migrating progressively from Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) via Inter-Organisational Systems (IOS) and eCommerce to encompass all aspects of the use of networking facilities in industry and government, and more recently by individuals, groups and society as a whole. This paper reports on an examination of the conference titles and of the titles and abstracts of the 773 refereed papers published in the Proceedings since 1995. This identified a long and strong focus on categories of electronic business and corporate perspectives, which has broadened in recent years to encompass the democratic, the social and the personal. The conference\u27s extend well beyond the papers and their thousands of citations and tens of thousands of downloads. Other impacts have included innovative forms of support for the development of large numbers of graduate students, and the many international research collaborations that have been conceived and developed in a beautiful lake-side setting in Slovenia

Developing an Integrated Supply Chain Costing Approach for Strategic Decision Making

The supply chain management discipline suggests that information sharing is paramount when attempting to achieve cost reductions and quality improvements. In many cases, the traditional accounting data used to support strategic decisions reflect inaccurate supply chain costs. This research explores the applications of managerial costing techniques, and how they can be used to improve the decision making capabilities of firms in the aerospace and transportation industries. The methodology used to address the research questions consisted of a hybrid of the grounded theory and multiple-case study methods. The objective of this research was to present the antecedents and barriers associated with implementing supply chain costing, and the impact that costing approaches have on strategic decision making. The research identifies a theoretical model that can be used to explain the relationships and themes associated with supply chain costing and strategic decision making. Evidence suggests that there is some movement to implement managerial accounting techniques within these two industries to capture supply chain costing information. However, the reliance on traditional financial accounting suggests that the overarching principles of supply chain management and information sharing amongst of partner firms has yet to be realized