Legal regulation in empirical research in the Information Systems Basket of 8 Journals:a systematic literature review

Abstract. The core content of the paper lies in exploring how studies in information systems research address the topic of legal regulation. This study intends to fill the main gap in knowledge by aiming at the empirical studies within the basket of 8 journals that studies legal regulation. The results of this study provide perspectives on specific legal regulations, the research methodologies employed in empirical studies, and the theoretical foundations of the policy cycle stages to which these studies belong. This research identifies and presents a general overview of the trends in the information systems domain. This thesis utilizes a systematic literature review to discover, examine, and extract empirical studies relevant to legal regulation from a basket of eight journals. The data were obtained from the SCOPUS database, resulting in 351 studies. Through the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 33 primary studies were identified that were relevant to the focus of the study. These primary studies focused on various legal regulations and were subsequently classified into four themes: impact, implementation, compliance, and policies. These themes allow for the identification of trends and the scope of the primary studies that investigate legal regulations. Furthermore, these themes are further analyzed and classified into sub-categories to provide a more detailed analysis of the primary studies. The results of the study indicate that many primary studies within the empirical research follow qualitative research methodology. Among these primary studies, the legal regulations most frequently examined are from the United States. Several studies focus on regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, High-Frequency Trading Act, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Following the United States, the study finds that primary studies also explore legal regulations in Europe, with a notable emphasis on the General Data Protection Regulation and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. However, the results also highlight that many primary studies belong to the implementation phase of the policy cycle stage, while none specifically focus on the problem identification stage. The findings of the study broaden the opportunity to investigate how legal regulation has been addressed in journals beyond the selected basket of eight. Additionally, since this paper focuses solely on empirical evidence, most primary studies relied on qualitative research methodologies. This suggests the potential for exploring other studies that utilize methodologies such as design science or theoretical analysis

Purchasing organisation structure and its impact on supply relationship - An Irish public sector case study

With the financial crisis, it becomes more and more difficult and expensive to obtain funding for infrastructure projects. Public sector procurement is undergoing major changes. Drastic cuts in government budgets re-ignited the debate of centralisation versus decentralisation that was last debated after the oil crisis of 1973. In the traditional marketing and purchasing literature, the relationship between Buyer and Seller has long been at the centre of the purchase interaction. Organisations have chosen close long-term relationships instead of “playing the market” in the name of cost reduction and increased revenues. The objective of this study is to identify the particular constraints on relationship building in the public sector, and to assess whether or not these constraints make standard efficient management practices inapplicable to the public sector. Several organisations from the Irish public sector were interviewed about their relationships. The qualitative data collected from the interviews were combined with the current related literature of business to business relationships, public procurement and organisational buying behaviours. It is argued in this research that it is extremely difficult to establish a collaborative relationship with suppliers when mandatory rules and procedures create formal and centralised buying behaviours. In conclusion, lessons for developing collaborative arrangements in public procurement are identified

Improving relationships within the Scottish NHS supply chain

The National Health Service (NHS) is a uruque organisation which expenences continual change, making the management of the supply chain a particularly challenging area. Key relationships at the two ends of the supply pipelines between NHS buyers and their suppliers and between local NHS supplies managers and their customer base are therefore crucially important. Following the 1990 reforms and the introduction of the NHS internal market, an environment has been created in which managers are generally much more cost conscious and customer orientated. The net effect of these changes has been to raise the profile of the buyer-supplier and Supplies Manager-customer relationships. A review of the current literature has highlighted aspects of relationships that can be applied to those within the NHS supply chain as well as identifying some conceptual gaps. Initial exploratory surveys of supplies managers, NHS buyers, suppliers and end customers were undertaken with the emerging themes being further investigated through semi-structured interviews. Two relationship review tools were constructed and an action research approach adopted to evaluate the tools which involved Scottish NHS buyers with their suppliers and Scottish Supplies Managers with their end customers. The experience of the case studies suggest that the tools are a useful way of continually reviewing relationships which is necessary given the dynamic nature of the NHS. The research also suggests that purchasing relationships between NHS buyers and the suppliers currently exist along the whole of the relationship spectrum - from adversarial to partnership type - depending on the influence of particular factors. Both extremes have a place in the NHS buyer's "relationship portfolio", the challenge is to recognise when and how to adopt a particular type. The research suggests that the tool devised specifically for use by NHS Supplies Managers and their customers assists Supplies Managers in their task of identifying a means of ensuring flexible packages of care are offered to meet the increasing expectations of all customers

Creating business value through e-marketplace trading

Electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces) have been researched over many years from the study of electronic data interchange (EDI) systems to the current internet based trading platforms. Early e-marketplaces connected a buyer and supplier using proprietary systems that established a market hierarchy. The buyer was responsible for the system, established the terms of trade and the electronically enabled supplier could connect to the system. These systems were costly to build, which limited their use, and only organisations with an integrated system could use them. The web based e-marketplaces opened up the possibility of connecting many buyers and suppliers and enabling electronic transactions. The e-marketplace offers opportunities for establishing trade relationships with many organisations across the world. Business to business (B2B) e-commerce is a significant part of the Australian economy and there are opportunities to take advantage of e-marketplace trading. One of the advantages of electronic trading is the ability of the technology to deliver transaction benefits; these can have a significant impact on organisations regardless of organisational size. However, despite the potential of the e-marketplace to deliver organisational benefits there have been limited studies which consider the strategic implementation of e-marketplace trading. Organisational strategy and the implementation of strategic initiatives involve interactions between organisational structures and agents. The analytical dualism this represents complicates uncovering the fundamental causes of e-marketplace participation. Not only does the adoption of e-marketplace trading impact on the buyer and supplier organisations, it introduces the e-marketplace vendor organisation and the e-marketplace technology into the participation decision. The complexity of the interactions across organisational structures and between organisational agents and technology adoption can produce a diversity of outcomes. The philosophical underpinning of critical realism for the study is supported by the lack of understanding as to why, and in what circumstances, organisations successfully participate in e-marketplace trading. The critical realist philosophy provides the opportunity to understand the interrelationships between context, organisational structures and agents and identify the causal mechanisms involved in producing various outcomes. It allows for the development of middle level theory as existing theories are examined to explain the perceived phenomena. Large organisations operating in Western Australia are used as case studies to uncover the causal relationships between context, structures and agents that can produce successful, strategic implementation of e-marketplace participation. Existing literature in relation to e-marketplaces and IT adoption is used to develop the research questions and formulate the interview questions. The structured case methodology is used to analyse each case and relate the findings to possible explanatory theories. Context, mechanism and outcome patterns, identified in each case, are presented. Building on economic market, institutional and network theories the research identifies organising vision theory and community discourse as explanations for organisational legitimation that can circumscribe the use of e-marketplace trading. Six types of community group that influence organisational adoption of e-marketplace technology are identified. The research suggests that the influence of these groups within the organisation, the fit with organisational culture and strategic objectives can prevent or instigate change. Further, the decision making process supported by the group (or group member) is more influential in the strategic adoption of the e-marketplace than the ability of the technology to deliver efficiency or transaction processing gains. This implies that technology adoption studies should include contextual and environmental issues and practitioners should examine how much their decision making is influenced by organisational and environmental features. The thesis contributes to the discussion on organising vision theory, e-marketplace trading and business value creation. It demonstrates the application of the structured case study methodology to research that is underpinned by critical realism

Construction management abstracts : cumulative abstracts and indexes of journals in construction management, 1983-2000

The purpose of this document is to provide a single source of reference for every paper published in the journals directly related to research in Construction Management. It is indexed by author and keyword and contains the titles, authors, abstracts and keywords of every article from the following journals: • Building Research and Information (BRI) • Construction Management and Economics (CME) • Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management (ECAM) • Journal of Construction Procurement (JCP) • Journal of Construction Research (JCR) • Journal of Financial Management in Property and Construction (JFM) • RICS Research Papers (RICS) The index entries give short forms of the bibliographical citations, rather than page numbers, to enable annual updates to the abstracts. Each annual update will carry cumulative indexes, so that only one index needs to be consulted

Case study : an evaluation of the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP) at a South African municipal entity.

Master of Commerce in Information Systems and Technology. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2018.Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a computer based software application that is widely implemented in many business organisations. These systems have evolved over the years into component based modules with the ability to easily integrate with other systems, provide real time information and improve information sharing and collaboration. Choosing an ERP system is a complex process and the literature clearly illustrates the failure of organisations to effectively specify, select and implement ERP systems resulting in the inability to effectively harness the associated benefits. This study focuses on a South African water utility and the processes followed in procuring and implementing an ERP system. It is interesting to note, that in this study, despite the utility having experienced a failed ERP implementation decided to replace the same? ERP system. A rigorous process was followed to find a replacement ERP system only to set aside all alternate commercial of-the-shelf systems and re-implement the original failed ERP system. To gain insight of the processes followed, the COTS theoretical framework is presented to bring the reader’s attention to associated theoretical studies. In this study, we will conduct a systematic literature review on ERP systems, its background, implementation processes and associated implementation outcomes. This research, presents a case study that will describe and explore the process of ERP implementation at the water utility. We will document the process the utility followed in acquiring and setting up functional and non-functional evaluation criteria for the ERP system. Further, we have considered the processes of preparation, evaluation, selection and implementation. The analysis of the implementation process has brought to light the importance of defining ERP scopes based on business requirements, specifications based on the business scopes and evaluation criterion. The findings and results from this case study will contribute to the conceptual and contextual understanding of the specification, selection and implementation of ERP systems

Business relationships in the automotive and component industries in Portugal

Partnering has been the most commonly used term to describe collaboration between a buyer and its direct supplier. The automotive industry has been the basis for the development of most studies on the subject. Despite the many studies on partnering, some people share the view that largely missing from the literature is a clear definition of this concept and of how it operates within dyadic (i.e. between a buyer and its direct suppliers), network and firm contexts. This is found to be particularly important if automotive companies geographically spread in the globe are to be properly managed. The purpose of the research presented in this thesis was to explore inter-firm collaboration and partnering between a subsidiary of a motor vehicle manufacturer and its direct suppliers, taking into account the ownership ties of firms, such as those of multinational corporations (MNCs). The objective was to generate new knowledge on how inter-firm collaboration and partnering operate and on the factors that influence the business relationships that are established between the referred companies. The researcher followed a single case study research strategy in order to develop a new and empirically grounded understanding, while favouring contextualisation and complexity. The researcher adopted a triangulated research design in which quantitative and qualitative data were gathered in two stages, through a self-administered mailed questionnaire and in-depth interviews, respectively. The findings suggest that: (a) relationships can be characterised by several dimensions, (i.e. commitment, trust, win-win, long-term orientation, co-ordination, joint problem solving, flexibility, mutual dependence) each of which is a mix of collaborative and non-collaborative elements; (b) a diversified scenario of relationships can be explained by the different combinations of several contextual factors (i.e. organisational, relational, spatial and network); the importance of each needs to be weighted and hierarchised; (c) the network affects both to enable and constrain the freedom of action at the level of the customer supplier dyad; and (d) partnering is contingent on the position, role and influence at different points in the network. The research argues that relationship management can be enhanced through the application of analytical tools to the assessment of business relationships. New frameworks for analysis are presented as significant contributions to knowledge, among a series of theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions. The researcher suggests directions for research which will further enhance the understanding of inter-firm collaboration and partnering and business relationships within a multinational network context

Small, medium and micro enterprise project success in a state owned entity: a buyer’s view

Abstract: The objective of the study is to identify generic processes and activities for effective Supplier Development in best practice criteria. Primarily, it aims to compare the framework to an existing Supplier Development programme within a State Owned Entity (SOE) to realise if the existing programmes best equip Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and serves the Supplier Development objectives it sets out to achieve and to propose any improvements required. The target population for the research were professionals with a minimum of four years’ post-graduation experience, who were occupying middle and senior management positions and involved in the execution phase of infrastructure construction projects implemented within the SOE. The study focused on the SOE offices located in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Richards Bay, Cape Town and Saldhana offices. The national economy growth is reliant on the construction sector output, due to the increased concentration of small businesses within the sector. However, due to the difficulty experienced in securing continuous contracts, most of the construction SMMEs operate at low capacity and are still encountering numerous diverse challenges and barriers, which prevent their own development and growth. This leads to poor performance that result in the failure to execute construction projects successfully, despite the intervention of government. An empirical study was undertaken; using both quantitative and qualitative approaches and information was gathered using a non-probability purposive sampling technique. The structured questionnaire was dispersed to one hundred participants for the study. A sum of 92 questionnaires were returned, which represents 92% of the total that was distributed. The results indicate that 32.76% of the respondents stated that the SMMES had not received any form of aid from the government. It is also shown that 56.90% of the respondents believe that the SMMEs lack knowledge about the existing Contractor Development Programmes (CDP), as they did not participate in these. Furthermore, the majority 33.85% of the respondents employed within the SOE, also stated that they themselves have very little knowledge about the Hubs within their organisation, while only 6.15% are knowledgeable regarding the Enterprise Development Hubs.M.Phil. (Engineering Management