Information Technology Governance Processes Under Environmental Dynamism: Investigating Competing Theories of Decision Making and Knowledge Sharing

This paper describes an empirical study of IT governance processes in complex organizations under conditions of environmental dynamism. Rooted in competing theories of organizational decision making and knowledge sharing, and based on a case study investigation of large, distributed organizations, this study examines the design and effectiveness of IT governance processes from both rational-analytical and social-learning perspectives. The results indicate that, regardless of the level of environmental dynamism, effective IT governance processes are characterized by both methodological comprehensiveness and social capabilities. The implications for theory development, future research, and IT governance practices are discussed

MOTIVATION FOR USING THE SOCIAL COMMERCE WEBSITE IN THE SHARING ECONOMY: A TWO-FACTOR THEORY PERSPECTIVE

The influence and power of the sharing economy are beginning to change our lifestyles and consumption patterns. Among the sharing firms operating in the sharing economy, Airbnb is not only a well-known example of a successful O2O (online to offline) giant but also positions itself as a social commerce website. This study intends to remove the mask of Airbnb from the perspectives of website decomposing because it is important to understand how social commerce is incorporated into the websites of e-commerce retailers to support their online business models. Drawing on the two-factor theory, we focus on the following two research questions: (1) Which website features are hygiene factors and which are motivation factors? (2) How are the hygiene and motivation factors that affect a consumer’s motivation for using the Airbnb website distributed across the stages of the consumer decision-making process? To answer these questions, this study will be conducted by a survey methodology to collect the data

Replica Creation Algorithm for Data Grids

Data grid system is a data management infrastructure that facilitates reliable access and sharing of large amount of data, storage resources, and data transfer services that can be scaled across distributed locations. This thesis presents a new replication algorithm that improves data access performance in data grids by distributing relevant data copies around the grid. The new Data Replica Creation Algorithm (DRCM) improves performance of data grid systems by reducing job execution time and making the best use of data grid resources (network bandwidth and storage space). Current algorithms focus on number of accesses in deciding which file to replicate and where to place them, which ignores resources’ capabilities. DRCM differs by considering both user and resource perspectives; strategically placing replicas at locations that provide the lowest transfer cost. The proposed algorithm uses three strategies: Replica Creation and Deletion Strategy (RCDS), Replica Placement Strategy (RPS), and Replica Replacement Strategy (RRS). DRCM was evaluated using network simulation (OptorSim) based on selected performance metrics (mean job execution time, efficient network usage, average storage usage, and computing element usage), scenarios, and topologies. Results revealed better job execution time with lower resource consumption than existing approaches. This research contributes replication strategies embodied in one algorithm that enhances data grid performance, capable of making a decision on creating or deleting more than one file during same decision. Furthermore, dependency-level-between-files criterion was utilized and integrated with the exponential growth/decay model to give an accurate file evaluation

Integration of decision support systems to improve decision support performance

Decision support system (DSS) is a well-established research and development area. Traditional isolated, stand-alone DSS has been recently facing new challenges. In order to improve the performance of DSS to meet the challenges, research has been actively carried out to develop integrated decision support systems (IDSS). This paper reviews the current research efforts with regard to the development of IDSS. The focus of the paper is on the integration aspect for IDSS through multiple perspectives, and the technologies that support this integration. More than 100 papers and software systems are discussed. Current research efforts and the development status of IDSS are explained, compared and classified. In addition, future trends and challenges in integration are outlined. The paper concludes that by addressing integration, better support will be provided to decision makers, with the expectation of both better decisions and improved decision making processes

Towards the realisation of an integratated decision support environment for organisational decision making

Traditional decision support systems are based on the paradigm of a single decision maker working at a stand‐alone computer or terminal who has a specific decision to make with a specific goal in mind. Organizational decision support systems aim to support decision makers at all levels of an organization (from executive, middle management managers to operators), who have a variety of decisions to make, with different priorities, often in a distributed and dynamic environment. Such systems need to be designed and developed with extra functionality to meet the challenges such as collaborative working. This paper proposes an Integrated Decision Support Environment (IDSE) for organizational decision making. The IDSE distinguishes itself from traditional decision support systems in that it can flexibly configure and re‐configure its functions to support various decision applications. IDSE is an open software platform which allows its users to define their own decision processes and choose their own exiting decision tools to be integrated into the platform. The IDSE is designed and developed based on distributed client/server networking, with a multi‐tier integration framework for consistent information exchange and sharing, seamless process co‐ordination and synchronisation, and quick access to packaged and legacy systems. The prototype of the IDSE demonstrates good performance in agile response to fast changing decision situations

Moving Arts Leadership Forward: A Changing Landscape

Since 2009, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's Performing Arts Program has been making grants to help emerging arts leaders develop satisfying and successful careers through the Next Generation Arts Leadership Initiative. The first phase of that work, which ended in 2015, was funded in partnership with the James Irvine Foundation. It focused on training and retaining emerging arts leaders -- defined as eighteen to thirty-five-year-olds with ten years or less of arts experience -- in anticipation of a widely predicted wave of retirements. The Initiative made grants totaling $1.9 million to five leadership networks across California, and to statewide regranting programs, managed by the Center for Cultural Innovation to support professional development for individuals and innovative organizational practices. While an assessment conducted in 2011 showed that the Initiative was successful in achieving its early goals of building infrastructure and opportunities for younger arts leaders, the Performing Arts Program and our partners continued to grapple with a few persistent questions: what were we preparing up-and-coming leaders to do? To what degree did we aim to sustain the field as it exists or spur its transformation? Were we adequately preparing leaders for the challenges to come? To help answer these questions, in late 2014 we commissioned Michael Courville of Open Mind Consulting to reassess the arts leadership landscape in California and explore opportunities for future investments in arts leadership.The research was conducted in collaboration with a cross-section of local, regional, and national arts leaders, and with the Initiative's partners. It reveals that the arts landscape is in a state of flux and that there is a timely opportunity to reimagine how the nonprofit arts field defines and practices leadership

Assessing spatial information access, use and sharing for catchment management in Australia

Spatial data plays an important role in many social, environmental, economic and political decisions and is increasingly acknowledged as a national resource essential for sustainable development. One of the potential areas where spatial data can make a positive impact is for improved decision making to support catchment management. Reliable spatial data infrastructure (SDI) is needed to record the environmental, social and economic dimensions of catchment management. By building an appropriate SDI, disparate spatial data can be accessed and utilised to facilitate the exchange and sharing of spatial data between stakeholders across catchment communities. The aim of this paper is to identify the factors/variables contributing to spatial information access, sharing and use across catchment management areas and evaluate the current status of spatial information access, sharing and use among Australian states from a catchment management authority perspective. A survey method was used to collect primary data from 56 regional natural resource management (NRM) bodies responsible for catchment management in Australia. Descriptive statistics method was used to show the similarities and differences among Australian states. The key factors which influence sharing and access to spatial information are also explored. We found there is significant for spatial information access, use and sharing to contribute to SDI development

Co-principals: Characteristics of Dual Leadership Teams

A co-principal leadership model has been suggested as one way to address the shortage of qualified educational leaders for our schools and the increased demands on those leaders. The purpose of this study is to describe co-principals in terms of their personal and professional characteristics; the types of leadership models implemented in the schools of the respondents; their perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the co-principalship; the factors that contributed to the implementation of the model in their school districts; and their levels of role conflict, role commitment and job satisfaction. Data were collected from co-principals of public and private schools throughout the United Sates. A variety of schools, in terms of size and grade level, have adopted the co-principalship leadership model. Findings indicate strong job satisfaction

Technic and Collaboration Breakdown Structures: Drivers of collaborative problem solving approaches in a supply chain context

Problem Solving Methodologies have been par excellence a cornerstone element of the firms’ strategy on achieving effective continuous improvement. But the enterprise evolution towards an extended environment characterized by network-based organization has radically changed the problem solving paradigms. This paper aims to propose a generic and collaborative methodology addressing more complex and distributed problems, dealing with Supply Chain issues and having a key role as a driver for building global competitive advantages and create superior performances at a Supply Chain level