Enabling the transfer of information technology support knowledge to enterprise customers using web-based self-service systems : critical success factors from the support organisation perspective

This paper explores critical success factors (CSFs) in the transfer of after-sales information technology (IT) support knowledge from IT product and service firms that provide IT support services (“IT support organisations”) to enterprise customers, when Web-based Self-service Systems (WSSs) are used. The research explores the topic from an IT support organisation perspective in an interpretive multi-stage study involving six large multinational IT support businesses. Key findings reported in the paper include six categories of CSFs, and twenty-seven CSFs distributed across the six categories. The findings suggest that researchers and practitioners consider planning and implementing WSSs for after-sales IT support provision within a complex network of IT support organisations, business partners and enterprise customers

Toward successful knowledge transfer in web-based self-service for information technology services

Web-based self-service has emerged as an important strategy for providing pre- and post-sales customer support. Yet, there is a dearth of theoretical or empirical research concerning the organisational, customer-oriented, knowledge-based, and employee-oriented factors that enable web-based self-service systems (WSS) to be successful in a competitive global marketplace. In this paper, we describe and discuss findings from the first phase of a multi-method research study designed to address this literature gap. This study explores critical success factors (CSFs) involved in the transfer of support-oriented knowledge from an information technology (IT) services firm to commercial customers when WSS are employed. Empirical data collected in a CSF study of a large multinational IT services business are used to identify twenty-six critical success factors. The findings indicate that best-in-class IT service providers are aware of a range of critical success factors in the transfer to commercial customers of resolutions and other support-oriented knowledge via WSS. However, such firms remain less certain about what is needed to support customer companies after support-oriented knowledge has initially been transferred to the customer firm.<br /

Käsitteellinen lähestymistapa organisatoristen verkostojen tutkimukseen

Tutkimusympäristöt joissa eri tieteenalojen tutkijat toimivat yhdessä ratkaistakseen verkostoissa toimivien kumppaniyritysten ongelmia ovat haasteellisia tiedonvaihdon ja tutkimustiedon keräämisen kannalta. Vaikka tutkimuskohde on yhteinen, tutkijat lähestyvät sitä omien tieteidensä näkökulmasta käyttäen siihen teorioita ja menetelmiä jotka eivät ole yhteensopiva muiden kanssa. Lapin yliopistossa tehdyn tutkimustyön aikana nämä ongelmat tulivat esiin, kun useissa monialaisissa projekteissa tarkasteltiin liiketoimintaverkostoja sekä teollisuusliiketoiminnan että matkailun alalta. Projektien kohteina olevissa verkostoissa yritykset pyrkivät tyypillisesti hakemaan verkostotoiminnasta hyötyjä informaatioteknologian avulla tehostaakseen liiketoimintasuhteitaan ja siten edesauttamaan johtamiseen ja operatiiviseen toimintaan liittyvää tiedonkulkua. Pääasiallinen ongelma näissä ympäristöissä tapahtuvassa tutkimuksessa on, että uudet projektit eivät helposti pysty hyödyntämään edellisten projektien tuotoksia, koska aikaisemmin kerättyä tutkimustietoa, analyysejä tai luotuja ratkaisumalleja ei ole saatavilla siinä muodossa että ne voitaisiin ottaa uuden tutkimuksen pohjaksi. Tässä työssä on tarkasteltu ja kehitetty käsitteellisiä malleja ja niihin liittyviä menetelmiä, jotka tukevat monitieteistä liiketoimintaverkostojen tutkimusta, ja samalla tekevät mahdolliseksi hyödyntää jo olemassa olevaa tutkimustietoa. Tässä diplomityössä kehitetty ratkaisu perustuu liiketoimintaverkostojen analysointiin käsitemallintamisen avulla. Tämän tuloksena on luotu organisatoristen ympäristöjen käsitemalli, joka keskittyy integraatiota edistäviin yhteistoimintasuhteisiin, ja kuvattu siihen liittyvä tutkimuksellinen prosessi joka mahdollistaa projektin aikana syntyvän tutkimusaineiston käsitteellistämisen ja lisätiedon liitämisen niihin. Tämä helpottaa tutkimustiedon jäsentämistä ja sen jakamista tutkijoiden ja kohdealueen toimijoiden välillä. Lisäksi työssä määritellään metatietokuvauksia ja rajattuja sanastoja jotka perustuvat semanttisen webin tekniikoihin, joilla voidaan luokitella eri projektien aikana syntyviä tutkimusartefakteja ja hallinnoida tutkimustietoa.The research settings, where project teams consisting of researchers from different scientific fields, and working together to provide solutions to the issues of networked partner organizations, are challenging in terms of communicating and accumulating research knowledge. Although the focus of the research is shared, difficulties emerge because it is explored from different scientific perspectives, relying on theories and methods that do not match with others. This observation was made during research work conducted at the University of Lapland in projects that concentrated on business networks in the manufacturing and tourism industries. The organizations in these commercial environments typically seek benefits from information technology to intensify the network-wide business relationships and to improve knowledge-intensive operations and management. The main problem is that new projects cannot easily benefit from the results of past projects because the collected research materials, analyses and models are not easily found and they are difficult to align with the objectives of new projects. In this work, to resolve theses issues, conceptual models and related approaches have been analyzed and elaborated to support cross disciplinary research on business networks, and at the same time enable the re-use and sharing of research knowledge. The solution presented in this Master's thesis has been developed by relying on conceptual modelling approaches to analyze business networks. As a result, general concept model of inter-organizational environments has been built that focuses on the integrative relationships in them. Further, accompanying research process that enabies the conceptualization and annotating of the project research outcomes has been constructed. This helps in organizing and sharing research information between researchers and stakeholders. Additionally, metadata descriptions and controlled vocabularies based on semantic web technologies are defined to align research constructs originating from different projects and to support research knowledge management

The relationship between central organizations and local government and their influence on local planning process: A case of council health management team planning in Tanzania

Decentralisation was intended to promote local decision-making and make district health plans more responsive to local needs. However, there are factors hindering these achievements. Among these is confusion about accountability, local government capacity limitations, and infringement of local decisions space. This study aimed to gather new evidence and gain a theoretical understanding of how the relationships between central organisations and Council Health Management Teams (CHMT) influence Tanzania's local health planning process. The study was conducted in Ilala Municipal Council and Morogoro District Council in Tanzania. An exploratory, descriptive qualitative approach was employed where Policy triangle, Decision space, and decentralisation typology were used to inform the study conceptual framework. Document review and Key Informants Interviews were used to collect data, and framework analysis was employed. Generally, the findings suggest unequal space between the central and local governments concerning decision-making. Three primary forms of influences of central-local relations on health planning were identified. The influence on the responsiveness of local health plans to local needs, infringement of local decisions space, and influence on altering central arrangement leading to deviations between written intentions of decentralisation in the health planning process and the practice

The role of the network lead company in integrating new product development processes across strategic partners

In today's network world, advancement in new product development (NPD) is being driven by different types of networks, joint ventures, alliances, outsourcing and mergers. These business trends have resulted in complex organisations and development projects that cross location, company, country and cultural boundaries. The key success is no longer integrating the company's units and activities, but integrating the NPD process across a network of strategic partners. Managing the integration of an NPD process in this increased organisational complexity requires a sophisticated organisation design to facilitate and support the coordination of activities and the flow of information across the network. The research investigates the impact of organisational design of the network lead company (the main company in the network) on the NPD project's integration process elements with external partners and the subsequent effects on performance. The "integration process elements" in this research are: "communication and coordination." I focus on the R&D organisation in the network lead company. Within the R&D organisation, I adopt the project level of analysis and answer the main research question: How can the network lead company design its R&D organisation to support the NPD project's communication and coordination activities with the project strategic partners and improve project performance? The research centres on the integration with strategic partners in whom the network lead company has equity investments (minority holdings). Using data collected from three in-depth case studies of high-tech NPD projects conducted by three network lead companies from different industries, I attempt to extend and merge the knowledge of NPD management and the organisation theory by proposing a contingency model and developing a condition of fit between contextual conditions that characterise the high-tech NPD project and the organisation design of the network lead company. The model suggests that the efficient performance of the development project (shortest, cheapest, and highest quality possible) is contingent on how well the actual intensity levels of communication and coordination fits the required intensity levels. The research also indicates that the required intensity of communication and coordination between the network lead company and the project strategic partners in uncertain and complex project is dominated by the development cycle time (DCT) of the project. Conversely, the actual intensity of communication and coordination between the NPD project team of the network lead company and its project strategic partners is enabled by differentiated combination of R&D organisational attributes: centralisation, formalisation, number of hierarchical levels, team empowerment, and power of the leadership

Strategic alignment in data warehouses : two case studies

This research investigates the role of strategic alignment in the success of data warehouse implementation. Data warehouse technology is inherently complex, requires significant capital investment and development time. Many organizations fail to realize the full benefits from it. While failure to realize benefits has been attributed to numerous causes, ranging from technical to organizational reasons, the underlying strategic alignment issues have not been studied. This research confirms, through two case studies, that the successful adoption of the data warehouse depends on its alignment to the business plans and strategy. The research found that the factors that are critical to the alignment of data warehouses to business strategy and plans are (a) joint responsibility between data warehouse and business managers, (b) alignment between data warehouse plan and business plan, (c) business user satisfaction, (d) flexibility in data warehouse planning and (e) technical integration of the data warehouse. In the case studies, the impact of strategic alignment was visible both at implementation and use levels. The key findings from the case studies are that a) Senior management commitment and involvement are necessary for the initiation of the data warehouse project. The awareness and involvement of data warehouse managers in corporate strategies and a high level of joint responsibility between business and data warehouse managers is critical to strategic alignment and successful adoption of the data warehouse. b) Communication of the strategic direction between the business and data warehouse managers is important for the strategic alignment of the data warehouse. Significant knowledge sharing among the stakeholders and frequent communication between the data warehouse managers and users facilitates better understanding of the data warehouse and its successful adoption. c) User participation in the data warehouse project, perceived usefulness of the data warehouse, ease of use and data quality (accuracy, consistency, reliability and timelines) were significant factors in strategic alignment of the data warehouse. d) Technology selection based on its ability to address business and user requirements, and the skills and response of the data warehousing team led to better alignment of the data warehouse to business plans and strategies. e) The flexibility to respond to changes in business needs and flexibility in data warehouse planning is critical to strategic alignment and successful adoption of the data warehouse. Alignment is seen as a process requiring continuous adaptation and coordination of plans and goals. This research provides a pathway for facilitating successful adoption of data warehouse. The model developed in this research allows data warehouse professionals to ensure that their project when implemented, achieve the strategic goals and business objectives of the organization

Strategic connectivity in extended enterprise networks

Extended enterprises are networks of organizations interconnected to exchange critical resources, such as raw materials, labor, access to markets, specialized skills and knowledge. Information technology (IT) is a key component in managing these interorganizational dependencies. IT can be used to disintermediate supply chain partners or, conversely, tightly couple relations by binding operational functions, processes, strategic plans and knowledge. As IT strategies are developed and implemented, how can organizations visualize and manage interorganizational linkages to gain or maintain competitive advantage? To address this problem, this paper uses the Dependency Network Diagrams (DNDs) representation methodology to augment existing strategic frameworks. DNDs diagrammatically depict the exchange channels, governance controls, and roles within the extended enterprise. DNDs enable the essential elements governing interorganizational relations to be captured and communicated, compared with alternative arrangements, and evaluated in terms of performance and flexibility under changing conditions. With this new tool, organizational strategists can systematically analyze and compare alternative arrangements of electronic channels with an emphasis on deploying interorganizational processes and control systems that synchronize activities across the trans-organizational interface