Revealing the Vicious Circle of Disengaged User Acceptance: A SaaS Provider's Perspective

User acceptance tests (UAT) are an integral part of many different software engineering methodologies. In this paper, we examine the influence of UATs on the relationship between users and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, which are continuously delivered rather than rolled out during a one-off signoff process. Based on an exploratory qualitative field study at a multinational SaaS provider in Denmark, we show that UATs often address the wrong problem in that positive user acceptance may actually indicate a negative user experience. Hence, SaaS providers should be careful not to rest on what we term disengaged user acceptance. Instead, we outline an approach that purposefully queries users for ambivalent emotions that evoke constructive criticism, in order to facilitate a discourse that favors the continuous innovation of a SaaS system. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of our approach for the study of user engagement in testing SaaS applications

Understanding the Success of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) - The Perspective of Post-Adoption Use

Understanding the antecedents and consequences of trust in an online and on-demand outsourcing context is important. This study explores the effects of service quality on trust, which in turn affects a client firm’s post-adoption use in SaaS. A research model was developed based on the dedication-constraint framework of social exchange theory to measure service quality, trust, and SaaS post-adoption as multiple dimensions. We empirically examined the model by collecting data from 246 firms (key informants) that have adopted SaaS. Results show that while all three dimensions of service quality (client orientation quality, client response quality, environment quality) positively affect trust in service quality, client orientation and environment quality have positively influence on trust in provider. Both types of trust positively influence post-adoption intention. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications

Understanding Clients’ Intentions to Explore Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Features: A Social Capital Theory Perspective

The pervasive post-adoption of on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS) products via the Internet has provided clients with sufficient convenience and functional flexibility to rent and build the multifunctional services they require. Prior research has called for a deeper understanding of how client firms encourage the exploration of SaaS applications in the workplace. However, exploring the best service combinations depends on the clients’ socially related motivation. Hence, we draw on social capital theory in this study to examine clients’ intentions to explore new SaaS service features. We use service quality to complement structural capital as an indicator, as it is more suitable for assessing the service structure of systems. Drawing on a sample of 246 employees in the IT service departments of small- and medium-sized companies in Taiwan, we generate the following empirical results. First, most of the main effect paths only show significant positive signs for the effect of relational capital on the intention to explore, and the effect of environmental quality on social capital is not supported. Second, we rebuild the mediation model to test the non-supported hypotheses and find that relational capital partially mediates the relationship between service quality and the intention to explore. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discusse

SMEs: ERP or virtual collaboration teams

Small firms are indeed the engines of global economic growth. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play an important role to promote economic development. SMEs in the beginning of implementing new technologies always face capital shortage and need technological assistance. Available ERP systems do not fulfil the specific requirements of Small firms. SMEs has scarce resources and manpower therefore many SMEs don?t have the possessions to buy and operate an ERP System. On the other hand competition and competitiveness of SMEs have to be strengthened. This paper briefly reviews the existing perspectives on virtual teams and their effect on SMEs management. It also discusses the main characteristics of virtual teams and clarifies the differences aspects of virtual team application in SMEs. After outlining some of the main advantages and pitfall of such teams, it concentrates on comparing of ERP and virtual collaborative teams in SMEs. Finally, it provides evidence for the need of ?Software as a Service (SaaS)? where an application is hosted as a service provided to customers across the web for SMEs as an alternative of ERP. It has been widely argued that ERP disadvantage in SMEs such as administrative expenditure and cost, isolated structure, severe lack of software flexibility, insufficient support of SMEs business and high operating cost, lead SMEs to use virtual collaborative team which is net work base solution

THE ROLE OF SAAS SERVICE QUALITY FOR CONTINUED SAAS USE: EMPIRICAL INSIGHTS FROM SAAS USING FIRMS

Despite its success in the software industry, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) still struggles with fulfilling customer expectations regarding service quality. To contain customer churn rates to low levels, SaaS providers have to address their service quality weak spots and find out which factors are crucial for continued SaaS usage. Drawing on previous service quality literature, we develop a Zone-of-Tolerance (ZOT)-based SaaS-QUAL scale and validate it in a model of IS continuance based on two empirical surveys of SaaS using firms. By doing this, we examine the importance of SaaS service quality factors for shaping customer satisfaction and SaaS continuance intentions. Furthermore, we provide insights into what service factors effectively meet or miss SaaS customer expectations. As a practical contribution, we develop and apply a SaaS-QUAL scale that can be used as a diagnostic tool by SaaS providers and users alike. For researchers, we enrich existing research models on IS continuance by integrating a more fine-grained conceptualization of service quality confirmation that provides stronger explanatory power than in previous models

EVALUATING COMPLEX GOVERNMENT SAAS THROUGH VALUE FLOW MODEL ESTIMATION

Government agencies are increasingly making use of cloud computing (CC) services, initially simpler infrastructure and platform as a service (IaaS and PaaS) ones, and later more sophisticated software as a service (SaaS) ones. However, with respect to the latter the electronic support of the high complexity government processes is a difficult task and requires highly sophisticated and complex government-specific SaaS offering extensive functionalities for fulfilling the extensive requirements posed by relevant legislation. It is therefore imperative to conduct comprehensive evaluations of such complex government-specific SaaS, in order to assess to what extent they support the targeted government processes and fulfil their extensive and complex requirements, and also identify and prioritize necessary improvements. This paper presents an advanced methodology for evaluating complex government-specific SaaS, which enables comprehensive multi-dimensional evaluation of a wide range of aspects of them that are highly important in the government context, and detailed evaluation of the provided complex and extensive functionality with respect to the requirements defined by relevant legislation; furthermore, it enables a rational identification and prioritization of necessary improvements. It is based on the estimation of multi-layer ‘value flow models’ of these SaaS from evaluation data collected from users. The proposed methodology has been applied for the evaluation of a complex SaaS aiming to support the wide range of activities of the Greek ‘Local School Committees’, which are responsible for managing all government funding provided for the operation of all the schools in a specific geographical area, as well as all other income of them, and for covering all kinds of their operating expenses as well as purchases. The research presented in this paper can contribute to a more rational, efficient and effective exploitation of an emerging ‘disruptive technology’, the CC, and especially its most sophisticated form, the SaaS, in the public sector

Understanding the Formation of Software as a Service (Saas) Commitment the Relational Value Creation Perspective

This study focuses on the use of an important IT innovation--software-as-a-service (SaaS), and draw on sensemaking and the dedication-constraint framework to explain the formation of SaaS commitment. Building on and extending prior studies, we posit that managers’ perceived relational value from SaaS consumption transforms their initial sensemaking of SaaS features into commitment. SaaS features are characterized as strength frames and weakness frames. Perceived relational values are conceptualized as process flexibility, task-knowledge coordination, process specificity, and trust. The proposed model and hypotheses are largely supported by the empirical data from 169 SaaS client firms. We discuss theoretical and practical implications

Critical factors in information system implementation success : A case study of how to increase the usage of a SaaS based HR system

While the importance of technology has increased in our daily lives, it has also increased with the number of different industries and their external and internal processes. There is a lot of positive evidence of modern technology solutions, for example, to help human resources management, and more companies end up digitizing and updating their HR tools. When procuring information system solutions, companies are increasingly choosing a system from companies that offer their products with agile and cost-effective solutions based on cloud services instead of systems using traditional local installation. The purpose of the study is to find out what are the critical success factors in the implementation of an information system or in the successful introduction of a system to a new employee in the case of a personnel system based on the SaaS model. A successful implementation project is viewed from the perspective of a system service provider and with continuous or increasing usage as the measure of success. Another motivation for the study is to find out what factors influence the end user’s desire to increase or begin to avoid using the system. The study consists of an integrative literature review, in which theory and previous research are used to find out what factors are involved in a successful information system implementation process, and an empirical interview section. The theory focuses on the system implementation process, usability, and user experience in SaaS-based information systems, as well as their challenges from an end-user perspective. Based on the literature review, the critical success factors in successful implementation are the information system as a ready-to-use procurement, the information system implementation process, the implementation from the organisation's point of view, and the implementation from the end-user’s perspective. Based on these factors specified in the literature review analysis, the idea of potential critical factors for successful information system implementation was translated into practice in focused end-user interviews in the study, and thus clarified how these were realised in the success of the case-client company implementation process. The study shows that although no direct previous research on the successful implementation of SaaS systems can be found, the theory of critical success factors in traditional system implementations can be applied from the actual implementation phase and its planning onwards. Companies that make acquisitions of ready-to-use systems easily forget that, despite their apparent ease of implementation, they are essentially ordinary systems, where the most critical step to success in implementation, is where end-users are informed and oriented about it. The results of the study also suggest that increasing communication with end-users is associated with successful deployment, as is receiving feedback from end-users on continuing to actively use it, as end-users want to both understand and influence the tools they use in their work.Samalla kun teknologian merkitys on lisääntynyt päivittäisessä elämässämme, se on lisääntynyt myös kasvavalla skaalalla eri toimialoja ja niiden ulkoisia ja sisäisiä prosesseja. Nykyteknologian ratkaisuista esimerkiksi henkilöstöhallinnon apuna löytyy runsaasti positiivista näyttöä, ja moni yritys päätyykin digitalisoimaan ja päivittämään juuri HR-työkalujaan. Tietojärjestelmäratkaisuja hankkiessaan yritykset valitsevat yhä useammin perinteisen lokaalin asennuksen sijaan järjestelmän yrityksiltä, jotka tarjoavat tuotteitaan pilvipalveluihin perustuvin ketterin ja kustannustehokkain ratkaisuin. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on selvittää, mitä ovat kriittiset menestystekijät tietojärjestelmän käyttöönotossa tai uudelle työntekijälle esittelyssä silloin, kun kyseessä on SaaS-malliin perustuva henkilöstöjärjestelmä. Onnistunutta käyttöönottoprojektia tarkastellaan järjestelmäpalvelun tarjoajan näkökulmasta ja siten, että onnistumisen mittarina pidetään tasaisena jatkuvaa tai lisääntyvää käyttöä. Tutkimuksen toisena motivaationa on selvittää, mitkä tekijät vaikuttavat loppukäyttäjän haluun lisätä tai alkaa välttää järjestelmän käyttöään. Tutkimus koostuu integroivasta kirjallisuuskatsauksesta, jossa teorian ja aiemman tutkimuksen avulla selvitetään millaisia vaikuttimia onnistuneeseen tietojärjestelmän käyttöönottoprosessiin sisältyy, sekä empiirisestä haastatteluosiosta. Teoria painottuu käyttöönottoprosessiin, käytettävyyteen ja käyttökokemukseen SaaS-pohjaisissa tietojärjestelmissä, sekä niiden haasteisiin loppukäyttäjän näkökulmasta. Kirjallisuustutkimuksen perusteella on määritelty kriittisiksi menestystekijöiksi käyttöönotossa näkökulmat, joiksi nousivat tietojärjestelmä käyttövalmiina hankintana, tietojärjestelmän käyttöönottoprosessi, käyttöönotto organisaation näkökulmasta, sekä käyttöönotto loppukäyttäjien näkökulmasta. Kirjallisuuskatsauksessa eriteltyjen tekijöiden pohjalta syntynyt malli potentiaalisista kriittisistä tekijöistä käyttöönoton onnistumiselle siirrettiin tutkimuksessa käytäntöön loppukäyttäjien haastatteluissa, ja näin selvittämällä miten nämä case-asiakasyrityksen käyttöönottoprosessin onnistumisessa toteutuivat. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että vaikka suoraa aiempaa tutkimusta SaaS-järjestelmien käyttöönotosta ei löydykään, voidaan perinteisten järjestelmäkäyttöönottojen onnistumisen kriittisille menestystekijöille tehtyä teoriaa soveltaa varsinaisesta käyttöönottovaiheesta ja sen suunnittelusta eteenpäin. Heti valmiita järjestelmähankintoja tekevät yritykset helposti unohtavat, että näennäisestä helppoudesta huolimatta kyseessä on kuitenkin pohjimmiltaan tavallinen järjestelmähankinta, jossa onnistumisen kannalta kriittisin vaihe on se, missä järjestelmän käyttöönotosta tiedotetaan ja orientoidaan loppukäyttäjiä. Tutkimuksen tuloksista voidaan päätellä myös, että kommunikaation lisääminen loppukäyttäjien suuntaan on sidoksissa onnistuneen käyttöönoton kanssa, ja loppukäyttäjiltä kerättävän palautteen vastaanottaminen sen aktiivisen käytön jatkamisen kanssa, koska loppukäyttäjät haluavat sekä ymmärtää käyttämiään työkaluja, että voida vaikuttaa niiden käyttöön työssään

Expanding market strategies for logon

This company project provides an analysis and evaluation of market expansion possibilities of the German company LogOn. The company offers an innovative and intuitive online matching technology originally designed for online recruiting in the field of human resources. Innovation plays an increasingly important role to be competitive in times of globalization, both in small businesses and general economic growth. Current success with the matching technology raises expansion plans into the area digital advertisement, focusing on an increasingly dramatic situation: on one hand digital advertising spend is constantly growing in Western Europe. On the other hand dissatisfaction with digital advertisement, by reason of low quality and clutter is simultaneously increasing. As a matter of fact advertising is getting less effective. Linking the current situation of digital advertising with the concept of Innovation Management, a new challenge and market expansion into digital advertisement appears possible: can LogOn’s online matching technology expands into the field of digital and media advertising in order to create added value? Following the framework of Innovation Process, the idea generation process delivers a concrete product idea. The matching technology is able to intuitively create a profile of a user. It looks at the motivation of information, estimates possible consequences and generates additional information intuitively. The matching technology serves as an intelligent spam filter, which is able to exclude irrelevant content from a user’s mobile or desktop device. The technology offers a better customer experience and increases customer satisfaction. This benefit can be used in the B2C and B2B sector by offering users a more enjoyable advertisement experience and adding value by making advertisement more effective and successful in general. LogOn´s matching technology has three target groups: users, publisher and vendors