Moving enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to the cloud: the challenge of infrastructural embeddedness

Cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions allow organizations to support and coordinate key business processes by leveraging virtualization. Nevertheless, moving ERPs to the cloud is not straightforward, and organizational cloud ERP initiatives raise multiple concerns. We conducted an in-depth systematic review of relevant research literature and identified six key concerns related to cloud ERP implementation: a) the introduction of new ERP work arrangements, b) the migration of legacy data, c) the assurance of compliance with extant rules and regulations for security, d) the continuous alignment between ERP functionality and business processes, e) the ongoing integration between ERPs and the rest of the organization’s application portfolio, and f) the establishment of adequate reliability levels. The identified concerns are associated with both transition management and operations supported by cloud ERPs. All the identified concerns are also related to the need to achieve infrastructural embeddedness. This need sets ERPs apart from other types of cloud-based applications, such as office automation solutions that do not have as many dependencies and exchanges with other systems and repositories within an organization’s information infrastructure. We argue that the challenge of embeddedness has different implications for organizations of different sizes, and we call for further empirical research

Moving enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to the cloud: the challenge of infrastructural embeddedness

Cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions allow organizations to support and coordinate key business processes by leveraging virtualization. Nevertheless, moving ERPs to the cloud is not straightforward, and organizational cloud ERP initiatives raise multiple concerns. We conducted an in-depth systematic review of relevant research literature and identified six key concerns related to cloud ERP implementation: a) the introduction of new ERP work arrangements, launch b) the migration of legacy data, c) the assurance of compliance with extant rules and regulations for security, d) the continuous alignment between ERP functionality and business processes, e) the ongoing integration between ERPs and the rest of the organization’s application portfolio, and f) the establishment of adequate reliability levels. The identified concerns are associated with both transition management and operations supported by cloud ERPs. All the identified concerns are also related to the need to achieve infrastructural embeddedness. This need sets ERPs apart from other types of cloud-based applications, such as office automation solutions that do not have as many dependencies and exchanges with other systems and repositories within an organization’s information infrastructure. We argue that the challenge of embeddedness has different implications for organizations of different sizes, and we call for further empirical research.publishedVersio

Understanding Cloud ERP Adoption Phenomenon: Large Organizational Perspective

Ushered by the emergence of cloud computing technologies in the late 2000s, cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are becoming the ‘new normal’ as organizations are migrating their on-premise ERP to the cloud. Consensus in the literature indicates the criticality of transition to cloud based technologies fraught with both benefits and risks. Experts have advocated for extensive judgement and insights of IT decision makers, which are more applicable for large organizations. A research model, influenced by the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and ambidexterity construct, has been developed to understand senior managers’ decision-making process for cloud ERP adoption. Being exploratory and theory building in nature, multi-case study method will be applied. This study is expected to contribute to innovation adoption literature as well as help in clients’ better understanding for resolution of decisional dilemma in case of complex system adoption such as cloud ERP

Moving enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to the cloud: the challenge of infrastructural embeddedness

Cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions allow organizations to support and coordinate key business processes by leveraging virtualization. Nevertheless, moving ERPs to the cloud is not straightforward, and organizational cloud ERP initiatives raise multiple concerns. We conducted an in-depth systematic review of relevant research literature and identified six key concerns related to cloud ERP implementation: a) the introduction of new ERP work arrangements, launch b) the migration of legacy data, c) the assurance of compliance with extant rules and regulations for security, d) the continuous alignment between ERP functionality and business processes, e) the ongoing integration between ERPs and the rest of the organization’s application portfolio, and f) the establishment of adequate reliability levels. The identified concerns are associated with both transition management and operations supported by cloud ERPs. All the identified concerns are also related to the need to achieve infrastructural embeddedness. This need sets ERPs apart from other types of cloud-based applications, such as office automation solutions that do not have as many dependencies and exchanges with other systems and repositories within an organization’s information infrastructure. We argue that the challenge of embeddedness has different implications for organizations of different sizes, and we call for further empirical research

SOFTWARE-AS-A-SERVICE (SAAS) INNOVATION IN THE CONTEXT OF SOFTWARE INDUSTRY: A RESOURCE ORCHESTRATION PERSPECTIVE

Cloud computing brings a paradigm shift in the software industry and changes the business model of software vendors (SV). Software as a service (SaaS), the most popular form of cloud computing, has been recognized as the fundamental change in the delivery, utilization, and management of software. While the transformation to SaaS requires changes within the organization, SVs must actively take action to attract customers to accept the SaaS business model, the so-called pull strategy. Drawing on the resource orchestration view, we propose that the antecedents (i.e., structuring cloud resources, developing service bundling capability, and leveraging cloud ecosystem) are related to the likelihood of an innovative SaaS, which, in turn, is associated with SaaS attractiveness to users. Our proposed research framework provides a guideline for SV to attract and persuade customers to adopt SaaS solutions actively

An Empirical Analysis of Software-as-a-Service Development Mode and Its Impacts on Firm Performance

In this paper, we address the following two research questions: (1) Under what circumstances will firms prefer internal SaaS development to external sourcing; and (2) how does the SaaS development mode affect firm performance? We examine the SaaS development actions in the computer industry (SIC code 737) from 2003 to 2012. Preliminary analysis results demonstrate that firms with large amount of working capital can consider developing SaaS application in-house. However, if firms have high level of R&D capability, they may have better absorptive capability of technology innovation. Firms can grasp SaaS innovation through external sourcing. Firms shall also take into account the market characteristics when making the development choice. Our results indicate that the strategic decision of SaaS development mode will have short-term impact on firm performance (i.e., gross margin and market share), but not for the long-run performance (Tobins’q)

HOW TO IMPLEMENT AGILE IT SETUPS: A TAXONOMY OF DESIGN OPTIONS

The digital transformation requires organizations to rethink how they interact with customers, define value propositions, leverage data, and organize internal operations. Evolving into an indispensable part of value creation, IT organizations are required to not only plan, build, and run IT services in the safe and steady mode, but also to enable organizations seizing digital opportunities in an agile and adaptive mode. Despite mature knowledge on IT organizations, ambidextrous IT, and agile methods, there is high uncertainty on how to implement bimodal IT organizations. To address this gap, we propose a taxonomy of design options for the agile mode. Our taxonomy includes seven dimensions (i.e., scope, institutionalization, accountability, governance, location, staffing, and technical integration) that address relevant questions regarding the design of agile IT setups. While creating our taxonomy, we built on extant literature and involved experts from various organizations (e.g., Chief Information Officers, Digital Transformation Officers, and Managing Directors of IT departments). These experts did not only validate our taxonomy regarding real-world fidelity and understandability, but also applied it to classify the agile IT setups of their organizations. Thus, our study contributes to descriptive knowledge and delivers practically relevant insights into existing agile IT setups

Dynamic Capabilities in Information Systems Research: A Critical Review, Synthesis of Current Knowledge, and Recommendations for Future Research

Over the past twenty years, the dynamic capabilities view (DCV) has gained prominence in the IS field as a theoretical perspective from which to explain competitive advantage in turbulent environments. While there are quite a few review studies of dynamic capabilities (DCs) in the strategic management domain, research on DCs in the IS area has not been synthesized nor critically analyzed. The result is that the role that IT plays in the DCV remains largely ambiguous, and the way we think and conduct IS research on DCs is unquestioned. Addressing this, we conducted a critical review of DCs in IS research based on 136 papers. Our review provides a synthesis of contemporary knowledge on DCs that emphasizes the role of IT in this research, and a critical analysis of the assumptions underlying this literature. In addition, we develop a minimum DC definition for future research as a solution to the conceptual issues that we uncovered via the critical analysis. We further leverage the remaining findings of our critical review by providing a detailed research agenda for future investigations on DCs by IS scholars