Using Alliances to Increase ICT Capabilities

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is perhaps the most important, emblematic and ubiquitous technology of contemporary society. ICT is used increasingly in new product areas and help resolve problems and challenges to mankind; it has even gotten to a point where life without ICT is hard to imagine. Over the last decades ICT has become a core technology within the music, literature and media and many other industries, and reshaped the way we consume these services. For many incumbent firms, the infusion of ICT into their industries poses both threats and opportunities. It might drive significant shifts of financial wealth and make firm performance change drastically. It entails managerial challenges of a kind we might not have seen before, but where knowledge of what possibilities and limitations reside in ICT will be a key success factor. There are several possible ways to approach this challenge from ICT: recruitment, education, training, socialization and M&A are but a few examples. Another way is for the incumbents to team up with ICT firms and seek to learn, or at least access, the knowledge required to utilize the inherent power of ICT. This means that having an alliance, or even an alliance capability that lets you develop an ICT capability will be important. This thesis deals precisely with the challenges that arise when incumbents ally with ICT firms – our case is the security industry, which has had a strong analogue technology base in the past, but where ICT offers opportunity for business development now as well as in the foreseeable future. Based on a theoretical frame of reference, this book then uses empirical observations from four alliances within the evolving, global security industry to validate and develop an alliance framework that can be a great help to both practitioners as well as academia. Even though we suggest to approach the question of alliances with a three-legged model including Transfer Capacity, Relationship Governance and Cultural fit the framework in essence the framework caters for attempts at accessing knowledge and, thanks to the empirical conclusions made, alliances where the main benefit in the end might differ from initial aspirations. It also highlights the sometimes serendipitous and unexpected results of alliances, and that higher aspirations might have to be replaced by more modest ambitions. The fact of the matter is that that sometimes, grand visions of knowledge exchange and accumulation are simply not reachable. In fast-moving industries such as ICT, there might not be time and incentive enough to actually transfer knowledge, but instead ally to access finished products

ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history

The Collaborative learning handbook: A Best practices guide

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Linking Policy Research and Practice in 'STIG Systems': Many Obstacles, but Some Ways Forward

This paper reflects on the relevance of systems thinking about the interdependent policy issues bearing on the dynamics of science, technology and innovation in their relationship to economic growth. Considering the approach that characterizes much of the current economics literatures treatment of technology and growth policies, we pose the critical question: what kind of systems paradigm is likely to prove particularly fruitful in that particular problem-domain: Evolutionary, neo-Schumpeterian, and complex system dynamics approaches are conceptually attractive and we analyze their respective virtues while also acknowledging their more serious problematic features. Those become visible quickly when trying connect systems-relevant research with practical policy-making in this field. Not content to have simply identified some significant obstructions in the path toward that goal, the paper also suggests some potentially feasible ways forward.Techonological Change, systems paradigm, STIG systems,

Factors influencing the acceptance of mobile banking services among students of higher education at Klang Valley in Malaysia

The mobile banking in Malaysia is still in its infancy stage and the reason to explain the acceptance as well as the understanding of the actual usage level of mobile banking services still remains unclear. Various models have been developed and proposed to increase the understanding of this issue. The proposed model of Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour was empirically evaluated by decomposing the attitude, perceived behavioural control, subjective norm, perceived risk and perceived trust. The decomposition approach adopted by models provide a detailed set of antecedents that could better explain the intention to adopt mobile banking. Data was collected through self administered survey questionnaire from 302 full time students in local public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Structural Equation Modeling is the main statistical technique applied in this study. This study revealed that actual use of mobile banking recorded low level of usage. In particular, the study found that the attitude, perceived behavioural control and perceived trust are found to have a significant effect on the students‘ intention to use mobile banking except for subjective norm and perceived risk which were partially supported. However, on the antecedent effect of the main belief, the perceived ease of use and perceived security was found to have insignificant result. Overall, the result signifies that the model support a good understanding of the factors that influence the intention to use and actual usage of mobile banking. As expected, the main belief provides more decomposition of the specific factors that influence behaviour. Finally, limitations of the research and recommendations for future research are presented

Blockchain Mediated Control: A Case Study of Implementation Strategies in Permissioned and Permissionless Blockchain Projects

Blockchain could improve existing business processes by enabling networks of users, businesses, partners, and others to execute transactions trusted through cryptography, decentralization, and consensus. The financial technology (fintech) industry has been the first adopter of blockchain technology, which has set an example for other industries to translate blockchain’s unique attributes to other use cases. However, blockchain could disrupt existing organizational governance and decision-making. Lacking knowledge of the complex landscape in which blockchain operates, concerns arise, driving organizations and researchers alike to investigate technological- and organizational outcomes. In this dissertation, we investigate how Blockchain can function as a Technology-Mediated Control technology and how this can affect network participants. To evaluate various adoption intentions, we employ a case study in conjunction with a literature review. Interviews with project managers from various Norwegian organizations utilizing either permissioned or permissionless blockchains provided us with their perspective on the processes and potential structural changes. Legacy systems in processes outside the jurisdiction of the respective organizations was a common concern, according to both research papers and interviews. Consequently, the maturity of technological factors is a significant barrier for organizations to implement blockchain, necessitating a new standard of cooperation between organizations. According to the research, the most significant contribution is the theory of blockchain-mediated control, whereas blockchain functions as the technology that mediates control. In addition, we identified a potential risk propagation within the theory that eludes current solutions: the oracle problem in smart contracts

Blockchain Mediated Control: A Case Study of Implementation Strategies in Permissioned and Permissionless Blockchain Projects

Blockchain could improve existing business processes by enabling networks of users, businesses, partners, and others to execute transactions trusted through cryptography, decentralization, and consensus. The financial technology (fintech) industry has been the first adopter of blockchain technology, which has set an example for other industries to translate blockchain’s unique attributes to other use cases. However, blockchain could disrupt existing organizational governance and decision-making. Lacking knowledge of the complex landscape in which blockchain operates, concerns arise, driving organizations and researchers alike to investigate technological- and organizational outcomes. In this dissertation, we investigate how Blockchain can function as a Technology-Mediated Control technology and how this can affect network participants. To evaluate various adoption intentions, we employ a case study in conjunction with a literature review. Interviews with project managers from various Norwegian organizations utilizing either permissioned or permissionless blockchains provided us with their perspective on the processes and potential structural changes. Legacy systems in processes outside the jurisdiction of the respective organizations was a common concern, according to both research papers and interviews. Consequently, the maturity of technological factors is a significant barrier for organizations to implement blockchain, necessitating a new standard of cooperation between organizations. According to the research, the most significant contribution is the theory of blockchain-mediated control, whereas blockchain functions as the technology that mediates control. In addition, we identified a potential risk propagation within the theory that eludes current solutions: the oracle problem in smart contracts

Decentralized vs. Distributed Organization: Blockchain, Machine Learning and the Future of the Digital Platform

The terms decentralized organization and distributed organization are often used interchangeably, despite describing two distinct phenomena. I propose distinguishing decentralization, as the dispersion of organizational communications, from distribution, as the dispersion of organizational decision-making. Organizations can be distributed without being decentralized (and vice versa), and having multiple management layers directly affects only distribution – not decentralization. This proposed distinction has implications for understanding the growth of digital platforms (e.g. amazon.com), which dominate the global economy in the 21st century. While prominent platforms typically use machine learning as their core technology to transform inputs (e.g. data) into outputs (e.g. matchmaking services), blockchain has emerged as an alternative technological blueprint. I argue that blockchain enables platforms that are both decentralized and distributed (e.g. Bitcoin), whereas machine learning fosters centralized communications and the concentration of decision-making (e.g. Facebook Inc.). This distinction has crucial implications for antitrust policy, which, I contend, should shift both its analysis and its target of action away from the corporate level and focus instead on the data level. Based on this essay’s framework, I make several predictions regarding the future of competition between centralized and decentralized platforms, the evolution of government regulation, and broader implications for managers in the digital economy and for the business schools charged with their education. I conclude with reflections on the opportunity to revive cybernetic thinking for preventing a dystopian future dominated by a handful of platform behemoths