DO PROCESS STANDARDIZATION AND AUTOMATION MEDIATE OR MODERATE THE PERFORMANCE EFFECTS OF XML? AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS IN THE PUBLISHING SECTOR

We draw on process theory to examine how information technology standards affect firm performance via and in conjunction with process variables. In contrast to past IT performance studies that have been rather silent on the simultaneous investigation of indirect and enabling effects of process variables, this study takes an integrative approach by comparing moderating and mediating effects of process standardization and process automation. The model is empirically tested by investigating the (perceived) performance impact of the IT standard XML using data collected from 201 publishing firms in Germany. While process variables showed strong and significant mediating effects in the relationship between IT and perceived cost effectiveness, we could not detect significant moderating effects of process variables. Furthermore, process standardization consistently outperformed process automation in terms of effect magnitude and strength of impact on perceived cost effectiveness. The implications of these findings and the limitations of the study are discussed in an effort to contribute to a methodological extension of the business value of IT debate at the organizational level of analysis

The Risks of Sourcing Software as a Service – An Empirical Analysis of Adopters and Non-Adopters

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is said to become an important cornerstone of the Internet of Services. However, while some market research and IT provider firms fervently support this point-of-view, others already conjure up the failure of this on-demand sourcing option due to considerable risks associated with SaaS. Although there is a substantial body of research at the intersection of traditional and on-demand IT outsourcing and risk management, existing research is virtually silent on analyzing the risks of SaaS. This study thus seeks to deepen the understanding of a comprehensive set of risk factors affecting the adoption of SaaS and discriminates between SaaS adopters and non-adopters. Grounded in perceived risk theory, we developed a research model that was analyzed with survey data of 379 firms in Germany. Our analysis revealed that security risk was the dominant factor influencing companies’ overall risk perceptions on SaaS-based sourcing. Moreover, we found significant differences between adopters’ and non-adopters’ perceptions of performance and financial risks. Overall, this study provides relevant findings that potential and actual SaaS clients may use to better assess SaaS-based offerings. For SaaS providers, our study gives important factors to emphasize when offering SaaS services to companies in different stages of the technology adoption lifecycle

IT STANDARD IMPLEMENTATION AND BUSINESS PROCESS OUTCOMES - AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF XML IN THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY

Despite huge incentives and investments in information technology (IT) standards, many firms still fail to fully benefit from their implementations. To explain such failures, we examine why some firms benefit more from IT standard implementation than others. Specifically, we look at the implementation of the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) from a technological diffusion perspective, and investigate under what contextual conditions the extent of XML implementation has the greatest effect on business process outcomes. Using empirical data from the publishing industry (N=188), we find that the extent of XML implementation impacts business process outcomes, and both business process radicalness of XML implementation and related XML knowledge play moderating roles. For information systems (IS) practice, this study helps managers direct their attention to the most promising factors and elaborates on their differential effects on business process outcomes. For IS research, it integrates innovation diffusion theory into our current knowledge of IT implementation and provides theoretical explanations for XML implementation successes and failures

The Adoption of and Satisfaction with Web2.0 Based Collaboration and Knowledge Management Technologies in Global Software Development – Insights from an Empirical Study

The paper at hand presents findings of a survey- and case study based investigation of using innovative Web2.0 collaboration and knowledge management technologies in the software development process of global companies. While the empirical study shows that adoption rates are already considerably high, the satisfaction with using Web2.0 technologies and the resulting success highly depend on the adoption speed as well as on the mastery of special operating capabilities within the local IT and product development departments. In addition to these quantitative and survey-based findings, 3 case examples shed light on specific application scenarios of Web2.0 collaboration and knowledge management applications in different industries. Besides the exemplary illustration of where these innovative web technologies can support global software development processes, economic and strategic benefits of introducing them are highlighted

Does Personality Matter in the Evaluation of ERP Systems? Findings from a Conjoint Study

Most leading organizations, in all sectors of industry, commerce and government are dependent uponERP for their organizational survival. Yet despite the importance of the decision to adopt ERP, ISresearch has so far neglected to comprehensively study the evaluation of ERP systems in general, andthe impact of individual characteristics of IS managers on the ERP acquisition decision in particular.This study is the first of its kind to examine the impact of personality traits of IS managers on therelative importance they ascribe to evaluation criteria in ERP selection. We present the results whichprovide interesting insights into what evaluation criteria are more or less important for IS managerswith different personality styles. In line with findings at the intersection of personality and IS research,we found that the personality dimensions of the five-factor model do considerably matter in ERPevaluation in the sense that the relative importance ascribed to evaluation criteria are affected byindividual personality traits. Theoretical and practical implications are derived from our findings toadvance insights for ERP adopters and vendors into the ERP evaluation process and to enhance theprecision of IS theory

Supporting Global Software Development with Web 2.0 Technologies - Insights from and Empirical Study

The paper at hand presents findings of a survey- and case study based investigation of using innovative Web2.0 technologies in the software development process of global companies. While the empirical study shows that adoption rates are already quite high, the satisfaction with using Web2.0 technologies and the resulting success highly depend on the adoption speed as well as on the mastery of special operating capabilities within the local IT and product development departments. In addition to these quantitative and survey-based findings, 3 case examples shed light on specific application scenarios of Web2.0 applications in different industries. Besides the exemplary illustration of where these innovative web technologies can support global software development processes, economic and strategic benefits of introducing them are highlighted