Risk management in enterprise resource planning projects

In recent years Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have received much attention. ERP are extremely complex information systems, whose implementation is often a complex adventure for business enterprises. The organizational relevance and risk of ERP projects make it important for organizations to focus on ways to make ERP implementation successful. However, dealing with risk management in ERP project introduction is an ambitious task. Numerous risk factors have to be taken into account which include technological and managerial aspects, both psychological and sociological; moreover they can be deeply interconnected and have indirect e ects on the project. Therefore, the risk management process is highly difficult and uncertain. The general purpose of this study is to develop an innovative risk management methodology supporting the formulation of risk treatment strategies and actions during ERP introduction projects in order to nally improve the success rate. In this thesis, the research context, framework and methodology are presented; then main phases are introduced and results discussed

Framing ERP success from an information systems failure perspective: a measurement endeavor

To the best of our knowledge, extant definitions of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) success are not comprehensive, and they do not address all of the most relevant dimensions of this complex issue. Consequently, current ERP success models may lead to deceptive evaluations. Through a rigorous logical shift starting from IS failure, and diverging from classical project management approaches, this paper attempts to define ERP success by means of four factors: Process, Correspondence, Interaction, and Expectation. Results formally integrates the literature gaps and enable the future definition of appropriate measurement items that could steer management practices towards a sounder approach to ERP success

Key antecedents and practices for supply chain management adoption in project contexts

An adequate identification of antecedents is recognized as fundamental in order to set the basis for connecting the inter-organizational networks in a SCM perspective. This work aims to identify key antecedents of SCM in a project-based environment by using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM). This is firstly useful in order to highlight the relationships among the antecedents and to deduce priority for their achievement. The findings provide a hierarchical perspective of the 16 identified antecedents. In particular, three macro-classes of prerequisites were defined: cross-organizational cooperation, rules and procedures — accessibility, and super-ordinate goals. Moreover, results from a longitudinal and illustrative case study are also presented in order to compare the out-coming ISM model with evidence from a success case in the Yacht-building context so offering interesting insights about the implementation process. From a managerial perspective, the proposed model offers a conceptual path for SCM adoption, emphasizing most critical issues that have to be considered and organized in this complex and unpredictable setting

Process-mining-enabled audit of information systems: Methodology and an application

Current methodologies for Information Systems (ISs) audits suffer from some limitations that could question the effectiveness of such procedures in detecting deviations, frauds, or abuses. Process Mining (PM), a set of business-process-related diagnostic and improvement techniques, can tackle these weaknesses, but literature lacks contributions that address this possibility concretely. Thus, by framing PM as an Expert System (ES) engine, this paper presents a five-step PM-based methodology for IS audits and validates it through a case in a freight export port process managed by a Port Community System (PCS), an open electronic platform enabling information exchange among port stakeholders. The validation pointed out some advantages (e.g. depth of analysis, easier automation, less invasiveness) of our PM-enabled methodology over extant ESs and tools for IS audit. The substantive test and the check on the PCS processing controls and output controls allowed to identify four major non-conformances likely implying both legal and operational risks, and two unforeseen process deviations that were not known by the port authority, but that could improve the flexibility of the process. These outcomes set the stage for an export process reengineering, and for revising the boundaries in the process flow of the PCS

Technology assessment with IF-TOPSIS: An application in the advanced underwater system sector

Technologies are pivotal for firms' success, but also resource consuming. Therefore, managers have to assess and select technologies carefully in order to allocate resources on the most promising ones, grounding their decisions on adequate sets of criteria on which experienced people can express their opinion.This work proposes an application of Multi Criteria Decision Aids to technology assessment, where Decision Support Systems offer an effective support for evaluating technology impact on firms' success, building on experts' judgments.The method is based on a peer-based modification to Intuitionistic Fuzzy multi-criteria group decision making with TOPSIS method (peer IF-TOPSIS). A case study in which this methodology is applied to a company operating in the military sector (Advanced Underwater System) is also presented.Besides the empirical proof of the method's suitability and value in assisting managers in their decision, the paper's contributions are both methodological and theoretical. Methodologically, while allowing a peer-based voting procedure, the method enhances the consensus in the firm and limits the possible biases that a supra-decision maker could introduce. Theoretically, the set of proposed criteria includes many facets of the assessment problem, and avoids being tailored to the investigated technological field, so enhancing its generalizability

When IPPMs reduce uncertainty

The Intellectual Property (IP) management in Open Innovation (OI) is one of the most interesting topic in the literature: several authors have highlighted that IP protection mechanisms IPPMs can be useful in order to cope with uncertainty regarding the control over critical know-how, the management of both the background and the foreground knowledge, the property rights and the rights to use innovations, as well as the resolution of possible legal disputes. Our purpose is to identify how IPPMs should be combined along the collaboration phases in order to reduce uncertainty and if IPPMs should be differentiated depending on the different types of partners. On the basis of two case studies in two Italian companies, it emerges the importance to regulate the IP management since the early stages of the collaboration through contractual tools such as Non-Disclosure Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding, Joint Development Agreement, and Rights to Use. Hence, differently from the literature, case studies suggest that the Right to Use and the agreements governing the joint development should be defined in the exploration phase, in order to produce immediate effects in terms of uncertainty reduction. Once in the development phase, each partner will mostly monitor the other partners’ respect of such agreements

Search Practices for Discontinuous Innovation: Scale Development and Construct Validation

Managing innovation and particularly searching for new ideas in a steady state environment is really different than in discontinuous conditions where traditional practices and routines may prove ineffective. This paper reviews and empirically explores the field of search strategies and practices for discontinuous innovation and, for the first time, tests the validity of a "Discontinuous Innovation (DI) Search Capacity" construct. Based on a comprehensive literature review on the innovation search stage and on the evidence of more than 80 case studies reported by the Discontinuous Innovation Lab a questionnaire was developed and submitted to a 500 high tech firm sample. Four DI Search dimensions were identified, each consisting of a bundle of interrelated yet distinct practices. We empirically tested the DI Search Capacity and measured it as second-order construct by using the Structural Equation Modelling

Driving the transition to a circular economic model: A systematic review on drivers and critical success factors in circular economy

The circular economy (CE) is arising as a novel economic system that is restorative by design. In light of its capability to boost sustainable economic development and to cope with environmental challenges, it has recently attracted increasing attention from academics, practitioners, policymakers, and intergovernmental organizations. Despite the wide speculation on this issue, the scientific literature lacks a wide-ranging, systematic, and updated identification and classification of the main drivers and Critical Success Factors of CE initiatives, which appears increasingly necessary to facilitate future scientific work, practical implementations, and policy guidelines. With this aim, this paper develops a systematic literature review by starting with over 400 manuscripts. A final set of 55 selected papers was selected for singling out and classifying drivers and Critical Success Factors in the CE context. The results may provide clear indications for further research, may help business organizations in evaluating CE initiatives, and may guide policy makers in developing and refining CE normative frameworks