Multi-Media and Web-based Evaluation of Design Artifacts - Syntactic, Semantic and Pragmatic Quality of Process Models

Evaluation of design artifacts is of crucial importance in design science research (DSR). A plethora of evaluation approaches and methods can be found in literature; nevertheless, little work has been done so far to investigate the relation between the evaluation strategies, methods an d techniques in DSR evaluations. Prototype implementations, together with case studies seem to be dominant and the technique of choice to evaluate, often complex artifacts. This paper goes beyond the common approach in DSR, and presents a multi-media and web-based DSR evaluation approach focussing on syntactic, semantic and pragmatic quality. We present the definition of evaluation criteria, the selection of evaluation methods and the findings and experiences gained. The results of this paper can support other design science re-search approaches concerned with the evaluation of concepts or process models

Enhancing Decision-Making In SCM: Investigating The Status Quo And Obstacles Of Advanced Analytics In Austrian Companies

Over the past few years, the stability and predictability of logistics and supply chain networks have significantly decreased. This has led to higher risks and increased uncertainty in decision-making within supply chain management (SCM). Fortunately, the abundance of available data presents a tremendous opportunity to alleviate this uncertainty. However, realizing the full potential of advanced analytics, such as predictive and prescriptive analytics, is hindered by a lack of knowledge regarding their practical applications and performance benefits, as well as a deficiency in implementation expertise. This research paper examines the current state of advanced analytics applications and the primary challenges faced by Austrian companies in this domain. The findings reveal a distinct pattern: although the literature highlights numerous performance advantages, the practical utilization of advanced analytics remains at a rudimentary stage and is primarily confined to isolated departments. While demand management, procurement, and transport planning have shown some initial success in their implementation, other areas like production planning and, particularly, warehouse management lag. The primary challenges observed in practice include a limited understanding of the potential of advanced analytics, lack of transparency and data quality issues, difficulties in internal marketing, and inadequate organizational integration. These challenges, along with potential courses of action, serve as a starting point for other companies aiming to address similar issues. The significance of this work lies not only in its theoretical contribution to existing research on advanced analytics in SCM but also as one of the few studies that delve into the practical implementation and specific application domains of advanced analytics in Austria

Conducting focus group research in a design science project: Application in developing a process model for the front end of innovation

Focus groups are a popular qualitative research method often applied to different areas of such as in medical research. The aim of this research paper is to apply and test the focus group procedure by Tremblay et al. in the setting of a current design science study on the Front End of Innovation. The main results of the current paper are an empirical testing of the Tremblay et al. method and proposed modifications of this method based on said testing. These results confirm that focus groups, conducted in compliance with said method, can be of great use in design science projects to support refining and evaluating artifacts. The results obtained in such manner can provide essential contributions to the knowledge base. The findings also indicate that the approach by Tremblay et al. does not address particular research-setting specific factors, such as the right timing when to actually conduct the focus group, the background of an organization, the contextual influences in participant selection process or the definition of an appropriate setting for the focus group study. The current paper addresses the strengths as well as the shortcomings detected in the current setting and proposes modifications to the Tremblay method

Conducting focus group research in a design science project: Application in developing a process model for the front end of innovation

Focus groups are a popular qualitative research method often applied to different areas of such as in medical research. The aim of this research paper is to apply and test the focus group procedure by Tremblay et al. in the setting of a current design science study on the Front End of Innovation. The main results of the current paper are an empirical testing of the Tremblay et al. method and proposed modifications of this method based on said testing. These results confirm that focus groups, conducted in compliance with said method, can be of great use in design science projects to support refining and evaluating artifacts. The results obtained in such manner can provide essential contributions to the knowledge base. The findings also indicate that the approach by Tremblay et al. does not address particular research-setting specific factors, such as the right timing when to actually conduct the focus group, the background of an organization, the contextual influences in participant selection process or the definition of an appropriate setting for the focus group study. The current paper addresses the strengths as well as the shortcomings detected in the current setting and proposes modifications to the Tremblay method

Multi-Media and Web-based Evaluation of Design Artifacts - Syntactic, Semantic and Pragmatic Quality of Process Models

Evaluation of design artifacts is of crucial importance in design science research (DSR). A plethora of evaluation approaches and methods can be found in literature; nevertheless, little work has been done so far to investigate the relation between the evaluation strategies, methods an d techniques in DSR evaluations. Prototype implementations, together with case studies seem to be dominant and the technique of choice to evaluate, often complex artifacts. This paper goes beyond the common approach in DSR, and presents a multi-media and web-based DSR evaluation approach focussing on syntactic, semantic and pragmatic quality. We present the definition of evaluation criteria, the selection of evaluation methods and the findings and experiences gained. The results of this paper can support other design science re-search approaches concerned with the evaluation of concepts or process models

Multi-Media and Web-based Evaluation of Design Artifacts - Syntactic, Semantic and Pragmatic Quality of Process Models

Evaluation of design artifacts is of crucial importance in design science research (DSR). A plethora of evaluation approaches and methods can be found in literature; nevertheless, little work has been done so far to investigate the relation between the evaluation strategies, methods an d techniques in DSR evaluations. Prototype implementations, together with case studies seem to be dominant and the technique of choice to evaluate, often complex artifacts. This paper goes beyond the common approach in DSR, and presents a multi-media and web-based DSR evaluation approach focussing on syntactic, semantic and pragmatic quality. We present the definition of evaluation criteria, the selection of evaluation methods and the findings and experiences gained. The results of this paper can support other design science re-search approaches concerned with the evaluation of concepts or process models

Multi-Media and Web-based Evaluation of Design Artifacts - Syntactic, Semantic and Pragmatic Quality of Process Models

Evaluation of design artifacts is of crucial importance in design science research (DSR). A plethora of evaluation approaches and methods can be found in literature; nevertheless, little work has been done so far to investigate the relation between the evaluation strategies, methods an d techniques in DSR evaluations. Prototype implementations, together with case studies seem to be dominant and the technique of choice to evaluate, often complex artifacts. This paper goes beyond the common approach in DSR, and presents a multi-media and web-based DSR evaluation approach focussing on syntactic, semantic and pragmatic quality. We present the definition of evaluation criteria, the selection of evaluation methods and the findings and experiences gained. The results of this paper can support other design science re-search approaches concerned with the evaluation of concepts or process models

Conducting focus group research in a design science project: Application in developing a process model for the front end of innovation

Focus groups are a popular qualitative research method often applied to different areas of such as in medical research. The aim of this research paper is to apply and test the focus group procedure by Tremblay et al. in the setting of a current design science study on the Front End of Innovation. The main results of the current paper are an empirical testing of the Tremblay et al. method and proposed modifications of this method based on said testing. These results confirm that focus groups, conducted in compliance with said method, can be of great use in design science projects to support refining and evaluating artifacts. The results obtained in such manner can provide essential contributions to the knowledge base. The findings also indicate that the approach by Tremblay et al. does not address particular research-setting specific factors, such as the right timing when to actually conduct the focus group, the background of an organization, the contextual influences in participant selection process or the definition of an appropriate setting for the focus group study. The current paper addresses the strengths as well as the shortcomings detected in the current setting and proposes modifications to the Tremblay method

Impact of COVID-19 on the Customer End of Retail Supply Chains: A Big Data Analysis of Consumer Satisfaction

The COVID-19 pandemic has been one of the biggest disruptive events of recent decades and has had a global effect on society and the economy. The political regulations resulting from COVID-19 also led to significant changes in physical grocery shopping. However, the specific impact of COVID-19 on consumer satisfaction at the customer end of retail supply chains, i.e., the point-of-sale (PoS), has not yet been addressed. By gathering and analyzing consumer satisfaction data (ratings) and sentiments (evaluation comments) available on the open web, the current study evaluates the impact of COVID-19 on consumer satisfaction at the PoS. Focusing on the five biggest retail chains in Austria, the results show that there was a general and significant decline in consumer satisfaction due to the pandemic. The results also show a high impact of political regulations on consumer satisfaction. Furthermore, the text-mining based analysis of evaluation comments indicate that store layout and facilities, as well as product availability and waiting time had a great impact on consumer satisfaction. In total, over 533,000 consumer satisfaction ratings and over 153,000 textual comments have been analyzed, providing the basis for a comprehensive and sound discussion of the impact of COVID-19 on consumer satisfaction and perceptions. Future research could focus on applying the used data analysis technique and the adapted consumer sentiment dimensions in different settings, such as countries other than Austria or smaller retail chains

Conducting focus group research in a design science project: Application in developing a process model for the front end of innovation

Focus groups are a popular qualitative research method often applied to different areas of such as in medical research. The aim of this research paper is to apply and test the focus group procedure by Tremblay et al. in the setting of a current design science study on the Front End of Innovation. The main results of the current paper are an empirical testing of the Tremblay et al. method and proposed modifications of this method based on said testing. These results confirm that focus groups, conducted in compliance with said method, can be of great use in design science projects to support refining and evaluating artifacts. The results obtained in such manner can provide essential contributions to the knowledge base. The findings also indicate that the approach by Tremblay et al. does not address particular research-setting specific factors, such as the right timing when to actually conduct the focus group, the background of an organization, the contextual influences in participant selection process or the definition of an appropriate setting for the focus group study. The current paper addresses the strengths as well as the shortcomings detected in the current setting and proposes modifications to the Tremblay method