Data-driven Innovation: Understanding the Direction for Future Research

In the contemporary age of information, organisations have realised the importance of “data” to innovate and thereby attain a competitive advantage. As a result, firms are more focused on understanding the potential to achieve data-driven innovation (DDI). Researchers too have focused on examining this novel phenomenon in a broader scope. In this study, we conducted a systematic and comprehensive review of the literature to understand the DDI phenomenon. The findings of this study benefit scholars in determining the gaps in the current body of knowledge as well as for practitioners to improve their data strategy to enhance and develop innovation capabilities

Do we put all eggs in one basket? A polynomial regression study of digital technology configuration strategies

Digital technologies like social media, mobile, analytics, cloud computing and internet-of-things seem to provide organizations with a plethora of options to construct and configure their technology portfolios for enhancing firm performance. Due to seemingly low-cost, subscription-based, easy-to-adopt, easy-to-use nature of digital technologies, organizations are tempted to diversify their technology portfolios to thrive in the hyper-competitive dynamic markets. Using data gathered from chief information officers representing 177 organizations, this research investigates the effect of four digital technology portfolio configuration strategies that leads to firm performance

Exploring the Critical Success Factors for Data Democratization

With the advent of the Data Age, organisations are constantly under pressure to pay attention to the diffusion of data skills, data responsibilities, and management of accessibility to data analysis tools for the technical as well as non-technical employees. As such, in recent times, organisations are focusing on data governance and management strategies such as ‘data democratization.’ Data democratization is an ongoing process of broadening data access to employees to find, access, self-analyse, and share data by removing data silos. By democratizing organisational data, organisations attempt to ensure that employees can speak the language of data and empower them to use data efficiently to improve their business functionalities. This paper aims to identify the critical success factors for data democratization through an in-depth review of the literature. Based on the findings of the analysis, nine critical success factors were identified as successors of the data democratization strategy

Agri-informatics: A multi-disciplinary literature synthesis

The agriculture industry has gained substantial productivity improvements and efficiencies due to the advancements in the information technologies (IT) landscape. While disparate knowledge in different disciplines is gaining substantial momentum, we need a consolidated interdisciplinary view of the salient findings of agricultural research to reach its full potential. Thus, information systems (IS) researchers have the potential to add value to this emerging theme. We reviewed 200 papers published on agriculture and IT from 2010 to 2016 and the prevailing literature demonstrates the value of this approach for advancing our understanding on agri-informatics. In this paper, we provide an overarching agri-informatics framework, possible theoretical lenses and research questions to encourage IS researchers to develop an effective cumulative tradition of researc

Turning Dust to Gold: How to increase inimitability of Enterprise System

There is an on-going debate over the long-term value propositions of enterprise systems (ES) for competitive advantage, with many arguing that ES have lost their potential to contribute to competitive advantage in the contemporary hyper-competitive markets. While acknowledging that an ES is a valuable, rare and non-substitutable resource that is common to all competitors, it is further questionable how ES contribute to competitive advantage. Using the fourth characteristic of the resource-based view, we investigate how inimitability of ES can contribute to competitiveness. Using qualitative evidence from nine case studies this study derives three conditions that facilitate ES to be inimitable

Attaining business alignment in information technology innovations led by line-of-business managers

With the advent of digital technologies, the line-of-business (LOB) managers have a unique opportunity to innovate by developing LOB specific technology applications. While this is opportune for the LOBs, such myopic innovations often yield conflicts with the corporate IT strategy, creating a mis-alignment. Past literature argues that for IT innovations to create firm performance, they must attain a high degree of IT-business alignment. With a backdrop of growing prevalence of digital technologies, corporate compliance and security reaching highest levels of importance, this research investigates how firms encourage LOB-led innovations, while maintaining corporate IT-business alignment. Using data from four cases, the study provides early insights into LOB-led innovation process and three alignment types emanating from LOB-led innovation

Enterprise System Lifecycle-wide Innovation

Enterprise Systems purport to bring innovation to organizations. Yet, no past studies, neither from innovation nor from ES disciplines have merged their knowledge to understand how ES could facilitate lifecycle-wide innovation. Therefore, this study forms conceptual bridge between the two disciplines. In this research, we seek to understand how ES could facilitate innovation across its lifecycle phases. We associate classifications of innovation such as radical vs. incremental, administrative vs. technical innovation with the three phases of ES lifecycle. We introduce Continuous Restrained Innovation (CRI) as a new type of innovation specific to ES, considering restraints of technology, business processes and organization. Our empirical data collection at the implementation phase, using data from both the client and implementation partner, shows preliminary evidence of CRI. In addition, we state that both parties consider the implementation of ES as a radical innovation yet, are less interest in seeking further innovations through the system

Towards Understanding Enablers of Digital Transformation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Even though, digital transformation has attracted much attention of both academics and practitioners, a very limited number of studies have investigated digital transformation process in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the findings remain fragmented. Given the accessibility and availability of digital technologies to launch digital transformation initiatives and the importance of SMEs in the economy, a profound understanding of enablers of the digital transformation process in SMEs is a much-needed discussion. As such, to address this, in this paper we conducted a comprehensive review of related literature in information systems, management, and business disciplines, to identify key enablers for facilitating the digital transformation process in SMEs