Technical Complexity as Important Factor for Green IS Solutions: Theoretical Background and Exploratory Study

The use of information and communication technologies to improve environmental sustainability has become a new focus of the IS research in the last years. Different Green IS solutions in various areas already exist, that contribute to the environmental, economic or social performance of organizations. Although these solutions are more and more used within companies, the adoption rate of these solutions varies. This paper focuses on the reasons for these differences by using the Diffusion of Innovation theory as a basis for an exploratory study. In a first step Green IS solutions that are currently available on the market are identified. Based on these alternatives, a survey among Austrian enterprises to analyze how the perceived complexity of the solutions influences their diffusion was conducted. The respondents had to classify the complexity of the respective Green IS solution and specify the realization in their company. Results showed that Green IS solutions and measures that are seen as simple in their technical complexity are adopted more frequently

Customer purchase behavior prediction in E-commerce: a conceptual framework and research agenda

Digital retailers are experiencing an increasing number of transactions coming from their consumers online, a consequence of the convenience in buying goods via E-commerce platforms. Such interactions compose complex behavioral patterns which can be analyzed through predictive analytics to enable businesses to understand consumer needs. In this abundance of big data and possible tools to analyze them, a systematic review of the literature is missing. Therefore, this paper presents a systematic literature review of recent research dealing with customer purchase prediction in the E-commerce context. The main contributions are a novel analytical framework and a research agenda in the field. The framework reveals three main tasks in this review, namely, the prediction of customer intents, buying sessions, and purchase decisions. Those are followed by their employed predictive methodologies and are analyzed from three perspectives. Finally, the research agenda provides major existing issues for further research in the field of purchase behavior prediction online

An Enterprise 2.0 project management approach to facilitate participation, transparency, and communication

The use of current interactive and collaborative Web 2.0 concepts and technologies has great potential for flexible, loosely-coupled integration and ad-hoc information exchange within and between organizations. However, stakeholders’ readiness, willingness and ability to participate need to be continuously factored in. The successful implementation of common strategies, systems and processes in the course of Enterprise 2.0 projects is crucial. To increase the probability of success and to enhance the intensity of cooperation and trust in such projects, the constructs of transparency, communication and participation need to be addressed through an integrated project methodology. To bridge the gap between existing scientific models and requirements for Enterprise 2.0 projects, this paper proposes and describes a project methodology to support the main objectives for Enterprise 2.0 implementations. Selected results from two pilot projects within Austrian companies are presented and matched with critical success factors, which are derived from the literature. These provide elaborative insights into key characteristics of certain Enterprise 2.0 tools and project management for Enterprise 2.0 projects

Sustainable IS Initialization Through Outsourcing: A Theory-Based Approach

Environmentally friendly and sustainable initiatives have emerged as important topics in IS research over the last few years.However the existing discussions and scientific contributions in this field are mainly based on case studies and empiricalsurveys. Less research is firmly based on existing IS theories. Furthermore, little research has been undertaken to analyze thecontribution of outsourcing to environmental sustainability. This paper takes a theory-based approach to link outsourcingwith sustainable IS to examine the possibilities of organizations engaging in green and sustainable initiatives. To ensure abroad scope the model is built on the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework. This framework is extendedwith the diffusion of innovation (DoI) theory to incorporate implementation success, technology acceptance and thetransaction cost theory (TCT) to integrate outsourcing success into the model

Factors influencing the organizational adoption of cloud computing: a survey among cloud workers

Cloud computing presents an opportunity for organizations to leverage affordable, scalable, and agile technologies. However, even with the demonstrated value of cloud computing, organizations have been hesitant to adopt such technologies. Based on a multi-theoretical research model, this paper provides an empirical study targeted to better understand the adoption of cloud services. An online survey addressing the factors derived from literature for three specific popular cloud application types (cloud storage, cloud mail and cloud office) was undertaken. The research model was analyzed by using variance-based structural equation modelling. Results show that the factors of compatibility, relative advantage, security & trust, as well as, a lower level of complexity lead to a more positive attitude towards cloud adoption. Complexity, compatibility, image and security & trust have direct and indirect effects on relative advantage. These factors further explain a large part of the attitude towards cloud adoption but not of its usage

Factors influencing the organizational adoption of cloud computing: a survey among cloud workers

Cloud computing presents an opportunity for organizations to leverage affordable, scalable, and agile technologies. However, even with the demonstrated value of cloud computing, organizations have been hesitant to adopt such technologies. Based on a multi-theoretical research model, this paper provides an empirical study targeted to better understand the adoption of cloud services. An online survey addressing the factors derived from literature for three specific popular cloud application types (cloud storage, cloud mail and cloud office) was undertaken. The research model was analyzed by using variance-based structural equation modelling. Results show that the factors of compatibility, relative advantage, security and trust, as well as, a lower level of complexity lead to a more positive attitude towards cloud adoption. Complexity, compatibility, image and security and trust have direct and indirect effects on relative advantage. These factors further explain a large part of the attitude towards cloud adoption but not of its usage

An Enterprise 2.0 project management approach to facilitate participation, transparency, and communication

The use of current interactive and collaborative Web 2.0 concepts and technologies has great potential for flexible, loosely-coupled integration and ad-hoc information exchange within and between organizations. However, stakeholders’ readiness, willingness and ability to participate need to be continuously factored in. The successful implementation of common strategies, systems and processes in the course of Enterprise 2.0 projects is crucial. To increase the probability of success and to enhance the intensity of cooperation and trust in such projects, the constructs of transparency, communication and participation need to be addressed through an integrated project methodology. To bridge the gap between existing scientific models and requirements for Enterprise 2.0 projects, this paper proposes and describes a project methodology to support the main objectives for Enterprise 2.0 implementations. Selected results from two pilot projects within Austrian companies are presented and matched with critical success factors, which are derived from the literature. These provide elaborative insights into key characteristics of certain Enterprise 2.0 tools and project management for Enterprise 2.0 projects

The Role of IT Steering Committees in Attaining Effective IT Governance

Information Technology Steering Committees (ITSCs) serve to lead, coordinate and provide direction regarding specific IT-related projects through the formation of forums involving stakeholders representing different interests and perspectives from within the organization. While the topic has been studied for more than two decades (e.g., Karimi et al., 2000; Kappelman et al., 2013; Luftman et al., 2017), academics and practitioners continue to report mixed results concerning the ability of these committees in enabling effective information technology (IT) governance. In order to contribute to this debate, we aim to identify specific areas where ITSCs can most effectively leverage the processes of IT governance. Specifically, a structured literature review exploring how ITSCs enable effective IT governance in organizations was conducted as an initial phase of this research-in-progress. This review revealed that 1) improvements in communication and collaboration, 2) service and process improvements, and 3) IT portfolio management are commonly mentioned as traits of effective ITSCs. Specific factors that could moderate the process of achieving effective IT governance were also revealed. These factors include 1) developing a shared understanding between the IT and business units, 2) achieving business operational efficiency through IT initiatives, and 3) realizing higher IT project successes through a systematic process of project prioritization and selection. \ \ Preliminary findings informed the development of research propositions and a conceptual research model that will be discussed during the TREO talk. Ultimately, this study aims to develop measures for assessing the efficacy of ITSCs to improve the business value of organizational IT