ERP systems in universities : rationale advanced for their adoption

This chapter outlines the significance ofenterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and analyses the rationale used for their adoption. This study is structured around a theory of the motivations for investment in information technology (IT) to support core business operations. The data used for the study are documents published electronically on the Internet by universities. A content analysis was applied to this data. The chapter employs frequent use of quotes from the sources selected to assist the reader to understand the context and to verify the analysis. The findings are that the main reasons for adopting ERP are the modernization of systems, greater usability and flexibility, integration of data and systems, business process reengineering, an increase in the degree of electronic data interchange including the provision of Web-based interfaces to application systems, reduced maintenance and risk avoidance

The role of SME's in promoting EC in communities

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the literature on electronic commerce (EC) in the local arena as a means for understanding the role that small and medium size enterprises (SME's) can play in the promotion of electronic commerce in their communities. Based on the analysis of the literature the Action, Reaction and Interaction (ARI) model is presented. We conclude with an outline of the major directions for future research, with particular emphasis on research on the role of SME's in promoting EC in communities outside North America

Analyzing virtual team development through journals

This paper focuses on journal entries written by members of virtual teams as a basis for analyzing the process of virtual team development. The analysis of the journal entries revealed a six-stage virtual team development process. The paper links this process to the literature on co-located group development, demonstrating that the dynamics of virtual group development follows a pattern similar to the dynamics of co-located group development

Community informatics : building learning communities from the inside out

Community Informatics is an emerging area which examines issues related to the education of the community about the use of Internet technologies for social and economic development. As such, community informatics projects are examples of lifelong education. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the emerging literature on community informatics as a basis for our model of community informatics. We start by presenting the major themes in the research to date. The review is intended to highlight the variables that have been outlined by previous research as determinants of successful or unsuccessful diffusion of information technologies in organisations. We conclude this discussion by outlining the variables from the diffusion literature that can be used as the building blocks for a theoretical model of community informatics. We end the paper with an outline of the major directions for future research emanating from our model

ERP systems using qualitative data analysis to model rationales for their adoption /

This paper describes the construction of a model of the rationales used for ERP adoption. The paper describes the nature ofthe study and the reasons for selecting Grounded Theory as the research technique. The study used a multiple case study approach employing universities in the USA and Australia as cases. The data sources were electronic documents. The paper describes how the Grounded Theory method was applied and how the results were presented. Finally the suitability ofthis approach in this context is discussed

Values underlying ERP adoption

This study examines the values pertaining to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) adoption. ERP systems have been adopted extensively by large organisations over the last fifteen years. The paper examines how value preferences operate in this investment context. Values preferences are extracted from justifications for ERP adoption placed upon electronic media by organisations. A qualitative research approach was followed using eight universities in the USA and Australia as cases. This study identifies the bases upon which ERP adoption is justified and develops a model showing the underlying values behind them

Setting the scene for ERP implementation

This paper is based upon a communication model of the rationales for ERP adoption. It focusses mainly on the themes of, rationality, values, and domination that underlie the model. The potential impact on the organisations that adopt them, in terms of their mission and the people that work within them are critically examined. Conclusions reached in the paper are that risks to organisational mission and work-life issues may be posed by the ERP adoption process

Researching ERP adoption : an internet-based grounded theory approach

Purpose – This research seeks to investigate the introduction of new information and communication technology systems and to describe the development of a conceptual model of enterprise resource-planning systems adoption based on the published rationales organizations use to justify their adoption. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a grounded theory approach to building the conceptual model from electronically distributed documents. These documents were selected from a sample of universities which adopted enterprise resource-planning systems. Findings – This paper reports on the use of grounded theory in the internet context. The study found that there were strong similarities between justifications and reported motives. The study noted that justifications concerning financial, work-life and organisational-mission issues were relatively minor. Research limitations/implications – This model is built on published justifications, which should not be confused with motives. This picture may distort reality by over-emphasising some rationales and under-representing others. Practical implications – This paper may be of interest to researchers considering the use of grounded theory in their research project. Originality/value – This paper describes how grounded theory was used to construct a model of the rationales for adopting enterprise resource-planning systems from electronically sourced documents. The paper is of interest to researchers in information systems and those conducting grounded theory research on the internet

Are you being served? Exploring the role of customers as employees in the digital world

This paper describes research in progress to identify and classify the dimensions of self-service activity enabled through the Internet. It pursues the notion that this process involves turning customers into employees of the organizations from which the service is being obtained

Turning customers into employees research in progress

This conceptual paper discusses the emerging phenomenon of turning customers into partial employees of companies. In order to study this phenomenon, we intend to look at how companies’ websites are used as a means for transforming aspects of the service experience that used to be performed by employees into aspects that are now performed by customers through interaction with the company’s website. Following a review of the literature, we proceed to describe the development of an instrument that measures the process of Turning Customers Into Employees (TCIE) via content analysis of companies’ websites. We describe the methodology that we intend to use to develop the TCIE instrument in some detail. We conclude the paper by outlining directions for future research that emanate from this preliminary investigation