Organizational determinants of IS performance- a strategic profile perspective

As a strategic resource, an organization\u27s information system (IS) often determines its competitive advantage. Literature have indicated that many organizational factors influence IS performance. However, the effects of these factors may be different for organizations with different distin ctive information management (IM) strategies. This applies the methodology developed by Sabherwal and Chan (2001) to convert organizational strategic profiles to Miles and Snow (1978) typology, validates the methodology and examines the impact of a set of organizational variables on IS performance in each IM strategic profile type. Managerial implications of the findings are also discussed

Exploring the Impact of Technostress on Productivity

Based on empirical survey data. this study uses concepts from socio-technical theory to explore the effects of information and computer technology (ICT) created stress. that is, technostress on productivity. The paper first explains the different ways in which ICT can create stress in users, and identifies factors that create technostress. Then, it establishes relationship among technostress creators and individual productivity, Structural equation modeling is used to analyze the data and test hypothesis. The results support the hypothesized relationship and have valuable implications for management in dealing with technology related stress issues among employee

How End-User Characteristics Affect Technostress: An Exploratory Investigation

Individuals in organizations experience stress as a result of their use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This is termed as technostress. Individual characteristics form an important set of factors that influence technostress, and understanding them is important for developing organizational mechanisms for effecting appropriate adjustments in managing technostress. This paper explores the relationship between three individual characteristics – confidence in using computers, computer literacy, and experience in using computers – and technostress. The results show that a higher value of these characteristics, largely leads to lower technostress

Information Management Strategic Profile and IS Performance - An Empirical Investigation

Literature indicate many organizational factors influence IS performance. However, the effects of these factors may be different for organizational factors influence IS performance. However, the effects of these factors may be different for organizations with distinctive information management (IM) strategies. This paper applies the methodology developed by Sabherwal and Chan (2001) to identify IM strategic profiles based on Miles and Snow (1978) typology and examines the impact of a set of organizational variables on IS performance in each IM strategic profile type. Managerial implications of the findings are also discussed

An Empirically Derived Taxonomy of Information Systems Integration

Information systems integration (ISI) represents the degree of cooperation in information system practices between business functions within a firm and between a firm and its trading partners. Although the establishment of information systems integration objective has been reported as one of the key concerns of top management because ISI enhances the firms’ competitiveness and growth, the classification of the information system practices and its managerial implications are still vaguely developed. The two objectives of this paper are: (1) to develop a taxonomy of information systems integration (ISI) called ISI-Matrix, and (2) to report managerial implications for matching each information system class with business process applications. By using a systematic research investigation approach, two ISI structures are identified: Internal ISI (IISI) and External ISI (EISI) from the responses of 220 firms. The ability to identify and understand the implications of the ISI-Matrix is of critical importance to both academic and management practitioners

A Path Analytical Study of the Effect of Top Management Support for IS

The strategic use of information systems (IS) has become a vital aspect of business strategy. Companies have tried to differentiate themselves based on their use and adaptation of new technology. To accomplish this, top management support has become an integral part of the IS function. The literature has conceptually supported this notion, but empirical evidence has been lacking. This paper develops a framework for the support from top management (TMS Model) as well as empirically tests the relationship between top management support, the IS function, and IS performance with structural equation modeling, with the results supporting the direct and indirect relationship of top management support and IS performance

Measuring Absorptive Capacity: An Antecedent to Time-Based Manufacturing Practices

This study defines absorptive capacity, develops valid and reliable instruments to measure it, describes a framework to examine its impact on time-based manufacturing practices, and test the relationships between these variables

Cellulose II as bioethanol feedstock and its advantages over native cellulose.

Alternative renewable energy must emerge to sustainably meet the energy demands of the present and future. Current alternatives to fossil fuels are electricity from solar, wind and tidal energies and biofuels. Biofuels, especially bioethanol could be produced from lignocellulosic feedstock via pre-treatment and fermentation. The cellulose I content of most lignocellulosic feedstock is significant, yet its highly crystalline amphiphilic structure interlinked with the lignin network makes it difficult to process for bioethanol production. Processing lignocellulosic biomass via a range of physico-chemical, mechanical and biological pre-treatment methods have been well established, however a relatively new area on the use of cellulose II (a polymorph of native cellulose obtained via mercerisation or regeneration) for the production of bioethanol is still in its early stages. Hence, this review discusses in detail the advantages of using cellulose II over cellulose I as feedstock for bioethanol production. Furthermore, current green and sustainable methods for cellulose II production and the advantages and disadvantages of each method are discussed. In addition, examples from literature reporting higher fermentable sugar and bioethanol yields using cellulose II as feedstock are reviewed, thereby highlighting its importance in the field of bioethanol production. The conclusion from this review suggests that, in all the cases studied, fermentable sugar and/or bioethanol production was found to be higher when cellulose II was used as feedstock instead of native cellulose/lignocellulosic biomass. This higher yield could be attributed to the modified structural and lattice arrangement of cellulose II, its porous volume and degree of polymerisation

Photocatalytic conversion of cellulose into C5 oligosaccharides.

Cellulose is made up of linear polymers of glucose monomers that could be a crucial source for valuable chemicals and sustainable liquid fuels. Cellulose is however, very stable and its conversion to a useful fuel or platform chemical products remains a significant challenge (Kimura et al 2015 Sci. Rep. 5 16266; Xia et al 2016 Nat. Commun. 7 11162). Photocatalysis is a versatile technology which has demonstrated potential for solar driven processes such as water splitting or solar fuels production and has also been applied to the degradation of pollutants in air and water and for the production of useful products from biomass. Here, we focus on the products that are produced from cellulose (a glucose (C6) based polymer) photocatalysis that compliment hydrogen production. Probing the initial steps via UV-TiO2 photocatalysis, we remarkably find that an array of oligosaccharides containing only five (C5) carbon units is initially produced. As the process continues, C6 oligo oligosaccharides grow to dominate. The photocatalytic process is generally not viewed as a controllable synthetic process; however, these findings show, on the contrary that photocatalysis at semiconductor surfaces can achieve novel reaction pathways yielding new products

Comparative assessment of visible light and UV active photocatalysts by hydroxyl radical quantification.

A simple method for determining hydroxyl radical yields on semiconductor photocatalysts is highly desirable, especially when comparing different photocatalyst materials. This paper reports the screening of a selection of visible light active photocatalysts such as Pt-C3N4, 5% LaCr doped SrTiO3, Sr0.95Cr0.05TiO3 and Yellow TiO2 and compares them against WO3 and ultra violet (UV) light activated TiO2 P25 (standard commercial catalysts) based on their oxidative strengths (OH radical producing capability) using a well-studied chemical probe–coumarin. 7-hydroxycoumarin, the only fluorescent hydroxylation product of this reaction can then be measured to indirectly quantify the OH radicals produced. P25 under UV light produced the highest concentration of OH radicals (16.9μM), followed by WO3 (0.56μM) and Pt-C3N4 (0.25μM). The maximum OH radical production rate for P25, WO3 and Pt-C3N4 were also determined and found to be 35.6μM/hr, 0.28μM/h and 0.88μM/h respectively. The other visible light activated photocatalysts did not produce any OH radicals primarily as a result of their electronic structure. Furthermore, it was concluded that, if any visible light absorbing photocatalysts are to be fabricated in future for the purpose of photocatalytic oxidation, their OH radical producing rates (and quantities) should be determined and compared to P25