Use of computers and applications by senior executives

Purpose: Analyze the relationship between the senior executive and ICT use. Design/methodology/approach: Empirical research through which we propose a framework to establish the main factors that might lead to an increase in ICT use by senior executives. Findings: The main contribution of the present study is the creation of the list of factors that affect the use of computers and applications by senior executives and a smaller group of categories. Research limitations/implications: A limitation of this research is that it should be confirmed by means of quantitative research that would allow us to test the validity of the proposed framework, and also to ascertain the relative importance of each factor. Practical implications: Thus reducing the number of factors and forming a smaller group of categories that can facilitate research. Originality/value: The list of factors that affect the use of computers and applications by senior executives and the smaller group of categories.Peer Reviewe

What groups of factors do senior executives believe affect their use of executive information systems?

In a highly competitive and turbulent environment, executives need more efficient ways to analyze their companies, markets and competitors. The aim is to help their organizations become more competitive and, as a result, survive the changes taking place around them. Executive Information Systems (EIS) can help executives access the internal and external data they need to be able to make the right decisions and achieve their organizations' objectives. We need to know the factors what senior executives believe affect their use of executive information systems because EIS, like any other software, are designed to be used directly by users, in this case, senior executives. The objective of this thesis is to uncover which factors senior executives feel affect their use of EIS, compare the factors they propose to those mentioned in other studies to determine their importance, and group the factors which affect or may affect senior executives. The methodology proposed to group these factors together is Concept Mapping. The structure of this thesis is divided into five main sections after the introduction and the discussion on motivations: the conceptual framework, research methodology, analysis and findings, reflection and discussion, references, and annexes. In the conceptual framework section I define senior executives, EIS and Technology Acceptance Model. The first research question was: Is additional qualitative research needed to find more valuable information about the factors? I can confirm that more qualitative research is necessary to uncover more valuable information about the factors (as presented in section 5.i. above). I extracted 15 factors from the initial interviews and 79 factors from the literature review. However, senior executives rated the 15 initial factors taken from interviews higher than the rest of factors. The second research question was: What groups of factors do senior executives believe affect their use of executive information systems? Examining the results of the survey with MDS and cluster analysis, I have presented twelve groups of factors in section 5.ii. The third research question was: How important are these groups of factors for senior executives? I detail the list of clusters ordered by their average ranking in terms of importance and the average score received. The main scientific contribution of this thesis is having completed one small part of research on one of the most tested and studied theories in IT: TAM. This thesis demonstrates the importance that qualitative research has in terms of studying one type of IT and one type of user before carrying out quantitative research. The main methodological contribution is that it is not easy to do research with senior executives, but, as this thesis shows, the Concept Mapping methodology can help facilitate this process. There are other scientific and methodological contributions detailed in the thesis. This is, I believe, my modest contribution to offering senior executives EIS projects which understand them and their needs more and better while also providing researchers new opportunities for research and I would encourage other researchers to study the importance of previous qualitative studies applied to other kinds of users and systems. Another opportunity for research is to use concept maps to develop implementation projects and compare the success of those projects with other projects which didn't use the concept map as a tool to define the project itsel

Business simulators as a lever to improve the incorporation of the SDGs in the decision-making processes of the company

Integrar la sostenibilidad en la empresa no es una tarea simple. Las empresas deben reforzar sus métodos de gestión para garantizar que incorporan en la toma de decisiones los puntos de vista de los stakeholders. Es un esfuerzo que debe realizarse desde todas las áreas de la empresa, lo que hace más compleja la toma de decisiones para los directivos. Las empresas que tienen en cuenta esta perspectiva son susceptibles de realizar greenwashing. En este artículo, argumentamos que el pensamiento sistémico es el mejor marco conceptual disponible para integrar la sostenibilidad en los procesos de toma de decisiones. Los ODS son el lenguaje actual más internacional. En la segunda parte, proponemos la simulación como herramienta clave para entrenarse en la toma de decisiones, integrando el desarrollo sostenible en la estrategia y en el modelo de negocio. El caso del simulador FoodCompany® de CompanyGame sirve de ejemplo.Integrating sustainability into business is not a simple task. Companies must strengthen their management methods to ensure that they incorporate the views of stakeholders in their decision-making. It is an effort that must be made in all areas of the company, which makes decision-making more complex for managers. Companies that take this perspective into account are likely to engage in greenwashing. In this article, we argue that systems thinking is the best conceptual framework available for integrating sustainability into decision-making processes. The SDGs are today's most international language. In the second part, we propose simulation as a key tool for training in decision making, integrating sustainable development into the strategy and business model. The case of the FoodCompany® simulator by CompanyGame serves as an example

Use of computers and applications by senior executives

Purpose: Analyze the relationship between the senior executive and ICT use. Design/methodology/approach: Empirical research through which we propose a framework to establish the main factors that might lead to an increase in ICT use by senior executives. Findings: The main contribution of the present study is the creation of the list of factors that affect the use of computers and applications by senior executives and a smaller group of categories. Research limitations/implications: A limitation of this research is that it should be confirmed by means of quantitative research that would allow us to test the validity of the proposed framework, and also to ascertain the relative importance of each factor. Practical implications: Thus reducing the number of factors and forming a smaller group of categories that can facilitate research. Originality/value: The list of factors that affect the use of computers and applications by senior executives and the smaller group of categories.Peer Reviewe

Use of computers and applications by senior executives

Purpose: Analyze the relationship between the senior executive and ICT use. Design/methodology/approach: Empirical research through which we propose a framework to establish the main factors that might lead to an increase in ICT use by senior executives. Findings: The main contribution of the present study is the creation of the list of factors that affect the use of computers and applications by senior executives and a smaller group of categories. Research limitations/implications: A limitation of this research is that it should be confirmed by means of quantitative research that would allow us to test the validity of the proposed framework, and also to ascertain the relative importance of each factor. Practical implications: Thus reducing the number of factors and forming a smaller group of categories that can facilitate research. Originality/value: The list of factors that affect the use of computers and applications by senior executives and the smaller group of categories

Framework for the analysis of executive information systems based on the perceived usefulness and the perceived ease of use

The acquisition and use of information are key factors in successful executive performance. Although there are various and different media that executives use to obtain information, in the last decade the academic research has emphasised computer-based systems. Inside this group of systems, we can find the Executive Information Systems (EIS), which are tools that can help executives to obtain relevant information more efficiently. Recently, EIS have been analyzed through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with significant results. A deeper review of these results, the existing literature, as well as our own experience, suggest there are some factors that affect to the use of EIS indirectly or as moderating variables, instead of directly as recent studies suggest. The objective of our research is to propose a framework based on the TAM, which shows the different types of factors that affect to the Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Perceived Ease of Use (PEU) of EIS, as well as how the kind of influence of these factors on PU and PEU