A Critical Realist Perspective on IS Evaluation Research

It can be argued that the aim of Information Systems (IS) evaluation research is to produce ever more detailed answers to the question of why and how an IS initiative works for whom and in what circumstances. This paper presents an alternative to traditional IS evaluation research approaches and perspectives. The alternative, realist IS evaluation research, is based on the philosophy of critical realism. Realist IS evaluation research attends to how and why an IS initiative has the potential to cause (desired) changes and seeks to understand for whom and in what circumstances (contexts) an IS initiative works through the study of contextual conditioning. The paper also discusses problems with traditional IS evaluation research approaches and perspectives and how realist IS evaluation research overcomes the problems

WHY JOHNNY CAN\u27T OR WON\u27T SPREADSHEET

This paper reports the results from a study on spreadsheet program use conducted in several departments within a city administration. Fourteen volunteer participants began the study by taking a two-day course on the spreadsheet program in question. The purpose of the project was to study spreadsheet program use longitudinally in a natural setting. That only three of the fourteen participants became spreadsheet program users made the question of why the others did not start using the spreadsheet program an interesting one. This paper explores the non-use phenomenon in the context of the spreadsheet program and focuses on four aspects: implementation, organizational support, the spreadsheet program package, and personal and task characteristics. The study suggests that different factors contribute to non-use

Governing and managing enterprise systems integration in corporate M&A

Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have established themselves as prominent tools for corporate strategy. Consequently more and more organizations direct their attention towards the potential benefits of an M&A and the problems of leveraging these potentials. Governing and managing enterprise systems (ES) integration in M&A means understanding how ES integration relates to the M&A context and act upon the environmental pressure on the integration solution. We present a six dimensional framework for ES integration in corporate M&A by integrating previous research on M&A and ES integration. We also present and discuss the ES integration in a corporate M&A: The Trelleborg AB’s acquisition of CMP/Kléber Industrie. Trough the combination of the framework’s dimensions, the dynamics of different parts of the M&A process is captured. We suggest that the framework may be used in further research to build cumulative knowledge about how to govern and manage ES integration in M&A. We also suggest that the framework can be used by firms in their acquisitions as it shows, through the combination of dimensions, ES integration issues, decisions, and actions a firm has to consider in acquisition processes

Knowledge integration in routine work: why it works or breaks

Organisations spend a great deal of efforts on information management, but if they are not successful in information mediation and use, it can be a waste of resources. In this paper we have applied a knowledge perspective on mediation and use. The purpose is to describe and explain why knowledge integration processes in knowledge-intensive routine work may work or fail. As an example of such work we have used a case study from the Swedish healthcare sector, more specifically a microbiology laboratory and some of its customers. Empirical data were collected by interviews and observations, and analysed with the help of theories about knowledge boundaries, knowledge integration and knowledge mediators (boundary objects and brokers). The case analysis shows that the boundaries between these groups are more complicated than they may appear to be at first sight, but also that there are methods to create a common understanding and overcome the complications. The main conclusion is that in this type of work, there are in fact several different boundaries between groups, depending on differences in work tasks, interest and motivation and that various ways to attain knowledge integration, directed both to groups and to individuals, can be required

Non-equilibrium calcium ionisation in the solar atmosphere

Our aim is to determine the dominant processes and timescales for the ionisation equilibrium of calcium under solar chromospheric conditions. The study is based on numerical simulations with the RADYN code, which includes hydrodynamics, radiative transfer, and a detailed non-equilibrium treatment of hydrogen, calcium, and helium. The simulations are characterised by upwards propagating shock waves, which cause strong temperature fluctuations and variations of the ionisation degree of calcium. The passage of a hot shock front leads to a strong net ionisation of Ca II, rapidly followed by net recombination. The relaxation timescale of the Ca ionisation state is found to be of the order of a few seconds at the top of the photosphere and 10 to 30 s in the upper chromosphere. Generally, the timescales are significantly reduced in the wakes of hot shock fronts. The timescales can be reliably determined from a simple analysis of the eigenvalues of the transition rate matrix. The timescales are dominated by the radiative recombination from Ca III into the metastable Ca II energy levels of the 4d 2D term. These transitions depend strongly on the density of free electrons and therefore on the (non-equilibrium) ionisation degree of hydrogen, which is the main electron donor. The ionisation/recombination timescales derived here are too long for the assumption of an instantaneous ionisation equilibrium to be valid and, on the other hand, are not long enough to warrant an assumption of a constant ionisation fraction. Fortunately, the ionisation degree of Ca II remains small in the height range, where the cores of the H, K, and the infrared triplet lines are formed. We conclude that the difference due to a detailed treatment of Ca ionisation has only negligible impact on the modelling of spectral lines of Ca II and the plasma properties under the conditions in the quiet solar chromosphere.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures; recommended for publicatio

A Case Study of an Outsourcing Decision Project in a Large Public Organization

Phases in an outsourcing decision project are presented and critical issues are identified. First, there were different definitions of hosting and these different definitions made it unclear what the project was about and thereby the outcome of the project became unclear. This affected project commitment, project outcome project management, and project costs. Second, there were unclear descriptions of how the hosting was made in the organisation. The study suggests that had there been a clearer and more concise description of what the project was about and how the hosting was made a lot of the difficulties could have been avoided

Enabling open innovation: Proposal of a framework supporting ICT and KMS implementation in web-based intermediaries

Open Innovation is a model used to describe how nowadays companies source and exploit new technologies, new products and services. Web-Based Intermediaries (WBIs) have entered the emerging innovation market and are expected to dramatically increase the number of innovation exchanges. However there are not yet clear theoretical guidelines supporting the design and management of such intermediaries. We use organizational sense-making theory and relative absorptive capacity (RAC) theory to analyze the factors that still hinder Open Innovation. From sensemaking theory and RAC theory we draw directions on the services WBIs need to provide in order to effectively support an innovation market. Since information technology is critical to the success of a WBI, we also give directions on how ICT and KMS can be used in order to support these services

An exploratory study of an enterprise systems implementation methodology in action

Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of Internet and e-commerce technologies in the tourism industry. The tourism industry is one of the most important that contribute to Thailand’s economic growth. The Thai government has promoted e-strategies in the tourism industry for economic reform. Although the government has encouraged the use of Internet technology for effective communication and collaboration across a broad range of tourism related activities, it has not yet been widely accepted. This study examines the roles of culture in the Thai business community, and how its underlying assumptions affect the adoption of technology in the Thai tourism industry. The findings are presented in two main parts: visions and currents issues from the Thai government and the actual technology adoption issues faced by practitioners