Information Technology Platforms: Definition and Research Directions

The concept of an information technology (IT) related platform is broad and covers phenomena ranging from the operating system Linux to the Internet. Such platforms are of increasing importance to innovation and value creation across many facets of industry and daily life. There is, however, a lack of common understanding in both research and industry about what is mean by the term platform when related to IT. This lack of consensus is detrimental to research and knowledge development. Thus, the aims of this study are to: (i) provide a sound definition of the IT-platform concept by identifying its distinguishing dimensions; and (ii) identify important current research directions for the IT-platform concept. To achieve these aims a systematic literature review was undertaken with 133 relevant articles taken from major information systems journals, conferences, and business publications. The study contributes by providing a sound base for future research into IT-platforms.Comment: Research-in-progress ISBN# 978-0-646-95337-3 Presented at the Australasian Conference on Information Systems 2015 (arXiv:1605.01032

Designing IS service strategy: an information acceleration approach

Information technology-based innovation involves considerable risk that requires insight and foresight. Yet, our understanding of how managers develop the insight to support new breakthrough applications is limited and remains obscured by high levels of technical and market uncertainty. This paper applies a new experimental method based on “discrete choice analysis” and “information acceleration” to directly examine how decisions are made in a way that is behaviourally sound. The method is highly applicable to information systems researchers because it provides relative importance measures on a common scale, greater control over alternate explanations and stronger evidence of causality. The practical implications are that information acceleration reduces the levels of uncertainty and generates a more accurate rationale for IS service strategy decisions

Effective Use of Self-service Technology by Physically Disabled Individuals

Vulnerable communities create significant challenges for service providers. However, the use of self-service technologies can play an important role in meeting the needs of physically disabled individuals as the service sector strives to reduce the growing costs of providing customized services, while also trying to control costs and maintain service quality. Facilitating self-service technology use by people with disabilities may help them to live more independently and enhance their quality of life. It may also save costs for service providers through reduced use of service employees in service encounters. To this end, this research-in-progress paper provides the conceptual foundation for a study that aims to explore the impact of technology-based service use by this community on their well-being

Development of a Decision Support System for Collective Stock Market Intelligence

Internet discussion sites have become an enduring feature of modern asset markets. While prior research demonstrated a strong link between communicative practices and market behaviour, more work is required to fully understand the processes that support knowledge co-creation in these environments. To address this gap, we propose a research project to (1) Identify the factors that drive communication and influence knowledge co-creation, (2) examine how systematic variations in these factors influence investment and trading decisions, and (3) develop a decision support tool that combines communication analysis and what-if scenario modelling to forecast impacts on capital markets. The practical goals for this project are to help improve investor decision-making and assist regulators through better detection of market manipulation

Measuring IS success of e-government: A case study of the disability sector in Australia

Despite unprecedented investments in e-government annually, the degree to which these initiatives are successful in delivering government outcomes varies widely. It is posited that traditional means of evaluating these systems overlook important measures needed to support the ultimate success of e government. To address this gap, this study will: (1) identify the critical features of e-government that influence success; (2) investigate how public value is created through the use of e-government; and (3) propose and test a public value based success model to explain the creation of value within the disability sector. This study extends the DeLone and McLean IS Success Model (2003) using a theoretically based framework grounded from Public Value Theory to provide a perspective for evaluating e government success. The contribution of the model is to assist governments in making complex information system portfolio investment decisions

Evaluating a New Pattern Development Process for Interface Design: Application to Mental Health Services

Increased incidence of mental illness in Australia\u27s indigenous youth is a major concern. Despite significant investment in programs to improve the situation, the absence of reliable and valid tools to assess the quality of mental health services is hindering progress. This project creates patterns that can be used to build better evaluation tools. This study develops and tests a new pattern language development process for the design of culturally sensitive user interfaces. Drawing on the pattern approach within the human-computer interface literature, we propose a distinctive set of procedures that aim to: (1) improve the validity of patterns; (2) improve the organisation of pattern languages; and (3) integrate stakeholder values into the interface design process. As a proof of concept, we will test our approach in the mental health services setting using data from a sample of indigenous youth in the Northern Territory of Australia

Color as a source of brand differentiation: Can it be defended?

Savvy marketers have long sought to exploit the psychological effects of color to differentiate their brands and create competitive advantage: IBM Blue, Coca- Cola Red, and BP Green. These are not new colors but well-known brand colors. While changes in international trademark law over the past decade paved the way for marketers to seek protection for a color associated with a brand, this case demonstrates some important challenges in defending such trademarks

Collaborative IT Outsourcing in the Public Sector: A Case Analysis of Standard Business Reporting in Australia

This study provides a case analysis of a successful collaborative information technology outsourcing arrangement in a public sector setting. An endogenous framework depicting four key factors (motivation, decision-making, outcomes, and relationship management) was developed and used to examine a collaboration between the Australian Government (Treasury and Taxation Office) and Fujitsu to develop Australia’s Standard Business Reporting infrastructure. Document analysis and interviews with business and technical executives of both parties provided insights that highlight a shift from cost-focused outsourcing initiatives toward more mutually beneficial partnerships focused on co-created value

Customer Relationship Management: Examining the Central Proposition in the Online Context

This paper presents a summary of a doctoral dissertation investigating the application of customer relationship management (CRM) theory to the online context. The major finding of this study was to confirm that the central proposition of CRM theory is supported in the online context—that is, while the operational context influences the extent to which effective service enhances the relationships between a firm and its customers, and their resulting perceptions of customer loyalty; there is general support for a mediating relationship in which effective service will enhance the quality of the relationship between a firm and its customer, and increase loyalty perceptions from the customer. The study has also revealed that the service delivery channel has a significant and differential affect on the central proposition and the interactions of the key relationship marketing constructs. Perceptions of financial risk were not observed to significantly affect either service quality or relationship quality perceptions

Impact of Strategic Alignment on IT Outsourcing Success in a Complex Service Setting

Improved conceptual and methodological understanding of strategic alignment is essential for better IT outsourcing decisions. This research will investigate how strategically well aligned ITO investments can lead to improved performance and greater competitive advantage. The strategic alignment literature is dominated by a focus on strategy formulation at a single point in time. In contrast, little is known about how strategic alignment is enacted in the choices managers make over time, and in particular, as it applies to IT outsourcing decisions in complex service settings. To address this situation we: (1) develop a novel dynamic alignment model that links espoused and enacted strategies, (2) operationalize strategy as a set of strategic decisions around capabilities, and (3) apply a range of novel methods to measure the decisions managers make