Principais factores organizacionais que influenciam a adopção, desenvolvimento e utilização de sistemas workflow administrativos: estudos de caso

Dissertação apresentada na Universidade do Minho com vista à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Tecnologias e Sistemas de InformaçãoNum contexto de mudança, em que as organizações têm de dar respostas rápidas face à grande competitividade e agressividade do mercado económico actual, e onde a estratégia de negócio, baseada numa óptica funcional, tem dado lugar aos processos de negócio, os sistemas Workflow têm ganho protagonismo. O sucesso da implementação de um sistema Workflow, e o aproveitamento das suas potencialidades, deverá passar pela identificação e compreensão dos factores que influenciam a sua adopção e o seu desenvolvimento, bem como as possíveis mudanças organizacionais que dela decorrerão. Com o presente trabalho pretendeu-se, por um lado, aferir o grau de penetração de algumas tecnologias de informação colaborativas, em especial da tecnologia Workflow, nas grandes empresas portuguesas, e por outro identificar os principais factores internos e externos à organização que influenciam a adopção, o desenvolvimento e a utilização de um sistema Workflow e que mudanças organizacionais podem resultar da sua utilização. Neste sentido, o estudo foi dividido em duas fases: uma primeira referente a uma sondagem; e uma segunda correspondente à revisão da literatura e a dois estudos de caso. Nesta segunda fase, a estratégia de investigação adoptada foi a data grounded theory. Um dos estudos realizados foi longitudinal, enquanto o outro foi retrospectivo. Os dados foram recolhidos através de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, observação e análise documental, tendo-se seguido uma análise qualitativa de conteúdo. Ao nível da sondagem, tendo como base as 87 das 529 maiores empresas nacionais que responderam ao inquérito, os resultados obtidos mostraram que o grau de adopção das tecnologias de informação colaborativas é ainda muito baixo. Em relação à tecnologia Workflow, verificou-se existirem boas perspectivas de crescimento, a avaliar pela intenção de cerca de 47% das empresas que responderam ao inquérito assumirem a possibilidade de a adquirir, e de 18,4% já a utilizarem. Quanto aos estudos de caso, os resultados obtidos evidenciaram que: as principais motivações para a adopção dos sistemas Workflow são de carácter estratégico e operacional; existem factores internos (sócio-organizacionais e tecnológicos) e externos (transaccionais e contextuais) que influenciam a adopção, o desenvolvimento e a utilização do sistema Workflow; os resultados obtidos a partir da implementação do sistema Workflow têm implicações positivas ao nível da eficiência e da qualidade dos resultados dos processos, da produtividade, dos custos, da gestão, do controlo e da coordenação dos processos de negócio; em termos humanos, os resultados obtidos a partir da implementação do sistema Workflow têm implicações positivas ao nível da autonomia da gestão das tarefas, da responsabilização, da comodidade na realização das tarefas e da mobilidade proporcionada por um processo de comunicação que passou a ser assíncrono e descentralizado; a implementação do sistema Workflow contribui para uma melhor gestão do conhecimento e para a aprendizagem organizacional. Contudo, nos casos estudados verificou-se que os resultados obtidos não podem ser dissociados do contexto em que a organização está situada. Neste sentido, alguns factores internos e externos identificados ao longo do estudo realizado adquiriram importância distinta em função, por exemplo, do meio envolvente, da estrutura organizacional, da dimensão, dos recursos humanos (idade, habilitações académicas, posição hierárquica, antiguidade na organização, competências técnicas e experiência), da cultura e clima organizacional, do estilo de liderança, da estratégia organizacional, do processo de comunicação, e das infra-estruturas físicas e tecnológicas. Factores como a formação, a assistência técnica e os humanos (a envolvente situacional, a norma subjectiva, o envolvimento intrínseco, a explicitação das razões para mudar, a experiência e as competências técnicas) revelam-se importantes no sentido de minimizar as resistências à mudança e cativar os potenciais utilizadores do novo sistema. Verifica-se também que, fruto da implementação dos sistemas Workflow, quer factores tecnológicos como a metodologia associada à ferramenta, a interface gráfica, as funcionalidades da aplicação, as falhas básicas e as excepções inesperadas, quer factores como a assistência técnica, a formação, a estrutura organizacional e o estilo de liderança podem influenciar a eficácia dos resultados obtidos. No final do trabalho são enumeradas diversas recomendações para a implementação de sistemas Workflow, tendo como base a revisão da literatura efectuada e os resultados obtidos dos estudos de caso.In a context of change, in which organisations have to provide quick answers to the present competitive and aggressive economics market, and whose business strategy based upon a functional optics has been replaced by business processes, Workflow systems have played an increasingly important role. To succeed in setting up a Workflow system, and take advantage of its potential, it is necessary to identify and understand the factors which influence its adoption and its development, as well as the probable occurring organisation changes. The aim of the present piece of work was, on one side, to evaluate the spreading of some of the cooperative information technology, especially as regards Workflow, in major Portuguese companies. On the other side, its aim was to identify the main organisation internal and external factors, which influence the adoption, development and use of a Workflow system, as well as the organisation changes that may occur from its implementation. Bearing that in mind, this analysis was divided into two phases: the first was a survey, and the second consisted of the revision of literature and two case studies. In this second phase, the adopted investigation strategy was data grounded theory. One of the studies was longitudinal-orientated while the other one was retrospective. The data were obtained through semi-structured interviews, observation and documents analysis according to a qualitative analysis of the contents. As regards the survey, only 87 out of 529 major national companies answered the questionnaire. Based on these 87 questionnaires, it was concluded that the level of adoption of cooperative information technology is still very low. As for Workflow technology, it showed good growth perspectives since 47% of the companies which answered the questionnaire would like to implement it while 18,4% of those already use it. As far as case studies are concerned, their results demonstrated that: the main motivation for the adoption of Workflow systems is of strategy and operational order; there are internal (socio-organisational and technological) factors and external (transactional and contextual) factors which influence the adoption, development and implementation of the Workflow system; the results based on the implementation of the Workflow system have positive implications related to the level of efficiency and quality of the results of the process, productivity, costs, management, control and coordination of the business process; as for workers, the results obtained from the implementation of the Workflow system have positive influence on the autonomy of tasks management, responsibility awareness, commodity while fulfilling tasks and mobility, all thanks to the communication process which became asynchronous and decentralised; the implementation of the Workflow system contributes to improve knowledge management and to organisational learning. However, in the cases which were studied it was clear that the results can not be dissociated from the context of the organisation. Consequently, some internal and external factors identified throughout the study gained distinct importance depending, for example, on the surrounding environment, organisational structure, dimension, human resources (age, educational skills, hierarchy position, working time in the organisation, technical skills and experience), culture and organisational environment, kind of leadership, organisational strategy, communication process as well as physical and technological facilities. Factors such as training, technical assistance and human factors (the situational involving, the subjective norm, the intrinsic involvement, the explaining of reasons to change, the experience and technical skills) are important to minimise the resistance to change and to catch the attention of potential users of the new system. It can also be concluded that, due to the implementation of Workflow systems, technological factors (such as the methods related to the tool, the graphics interface, the application functions, the basic fails and unexpected exceptions) as well as factors such as technical assistance, training, organisational structure and kind of leadership can influence the efficiency of the results. At the end of this piece of work several recommendations are listed towards the implementation of Workflow systems, based upon the revision of literature and the results from the case studies

Bibliometric Analysis on Cyberspace Security - NIS Directives

The impact of security in cyberspace has been increasing, motivating companies to reconsider their security strategies. In addition, people from various countries who are aware of this growth are seeking to present studies in various journals that allow them to identify elements that contribute to the consolidation of the concept of security in cyberspace. With this reality in mind, this study, supported by a bibliometric analysis of security in cyberspace based on articles published in the last eight years, aims to analyze the evolution of scientific research, identify the most influential scientific publications on topics related to cyberspace security, and detect research opportunities in the field. The study also discusses the implementation of the legal framework for security in cyberspace and the NIS Directive, aspects that European companies should consider in their cybersecurity strategy. The study's conclusions highlight the multifaceted nature of cybersecurity challenges and the need for a holistic and collaborative approach to strengthening digital resilience, with an emphasis on promoting a culture of awareness encouraged at the organizational and social level by policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ENDPOINT SECURITY IN COMPANIES

This bibliometric study addresses the importance of endpoint security in companies, considering the growing use of information technologies, both in business and personal use. It highlights the need to protect endpoints such as computers, mobile devices, servers, and IoT devices. Endpoint security encompasses measures such as monitoring the files and binaries on and running on the machine using antivirus, data encryption, and threat detection solutions. The literature review highlights the importance of terminology and best practices, highlighting the application of graph-based approaches to strengthen security in medical information networks. Tools such as EDR are cited as essential, especially for small and medium-sized companies. The study emphasizes the importance of business continuity in the face of cyber threats, highlighting the role of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and frameworks. It takes a bibliometric approach, using a specific database to collect bibliometric data on scientific publications published between 2017 and 2023. As a basis for the study, the words “cybersecurity”, “endpoint security”, “business continuity”, and “business” were used. Various analyses of bibliometric results are also presented, including the number of publications by type of document, the scientific journals with the highest number of publications, the countries with the highest number of publications, the number of publications per author, the most cited articles, and the occurrence of identified keywords.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CYBERSECURITY IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

The main objective was to examine the trajectory of scientific research in this domain, identify the most influential publications related to cybersecurity in autonomous vehicles and pinpoint research opportunities, supported by the PRISMA method. Additionally, the study explores cybersecurity themes in autonomous vehicles, emphasizing the significance of concepts like blockchain, machine learning, and deep learning essential in formulating business strategies. Furthermore, the research identifies influential scientific publications, predominant journals, the most productive countries, and authors with the most publications on cybersecurity in autonomous vehicles. It identifies research opportunities organized into two distinct clusters to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of research in this field and offer insights for companies and academics interested in contributing to future advancements in the cybersecurity of autonomous vehicles. The article demonstrates that cybersecurity is a fundamental area for the development and implementation of secure and reliable autonomous vehicles.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY ON THE IMPORTANCE OF ENDPOINT SECURITY IN COMPANIES

This bibliometric study addresses the importance of endpoint security in companies, considering the growing use of information technologies, both in business and personal use. It highlights the need to protect endpoints such as computers, mobile devices, servers, and IoT devices. Endpoint security encompasses measures such as monitoring the files and binaries on and running on the machine using antivirus, data encryption, and threat detection solutions. The literature review highlights the importance of terminology and best practices, highlighting the application of graph-based approaches to strengthen security in medical information networks. Tools such as EDR are cited as essential, especially for small and medium-sized companies. The study emphasizes the importance of business continuity in the face of cyber threats, highlighting the role of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and frameworks. It takes a bibliometric approach, using a specific database to collect bibliometric data on scientific publications published between 2017 and 2023. As a basis for the study, the words “cybersecurity”, “endpoint security”, “business continuity”, and “business” were used. Various analyses of bibliometric results are also presented, including the number of publications by type of document, the scientific journals with the highest number of publications, the countries with the highest number of publications, the number of publications per author, the most cited articles, and the occurrence of identified keywords.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS ON CYBERSPACE SECURITY - NIS DIRECTIVES

The impact of security in cyberspace has been increasing, motivating companies to reconsider their security strategies. In addition, people from various countries who are aware of this growth are seeking to present studies in various journals that allow them to identify elements that contribute to the consolidation of the concept of security in cyberspace. With this reality in mind, this study, supported by a bibliometric analysis of security in cyberspace based on articles published in the last eight years, aims to analyze the evolution of scientific research, identify the most influential scientific publications on topics related to cyberspace security, and detect research opportunities in the field. The study also discusses the implementation of the legal framework for security in cyberspace and the NIS Directive, aspects that European companies should consider in their cybersecurity strategy. The study's conclusions highlight the multifaceted nature of cybersecurity challenges and the need for a holistic and collaborative approach to strengthening digital resilience, with an emphasis on promoting a culture of awareness encouraged at the organizational and social level by policymakers, industry leaders, and researchers.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CYBERSECURITY IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES

The main objective was to examine the trajectory of scientific research in this domain, identify the most influential publications related to cybersecurity in autonomous vehicles and pinpoint research opportunities, supported by the PRISMA method. Additionally, the study explores cybersecurity themes in autonomous vehicles, emphasizing the significance of concepts like blockchain, machine learning, and deep learning essential in formulating business strategies. Furthermore, the research identifies influential scientific publications, predominant journals, the most productive countries, and authors with the most publications on cybersecurity in autonomous vehicles. It identifies research opportunities organized into two distinct clusters to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state of research in this field and offer insights for companies and academics interested in contributing to future advancements in the cybersecurity of autonomous vehicles. The article demonstrates that cybersecurity is a fundamental area for the development and implementation of secure and reliable autonomous vehicles.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Digital Transformation in Organizations from a Portuguese Project Managers perspective: what’s changing?

This investigation intends to analyze the changes in the organizations and on the way of work in the context of the digital transformation from a perspective of Portuguese project managers in technology-based companies. We adopted a qualitative multiple case study methodology, using the semi-structured interview and the secondary sources of information as technique of information gathering. Five Portuguese project managers from five technology-based companies, aged between 18 and 113 years (3 small companies and 2 large companies) participated in the study. The results were analyzed considering four categories: contextual, diagnostic, evaluative and strategic. The main results revealed that digital transformation has advantages in the work of the project manager and that these organizations have developed a digital strategy involving different areas of the organization, taking advantage of digital technologies to improve their performance. Some of the advantages are the increase of team productivity and offering customers differentiated services against competition, supported by innovative digital platforms, namely; the promotion of a culture of learning and continuous innovation. Contributions for the management of human resources are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Digital Transformation in Organizations from a Portuguese Project Managers perspective: what’s changing?

This investigation intends to analyze the changes in the organizations and on the way of work in the context of the digital transformation from a perspective of Portuguese project managers in technology-based companies. We adopted a qualitative multiple case study methodology, using the semi-structured interview and the secondary sources of information as technique of information gathering. Five Portuguese project managers from five technology-based companies, aged between 18 and 113 years (3 small companies and 2 large companies) participated in the study. The results were analyzed considering four categories: contextual, diagnostic, evaluative and strategic. The main results revealed that digital transformation has advantages in the work of the project manager and that these organizations have developed a digital strategy involving different areas of the organization, taking advantage of digital technologies to improve their performance. Some of the advantages are the increase of team productivity and offering customers differentiated services against competition, supported by innovative digital platforms, namely; the promotion of a culture of learning and continuous innovation. Contributions for the management of human resources are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio