Cloud computing: pushing the right managerial buttons

Despite the obvious organisational advantages offered by cloud computing, not all firms have adopted and adapted to the rapid changes that this new form of remote data storage represents. Recent research and practice have focused on the issue from the perspective of firms as a whole, whilst overlooking the potential contribution of individual managerial practice and behaviour towards addressing the situation

Dynamic Capabilities for Managing Emerging Technologies

__Abstract__ The advancement of information and communication technologies has brought a digital age, where massive computing power, high speed and ubiquitous access to internet and more recently Cloud Computing Technology are expected to transform a wide range of organizations, industries, and societies. The complexities and uncertainties associated with such a transformation process generate numerous puzzling questions for practitioners and academic researchers. How can organizations overcome rigidities in their resources and routines and adapt in line with the requirements of such technological change? What are the distinct characteristics of the established firms that are more successful in maintaining their competiveness during and after the transformation process? This dissertation combines multiple data sources concerning organizational adoption of Cloud Computing. It includes data from a 4-year intensive filed study, multiple comparative case studies, and a survey among Dutch companies, to provide a basis for better understanding of the micro-foundations of organizational capabilities for managing emerging technologies. Drawing on the literature on dynamic capabilities, this dissertation provides a more complete picture of the drivers of effective response to a technological change through investigation of the interplay between structures, routines, and managerial cognition. In this dissertation, first an investigation on the processes of organizational adaptation in response to the technological change is provided. I discuss what type of managerial initiatives are needed for fostering effective adoption of emerging technologies and what are the key determinants and managerial roles for realizing those initiatives. Second, I investigate the relationship between structure, strategic intent, and technology driven business model innovation and argue that, rather than any particular structural form, structural alteration may be crucial for enabling transition to a new business model. Third, I discuss the important role of involvement and close interaction with the customers in giving rise to managerial attention and initiatives that will in turn support exploratory behavior in emerging technology fields. Lastly, the interplay between formalization, centralization, and managerial attention in enabling early sensing and seizing of emerging technologies has been investigated. The findings illustrate how different organizational characteristics may influence the degree of dependence to managerial attention for responding to technological change. The dissertation as whole provides new insights on the origins and outcomes of dynamic capabilities for managing emerging technologies

A Literature Review on Cloud Computing Adoption Issues in Enterprises

Part 3: Creating Value through ApplicationsInternational audienceCloud computing has received increasing interest from enterprises since its inception. With its innovative information technology (IT) services delivery model, cloud computing could add technical and strategic business value to enterprises. However, cloud computing poses highly concerning internal (e.g., Top management and experience) and external issues (e.g., regulations and standards). This paper presents a systematic literature review to explore the current key issues related to cloud computing adoption. This is achieved by reviewing 51 articles published about cloud computing adoption. Using the grounded theory approach, articles are classified into eight main categories: internal, external, evaluation, proof of concept, adoption decision, implementation and integration, IT governance, and confirmation. Then, the eight categories are divided into two abstract categories: cloud computing adoption factors and processes, where the former affects the latter. The results of this review indicate that enterprises face serious issues before they decide to adopt cloud computing. Based on the findings, the paper provides a future information systems (IS) research agenda to explore the previously under-investigated areas regarding cloud computing adoption factors and processes. This paper calls for further theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions to the research area of cloud computing adoption by enterprises

Business models innovation in investment banks: A resilience perspective

© 2020, The Author(s). Firms frequently change their business models in order to respond to internal and external challenges. This study aims to explore how investments banks adjust their business models in response to internal and external challenges. Based on a qualitative data from ten major investment banks operating in the largest financial market in the Middle East, we show that investment banks can achieve resilience by adjusting their business models through continuous activity changes in response to internal and external challenges. Specifically, investment banks adjust their business models through deploying alternative combinations of activities from a broad repertoire of activities. Within the same bank, divisions that respond to external challenges tend to sustain their performance, whereas resilient divisions that respond to both internal and external challenges tend to bounce back or achieve substantial increase in performance levels. This study contributes to the literature by proposing resilience as an alternative approach to business model innovation and by providing insight into how firms adjust their business models by altering specific activities in response to both internal and external challenges

Mutualism and the dynamics of new platform creation: a study of Cisco and Fog computing

How firms respond to the emergence of dominant platforms that undermine their competitiveness remains a strategic puzzle. Our longitudinal study shows how one incumbent, Cisco, responded to such a challenge by creating a new platform, Fog, without undermining the dominant platform, Cloud, where it played a complementor role. By developing a process model we reveal how a firm in a peripheral role in a platform ecosystem can reposition itself through a dynamic mix of material, symbolic and institutional actions to develop and legitimize an alternative platform. This can be done first through symbiosis with the dominant platform, then partial competition with it. We theorize the value of a mutualistic “rising tide lifts all boats” strategy in contrast to hostile “winner takes all” approache