Diffusion of Modern Software Practices: Influence of Organizational Process Variables

A number of modern software practices (MSP) have emerged over the last decade in response to the difficulties that have tended to accompany software development efforts. Recent studies of software development groups, however, indicate that these MSP are generally not being used. Since software development is a labor-intensive, cognitive activity whose success is largely determined by individual initiative and discretion, the processes involved in software development would seem to have a high potential of being affected by organizational design variables--such as centralization and formalization--that enlarge or constrain individual influence or discretion. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of centralization and formalization on the diffusion of MSP. Centralization and formalization have previously been employed in research designs investigating organizational innovation. The results, however, have been mixed. Three arguments can be raised toward explaining these inconsistent findings. First, innovation is a multi-phased process in which the influence of centralization and formalization could be expected to differ with each phase. A generally accepted phase sequence involves the initiation, adoption, and the implementation of an innovation. Second, innovations may be compatible or incompatible with the individual interests of organizational members. As incentives for individual initiative or discretion would vary depending on an innovation\u27s compatibility, the expected influence of centralization and formalization should also vary. Third, organization innovations represent many vested interests, with an economical partitioning being the technical and administrative cores. As an innovation might possess significant or negligible meaning to such cores, the influence of centralization or formalization through individual behaviors would be expected to vary as well

LOST IN TRANSLATION: IMPLICATIONS OF A FAILED ORGANIZING VISION FOR THE GOVERNANCE OF A MULTI-ORGANIZATION SHARED IT INFRASTRUCTURE

We studied the early-stage development of a newly formed shared services unit providing IT infrastructure services to multiple enterprises and examined the evolution of the organizing vision established for the unit. Through a three-cycle action research design, we found that the initiallyarticulated organizing vision failed to take hold with constituents and no effort was undertaken to evolve this organizing vision. In the absence of a strong and compelling organizing vision, client entities interacted with the shared services unit on an individual basis, compromising the initial purpose of the shared services unit as an innovation that had the potential to provide value as a ‘social good’ across a community. In examination of contributing factors of a failed organizing vision, we found that discourse across multiple levels of the community and effective chargeback processes were critical elements for evolving a meaningful organizing vision. Research and practical implications of these findings are discussed

The Impact of Color Graphic Report Formats on Decision Performance and Learning

One of the more common themes of the information systems literature involves the desirability of using graphics and col or to enhance the useful ness of reports and di spl ays. Very 1 ittl e empi rical research, however, has been di rected toward examining the real contribution of graphics and color to decision maker effectiveness; and, the findings of the few studies that have been undertaken are, at best, inconelusive. This paper reports on a laboratory experiment (using experienced internal auditors as subjects) that examines the contributions of color graphic outputs.on decision performance and learning. Significant resul ts were observed (controlling for individual differences) with color graphic reports proving advantageous with a simple, but not a compl ex, decl si on si tuati on

Understanding Post-Adoptive Usage Behaviors: A Two-Dimensional View

Recent information systems (IS) publications reveal an emerging interest in studying postadoptive system use behaviors. Compared to the well-established research stream of IS adoption and initial usage, understanding of IS use behaviors after initial implementation stage is still at its early stage. To further develop knowledge about this phenomenon, this study reviews the IS implementation stage model and a variety of post-adoptive usage concepts in extant literature. These usage concepts are classified into three types and are mapped against their corresponding implementation stages. A two dimensional view of these use concepts is then proposed as an alternative perspective to understand these post-adoptive behaviors. Implications are also discussed at the end of this paper

Scholarly Products in IS: Will Advances in Electronic Media Promote Evolutionary or Radical Change?

This article presents four views on the impact of advances in electronic media on research outputs in information systems. The four views represent a spectrum of thought on the future of IS outputs and outlets that might be characterized as technophile, classical scholarly, revolutionary, and conservative. The article results from a panel discussion at the International Conference for Information Systems in Barcelona in December 2002. Speaker positions and question responses were revised and enhanced substantially for this article

The Value Relevance Of Announcements Of Transformational Information Technology Investments

In this paper, we examine the influence of IT strategic role to extend the findings of Im et al. (2001), Chatterjee et al. (2002) and Dos Santos et al. (1993). Specifically, we demonstrate that IT strategic role can explain how IT investments in each of the IT strategic roles might affect the firm\u27s competitive position and ultimately firm value. We find positive, abnormal returns to announcements of IT investments by firms making transformative IT investments, and with membership in industries with transform IT strategic roles. The results of previous research are not found to be significant when IT strategic role is included as an explanatory variable. These results provide support for the value of capturing the IT strategic role of a firm\u27s IT-related competitive maneuvering in studies striving to understand the conditions under which IT investments are likely to produce out-of-the-ordinary, positive returns

Systematic Differences in Firm’s Information Technology Signaling: Implications for Research Design

Because research programs investigating IT-related phenomena are hindered by limitations in the availability of archival data, researchers have used a variety of data collection strategies including the gathering of firms’ IT signaling via press releases to the media. Little is known, however, about firms’ IT signaling propensities. Here, contents of firms’ press releases and annual reports are coded to test a model explaining a firm’s propensity to signal stakeholders about its IT-related activities. Results demonstrate that firms transmitting greater numbers of IT signals tend to be low performers in their industries, tend to reside in industries characterized by a transform industry IT strategic role and tend to be larger. Implications of these findings for research design are provided

AN EXAMINATION OF MANAGERIAL STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PENETRATION IN ORGANIZATIONS

This paper describes an empirical study comparing two competing perspectives for explaining information technology (IT) penetration in organizations. IT penetration is defined as the extent to which IT is embedded within an organization\u27s strategic, managerial, and operational work systems. With the first perspective, IT penetration is hypothesized to be related to the implementation of a comprehensive set of management processes for the information systems (IS) function. With the second perspective, IT penetration is hypothesized to be related to the effectiveness of IT-related interactions among an organization\u27s managers, To strengthen the study\u27s research design, the hypotheses are examined separately across two samples of organizations. Senior ]S executives completed the study\u27s research instrument. Respondents in the first sample represented 132 large organizations across a variety of industries, while the respondents in the second sample represented 44 business units within a large, high teChnology firm. IT penetration and IT-related managerial interactions were measured at a subunit level, while IS management processes were measured at an organizational level. The study\u27s findings supported the research hypotheses. *The authors wish to thank Omar El Sawy and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper

ERP in Practice: A Snapshot of Post-Installation Perception and Behaviors

An examination of ERP in six organizations (survey and focus groups) several years after the initial installation is presented. Findings indicate that much of the installed ERP functionality goes unused and that only a small percentage of users have actively sought new ways to make use of the functionality. In addition, a sizeable gap exists between what management originally expected from ERP and what has been achieved. This study thus offers a profile of the post-installation reality that contributes to an understanding of the difficulties associated with ERP assimilation