Competitive Information Systems in Support of Pricing

Considerable attention has recently been paid to the opportunities presented by information systems technology for implementing, or even driving, corporate strategy. But organizations attempting to identify systems that provide competitive advantage are finding the search to be frustrating and often unrewarding. This paper combines two familiar information systems concepts, the Anthony model and information attributes, to produce a framework for identifying one class of competitive information systems, systems in support of product pricing. For the vast majority of companies operating in imperfect markets, pricing is an information intensive process, in which ambiguous cost projections are balanced with elusive estimates of demand in an attempt to satisfy conflicting stakeholders. As such, pricing presents a rich opportunity to creatively apply information systems technology for competitive advantage. To assist in identifying applications we present a framework to structure the search and a series of working examples that can motivate synergistic discovery. The framework, shown below, categorizes pricing information systems according to decision type and information attributes. The Y-axis contains the three levels of management decision making proposed by Anthony [1965]; four areas of pricing decision-choosing a pricing strategy, setting the basic price level, determinign the price structure, and the price administration- are mapped into the Anthony model. The X-axis includes categories of information attributes taht information systems are likely to impact. We illustrate the matrix by mapping examples into the cells. We are hopeful that readers familiar with a particular firms\u27s attributes and competitive environment will find that the examples help stimulate the discovery of new pricing applications. The paper concludes with some thoughts on using the framework. An appendix to the paper presents a pricing primer for those unfamiliar with the pricing process and its information requirements

THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT

Organizational demographics is proposed as a promising analytic technique for understanding a central problem of information systems (IS) management, the problem of the maintenance of the application system portfolio. This problem is viewed as occurring in significant part as a consequence of the effects and interaction among distributions of individual characteristics of both the application systems and the members of the IS staff. To examine this proposition, a sample of eighteen\u27IS organizations is described in demographic terms, and regression equations are developed to explain variance in maintenance problems associated with the installed portfolios. The results provide support for the proposition, with implications for management and for further research

Journal Self-Citation XI: Regulation of “Journal Self-Referencing” – The Substantive Role of the AIS Code of Research Conduct

The practice of a publisher requiring authors to include citations to previous articles in the publisher’s journals is widely acknowledged to be inappropriate. This paper presents the reasons why that is so. It considers possible means whereby the practice could be subjected to control, and concludes that the primary regulatory vehicle is the Code of Research Conduct of the Association for Information Systems (AIS). The framework created by the original 2003 Code is described, and the extensions approved in principle by the AIS Council in December 2008 are shown to greatly enhance the discipline\u27s ability to bring pressure to bear on publishers that misbehave in this way

LINKING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND CORPORATE STRATEGY: AN ORGANIZATIONAL VIEW

Considerable attention is currently focused on using information technology to obtain and maintain competitive advantage. Numerous mini-cases have been used to illustrate the use of information systems for competitive advantage, and various conceptual frameworks have been proposed to aid in the identification of such applications. Much of this work is grounded in a single concept of strategy formulation, an approach that we refer to as top-down. A survey of senior information system executives demonstrates the potential problems of relying on a top-down approach. A second, adaptive approach, appears to offer potential value for the identification of competitive applications in organizations facing considerable environmental turbulence or in which senior strategists are relatively uninformed about information system resources. Five organizational roles are defined that can help support this adaptive approach

THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INTERACTION MODEL: A CORE MODEL FOR THE MBA CORE COURSE

This paper presents a teaching model we have used successfully in the MBA core course in Information Systems at several universities. The model is referred to as the "Information Technology Interaction Model" because it maintains that the consequences of information systems in organizations follow largely from the interaction of the technology with the organization and its environment. The model serves a number of pedagogical purposes: to integrate the various course components, to provide a formal foundation for the course content, to foster practical analytical skills, and to provide a framework for case discussions and student projects. Moreover, the model is intended to acquaint students with the dynamics of information systems in organizations and to help them recognize the benefits, dangers, and limitations of these systems. The paper includes a discussion and examples of how the model can be used for proactive and reactive analyses, and it concludes with an assessment of the model's effectiveness in the core course.Information Systems Working Papers Serie

Information and Transformation at Swiss Re: Maximizing Economic Value

In 2007 Swiss Re was striving to maximize economic value, a metric that would allow the company to assess its performance over time despite the volatility of the reinsurance industry. Maximizing economic value required that decision makers throughout the company understood the risk profiles of individual investments and the performance profiles of individual investment instruments. Swiss Re management had recognized several years earlier that the firm had to globalize processes and share data to provide needed information to decision makers. This case describes Swiss Re’s journey from a regional to a global firm and highlights the role of information technology in enabling the standardization and sharing of the firm’s global processes and data. Swiss Re was still working in 2007 to drive the benefits of its global process environment, but decision makers were learning to take advantage of enhanced information

Becoming a Great Reviewer for IS Journals

The IS field needs more great reviewers. What is a great reviewer? In her June 2005 editorial for MIS Quarterly, Carol Saunders, the MISQ Editor in Chief, contrasts the gatekeeper reviewer – one who finds and surfaces fatal flaws in research – with the diamond cutter reviewer – one who polishes manuscripts so that the gems in it can surface and shine. Others have argued that a great reviewer is a champion for the paper to the journals editors – so that uncut diamonds are not lost to the field. Our field needs great reviewers of all these types (which, some would argue, are often found in the same great reviewer). This panel presents advice about how to become a great reviewer for IS journals from 4 reviewers who have been recognized as excellent reviewers by editors of various journals in the information systems field. Collectively they will present 12 key characteristics of good reviews, 12 key characteristics of a review process that will produce great reviews, and 4 very important golden rules of reviewing -- Dos and Don\u27ts. They will also distribute a list of suggested reading for those interested in learning more about how to improve their reviewing skills. During the Q&A period, audience members will be asked to write their questions down and submit them to the panel chair, who will moderate them. This should allow the maximum number of questions to be posed to the panel during a short period of time