Reference Architecture for Cross-Company Electronic Collaboration

Author(s):  
Christoph Schroth ◽  
Beat Schmid

Cross-organizational electronic collaboration is about to gain significant momentum and facilitates the emergence of a globally networked information service economy. However, existing solutions for the realization of such business relationships still exhibit weaknesses with respect to both managerial and technological aspects. In this work, we propose a service-oriented reference architecture for electronic business media that overcomes the drawbacks of today’s business-to-business (B2B) software products and services. Based on the St. Gallen media reference model, this reference architecture incorporates the design principle of modularity that proved critical for the success of numerous artifacts in other more mature industries. In particular, we investigate and revisit the principle of modularity with respect to its role in the computer industry and transfer it to the context of organizing and implementing electronic cross-company collaboration. On the basis of a case study in the field of public administration in Switzerland, we show its real-world applicability and its improvement potential.

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Olsson ◽  
Krzysztof Wnuk ◽  
Slinger Jansen

AbstractQuality requirements are vital to developing successful software products. However, there exist evidence that quality requirements are managed mostly in an “ad hoc” manner and down-prioritized. This may result in insecure, unstable, slow products, and unhappy customers. We have developed a conceptual model for the scoping process of quality requirements – QREME – and an assessment model – Q-REPM – for companies to benchmark when evaluating and improving their quality requirements practices. Our model balances an upfront forward-loop with a data-driven feedback-loop. Furthermore, it addresses both strategic and operational decisions. We have evaluated the model in a multi-case study at two companies in Sweden and three companies in The Netherlands. We assessed the scoping process practices for quality requirements and provided improvement recommendations for which practices to improve. The study confirms the existence of the constructs underlying QREME. The companies perform, in the median, 24% of the suggested actions in Q-REPM. None of the companies work data-driven with their quality requirements, even though four out of five companies could technically do so. Furthermore, on the strategic level, quality requirements practices are not systematically performed by any of the companies. The conceptual model and assessment model capture a relevant view of the quality requirements practices and offer relevant improvement proposals. However, we believe there is a need for coupling quality requirements practices to internal and external success factors to motive companies to change their ways of working. We also see improvement potential in the area of business intelligence for QREME in selecting data sources and relevant stakeholders.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (22) ◽  
pp. 6672
Author(s):  
Rob Bemthuis ◽  
Maria-Eugenia Iacob ◽  
Paul Havinga

The sooner disruptive emergent behaviors are detected, the sooner preventive measures can be taken to ensure the resilience of business processes execution. Therefore, organizations need to prepare for emergent behaviors by embedding corrective control mechanisms, which help coordinate organization-wide behavior (and goals) with the behavior of local autonomous entities. Ongoing technological advances, brought by the Industry 4.0 and cyber-physical systems of systems paradigms, can support integration within complex enterprises, such as supply chains. In this paper, we propose a reference enterprise architecture for the detection and monitoring of emergent behaviors in enterprises. We focus on addressing the need for an adequate reaction to disruptions. Based on a systematic review of the literature on the topic of current architectural designs for understanding emergent behaviors, we distill architectural requirements. Our architecture is a hybrid as it combines distributed autonomous business logic (expressed in terms of simple business rules) and some central control mechanisms. We exemplify the instantiation and use of this architecture by means of a proof-of-concept implementation, using a multimodal logistics case study. The obtained results provide a basis for achieving supply chain resilience “by design”, i.e., through the design of coordination mechanisms that are well equipped to absorb and compensate for the effects of emergent disruptive behaviors.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109467052199756
Author(s):  
Bryan Hochstein ◽  
Nawar N. Chaker ◽  
Deva Rangarajan ◽  
Duane Nagel ◽  
Nathaniel N. Hartmann

An increasing number of business-to-business (B2B) service firms have transitioned to recurring revenue-based solutions. These subscription B2B solutions are becoming increasingly common, yet offer challenges for long-term renewal if value is not consistently realized by the customer. To address this concern, customer success (CS) management has emerged. CS management is based on regular proactive action taken by the seller to (a) educate, prepare, and engage customers for value co-creation; (b) demonstrate the value delivered by the solution; and (c) provide a channel for advocacy on behalf of customers within the service-providing firm. Our findings highlight the under-researched topic of CS in B2B settings. Specifically, we propose the CS function and role as a structural alternative to within-person (i.e., cross-functional) ambidexterity and emphasize the ability of a CS focus by service firms to complement existing firm operations in value creation efforts. Our case study analysis provides a multilevel perspective (i.e., executive, functional role employees, and customers) via in-depth interviews that offer unique insights on “how parts of the service-sales system work together.” Overall, CS is growing as a practice that propagates value to the customer via ongoing success with solutions while improving service-firm renewal and growth of subscription business.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 102
Author(s):  
Mihaela Brindusa Tudose ◽  
Valentina Diana Rusu ◽  
Silvia Avasilcai

Some of the constructs in the field of performance management are intuitive or not empirically validated. This study provides a data-driven framework for measuring and improving the performance through synchronized strategies. The ultimate goal was to provide support for increasing business performance. Empirical research materializes in an exploratory case study and a statistical analysis with econometric models. The case study revealed that a company can improve its performance, even in periods of growth, being characterized by consistent investments. The statistical analysis, performed on a restricted sample of companies, confirmed the results that were provided by the case study. The measurement of performance was made by capitalizing on financial and non-financial data precisely to intensify the interest for corporate sustainability. The obtained results, contrary to previous research that showed that economic value added (EVA) is negatively influenced by the increase in invested capital, open up new research perspectives to find out whether, at the industry level, performance appraisal that is based on EVA stimulates the development of a business’s economic capital. The research has a double utility: scientific (by providing an overview of the state of the art in the field of performance management) and practical (by providing a reference model for measuring and monitoring performance).


2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (sup1) ◽  
pp. 219-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred C. Marcus ◽  
Jerianne Heimendinger ◽  
Ellen Berman ◽  
Victor Strecher ◽  
Mary Anne Bright ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 186 ◽  
pp. 499-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pan He ◽  
Jie Xu ◽  
Kai Gui Wu ◽  
Jun Hao Wen

Service-oriented workflows are the fundamental structures in service-oriented applications and changes in the workflow could cause dramatic changes in system reliability. In several ways to re-heal workflows in execution, re-sizing service pools in the workflow is practical and easy to implement. In order to quickly adjust to workflow or environmental changes, this paper presents a dynamic service pool size configuration mechanism from the point of view of maintaining workflow reliability. An architecture-based reliability model is used to evaluate the overall reliability of a workflow with service pools and an optimal method is proposed to get the combination of service pool size aiming at minimizing the sum of service pool size subject to the workflow reliability requirement. A case study is used to explain this method and experiment results show how to change service pool size to meet the workflow reliability requirements.


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