An Analytical Model to Measure IS-Enabled Organizational Effectiveness

When business managers are considering whether to invest in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, they ask the question: “What are the returns on investment?” When the ERP system is implemented and in operation, business managers ask another question: “How successful is the system?” To answer these questions, clues can be found by examining organizational effectiveness improvements as a result of ERP system implementation. This paper suggests that being able to identify the dimensions of organizational effectiveness is enabled by ERP systems. Together with positive organizational effectiveness improvements, the business value of ERP systems can be demonstrated. To provide the evidence needed to support the notion, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted. Analyses reveal that the construct of IS-enabled organizational effectiveness can be modeled, at a higher-order abstraction level, as a third-order construct manifested by three second-order constructs and ten first-order constructs.

An Investigation of Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation in a Small Firm

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have been recognized as complex and costly, which limited their implementation in large organizations. However, an increasing number of small organizations have recently gained interest in this system. This paper investigates the implementation process of ERP in a small firm. The investigation focused on two perspectives of ERP implementation: successes achieved and problems encountered. Despite many problems encountered in the firm, the ERP system still exists. This gives evidence that small organizations are more flexible and motivated to adapt to change and implement an ERP system. Most problems were encountered at early stages of implementation, which can be minimized if deliberate decision making of ERP implementation and proper selection processes were in place. Further, ERP is a good solution for small organizations if they are able to build a relevant in-house system.

A Maturity Model of Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP)

In this paper Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) maturity models are empirically validated in Australian environment. A research instrument used to determine the degree of SISP maturity in Australian organisations is described. While empirical testing of a five-stage SISP model has only confirmed the existence of three levels of SISP maturity, statistical methods confirmed the adequacy of the establishment of the SISP assessment model as a third-order system. The study also opens the way for SISP thinking beyond the conventional approaches by introducing the Analytic Network Process and the Analytic Hierarchy Process methods to reduce complexity of SISP measurement in a natural and structural way. By using these methods, it was possible to obtain a single overall measure of SISP maturity, thus overcoming a problem of result synthesis measured by different scales.

Collaborative Planning of ERP Implementation

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the process of optimizing the performance of enterprise business processes through the utilization of integrated IT-based solutions. Such systems are mostly based on best practices gained through years of software analysis, design and deployment in the competitive markets. Planning for enterprise-wide system implementation requires all of the stakeholders to integrate views on considering strategic approaches toward a unified vision on how to develop and improve the collaborative ERP implementation planning process. This paper develops a framework which critically evaluates the final implementation plan based on considerations taken in design science methodology. Using the guidelines provided in this methodology, managers gain the capability of evaluating the overall artifact of planning in the total value system, and also gain the ability to measure the progress of ERP implementation plan based on the provided indicators.

Enterprise Systems Outsourcing “Behind the Curtain”

Outsourcing is now a feasible means for enterprise systems (ES) cost savings, but does however increase the complexity of coordination substantially when many organizations are involved. We set out to study ES outsourcing in a large Scandinavian high-tech organization, SCANDI, a case setting with many inter-organizational partners, trying to answer the question: Why does SCANDI engage in these very complex outsourcing arrangements? To answer this question we have analyzed documents, observed meetings and gathered data from interviews in four parts of SCANDI. The first data analysis found just the rational front stage cost-saving explanation; but then, with a more careful analysis focusing on institutional factors, other backstage explanations “behind the curtain” were uncovered, such as management consultants with a “best practice” agenda, people promoting outsourcing, thereby being promoted themselves, and a belief in outsourcing as a “silver bullet”: a recipe to success, solving everything.

Sustainable Competitive Advantage in E-Commerce and the Role of the Enterprise System

Developing and sustaining a competitive advantage from the use of information technology is a topic of concern for information systems research. Mata et al. (1995) present a model that is founded on the resource-based view of the firm. The model is used to discuss factors that lead to competitive advantage in e-commerce companies. This paper explores factors that enable sustainable competitive advantages in B2C retailing. The analysis is based on a single in-depth case study of an Internet pioneer company (LeShop), which was observed by the authors since its inception more than 10 years ago. The research data stems from a series of interviews with managers at LeShop as well as two case studies about the company from two different points in time (2000 and 2009). LeShop is an online pioneer, which began selling groceries on the Internet in Switzerland in April 1998. After a turbulent few years, LeShop is now one of the few successful e-commerce suppliers in the supermarket segment worldwide. The discussion includes an analysis of further critical resources of the company from a resource-based view.

Linking the Impact of IT Investments to Productivity and Profitability

Implementing IT (information technology) systems such as ERP (enterprise resource planning) requires huge investments. Measuring the impact of these investments on productivity and profitability is extremely important for business managers. Many studies have failed to show the direct relationship between IT investments, organizational productivity and profitability, a phenomenon known as productivity paradox. The failure might relate to problems with the measurement techniques. This paper describes a measurement model, known as the PPP model (“Profitability = Productivity + Price Recovery”), that can fill the gap and show a link between IT investments, productivity, and profitability. The spreadsheet-based implementation of the PPP model, using multi-period data, generates performance trend charts of productivity, price recovery, and profitability. These performance charts provide a multi-period perspective to managers in identifying and understanding the impact of IT investments. This model is useful to managers considering heavy investments in IT as well as for managers interested in assessing their organizational performance and taking corrective actions in a timely manner.

Ontology-Based Knowledge Management for Enterprise Systems

Companies face the challenges of expanding their markets, improving products, services and processes, and exploiting intellectual capital in a dynamic network. Therefore, more companies are turning to an Enterprise System (ES). Knowledge management (KM) has also received considerable attention and is continuously gaining the interest of industry, enterprises, and academia. For ES, KM can provide support across the entire lifecycle, from selection and implementation to use. In addition, it is also recognised that an ontology is an appropriate methodology to accomplish a common consensus of communication, as well as to support a diversity of KM activities, such as knowledge repository, retrieval, sharing, and dissemination. This paper examines the role of ontology-based KM for ES (OKES) and investigates the possible integration of ontology-based KM and ES. The authors develop a taxonomy as a framework for understanding OKES research. In order to achieve the objective of this study, a systematic review of existing research was conducted. Based on a theoretical framework of the ES lifecycle, KM, KM for ES, ontology, and ontology-based KM, guided by the framework of study, a taxonomy for OKES is established.

The Influence of Organisational Size, Internal IT Capabilities, and Competitive and Vendor Pressures on ERP Adoption in SMEs

This empirical study investigates the influence of organisational size, internal IT capabilities and external factors, such as competitive and vendor pressure, on ERP adoption within SMEs. Existing research on ERP adoption has indentified some of the potential factors affecting SMEs, such as organisation size as one of the most significant ones. Yet none of this previous research has looked at organisational size, internal IT capabilities and external pressures in a unified framework and in context to SMEs. More specifically, this study focuses on the direct and moderating relationships which may affect an SME’s decision to adopt an ERP system. An analysis of a sample of 229 SMEs shows clear direct and moderating relationships amongst the above factors. Concrete recommendations are provided to accelerate the rate and success level of ERP adoption within SMEs.

A McKinsey 7S Model-Based Framework for ERP Readiness Assessment

Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is a complex, lengthy and expensive process which usually faces serious challenges and failures. Thus, it is necessary to perform a readiness assessment at the initial stage of an ERP implementation project to identify weakness areas which may encounter the project with failure. This paper proposes a new framework for assessing readiness of an organization to implement the ERP project on the basis of McKinsey 7S model using confirmatory factor analysis. Through this method, the construct of ERP readiness is proposed based on 7 dimensions namely “structure”, “strategy”, “systems”, “skills”, “style/culture”, “staff”, and “shared values/ superordinate goals”. Using the framework, the current situation of the organization can be determined and necessary changes can be made prior to system implementation. The proposed framework is then applied to 2 real Iranian banking cases and the advantages of the framework over available frameworks are illustrated.