Enterprise Information Systems Adoption in Iberian Large Companies

Information Systems (IS) and Technologies assume a wide variety of roles within companies, ranging from operational to strategic support of the company. This fact puts pressure on managers, who are required to manage these investments properly. This chapter presents a study conducted with several Chief Information Officers from large Iberian companies with the purpose of identifying and characterizing the roles played by IS and the motivations currently behind their adoption. The findings of this study reveal the reasons why IS and technologies are being adopted by Iberian companies are evolving and that, while the adoption of certain types of systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning systems is now consolidated, the adoption of other systems like Business Intelligence is expected to increase significantly in the near future.

Aligning Systems, Structures and People

This chapter focuses on how managers and sponsors of enterprise information system (EIS) projects can identify and manage stakeholders engaged in the project. This chapter argues that this activity should go beyond the traditional ideas about user participation and management involvement. Also suppliers, customers, government agencies, business partners, and the general public can have a clear interest in the ways that the system will be designed and implemented. This chapter proposes to apply identification, analysis, and intervention techniques from organization and management disciplines in the IS field to enhance the changes for the successfulness of enterprise information system implementations. Some of these techniques are combined in a coherent method that may help implementers of complex IS projects to identify and categorize stakeholders and to consider appropriate ways of involvement during the various stages of the project.

Small Firm Process Re-Engineering Success

Small firms are undertaking business process re-engineering (BPR), but the factors contributing to success of these activities are not clearly understood. This research reviews the main contributing factors to BPR success using a framework that considers culture, structure, technology, and resource. Evidence from Taiwanese firms is used to explore issues contributing to, or impeding, successful process re-engineering in small firms. The analysis shows that BPR success is empowered by innovation, employee empowerment, top management commitment, and strategic direction and is dependent upon customer relations, Information Systems involvement, and financial resources.

People-Oriented Business Processes

Current notations and languages do not emphasize the participation of users in business processes and consider them essentially as service providers. Moreover, they follow a centralized approach as all the interactions originate from or end in a business process; direct interactions between users cannot be represented. What is missing from this approach is that human work is cooperative, and that cooperation takes place through structured interactions called conversations. However, the problem of effectively integrating conversations and business processes is still open, and this chapter proposes a notation called POBPN (People-Oriented Business Process Notation) and a perspective, referred to as conversation-oriented perspective, for its solution.

Conflicts, Compromises, and Political Decisions

This article describes the architecture development process in an international ICT company, which is building a comprehensive e-business system for its customers. The implementation includes the integration of data and legacy systems from independent business units and the construction of a uniform Web-based customer interface. We followed the early process of architecture analysis and definition over a year. The research focuses on the creation of e-business architecture and observes that instead of guided by a prescribed method, the architecture emerges through somewhat non-deliberate actions obliged by the situation and its constraints, conflicts, compromises, and political decisions. The interview-based qualitative data is analyzed using grounded theory and a coherent story explaining the situation and its forces is extracted. Conclusions are drawn from the observations and possibilities and weaknesses of the support that UML and RUP provide for the process are pointed out.

A Complex Adaptive Systems-Based Enterprise Knowledge Sharing Model

This paper describes a complex adaptive systems (CAS)-based enterprise knowledge-sharing (KnS) model. The CAS-based enterprise KnS model consists of a CAS-based KnS framework and a multi-agent simulation model. Enterprise knowledge sharing is modeled as the emergent behavior of knowledge workers interacting with the KnS environment and other knowledge workers. The CAS-based enterprise KnS model is developed to aid knowledge management (KM) leadership and other KnS researchers in gaining an enhanced understanding of KnS behavior and its influences. A premise of this research is that a better understanding of KnS influences can result in enhanced decision-making of KnS interventions that can result in improvements in KnS behavior.

Information Technology Interventions for Growth and Competitiveness in Micro-Enterprises

The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) have the potential to enable these businesses to grow through access to new markets and administrative efficiencies. However, the growth of the smallest of these SMEs which are micro-enterprises is hindered by their inability to adopt ICTs. This paper investigates how micro-enterprises can adopt ICTs to grow and achieve competitiveness. It investigates a set of seven micro-enterprises through an interpretive field study in which action research was used to diagnose and treat the micro-enterprises. This was done using interventions through a process called “Information Technology (IT) Therapy”. This process involved providing individualized IT solutions to pressing problems and opportunities. The increase in competitiveness of these micro-enterprises was assessed using the Focus Dominance Model and their growth through a modified model of micro-enterprise growth. This research contributes to assisting micro-enterprises achieve sustained growth and competitive advantage.

Contrasting Approaches to Preparedness

This chapter reflects on ongoing research in SMEs in the manufacturing and service sectors. It contrasts different approaches to the issue of preparedness from an organisational and social perspective, in two cases where new enterprise-wide business processes were implemented and integrated in different settings. In both cases, the emergence of new systems presented a huge challenge to companies hard-pressed to marshal the resources to mount effective change and implementation projects on this scale. The cases presented enable a comparison of different strategies used, one firm responding to organic growth, and the other to rapid industry-driven change. The chapter focuses not on the implementations per se, but instead on the issue of preparedness for change. The chapter concludes by drawing out general lessons concerning how to support and maintain organisational preparedness for enterprise wide change in different industry settings.

Factors Influencing Information System Flexibility

Information System (IS) flexibility has been regarded as an important indicator of information technology success. This article provides a model of IS flexibility encompassing all stages of IS implementation and usage. The model considers the cognitive factors from IS staff and users as important leveraging IS flexibility with adaptation activities. A review of constructs extending from the interpretive flexibility perspective in the literature is used to identify these cognitive factors. By hypothesizing the relationships among these cognitive factors, IS flexibility, and adaptation activities several propositions are identified. Empirical testing is then warranted to refute or validate the propositions. [Article copies are available for purchase from InfoSci-on-Demand.com]

Information System Conversion Strategies

Information system conversion has been with us since users of punched-card tabulating systems first moved to vacuum-tube computers. However, it has generally been seen as an afterthought: once the “interesting” development stages of analysis, design and so on are done, it will just happen. This article attempts to view the process holistically, from both the technical and human viewpoints, reflecting the fact that information systems have both technical and human components. It shows how ignoring one side or the other can lead to problems, which can be avoided if all aspects are considered together. It proposes a systematic approach to considering these issues and points out benefits to both researchers and practitioners from using it.