The case of EAI facilitating knowledge management integration in local government domain

Information Technology (IT) infrastructure integration and knowledge management (KM) share communal objectives e.g. to transform organisations into more effective and efficient, agile and innovative, and more responsive to market changes. Such an association when assimilates bona fide knowledge management philosophy, it offers the IT departments a headship opportunity for organisational transformation in correlation with the rest of the organisation. Despite more than a decade of active research and practice in this complex problem area, advocates still perceive that Local Government Authorities (LGAs) lack integrated IT infrastructures that have resulted in the generation of data inconsistencies and redundancies, inefficient knowledge exchange and reduction in service quality and delivery. In the recent years, several LGAs have implemented Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) solutions to integrate their IT infrastructure. However, on analysing the relevant research studies, it is noticeable that application of EAI has been practiced at a larger scale in the private domain but to limited scale in the public domain. The shortage of such research studies presents a knowledge gap that needs to be endorsed. This research adapts a Revised Model for Integration Layers (REAL). By adapting to this model, it is exemplified that EAI achieves integration at five layers namely: connectivity, transportation, transformation, process integration and knowledge integration. The methodology for validating this model included a qualitative analysis of data gathered from formal interviews, observations and archive documents guided by initial conceptual observations from the literature. The findings indicate that cases leading to data inconsistencies and replication can be prevented by integrating knowledge through EAI.     

The case of EAI in facilitating e-Government services in a Welsh authority

This case focuses on enterprise application integration (EAI) in facilitating integrated electronic Government (e-Government) service delivery in a Welsh local authority. Whilst the development of a heterogeneous information technology (IT) infrastructure in the case organisation caused several integration problems, following a non-EAI approach was regarded as satisfactory by the management. The empirical findings illustrate that although the argument for EAI adoption was initially not seen as cost effective, strategically the decision not to implement EAI caused difficulties in the long term for realising integrated e-Government services.     

基于生存分析方法的企业信息技术采纳研究

基于205家企业信息化建设的调研数据,采用生存分析方法对我国企业信息技术采纳的动态规律进行研究。首先将企业应用的典型信息技术分为五种类型:财务/人事系统、其它单/多部门业务应用系统、全局集成应用系统、跨企业应用系统、技术型系统。使用Kaplan-Meier法比较不同特征企业对这五类信息技术采纳状况的差异,得到的生存曲线能够反映研究期间任一时点不同企业对某种技术的动态采纳率。利用Cox回归模型对各企业特征对信息技术采纳的影响进行考察,结果指出企业所有制、行业类型、规模、组织结构、竞争程度、行业地位、成长阶段对五类技术的采纳的影响不同,并揭示了不同特征企业对这五类技术的采纳趋势。     

Determinants of master data management adoption by local government organizations: An empirical study

Master Data Management (MDM) is an approach for effective management of shared master data across organizations. In the public sector, MDM initiatives have been developed; however, the adoption among local government remains slow and there has been little interest in MDM adoption in extant research. Building on a Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, a conceptual model which highlights a set of potential determinants affecting the adoption of MDM by local government was developed. To validate the model, data were collected via survey from 224 responses from Malaysian local government department units. Using SEM-PLS, the study confirmed that data quality and data governance are two determinants of MDM adoption specific to the context of Malaysian local government, and four other determinants – complexity, top management support, technological competence, and citizen demand – are found to have significant effects on MDM adoption by local government. Surprisingly, three determinants – relative advantage, data security, and government policy – are found to have non-significant relationships to the adoption of MDM by local government. In addition, top management support is revealed to be a cornerstone of MDM technological competence in local government. The study contributes to the theoretical, contextual, and practical knowledge of MDM and IT adoption in the context of local government.     

A case analysis of E-government service delivery through a service chain dimension

Unlike e-business few studies have examined how information is generated and exchanged between stakeholders in an e-government service chain to generate value for citizens. This case study applies the concept of service chains to empirically explore: a) how internal and external business activities in local government authorities (LGAs) contribute to electronic service delivery, and b) the impact that internal and external stakeholders have on these activities. The case study found that the diversity of stakeholders involved and lack of appropriate mechanisms for information exchange and collaboration are posing the biggest challenges for efficient local e-government service delivery.     

Geographical information systems as part of the corporate information strategy

In the past, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have been used and developed by small groups of professionals within organizations, for example, town planners within local authorities. Champions from such enthusiastic groups have made enormous contributions to the development of working GIS in practice. However, GIS implementations that are ad hoc developments primarily designed to improve the operations of the organization are potentially underutilizing the benefits of GIS. In business applications GIS must be seen as another potential tool. Managers need to see GIS among a range of management support tools, in a way that other information systems might be viewed. The integration of GIS into corporate information systems is vital for gaining the maximum benefit from the information resources of the organization. The paper explores issues such as: How can GIS be integrated into the information strategy? What are the benefits of such an integration? The paper puts forward a framework for considering GIS within the corporate information strategy.     

Gender and IT in the Household: Evolving Patterns of Internet Use in the United States

Information technology (IT)—computers and related technologies—is the latest technology to enter the household. Like other technologies, gender is a major factor in its adoption and use as well as its perceived usefulness. Unlike prior household technologies, the computer's entry into the household has followed a different pattern. Early statistics revealed a vast gender divide, with men using computers and related technologies much more in the household. More recent statistics show a narrowing of the divide, perhaps even a reversal, particularly in the United States, with women outnumbering men in the access to and use of the Internet. In this article, the role of gender and its relationship with Internet use in the home are reviewed. In addition to overall adoption and access, the review focuses on specific Internet applications and examines the factors that contribute to gender differences in adoption and use of computers and Internet applications in the home.     

Knowledge-Based Risk Management framework for Information Technology project

The purpose of this paper is to explore the field of Risk Management (RM) in relation with Knowledge Management (KM). It attempts to present a conceptual framework, called Knowledge-Based Risk Management (KBRM) that employs KM processes to improve its effectiveness and increase the probability of success in innovative Information Technology (IT) projects. It addresses initiatives towards employing KM processes in RM processes by reviewing, interpreting the related and relevant literature and sheds light on integration with RM in the IT project.     

Information technology, GIS and democraticvalues: Ethical implications for ITprofessionals in public service

Information technologies (IT) play a criticalrole in transforming public administration andredefining the role of bureaucracy in ademocratic society. New applications of ITbring great promises for government, but at thesame time raise concerns about administrativepower and its abuse. Using GeographicInformation Systems (GIS) as the centralexample, this paper provides the philosophicalunderpinnings of the role of technology anddiscusses the importance of an ethicaldiscourse in IT for public serviceprofessionals. Such ethical discourse must bebased on upholding the democratic values andpreserving the institutional integrity of ITprofessionals in public office.     

Anticipated IT infrastructure and supply chain integration capabilities for RFID and their associated deployment outcomes

This study looks at the perceived ability of components of IT infrastructure integration and supply chain process integration to predict specific radio frequency identification (RFID) system deployment outcomes—exploration, exploitation, operational efficiency, and market knowledge creation. Data for this pilot research study was collected using a survey questionnaire administered online to members of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). It was hypothesized that data consistency and cross-functional application integration, both elements constituting IT infrastructure integration, and information flow integration, physical flow integration, and financial flow integration, all elements constituting supply chain process integration would be positively associated with and predict the four RFID system outcomes. Multiple regression results show partial support for all four proposed hypotheses. Cross-functional application integration and financial flow integration predicted exploration, while data consistency and physical flow integration predicted exploitation. Data consistency and cross-functional application integration, on the other hand, predicted both operational efficiency and market knowledge creation. Supply chain managers planning to deploy RFID systems are alerted to the criticality of these IT infrastructure issues as they brace for a likely widespread implementation of RFID in supply chains they participate in.     

Examining cloud computing adoption intention,pricing mechanism,and deployment model

Cloud computing is a new information technology (IT) paradigm that promises to revolutionize traditional IT delivery through reduced costs, greater elasticity, and ubiquitous access. On the surface, adopting cloud computing requires a firm to address many of the same concerns they face in adopting any enterprise IT. However, cloud technologies also offer new pricing and deployment strategies that are unavailable in traditional enterprise solutions. It is unclear how previous research frameworks of enterprise IT adoption relate to these new adoption strategies. To bridge this gap in the literature, our study uses the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework of innovation diffusion theory to develop a cloud service adoption model that deals with not only adoption intention, but also pricing mechanisms and deployment models. Our research model has been empirically tested using 200 Taiwanese firms. We found that: (1) Cloud adoption is still at its initial stage, since the adoption rates are very low; (2) the perceived benefits, business concerns, and IT capability within the TOE framework are significant determinants of cloud computing adoption, while external pressure is not; (3) firms with greater IT capability tend to choose the pay-as-you-go pricing mechanism; (4) business concern is the most important factor influencing the choice of deployment model, with higher concerns leading to private deployment options.     

政府补贴、采用效果对农户节水灌溉技术持续采用行为的影响研究

农户对节水灌溉技术的采用行为是一个“逐步”的动态学习过程,需要经历采用和持续采用两个阶段的决策,而农户的持续采用行为直接影响节水灌溉技术效益的发挥。本文运用陕西省白水县284户苹果种植户的微观调研数据,采用Heckman选择模型重点探讨政府补贴和采用效果对农户节水灌溉技术持续采用行为的影响。实证结果表明：① 政府给农户任何形式的补贴都可以有效地激励农户采用节水灌溉技术,相对于资金补贴,基础设施补贴和设备补贴更有利于农户持续采用节水灌溉技术;② 采用效果对农户节水灌溉技术的采用行为有显著的正向作用,成本投入对农户持续采用行为影响不显著,技术适用性对农户持续采用行为有促进作用,及时解决农户在技术采用中遇到的问题有助于提高农户技术采用的经济效益。基于此,提出以下建议：实施政府补贴、优先补贴基础设施和设备、多元化的配套措施,有助于提高农户节水灌溉技术的采用率和采用效果,并促进农户对节水灌溉技术的持续采用。     

Creative adaptation: the role of new technology based firms in Portugal

This paper reviews two recent research studies on Portuguese New Technology Based Firms (NTBFs). Attention is given to the role and contribution of NTBFs to innovation. The main argument is that, by and large, NTBFs are less concerned with the introduction of major innovations and more with creative adaptive improvements to products and services based upon new technologies first introduced elsewhere. The empirical research found that Portuguese NTBFs are a recent phenomenon associated with diffusion of Electronics and Information Technologies (EIT) during the late 1980s. They perform a wide variety of knowledge-intensive activities, which enhance local users' adoption processes and they are associated with different forms of technology transfer through external linkages. Overall, NTBFs undertake a frequently unobserved role as technology searchers and acquirers that, pushed by idiosyncratic local niche market opportunities, selectively choose among and enhance technologies developed elsewhere, introducing them into the local market.     

E-government and citizen's engagement with local affairs through e-websites: The case of Spanish municipalities

As a mixture of new technologies, processes and services oriented to the citizen, e-government has become one of the most important keywords for the public sector reform with proponents claiming that it guarantees transparency, accountability and better communication between local and national administrations and their public. Few if any studies have investigated the factors that might contribute to the establishment of trusting relationship between city councils and citizens. This paper examines the relative importance and significance of three types of information communication technologies (ICTs) towards the use of e-government and the development of civic engagement. We conduct an empirical investigation of 179 Spanish official town websites (web sites in the municipalities). The research findings suggest that implementing ICT not only involves a step towards an increase in the use of e-government services by people, but also provides numerous opportunities for their civic engagement. The main conclusion of this study is that although ICT can leverage the adoption of e-government, it cannot create alone engagement with traditional activities of the local government. What is missing from this relationship is a mediating variable (adoption of e-government by government officers), which in turn can greatly help to better understand how ICT impacts relationships between governments and their citizens.     

Turning loose the invisible hand: New Zealand's information technology policy

Abstract

Information technology (IT) policy in New Zealand has closely paralleled the broader economic policies that have prevailed in the country. Until the mid‐1980s, economic policy was inwardly oriented, marked by high trade barriers and heavy government regulation. In 1984, the Labor government responded to a balance of payments crisis with a radical program of economic liberalization. By the end of the decade, this process had fundamentally altered the New Zealand economy through deregulation, privatization, and public sector reform.

IT policy likewise moved from protectionism and centralized control to almost pure laissez faire. Tariffs on computer hardware were lowered from 40% to 10%. Government computing was moved from a central data processing bureau and placed under the control of individual departments. In terms of IT production, the government has refused to provide any significant incentives or subsidies to the fledgling software industry, feeling the industry should succeed or fail on its own.

Under laissez faire policies, New Zealand has become a heavy user of IT, ranking behind only Japan in the Asia‐Pacific region for IT spending as a percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). It has also had some success as a producer and exporter of software. However, the hands‐off approach to the industry is likely to prove problematic in an international environment in which many countries have explicit strategies to improve their infrastructure for IT production and/or directly subsidize the industry. New Zealand is unlikely to become a hardware producer, but it has a number of endowments favoring software production, particularly its well‐educated, English‐speaking workforce. However, it faces obstacles, such as a small domestic market, distance from international markets, and a shortage of venture capital. Although software may be a potential growth industry in the ailing New Zealand economy, it is unclear whether the industry can thrive without at least some government support. Even the government now seems to be considering this possibility, and is considering the creation of an IT unit within the Ministry of Commerce.     

Big data for the comprehensive data analysis of IT organizations

Businesses have begun using IT apps for a variety of reasons in recent years. The rapid advancement of new technologies has opened up vast prospects for businesses to digitise their operations, enhance their use of information systems, and compete more effectively in the global marketplace. Information technology (IT) businesses can benefit greatly from Big Data analytics due to the depth and breadth of their data analysis. Big data can be used to examine IT departments in the following ways: performance analysis, forecast maintenance, security analysis, and resource analysis. When it comes to boosting their business's dependability, speed, quality, and effectiveness, most companies rely on big data. Companies can gain a competitive edge thanks to the massive amounts of data that big data is able to collect, store, and manage. Big data analytics is being used by a growing number of businesses to make sense of their mountain of data. In this paper, we examine the ways in which IBM, TCS, and Cognizant use big data within their operations. Long-term planning strategies and business intelligence practises are also suggested in this research as means of protecting personal information.     

Determinants of Internet standards adoption: The case of South Korea

We develop an adoption model of infrastructure technologies and test it with survey data collected from companies in six industries in South Korea (hereafter: Korea). The implementation of a new Internet standard such as Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) depends on the usefulness of the technology to the adopting organizations and the environment in which they operate. The adoption of IPv6 in Korea is mostly driven by a governmental strategy that created user demand, and normative pressure. IPv6 adoption in Korea is also driven by perceived resource concentration and power due to the uneven allocation of IPv4 addresses. Conversely, killer applications, technical sponsorship and financial factors had no influence on the adoption decision by Korean companies. Taken together, the findings of our explorative study suggest the need to consider technical as well as social and policy factors to understand the adoption dynamics of infrastructure technologies.     

A pragmatic approach to managing enterprise IT infrastructures in the era of consumerization and individualization of IT

Historically, organizations owned and controlled the information technologies (IT) their employees used: telephone, inter-office memos, mainframes and timesharing systems. Today, employees often want to use their own IT: not only personal smart phones and tablets, but also Twitter and Google Docs. This new trend can diversify and extend enterprise IT infrastructure, but leaves organizations struggling with technology uses that they cannot control. With the emergence of new technological paradigms in consumer markets and organizations, the management of IT infrastructure requires a more pragmatic and holistic approach that goes beyond simple technological considerations. In this paper, we present a three-part framework—technology, people and practice—that helps managers understand and mitigate these tensions. Drawing on two empirical studies of European executives and consultants form multiple management consulting firms, the paper further outlines changes taking place along the three aspects of the framework. It concludes by discussing three distinct approaches to the management of organizational IT infrastructure (passive, reactive, and pragmatic), and by offering greater insight regarding a pragmatic approach.     

Business teams in an information age

Abstract

A critical success factor for businesses in the twenty‐first century will be their ability to meet the environmental demands for complex coordination of action and rapid adjustments to volatile markets and global competition. Business teams are effective mechanisms for addressing the need for dynamic, flexible organizations that can effectively cope with complexity and turbulence.

Business teams are not a new phenomenon, but there is a new element in the equation: the use of information technologies (IT) to leverage team effort. Information technologies can enhance team performance through support of interaction processes by providing two types of functionality: coordination support and task execution support.

An agenda for action for moving forward a team‐based organization and use of information technologies for support of business teams is provided.     

A human-centric perspective exploring the readiness towards smart warehousing: The case of a large retail distribution warehouse

The explosive rise in technologies has revolutionised the way in which business operate, consumers buy, and the pace at which these activities take place. These advancements continue to have profound impact on business processes across the entire organisation. As such, Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LSCM) are also leveraging benefits from digitisation, allowing organisations to increase efficiency and productivity, whilst also providing greater transparency and accuracy in the movement of goods. While the warehouse is a key component within LSCM, warehousing research remains an understudied area within overall supply chain research, accounting for only a fraction of the overall research within this field. However, of the extant warehouse research, attention has largely been placed on warehouse design, performance and technology use, yet overlooking the determinants of Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption within warehouses. Accordingly, through proposing an extension of the Technology–Organisation–Environment (TOE) framework, this research explores the barriers and opportunities of AI within the warehouse of a major retailer. The findings for this qualitative study reveal AI challenges resulting from a shortage of both skill and mind-set of operational management, while also uncovering the opportunities presented through existing IT infrastructure and pre-existing AI exposure of management.