Editorial

Citation

Irani, Z. and Ali, M. (2010), "Editorial", Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 23 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeim.2010.08823daa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Volume 23, Issue 4

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to volume 23, issue 4, of the Journal of Enterprise Information Management. This issue covers a variety of contributions that span the theoretical and practical.

Cagla Ozen Seneler, Nuri Basoglu and Tugrul U. Daim present an empirical analysis of the antecedents of adoption of online services. This paper expands on technology adoption theories by integrating them with exploring service innovations, and attempts to explore factors that help or hinder the attitude to use online services. Thus, this study provides insight into the attributes to which developers and designers of such services should pay attention. The study accomplishes its proposed objectives through testing a framework that was developed as a result of a critical literature review, interviews, a brainstorming session, an expert focus group and a final large-scale survey. A set of prototypes were developed as alternative interfaces for the online service. In addition to finding that usefulness and ease of use are affecting the intention to use in the case of online services, this paper also identified that users were positively influenced by their acquaintances, commercials and related news about online ticket reservations positively. Self-efficacy was also identified as a positive factor. However, the authors were unable to identify any significant relationship between other elements of the user interface such as task or user characteristics. Further data collection may help the authors to explore the role of user and service characteristics better.

The role of information systems architecture planning in enhancing information systems outsourcing’s impact on performance is explored by Zhengzhong Shi. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual model on the role information systems architecture planning plays in enhancing outsourcing performance and to empirically test the proposed model. Survey data were gathered and structural equation modeling technique used to test hypotheses. The empirical test clearly demonstrates the important role information systems architecture planning plays in enhancing outsourcing performance. In other words, it shows that information systems architecture planning provides a blueprint for establishing necessary technical and administrative platforms based on which information systems outsourcing can be effectively implemented to positively impact performance. Consequently, the key proposition in the conceptual model of this study has been empirically validated. The paper raised several key implications:

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  The relatively low response rate requires future studies to re-validate the model to test the robustness of the findings.

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  The fact that 75 percent of respondents are IS managers/directors may produce inflated responses on IS performance. Future studies with more balanced IS and business managers’ participation can help further verify the model.

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  Future research can also investigate how web compliant-based technologies such as SOA and XML can enable high levels of modularity to improve IS outsourcing effectiveness for better IS performance.

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  As to control variables, the extent of IS outsourcing and the level of IS architecture maturity may be incorporated in a refined model to better test the role IS architecture planning plays in enhancing IS outsourcing’s impact on IS performance.

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  IS outsourcing effectiveness may be added to the model as a bridge linking IS outsourcing competences to IS performance.

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  A longitudinal study can be conducted to analyse the dynamics of how IS architecture planning can impact IS outsourcing informed buying and help us understand the portfolio of outsourcing control mechanisms in a multiple outsourcing projects setting.

The empirical research supports key propositions that information systems architecture planning enhances outsourcing’s impact on performance. This makes it very clear that management should make due efforts to improve their understandings of various information systems components, associated business processes, and their interactive relationships for better outsourcing. Further, the identification of the antecedents of information systems architecture planning will enlighten practitioners about how to improve their IS architecture planning competence. This paper clearly builds upon previous research to further provide empirical evidence on the role of IS architecture planning in enhancing information systems outsourcing’s impact on information systems performance.

Vathsala Wickramasinghe and Vathsala Gunawardena explore ERP project implementation performance of successful and unsuccessful implementations; critical elements (CEs) that conduce to success; and whether implementation project performance and CEs vary across the number of modules implemented, product type, and number of employees affected by the ERP. In their research, a survey methodology was used and collected data from 74 ERP implementation projects in Sri Lanka. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and logistic regression. ERP implementation project performance significantly differs between successful and unsuccessful implementations. The importance given to CEs of training and education, user involvement, managing user expectations, interdepartmental cooperation, ERP teamwork and team composition, software development, testing and troubleshooting, project management, project champion, BPR and customisation, change management programme and culture, and effective communication significantly differ between successful and unsuccessful implementations. Although ERP implementation project performance does not vary by the number of ERP modules implemented, product type, and number of employees affected by the ERP, several CEs were found to vary by these three contextual variables.

Following the ERP theme, a comprehensive literature review of the ERP research field over a decade is reviewed by Bjarne Rerup Schlichter and Pernille Kraemmergaard. First, they develop a methodological framework for conducting a comprehensive literature review on an empirical phenomenon based on a vast amount of papers published. Second, this framework can be used to gain a broader understanding of the current state of the ERP research field, and third, based on the literature review, to develop a conceptual framework identifying areas of concern in regard to ERP systems. The body of academic knowledge about ERP systems has reached a certain maturity and several different research disciplines have contributed to the field from different points of view using different methods, showing that the ERP research field is very much an interdisciplinary field. It demonstrates that the number of ERP publications has decreased, and it indicates that the academic interest in ERP is driven by an interest in an empirical phenomenon more than indicating that ERP is a new research discipline. Different research topics of interest are identified and used in developing a conceptual framework for “areas of concern” regarding ERP systems. Abstracts from 885 peer-reviewed journal publications from 2000 to 2009 have been analysed according to journal, authors and year of publication, and further categorised into research discipline, research topic and methods used, using the structured methodological framework. The usefulness of the framework is confirmed by analysing one specific aspect of ERP research; Business Process Reengineering (BPR) to establish which theories different authors and journals have used in their efforts to explore BPR and ERP.

Nandish V. Patel, Tillal Eldabi and Tariq M. Khan from the Brunel Business School propose that, in deferred action, agents act in emergent organisation to achieve predetermined goals. Since emergence cannot be predicted they require information systems and organisation design approach that caters for emergent organisation. The authors address the problem of designing artificial complex adaptive systems, like information systems and organisations, by developing a proof-of-concept conceptual proto-agent model. Consequently, that would help to understand better the systems and organisation design principles necessary to design information systems and organisations for emergent environments. The authors focus on understanding the effect of emergence when designing artificial complex adaptive systems by developing an exploratory proto-agent model and evaluate its suitability for implementation as agent-based simulation.

Nazli Alimen and A. Guldem Cerit then present a research study as a thread with previous studies from the literature, they claimed, that, brand knowledge could be affected by companies and consumer characteristics such as consumer personality. Their study aims at analyzing whether consumer characteristics, that are consumers’ gender, field of education, and having consumed the brand, affect brand knowledge. An exploratory study is designed in Turkey to evaluate the brand awareness and brand image of the university students with respect to nine international fashion brands. The survey is conducted by using convenience sampling method to reach a heterogeneous group of different departments, genders, and usage frequencies that would reveal whether these variables have an effect on brand knowledge or not. The students are also asked to describe each brand by two or three words. Significant differences are found with respect to usage, gender, and departments. Students belonging to the departments that are more related to fashion and females have deeper brand knowledge. Furthermore, having consumed a brand increases both brand awareness and brand image. This study reveals and compares the effects of gender, field of education, and usage of brand on brand knowledge that could be beneficial for academicians and practitioners.

Wojciech Piotrowicz and Zahir Irani, present electronic procurement benefits identified in four case companies from the IT, hi-tech sector. The benefits reported in the companies were analysed and classified according to taxonomies from the information systems discipline. The research confirmed problems with benefits evaluation, as apart from operational benefits, also non-financial, intangible benefits at strategic level were identified. As the traditional financial-based methods failed to capture the nature of e-procurement benefits, new taxonomy based on the taxonomies derived from the IS literature was created. New taxonomy allows evaluation of the complex e-procurement impact. In the proposed taxonomy, e-procurement benefits are classified according to their level (operational, tactical, strategic), area of the impact, applying scorecard dimensions (customer, process, financial, learning and growth) in addition the benefits characteristic is captured (tangible, intangible, financial and non-financial).

We hope you enjoy reading this issue, and hope to receive your valuable contributions for the following issue.

Zahir IraniEditor-in-Chief (Zahir.irani@brunel.ac.uk)

Maged AliEditorial Assistant (maged.ali@brunel.ac.uk)