THE FEASIBILITY OF USING WEB-BASED TECHNOLOGY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF DREDGING PROJECTS

The research investigates the feasibility of using web-based project management systems for dredging. To achieve this objective the research assessed both the positive and negative aspects of using web-based technology for the management of dredging projects. Information gained from literature review and prior investigations of dredging projects revealed that project performance, social, political, technical, and business aspects of the organization were important factors in deciding to use web-based systems for the management of dredging projects. These factors were used to develop the research assumptions. An exploratory case study methodology was used to gather the empirical evidence and perform the analysis. An operational prototype of the system was developed to help evaluate developmental and functional requirements, as well as the influence on performance, and on the organization. The evidence gathered from three case study projects, and from a survey of 31 experts, were used to validate the assumptions. Baselines, representing the assumptions, were created as a reference to assess the responses and qualitative measures. The deviation of the responses was used to evaluate for the analysis. Finally, the conclusions were assessed by validating the assumptions with the evidence, derived from the analysis. The research findings are as follows: 1. The system would help improve project performance. 2. Resistance to implementation may be experienced if the system is implemented. Therefore, resistance to implementation needs to be investigated further and more R&D work is needed in order to advance to the final design and implementation. 3. System may be divided into standalone modules in order to simplify the system and facilitate incremental changes. 4. The QA/QC conceptual approach used by this research needs to be redefined during future R&D to satisfy both owners and contractors. Yin (2009) Case Study Research Design and Methods was used to develop the research approach, design, data collection, and analysis. Markus (1983) Resistance Theory was used during the assumptions definition to predict potential problems to the implementation of web-based project management systems for the dredging industry. Keen (1981) incremental changes and facilitative approach tactics were used as basis to classify solutions, and how to overcome resistance to implementation of the web-based project management system. Davis (1989) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used to assess the solutions needed to overcome the resistances to the implementation of web-base management systems for dredging projects.

Interorganizational Innovation: The Role of Suppliers in Enhancing Buyer Innovation

This dissertation explores the effect of innovative knowledge transfer across supply chain partners. My research seeks to understand the manner by which a firm is able to benefit from the innovative capabilities of its supply chain partners and utilize the external knowledge they hold to increase its own levels of innovation. Specifically, I make use of patent data as a proxy for firm-level innovation and develop both independent and dependent variables from the data contained within the patent filings. I further examine the means by which key dyadic and portfolio supply chain relationship characteristics moderate the relationship between supplier innovation and buyer innovation. I investigate factors such as the degree of transactional reciprocity between the buyer and supplier, the similarity of the firms’ knowledge bases, and specific chain characteristics (e.g., geographic propinquity) to provide greater understanding of the means by which the transfer of innovative knowledge across firms in a supply chain can be enhanced or inhibited. This dissertation spans three essays to provide insights into the role that supply chain relationships play in affecting a focal firm’s level of innovation. While innovation has been at the core of a wide body of research, very little empirical work exists that considers the role of vertical buyer-supplier relationships on a firm’s ability to develop new and novel innovations. I begin by considering the fundamental unit of analysis within a supply chain, the buyer-supplier dyad. After developing initial insights based on the interactions between singular buyers and suppliers, essay two extends the analysis to consider the full spectrum of a buyer’s supply base by aggregating the individual buyer-supplier dyad level data into firm-supply network level data. Through this broader level of analysis, I am able to examine how the relational characteristics between a buyer firm and its supply base affect its ability to leverage the full portfolio of its suppliers’ innovative knowledge. Finally, in essay three I further extend the analysis to explore the means by which a buyer firm can use its suppliers to enhance its ability to access distant knowledge held by other organizations that the buyer is only connected to indirectly through its suppliers.