ERP success: Does organisation size matter?

Organisations invest enormous sums of money in acquiring Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, presumably expecting positive impacts to the organisation and its functions. Despite the optimistic motives some ERP projects have reported nil or detrimental impacts. This paper studies the proposition that the size of an organisation (e.g. small, large) may have contributed to the differences in receiving benefits reported in prior studies in this domain. The alleged differences in organisational performance are empirically measured using a prior validated model, using five constructs and fortytwo sub-constructs. Information is gathered from three hundred and ten respondents representing twenty-seven public sector organisations. Results suggests that (1) larger organisations have received more benefits compared to small organisations, (2) small organisations demonstrated higher reliance on their ERP systems, (3) employment cohorts demonstrate significant differences in perceived benefits in small and large organisations.

A time-variant medical data trustworthiness assessment model

Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems are being introduced to overcome the limitations associated with paper-based and isolated Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems. This is accomplished by aggregating medical data and consolidating them in one digital repository. Though an EHR system provides obvious functional benefits, there is a growing concern about the privacy and reliability (trustworthiness) of Electronic Health Records. Security requirements such as confidentiality, integrity, and availability can be satisfied by traditional hard security mechanisms. However, measuring data trustworthiness from the perspective of data entry is an issue that cannot be solved with traditional mechanisms, especially since degrees of trust change over time. In this paper, we introduce a Time-variant Medical Data Trustworthiness (TMDT) assessment model to evaluate the trustworthiness of medical data by evaluating the trustworthiness of its sources, namely the healthcare organisation where the data was created and the medical practitioner who diagnosed the patient and authorised entry of this data into the patient’s medical record, with respect to a certain period of time. The result can then be used by the EHR system to manipulate health record metadata to alert medical practitioners relying on the information to possible reliability problems.

An application of Keller’s brand equity model in a B2B context

Purpose – The importance of branding in industrial contexts has increased, yet a comprehensive model of business-to-business (B2B) branding does not exist, nor has there been a thoroughempirical study of the applicability of a full brand equitymodel in a B2B context. This paper aims to discuss the suitability and limitations of Keller’s customer-based brand equity model and tests its applicability in a B2B market. Design/methodology/approach – The study involved the use of semi-structured interviews with senior buyers of technology for electronic tracking of waste management. Findings – Findings suggest that amongst organisational buyers there is a much greater emphasis on the selling organisation, including its corporate brand, credibility and staff, than on individual brands and their associated dimensions. Research limitations/implications – The study investigates real brands with real potential buyers, so there is a risk that the results may represent industry-specific factors that are not representative of all B2B markets. Future research that validates the importance of the Keller elements in other industrial marketing contexts would be beneficial. Practical implications – The findings are relevant for marketing practitioners, researchers and managers as a starting-point for their B2B brand equity research. Originality/value – Detailed insights and key lessons from the field with regard to how B2B brand equity should be conceptualised and measured are offered. A revised brand equity model for B2B application is also presented.

The Order Fulfillment Process Model

This appendix describes the Order Fulfillment process followed by a fictitious company named Genko Oil. The process is freely inspired by the VICS (Voluntary Inter-industry Commerce Solutions) reference model1 and provides a demonstration of YAWL’s capabilities in modelling complex control-flow, data and resourcing requirements.

An exploration of knowledge management and intellectual capital in a nonprofit organisation context

In recent years, practitioners and researchers alike have turned their attention to knowledge management (KM) in order to increase organisational performance (OP). As a result, many different approaches and strategies have been investigated and suggested for how knowledge should be managed to make organisations more effective and efficient. However, most research has been undertaken in the for-profit sector, with only a few studies focusing on the benefits nonprofit organisations might gain by managing knowledge. This study broadly investigates the impact of knowledge management on the organisational performance of nonprofit organisations. Organisational performance can be evaluated through either financial or non-financial measurements. In order to evaluate knowledge management and organisational performance, non-financial measurements are argued to be more suitable given that knowledge is an intangible asset which often cannot be expressed through financial indicators. Non-financial measurement concepts of performance such as the balanced scorecard or the concept of Intellectual Capital (IC) are well accepted and used within the for-profit and nonprofit sectors to evaluate organisational performance. This study utilised the concept of IC as the method to evaluate KM and OP in the context of nonprofit organisations due to the close link between KM and IC: Indeed, KM is concerned with managing the KM processes of creating, storing, sharing and applying knowledge and the organisational KM infrastructure such as organisational culture or organisational structure to support these processes. On the other hand, IC measures the knowledge stocks in different ontological levels: at the individual level (human capital), at the group level (relational capital) and at the organisational level (structural capital). In other words, IC measures the value of the knowledge which has been managed through KM. As KM encompasses the different KM processes and the KM infrastructure facilitating these processes, previous research has investigated the relationship between KM infrastructure and KM processes. Organisational culture, organisational structure and the level of IT support have been identified as the main factors of the KM infrastructure influencing the KM processes of creating, storing, sharing and applying knowledge. Other research has focused on the link between KM and OP or organisational effectiveness. Based on existing literature, a theoretical model was developed to enable the investigation of the relation between KM (encompassing KM infrastructure and KM processes) and IC. The model assumes an association between KM infrastructure and KM processes, as well as an association between KM processes and the various levels of IC (human capital, structural capital and relational capital). As a result, five research questions (RQ) with respect to the various factors of the KM infrastructure as well as with respect to the relationship between KM infrastructure and IC were raised and included into the research model: RQ 1 Do nonprofit organisations which have a Hierarchy culture have a stronger IT support than nonprofit organisations which have an Adhocracy culture? RQ 2 Do nonprofit organisations which have a centralised organisational structure have a stronger IT support than nonprofit organisations which have decentralised organisational structure? RQ 3 Do nonprofit organisations which have a stronger IT support have a higher value of Human Capital than nonprofit organisations which have a less strong IT support? RQ 4 Do nonprofit organisations which have a stronger IT support have a higher value of Structural Capital than nonprofit organisations which have a less strong IT support? RQ 5 Do nonprofit organisations which have a stronger IT support have a higher value of Relational Capital than nonprofit organisations which have a less strong IT support? In order to investigate the research questions, measurements for IC were developed which were linked to the main KM processes. The final KM/IC model contained four items for evaluating human capital, five items for evaluating structural capital and four items for evaluating relational capital. The research questions were investigated through empirical research using a case study approach with the focus on two nonprofit organisations providing trade promotions services through local offices worldwide. Data for the investigation of the assumptions were collected via qualitative as well as quantitative research methods. The qualitative study included interviews with representatives of the two participating organisations as well as in-depth document research. The purpose of the qualitative study was to investigate the factors of the KM infrastructure (organisational culture, organisational structure, IT support) of the organisations and how these factors were related to each other. On the other hand, the quantitative study was carried out through an online-survey amongst staff of the various local offices. The purpose of the quantitative study was to investigate which impact the level of IT support, as the main instrument of the KM infrastructure, had on IC. Overall several key themes were found as a result of the study: • Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital were complementary with each other, which should be expressed through measurements of IC based on KM processes. • The various factors of the KM infrastructure (organisational culture, organisational structure and level of IT support) are interdependent. • IT was a primary instrument through which the different KM processes (creating, storing, sharing and applying knowledge) were performed. • A high level of IT support was evident when participants reported higher level of IC (human capital, structural capital and relational capital). The study supported previous research in the field of KM and replicated the findings from other case studies in this area. The study also contributed to theory by placing the KM research within the nonprofit context and analysing the linkage between KM and IC. From the managerial perspective, the findings gave clear indications that would allow interested parties, such as nonprofit managers or consultants to understand more about the implications of KM on OP and to use this knowledge for implementing efficient and effective KM strategies within their organisations.

A model of project complexity : distinguishing dimensions of complexity from severity

There is increasing agreement that understanding complexity is important for project management because of difficulties associated with decision-making and goal attainment which appear to stem from complexity. However the current operational definitions of complex projects, based upon size and budget, have been challenged and questions have been raised about how complexity can be measured in a robust manner that takes account of structural, dynamic and interaction elements. Thematic analysis of data from 25 in-depth interviews of project managers involved with complex projects, together with an exploration of the literature reveals a wide range of factors that may contribute to project complexity. We argue that these factors contributing to project complexity may define in terms of dimensions, or source characteristics, which are in turn subject to a range of severity factors. In addition to investigating definitions and models of complexity from the literature and in the field, this study also explores the problematic issues of ‘measuring’ or assessing complexity. A research agenda is proposed to further the investigation of phenomena reported in this initial study.

Business model construction : the importance of regime of appropriability strategies

To date, most theories of business models have theorized value capture assuming that appropriability regimes were exogenous and that the firm would face a unique, ideal-typical appropriability regime. This has led theory contributions to focus on governance structures to minimize transaction costs, to downplay the interdepencies between value capture and value creation, and to ignore revenue generation strategies. We propose a reconceptualization of business models value capture mechanisms that rely on assumptions of endogeneity and multiplicity of appropriability regimes. This new approach to business model construction highlights the interdependencies and trade-offs between value creation and value capture offered by different types and combinations of appropriability regimes. The theory is illustrated by the analysis of three cases of open source software business models

Towards a reference model for SOA governance (extended version)

Although the lack of elaborate governance mechanisms is often seen as the main reason for failures of SOA projects, SOA governance is still very low in maturity. In this paper, we follow a design science approach to address this drawback by presenting a framework that can guide organisations in implementing a governance approach for SOA more successfully. We have reviewed the highly advanced IT governance frameworks Cobit and ITIL and mapped them to the SOA domain. The resulting blueprint for an SOA governance framework was refined based on a detailed literature review, expert interviews and a practical application in a government organisation. The proposed framework stresses the need for business representatives to get involved in SOA decisions and to define benefits ownership for services.

A model of organisational leadership development informing succession development : elements and practices

It is noted from observations of Compton (2009), Richards (2008), Taylor and Bennett (2002), and others that succession leadership planning and development fails to receive adequate attention in the corporate sector (see Byham 2002; Richards 2008; Wellins and Byham 2001). This paper acknowledges a marked paucity of systematic succession leadership development in education organisations. The need would seem to be compounded at a time when substantial attrition in the leadership ranks is expected over the next five years, reflecting widespread workforce demographics (Busine and Watt 2005; Jacobzone, Cambois, Chaplain, and Robine 1998; Taylor and Bennett 2002). The Lantern model has been developed in response to a perceived need to offer an integrated, systematic approach to organisational and succession leadership development. The model offers an organising framework for considering succession leadership development in a strategic, integrated way. The concept is based on organisational development and leadership literature which sees leadership development not as a series of 'tacked on' activities but as an organic 'whole of organisation' approach fostering the relevant knowledge, skills and understandings which support and 'grow' leaders as the organisation goes about its business. This paper explores how such an ideal might happen, and it suggests that pursuing such an ideal is timely. The leadership baton is set to shift at an accelerated rate in universities, as for organisations broadly, owing to age-related attrition. Moreover, given the increased complexity and demands of the leadership remit in the education leadership environment, it would seem particularly opportune to explore a framework concentrating on engendering a positive, connected organisational climate capable of growing strategic leadership strength from within. Eight core elements of the model, derived from the literature and practice research, are explored. The Lantern model purports to 'cover the bases' of succession leadership development, with particular reference to the education environment. The model is next described

Design of a model-generated repository as a service for USDL

SAP and its research partners have been developing a lan- guage for describing details of Services from various view- points called the Unified Service Description Language (USDL). At the time of writing, version 3.0 describes technical implementation aspects of services, as well as stakeholders, pricing, lifecycle, and availability. Work is also underway to address other business and legal aspects of services. This language is designed to be used in service portfolio management, with a repository of service descriptions being available to various stakeholders in an organisation to allow for service prioritisation, development, deployment and lifecycle management. The structure of the USDL metadata is specified using an object-oriented metamodel that conforms to UML, MOF and EMF Ecore. As such it is amenable to code gener-ation for implementations of repositories that store service description instances. Although Web services toolkits can be used to make these programming language objects available as a set of Web services, the practicalities of writing dis- tributed clients against over one hundred class definitions, containing several hundred attributes, will make for very large WSDL interfaces and highly inefficient “chatty” implementations. This paper gives the high-level design for a completely model-generated repository for any version of USDL (or any other data-only metamodel), which uses the Eclipse Modelling Framework’s Java code generation, along with several open source plugins to create a robust, transactional repository running in a Java application with a relational datastore. However, the repository exposes a generated WSDL interface at a coarse granularity, suitable for distributed client code and user-interface creation. It uses heuristics to drive code generation to bridge between the Web service and EMF granularities.

Mediators of the relationship between person-organisation fit and individual outcomes

To date, research on P-O fit has focused heavily on the effect of P-O fit on individual and organisational outcomes. Few studies have attempted to explain how or why P-O fit leads to these outcomes. Meglino, Ravlin, and Adkins (1989) and Schein (1985) identified several intervening mechanisms for explaining fit-outcome relationships but only few of these explanations have been tested empirically (Cable & Edwards, 2004; Edwards & Cable, 2009; Kalliath, Bluedorn, & Strube, 1999). This thesis investigates role conflict, cognitive style and organisational justice as three potential mediating mechanisms in the relationship between P-O fit (defined as fit between personal and organisational values – value congruence or value fit) and outcomes including job satisfaction, job performance, service performance, affective commitment and continuance commitment. The study operationalised P-O fit using three measures: subjective fit, perceived fit and objective fit. The mediation model of subjective fit was tested using a Mplus analytical technique, while the mediation models of both perceived and objective fit were tested by modeling the difference between two scores (that is, between personal values and organisational values) using a polynomial regression and response surface analysis (Edwards, 1993). A survey of 558 mid-level managers from seven Brunei public sector organisations provided the data. Our results showed that the relationship between P-O fit and outcomes was partially mediated by organisational justice and cognitive style - for all the three measures of fit, while role conflict had no mediating effects. The findings from this research therefore have both theoretical and practical implications. This research contributes to the literature by combining these theoretical explanations for value congruence effects into one integrated model, and by providing evidence on the partial mediating effects of organisational justice and cognitive style. Future research needs to address and investigate other potential mechanisms by which value congruence affects individual and organisational outcomes. In addition, the study is considered to be the first to test these mediating roles for a value fit-outcomes relationship using three different measures of fit in a non-Western context.

A natural model for architecture

In John Frazer's seminal book An Evolutionary Architecture (1995), from which this essay is extracted, a fundamental approach is established for have natural systems can unfold mechanisms for negotiating the complex design space inherent in architectural systems. In this essay, which forms a critical part of the book, Frazer draws both correlations and distinctions from natural processes as emulated in design processes and form as active manifestations within natural systems. Form is seen as an evolving agent generated via the rules of descriptive genetic coding, functioning as a part of a metabolic environment. Frazer's process-model establishes the realm in which computation must manoeuvre to produce a valid solution space, including the operations of self-organisation, complexity and emergent behaviour. Addressing design as an authored practice, he extends the transference of 'creativity' from the explicit impression into form, to the investment of though, organisation and strategy in the computational processes which produce form. Frazer's text concentrates astutely on the practising of the evolutionary paradigm, the output of which postulates an architecture born of the relationships to dynamic environmental and socio-economic contexts, and realised through morphogenetic materialisation.

For blood, sweat and tears : the severing of subconscious connections with company and business model

Humans have altered environments and enhanced their well being unlike any other creature on the planet (Heilman & Donna, 2007); this is no different whether the environment is ecological, social or organisational. In recent times business modelling techniques have become intricately detailed in the pre-designing and evaluating of business flow before the final implementation (Ou-Yang & Lin, 2008). The importance of the organisation change and business process model is undeniable. The feedback received from real business process users is that the notation is easy to learn; the models do help people to understand the process better; the models can be used to improve the (business) process; and the notation is expressive enough to capture the essential information (Bennett, Doshi, Do Vale Junior, Kumar, Manikam, & Madavan, 2009).