Validating measures of information technology outsourcing risk factors

Outsourcing information technology (IT) operations has been recognized to have important potential benefits, including cost reduction, improved quality of service, and access to technological expertise. Researchers and practitioners also recognize that, in some circumstances, IT outsourcing entails risk, and that it sometimes leads to undesirable consequences that are the opposite of the expected benefits. The main purpose of this study was to validate measures of the risk factors associated with outsourcing IT operations. Insights from transaction costs theory suggest that there exist three major sources of risk factors for IT outsourcing: the transaction, the client and the supplier. From these insights, preliminary measures of IT outsourcing risk factors were developed and data from a survey of 132 IT executives were analyzed with partial least squares to assess their reliability and validity. The results confirm that these factors are useful indicators for assessing IT outsourcing risks.     

Breaking the outsourcing path: Backsourcing process and outsourcing lock-in

The objective of this paper is to develop research on backsourcing, which consists in recalling outsourced activities back in-house. We focus on the processes that firms follow to backsource these activities, particularly when they are locked into outsourcing. We refer to path dependence and path creation concepts to conduct this research. Using a case study methodology, we analyze the process related to the backsourcing of information technology activities in a telecommunications company. This paper highlights the negative effects of the need to control outsourced activities as it maintains outsourcing lock-in. Organizational crises and the perception of backsourcing as a success are two elements that enable significant mindful deviations from outsourcing practices and the development of a backsourcing path. The decision to backsource and its implementation can be facilitated by past successful integration experiences, internal productive capabilities, and capabilities to control activities. Changes in power relations within the firm can sustain the development of a backsourcing path. Our research contributes to research on organizational path breaking by studying the backsourcing process as an outsourcing path breaker. This paper complements studies on organizational practices such as outsourcing and backsourcing and their interplay.     

业务流程网建模技术及应用研究

提出了业务流程管理的业务流程网建模技术,探讨了业务流程网的路由与多任务调度等技术问题,通过采用J2EE技术开发了业务流程网软件,并进行了实证研究.业务流程网的相关理论与技术为企业建模、有效管理业务流程提供了依据和参考.     

Critical factors affecting information sharing in supply chains

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to empirically examine a comprehensive list of factors that are anticipated to affect information sharing (IS) in supply chains (SC) in the context of a landlocked developing country Nepal. A survey questionnaire was developed and data were collected from 131 supply chain participants in Nepal. Exploratory factor analysis and path analysis were conducted to examine the fitness of the proposed model and the relationships between the identified factors and information sharing. The results suggest that interaction routines and personal connection influenced both operational and strategic information sharing while organisational compatibility, incentives, project payoffs, commitment (inter-organisational), top management commitment and supply network configuration affected operational IS and government support and monitoring were associated with strategic IS. The paper provides empirical evidence on how information sharing is affected in the context of a landlocked developing country. The paper also identifies and discusses the similarities and differences in the importance of these factors on information sharing between developed and developing countries. The main limitation is the moderate sample size as compared to the large number of variables contained in the study which may have limited the use of analytical tools. The study provides a better understanding of information sharing behaviours of supply chain participants in Nepal which will help firms to develop strategies accordingly to enhance information sharing.     

Institutional forces and the written business plan

In this study, we examined factors that led nascent organizations to write business plans, following 396 nascent entrepreneurs during a two-year period. We examined both the production and the outcomes of written business plans produced in nascent organizations. Our findings show that institutional variables, such as coercion and mimetic forces, are important predictors influencing the propensity of new organizations to write business plans. Our results are contrary to rationalist predictions of planning-performance, and are more in line with institutional predictions. Interestingly there was no evidence to support positive outcomes, in terms of profitability, for those nascent organizations that produced business plans during a two-year initial period. We discuss the implications for institutional theory and studies of nascent businesses, as well as for the literature on business planning.     

Understanding outsourcing contexts through information asymmetry and capability fit

Outsourcing is a strategic activity that has long been central to operations management research and practice. Yet, there are still many outsourcing management challenges that remain. In this article, we explore two of the outsourcing challenges that motivated this special issue and are central to the 10 articles included. To do this, we develop a theoretical model that examines how variations in capability fit and information asymmetry combine to present firms with four different outsourcing contexts. We then explain how each of the articles included in this special issue relate to our theoretical model and explore several avenues for future research.     

DSS的建设和业务流程重组

本文通过对建设DSS所遇到的主要问题分析,研究存在DSS支持下的组织结构和业务流程,并提出在DSS开发加入组织设计和业务流程重组过程的重要性.     

Human and organizational factors in offshore safety

The role of human and organizational factors in predicting accidents and incidents has become of major interest to the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Some of these factors had been measured in an earlier study focusing on the role of risk perception in determining accident involvement. The current study sought to extend the methodology by focusing on perceptions of organizational factors that could have an impact on safety. A self-report questionnaire was developed and distributed to 11 installations operating on the UK Continental Shelf. A total of 722 were returned (33% response rate) from a representative sample of the offshore workforce on these installations. The study investigated the underlying structure and content of offshore employees' attitudes to safety, feelings of safety and satisfaction with safety measures. Correlations and step-wise regression analysis were used to test the relationships between measures. The results suggest that 'unsafe' behaviour is the 'best' predictor of accidents/near misses as measured by self-report data and that unsafe behaviour is, in turn, driven by perceptions of pressure for production.     

Human and organizational factors in offshore safety

The role of human and organizational factors in predicting accidents and incidents has become of major interest to the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Some of these factors had been measured in an earlier study focusing on the role of risk perception in determining accident involvement. The current study sought to extend the methodology by focusing on perceptions of organizational factors that could have an impact on safety. A self-report questionnaire was developed and distributed to 11 installations operating on the UK Continental Shelf. A total of 722 were returned (33% response rate) from a representative sample of the offshore workforce on these installations. The study investigated the underlying structure and content of offshore employees' attitudes to safety, feelings of safety and satisfaction with safety measures. Correlations and step-wise regression analysis were used to test the relationships between measures. The results suggest that 'unsafe' behaviour is the 'best' predictor of accidents/near misses as measured by self-report data and that unsafe behaviour is, in turn, driven by perceptions of pressure for production.     

A process-oriented perspective on differential business value creation by information technology: An empirical investigation

The relationship between information technology investments and firm value as an area of inquiry has sustained interest among IS researchers over the past decade. More recently, some have challenged the notion differential value among firms through Information Technology (IT) as it evolves into a ubiquitous utility-like set of technologies. This study examines the relationship between IT and business value from a process-oriented perspective, and also helps to identify the underlying links between IT and its differential business value to firms. By drawing upon economic and organizational theories, this paper develops a process framework to assess the intermediate organizational process capabilities and overall performance of firms that effectively deploy and use IT. Using data from over 80 firms, the study finds empirical support for the differential business value created by IT along a number of process oriented dimensions. These findings are discussed as these results set an optimistic tone for IT as a major causal driver of differentiation.     

机构投资者、流动性与信息效率

首次考察了机构持股、流动性以及二者的交互项对信息效率的影响。研究发现,基于3种不同的信息效率测度,机构持股比例的增加以及流动性水平的提高均会促进信息效率。进一步,通过引入机构持股与流动性的交互作用,发现中国证券市场一个有趣的现象：随着流动性水平提高,机构投资者持股比例的增加会在一定程度上减弱信息效率。这可能是因为伴随着高的交易量,机构投资者利用私有信息增持股份的信息被更多的投资者获取并加以模仿,导致股价有偏（如羊群行为）且所承载的私有信息减少,从而减弱了信息效率。     

Telepresence in cross-site business process simulation - lessons learnt in technology,social interaction and organizational learning

Re-engineering global business processes requires innovative methods for inter-organizational learning. This article describes and analyses an experimental telepresence process simulation that was applied to develop and train the cross-site New Product Introduction process of a global telecommunication company. Interactive, real-time audio and video connections over the Internet supported the process-oriented discussion between two groups in distant locations. Identical visual process charts and other information, projected on the walls of the two auditoriums, helped the two teams to discuss and understand the process. Audibility of the discussion was crucial for learning, but the visual 'talking heads' of the participants distorted concentration. Facilitation at both ends and local simulation periods smoothed the interaction and the imbalances between the locations. The simulation achieved positive effects in immediate learning and in motivation for change, although the telepresence caused some limitations. The ultimate goal, the feeling of real presence, was not reached. But when time gets more expensive, and travelling less preferable, telepresence simulation can be a feasible group-mode e-learning method for inter-organizational learning.     

Making the locational choice: A case approach to the development of a theory of offshore outsourcing and internationalization

Offshore outsourcing is one of the most sustained management strategies of the 21st century, and researchers are paying attention to this contemporary, yet complex and controversial phenomenon. Despite the increasing amount of research, from the theoretical and managerial perspectives several important aspects remain inconclusive. The focus in this article is on theory development in two complex areas. The first concerns the location, the idea being to identify the factors that influence the final decision, in which ownership is not the mode of control. Secondly, the aim is to explore whether offshore outsourcing facilitates international expansion. Through a process of theoretical rationalization and inductive case analysis propositions are arrived at according to which non-locational factors most heavily impact the firm's decision to outsource offshore and its subsequent internationalization. The results indicate that this subsequent internationalization may be a by-product of offshore outsourcing, or it may be an intentional strategy. The article thus adds new aspects to the existing theory on outsourcing decision-making, which forms the basis of an emergent theory for future academic research.     

Total quality management and information technology

Total Quality Management is now well-established as a central method for improving the efficiency and competitive position of firms and organizations. Developed in a manufacturing environment, it has shown the same attributes in administrative and service industries. In this paper we examine the potential for use in the Information Technology sector. Little impact has been made by TQM in the IT industry. We use the famous 14 points of W. Edwards Deming to discuss the potential and the pitfalls awaiting such implementation. The particular nature of the industry means that the techniques are not transparently transportable, and we develop some initial ideas for using TQM in situations which are traditionally seen as one-off and not susceptible to process analysis and measurement. We illustrate the idea of designing in quality by focusing on software design for reduction of maintenance costs and also touch on the role of the IT sector in corporate TQM development.     

基于流程图及过程代数的流程表达方法

提出一种新的用于BPR 的业务流程表达方法. 首先用基于活动属性的流程图来描述业 务流程; 再利用图论的矩阵分析方法描述流程图; 然后结合过程代数的方法, 由流程图的矩阵 推导出一个能全面反映流程情况的代数表达式——过程代数式; 最后通过对过程代数式的分 析, 提出流程的评价指标.     

Influential factors and performance of logistics outsourcing practices: an evidence of malaysian companies

Despite the growing trend of logistics outsourcing, there are very limited sources of literature on logistics outsourcing, especially in determining the relationship between factors influencing outsourcing and the extent of logistics outsourcing practices. In this study, we tap into the field of strategic management to help clarify the mechanisms underlying the links between factors influencing, logistics outsourcing practices and outsourcing performance. A model based on the resource based view illustrates the hypothetical connections among these variables. The data gathered from the survey were analysed using SmartPLS software. A response rate of 21 % out of the 486 firms selected was achieved and fixed as the empirical data for this study. The results of this study provide support that superior performance is correlated to the resources of the firm. The analysis shows that lack of human and physical asset capabilities, as well as transaction uncertainty influence the extent of different logistics outsourcing practices. The four logistics outsourcing practices under study were found to have a positive relationship with logistics outsourcing performance, particularly strategic focus. This study shows that although theoretically firms aim at cost reduction by employing a logistics outsourcing strategy but not proven in this study because the financial benefit was only positively contributed by one of the four logistics outsourcing practices under study. Besides that, the results from this study also support that most firms outsource their non-core activities of the logistics practices to respond to the transaction uncertainty that their business experiences.     

Competitive advantage and the information technology industry

In this article, Timo Koski sets the stage by defining more clearly what is meant by “high technology”, and points out that it is by no means synonymous with the electronics industry.He then relates corporate management, corporate strategy and competitive advantage to the information technology industry in Finland. This competitive advantage can be summarized in three aspects: technological ability, product market fit and resource market fit. The dynamics of the information technology industry are also explored, and found to run parallel with business and product life cycles and the globalisation process.The article concludes with the view that information technology, as a business, requires fast-moving and fast-reacting management. However, it is also inextricably linked to global issues, and is prevented from becoming too hectic by being part of long-term corporate management.     

Planning,information technology and the post-industrial society

In the course of attending exhibitions and conferences dealing with online systems and data bases and software packages, the author has collected information on the new technology of interest to the planner. He finds that in some cases design systems are being developed with no clear idea of planners' needs or of the planning function. He believes that it is necessary to establish a dialogue with the systems designer and information scientist to ensure that they are informed about the planning process, as otherwise the current breed of planners, and planning organizations, could be made obsolete and a new planner, au fait with the developing software, would take over the role.     

企业规划与信息系统规划战略一致性实证研究

以战略匹配模型(SAM) 及其在企业活动中的过程模型为研究对象,探讨了企业规划(BP) 和信息系统规划( ISP) 战略一致性程度与企业内外环境、企业所采取的竞争战略方向、ISP 的战 略地位以及IT 对企业业绩的贡献等因素间的关系,并运用中国企业数据进行了实证分析. 结 果表明,企业高层的战略规划意识以及利用IT 整合企业资源的能力与BP2ISP 战略一致性程度 和企业业绩密切相关,是企业获取竞争优势的重要因素.