Information Technology Consultants Research Articles

Value Creed: Emerging Technology and Digitalization Initiatives Create Post-pandemic Joyous Workplace

In March 2020, Nitesh Raj, the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Value Creed, was keenly observing the changes around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Small to mid-size companies such as Value Creed, with specialized offerings, faced a harder time retaining their employees and often lost them to bigger multinational companies. Value Creed’s core expertise lies in Information Technology Consulting, focusing on the energy trading and risk management)/commodity trading and risk management industry. During this tough period, Nitesh aimed to overcome challenges and achieve a future-ready workplace with low employee turnover, high retention and satisfaction. This case is in two parts: Part A describes the Dilemma of Nitesh Raj and Part B describes how emerging technology and digitalization initiatives have supported innovative HR strategic initiatives for introducing technology-driven employee welfare programmes focusing on managing the uncertainty after the COVID-19 pandemic, thus creating a workplace of joy.

The Effect of Owner-Managers’ Personality Traits on Organisational Ambidexterity in the Context of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

This empirical study aimed to analyse the influence of the personality traits of owner-managers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on organisational ambidexterity (OA). Based on the existing literature, five hypotheses were formulated about the relationships between the Big Five personality traits and organisational ambidexterity. A second-order structural equation model was used with a sample of 224 Portuguese SMEs in the sector of information technology (IT), telecommunications, and audio-visual and IT consultancy. The results obtained suggest that the personality traits of extraversion, neuroticism (versus emotional stability) and conscientiousness have a significant influence on organisational ambidexterity. These results are consistent with the research and demonstrate that owner-managers’ personality traits influence organisational ambidexterity in SMEs. Theoretical and practical implications are explored.

Team Members’ Perspectives on Factors Affecting Virtual Team Working in Information Technology Consulting Firms

This study aims to explore team members’ perspectives on factors affecting virtual team working in information technology consulting firms. Using semi-structured interviews with 25 research participants, this research adopted 2 virtual teams in different contexts. One that had no face-to-face interaction whereas and the other one had the initial face-to-face meeting. The results showed that communication, trust, socialization, cultural diversity and leadership were factors affecting virtual team working for both teams. Communication was the main challenge due to different time zones but both teams overcame by organizing overlapping hours to have online synchronous meetings. The initial face-to-face meeting and open lines of communication developed affect-based trust among team members whereas cognition-based trust based on consistent work performance existed in virtual teams that lacked physical interaction. Conducting virtual bonding exercises occasionally is necessary for virtual team members in order to renew interpersonal ties among team members. In terms of culture diversity, team members from individualistic cultures favored direct communication whereas team members from collectivistic cultures soured out group-based information before reaching unanimous decisions. In terms of leadership, managers of both virtual teams ensured that work progress was on schedule and maintaining positive leadership attitudes is the key to lead virtual teams.

Exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on approaches to innovation in the consulting industry: a grounded theory pilot study

PurposeThere is a significant pressure on consulting businesses to produce innovative solutions and to assist their clients in producing innovative solutions for their organizational problems as well. In addition to that challenging need to innovate for survival and competition, as other contemporary firms, consultancies must face the global changes brought by the outbreak of the coronavirus infection since 2019. This qualitative pilot study aimed at exploring the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the approaches to innovation in the consulting industry.Design/methodology/approachTriggered from the literature gap on approaches to innovation in consultancies during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, a grounded theory approach was used to generate a theoretical explanation of how the COVID-19 is affecting the strategies and approaches of businesses in harnessing innovation opportunities from the perspectives of four professionals from an information technology (IT) consultancy in the USA.FindingsThe findings of this pilot study showed that organizational leaders' increased responsiveness, a Job-To-Be-Done strategy, organizational support and team adaption are the keys to harvesting dynamic capabilities for better competition, even during global environmental changes.Practical implicationsThis implies that managers remain the main actors in a firm's efforts to harvest dynamic capabilities. Innovation strategists, business leaders and policymakers can confidently work together to implement novel and flexible work settings that integrate both social and economic advancements.Originality/valueTheoretical implications support the sustainable innovation strategy concepts and the Job-To-Be-Done theory. Finally, the substantive theory from this pilot study lays the ground for future research on approaches to innovation in the consulting industry.

Technological Change and Frontline Care Delivery Work: Toward the Quadruple Aim.

The COVID-19 pandemic stressed the health care sector's longstanding pain points, including the poor quality of frontline work and the staffing challenges that result from it. This has renewed interest in technology-centered approaches to achieving not only the "Triple Aim" of reducing costs while raising access and quality but also the "Quadruple Aim" of doing so without further squeezing wages and abrading job quality for frontline workers. How can we leverage technology toward the achievement of the Quadruple Aim? I view this as a "grand challenge" for health care managers and policymakers. Those looking for guidance will find that most analyses of the workforce impact of technological change consider broad classes of technology such as computers or robots outside of any particular industry context. Further, they typically predict changes in work or labor market outcomes will come about at some ill-defined point in the medium to long run. This decontextualization and detemporization proves markedly problematic in the health care sector: the nonmarket, institutional factors driving technology adoption and implementation loom especially large in frontline care delivery, and managers and policymakers understandably must consider a well-defined, near-term, i.e., 5-10-year, time horizon. This study is predicated on interviews with hospital and home health agency administrators, union representatives, health care information technology (IT) experts and consultants, and technology developers. I detail the near-term drivers and anticipated workforce impact of technological changes in frontline care delivery. With my emergent prescriptions for managers and policymakers, I hope to guide sectoral actors in using technology to address the "grand challenge" inherent to achieving the Quadruple Aim.

A model to evaluate the acceptance and usefulness of enterprise architecture for digitalization of cities

PurposeEnterprise architecture (EA) is usually adopted as an approach for managing enterprise complexities and aligning business and information technology (IT) capabilities. Although IT practitioners and researchers agree about the potential applicability and benefits of EA in smart cities, little is known about the factors that influence the acceptance and usefulness of EA in smart cities. Thus, EA acceptance and usage remains a central concern of urban research and practice. Similarly, there are fewer studies that explored EA adoption from the context of enterprises that provide digital services in cities grounded on empirical evidence. Therefore, this study assesses the acceptance and usefulness of EA in smart cities context by developing an EA adoption model drawing on the DeLone and McLean Information System (IS) success model.Design/methodology/approachBased on the identified factors survey questionnaire was designed and sent out to participants which includes IT professionals, senior managers and consultants from 18 organizations in Norway and Ireland involved in a smart city project (+CityxChange) (https://cityxchange.eu/). Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and structural equation modelling using partial least square was applied for data analysis.FindingsThe results suggest that service quality and system quality positively impact user satisfaction of EA and user's intention to use EA. More importantly, information quality does not influence user satisfaction of EA, and the user satisfaction of EA and user's intention to use EA significantly influences the net benefit of EA.Originality/valueThis study provides a complete understanding for academicians and IT practitioners regarding the factors and impacts on EA acceptance and use in smart cities. Finally, this study discusses the implications of this research and provides recommendations for future research.

Investigating the impact of technostress on productivity and overall life satisfaction of managers working at a South African ferrochrome smelting company

Orientation: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) advances such as computers, tablets, and cell phones allow for information flow like never before, both in terms of speed and volume. But, unfortunately, this has resulted in technostress. Research purpose: To investigate the impact of technostress on the productivity and the overall life satisfaction of managers working in ferrochrome smelters. Motivation for the study: Limited research has been conducted on technostress in a South African context. Most of the researches on technostress were conducted amongst computer professionals and Information Technology (IT) consultants and they did not focus on non-ICT specialists such as managers who are exposed to ICT as a regular part of their workday. Research approach/design and method: This study was conducted within a quantitative paradigm using a correlational design. Main findings: The managers experience low levels of technostress, high levels of IT-enabled productivity, and above-average life satisfaction. No practically significant differences exist for any of the research factors between males and females, whilst techno-complexity and techno-uncertainty increase with age. Technostress does not affect productivity, but a negative relationship exists between technostress and life satisfaction. Practical/managerial implications: Techno-uncertainty and techno-complexity are present amongst older managerial employees. Techno-complexity decreases the self-reported levels of productivity. Strategies such as training and assistance to reduce the techno-complexity for older managerial employees should be considered. Contribution/value-add: This study creates an awareness of the potential negative impact of ICT on productivity and life satisfaction. It contributes to the body of knowledge by quantifying the impact of the managers’ perceived technostress on productivity and life satisfaction.

Learning Ecosystem using New Normal Active Administrative Innovation in Thai Society

: Learning ecosystem has been using in educational context in different areas to enhance the development of leaning ability in current situation. The purpose of this article was to propose learning ecosystem using new normal active administrative innovation in Thai society. Documentary study and qualitative research synthesis were used for the study. Results showed that 1) there are four aspects to consider of setting learning ecosystem that consisted of learning differently, supportive collaborative learning, self-directed learning, and thinking utilization. 2) New normal active administrative innovation is an active administration applying constructivism concept that consisted of knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation. The nature of innovation should have relative advantage, compatibility, less complexity, divisibility, and visibility. 3) e-Learning Ecosystem will be applied in new normal active administrative innovation with 3 aspects consisted of (1) content providers offer content for learning solutions that is linked to competency development and personal development, (2) consultants which are strategy consultant, compensation consultant, information technology consultants, and implementation consultants, and (3) Infrastructure which are learning content management system, content delivery system and tools. Learning ecosystem is not started from how teacher design the lesson, but it will start from acceptance the difference of learners, teachers, parents, and community by performing roles of giving and taking knowledge from learners on supportive collaborative learning

Information Technology Adoption Dynamics for SMEs in the Manufacturing Sector of Namibia

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for employment, technological advancements, and competitive advantages in developed and developing countries. SMEs face intense competition from large corporations; therefore, to be competitive and sustainable, there is a need to adopt information technology (IT). However, SMEs have fewer financial resources, lower technical expertise, and lack of management skills. They are likely to be less prepared and may even be unable to deal with information technology adoption dynamics. Therefore, though there is a significant contribution by IT to business, many studies show unsuccessful IT implementations and slow adoption rates by SMEs. This paper uses a qualitative research approach to find out to what extent SMEs in the manufacturing understand IT, whether they have adopted IT and identify IT adoption dynamics in Namibia. Findings reveal that internal factors like top management, resources, end-users and external factors like competitive pressures, IT consultants, and government influence the SMEs in IT adoption.

Googling Allergy in Ireland: Content Analysis.

BackgroundInternet search engines are increasingly being utilized as the first port of call for medical information by the public. The prevalence of allergies in developed countries has risen steadily over time. There exists significant variability in the quality of health-related information available on the web. Inaccurately diagnosed and mismanaged allergic disease has major downstream effects on patients, general practitioners, and regional allergy services.ObjectiveThis study aimed to verify whether Ireland has a relatively high rate of web-based allergy-related searches, to establish the proportion of medically accurate web pages encountered by the public, and to compare current search results localized to Dublin, Ireland with urban centers elsewhere.MethodsGoogle Trends was used to evaluate regional interest of allergy-related search terms over a 10-year period using terms “allergy,” “allergy test,” “food allergy,” and “food intolerance.” These terms were then inputted into Google search, localizing them to cities in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Output for each search was reviewed by two independent clinicians and deemed rational or nonevidence based, as per current best practice guidelines. Searches localized to Dublin were initially completed in 2015 and repeated in 2019 to assess for changes in the quality of search results over time.ResultsIreland has a persistently high demand for web-based information relating to allergy and ranks first worldwide for “allergy test,” second for “food allergy” and “food intolerance,” and seventh for “allergy” over the specified 10-year timeframe. Results for each of the four subsearches in Dublin (2015) showed that over 60% of websites promoted nonevidence-based diagnostics. A marginal improvement in scientifically robust information was seen in 2019, but results for “allergy test” and “food intolerance” continued to promote alternative testing 57% (8/14) of the time. This strongly contrasted with results localized to Southampton and Rochester, where academic and hospital-affiliated web pages predominantly featured. Government-funded Department of Health websites did not feature in the top five results for Dublin searches “allergy testing,” “food allergy,” or “food intolerance” in either 2015 or 2019.ConclusionsThe Irish public demonstrates a keen interest in seeking allergy-related information on the web. The proportion of evidence-based websites encountered by the Irish public is considerably lower than that encountered by patients in other urban centers. Factors contributing to this are the lack of a specialist register for allergy in Ireland, inadequate funding for allergy centers currently in operation, and insufficient promotion by the health service of their web-based health database, which contains useful patient-oriented information on allergy. Increased funding of clinical allergology services will more meaningfully impact the health of patients if there is a parallel investment by the health service in information and communication technology consultancy to amplify their presence on the web.

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR MODEL FOR ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE IMPLEMENTATION

Enterprise Architecture (EA) is a strategy to attain alignment between an enterprise’s business and Information Technology (IT) to increase the competitiveness of an enterprise. In EA implementation, Critical Success Factors (CSFs) refer to factors that may facilitate the successful implementation of the EA. This research presents a CSF model based on an exhaustive literature review and empirical data from practitioners to identify rationalised CSFs. EA implementation projects that do not fully utilize the CSFs may result in inappropriate directions and dissatisfied EA project stakeholders. A quantitative research methodology is applied in this study using questionnaires to evaluate the proposed model. The respondents include enterprise architects, IT managers, and IT consultants with considerable knowledge of EA concepts. Statistical analysis is used to identify the relationships between the proposed CSFs and the success of EA implementation. From the results, the proposed CSF model is significantly related to EA implementation success. The highest-ranking CSF is governance, indicating the importance of governance in the success of EA implementation. Moreover, the proposed CSF model appears to facilitate achieving the desired architecture. By understanding the CSF model at the onset of a project, practitioners can better plan and focus on the CSFs to achieve the desired results.

Smart hospitality: Taiwan hotel stakeholder perspectives

Purpose The term smartness has been discussed in the academia for many years; prior research has listed numerous advantages and encouraged business entities to implement smart technologies. However, stakeholders’ knowledge level, support intention and barriers to smart technology have been under investigated. Without the support of stakeholders, smart projects can hardly be implemented. This paper aims to explore the above-mentioned under investigated area and identify the gaps between academia and the hotel industry in Taiwan. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted with nine hotel stakeholders in Taiwan with investors, owners, managers, technology suppliers and information technology consultants. Three key areas were focused on: smart hotel definition, expectations from smart hotel and known barriers for implementing smart technologies. Findings The definition of smart hotel among all stakeholders was inconsistent. Stakeholders defined a smart hotel according to their role in the organization: revenue boost, service customization, operations effectiveness and in-room automation. However, the key functions of smart technologies, such as interconnectivity and interoperability with business partners’ application (e.g. online travel agencies) and linkage to external Big data for accurate revenue forecast, were not mentioned by the interviewees. In addition, social media monitoring, robots and artificial intelligence were not mentioned during the interview. Originality/value This study attempted to identify Taiwanese hotel stakeholders’ perspective on smart hotel and to compare the outcome with academic research. The result indicated that there is a big gap in the definition of “smart hotel” among stakeholders and academia and reflected several barriers that prohibit hotel owners and investors in implementing smart systems.

A METHOD FOR ANALYZING THE EFFECT OF IMPLEMENTING AN ENTERPRISE SYSTEM BASED ON THE COMPLEXITY OF ACTIVITIES

This paper presents a method for analyzing the effect of implementing an enterprise system (ES) in the construction industry during the ES introduction and planning stages. The effect is a reduction in employees’ work time. The proposed method is based on the 1) level of digitalized and automated activities, the 2) complexity of the activities, and the 3) complexity of the processes in the workflow. The method was applied at a construction company that has no enterprise resource planning (ERP), and the method’s accuracy was evaluated by information technology consultants who have performed planning, construction, and operation in relation to ERP. The result shows that the effect of management business was the largest; most of this effect was on data management and review. After users became familiar with ERP, the reduction in data input time increased. The analysis method takes less time and costs less than using surveys to measure the work time and satisfaction of ES users. It can also identify processes in which the effect increases or decreases, thereby guiding any modifications of the ES before it is introduced.

Kirat Housing Development Society

Three months into his first job as an IT consultant, newly minted MBA Phil Lee was wondering whether he had made a horrible mistake. Initially, he had been thrilled with his employer, Orion Information Technology Consulting, and the prospects for his professional future. He had specifically requested to work on projects in emerging markets, and his bosses had responded by flying him halfway around the world to New Delhi to meet with the head of procurement of a luxury property developer, Kirat Housing Development Society (KHDS). Lee thought the reason for the meeting was slightly unusual: Orion was planning to make a bid to supply building management software for KHDS's newest luxury tower, and this meeting would be the “pre-bid” negotiation. Lee wasn't totally sure what they'd even be discussing, as the tender already provided full details on exactly what modules would be required and even included specific penalty clauses for delays. The meeting at KHDS seemed ordinary at first, but quickly took a turn when the assistant to the head of procurement explained that Orion would win the bid if it offered him a $200,000 contract as an “independent consultant.” Lee was stunned. To make matters worse, when he returned to his hotel room he found a gift waiting for him: an expensive-looking diamond pendant. On his sleepless flight home, Lee's mind raced. Had his bosses known this would happen? Were bribes standard operating procedure? Now that he'd accepted a gift, was he complicit in wrongdoing? Lee didn't want to get fired, but he wasn't sure he could go along with this.

Evaluation of Effective Dashboards: Key Concepts and Criteria.

Objective:The aim of this study is to offer appropriate criteria to evaluate effective dashboards for healthcare organizations.Method:In a Delphi study, a team of information technology consultants were asked to determine a set of user interface requirements for evaluating, building or selecting the dashboard. In the first round, a list of main features or criteria to be used was determined based on the panel’s rating,.Results:In this study, it was revealed that a set of key criteria for evaluating the dashboards can be used for all types of dashboards. These criteria were classified into 7 main categories including user customization, knowledge discovery, security, information delivery, alerting, visual design, and integration and system connectivity.Conclusion:Choosing good criteria for selecting effective dashboards for healthcare organizations is very critical because these organizations follow a data-intensive and technology-driven environment. This study revealed the importance of key criteria which can guarantee development of an evaluation checklist.

Drivers of ICT acceptance and implementation in micro-firms in the estate agent sector: influence on organizational performance

ABSTRACTFrom the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study aims to identify the drivers of successful implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) in micro-firms and their impact on organizational performance. To this end, a quantitative study was undertaken, where the data-collecting instrument was an online questionnaire administered to a sample of micro-firms belonging to the Portuguese estate agent sector. Based on the results obtained from 102 valid responses, among the drivers identified, internal factors, more precisely, organizational aspects were found to allow successful implementation of ICT in the firms studied here and to be the ones with the greatest influence on their organizational performance. However, external factors, such as external information technology consultants and networking, did not show a statistically significant influence on organizational performance in estate agent micro-firms. The study also presents some implications for theory and practice in this field of research.

Study of Intellectual Capital Dimensions in IT Industry Using DEMATEL Method

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the causal relation structure among the dimensions of Intellectual Capital (IC) by using the DEMATEL method. In this study, the dimensions of IC comprise human, structural, and relational capital. This study empirically analyses the causal relation structure with a sample of 18 (12 national and 6 multi-national) Information Technology (IT) firms operating in India. The respondents were the experts from IT firms encompassing chief executive officers, general managers, Human Resource (HR) managers, senior managers, and the IT consultants. Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method is used for the statistical treatment of the data. On the human, structural, and relational capital fronts, findings of the study suggest that “motivation of the personnel”, “operation process”, “brand value”, respectively, have the maximum causing properties. The study is limited to IT industry of India only. The dimensions of IC will differently trigger the attitude and behaviours of employees relevant for the parent organisation that helps the management to deal with different dynamic circumstances resulting in different outcomes. Study empirically assessed that there are synergy and causal relation structure between the dimensions. Present study contributes to retention and engagement of human capital and prefers potentially important policy implications. Examining the interrelationship among the dimensions of IC in the context of Indian IT is the novel contribution of the present study. Theoretically and empirically assessing the causal interrelationship and addressing the research gaps summarised from the literature will contribute to the IC research.

Collaboration as a Key Feature of Equine Evidence-Based Research: A Laminitis Case Study

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>It is widely believed that laminitis poses a threat to the health and welfare of all Equidae; however, there is a paucity of evidence-based research on fundamental aspects of the disease, including how commonly it occurs, its clinical presentation and those animals at greatest risk. Following generous funding from World Horse Welfare, we have produced a programme of work over the last eight years to improve the evidence base regarding the epidemiology of laminitis. This began with systematic reviews regarding the frequency of [1], and risk factors for [2], naturally-occurring laminitis which informed the planning and conduct of prospective veterinary practice-level cohort and nested case-control studies of veterinary-diag­nosed laminitis in British horses. Laminitis research tools, disease frequency estimates [3], potential novel modifiable risk factors [4] and guidelines for the differential diagnosis of laminitis [5] have all resulted from these now published, peer-reviewed studies. Ongoing work gathers further information on owner-report­ed laminitis cases by means of a prospective individual animal-level cohort study design, implemented through the use of web-based data collection (www.careaboutlaminitis.org.uk).</p><p>Each step of the generation of this evidence-based data has demanded high levels of collaborative effort between charitable bodies, epidemiologists, information technology consultants, public relation officers, laminitis researchers, veterinary practitioners and horse owners. This talk will outline the methods we used to gather evidence-based data in the equine field, highlight the challenges and lessons we have learnt, and emphasise the crucial role the veterinary practitioner can play in both providing and using such evidence-based data.</p><br /> <img src="https://www.veterinaryevidence.org/rcvskmod/icons/oa-icon.jpg" alt="Open Access" />

CRM Technology: Implementation Project and Consulting Services as Determinants of Success

The success of a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy depends on the adequate use of technology, including CRM software. This paper offers empirical evidence regarding critical success factors for CRM software adoption, namely, implementation project management and services provided by information technology consultants. Data analyses involving 208 business customers of an international CRM software provider show that (1) successful management of the implementation project is a fundamental prerequisite for the firm to take full advantage of CRM software; (2) perceptions of tangible offers, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and training services provided by CRM consultants affect CRM success; and (3) the successful management of an implementation project mediates the effects of consulting service quality on successful CRM software adoption. These findings point to the relevance of service in the CRM software industry from the perspectives of both the professionals involved and the potential adopters of CRM software.

From Information Management to Information Visualization: Development of Radiology Dashboards.

The development and implementation of a dashboard of medical imaging department (MID) performance indicators. Several articles discussing performance measures of imaging departments were searched for this study. All the related measures were extracted. Then, a panel of imaging experts were asked to rate these measures with an open ended question to seek further potential indicators. A second round was performed to confirm the performance rating. The indicators and their ratings were then reviewed by an executive panel. Based on the final panel's rating, a list of indicators to be used was developed. A team of information technology consultants were asked to determine a set of user interface requirements for the building of the dashboard. In the first round, based on the panel's rating, a list of main features or requirements to be used was determined. Next, Qlikview was utilized to implement the dashboard to visualize a set of selected KPI metrics. Finally, an evaluation of the dashboard was performed. 92 MID indicators were identified. On top of this, 53 main user interface requirements to build of the prototype of dashboard were determined. Then, the project team successfully implemented a prototype of radiology management dashboards into study site. The visual display that was designed was rated highly by users. To develop a dashboard, management of information is essential. It is recommended that a quality map be designed for the MID. It can be used to specify the sequence of activities, their related indicators and required data for calculating these indicators. To achieve both an effective dashboard and a comprehensive view of operations, it is necessary to design a data warehouse for gathering data from a variety of systems. Utilizing interoperability standards for exchanging data among different systems can be also effective in this regard.