IT Business Processes Research Articles

An Analysis of Success Factors of Digital Entrepreneurs in Western Province, Sri Lanka

Digital technologies have altered the nature of uncertainty in entrepreneurial processes. Although some of the online startups in Sri Lanka have strived, many have failed within a few years of inception. Little research has been carried out regarding opportunities, challenges, and critical success factors of digital entrepreneurship. This research aimed to identify the critical success factors that determine the successful implementation of digital business. Based on the literature review, competency in digital business strategy, IT business process integration, and relationship competency were identified as antecedents of E-business success. Quantitative research methods were used, and data were collected by using a questionnaire. A randomly selected sample of 120 digital entrepreneurs in Western Province, Sri Lanka were analyzed using the Partial Least Squares Structured Equation Modeling. Findings reveal a significant positive relationship between competency in digital business strategy, IT business process integration, and relationship competency and e-business success. Based on the results, the study recommends actions entrepreneurs and governments can undertake to succeed in digital business.

A Guide to Wireless Technology and to drive an Industrial revolution using 5G

The mobile wireless communication started from 1G which has the ability to use a phone inside the car, or away from home. 2G was introduced for short-messaging layer. 3G the core network which made available to launch the first smart phones. And 4G LTE, with its high data-transfer rates, gave access to mobile video with low buffering and gave rise to many of the connected devices and location services that we rely on. But in this paper we discuss about 5G technologies. 5G is called as Fifth generation of cellular technology. 5G is a unified, and it is capable of air interface. It is designed to deliver higher multi-Gbps peak data speed, to reduce latency and improve flexibility of wireless communication.5G also enhances digital experiences through machine-learning (ML)- enabled automation. Advancements in virtualization, cloud-based technologies, and IT business process automation enable 5G architecture to be agile and flexible and to provide anytime, anywhere user access. Keywords: IMT, D2D, Cache, EPC, RAN

Banking the Unbanked: Conceptualizing Success of the Business Correspondent Model

The Business Correspondent (BC) model is an IT-enabled business process outsourcing initiative to provide financial services to the unbanked. It is a complex banking system involving multiple actors, system elements and settings, intended to address financial exclusion. Given the BC-Model’s potentially significant role in economic sustainability, it is important to evaluate its success. Efforts to measure the success of the BC-Model have been limited to date; this paper therefore presents a conceptual framework of BC-Model-Success consisting of six dimensions- economic, strategic, technological, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and social, resulting from a three-phase study design. The relevance of the framework was empirically validated across four implementations of the BC-Model. The resulting framework provides strong theoretical foundations for understanding what BC model success is, for assisting practitioners with evaluating the success of the BC-Model and with identifying possible improvements, and for facilitating future research on the BC-Model.

Improve IT Business Process Performance Using AI and Deep Learning

Perfection is an ambitious goal. However, it’s right to say that in-Service Management we aspire to do the best we possibly can. We improve our performance through practice, but for real acceleration, we need to take a fresh approach. “IT is the backbone of the modern enterprise”—if this is the case and we demand a consistently high level of performance from our IT staff now is the time to think about how best to achieve this. With the use of AI powered autonomous micro-learning coupled with machine learning, employees can now be evaluated and coached by providing instance learning and feedback in real time so as to improve process performance.

An empirical study on business analytics affordances enhancing the management of cloud computing data security

The mechanism of business analytics affordances enhancing the management of cloud computing data security is a key antecedent in improving cloud computing security. Based on information value chain theory and IT affordances theory, a research model is built to investigate the underlying mechanism of business analytics affordances enhancing the management of cloud computing data security. The model includes business analytics affordances, decision-making affordances of cloud computing data security, decision-making rationality of cloud computing data security, and the management of cloud computing data security. Simultaneously, the model considers the role of data-driven culture and IT business process integration. It is empirically tested using data collected from 316 enterprises by Partial Least Squares-based structural equation model. Without data-driven culture and IT business process integration, the results suggest that there is a process from business analytics affordances to decision-making affordances of cloud computing data security, decision-making rationality of cloud computing data security, and to the management of cloud computing data security. Moreover, Data-driven culture and IT business process integration have a positive mediation effect on the relationship between business analytics affordances and decision-making affordances of cloud computing data security. The conclusions in this study provide useful references for the enterprise to strengthen the management of cloud computing data security using business analytics.

INCREASING BUSINESS PROCESS RESULTS IN IT-OUTSOURCING ENTERPRISES

Introduction. The practice of the world business shows that in order to achieve a competitive advantage it is advisable to use a benchmarking tool that allows you to use the experience of your competitors who have succeeded in different areas of activity. Of particular relevance is the use of benchmarking in the field of innovation, in particular in the IT industry, which has become a key driver of economic growth and productivity in many countries.Hypothesis. High-quality IT consulting services require not just the automation of a single process or the implementation of a specific system, but the modernization of the organization's IT infrastructure, bringing it into line with business goals. The practical implementation of such projects allows the organization to get a real increase in production efficiency. Complex consulting projects based on benchmarking are characterized by the use of various services in the field of IT consulting and consulting in related branches of management on the basis of borrowing the best world experience.The purpose of the study is to develop methodological provisions and practical recommendations for the implementation and use of benchmarking technology in the business management system.Methodology. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research is the scientific works of domestic and foreign scientists and specialists on the planning and organization of benchmarking outsourcing of IT services. The following methods are used in the research process: theoretical generalization, analysis, synthesis.Results: main types and stages of benchmarking realization are considered, application of the concept of benchmarking in the system of management of IT business processes is substantiated; developed methodological and practical recommendations for the implementation of benchmarking in the IT sector on the basis of outsourcing. The connection between the concepts of business process benchmarking and outsourcing has been established, a detailed description of business processes in IT outsourcing enterprises is given.Conclusions: The creation of a benchmarking platform that will increase the innovation activity of IT companies and will help to forge closer links between IT companies, industrial enterprises and public authorities.

Key Issues for Embracing the Cloud Computing to Adopt a Digital Transformation: A study of Saudi Public Sector

The world is changing faster than ever, and digital technologies are bringing about unprecedented transformation and changing our work and lives in ways we have never anticipated. Digital transformation topic is an actively discussed these days. Internet of Things (IoT), big data, social media, cloud computing, blockchain, and augmented reality are driving organisations to the next level of digital customer engagement and IT-enabled business processes and services. Cloud computing is a key pillar of the digital transformation technology ecosystem. This paper highlights the cloud computing roles to achieve the digital transformation in Saudi Arabia, and it seeks to empirically examine the cloud computing concerns in the public sectors organisations of Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire was launched aiming at the existing cloud computing adoption and its concerns in Saudi Arabia. Security, privacy and loss of governance are still the main obstacles for adopting cloud computing technology, although some organisations recognized their lack of knowledge in this field.

IT-enabled business process management

IT-enabled business process management

Managing the move to the cloud – analyzing the risks and opportunities of cloud-based accounting information systems

The accounting industry is being disrupted by the introduction of cloud-based accounting information systems (AIS) that allow for a more efficient allocation of work between the accountant and the client company. In cloud-based AIS, the accountant and the client company as well as third parties such as auditors can simultaneously work on the data in real time. This, in turn, enables a much more granular division of work between the parties. This teaching case considers Kluuvin Apteekki, a small pharmacy business whose owner faces critical management decisions on how to embrace this new opportunity to move to the cloud. Students are guided to evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of cloud computing in the specific context of accounting services. Also, the owner must make a set of critical decisions concerning which tasks to outsource. The accounting process comprises of several tasks and sub-tasks, adding to the complexity of the decision making problem. The main learning outcome of the case is related to the development of the skills and competencies needed in creating a strong business case for implementing IT-enabled business processes.

IT Pay-Off

In-spite of intense research, the link between IT investment and IT pay-off in firms is still not well understood. Differences in ontological assumptions and inconsistent measures of IT pay-off are observed in prior research, leading to fragmented and inconclusive findings on return from IT investment. Difficulty in controlling for confounding factors of time lag between IT investment and availability of IT systems and IT enabled business processes, effects of non-IT managerial efforts such as marketing and finance, convolute findings from prior research. This research draws from stakeholder theory, goal-setting and expectancy theories of motivation, IT/Business alignment and IS success theories, and quality management literature and proposes a model of IT pay-off that partly controls for some of the stated confounding effects. Attempt is made to empirically demonstrate through the model that IT pay-off is better understood by shifting focus from dollar value of IT investment to the motivation for and qualities of systems and IT enabled business processes structured with the IT investment, and investigating their impacts on process quality, operational efficiency and specific firm performance measures that can be related to IT investment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Dynamic and Improvisational Capabilities in Small Service -- Oriented Firms: An Investigation into the Role of IT -- Enabled Innovation

The role of IT-­‐enabled innovation in fostering competitive advantage has been well established in the literature. Firms are leveraging their IT infrastructure that supports their modern IT enabled business processes in order to reconfigure their existing operational process in response to industry turbulence. Through IT-­‐enabled innovation, or the organizational adoption of a new idea or process, firms can reconfigure their existing operational processes better and faster than their competitors and achieve competitive advantage. This multiple-­‐case study of eight small service-­‐oriented companies will examine differences between outsourcing-­‐dependent firms and self-­‐sufficient firms to highlight differences in IT capabilities and how those capabilities produce business value, and its ultimate effect on firm performance. This study will also answer the call for research to examine the impact of dynamic capabilities and improvisation on performance in different levels of environmental turbulence.

Anchor institution to develop IT-business process outsourcing in Thailand

Anchor institution to develop IT-business process outsourcing in Thailand

Process and Structural Implications for IT-Enabled Outsourcing

Recent research examined the non-traditional, but increasingly common case of the use of IT to facilitate theoretically inconsistent outsourcing decisions involving (strategic) core firm resources and asset-specific capabilities. It further illustrated how IT can enable such outsourcing decisions and how performance advantages may ensue. However, the process and structural implications of such practices remain unexamined. This paper extends this area of research by proposing three distinct approaches to IT-enabled business process outsourcing (BPO). The authors differentiate these approaches by the timing of when the outsourcing vendor takes ownership of the activity, and when and where any transformation of the activity takes place. The authors label these processes by the order of the initial activities that lead the outsourcing process, (e.g., transformation, transition, or a transfer of an organizational activity). The authors illustrate and discuss the implications of the propositions through several real-world case examples.

Green IT: A Matter of Business and Information Systems Engineering?

This panel discusses the impact of Green IT on information systems and how information systems can meet environmental challenges and ensure sustainability. We wish to highlight the role of green business processes, and specifically the contributions that the management of these processes can play in leveraging the transformative power of IS in order to create an environmentally sustainable society. The management of business processes has typically been thought of in terms of business improvement alongside the dimensions time, cost, quality, or flexibility – the so-called ‘devil’s quadrangle’. Contemporary organizations, however, increasingly become aware of the need to create more sustainable, IT-enabled business processes that are also successful in terms of their economic, ecological, as well as social impact. Exemplary ecological key performance indicators that increasingly find their way into the agenda of managers include carbon emissions, data center energy, or renewable energy consumption (SAP 2010). The key challenge, therefore, is to extend the devil’s quadrangle to a devil’s pentagon, including sustainability as an important fifth dimension in process change.

The strategic value of IT insourcing: An IT-enabled business process perspective

Although research on the business impact of IT outsourcing abounds, little is known about the relative strategic value of IT outsourcing and IT insourcing. Drawing upon the knowledge-based view of the firm, this study postulates that, compared with IT outsourcing, IT insourcing is more effective for developing IT-enabled business processes (IEBP), which subsequently lead to superior firm performance. Our analysis of the data from InformationWeek and Compustat shows that IT insourcing is positively associated with IEBP, while the relationship between IT outsourcing and IEBP is not statistically significant. We also find that IEBP have a significant influence on firm performance. Finally, the effect of IT sourcing mechanisms on IEBP and the effect of IEBP on firm performance are both moderated by the type of innovation related to IEBP. The results suggest that in order to improve their performance firms should consider IT an integral part of their strategic core and should be proactively involved in the internal development of IT resources. We conclude with managerial implications and directions for future research.

A Dynamic Capabilities Approach to Understanding the Impact of IT-Enabled Businesses Processes and IT-Business Alignment on the Strategic and Operational Performance of the Firm

For the past two decades, researchers have sought to understand how IT investment leads to organizational success. However, this has proven to be an elusive goal. We posit that a new perspective is needed to better understand IT investment. We must examine how the investment is enacted and reflected within the firm. We will argue that investment is enacted within the technology resources and corresponding business processes and reflected in the IT-business alignment. Based on the literature within Dynamics Capabilities Theory and IT-Business Alignment, we will propose a theoretical model that seeks to understand the impact of IT-enabled business processes and IT-business alignment on the strategic and operational success of a firm and whether the impacts experience a lag effect. Using data from fifty-eight European firms over a two-year period, we will build a structural equation model to test our theoretical model. The results indicate that alignment is important for strategic and operational success in year 1 but not in year 2. Furthermore, of the two, alignment has a stronger impact on strategic than operational success. In contrast, business process performance has an impact on organizational performance in year 1 and year 2. For both years, the impact on operational success is stronger than the strategic one. We also notice that the impact of business process performance on operational success decreases between year 1 and year 2, whereas the impact on strategic success is stronger in year 2 than in year 1.

An Environmental Scanning of the IT-Enabled Business Process Outsourcing Industry in Cebu

This study focuses on the business environment of IT – enabled service companies in the business process outsourcing industry in Cebu. The result of the environmental scanning activity presents high sustainability of suppliers and being highly profitable in terms of performance, however,BPO companies should be more adept with the latest trends in providing outsourced services and be ready with the uncertainties particularly in competitor’s strategies. Government supports the BPO Industry sub sectors. Government developmental plans should match with of the private sector to ensure collaboration of efforts to tap opportunities. This improves the economic situation of the country. The dominant factors affecting these businesses are socio-cultural and demographic factors, however they also highly affected by Technological factors despite the availability of infrastructure in Cebu, since most of the BPO companies are relying on the Internet access to operate. External environmental factors are perceived to vary depending upon the nature of the sub sector and the location of the business within the province. Growth of this BPO Industry can have a significant impact on employment and eventually on the purchasing power of people. However, participation of the academe is crucial in improving human capital to address the shortage of manpower pool for the industry. Keyword - Environmental scanning, business outsourcing, business environment

Using Social Network Analysis to Measure IT-Enabled Business Process Performance

This study demonstrates how social network analysis (SNA) theory supports the task of designing IT-enabled business processes by providing social network measures for evaluating alternative process designs. These measures offer better information for process designers who are faced with making IT investment tradeoffs, especially as the process design task is being undertaken. A seven step methodology is proposed, demonstrated with the help of two case studies showcasing the robustness and flexibility of SNA measures.

The Productivity of Information Technology Investments: New Evidence from IT Labor Data

This paper uses newly collected panel data that allow for significant improvements in the measurement and modeling of information technology (IT) productivity to address some longstanding empirical limitations in the IT business value literature. First, we show that using generalized method of moments–based estimators to account for the endogeneity of IT spending produces coefficient estimates that are only about 10% lower than unadjusted estimates, suggesting that the effects of endogeneity on IT productivity estimates may be relatively small. Second, analysis of the expanded panel suggests that (a) IT returns are substantially lower in midsize firms than in Fortune 500 firms; (b) they materialize more slowly in large firms—in midsize firms, unlike in larger firms, the short-run contribution of IT to output is similar to the long-run output contribution; and (c) the measured marginal product of IT spending is higher from 2000 to 2006 than in any previous period, suggesting that firms, and especially large firms, have been continuing to develop new, valuable IT-enabled business process innovations. Furthermore, we show that the productivity of IT investments is higher in manufacturing sectors and that our productivity results are robust to controls for IT labor quality and outsourcing levels.

IT Audit: A Critical Business Process

This paper discussed an IT audit that involves examining all IT business processes and data that integrate with an organization's financial systems. The examination reviews controls and compliance with policies. An IT audit might also require a review of the organization's use of IT in supporting business from efficiency, effectiveness, and economic points of view. In some cases the audit findings might require changes to business processes or lead to an investigation uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse.