IT Executives Research Articles

Cloud Computing and Information Technology Strategy

Cloud computing represents a new paradigm that enables the utility computing model in which computing resources are offered and consumed as a service on demand, pay as you go, in a model similar to that of electricity. The objective of this work is to identify threats and opportunities of the cloud computing model and its influence on the strategy of companies that consume Information Technology. To do so, a survey was conducted with leading IT executives from 64 medium and large companies in Brazil. We noticed the influence of cloud computing in migrating the focus of the corporate IT departments to the management of services and contracts, resulting into the demand for professionals with IT analyst integrated and business profiles.

Explaining the adoption of grid computing: An integrated institutional theory and organizational capability approach

Grid computing can meet computational demands and offers a promising resource utilization approach. However, little research details the drivers of and obstacles to adoption of this technology. Institutional and organizational capability theory suggests an adoption model that accounts for inter- and intra-organizational influences. An empirical study with 233 high-ranking IT executives reveals that adoption results from social contagion, while organizational capabilities such as trust, firm innovativeness, tendency to outsource, and IT department size, influence adoption from an intra-organizational perspective. The findings show that mimetic pressures and trust play major roles in adoption processes, which differentiates grid computing from other inter-organizational systems.

The Impact of it Management Sophistication on Perceived it Importance in Strategic Alignment

Yet with a recent rise in environmental uncertainty, firms are asking how their IT management can be more sophisticated in identifying and responding to changing and dynamic business threats and opportunities. Whether how firms perceive IT importance to the organization helps IT management sophistication and therefore strategic alignment is still not clear. This research investigates how business executive perceives IT importance for strategic alignment may be contingent upon IT management sophistication. IT management sophistication represents the extent to which IT management practices have evolved and formalized in planning, control, organization, and integration of IT activities. We use contingency theory to construct a research model to test causal relationships. Using data from a matched survey of IT and business executives in 109 firms, we show that perceived IT importance predicts IT management sophistication, particularly the control aspect, which is the most important aspect for strategic alignment; we also show that planning aspect can be too formal and thereby offset strategic alignment. We further show that IT management sophistication mediates effective IT/business relationships; in which it can incentivise the building of a more comprehensive, agile and strategy-oriented system for collecting and analyzing market information. Implications of the findings are discussed.

IT service climate, antecedents and IT service quality outcomes: Some initial evidence

Although many IT service management frameworks exist, we still have limited theoretical understanding of IT service quality within a broader nomological network. Building on recent conceptual work on the IT service climate construct, this study empirically establishes it as a predictor of IT service quality using survey data from both IT units and their clients. Also examined was a set of antecedents which provide a foundation upon which a favorable service climate can be built. The IT service climate instrument, when incorporated into employee feedback initiatives, can provide guidance to IT executives about practices to improve service quality.

The relationship between ERP system and supply chain management performance in Malaysian manufacturing companies

PurposeThis research aims to improve supply chain management performance through the successful usage of ERP system. This can be through investigating the relationship between enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and supply chain management (SCM) performance in the context of Malaysian manufacturing companies that use ERP system.Design/methodology/approachThe questionnaire survey was posted to the Malaysian manufacturing companies that are using ERP system in order to investigate the relationship between ERP system and SCM performance. The respondents of this study were the MIS or IT executives. A total of 80 usable responses were received and used in the analysis.FindingsThe findings of this research indicated that there is a positive and significant relationship between ERP system i.e. (integration, material management, production planning, and controlling), and SCM performance. The workflow management, however, does not have a significant relationship with SCM performance. The findings of this study imply that the successful implementation and the effective usage of ERP system can contribute toward enhancing supply chain management performance in many ways such as, integration of internal business processes, enhancement of information flow among different departments inside the company, improvement of the company's relationships and collaboration with outsourcing suppliers, customers, and supply chain partners.Research limitations/implicationsThis research focuses only on post‐implementation of ERP system life cycle, where ERP system passes through three implementation stages of system life cycle and that includes pre‐implantation stage, implementation stage, and finally post‐implementation stage. Two or three stages of ERP system life cycle could be investigated simultaneously.Practical implicationsThere should be many success records in ERP system and this is to prove to companies that ERP systems can contribute toward improving their overall business performance. Therefore, this research encourages companies to adopt ERP systems and then contribute to technology diffusion. The finding of this study supports this justification and records a new success of ERP systems in Malaysian manufacturing companies.Originality/valueThe results of this study will enable companies to achieve optimum usage of ERP system after the implementation stage and help to avoid system failure and achieve better SCM performance. The study contributes toward technology diffusion between companies through reducing the likelihood of ERP systems failure, and therefore introduces ERP systems to other manufacturing companies in Malaysia.

Towards secure mobile cloud computing: A survey

Mobile cloud computing is gaining popularity among mobile users. The ABI Research predicts that the number of mobile cloud computing subscribers is expected to grow from 42.8 million (1.1% of total mobile users) in 2008 to 998 million (19% of total mobile users) in 2014. Despite the hype achieved by mobile cloud computing, the growth of mobile cloud computing subscribers is still below expectations. According to the recent survey conducted by the International Data Corporation, most IT Executives and CEOs are not interested in adopting such services due to the risks associated with security and privacy. The security threats have become a hurdle in the rapid adaptability of the mobile cloud computing paradigm. Significant efforts have been devoted in research organizations and academia to build secure mobile cloud computing environments and infrastructures. In spite of the efforts, there are a number of loopholes and challenges that still exist in the security policies of mobile cloud computing. This literature review: (a) highlights the current state of the art work proposed to secure mobile cloud computing infrastructures, (b) identifies the potential problems, and (c) provides a taxonomy of the state of the art.

Recovering management information from source code

IT has become a production means for many organizations and an important element of business strategy. Even though its effective management is a must, reality shows that this area still remains in its infancy. IT management relies profoundly on relevant information which enables risk mitigation or cost control. However, the needed information is either missing or its gathering boils down to daunting tasks. We propose an approach to recovery of management information from the essence of IT; the software’s source code. In this paper we show how to employ source code analysis techniques and recover management information. In our approach we exploit the potential of the concealed data which resides in the source code statements, source comments, and also compiler listings. We show how to depart from the raw sources, extract data, organize it, and eventually utilize so that the bit level data provides IT executives with support at the portfolio level. Our approach is pragmatic as we rely on real management questions, best practices in software engineering, and also IT market specifics. We enable, for instance, an assessment of the IT-portfolio market value, support for carrying out what-if scenarios, or identification and evaluation of the hidden risks for IT-portfolio maintainability. The study is based on a real-life IT-portfolio which supports business functions of an organization operating in the financial sector. The IT-portfolio comprises Cobol applications run on a mainframe with the total number of lines of code amounting to over 18 million. The approach we propose is suited for facilitation within a large organization. It provides for a fact-based support for strategic decision making at the portfolio level.

Reciprocity between Senior IT Executives and IT-Capable Firms: A Source of Competitive Advantage

This study introduces a causality-based framework of antecedents and consequences in order to examine the positive reciprocity between senior IT executives (sITes) and IT capable firms. More specif...

An Exploratory Study of Infrastructure Barriers and the Role of Semantic Data Exchange Technologies in the Provisioning of Business Intelligence Services

Business Intelligence (BI) has been a top technology development concern for high-ranking IT executives over the past decade. The objective of BI is to use data analysis as a competitive weapon, deeply integrated into business processes. The ability of an organization to provide enterprise-level BI services depends heavily on its IT strategy, itself a function of existing technology investment. Previous research has described four IT architecture stages ranging from isolated applications to modular services, each with increasing complexity and service capabilities. Representatives from four companies were interviewed about the status of their BI activities, and the resulting data helps identify common barriers faced by these organizations in the provisioning of enterprise-level BI services. Interview results also describe the success of a limited-scope operational BI system by one of these firms, and the role of semantic data exchange technologies, primarily XML, in this system.

Achieving Business and IT Alignment from Organisational Learning Perspectives

Business and IT alignment has continued as a top concern for business and IT executives for almost three decades. Many researchers have conducted empirical studies on the relationship between business-IT alignment and performance. Yet, these approaches, lacking a social perspective, have had little impact on sustaining performance and competitive advantage. In addition to the limited alignment literature that explores organisational learning that is represented in shared understanding, communication, cognitive maps and experiences. Hence, this paper proposes an integrated process that enables social and intellectual dimensions through the concept of organisational learning. In particular, the feedback and feed- forward process which provide a value creation across dynamic multilevel of learning. This mechanism enables on-going effectiveness through development of individuals, groups and organisations, which improves the quality of business and IT strategies and drives to performance.

Coping Strategies for Turbulent Times: A Survey of IT Executives

Most IT departments have experienced stagnant or shrinking budgets due to the recession. How are IT executives coping? This survey reveals commonly used strategies for reducing costs while still applying business intelligence to support sales growth.

The Impact of Senior IT Executives on IT Capability

This study introduces a causality-based framework of antecedents and consequences in order to examine the positive reciprocity between senior IT executives (sITes) and IT capable firms. More specifically we propose that: 1. There is a positive association between accrued sources of managerial power of sITes, such as structural and expert power, and a firm's ability to develop superior IT capability. 2. Firms that achieve such superiority are more likely to signal their appreciation and reward (promote) their sITes. 3. If sITes value this reward, they are more likely to stay longer with their firm. There is a positive association between continuity of an already successful IT leadership and a firm’s ability to sustain its IT superiority. Results based on panel data of 1326 large US firms from a wide spectrum of industries over a 13-year period (1997-2009) support our propositions. Empirical evidence validates our position that firms that want to achieve and sustain IT superiority need to create an organizational climate of positive reciprocity. Such an organization climate can only be developed over time and there is no short cut that competitors can take in order to replicate it

Information Systems for Large-Scale Event Management: A Case Study

Information systems (IS) have considerable use in supporting large-scale communication and coordination. This is especially important in contexts such as major event and crisis management which have complex requirements on people and technology. IS facilitate the dissemination of real-time information and coordination among decision makers, and thereby the management of the entire event. This paper describes a case of management and deployment of IS for a large-scale event as an exemplar in this area. Singapore won the bid to host a major international event, the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, collectively known as S2006. However, there were complex requirements and daunting challenges to be overcome in managing such a high-profile and large-scale event. The paper describes how the Committee in charge delivered the IT infrastructure and systems for this large-scale event with 23,700 participants from 184 countries. It suggests several lessons for IT executives in charge of managing large-scale events, mainly for planned (e.g., sports events) and to some extent for unplanned (e.g., Japan tsunami or BP oil spill crisis) events. Particularly, it highlights the need for advance preparedness, use of IS for situation awareness, cultivating relationships for communication and coordination, and the importance of vendor management and project management skills. These lessons are valuable for IS deployment for large-scale communication and coordination for future mega-events and to some degree for preparedness for unforeseen events.

Managing IT as a business: The Lutchen’s Gap in the 100 Top Organizations based in Brazil

A common problem in IT management involves the lack of business vision on the part of IT executives who align IT to the strategic assumptions of the company, but forget the tactical functions of the former, managed as a business. This is known as the Lutchen's gap. Because of its importance in the context of IT management, this paper is a complementary approach to the preceding one from Rodrigues et al. (2009) and aims at identifying the Lutchen´s gap presence in the management of IT among the 100 top companies located in Brazil. To do this, we proceeded to a description of the profile of IT management in these companies, controlled by the executive board. We used a questionnaire filled out by IT executives, containing 77 questions covering the four functions of IT in a company. The main results indicate that: (a) In the IT's Alignment function, the design of IT reveals dichotomies between business and IT objectives (b) In the IT's Management function, the IT's budget is oriented toward ensuring delivering abilities to IT services and differing in the methods of cost control, ranging from apportion by volume, overheads and by ABC cost, (c) in the IT's Deliver function, evidence suggests that IT is managed as a business enabler; and (d) in the IT's Quality and Safety Assurance, IT executives monitor quality and safety events, but are limited to IT's basic operations. In conclusion, in the companies surveyed, IT is seen much more as on-demand solution provider, rather than as an instrument of innovation and competitiveness enabler for organizations.

Teorizando as práticas dos métodos ágeis no desenvolvimento de software visando ao processo de inovação das empresas

Brazilian IT executives are being challenged to play an active and important role in the innovation process within their organizations. The purpose of this study is to explore agile software development methods in facing this challenge. We deployed a practice theory framework, in particular that of Orlikowski, in order to analyze practices from seven agile methods – eXtreme Programming (XP), Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), Scrum, Crystal, Agile Modeling (AM), Feature Driven Design (FDD) and Adaptive Software Development (ASD). Results show practices grouped into five underlying factors – learning, iteractive, customer, human and technical; in addition, they explain the shift in focus of the agile development in reference to previous methods, centering on the individual and their actions in social relations in place of essentially technical issues. Findings suggest that agile software development methods have principles and practices better suitable to the innovation challenge than their predecessors do. Furthermore, their practices can aid the organization in the constitution of institutional properties useful to the process of business model innovation.

Teorizando as práticas dos métodos ágeis no desenvolvimento de software visando ao processo de inovação das empresas

Brazilian IT executives are being challenged to play an active and important role in the innovation process within their organizations. The purpose of this study is to explore agile software development methods in facing this challenge. We deployed a practice theory framework, in particular that of Orlikowski, in order to analyze practices from seven agile methods – eXtreme Programming (XP), Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), Scrum, Crystal, Agile Modeling (AM), Feature Driven Design (FDD) and Adaptive Software Development (ASD). Results show practices grouped into five underlying factors – learning, iteractive, customer, human and technical; in addition, they explain the shift in focus of the agile development in reference to previous methods, centering on the individual and their actions in social relations in place of essentially technical issues. Findings suggest that agile software development methods have principles and practices better suitable to the innovation challenge than their predecessors do. Furthermore, their practices can aid the organization in the constitution of institutional properties useful to the process of business model innovation.

What We Can Learn from Steve Jobs

What can IT professionals and executives learn from Steve Jobs? This tribute to the great technologist and visionary innovator discusses how Jobs went about transforming computing, enhancing the user experience, and creating a most valued technology company.

Key IT management issues in hospitals: Results of a Delphi study in Canada

Purpose To develop an authoritative list of IT management issues faced by CIOs and IT directors in public hospitals. Methods The ranking-type Delphi method, which elicits the opinion of a panel of experts through iterative controlled feedback, was used in this study. Data collection involved three main steps during which three panels of experts in Ontario ( n = 13 in rural hospitals; n = 9 in community hospitals; n = 8 in academic hospitals) provided their input about the key IT management issues in hospitals and their relative importance. Attrition rate was minimal; 28 out of the 30 experts who participated in the study completed all three phases of the survey. Results During the brainstorming phase, the responses from the three panels were consolidated resulting in a list of 36 IT management issues; eleven were overlapping between the three panels. In the narrowing down phase, 18 issues were retained in the rural panel; 20 issues in the community panel; and 17 issues in the academic panel. The top issues retained in this phase included: managing demand and expectations for IT services (76% of participants); having sufficient funds (69% of participants); recognizing IT as a key stakeholder in major hospital decisions (65% of participants); and implementation of an EMR (62% of participants). In the ranking phase, a moderate level of consensus was obtained for all three panels: W = 0.41 (rural panel); W = 0.54 (community panel); and W = 0.43 (academic panel). Despite the differences in the preoccupations between the three groups, there were similarities on certain IT management issues. Besides having sufficient funds, three of the top IT management issues relate to the strategic positioning of IT within the hospital: managing demands and expectations for IT services; IT competing with other clinical priorities for scarce resources; and recognizing IT as a key stakeholder in major hospital decisions. Conclusions This study is the first to systematically and rigorously identify and prioritize critical IT management issues in hospitals, which may be generalizable to similar environments in other industrialized countries. The prioritized lists of IT management issues may be used as a benchmark and diagnostic tool to support internal strategic decision making related to IT. The broadening of understanding of the challenges faced by IT executives in hospitals would support a more systematic evaluation of these issues over time, and allow management, educational, and research resources to be invested in the appropriate areas.

Influence of psychological empowerment on affective, normative and continuance commitment

PurposePsychological empowerment and organizational commitment continues to be of interest to researchers as well as practitioners. There are several researches on organizational commitment. The research with respect to psychological empowerment, which is emerging as very important factor for employees of service sector is rare. The purpose of this paper is to examine the linkages between psychological empowerment and factors of organizational commitment.Design/methodology/approachThe sample size for the study comprised 332 Indian IT executives. The data were collected during the time when organizations were trying to overcome recession. Descriptive and inferential statistics like correlation, regression and canonical correlation were used to analyze the data.FindingsResults of data analysis confirm the hypotheses drawn from the literature. Consistent with other studies, the results of this study confirm that the psychological empowerment influences affective and normative commitment positively. However, no relationship was found between psychological empowerment and continuance commitment.Practical implicationsThe prime objective of organizations is to increase affective commitment among employees of the organization. The basic change suggested in this paper is to undergo a job design and make employees understand the importance of their task/job. The feeling among employees that the job done by them has significant impact on the day‐to‐day work activity will generate high degree of affective commitment.Originality/valueThe paper shows that organizations can influence the affective and normative commitment of employees by providing jobs that are challenging for the employees, and by having correct alignment with the goal.

Role of IT executives in the firm's ability to achieve competitive advantage through IT capability

Contrary to prior studies that have tried to examine the role of IT capabilities (ITC) on firm performance in isolation from the role of senior IT executives, we propose that the two are linked. More specifically we argue that there is a positive relationship between the structural power of senior IT executives and the likelihood that the firm will develop superior ITC. Furthermore, the contribution of ITC to a firm's competitive advantage is much stronger in firms with powerful senior IT executives as they are the driving force that may ensure the continuous renewal of ITC. We develop a two-stage econometric model designed to test this chain hypothesis that the structural power of senior IT executives will affect a firm's ability to achieve superior ITC, in turn driving firm performance. Empirical evidence based on a sample of large US firms strongly supports both of our hypotheses.