IT Infrastructure Flexibility Research Articles

The Relationship between Business Intelligence and Organizational Agility with Emphasis on the Mediating Role of IT Infrastructure Flexibility (Case Study: Active Companies in Rasht Industrial City)

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between business intelligence and organizational agility, emphasizing the mediating role of IT infrastructure flexibility in companies operating in Rasht Industrial City. The current research is a cross-sectional and correlational research, and its statistical population consists of all managers of active companies in Rasht Industrial City, and 255 samples that were selected based on Morgan’s table and by random sampling were used for analysis. Descriptive analyses were performed using SPSS 22 statistical software and final analysis was performed using Smart PLS 2 statistical software. The results of the research showed that business intelligence has a significant relationship with organization agility and IT infrastructure flexibility, and IT infrastructure flexibility has a significant relationship with organization agility. Also, the analysis results confirmed the mediating role of IT infrastructure flexibility in the relationship between business intelligence and organization agility, but the moderating role of IT infrastructure flexibility in the relationship between business intelligence and organization agility was not confirmed. Based on the results of the research, in addition to analysing key information and optimizing strategic decisions, company managers can use business intelligence as a tool to master new technologies for the development and prosperity of IT infrastructures.

Factors of Organizational Agility Mediated by Competitive Performance in Online Fashion Retailers

An organization is the formation of human relations work behavior efficiently and effectively to obtain personal satisfaction in carrying out their duties and providing certain environmental conditions to achieve goals. This study aimed to determine the effect of system quality, adoption of business intelligence, and flexibility of IT infrastructure mediated by organizational agility mediated by competitive performance on online fashion retailers so that it can be used as a reference in the field of science. Quantitative techniques were used in this study. The analysis of this study is a structural approach to the Equation Model (SEM) with the help of smart PLS. The results of this study are to indicate that the adoption of business intelligence is not able to affect organizational agility, system quality affects organizational agility, IT infrastructure flexibility affects organizational agility, competitive performance affects organizational agility, system quality affects competitive performance, adoption of business intelligence affects competitive performance, IT infrastructure flexibility affects competitive performance. Competitive performance is able to mediate the effect of system quality on organizational agility and IT infrastructure flexibility on organizational agility. Competitive performance is not able to mediate the adoption of business intelligence on organizational agility. This research contributes literature for further research conducted by other researchers.

Technological Antecedents of Organizational Agility: PLS SEM Based Analysis Using IT Infrastructure, ERP Assimilation, and Business Intelligence

Organizations often ignore the use information technology infrastructure, Business Intelligence and ERP software to improvise their decision making process due to which organizational agility is suffered. Such organizations fail to make decisions according to the needs of the market that leads to the loss of market share. Based on the contingency theory, conceptual model of this study was developed using the constructs of IT Infrastructure Flexibility, Business Intelligence Use, ERP Assimilation, and Organizational Agility. Survey method was used to collect the data from the managers and executives, who are involved in the key decision making process in any organization. Total 253 out of 265 responses were considered valid and PLS SEM approach was used to test the direct and indirect effects. Results indicate that mediating effect of Business Intelligence Use and ERP Assimilation between IT Infrastructure Flexibility and Organizational Agility has been substantiated. Findings of this study conclude that IT Infrastructure should be improvised, specifically when organization is going to adopt the ERP systems and Business Intelligence to make the timely decisions according to the requirements of the market that ultimately affects the Organizational Agility.

Study on the influencing factors of the flexibility of university IT management in education 4.0

Education systems at all levels should embrace new technologies to comply with Industry 4.0 developments. Universities need to adapt to these new changes. However, studies that discuss the flexibility in service-based organisations are limited. The study of IT flexibility currently focuses on manufacturing organisations in aspects of IT infrastructure. IT infrastructure flexibility is only a part of IT resources that is managed in IT management. The contribution of this study is to produce variables that significantly influence the flexibility of IT management in the university. T tests obtained six variables with a significant direct effect; they are data integration, modularity of an application, value drivers, human resource competence, human resource development and knowledge sharing. R square test shows that these variables also simultaneously influence the flexibility of IT management universities with a fairly high influence of 76%.

Business Analytics/Business Intelligence and IT Infrastructure

This is an empirical research investigating the impact of business analytics (BA) and business intelligence (BI) use, IT infrastructure flexibility, and their interactions on organizational agility. Synthesizing the systems theory and awareness-motivation-capability framework, the authors propose that BA-Use, IT infrastructure flexibility, and their interactions significantly influence organizational agility. The results show the significant association of BA use and IT infrastructure flexibility with organizational agility. The results also suggest that BA use may demand corporations to build a more flexible IT infrastructure. However, the data does not reveal the proposed interaction between the two drivers of organizational agility.

The Contribution of Conceptual Independence to IT Infrastructure Flexibility: The Case of openEHR

In the Netherlands demands on IT support in healthcare organizations are increasing. New visions on healthcare focus on patient-centered healthcare, where mutual consultation among healthcare professionals in the network becomes a standard process. Recent governmental regulations prescribe that patients must be able to access personal health records. IT flexibility is needed to allow organizations to meet new demands. In this study we focus on Conceptual Independence (CI) because CI, as a design principle, can improve the adaptability of Information Systems (IS). Software with CI operates on flexible data models that are independent of the CI based application. Therefore, it is claimed that a standalone IS becomes more flexible with CI. We extend the claim by demonstrating that CI affects the flexibility of the entire IT infrastructure. We investigate which dimensions of IT flexibility are responsible for the improvement. Multi-case study research has been performed following a mixed-methods approach in 10 mental healthcare organizations. Five have implemented openEHR, a proxy for CI, and five have not. Data has been collected with a questionnaire of IT infrastructure flexibility and semi-structured interviews. The data synthesis shows a positive effect of CI on IT flexibility, as CI increases the adaptability of IS, transparency and standardization of the IT infrastructure.

The Relationship Between Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) and Facilitators to Achieve Successful Business Outcomes in South Korean Organizations

Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP) is an important process in the implementation and use of IT systems in today’s dynamic and increasingly digitalized organizations. However, SISP is not a straightforward task, it is a process that covers simultaneous multiple planning issues often in changing environmental and organizational climates. Although SISP has been widely studied, and evaluating the SISP process has matured, theory on SISP facilitators that enable successful outcomes remain sparse. The main objective of this paper is to explore such facilitators and to investigate their relationship and contribution in achieving SISP success. By postal surveying a random sample of managers with SISP experience in South Korean organizations, we modeled the relationship between facilitators of SISP and their outcomes. The study used Structural Equation Modelling to analyze and validate its findings. This study suggests that facilitators positively affect successful SISP through business and IT alignment. It also demonstrates that effective SISP has a positive effect on organizational outcomes by ensuring organizational capabilities and IT infrastructure flexibility. The findings of this study expounding the role of facilitators adds to the theory of SISP and provides a guide to planners and managers responsible for information systems.

An Investigation of the Moderating Effect of IT Personnel Capability on the Relationship between Intangible IT Resources and IT Infrastructure Flexibility on the Sustainable Competitive Advantages

IT personnel capabilities are regarded as the backbone of IS infrastructure and as the main top strategic issues among IT executives. The aim of this research is to explore the direct influence of Intangible IT Resources such as IT Knowledge Resources (ITKR), IT Relationship Resources (ITRR), and IT Governance (ITG) on Sustainable Competitive Advantages (SCA). The main question of this study is whether or not IT personnel capabilities are able to strengthen the relationship between VRIN resources such as (ITKR, ITRR, and ITG) and sustainable competitive advantages. Importantly, no published study has been examined this critical issue on how firms are able to generate VRIN resources that are the main driver of SCA. Thus, the objective of this research is to determine whether IT Personnel Capability has a direct and indirect effect (moderating role) in the relationship between intangible IT resources sustainable competitive advantages. This research will applies quantitative survey for collection data among IT senior managers of Algerian high-tech industry. Implications and suggestions will be discussed.

A Systematic Review on the Strategic Utilization of Information Systems and IT Infrastructure Flexibility

A Systematic Review on the Strategic Utilization of Information Systems and IT Infrastructure Flexibility

Analysis of IT infrastructure flexibility impacts on IT-Business strategic alignment

Purpose: To explore the impacts of IT infrastructure flexibility components (connectivity, modularity, compatibility, and IT personnel flexibility) on IT-business strategic alignment using Luftman’s strategic alignment maturity model.Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire was developed using 5-points Likert scale. The questionnaire was distributed to companies in Indonesia, where 48 companies filled the questionnaire completely. The data were analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) approach using WarpPLS version 3.0.Findings: This research found that amongst four components of IT infrastructure flexibility, only compatibility that gives a positive and significant impact to IT-business strategic alignment. This finding is remarkably in contrast to what had been found by Chung et al (2003) in which connectivity, modularity and IT personnel flexibility showed a positive impact on strategic alignment while compatibility did not. Research limitations: This research used small sample size. More respondents are required to obtain more general conclusions. Practical implications: The findings of this study can be input for IT investment initiatives by first focusing on compatibility aspect of IT infrastructure which is considered having the most significant influence on strategic alignment.Originality/value: Previous study investigated IT infrastructure flexibility as a single concept, whereas our research investigated the components of IT infrastructure flexibility and their impact on strategic alignment.

A Conceptual Framework on IT Infrastructure Flexibility as Determinant of Strategic Utilization of Information Systems

The strategic benefits of computer based information systems have been well documented in the literature. In the same light, researchers have also unveiled various factors that promote strategic uses of computer based information systems. Among the identified factor is information technology infrastructure flexibility (ITIF). However, previous studies focusing on the contribution of information technology infrastructure flexibility towards strategic uses of information systems is limited in terms of scope and coverage. Defining information technology infrastructure flexibility as the composite relationship of Human IT Infrastructure, Technical IT Infrastructure and Process IT Infrastructure, this proposes a conceptual framework linking ITIF towards strategic use of information systems.

A process model for analyzing and managing flexibility in information systems

Competitive pressures are forcing organizations to be flexible. Being responsive to changing environmental conditions is an important factor in determining corporate performance. Earlier research, focusing primarily on IT infrastructure, has shown that organizational flexibility is closely related to IT infrastructure flexibility. Using real-world cases, this paper explores flexibility in the broader context of the IS function. An empirically derived framework for better understanding and managing IS flexibility is developed using grounded theory and content analysis. A process model for managing flexibility is presented; it includes steps for understanding contextual factors, recognizing reasons why flexibility is important, evaluating what needs to be flexible, identifying flexibility categories and stakeholders, diagnosing types of flexibility needed, understanding synergies and tradeoffs between them, and prescribing strategies for proactively managing IS flexibility. Three major flexibility categories, flexibility in IS operations, flexibility in IS systems & services development and deployment, and flexibility in IS management, containing 10 IS flexibility types are identified and described.

The influence of SOA governance mechanisms on IT flexibility and service reuse

While many firms have introduced SOA, only one in five have achieved anticipated benefits such as increased IT flexibility or reuse. Industry analysts assume that a lack of SOA governance is the main reason why SOA projects fail. Addressing the substantial research gap on SOA governance this paper theoretically and empirically investigates which SOA governance mechanisms are needed to achieve the benefits of SOA, such as increasing IT flexibility and reusing services. The proposed theoretical SOA governance model is evaluated using data from 81 SOA-using organizations.Overall, the results confirm the relevance of a variety of SOA governance mechanisms (structures, processes, and employees/relations), but at the same time, that IT infrastructure flexibility and service reuse are influenced by different mechanisms. Key governance mechanisms that show a strong effect on infrastructure flexibility are using standards, service management processes, educating employees, and IT/business communication while reuse can only be increased through service management, standards and qualification. Contrary to expectations, implementing new, dedicated decision-making bodies for SOA hampers organizations in achieving higher degrees of IT flexibility and reuse, and a firm is better off using existing IT decision-making bodies.

A Proposed Measure Of IT Infrastructure Flexibility In The Global Networked Firm: Extending The IT Infrastructure Measure Of Reach And Range

In todays fast paced global business environment, firms need a flexible infrastructure that allows the organization to adapt to rapid change. An important enabler of this flexibility is the IT infrastructure. IT infrastructure flexibility is not a well understood concept and little work has been done on how to measure IT infrastructure flexibility. This paper fills this gap by proposing a measure for IT Infrastructure flexibility based on Keens 1991 reach and range.

Competing Perspectives on the Link Between Strategic Information Technology Alignment and Organizational Agility: Insights from a Mediation Model

Strategic information technology alignment remains a top priority for business and IT executives. Yet with a recent rise in environmental volatility, firms are asking how to be more agile in identifying and responding to market-based threats and opportunities. Whether alignment helps or hurts agility is an unresolved issue. This paper presents a variety of arguments from the literature that alternately predict a positive or negative relationship between alignment and agility. This relationship is then tested using a model in which agility mediates the link between alignment and firm performance under varying conditions of IT infrastructure flexibility and environmental volatility. Using data from a matched survey of IT and business executives in 241 firms, we uncover a positive and significant link between alignment and agility and between agility and firm performance. We also show that the effect of alignment on performance is fully mediated by agility, that environmental volatility positively moderates the link between agility and firm performance, and that agility has a greater impact on firm performance in more volatile markets. While IT infrastructure flexibility does not moderate the link between alignment and agility, except in a volatile environment, we reveal that IT infrastructure flexibility has a positive and significant main effect on agility. In fact, the effect of IT infrastructure flexibility on agility is as strong as the effect of alignment on agility. This research extends and integrates the literature on strategic IT alignment and organizational agility at a time when both alignment and agility are recognized as critical and concurrent organizational goals.

Building and leveraging information in dynamic environments: The role of IT infrastructure flexibility as enabler of organizational responsiveness and competitive advantage

Understanding how IT contributes to a firm's competitive advantage has long been of interest. While managers have made significant investments in IT, inflexible legacy systems hinder their ability to respond quickly to market opportunities. Our study examined how the flexibility of an organization's IT infrastructure enhanced information generation and dissemination and that this increased their ability to respond to rapidly changing environments. Our discussion of these information building and information leveraging effects was grounded in the resource-based view of the firm. We empirically tested our model using data collected from senior executives of 105 manufacturing and service firms. We found that IT infrastructure flexibility was positively related to information generation and dissemination. Moreover, information generation was significantly related to organizational responsiveness. Finally, organizational responsiveness was positively related to the firm's competitive advantage. These results showed the importance of developing a flexible IT infrastructure that can be quickly adapted and reconfigured to meet information processing demands in dynamic environments.

Resource or Capability? A Dissection of SMEs' it Infrastructure Flexibility and its Relationship with it Responsiveness

For SMEs, responsiveness to change is a critical survival capability. Practitioners believe that IT infrastructure flexibility contributes to responsiveness, yet empirical evidence is sparse. The purpose of this research is to empirically test the relationship between IT infrastructure flexibility, as measured on four dimensions, and IT responsiveness in SMEs context. Two research questions are answered by this study: first, does IT infrastructure flexibility help achieve IT responsiveness, and second, does each IT flexibility dimension affect IT responsiveness directly or indirectly. According to the resource-based theory, we speculate that, of the four IT flexibility dimensions, connectivity, compatibility, modularity, and IT personnel competency, only the latter two have a direct impact on IT responsiveness. Industrial data was collected from 233 SMEs and analyzed using PLS. The results confirm the positive relationship between IT infrastructure flexibility and IT responsiveness. The findings also provide evidence that the impact of connectivity and compatibility on IT responsiveness is fully mediated by modularity and IT personnel competency, which in turn affect IT responsiveness directly. The academic and practical implications of such findings are discussed.

OIQ와 CIO의 경영자 역할이 정보시스템의 전략적 활용에 미치는 영향 연구

This study examined the relationship among constructs that impact on strategic use of IS(Information Systems). Independent variables were OIQ(Organizational Intelligence Quotient) and role of CIO(Chief of Information Officer) as a top manager, and dependent variable are strategic use of IS. The dependent variable has three-sub constructs: 1) IT infrastructure flexibility; 2) operation-orientation; and 3) market-orientation. Seven research hypotheses derived from the research model, and were empirically tested using the PLS (Partial Least Squares) method. The research results confirmed that both OIQ and CIO`s roles have strong impact on organizations` strategic use of IS. Communication and business network among the sub-constructs of OIQ have effect on strategic use of IS. CIO`s role as a top manager was found to be significant. CIO`s role as a resource allocator and innovator among the CIO`s roles showed significant influence on strategic use of IS. OIQ was also significantly related to CIO`s role as a top manager. This study suggests practical implications and insights to the enterprises which aim to apply IT strategically.

Evaluation of service selection techniques in service oriented computing networks

On-demand acquisition of computational power from remote providers is the basic motivation of Grid Computing and Service Oriented Computing in general. Both concepts propose to eliminate inefficiencies in enterprises' IT infrastructure, reduce costs and increase flexibility. However, participants waive control and risk non-availability at runtime. An important phase in the procurement process is the selection of a provider out of a candidate list. This article compares two approaches for service selection. In a centralized service selection concept, a resource broker selects and assigns partners, while a coordinator-free approach uses bilateral negotiations to build pairs. A network simulation analyzes allocation results using technical and economic metrics, and shows the decentralized approach's higher adaptiveness to changing network dynamics and service instance density.

From the editors

Welcome to the third issue of Volume 36. This issue provides five insightful manscripts covering a range of topics and methodologies. The first paper, by Yao and Murphy, lays out in helpful detail the differences between total outsourcers and application service providers. Drawing upon insights from a particular ASP, the paper develops a novel model of the transition in ASP vendor-client relationships and builds propositions about the state of the relationship as well as the transitioning of the relationship. This paper is what we would label a theory-building conceptual manuscript. Such papers are very useful in expanding our understanding of a particular topic that has not been the subject of heavy empirical research (unlike outsourcing, the more specific topic of ASP vendor-client relationships has not been the subject of extensive research). We hope to receive other theory-building conceptual paper submissions on various topics and publish them in future issues.The second paper in this issue, by Chung, Byrd, Lewis, and Ford, develops and tests a model of the relationship between IT infrastructure flexibility, mass customization and business performance. Using data collected from a sample of IS managers across a subset of Fortune 2000 firms, the study provides empirical evidence of the importance of IT infrastructure flexibility towards helping a firm achieve mass customization.The third paper, by Travica, uses a case study to lend evidence to a model on virtual organization and e-Commerce. Discussing virtual organization in terms of its assumptions, characteristics, and forms, the paper provides a holistic view of the various instanciations of virtualization in the context of organizations and then ties virtualization to the area of e-Commerce.This fourth paper, by Wade and Tingling, provides a comparison of web-based experimentation to lab-based experimentation. Drawing insights from a meta-analysis of the literature, the paper discusses the many scientific advantages of web experimentation, by which the authors refer not to web-based survey collection, but the actual manipulation of constructs offered in an experiment conducted over the web. This paper contributes to advances in the methodologies available to IS researchers.This issue closes with the paper by Serva, Benamati, and Fuller. Disbanding the myths, or perhaps merely the misguided understandings, of the constructs of trust and trustworthiness, the authors compare first, second, and third order effects of the constructs across three separate data sets dealing with trust and e-Commmerce. The authors provide a thoughtful analysis of the basis for determining the circumstances under which trustworthiness (ability, benevolence, and integrity) should be treated as a first or second order construct.We wish to thank our five editorial board members who served as Senior Editor on the papers in this issue: David Gefen, Sajda Qureshi, Detmar Straub, Leyland Pitt, and Antonis Stylianou. We greatly appreciate their service to Data Base! Finally, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to the following senior editors who have now completed their three year terms: Maryam Alavi, Leyland Pitt, Laurie Schatzberg, Al Segars, and Rick Watson. Collectively, they helped us greatly during the past three years and we appreciate having the opportunity to have worked with each of them.