IT Initiatives Research Articles

Strategies and Frameworks for Adopting Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Quantity Surveyors

This paper looks at current BIM adoption overseas vis-à-vis the Malaysian BIM scenario. Issues in BIM usage to be addressed by the industry are discussed. The benefits of adopting BIM for Quantity Surveyors (QS) are numerous and the strategies to pave the way for its adoption are made known. The broad frameworks for reviewing the foreign BIM codes and standards; assessment of priority research areas and their impact; re-engineering systems and processes in the project chain for BIM are explained. The caveats for implementation are visited to provide a balanced view of IT initiatives. New roles for the QS as cost modellers or value modellers from project inception are envisaged.

Green IT adoption: a process management approach

PurposeTo better understand and assist business managers to deal with green IT adoption, this paper provides a step‐by‐step process management approach.Design/methodology/approachBy drawing on the process management to investigate the green IT adoption, the paper analyzes and discusses four different phases: plan, design, implement, and measure the performance of the process.FindingsThe likelihood that companies will successfully adopt green IT initiatives depends on several organizational and environmental factors. The primary factor is the Champion Support. Lack of implementation barriers is another important factor among others.Research limitations/implicationsBy comparing behavioral and technological changes derived from green IT initiatives and unveiling possible factors associated with the adoption process, this paper provides an opportunity for academics to conduct applied research based on the issues discussed.Practical implicationsThe paper can be an extremely useful and practical source for top‐level managers, particularly IT managers, to bring greener technologies and more environmentally responsible strategies and practices to their organizations.Originality/valueThe paper contends that the green IT adoption process is an ensemble of four phases: plan, design, implement, and measure the performance of the process. This paper serves as a guide and offers practical measures in terms of understanding how green IT initiatives could be more effectively and efficiently adopted by organizations.

CIO Educational Background, Strategic Positioning, and Stock Performance

Because the contribution of the Chief information Officer (CIO) in many strategic IT initiatives is non-routine and difficult to evaluate accurately over a short time frame, management control theory suggests clan control for CIOs as monitoring behavior or outcome is difficult (Ouchi 1980). Accordingly, the control systems are best designed around hiring a CIO with the right education, background and knowledge, which make it more likely that the CIO's values and decisions are well aligned with the firm’s strategic interests and motivate the CIO to display desired performance. Chatterjee, Richardson and Zmud (2001) documented that during the 1987-1998 period, the market positively reacted to announcements of appointments to newly-created CIO positions because those were perceive as a signal of improved IT management skills, enhanced IT capabilities, and subsequent firm performance. While the concept of the CIO was novel in the late 1980s and 1990s, CIO positions have dramatically gained prominence in today’s business world. Accordingly, announcements of CIO appointments are quite common nowadays, making them no longer news for investors to provoke strong market reaction. In contrast, we argue that the alignment of CIO appointments is necessary to elicit strong market reactions. Extending the view that a firm’s strategic positioning (differentiation or cost leadership) is a primary determinant of its CIO reporting structure (Banker, Hu, Pavlou and Luftman 2011), we introduce the notion that CIO appointments must be contingent on the firm’s strategic positioning. Inspired by a recent debate between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs regarding the implications of different educational background (technical versus non-technical), we focus on the dynamics between the CIO’s educational background and the firm’s strategic positioning. Specifically, we posit that differentiators are more likely to hire a CIO with technical background, while cost leaders are more likely to hire a CIO with a non-technical background. Most important, we hypothesize that firms that align their CIO's educational background with their strategic positioning (specially, differentiators appointing technical CIOs and cost leaders appointing non-technical CIOs) will have superior stock performance. Results from analyzing data drawn from Nasdaq100 index and S&P500 index strongly support these propositions, emphasizing the CIO’s educational background as a major factor for firms to consider when appointing CIOs.

CIO reporting structure, strategic positioning, and firm performance

Almost 30 years after the introduction of the CIO position, the ideal CIO reporting structure (whether the CIO should report to the CEO or the CFO) is yet to be identified. There is an intuitive assumption among some proponents of IT that the CIO should always report to the CEO to promote the importance of IT and the CIO's clout in the firm, while some adversaries of IT call for a CIO-CFO reporting structure to keep a tab on IT spending. However, we challenge these two ad hoc prescriptions by arguing that neither CIO reporting structure is necessarily optimal, and that the CIO reporting structure should not be used to gauge the strategic role of IT in the firm. First, extending the strategy-structure paradigm, we propose that a firm's strategic positioning (differentiation or cost leadership) should be a primary determinant of its CIO reporting structure. We hypothesize that differentiators are more likely to have their CIO report to the CEO in order to pursue IT initiatives that help the firm's differentiation strategy. We also hypothesize that cost leaders are more likely to have their CIO report to the CFO to lead IT initiatives to facilitate the firm's cost leadership strategy. Second, extending the alignment if it view, we propose that firms that align their CIO reporting structure with their strategic positioning (specifically, differentiation with a CIO-CEO reporting structure and cost leadership with a CIO-CFO reporting structure) will have superior future performance. Longitudinal data from two periods (1990-1993 and 2006) support the proposed hypotheses, validating the relationship between a firm's strategic positioning and its CIO reporting structure, and also the positive impact of their alignment on firm performance. These results challenge the ad hoc prescriptions about the CIO reporting structure, demonstrating that a CIO-CEO reporting structure is only superior for differentiators and a CIO-CFO reporting structure is superior only for cost leaders. The CIO reporting structure must, therefore, be designed to align with the firm's strategic positioning, independent of whether IT plays a key strategic role in the firm.

Assessing Green IT Initiatives Using the Balanced Scorecard

By expanding the balanced scorecard to incorporate sυstainability perspectives, the authors analyze current green IT initiatives to explore how IT can contribute to enterprise-wide sustainability performance.

CIO Reporting Structure, Strategic Positioning, and Firm Performance

Almost 30 years after the introduction of the CIO position, the ideal CIO reporting structure (whether the CIO should report to the CEO or the CFO) is yet to be identified. There is an intuitive assumption among some proponents of IT that the CIO should always report to the CEO to promote the importance of IT and the CIO’s clout in the firm, while some adversaries of IT call for a CIO-CFO reporting structure to keep a tab on IT spending. However, we challenge these two ad hoc prescriptions by arguing that neither CIO reporting structure is necessarily optimal, and that the CIO reporting structure should not be used to gauge the strategic role of IT in the firm.First, extending the strategy-structure paradigm, we propose that a firm’s strategic positioning (differentiation or cost leadership) should be a primary determinant of its CIO reporting structure. We hypothesize that differentiators are more likely to have their CIO report to the CEO in order to pursue IT initiatives that help the firm’s differentiation strategy. We also hypothesize that cost leaders are more likely to have their CIO report to the CFO to lead IT initiatives to facilitate the firm’s cost leadership strategy. Second, extending the alignment-fit view, we propose that firms that align their CIO reporting structure with their strategic positioning (specifically, differentiation with a CIO-CEO reporting structure and cost leadership with a CIO-CFO reporting structure) will have superior future performance.Longitudinal data from two periods (1990-1993 and 2006) support the proposed hypotheses, validating the relationship between a firm’s strategic positioning and its CIO reporting structure, and also the positive impact of their alignment on firm performance. These results challenge the ad hoc prescriptions about the CIO reporting structure, demonstrating that a CIO-CEO reporting structure is only superior for differentiators and a CIO-CFO reporting structure is superior only for cost leaders. The CIO reporting structure must, therefore, be designed to align with the firm’s strategic positioning, independent of whether IT plays a key strategic role in the firm.

Whose CO2 is it anyway?

The launch next month of the UK's Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme - EES - will mark a major change in how organisations control and pay for the energy they consume, and in the extent to which they accept a responsibility for shaping their overall emissions profile. It is a legislative push that has divided industry opinion like no other regulation in recent years. The CRC EES is the UK's incoming mandatory energy saving policy, central to the plan to improve the nation's energy efficiency and reduce C02 emissions, as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. It is designed to raise awareness in around 20,000 large public and private-sector organisations, which - according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) - are responsible for about 10 per cent of the UK's emissions. It operates as a 'cap and trade' mechanism, providing financial incentives to reduce energy use by pricing carbon emissions derived from energy use. EES works by getting organisations to buy allowances equal to their annual emissions. IT has been framed as the prime consumer of enterprise energy; it has also distinguished itself with 'green' IT initiatives, and associated awareness campaigns. Many prominent IT heads have proved to be leaders of carbon-management programmes within their organisations and beyond. There is a financial incentive in reducing energy bills, of course; but IT departments do not always benefit directly from this, as consumption is not charged back on a per-usage basis.

CIO Reporting Structure, Strategic Positioning, and Firm Performance: To Whom Should the CIO Report?

Almost 30 years after the introduction of the CIO position, the ideal CIO reporting structure (whether the CIO should report to the CEO or the CFO) is yet to be prescribed. There is an intuitive assumption among some proponents of IT that the CIO should always report to the CEO to promote the importance of IT and the CIO’s clout in the firm, while some adversaries of IT call for a CIO-CFO reporting structure to keep a tab on IT spending. However, we challenge these two ad hoc prescriptions by arguing that neither CIO reporting structure is necessarily superior, and that the CIO reporting structure should not be used to gauge the strategic role of IT in the firm. We thus prescribe that the CIO reporting structure must align with the firm’s strategic positioning. First, extending the strategy-structure paradigm, we propose that a firm’s strategic positioning (differentiation or cost leadership) should be a primary determinant of its CIO reporting structure. We hypothesize that differentiators are more likely to have their CIO report to the CEO to lead IT initiatives that help the firm’s differentiation strategy. We also hypothesize that cost leaders are more likely to have their CIO report to the CFO to lead IT initiatives to facilitate the firm’s cost leadership strategy. Second, extending the alignment-fit view, we propose that firms that align their CIO reporting structure with their strategic positioning (specifically differentiation with a CIO-CEO reporting structure and cost leadership with a CIO-CFO reporting structure) will have superior future performance. Longitudinal data from two periods (1990-1993 and 2006) support the proposed hypotheses, validating the relationship between a firm’s strategic positioning and its CIO reporting structure, and also the positive impact of their alignment on firm performance. These results challenge the ad hoc prescriptions about the CIO reporting structure, demonstrating that a CIO-CEO reporting structure is only superior for differentiators and a CIO-CFO reporting structure is only superior for cost leaders, whether or not IT has a strategic role in the firm. The CIO reporting structure must therefore be designed to align with the firm’s strategic positioning, independent of whether IT plays a key strategic role in the firm.

An exploratory study on organisational adjustments due to Green IT

The objective of this study is to empirically explore the impact of the implementation of Green IT measures on organisational resources. To this end, this paper integrates two streams of research: (1) the adoption of Green IT measures and (2) the resource-based view of a firm. The findings suggest that organisations had to reconfigure their IT and non-IT resources in order to implement Green IT initiatives. Moreover, two organisations in our sample of ten have been successful in mobilising their resources by offering new products and services as a result of implementing Green IT. The findings also indicate that organisation-wide awareness and support of Green IT are critical to initiating strategic actions in this area.

An effective pricing framework in a competitive industry: Management processes and implementation guidelines

In the quest to improve shareholder value companies in the past have primarily focused on cutting costs. However continuing cost reductions has its limit necessitating attention on revenue as well. An effective pricing framework helps companies ensure pricing strategy development and execution. The purpose of this article is to propose a conceptual framework for pricing strategy development and execution in a competitive industry. The framework introduced in this article consists of (1) a three-phased pricing management process of planning, execution and analysis; (2) a set of implementation guidelines ensuring completeness, accuracy, responsiveness and flexibility. Through an empirical case study, we demonstrate how a high-tech company using a series of business and IT initiatives successfully implemented the framework.

An International Comparison of Green IT Diffusion

This paper provides a preliminary insight into the status of the diffusion and maturity of 'Green IT' as well as some of the driving and inhibiting factors that influence it. The paper is largely descriptive and is based on a survey of 143 organisations from Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Overall, the findings indicate that organisations are developing the 'right mind-set', taking a number of 'softer actions', and investing in new technologies to use IT as part of the solution to pursue both eco-efficiency and eco-sustainability objectives. Nevertheless, the state of Green IT among the surveyed organisations can be considered at the early stage of maturity. In particular, the results indicate that the disposal of IT in an environmentally friendly manner is the most relevant organisational concern about Green IT. It is therefore not surprising that there is significantly more attention paid to the policy and practice in the end-of-IT-life management aspect of Green IT. On the other hand, attention to Green IT sourcing is the least adopted. The need for greater IT efficiency and the pursuit of tangible cost savings from IT operations are the primary drivers for adopting Green IT which have to be articulated in the strategy of an organisation. Likewise, the cost of greening IT and unclear business values from greening IT top the list of the factors that inhibit Green IT adoption. Limitation of the small sample size withstanding, the findings of this study hint at differences in Green IT initiatives among US, New Zealand and Australian organisations. In Australia and New Zealand, environmental consideration is the primary concern. In US the primary concern appears to be energy efficiency and cost reduction. Thus, while Australian and New Zealand organisations are leading the 'softer' side of Green IT policies and practices to reduce the environmental impact of IT, US organisations are far more advanced in the adoption of technologies and practices that reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency.

Open to growth

The paper is talking about open source software and its applications in the field of business sectors and IT initiatives.

E-Governance to Cut Corruption in Public Service Delivery: A Case Study of Fiji

Experience in a number of developed and developing countries has shown that E-Governance initiatives can promote greater transparency with the goal of cutting corruption. This article examines perceptions of public service delivery in Fiji to explore the potential of E-Governance to cut corruption and improve governance. Based on a survey of community perceptions and a review of selected literature it suggests that service-delivery oriented IT initiatives can contribute to an effective, multi-pronged strategy to cut corruption in the Fiji public sector.

Innovations, Fads, and Fashion: Information Technology and Strategy, a Co-Evolution of Theory and Practice

IT represents one of the largest recurring expenditures made by firms and is a central phenomenon in the quest for competitive advantage. While IT has served as valuable phenomena in the strategy literature, research has lagged IT innovation and has produced mixed results for informing IT phenomena. The mixing of innovations, fads, and fashion with theory might lead to an inability to identify empirical connections between IT initiatives and competitive advantage and, therefore, to conclusions that 'IT doesn't matter'. Our review of nearly 500 articles over the past 30 years shows a strong co-evolutionary relationship between the phenomena and theory of IT's role in strategic management. We observe that, over distinct phases of IT innovations, IT phenomena appear to contribute disproportionately to strategic management theory.

Improved Safety, Communication Underlie Part D E-Prescribing Rule

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Professional NewsFull AccessImproved Safety, Communication Underlie Part D E-Prescribing RuleMark MoranMark MoranSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:16 May 2008https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.43.10.0002The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a final rule on e-prescribing standards for the Part D prescription drug program.The rule, which appeared in the Federal Register on April 7 and becomes effective on April 1, 2009, adopts four standards for use in e-prescribing:Formulary and benefits: This standard allows doctors and other prescribers to communicate with Part D sponsors about which drugs are covered by a Medicare beneficiary's prescription drug plan. Prescribers can also learn which generic prescription drugs might offer lower-cost options for the individual.Medication history: This standard allows doctors and other providers, as well as dispensers and Part D sponsors, to communicate among themselves about prescribed medications a beneficiary has taken or is taking, including those prescribed by other providers.Fill-status notification: This standard allows doctors and other providers to receive an electronic notice from the pharmacy or other dispenser telling them that a patient's prescription has been picked up, has not been picked up, or has been partially filled.Provider identifier: Providers, dispensers, and Part D sponsors must use their National Provider Identifier (NPI) to identify individual health care providers in Part D e-prescribing transactions.CMS says the standards will enhance safety, increase use of lower-cost generic equivalents, and improve communication between doctors and pharmacies. In a statement released with the new standards, CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems said they move the health care system closer to interoperable health information technology.“Use of these e-prescribing standards by Part D plan sponsors, providers, and dispensers will directly benefit Medicare-eligible individuals,” said Weems. “They will save time both in their doctor's office and at the pharmacy counter. [Beneficiaries] may even see lower out-of-pocket costs as a result of formulary and benefit information becoming available at the point of care. Prescribers and dispensers will benefit through workflow improvements—freeing up time for interaction with patients.”Prescribers, dispensers, and other providers are not required to implement e-prescribing, but those who do must comply with the new Medicare standards when using e-prescribing to send prescriptions for Part D eligible individuals and prescription-related information for covered drugs.The latest Part D e-prescribing standards supplement a set of“ foundation” standards, published in November 2005, which took effect with the start of Part D on January 1, 2006. Those standards addressed the exchange of information among prescribers, dispensers, and Part D sponsors on such matters as eligibility inquiries and responses; new prescriptions; and changes, renewals, and cancellations of existing prescriptions.This final rule on Part D e-prescribing standards and the earlier final rule establishing e-prescribing foundation standards are posted at<www.cms.hhs.gov/EPrescribing/>. The final rule is also posted in the Federal Register at<http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/08-1094.htm>. More information on HHS's health IT initiatives is posted at<www.hhs.gov/healthit>.▪ ISSUES NewArchived

The Impact of Institutions on Interorganizational IT Projects in the Mexican Federal Government

Electronic government has the potential of transforming the way government works and interacts with citizens. However, recent research has found that the promised benefits are rarely completely achieved. Some of these studies highlight the importance of institutions in shaping the development, implementation, and use of information technologies in government settings. Based on a survey of Mexican federal government managers, this article explores the relationships between institutional arrangements, organizational forms, information technologies, and the outcomes of Mexican IT initiatives. Overall, it was found that there are important interactions among these variables and important similarities exist between developed countries and other realities, such as Latin America. The research presented here contributes to the field by testing causal relationships often cited in the digital government literature, but with little empirical quantitative exploration. Moreover, understanding those relationships offers guidance in the implementation of inter-organizational IT applications in government, potentially increasing their probability of success as well as the benefits for citizens and other stakeholders.

Risk and Return of Information Technology Initiatives: Evidence from Electronic Commerce Announcements

This paper takes an event study approach to jointly examine the wealth and risk effects associated with electronic commerce announcements, contributing to the emerging research on the riskiness of IT investments and the trade-off between risk and return in the information systems literature. We estimate a generalized event study model that allows for both systematic and unsystematic risk changes on data collected for electronic commerce announcements in the 1996–2002 time frame. A striking result emerging from our analysis is that wealth effects are not significant after controlling for contemporaneous risk changes. Both total and unsystematic risk show a significant postevent increase in 1998 and 2000, whereas systematic risk adjusts downward in 1996 and 2002. Put together, our results contribute to our nascent understanding of how IT initiatives affect the risk-return profile of the firm.

Expanding the Scope of Health Information Systems

To identify current developments, obstacles, and opportunities for health information systems. International reports were discussed during an IMIA HIS Working Conference with a focus on architectural design, project goals and drivers, obstacles, and opportunities. Technology and standards are available to build regional and national health IT networks, and successful implementations are currently being realized. There is, however, little consensus and communication concerning goals, benefits and risks of large-scale health IT initiatives. Complexity tends to be under-estimated, and the public needs to be more involved in the decision-making process. On all levels and across borders, a climate of exchange of ideas, experiences - both successes and failures-, policies, standards, systems, and information should be created.

Untangling the Confounding Perceptions regarding the Stand Alone it Course

The stand alone IT/computer course is the earliest IT training model in teacher education|programs. This course model has been severely criticized and there has been a call to eliminate it from preservice teachers' IT training. Over the past decade, new IT initiatives were implemented to integrate the computer use throughout teacher training courses (integrated model) and to promote field-based IT training (field-based model). Overshadowed by new IT initiatives, confounding issues surrounding the stand alone IT course have seldom been brought to the forefront for discussion. The purpose of this article is to review, discuss, and clarify these confounding issues to help teacher educators make evidence-based decisions regarding the stand alone IT course. The authors of this article take the position that the three major IT training models (stand alone, integrated, and field-based) should be viewed as a learning continuum. Efforts should be placed on coordinating the three models so that they complement and support each other.

Is ICT a Lever for Educational Change? A Study of the Impact of ICT Implementation on Teaching and Learning in Hong Kong

The ongoing, unprecedented growth of ICT, coupled with the globalisation of the econ- omy, has created a huge challenge for education. This rapid growth of infusing ICT in education is confronting stakeholders with the effectiveness and the impact of these technological applications. This paper explores the impact of ICT implementation on Hong Kong classroom practice since the inception of the government IT initiatives with particular emphasis on teachers' perceived changes in teaching and learning, and how it interacts with a variety of contextual factors such as leadership and school climate. To deepen our understanding of how ICT acts as a lever to bring about changes in student learning, this study also relates changes in learning to various factors like frequency and types of ICT tools used in classroom teaching, and the kinds of instructional strategies. It is hoped that the findings will inform educational practitioners and researchers of the emerging pedagogical practices with ICT.