Senior Information Systems Research Articles

Control-style choices and performance impacts: How should senior IS managers enact control over uncertain IS projects?

Information systems (IS) projects are notoriously difficult to control, especially under conditions of uncertainty. This difficulty is particularly pronounced for senior IS managers, such as CIOs and IT Vice Presidents, who tend to have scarce time and limited project-related knowledge but are ultimately held accountable for IS project performance. Focusing on this under-researched controller category, the study at hand contributes new insights into the enactment of controls by exploring how IS project uncertainty affects senior IS managers' control-style choices, as well as how it moderates the impact of such choices on process and product performance. Based on a survey of 150 senior IS managers, we find that IS project uncertainty increases managers' use of an authoritative control style but is unrelated to their use of an enabling control style. Further, in IS projects characterized by uncertainty, an authoritative control style is found to be effective for process performance, whereas an enabling style is found to be effective for product performance. Moreover, the results of a post-hoc analysis show that using the two control styles simultaneously under uncertainty delivers no discernible benefits, suggesting a decision-related control dilemma. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Utilizing expectation disconfirmation theory to develop a higher-order model of outsourcing success factors

PurposeThe authors’ contribution to the literature involves using expectation disconfirmation theory (EDT) to examine the impact of expectations on outsourcing success. This study hypothesizes that perceptions of outsourcing success are contingent on disconfirmation between clients’ expectations and the perceived performance of fundamental issues related to the outsourcing relationship.Design/methodology/approachTo test the hypothesis, this study surveyed chief information officers, vice presidents and senior information systems managers to determine their perceptions of vendors. This study analyzed the data using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that the existing outsourcing success factors are more precisely depicted as multidimensional success factors that predict managerial perceptions of outsourcing success. This study uses a novel perspective to identify the multidimensional nature of the outsourcing success factors that might have remained latent without further analysis.Originality/valueUsing EDT, this study extends the understanding of outsourcing success as not merely composed of unidimensional factors but as a collection of multidimensional outsourcing success factors. This research demonstrates that not only do these success factors predict outsourcing success, but they can also be grouped together to provide a diversified, yet parsimonious view of how expectations relating to certain success factors influence a client’s perception of outsourcing success.

It is about time: Bias and its mitigation in time-saving decisions in software development projects

Estimates of completion times in software development projects are frequently inaccurate, potentially resulting in failure to meet project objectives. The present work aims at empirically investigating whether the time-saving bias, describing the human failure to correctly estimate the relationship between speed increase and time saving, can inform our understanding of the decades-long problem of time estimation in software development. In particular, this work examines whether a decision to save time in a software development project by increasing development speed is biased, whether this bias is observed when the decision is framed using plan-based and agile terminology, and whether the availability of relevant information mitigates this bias. These objectives are addressed in three experimental studies, in which senior information systems students (Study 1) and professional software project managers (Studies 2 and 3) are asked to make time-saving decisions about two similar scenarios, with and without relevant information. The findings confirm the existence of the bias and show that it is more likely to occur under an agile framing than under a plan-based framing, although students are highly biased in both cases. The findings also show that while the bias is mitigated, but not eliminated, when relevant information is included in the scenario, this effect dissipates once the information is no longer included in the following scenario. The accumulated evidence reported here contributes to research on the consequences of cognitive biases for project management decisions.

Positivist Information Systems Action Research: Methodological Issues

We discuss the cyclical nature of action research (AR) in information systems (IS) and contrast it with other research approaches commonly used in IS. Often those who conduct AR investigations build on their professional expertise to provide a valuable service to a client organization while at the same time furthering knowledge in their academic fields. AR is usually conducted using an interpretive research approach, but many doctoral IS students, as well as junior and senior IS researchers, are likely to be expected to conduct research in a predominantly positivist fashion, even as they are determined to conduct an AR study that builds on their professional expertise. We argue that these IS researchers can successfully employ AR in their investigations as long as they are aware of the methodological obstacles that they may face, and have the means to overcome them. The following key obstacles are discussed: low statistical power, common-method bias, and multilevel influences. We also discuss two important advantages of employing AR in positivist IS investigations, from a positivist perspective: AR’s support for the identification of omitted variables and J-curve relationships. The study’s contribution is expected to enhance our knowledge of AR and foster its practice.

Information systems absorptive capacity for environmentally driven IS‐enabled transformation

AbstractThe potential of information systems (IS) to enable environmental sustainability necessitates an understanding of how organisations can realise this potential. In this study, building on the absorptive capacity theory and following a multi‐disciplinary and multi‐method approach, we propose that developing IS‐environmental absorptive capacity is a significant mechanism to deliver IS‐enabled change that addresses environmental issues. We commenced with a literature review and exploratory interviews to define the IS‐environmental absorptive capacity construct. We then developed a model that proposes that sustainable IS triggers, knowledge exposure and prior experience influence IS‐environmental absorptive capacity, which in turn contributes to the level of environmentally sustainable IS assimilation as well as to the cost saving, operational performance and reputation of organisations. The model was first tested through an international survey of 148 senior IS managers. The findings support our model regarding the antecedents and value of IS‐environmental absorptive capacity. A follow‐up case study corroborated the survey results and provided additional insights into the nature and causes of IS‐environmental absorptive capacity and its value. This study, in addition to presenting empirical evidence, defines and operationalises the IS‐environmental absorptive capacity construct in a theoretically and operationally meaningful way.

How Environmental Uncertainty Moderates the Effect of Relative Advantage and Perceived Credibility on the Adoption of Mobile Health Services by Chinese Organizations in the Big Data Era.

Despite the importance of adoption of mobile health services by an organization on the diffusion of mobile technology in the big data era, it has received minimal attention in literature. This study investigates how relative advantage and perceived credibility affect an organization's adoption of mobile health services, as well as how environmental uncertainty changes the relationship of relative advantage and perceived credibility with adoption. A research model that integrates relative advantage, perceived credibility, environmental uncertainty, and an organization's intention to use mobile health service is developed. Quantitative data are collected from senior managers and information systems managers in 320 Chinese healthcare organizations. The empirical findings show that while relative advantage and perceived credibility both have positive effects on an organization's intention to use mobile health services, relative advantage plays a more important role than perceived credibility. Moreover, environmental uncertainty positively moderates the effect of relative advantage on an organization's adoption of mobile health services. Thus, mobile health services in environments characterized with high levels of uncertainty are more likely to be adopted because of relative advantage than in environments with low levels of uncertainty.

Entry Level Systems Analysts: What Does the Industry Want?

This study investigates the skill sets necessary for entry level systems analysts. Towards this end, the study combines two sources of data, namely, a content analysis of 200 systems analysts’ online job advertisements and a survey of 20 senior Information Systems (IS) professionals. Based on Chi-square tests, the results reveal that most employers prefer entry level systems analysts with an undergraduate Computer Science degree. Furthermore, most of the employers prefer entry level systems analysts to have some years of experience as well as industry certifications. The results also reveal that there is a higher preference for entry level systems analysts who have non-technical and people skills (e.g., problem solving and oral communication). The empirical results from this study will inform IS educators as they develop future systems analysts. Additionally, the results will be useful to the aspiring systems analysts who need to make sure that they have the necessary job skills before graduating and entering the labor market.

From Innovative I.S. Strategy to Customer Value

While information systems (IS) have traditionally been used primarily for firm-wide operational efficiency, emerging theoretical perspectives have shifted scholarly focus to IS as a force that can drive value through business innovation. This study examines how IS strategy creates customer value through an innovative business orientation and how IS leadership and the organizational context can influence the relationship between innovative IS and business strategies. Integrating several research streams under the umbrella of the IS strategic management literature, we develop and empirically validate a research model based on confirmatory analysis and structural equation modeling applied to survey data collected from senior IS executives in 165 organizations based in the United States and India. Our results suggest that organizations that have an innovative IS strategy are well positioned to engage in business innovation, which in turn yields greater customer value. Furthermore, we find that strong IS leadership and a creative organizational climate enhance the relationship between an innovative IS strategy and innovative business orientation.

Improvisational Capabilities in e-Commerce Adoption: A Multiyear Comparison

Electronic commerce is changing the way firms conduct business. Since the market of electronic commerce has grown exponentially but changes constantly, firms have no choice but to act when faced with uncertainty. This study applies the organizational information processing theory to investigate if the fit between the firms’ outside environment and inside ability enhance business performance, which is electronic commerce processing needs and electronic commerce processing capability. More precisely, the mediation effects of improvisational capabilities were examined, for the fit concept, on performance. A three-year data sample from a survey completed by the chief information officer or a senior information systems manager from the largest 5,000 corporations in Taiwan is analyzed. The results indicate that e-commerce processing needs positively affect improvisational capabilities, which then spurs internal processes performance, encourages learning and growth, elevates customer satisfaction, and increases financial performance.

Post-implementation practices of ERP systems and their relationship to financial performance

Using econometric analysis, this study provides empirical evidence to support a cause-and-effect relationship of managerial actions to financial performance in a post-ERP implementation stage. Senior information systems managers reveal the state of affairs, providing a snapshot reference during that time period. Financial figures were collected for firms who were matched to our survey instrument. Regression analysis establishes that increased technological competence affects net sales, relationships with outside experts affect earnings, return-on-assets and return-on-investment, top management support affects net sales and net income, long-range planning negatively affects earnings, and the sharing of information between departments affects net income, return-on-assets and return-on-investments.

Financial Closing Time And Cost Of Equity: The Role Of Senior Information Systems Executives

Financial closing time is the time lag between a firm’s fiscal year end and earnings announcement. In this study, we first find an association between longer financial closing time and higher implied cost of equity. Improving financial closing time can help firms raise equity capital more efficiently. We posit that senior information executives can help improve firms' IT capabilities and reduce financial closing time. The empirical result suggests that firms having senior information executives (as measured by executive compensation) can reduce financial closing time for more than four days. We contribute by showing that senior IS executives are important for a public company to satisfy investors' information needs in the fast and competitive modern capital markets.

Firm‐level performance impact of IS support for product innovation

PurposeThis paper seeks to assess the bottom‐line (profitability) impact of information systems support for product innovation at the firm level, based on the current resource‐based view of the competitive role of information systems (IS). The paper also explores the role of firm‐specific information and knowledge that complement IS support for product innovation in moderating the performance impact of the IS support.Design/methodology/approachBoth survey and archival data were used to assess the profitability impact of IS support for product innovation. Data tapping IS support for product innovation and firm‐specific, complementary information and knowledge were collected from a survey of senior IS executives from 760 large companies operating in different industries in the United States. The profitability data were obtained from the Research Insight database. Hierarchical regression analyses were employed to test the research hypotheses.FindingsProviding IS support for product innovation alone did not improve profitability as measured by return on sales and return on assets. Only when complemented by firm‐specific information and knowledge would IS support for product innovation lead to profitability gains. Research limitations/implications – the use of cross‐sectional data collected from single informants and the coarse scales to measure the key variables may limit the usefulness of the research findings.Practical implicationsIt is not sufficient for a firm to simply focus on selecting or designing IS that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its product development process. Rather, the firm and its managers need to pay equal attention to the deployment of firm‐specific information and knowledge resources which would not only facilitate the use and implementation of IS for production innovation, but also make such IS less susceptible to imitation by competitors.Originality/valueThis article provides further evidence for the positive influence of IS‐based product innovation on the bottom‐line performance of firms and uses the resource‐based view of the strategic impact of IS to identify one condition under which such influence may occur. Unlike prior research that gauges the performance effects of IS support for product innovation at the project or department level, this research generates evidence for profitability gains accruing from IS support at the firm level.

Aligning undergraduate IS curricula with industry needs

Introduction A paradox is becoming obvious to both information systems (IS) academics and executives: U.S. demand for IS graduates is increasing, but graduation numbers from university IS programs are flat or in decline. As a result, many CIOs are devoting increasing proportions of their organizations' resources to recruiting IS graduates, through outreach programs to both students and faculty. In spite of these efforts, however, many CIOs report continuing frustrations in attracting enough newly-minted IS talent. Complicating the picture is a temporal shift in the nature of entry-level IS jobs. Based on a 2006 study that interviewed 104 senior IS managers, skills associated with business domain knowledge, project management, and client-facing tasks (for example, systems analysis and design) are becoming quite important at the entry level. A second study identified a lack of leadership skills and indicated that team work, collaboration, and communication skills need to be enhanced in IS undergraduates. Industry also prefers that academic programs impart this higher level business and leadership knowledge using more experiential learning models. While some level of technical knowledge -- particularly in the areas of programming, architecture/ standards and security -- is still desired, firms are attempting to hire entry-level IS personnel who have been trained in areas that go well beyond the technical. Jobs previously viewed as entry-level---largely technical and programming-related---are now more likely to be outsourced overseas. An earlier model, in which new hires were expected to spend some time programming while learning the firm's business processes and applications portfolio, is quickly becoming outmoded. Early on, new hires are expected to perform at a higher level of complexity, quickly understanding the business domain and driving projects to completion. Programming and other technical work may well be done in another country. As the number and nature of IS jobs evolve, the demand and supply curves change. On the demand side, it is expected that the number of IS jobs in non-IS organizations will start growing rapidly due to retirement of the babyboom generation. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that growth in occupations such as database administrators, computer software engineers, and systems administrators will be much faster than most other jobs between 2004 and 2014. As IS enrollments have declined over the last five years at most universities, a "looming shortage" of IS professionals is on the horizon (See Figure 1). Unfortunately, many students and parents seem to harbor misperceptions -- sometimes referred to believing in "myths" - about the IS discipline, and this may be impacting enrollments. One misperception is related to the state of "off shoring"; perhaps relying on media reports, many students and parents have apparently overestimated the impact on U.S.-based IS jobs and salaries. Another misperception appears to be that the IS profession is not an exciting one, and many students and parents seem to equate IS jobs with "coding." Of course, few MIS graduates are actually assigned programming duties, with most focusing instead on tasks such as design and project management. The supply-demand gap, troubling on its face, may be even more problematic if the IS graduates do not possess the skills that are being demanded by industry. Simply attracting more students will not adequately address all of the looming workforce issues. Thus, IS programs must simultaneously increase their throughput and ensure that they are inculcating a skills set that is of value to employers. To that end, we have attempted to answer these two questions: • How are IS programs evolving to address the changing nature of IS entry level positions? • What are IS programs doing to attract more students into the discipline? To address these two questions, we studied the IS curricula of undergraduate business programs ranked in the Top 50 by the U.S. News and World Report in 2006 or 2007. 57 schools appeared in that ranking in either 2006 or 2007; of those 57, 47 offer an undergraduate degree in IS. We contacted all 47 schools with IS programs. At least one senior faculty member or administrator at 32 of these schools participated in a 30 minute, telephone-based structured interview. Interview questions addressed curricular changes within the past five years, curricular changes currently in process, involvement of an advisory board, and marketing. We now turn to a discussion of the findings from our study.

Exploring the relationships between information technology adoption and business process reengineering

AbstractThis study investigates the impacts of information technology on business process reengineering from intra- and extra-organizational perspectives. This research proposes a framework for facilitating business process reengineering efforts towards competitive organizations. The framework was tested using data from a sample of 382 chief information officers or senior information systems managers, each of whom completed a survey. The survey results indicate that organizational innovation, market pressure and competitive intensity positively affect information technology adoption, which in turn trigger changes or business process in terms of workplace, workforce and business structure.

Exploring the relationships between information technology adoption and business process reengineering

AbstractThis study investigates the impacts of information technology on business process reengineering from intra- and extra-organizational perspectives. This research proposes a framework for facilitating business process reengineering efforts towards competitive organizations. The framework was tested using data from a sample of 382 chief information officers or senior information systems managers, each of whom completed a survey. The survey results indicate that organizational innovation, market pressure and competitive intensity positively affect information technology adoption, which in turn trigger changes or business process in terms of workplace, workforce and business structure.

Antecedents and Consequences of Information Systems Planning Integration

Successful utilization of the firm's information technology (IT) investments continues to be a difficult but important task for senior business and information systems managers. This paper focuses on one potentially important determinant of IT investment outcomes-integration of business and IT planning. Integration is examined using three kinds of participation: business managers' participation in IT planning, IT managers' participation in business planning, and top managers' participation in IT resource allocation. Based on considerations of knowledge sharing and commitment, a theoretical model linking these three aspects to three potential consequences-quality of IT plans, IT project problems, and IT-based organization performance-and two antecedents-top managers' perception of IT importance and environmental heterogeneity-is developed. The model is tested using data collected through a survey of 274 chief information officer (CIO) respondents. Results of structural equation modeling analysis support 12 of the 15 hypotheses. Surprisingly, top managers' participation in resource allocation had a stronger association with IT-based organizational performance than either quality of IT plans or the absence of IT project problems. This implies that the role of IT planning and alignment might be weakened when investments reflect top managements' selection. Implications of the study for practice and future research are examined.

Trends, Implications, and Responses to Global IT Sourcing: A Field Study

Despite the furor surrounding the offshoring phenomenon, there is little empirical research examining global IT sourcing (GITS) and its potential impacts on the individual, the organization, and society. This article presents the results of a study of the perceived direction of GITS in the United States and its implications for business. Based on information collected from structured interviews with senior information systems executives at ten medium to large corporations in the region, the study specifically examines their perceptions of offshoring trend, its implications for the IT workforce, and steps that must be taken to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Nine of the ten company executives interviewed indicated a slow but steady growth in the level of such offshore engagements and an increasing commitment to strategic partnerships with global information service providers. The primary drivers of offshoring partnerships were cost, access to expertise, and domestic headcount stabilization. Significant concerns were expressed as to the nature of computer science education in the United States and a need to shift from technical skills to those that focused on business domain knowledge.

The antecedents of CIO role effectiveness in Organizations:An empirical study in the healthcare sector

How should the effectiveness of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in organizations be assessed? What are the primary antecedents of their role effectiveness, particularly as assessed by their top management teams (TMTs)? Despite a wealth of normative and prescriptive writings about what roles CIOs should play in contemporary firms, there has been limited empirical research on the above two questions. This study addresses the above questions, particularly with respect to the effectiveness of the CIOs in the healthcare sector. Based on survey data from CIOs and members of the TMTs, we find that there are six salient CIO roles: business strategist, integrator, relationship architect, utility provider, information steward, and educator. Further, CIO capabilities, in the form of business and strategic information technology knowledge, political savvy, and interpersonal communication makes CIOs effective, particularly in the roles of business strategist, integrator, and relationship architect. High levels of engagements between the CIOs and TMTs do not directly impact CIO's role effectiveness, but are mediated by the effects of CIO capabilities. These findings have significant implications for researchers and senior information systems (IS) executives.

Research standards for promotion and tenure in information systems

What constitutes excellence in information systems research for promotion and tenure? This is a question that is regularly addressed by members of promotion and tenure committees and those called upon to write external letters. While there are many elements to this question, one major element is the quality and quantity of an individual's research publications. An informal survey of senior Information Systems faculty members at 49 leading U.S. and Canadian universities found 86 percent to expect three or more articles in elite journals. In contrast, an analysis of publication performance of Ph.D. graduates between the years of 1992 and 2004 found that approximately three individuals in each graduating year of Ph.D.s (about 2 percent) published 3 or more articles in a set of 20 elite journals within 6 years of graduation. Only 15 individuals from each graduating year (11 percent) published one or more articles. As a discipline, we publish elite journal articles at a lower rate than Accounting, yet our promotion and tenure standards are higher, similar to those of Management, Marketing, and Finance. Thus, there is a growing divergence between research performance and research standards within the Information Systems discipline. As such, unless we make major changes, these differences will perpetuate a vicious cycle of increasing faculty turnover, declining influence on university affairs, and lower research productivity. We believe that we must act now to create a new future, and offer recommendations that focus on the use of more appropriate standards for promotion and tenure and ways to increase the number of articles published.

Research Standards for Promotion and Tenure in Information Systems

What constitutes excellence in information systems research for promotion and tenure? This is a question that is regularly addressed by members of promotion and tenure committees and those called upon to write external letters. While there are many elements to this question, one major element is the quality and quantity of an individual's research publications. An informal survey of senior Information Systems faculty members at 49 leading U.S. and Canadian universities found 86 percent to expect three or more articles in elite journals. In contrast, an analysis of publication performance of Ph.D. graduates between the years of 1992 and 2004 found that approximately three individuals in each graduating year of Ph.D.s (about 2 percent) published 3 or more articles in a set of 20 elite journals within 6 years of graduation. Only 15 individuals from each graduating year (11 percent) published one or more articles. As a discipline, we publish elite journal articles at a lower rate than Accounting, yet our promotion and tenure standards are higher, similar to those of Management, Marketing, and Finance. Thus, there is a growing divergence between research performance and research standards within the Information Systems discipline. As such, unless we make major changes, these differences will perpetuate a vicious cycle of increasing faculty turnover, declining influence on university affairs, and lower research productivity. We believe that we must act now to create a new future, and offer recommendations that focus on the use of more appropriate standards for promotion and tenure and ways to increase the number of articles published.