Senior IT Research Articles

The influence of IT outsourcing on organisational success and innovation

This study investigates the domain of IT outsourcing (ITO), focusing on its implications for organisational success or failure, and its impact on innovation. Through a comprehensive literature review, significant gaps were identified, including a lack of empirical studies assessing ITO outcomes for organisations, how ITO impacts innovation, and if an organisation’s industry impacts ITO success. In response, three research questions are formulated to address the identified gaps, leading to the creation of a novel conceptual model designed to evaluate the influence of ITO on organisations. Employing a deductive approach, the model informed a triangulation research approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data. A survey garnered responses from 112 senior IT professionals across three industries, complemented by eight interviews with senior and executive management. Findings indicate a concerning rate of perceived ITO failures and reveal that the specific industry of an organisation can affect ITO success. The study also concludes that ITO adversely impacts organisational innovation. Based on these insights, eight best practices are recommended to enhance ITO outcomes, including market research on vendor skillsets and experience, the establishment of well-structured contracts, adherence to SLAs without grace periods, shorter project durations, multi-sourcing strategies, bolstering internal IT capabilities, helping employees to understand ITO value, and rigorous governance. Acknowledging its limitations, this paper calls for future research involving broader industry representation and larger sample sizes to validate and expand upon these findings.

The influence of business analytics on supply chain ambidexterity: the mediating role of market learning

Purpose The main purpose of this study is to assess the influence of business analytics (BA) on supply chain ambidexterity (SCA) and market learning (ML) in the context of Iran as a developing country. Design/methodology/approach The study population encompasses a range of key positions such as senior managers, supply chain managers, senior IT managers and senior marketing and marketing research managers in Iran. Through a survey, a questionnaire was designed to gather data from these individuals. The data collected from a total of 214 participants underwent rigorous analysis using structural equation modeling. Findings Findings revealed BA has a positive influence on SCA and ML. Furthermore, the study found that distinct facets of ML, namely, exploratory and exploitative learning, exerted a positive influence on SCA. Additionally, the investigation uncovered that the mechanisms of exploratory ML and exploitative ML play a partially mediating role in the relationship between BA and SCA. Research limitations/implications It is prudent to acknowledge that the study’s sampled entities were exclusively Iranian companies, potentially curtailing the extent of generalizability of our findings. Originality/value This research contributes valuable theoretical insights and practical implications to policymakers and top managers of organizations, particularly the surveyed organizations to formulate and implement an appropriate strategy to avail of BA techniques toward enhancing SCA. Also, this study provides significant insights into the determinants of SCA and demonstrates how organizations can leverage data analytics and ML to attain sustained growth and ambidexterity within the supply chain context.

Digitalisation and Change in the Management of IT

As digitalisation sweeps through industries, companies are having to deal with the resultant changes in business models, core processes and organisational structures. This includes the reassessment of the role of the IT department, traditionally the guardians of technology standards and providers of corporate systems and infrastructure, and their ongoing maintenance. This article investigates this dynamic in two research studies. Study 1 focuses on the German automotive industry and adopts a qualitative inductive approach based on interviews with IT practitioners to ascertain the key aspects of digitalisation impacting the industry and to chart the emergence of a new model for the management of IT. Study 2 then reviews the deployment of digital technologies in other industry sectors via questionnaire responses from senior IT professionals in eight organisations. The results suggest that the transfer of IT roles and responsibilities to business functions, evident in the German automotive industry, is being replicated in other organisations in which digital technologies are now embedded in an organisation’s products or services. This article concludes with a model for cross-referencing the role of the IT function with the impact of digital technologies, representing a contribution to the growing literature on digital technology deployment in organisations.

Navigating the Global IV Contrast Shortage: The Experience of a Comprehensive Cancer Center

In March 2022, a COVID-19 associated lockdown at an intravenous (IV) contrast production facility resulted in global shortages. We report our experience as a comprehensive cancer center navigating the IV contrast shortage through the development of an IV contrast triage team. A triage prioritization system was established to serve as a guideline for ordering clinicians to reduce contrast use (Table 1). The triage team reviewed all requests and made final determination based on patient history, treatment plan, prior imaging, possible alternative modalities, and competing requests. Our institution performed a median of 194 CT studies per day. Contrast utilization as a percentage of all CTs ordered was approximately 80% prior to the shortage, nadired at 9% during peak shortage, and has since returned to pre-shortage levels. While most requests for contrast were changed to non-contrast by the ordering clinician, 132 requests were reviewed by the triage team. Fifty studies (38%) were approved by the team for contrast administration, 56 (42%) were recommended to be performed without contrast, 15 (11%) for a change in modality, and 11 (8%) were felt suitable for delay. There was overall general concordance between the recommendations of the triage team and studies conducted without significant distributional differences (χ2 = 4.004, two-tailed p = 0.2610). We did not note any instances of patient harm associated with the lack of contrast or from the utilization of an alternative imaging modality. The concept of resilience involves the development of system-based practices that allow for sustained operations during periods of sudden change, or loss of critical supplies. The effort to optimally allocate limited supply of contrast was an extensive effort across the organization including from senior leadership, IT, radiology, nursing, physicians, and APPs. Defaulting to an automatic cancelation of contrast requests, followed by review from an interdisciplinary triage team was effective in safely reducing contrast utilization. Decisions made by the team appeared to be sound without any known patient harm.

IT Alignment and Performance: A Study in UAE Higher Education Institutions

Purpose: This study investigates the impact of IT alignment on institutional performance in United Arab Emirates (UAE) higher education institutions. Moreover, the study adopts a theoretical framework of IT alignment in education, encompassing IT governance, IT competence, IT communications, IT partnership, IT scope, and architecture, as well as IT skills, in an effort to explore the aforementioned components’ impact on the performance of higher education institutions, in particular Zaid University.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: Using a cross-sectional approach, data are gathered from 310 Zaid University employees through a questionnaire strategy and analyzed using partial least squares under structural equation modeling to explore the relationships among IT alignment components, IT flexibility, and institutional performance.
 Findings: The study reveals a significant positive effect of IT alignment, while IT flexibility moderates the relationship between IT alignment components and institutional performance.
 Research, Practical & Social Implications: This study contributes to IT literature, by highlighting the role of IT in enhancing institutional performance, emphasizing the importance of IT governance and competence at the senior management level. It offers practical and social implications for leveraging IT to improve the quality of education and work efficiency.
 Originality/Value: This study advances the understanding of IT alignment in education, showcasing its positive impact on institutional performance and the interplay between senior management IT competency and IT-business alignment. Additionally, it enriches the existing body of knowledge on IT governance through empirical insights garnered from practical investigations.

Navigating the global IV contrast shortage: The experience of a comprehensive cancer center

Purpose/objective(s)In March 2022, a COVID-19 associated lockdown at an intravenous (IV) contrast production facility resulted in global shortages. We report our experience as a comprehensive cancer center navigating the IV contrast shortage. MethodsA triage prioritization system was developed to serve as a guideline for ordering clinicians to reduce contrast use. The triage team reviewed all requests and made final determination based on patient history, treatment plan, prior imaging, possible alternative modalities, and competing requests. ResultsOur institution performed a median of 194 CT studies per day. Contrast utilization as a percentage of all CTs ordered was approximately 80% prior to the shortage, nadired at 9% during peak shortage, and has since returned to pre-shortage levels. Over the study period, 132 requests were reviewed. Fifty studies (38%) were approved by the team for contrast administration, 56 (42%) were recommended to be performed without contrast, 15 (11%) for a change in modality, and 11 (8%) were felt suitable for delay. There was overall general concordance between the recommendations of the triage team and studies conducted without significant distributional differences (χ2 = 4.004, two-tailed p = 0.2610). ConclusionThe concept of resilience involves the development of system-based practices that allow for sustained operations during periods of sudden change, or loss of critical supplies. The effort to optimally allocate limited supply of contrast was an extensive effort across the organization including from senior leadership, IT, radiology, nursing, physicians, and APPs. Concepts from heuristics and behavioral science can aid the conservation of a scarce resource. Decisions made by the team appeared to be sound without any known patient harm associated with a lack of contrast.

Exploring External Stakeholder Engagement Strategies and their Impact on Project Success

In the past few years, it can be observed that business norms and practices have changed and the market has now a wide circle of stakeholders as compared to past eras. The main purpose of the current study is to explore the impact of ESE strategies on project success in the IT industry (Information Technology) of Pakistan. The study is based on mixed methods. In the first phase, an in-depth Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was performed. In the next phase, face-to-face & virtual interviews were conducted with senior IT leads to develop various themes. Moreover, a word cloud and frequency chart was extracted using NVivo 12 to strengthen the argument. The findings show that there is a strong relationship between stakeholder engagement and project success in the IT industry. Likewise, the findings of the study suggest that a successful Strategy for External Stakeholder Engagement (SESE) is possible by using a collaborative and participatory approach. The study provides greater insights into the engagement of external stakeholders. Moreover, the study recommends exploring new means of communication that remain helpful in engaging stakeholders and should be aligned with the local and organizational culture.

Big data analytics implementation issues: A case study of a large bank in Malaysia

This case study discusses the concept of big data analytics, which involves managing and analyzing large, complex data to discover patterns and insights. Implementing big data analytics has many benefits, such as improving decision-making processes, enhancing accounting processes and compliance, boosting marketing campaigns, and providing better credit risk assessment procedures. This case study aims for the student to understand the challenges of big data analytics implementation in a Malaysian commercial bank. Students take on the role of a Senior IT Manager who needs to consider solutions to the implementation problems. Although the team proposed using cloud-based services as a solution to these issues, the CEO expressed concerns about security risks and requested other alternative solutions. The team has also been requested to come up with solutions to the data quality issues experienced by the case study bank.

The role of enterprise architecture-driven dynamic capabilities and operational digital ambidexterity in driving business value under the COVID-19 shock

This article builds upon the dynamic capabilities view and argues that firms that developed their dynamic capabilities using enterprise architecture (EA) are better equipped to cope with the COVID-19 shock. An online survey collected data from 414 senior practitioners, business and IT managers, and executives. The study’s research model containing three hypotheses was assessed by applying Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM), PLS-SEM. Outcomes point out that dynamic capabilities driven by EA enhance the firm’s digital dynamic capability and, therefore, the competencies to manage digital technologies. This capability subsequently enhances the firms' operational digital ambidexterity. Also, outcomes show that operational digital ambidexterity significantly impacts business value. This study advances our knowledge and insights on developing EA-driven dynamic capabilities under COVID-19 and unfolds key areas where decision-makers should invest in enhancing business value.

Adoption of Blockchain Technology: Exploring the Factors Affecting Organizational Decision

Blockchain (BCT) is an emerging technology that promises many benefits for organizations, for instance, disintermediation, data security, data transparency, a single version of the truth, and trust among trading partners. Despite its multiple benefits, the adoption rate of BCT among organizations has not reached a significantly high level worldwide, thus requiring further research in this space. The present study addresses this issue in the Australian context. There is a knowledge gap in what specific factors, among the plethora of factors reported in the extant literature, affect the organizational adoption of BCT in Australia. To fill this gap, the study uses the qualitative interpretative research approach along with the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework as a theoretical lens. The data was mainly drawn from the literature review and semi-structured interviews of the decision-makers and senior IT people from the BCT adopter and potential adopter organizations in Australia. According to the findings, perceived information transparency, perceived risks, organization innovativeness, organization learning capability, standards uncertainty, and competition intensity influence organizational adoption of BCT in Australia. These factors are exclusively identified in this study. The study also validates the influence of perceived benefits and perceived compatibility on BCT adoption that are reported in the past studies. Practically, these findings are helpful for the Australian government and public and private organizations to develop better policies and make informed decisions for the organizational adoption of BCT. The findings would guide decision-makers to think about the adoption of BCT strategically. The study also has theoretical implications explained in the discussion section.

Adoption of Cloud Services in Central Banks: Hindering Factors and the Recommendations for Way Forward

Abstract Current research on cloud computing often focuses on the technology itself and the benefits that one company can use and choose from cloud services. Most of the research has focused on mainstream enterprises and limited regard to Central Banks’ (CBs’) Cloud Computing Adoption (CCA). CBs are continually exploring opportunities to enhance IT efficacy while minimizing expenditures and ensuring data protection and network security. This paper investigates the factors affecting the CBs’ CCA by surveying 40 CBs representing approximately 25% of total CBs worldwide. The main participants were senior IT managers who are responsible for any IT decisions in CBs. The findings are also significant for other organizations or businesses where data privacy is crucial. The study results indicate that CBs are still reluctant to migrate to the public cloud. Influential factors preventing CCA are data protection, privacy, and risks.

Investigation of Senior IT Management Skills Using COBIT Enablers and Social Media Platform

Digitalization leads to increasing complexity and tight coupling of business processes. This increases the risk of "natural accidents". An answer to this proneness is a holistic mindfulness culture. The mindfulness dimension requires a holistic approach because it includes multiple aspects. This mindfulness should be reflected in the self-assessment of a company's employees. It is attempted to clarify whether social media allows an insight into how self-proclaimed qualifications are distributed in current enterprises. Social networks are particularly suitable because the members try to reflect the perceived demands of the companies while the characteristics presented are "quality assured" by connected members. More than 3500 profiles of senior IT managers were examined on the social network XING. COBIT has been used for categorization as a proven holistic approach for IT governance and structuring tool. The study shows that executives can be primarily categorized as generalists or specialists, both embracing a holistic perception, and therefore social media is suitable for general studies of qualifications in a business environment. Doi: 10.28991/HEF-2022-03-01-05 Full Text: PDF

An empirical assessment of enterprise information systems success in a developing country: the Jordanian experience

PurposeThe paper discusses the assessment of enterprise information systems (EIS) success in an organizational context is one area that is not sufficiently researched. This lack of theoretical attention prompted the authors to measure EIS success in the organizational setting of Jordanian listed firms.Design/methodology/approachBased on the DeLone and McLean success model and by adopting a quantitative approach, survey data were collected through questionnaires. The established questionnaires were distributed to 250 senior IT executives who use EIS and a total of 134 valid questionnaires were empirically tested via the Smart-PLS technique.FindingsThe investigation findings indicate that information and system quality had a positive impact on user satisfaction and individual impact. User satisfaction had a positive influence on individual impact, both of which eventually lead to organizational impact. The results also showed that the model used has adequate convergent and discriminant validities, as well as sufficient reliability.Practical implicationsThe outcomes can help managers and practitioners more effectively understand the factors influencing EIS success among Jordanian listed firms.Originality/valueThis research paper is the very first in assessing EIS success from an organizational perspective in developing country such as Jordan.

Determinants of analytics-based managerial decisionmaking

This study investigates how managerial decision-making is influenced by Big Data analytics, analysts’ interaction skills and quantitative skills of senior and middle managers. The results of a cross-sectional survey of senior IT managers reveal that Big Data analytics (BDA) creates an incentive for managers to base more of their decisions on analytic insights. However, we also find that interaction skills of analysts and – even more so – managers’ quantitative skills are stronger drivers of analytics-based decision-making. Finally, our analysis reveals that, contrary to mainstream perceptions, managers in smaller organizations are more capable in terms of quantitative skills, and they are significantly more likely to base their decisions on analytics than managers in large organizations. Considering the important role of managers’ quantitative skills in leveraging analytic decision support, our findings suggest that smaller firms may owe some of their analytic advantages to the fact that they have managers who are closer to their analysts – and analytics more generally.

IT Governance mechanism and IT-enabled dynamic capabilities drives firm performance: An empirical study in Sri Lanka

Despite the growing amount of IT investment, IT governance decisions have ever more become complicated due to vague cost relationships, uncertain payoffs, rapid technological changes, and uncertain business environments. This study examines how IT governance mechanism and IT-enabled dynamic capabilities (ITDC) impact on firm performance in the turbulent environment. Drawing on the resource-based theory and dynamic capability theory this study conceptualizes that IT governance mechanism positively effect ITDC, that in turn positively impact on business process agility and firm innovative capability to achieve firm performance. Further, the moderating effect of turbulent environment is hypothesized between ITDC - business process agility and ITDC - firm innovative capability relationship. The finding from 188 senior IT and business manager's responses from Sri Lanka reveals the strong and positive relationship in the hypothesized relationship. In contrary to the expectation, the turbulent environment's both hypotheses (H6a and H6b) failed to show a significant moderating effect. This study proposes the theoretical and practical implications by empirically testing the proposed model in the Sri Lankan context. This study adds to the existing literature and extends the managerial practice by focusing on the key constructs such as IT governance mechanism, ITDC, Turbulent environment, and firm performance

The role of big data analytics capabilities in bolstering supply chain resilience and firm performance: a dynamic capability view

PurposeBig data analytics capability (BDAC) can affect firm performance in several ways. The purpose of this paper is to understand how BDA capabilities affect firm performance through supply chain resilience in the presence of the risk management culture.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a cross-sectional approach to collect survey-based responses to examine the hypotheses. 167 responses were collected and analyzed using partial least squares in SmartPLS3. The respondents were generally senior IT executives with education and experience in data and business analytics.FindingsThe results show that BDA capabilities increase supply chain resilience as a mediator by enhancing innovative capabilities and information quality, ultimately leading to improved firm performance. In addition, the relationship between supply chain resilience and firm performance is influenced by risk management culture as a moderator.Originality/valueThe present study contributes to the relevant literature by demonstrating the mediating role of supply chain resilience between the BDA capabilities relationship and firm performance. In this context, some theoretical and managerial implications are proposed and discussed.

Factors affecting e‐government adoption in Liberia: A practitioner perspective

AbstractGlobally, e‐government implementation is growing, including in sub‐Saharan Africa, evidenced by the frequently reported benefits of e‐government programs in developed countries. The government of Liberia is pursuing an e‐government agenda to improve governance through the effective and efficient use of technology in the public sector. Liberia, one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world is bedeviled by over 10 years of civil war and most recently an Ebola virus outbreak which created severe human capacity gaps. The government has realized that in order to accelerate development and enhance its peoples' livelihood, it must integrate technology into its public administration procedures. However, the implementation of e‐government in Liberia has had mixed success. The objective of this research is to identify critical factors affecting the implementation of e‐government in Liberia. To achieve this aim, a reflective practitioner approach is employed as a lens to collect and guide the analysis of qualitative data. The data are collected through focus group discussion with senior IT practitioners (CIOs) of Liberia who are leading the delivery of e‐initiatives in Liberia. The factors identified are intended to guide how e‐government initiatives are implemented in Liberia. This research contributes to raising awareness about Liberia's e‐government program.

IT strategy and business strategy mediate the effect of managing IT on firm performance: empirical analysis

PurposeThe multifaceted effect of IT in organizations has been widely examined. However, the intervening role of IT strategy and business strategy on the effect of managing IT on firm performance remains less strong. This study examines how managing information technology (MIT) effects on firm performance by looking at the mediating role of IT strategy and business strategy.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the resource-based view of IT and contingency perspective, theoretical insights for managing IT and the mediating effect of IT strategy and business strategy on firm performance are established. The model is empirically tested by using hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling for the data collected through the survey of 194 senior IT and business managers in China.FindingsThe significant and impactful relationship found in the model for the proposed idea. The results show that both IT strategy and business strategy partially mediate the effect of managing IT on firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings highlight that managing IT does not merely influence better firm performance; instead, the coherent amalgamation of IT strategy and business strategy can enrich firm performance. The theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.Originality/valueIn line with the call for rigorous research to integrate the managing IT and firm strategies, this study demonstrates the mediating role of business strategy and IT strategy between the managing IT and the firm performance relationship, hence contributing to the IS research literature.

Outsourcing success in the eye of the beholder: Examining the impact of expectation confirmation theory on IT outsourcing

Expectations have been found to exert a significant impact on client satisfaction in outsourcing projects and have been utilized to understand how individuals accumulate experiences and develop beliefs. In this study, we examine the impact of expectations on IT outsourcing success. Although extant studies identify multiple potential expectations, the expectations construct is often viewed as unidimensional with expectations examined at a general level. Furthermore, our multidisciplinary literature review indicates a gap in the literature regarding which expectations to employ. We therefore draw upon the Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT) to determine a parsimonious set of expectations that combine to influence outsourcing success. Through an international survey of chief information officers (CIOs) and other senior IT outsourcing practitioners, we demonstrate the impact of expectations on IT outsourcing success. Moreover, we evidence that the should, minimally acceptable, and intolerable expectations can be used to predict outsourcing success. This study contributes to the outsourcing literature, specifically, and the multidisciplinary ECT literature, generally, by evaluating the multi-faceted nature of expectations. The results have practical implications for clients and vendors engaged in IT outsourcing and those who engage in expectation management.

Information security management in SMEs: factors of success

While the consecutive metamorphoses in the world economy changes the paradigm of doing business, the sources of success of almost every type of business transfer from tangible to intangible assets, and the information and its value becomes more and more significant, especially in the segment of small and medium sized enterprises. The aim of this paper was to identify the factors of success of information security management in segment of SMEs in Slovakia. Based on the literature research we identified 4 main factors of success of information security management, including the Compliance of information security management with the company's business activities, Support of top management, Security controls and Organizational awareness. To identify the importance and interconnections of the specified factors we have addressed senior IT security experts from SMEs in Slovakia. The experts evaluated the significance and relationships the factors of success of information security management and the results of the expert evaluation were processed using the DEMATEL technique. The results of the research show that the Security Controls and Supportive top management are the most important factors in general, while the factor of organizational awareness is the most obvious and important in the short-term period. Our results imply that SMEs should promote organizational awareness in information security management in line with implementation of the security controls at the first line of the defense.