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- Erixon, Cecilia
(författare)
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Information System Providers and Business Relationships : A Study on the Impact of Connections
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Information systems are integrated in the daily business of companies, to support the exchanges with its counterparts. To manage these information systems, companies often turn to third parties: information system providers (IS-providers). IS-providers have competences that the companies become dependent on and they are therefore important for maintaining the company’s business performance. The companies develop dependencies on their information systems and thereby also on their IS-providers. This thesis studies the connection between a company’s relationships with IS-providers and its other business relationships.A single case study of how a focal company’s IS-providers impact the company’s customer relationships is conducted. The applied analytical framework combines an information system’s perspective and a business relationship perspective. The analytical level is guided by the concept of connection, which has its origin in the business relationship perspective. The information system’s perspective illustrates the characteristics of the information systems that the IS-providers manage. The business relationship perspective studies each business relationship as unique, originating in different exchanges and behaviour.The single case study involves five customer relationships and four IS-provider relationships, creating twenty within-cases. The results show that IS-providers impact differently on the business relationships of companies. The impact on companies is contingent on the information exchanges with the IS-providers, which integrate the information systems in their customer business relationships. The impact is explained by the strength of the connection and the degree of continuity of the connection. The strength of the connection depends on how the information system is used and which of the IS-providers are connected. The impact from one IS-provider can be described as a homogenous impact on all the connected business relationships. However, different IS-providers have different types of impacts, meaning that when a company has several IS-providers, the impact is heterogeneous. The study shows that the impact is most commonly positive.The thesis is of interest for researchers who wish to understand the interconnectedness between business relationships, and of value for business professionals, who wish to increase their understanding of the complex situation of using IS-providers for management of their information systems and the impact they have on their other business relationships.
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| 2. |
- Karlsudd, Peter
(författare)
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SUPPORT FOR LEARNING - POSSIBILITIES AND OBSTACLES IN LEARNING APPLICATIONS
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this thesis an overarching analysis is made of four articles published in refereed international journals. The articles are describing the development and implementation of learning support systems/learning support applications. The text which summarizes and retrospectively analyzes the projects described in the articles has been condensed into yet another article, which has been placed at the end of the thesis. This makes a total of five articles. In the analysis that is made of learning support applications the following questions are in focus: What results have the projects achieved and how have the experiences gained been utilized? What factors in the described projects have facilitated or hindered the idea, vision, design and implementation of the learning support systems? How have university intentions of supporting entrepreneurship and the commercialization of ideas and products benefited the projects? The results show that there are a great many similarities in the ideas and visions that have initiated and affected the learning support work. Improved communication and availability are expected from all the applications, as well as coordination, creating order and an overarching view. In spite of a large number of positive users, it has been difficult for the applications described to become integrated into the organizations. One possible reason for this is the bad anchoring of the projects in the management organization. Further, there was a lack of funding in the final phases of the projects, which considerably reduced the chances of establishing and continuing operating them. In the gap arising between the end of the implementation phase and the possible application for and granting of new funding, the project dies out of itself. One way of reversing this trend is to grant means for continued work and to get the organization and administration to upgrade the value of a learning application that has become established in the organization.
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| 3. |
- Aidemark, Jan
(författare)
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Strategic Planning of Knowledge Management Systems : A Problem Exploration Approach
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Knowledge management (KM) is focused on the problems and opportunities of using organizational knowledge as a resource. Information systems that are used to support KM processes are called knowledge management systems (KMS). A KMS is distinguished from any information system by the organizational processes that it supports, that is, creation, capture, storage and dissemination of competences and knowledge. The research area can be summarized as: “Perspectives and frameworks for the strategic planning of knowledge management systems, i.e. information systems for the support of organizational knowledge processes”. We approach the problem area from a strategic point of view, assuming that the problems of the area are based on a socio-technical dimension and that a multiple-paradigm approach is necessary for dealing with the problems of the various KM areas. The research strategy applied to achieve this is interpretative case studies. A number of case studies are used for exploring KM planning areas, developing frameworks for planning and testing the resulting approach. The empirical material consists of three main case studies, together with a number of secondary cases by other writers in the KM field. The outcome of the research is a planning approach, which is given the name: “The problem exploration approach”. The approach is intended for the generation of ideas of possible systems, as a strategic part of knowledge management systems planning. The purpose of the planning approach is to support the creation of a portfolio of KMS. A KMS portfolio is a structured set of information systems that could be developed for an organizational unit. The approach consists of five planning frameworks, all targeting different aspects of an organization. “The problem exploration approach” and its development process are then examined for more general insights into the subject of strategic KM planning. As an outcome of this examination a 12-point program for balancing a planning approach is presented.
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| 4. |
- Sjöqvist, Eva, 1952-
(författare)
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Electronic Mail and its Possible Negative Aspects in Organizational Contexts
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Electronic mail has become the medium of choice in most organizations because of some of its special features. E-mail, like all computer-mediated communication, changes the way we interact and has therefore an impact on working conditions, sometimes in a negative direction. Research findings so far show divergent opinions about how e-mail has influenced work. The main purpose of this thesis is to understand and explain if and why there are possible negative outcomes of e-mail usage in organizations, and to use the findings to develop a guiding model for organizational e-mail use. In order to meet the goals set, earlier research in the area Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) that focus on the effects on the social system was used. This research is mainly based on theories of media choice and communication theories, which offer a valuable contribution for understanding why e-mail might be used in improper ways in organizations. Empirical data was collected in several steps using different techniques. The target group was managers in different kinds of organizations, but also administrative staff and teachers. The result shows that there are several reasons why e-mail usage might be a problem in organizations like expectations of fast feedback and being constantly updated, post absence backlog, too much information in e-mail, too many incoming e-mails, irrelevant information, decreased personal contact, a more sedentary work environment and e-mail splitting the respondents' time.The contribution of this thesis is that possible negative aspects of e-mail use in organizations are due to a combination of factors. To overcome any organizational disadvantages of e-mail it is vital to consider the e-mail users' behaviors, feelings and attitudes in a specific organizational context in combination with e-mail's special features. A number of guidelines are presented to help organizations and individuals make e-mail use more efficient and satisfying.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Granebring, Annika, 1959-
(författare)
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SERVICE-ORIENTED ARCHITECTURE : AN INNOVATION PROCESS PERSPECTIVE
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In traditional information systems for the grocery retail trade, the different parts are strongly dependent of each other. Should one function change, the whole system must be rebuilt which is expensive and time consuming. The result is that many necessary process improvements are never done. Case company, a Nordic retail software vendor, in 2004 summarized what they regarded as a ‘cul-de-sac’. Building distributed store systems in which the same data appears in several places, creates a complexity which increases with new functions and which eventually becomes obstructive.The aim of this thesis is to attain a deeper understanding of service-oriented architecture (SOA) in order to increase and maintain personal treatment of the customers, while fulfilling business demands of changes and integration in enterprise systems. The aim is operationalised by one overall research question and seven sub-research questions.To answer the research questions, a longitudinal case study and a survey study were performed. Innovation theory is applied to the SOA adoption process.This thesis is composed of a series of seven articles, through different perspectives, with an innovation diffusion approach. The first offers lessons learned by a retail software provider and the role of the customer. The second article states SOA is to be a driver for personalization, i.e. different customers are treated differently. The third is about SOA being a driver for distributed decision support. The fourth describes a study on how to measure the effects certified solution architects have on business. The fifth article deals with enterprise architecture frameworks in practice. The sixth is mainly a literary study describing SOA maturity models. The sevenths article is devoted to a review of why the case company chose SOA as a foundation for their new generation of retail systems. SOA must show compatibility with existing mission critical systems, or the adoption may be blocked. Reinvention of the architectural framework eases SOA adoption.Implications for practice, is discussed, outlining, both, the great risks and the great opportunities. This thesis states that business driven SOA helps to manage full business processes and permit access to in-house and external systems.
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| 7. |
- Magnusson, Monika, 1965-
(författare)
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Adoption av elektronisk handel : Innehåll, kontext, process och samspelet mellan dessa
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- E-commerce is far more common in large firms than in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As a result SMEs risk competitive disadvantages. A growing body of research has attended to this problem but few studies examine the adoption of e-commerce from a broader contextual perspective. To be able to understand SMEs’ adoption of e-commerce it is desirable to study their contextual preconditions, approaches and effects.The purpose of this study is to contribute to the theory building in the e-commerce area by forming a conceptual framework over SMEs’ adoption of e-commerce: the ECA (Electronic Commerce Adoption) framework. A central starting point for the study is Pettigrew’s (1985) contextual framework for strategic changes. The analysis dimensions in Pettigrew’s framework − content, context and process − are adapted to adoption of e-commerce. Thus, the ECA framework consists of analysis models that focus on a) the content, b) the context and c) the process of e-commerce adoption in SMEs. Further, the ECA framework includes an analysis model over the interplay between content, context and process and a typology over adoption situations. The SME in its role as a supplier is the unit of analysis. The study uses an abductive approach where results from previous studies in areas such as e-commerce, information systems and decision making are used as sources for forming the ECA framework. The ECA framework is then applied to the collection, interpretation and analyze of empirical data from the case studies of two small and one medium-sized enterprise. The case studies lead to the identification of additional elements that are added to the analysis models.One contribution from the study is the typology over adoption situations. The typology, which builds on studies of Junghagen (1998) and Engsbo et al. (2001), divides the adoption of e-commerce in SMEs into five categories of adoption situations: proactive adoption situations, adaptive adoption situations, pragmatic adoption situations, forced adoption situations and enabled adoption situations. An adoption situation describes what is being adopted (content), why (context) and how (process).Another contribution is the so called adoption guides. These are contextual conditions whose states indicate if a SME will adopt e-commerce or not and if so, which adoption situation they are likely to find themselves in. The adoption guides are: the relative dependence on individual customers, the degree of customer pressure, the strategic needs of e-commerce, the information complexity and, the CEO’s extent of aversion towards risk-taking. Consequently two major conclusions from this study are that SMEs’ e-commerce adoption can be divided into five different adoption situations and a small number of contextual conditions – here called adoption guides – determine which of them a SME tend to go through. The typology enables organizations that educate SMEs or support their development of e-commerce to design their efforts more efficiently and researchers to diversify the studied population. As the study is theory building the contributions and conclusions are propositions that need to be tested empirically in future studies.
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