Journal of Systems and Information Technology

Mahmoud Mohammad Migdadi

2009 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287260910955084

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to, first, investigate the cultural attributes of organizations that may have an effect on knowledge‐related activities. Second, to build a case based on the literatures of knowledge management and learning which suggests that the phenomenon of cooperative learning may serve as an indicator of the existence of knowledge‐related activities such as knowledge creation and knowledge exchange. Finally, the paper seeks a better understanding of the linkages between these attributes and individual characteristics related to the development and transfer of knowledge throughout the enterprise, and ultimately, the organization's work products. Design/methodology/approach – The approach of this study consists of two phases: first, development of a conceptual model based on the literature. Second, the hypothesized research model is presented and empirically tested by utilizing multiple regression analysis and simple regression analysis to investigate the climate of organizations, in order to understand the linkage between a set of organizational and individual characteristics and knowledge‐related activities found in cooperative learning groups and the resulting work outcomes. Data were collected from teams of information systems (IS) knowledge workers based at the information technology centers located in Jordanian universities. In total, 152 IS professionals from 15 system development teams across 12 universities participated in this study. Findings – The survey instrument was shown to be both reliable and valid. Pertinent statistical analyses were then performed. The overall results from the empirical assessment were positive, thus reflecting the appropriateness of the proposed research model and hypotheses. Practical implications – The findings of this study have implications for both academicians and managers who are interested in better understanding the nature of knowledge creation and knowledge exchange, as well as better understanding how one might prescriptively facilitate increased levels of knowledge creation and dissemination, organizational learning, and employee performance and satisfaction. Originality/value – This study is probably one of the first to hypothesize a research model that integrates organizational climate, knowledge processes, cooperative learning and knowledge outcomes, then empirically investigate the relationships between these constructs.

Sam Ramanujan; Sridhar Nerur

2009 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287260910955093

Purpose – Resources allocated to software maintenance constitutes a major portion of the total life cycle cost of a system. The enormous effect that this can have on an organization's ability to react to dynamic environments has been the primary motivation for researchers to study issues related to software maintenance. The purpose of this paper is to take stock of the research conducted in this area in order to identify the intellectual trails embodied in the coherent body of knowledge on software maintenance. Design/methodology/approach – An author co‐citation analysis (ACA) involving authors who have made seminal contributions to the field of software maintenance was performed. The data for the study were obtained from the Science Citation Index (SCI) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Findings – The results indicate that most of the software maintenance research has focused on eight areas: Program logic characteristics, Quality of processes/metrics, Effort and productivity issues, Cognitive issues in repair maintenance, Organizational Issues: Strategies for software evolution/maintenance, Object‐oriented (OO) maintenance, Domain specific language issues and Program construction and design. Research limitations/implications – Some of the limitations of this study include: exclusion of data after 2003, giving equal weight for all citations, and implicit assumption that a relationship exists between the citing and cited documents. Practical implications – The extension of software maintenance research in the areas suggested in this study may lead to new innovations for practice. Originality/value – The paper not only introduces new methods for meta analysis, it also suggests that opportunities abound for extending the frontiers of software maintenance research, particularly in the context of contemporary software development approaches.

Nanda Surendra; James W. Denton

2009 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287260910955101

Purpose – This paper has two purposes. The first purpose is to study how groups and members of an organization use collaborative technology in accomplishing their everyday work. The second purpose is to study how interpretive researchers can use an ethnographic research approach, called the strip resolution process (SRP), to make explicit the process by which they achieve their interpretation, rather than provide just their interpretation leaving the process as a black box. Design/methodology/approach – Interpretive case study using interviews, observation, participant‐observation, and study of documents. Findings – For IS researchers, a key finding is that the SRP facilitates both an understanding of research phenomena from the members’ perspective and a means of explaining how that understanding was achieved. For IS practitioners, a key finding is that organizational work practices and reward structures should be “co‐designed” with the collaborative technology's functionalities to accomplish organizational objectives. Research limitations/implications – This study used ethnographically informed approaches, including the SRP, to collect and interpret data. However, the duration spent at the organizational site, 25 days spread over eight months, would not qualify this study as an ethnography based on the recommended duration of 12 months of sustained fieldwork. Practical implications – This study's findings have two implications for IS practice. The first implication is that practitioners planning to deploy collaborative technology in an organization should not focus primarily, or even mainly, on the technology's functionalities. Instead, they should pay most attention to the organization's work practices and reward structures. Work practices and reward structures should be “co‐designed” with the technology's functionalities to accomplish organizational objectives. The second implication is that the SRP could help close the “understanding gap” between IS practitioners and system stakeholders. Hence, a practitioner can use the SRP as a supplement to any systems development methodology for analyzing system requirements. Originality/value – The value of this paper for IS interpretive researchers is that it explains and illustrates how an ethnographic research approach called the SRP can be used by a researcher to understand research phenomena from the members’ perspective, test and validate his interpretation, and reveal how he reached his interpretation and not just provide his interpretation leaving the process of achieving it a black box. The value of this paper for IS practitioners is that it emphasizes the importance of “co‐designing” work practices and reward structures with a collaborative system's functionalities and provides them specific questions to ask, and reflect upon, before designing and deploying a collaborative system. In addition, practitioners can use the SRP as a tool to supplement any systems development methodology to help reduce the understanding gap between themselves and the system stakeholders.

Amit Mitra; Laura Campoy

2009 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287260910955110

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to stand back from the debate of success and failure and develop an interpretive account based on narratives of major actors to enable project managers with a rich understanding of a complex organisation. Design/methodology/approach – Actor network theory (ANT) was the method that was applied to both frame and sum narratives that were gathered from the six subjects along with anecdotal evidence and confidential documents used for this research. Findings – Success is based on the perception of both actors as well as the principal audience of the Commonwealth Games (CWG). Second information systems (IS) success is uniquely associated to an event like the CWG. Research limitations/implications – Most of the data used for the research was after the conclusion of the games. Therefore usefulness of interpretation may have a time dimension. Probably if the subjects had included spectators and other project managers during the games, the quality of conclusions could have been further enriched. Practical implications – Project managers of future events may be able to internalise the role of co‐ordination and agreement that is necessary among different actors to achieve success. Originality/value – Originality of present paper stems from its “unusual” identification of success – as it has attempted to outline distinctions between certainty of success and anything contrary to success. Project managers, organisers and researchers of IS projects are likely to find value in the paper in being able to appreciate the evolutionary nature of IS success.

Carlos Flavian; Raquel Gurrea; Carlos Orús

2009 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287260910955129

Purpose – Web design has been identified as a key factor for the acceptance and success of the websites and electronic commerce. The purpose of this paper is to analyse, from a marketing point of view the main aspects that could influence online users' perceptions and behaviours, in order to achieve a successful e‐commerce website. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive literature review was developed emphasising the special role that web design could play in the interaction user‐interface. Besides, the methodology related to benchmarking allows firms to know the best practices and to learn some key lessons for developing their businesses online. Findings – The literature review affirms that web design is a key factor for getting positive outcomes as it influences on users and online consumers' perceptions and behaviours. A website design addressed to simplicity and freedom of navigation provides clear, timely and accurate information in all its contents and an appearance that calls for the users' attention. Research limitations/implications – The paper offers a Decalogue of guidelines that could improve the design of the e‐commerce websites regarding the aesthetic appearance of the website, the navigation through the site, the information and contents and the characteristics of the shopping process. It could be interesting to analyse empirically the impact of all key attributes on the users' perceptions and behaviours. Originality/value – This is one of the first studies which explains how a website must be designed from the demand's perspective. The analysis of the users' perceptions and the marketing view of design could help designers to find the website that best matches their users' needs and so, to improve the relationships between users and companies through their interfaces.

Helen Cripps; Jari Salo; Craig Standing

2009 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/13287260910955138

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to describe the impediments to information technology (IT) adoption and possible solutions in the context of business relationships by drawing on case studies conducted in both Australia and Finland in the heavy manufacturing sector. Design/methodology/approach – The in depth case studies were conducted in the steel manufacturing industry in Finland and in the marine defence (shipbuilding) industry in Australia. Findings – The findings indicate that doubts about the security of shared information, missing mutual benefits, incompatibility of IT systems, inadequate IT resources, uncertainty about the future directions of the relationship, information rich working routines, i.e. face to face communication, IT deployment not being part of the industry standard and investments not justified by the relationship seems to be the most significant impediments to IT adoption in heavy manufacturing in Australia and Finland. Research limitations/implications – This paper focuses on one industry sector using case studies. Further work could be conducted in other industry sectors to determine if the same impediments arise. Practical implications – Through the cases discussed an attempt is made to identify some of the impediments to IT adoption, strategies for overcoming them and by doing so, adding to the body of marketing knowledge on business relationships. For managers this paper provides some insights to manage IT adoption in the heavy manufacturing industry. Originality/value – Across various industry sectors managers have adopted different types of IT tools to coordinate their relationships with their counterparts. However there has been little academic research in this area until recently, as the research has been focused on large firms in technology rich industry sectors. This paper broadens the discussion on IT adoption in the context of business relationships in industry sectors that have not been traditionally targeted.