Journal of Systems and Information Technology

Lipiäinen, Heini Sisko Maarit

2015 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-06-2014-0044

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to contribute to the current discussion on digitization in companies’ marketing from a customer relationship management (CRM) perspective by examining the role and objectives of CRM and the exploitation of social media to serve the objectives of CRM in contemporary business-to-business (B2B) companies. Design/methodology/approach – The data are collected through semi-structured themed interviews with key marketing/sales managers from three B2B firms. Findings – CRM seems to be moving closer to the company’s core activity and becoming everybody’s business to a greater extent than ever before, but its main goal, to enhance customer relationships, will not necessarily change. Understanding the customer is vital and requires different functions to cooperate closely to ensure the firm has the best possible understanding of its customers. Public social media tools played almost no part in CRM, but closed social media systems might have potential in the future. Research limitations/implications – The chosen research approach limits the generalization of the results. Practical implications – It seems likely that firms will benefit from a collaborative working style over the traditional silo approaches. For B2B firms, public social media does not seems to be the most suitable source to serve CRM but private social media channels might have potential in the future. Originality/value – The lack of empirical examination of the change from company ecosystem to customer ecosystem from a CRM perspective, and the lack of research on social media for CRM in the B2B context, determines the purpose of this study. Furthermore, digitization is a rather new and unstructured phenomenon and many companies are still considering how to reconcile to it.

Blomé, Mikael

2015 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-11-2013-0061

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the preferable manner for visualizing different product regulations to be used in the training of and communication between people working at different levels in the production process. Many organizations struggle to communicate important and compulsory regulations, but the intended users are often reluctant to use them. Design/methodology/approach – The study has an action research approach, and the visualized regulations were the result of a human-centered design process that considered aspects for successful organizational change. Findings – The action research approach proved to be a successful framework to design the transformation of well-constructed illustrations in interactive guides, communicate and convince managers and users of the potential of the concept, develop a number of different well-functioning guides and establish regulations with illustrative elements and interactivity in a long-term perspective of an organization. Research limitations/implications – Further research is needed to follow-up the usage of visualized regulations to clarify how communication and quality are supported in design and production processes. Practical implications – The study shows how different product regulations should be visualized and established in an organization, with a potential for further dissemination. It is likely that the approach to design and visualize regulations in this study can function in other branches. Originality/value – The study finds a preferable manner for visualizing different product regulations to be used in the training of and communication between people working at different levels in the production process.

Campbell, Robert Hugh ; Grimshaw, Mark

2015 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-07-2014-0049

Purpose – This paper aims to expose the behaviours through which modern professional people commonly obstruct information system (IS) implementations in their workplace. Users often resist IS implementations, and it has been established that this can cause an implementation to fail. As the initial analysis of an on-going research project, this paper does not yet seek to present IS resistance as a good or a bad thing, it simply identifies and codifies forms of IS resistance. Design/methodology/approach – Inductive interviews with IS implementers threw light on 29 resisted projects across 21 organisations. Interviewees were introduced to established theories of attitude change from social and cognitive psychology then asked to reflect on their experiences of IS implementations using these theories as a lens. Findings – Although it is not claimed that all approaches by which users obstruct IS implementations are identified here, we believe that those most commonly deployed have been uncovered. It is also revealed that such behaviours result from negative user attitudes and that their impact can be significant. They can emotionally or psychologically affect system champions and can often cause implementation projects to fail. Research limitations/implications – Our method was based on an epistemic assumption that significant understanding is found in the experience and knowledge (tacit and explicit) of IS implementation experts. The paper’s contents are drawn from reflections on a combined 302 years of experience using attitude change psychology as a lens. Using this method, a range of obstructive behaviours was identified. Although it is claimed that the obstructive behaviours most commonly deployed have been unveiled, it is not probable that this list is comprehensive and could be appended to using alternative approaches. Practical implications – This paper has significant implications for stakeholders in IS implementations. It enables project risks originating from users to be better identified, and it highlights the critical role that negative user attitudes can play in an implementation. Social implications – This paper considers a common area of conflict in professional organisations, modelling its nature and effect. It also encourages system champions to consider user attitude cultivation as a critical part of any implementation project. Originality/value – The contribution of this research is twofold. In the arena of user resistance, it is the first to focus on how implementations are resisted and is accordingly the first to identify and taxonomise forms of IS resistance. A contribution is also made to an ongoing literature conversation on the role of attitude in technology acceptance. This paper is the first to focus, not on user attitudes but on how negative attitudes are manifest in behaviour.

Khan, Habibullah ; Talib, Faisal ; Faisal, Mohd. Nishat

2015 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-12-2014-0073

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and develop a hierarchical model for the barriers affecting the growth of mobile commerce (M-commerce). Based on the model developed, the authors’ objective is to identify those variables that are of strategic nature and are the root cause of the issue. Design/methodology/approach – Variables considered as barriers are identified, and utilizing the interpretive structural model approach, a relationship model is developed. Further, the impact matrix cross-reference multiplication applied to a classification approach is used to analyze the effect and dependence among these factors. Findings – The research in the area of M-commerce in the Arab world and related to the strategic aspect is limited in the extant literature. The present study tries to fill this gap by investigating the variables that inhibit the growth of M-commerce in Qatar. The research shows that there exists a group of barriers having a high driving power and low dependence requiring maximum attention and of strategic importance, while another group consists of those variables that have high dependence and are the resultant actions. Practical implications – There is a growing concern that although the numbers of mobile subscribers are increasing at a very fast pace in Qatar, actual M-commerce activities in the country remain low. The findings of this study can be used to understand the differences between the independent and dependent variables and their mutual relationships. The study would also help the policy makers to develop suitable strategies to facilitate growth of M-commerce in the country. Originality/value – This research was the first attempt to investigate the relationships among the variables inhibiting the growth of M-commerce in a fast-growing economy in a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Given that there is limited research on M-commerce in the GCC context, the study can be viewed as an investigation that provides a good understanding of the variables and their interrelationships affecting M-commerce proliferation.

Lee, Tae-Bong ; Kim, Min-Nyeon

2015 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-11-2013-0056

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze far and near field emitted field patterns through more exact calculation of the modes formed in finite periodic dielectric gratings. Design/methodology/approach – For the mode calculation, equations are newly defined by applying vertical boundary condition on the assumption that transverse electric modes are generated in the structure. After finding modes, near field patterns are calculated using the wave number and coefficient of the mode. Findings – Additionally, the results from these calculations are compared with that of the rigorous-coupled method. Finally, far field patterns are derived by applying fast Fourier transform to near field patterns and also compared with the results of rigorous-coupled method. Research limitations/implications – For convenience of coordinate, we use rectangular coordinate, though the shape of radome is a hemisphere. Practical implications – In this paper, the authors derive more exact near field patterns without the assumption of infiniteness so that these results can be used practically for a making real frequency-selective structure. Originality/value – Conventional periodic finite dielectric gratings analysis has been done using Floquet–Bloch wave theory, coupled-mode, rigorous-coupled method which is based on the assumption of infiniteness of the structure.

Jung, Eunhwa ; Hong, Kyungho

2015 Journal of Systems and Information Technology

doi: 10.1108/JSIT-03-2014-0020

Purpose – This study aims at a biometric verification based on facial profile images for mobile security. The modern technology of mobile Internet devices and smart phones such as the iPhone series and Galaxy phone series has revealed the development of information technology of input and output devices as high-definition multimedia interface. The development of information technology requires novel biometric verification for personal identification or authentication in mobile security, especially in Internet banking and mobile Internet access. Our study deals with a biometric verification based on facial profile images for mobile security. Design/methodology/approach – The product of cellphones with built-in cameras gives us the opportunity of the biometric verification to recognize faces, fingerprints and biological features without any other special devices. Our study focuses on recognizing the left and right facial profile images as well as the front facial images as a biometric verification of personal identification and authentication for mobile security, which can be captured by smart phone devices such as iPhone 4 and Galaxy S2. Findings – As the recognition technique of the facial profile images for a biometric verification in mobile security is a very simple, relatively easy to use and inexpensive, it can be easily applied to personal mobile phone identification and authentication instead of passwords, keys or other methods. The biometric system can also be used as one of multiple verification techniques for personal recognition in a multimodal biometric system. Our experimental data are taken from persons of all ages, ranging from children to senior citizens. Originality/value – As the recognition technique of the facial profile images for a biometric verification in mobile security is very simple, relatively easy to use and inexpensive, it can be easily applied to personal mobile phone identification and authentication instead of passwords, keys or other methods. The biometric system can also be used as one of multiple verification techniques for personal recognition in a multimodal biometric system. Our experimental data are taken from persons of all ages, ranging from children to senior citizens.