Albert A. Angehrn

Designing mature internet business strategies: The ICDT model

This paper illustrates a systematic approach to the analysis and classification of business-related Internet strategies, as well as a framework to guide the strategy-building process of companies aiming at redesigning or innovating their products and services in the light of new opportunities and competitive pressures generated by the spread of the Internet. First, the paper shows that current strategies adopted by large and small companies worldwide have been generally based on a narrow, unidimensional interpretation of the Internet, as either an Information, a Communication, a Distribution or a Transaction channel (ICDT Model). The model is then used as a systematic framework guiding (1) the analysis of how traditional products and services are redesigned in the light of the Internet, and (2) the identification of organisational adjustments companies need to undergo in order to fully exploit the business opportunities created by the Internet.

Ontology-based user modeling for knowledge management systems

This paper is presenting a generic ontology-based user modeling architecture, (OntobUM), applied in the context of a Knowledge Management System (KMS). Due to their powerful knowledge representation formalism and associated inference mechanisms, ontology-based systems are emerging as a natural choice for the next generation of KMSs operating in organizational, interorganizational as well as community contexts. User models, often addressed as user profiles, have been included in KMSs mainly as simple ways of capturing the user preferences and/or competencies. We extend this view by including other characteristics of the users relevant in the KM context and we explain the reason for doing this. The proposed user modeling system relies on a user ontology, using Semantic Web technologies, based on the IMS LIP specifications, and it is integrated in an ontology-based KMS called Ontologging. We are presenting a generic framework for implicit and explicit ontology-based user modeling.

DSS research and practice in perspective

Abstract The aim of this paper is to assess the state-of-the-art in the Decision Support Systems (DSS) field from both a research and a practice perspective. Three main dimensions of DSS research and practice are addressed: 1) supporting human decision-making processes, 2) integrating DSS into the organizational context, and 3) identifying new application domains. The related analysis and discussion provides a better understanding of past developments in the DSS field and insights into future evolution patterns.

Using conversational agents to support the adoption of knowledge sharing practices

In this paper, we present an agent-based system designed to support the adoption of knowledge sharing practices within communities. The system is based on a conceptual framework that, by modelling the adoption of knowledge management practices as a change process, identifies the pedagogical strategies best suited to support users through the various stages of the adoption process. Learning knowledge management practices is seen as a continuous process, taking place at individual and social level that includes the acquisition of information, as well as the contextual use of the information acquired. The resulting community-based system provides each member of the community with an artificial personal change-management agent capable of guiding users in the acquisition and adoption of new knowledge sharing practices by activating personalised and contextualised intervention. q 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding organizational dynamics of IT-enabled change: a multimedia simulation approach

Successful implementation of IT-enabled change requires good management of the change process and of the various sources of resistance that typically accompany the introduction of such change. As a result, helping managers better understand the dynamics of organizational processes is an important objective for IS and IT educators. The EIS Simulation is a new computer-based multimedia simulation that allows managers to experience the process of introducing an EIS in a fictitious organization. It has been used extensively over the last two years with groups of management students and executives. The paper presents the simulation and discusses its potential pedagogical benefits, possible extensions, and use in a research context. More generally, the EIS Simulation provides a first step in the development of a new generation of pedagogical tools: computer-based organizational games exploiting the potential of multimedia and object-oriented technology to provide managers with realistic experiential learning environments.

Developing mature Internet strategies : Insights from the banking sector

Although the banking industry plays a central role in the world economy and has traditionally been an innovative user of information technology, banks are struggling to develop mature Internet strategies. A model used to analyze the type of Internet activities among a sample of banks as well as their level of sophistication and customization is useful not only for revealing unexploited opportunities in the banking sector but also for guiding the strategy-building process of organizations in other industries.

Modeling by example: A link between users, models and methods in DSS

Abstract The integration of complex problem-solving techniques into human decision-making processes is a difficult task due to the formal, structural know-how necessary for the correct application of these analytical methods. Modeling by Example (MbE) — a methodology based on interpretative computer intelligence — overcomes this hurdle by permitting decision-makers to access the knowledge stored in Decision Support Systems (DSS) via a dynamic exchange of examples. This paper discusses and illustrates the two basic components underlying the realization of MbE, i.e. (i) the design of interactive modeling environments allowing individual problem structuring and exploration, and (ii) the development of a knowledge-based system component supporting and stimulating decision-makers to identify and apply the problem-solving techniques made available by the DSS.

Case-based decision support

Decision support systems (DSS) are interactive, computer-based systems helping decision-makers (individuals and/or groups) to solve various semi-structured and unstructured problems involving multiple attributes, objectives, and goals. The majority o f DSS today are either computer implementations of mathematical models (e.g. optimization algorithms) or extensions of database systems and traditional management information systems. More recently, researchers [1, 2, 12] have argued that the role of DDSs should not be limited to “imposing relatively simple and rigid mathematical (or formal) artifacts on the rich, natural, se lforganizing, and knowledge-producing processes of individual and social decision making” [12]. They have proposed that research in DSS should focus on defining “flexible environments in which learning about a decision situation can take place [1],” i.e. support decision makers (DMs) in recursively redefining their problems and updating their aspirations, until a form of stability (cognitive equilibrium [12]) is obtained. Such an emphasis on learning has led to a different type of “learning-oriented” DSS [1, 2, 12] to support DMs in incrementally exploring a decision situation and in reaching a cognitive equilibrium while avoiding typical decision-making biases observable in practice.

Integrating Case-Based Reasoning in Multi-Criteria Decision Support Systems

Abstract An important focus in current research on decision support systems (DSS) is the design of flexible environments to facilitate and support learning about the problem domain by the user. This research uses case-based reasoning to present a symbiotic DSS in which both the user and the DSS learn from each other. The user learns from the DSS (from stored prior problem solutions) and the system learns from the user (by observing current problem solving behaviors). The specific context of our research is the class of DSS used for supporting multi-criteria decision making (MCDM). Our ideas are being implemented in a prototype extension of the Triple C [2] MCDSS.

Designing effective collaboration, learning and innovation systems for education professionals

Angehrn, A. A., Maxwell, K., Luccini, A. M., & Rajola, F. (2009). Designing Effective Collaboration, Learning and Innovation Systems for Education Professionals. International Journal of Knowledge and Learning (IJKL), 5(3).