Amir M. Sharif

Linking knowledge transformation to information systems evaluation

The evaluation and assessment of Information Systems (IS) is rapidly becoming an important and significant topic for study as well as practice. As such, the application of appraisal frameworks within technology management scenarios in industrial organizations is vital to determining IS project success and/or failure. The information and knowledge requirements of evaluation appear to suggest that mapping benefits, risks and costs to organizational objectives and strategy should result in a clearer and more rational appraisal process. However, in doing so, it is not clear from the extant literature within the field of IS evaluation what aspects of knowledge relate to human and organizational factors in this decision-making task. Hence, in order to elucidate this issue, the authors attempt to highlight those extant components of knowledge that contribute to the overall ISE process, within a case organization. This is achieved via an analysis of case study data against the well-known knowledge transformation model proposed by Nonaka and Takeuchi. As a result of this, the authors present a model detailing these factors in the context of the IS evaluation lifecycle.

It's written in the cloud: the hype and promise of cloud computing

Purpose – This purpose of this paper is to discuss the emerging IT platform of cloud computing.Design/methodology/approach – This paper identifies where and how this has developed in terms of the collision between internet and enterprise computing paradigms – and hence why cloud computing will be driven not by computing architectures but by more fundamental ICT consumption behaviours. The approach has been based upon the discussion and recent developments of Software as a Service (SaaS) and associated ICT computing metaphors and is largely based on the contemporary discussions surrounding the impact of social, open source and configurable technology services.Findings – It is suggested that whilst cloud computing and SaaS are indeed innovations within ICT, the real innovation will come when such platforms allow new industries ways of doing business, connecting with and engaging with people to emerge.Originality/value – The paper brings together some of the recent discussions within the popular as well as b...

Information management and knowledge integration for enterprise innovation

The key trends in emerging ICT integration choices for cost‐effective, flexible knowledge integration, work‐flow‐embedded evaluation and eCRM‐driven value innovation are examined. Enterprise knowledge integration initiatives can create socio‐technical and cultural tensions as well as possible straitjacketing of business process architectures thus suppressing responsive business re‐engineering and causing loss of competitive advantage for some companies. A framework, C‐assure, is presented for optimising knowledge integration, impact analysis and evaluation to support innovation throughout the various interacting enterprise lifecycles.

Integrating ERP using EAI: a model for post hoc evaluation

In recent years there has been an increased focus on improving the capability and flexibility of organisational information systems through improving, and where necessary, re-engineering inter- and intra-organisational information flows. In doing so, many firms have realised that the cornerstone of their information systems capability is dependent upon core systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). In realising this, it has forced businesses to acknowledge the need to integrate ERP systems with existing disparate legacy systems. Technology solutions such as Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) have been seen as a panacea to facilitate integration through the use of technologies that allow corporate IS subsystems to communicate with one another. In the context of using enterprise technologies to integrate ERP with other organisational business systems, this paper analyses and extends previously published work through presenting the failure of an industrial automation business to integrate its ERP system with legacy processes when using an EAI approach. In doing so, the authors present a post hoc evaluation model that can be used by others as a frame of reference; a tool for reflection. The presented model seeks to provide further insight to the failed approach to ERP integration, within the given case study organisation. This proposed model, is constructed in terms of Technical, Organisational and Tailorability components. It is anticipated that this will be a useful tool for both practitioners and academics, who wish to gain a deeper understanding of ERP/EAI implementation approaches, as well as providing insights into how the componentisation and extension of ERP functionalities can be achieved, towards so-called ERPII.

Research Trends in Knowledge Management: Analyzing the Past and Predicting the Future

Through a meta-data analysis of the literature over a 34-year period, this article aims to provide a review and investigation into the knowledge management field in terms of how the domain is represented along a number of dimensions including unit of analysis, research paradigm employed, and the research topics/issues investigated. Information on a series of variables was extracted after conducting a review of 1,043 articles on KM, published in various peer-reviewed journals between 1974–2008. The findings suggest that a combination of positivist, empirical, conceptual/descriptive, and multi-method approaches have been predominantly used in the area. Organizational as well as systems and environmental context-based KM research were found to be the most widely published topics within the KM domain. Further, the authors identified literature gaps that require more exploration and conceptual refinement in the context of knowledge management research.

Exploring Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping for IS Evaluation

Existing IS Evaluation (ISE) techniques tend to focus on modeling individuals, teams, organization, or systems, in relation to process and environmental boundaries. Whilst such approaches are noteworthy and of merit, they do not necessarily provide insights into those causal interdependencies that are inherent within decision-making task. As has been noted by the extant literature in the field, the ISE task is dependent upon many factors the resulting outputs of which may be tangible or intangible. The implicit level of uncertainty associated with modeling such decision-making tasks and behaviors, are therefore difficult to comprehend and impart via wholly Quantitative and/or Qualitative analyses. The authors therefore present and propose supporting and on-going research into the application of Fuzzy Logic, in the guise of Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) simulations, as a means to model tangible/intangible aspects of the ISE decision-making task. Such a Fuzzy Information Systems Evaluation (F-ISE) is shown via the application of the FCM technique, in terms of three models of investment appraisal that are aligned to an ISE task within a UK manufacturing organization. In doing so, it is anticipated that such a technique may be a useful addition to the plethora of ISE techniques available to both researcher and practitioner alike.

Integrating the IS with the Enterprise: key EAI research challenges

Enterprise application integration (EAI) technologies provide the means to integrate strategic business solutions within and across the component parts of organisational information system infrastructures. The continuing development of both digitally integrated business models, through various eCommerce and eBusiness initiatives, has meant that the importance of EAI within enterprise IS, has increased significantly. Noting that EAI incurs not only technological but stakeholder‐level commitments, this paper outlines the product of a sustained investigation into key challenges within enterprise IS and EAI, and provides a framework for future research and investigation into this emerging and evolving area.

Information technology and performance management for build‐to‐order supply chains

Purpose – This paper aims to address the growth and importance of build‐to‐order (BTO) supply chains, which allow consumers and supply chain participants to select, configure, purchase and view order delivery status. The paper supports BTO as a source of critical competitive advantage to many organizations.Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses an interpretivist case study research strategy that exploits multiple research methods. It presents an overview of supply chain management (including BTO‐centric approaches) and performance management and then focuses on a case study in which an aerospace components company was attempting to become a BTO enterprise. Thenceforth, the paper analyses key business drivers of using performance management systems (PeMS), and how supply chain‐oriented organizations can best leverage IT and PeMS solutions in this regard.Findings – The case study has highlighted the need for the evaluation of PeMS implementation solutions regardless of their typology; wholly vendor‐b...

E-Government Evaluation: Reflections On Three Organisational Case Studies

The deployment of e-government continues at a significant cost and pace in the worldwide public sector. An important area of research is that of the evaluation of e-government. In this paper the authors report the findings from three interpretive in-depth organisational case studies that explore e-government evaluation within UK public sector settings. The paper elicits insights to organisational and managerial aspects with the aim of improving knowledge and understanding of e-government evaluation. The findings that are extrapolated from the analysis of the three case studies are classified and mapped onto a tentative e-government evaluation framework and presented in terms lessons learnt. These aim to inform theory and improve e-government evaluation practice. The paper concludes that e-government evaluation is an under developed area and calls for senior executives to engage more with the e-government agenda and commission e-government evaluation exercises to improve evaluation practice

Visualising a knowledge mapping of information systems investment evaluation

Information systems (IS) facilitate organisations to increase responsiveness and reduce the costs of their supply chain. This paper seeks to make a contribution through exploring and visualising knowledge mapping from the perspective of IS investment evaluation. The evaluation of IS is regarded as a challenging and complex process, which becomes even more difficult with the increased complexity of IS. The intricacy of IS evaluation, however, is due to numerous interrelated factors (e.g. costs, benefits and risks) that have human or organisational dimensions. With this in mind, there appears to be an increasing need to assess investment decision-making processes, to better understand the often far-reaching implications associated with technology adoption and interrelated knowledge components (KC). Through the identification and extrapolation of key learning issues from the literature and empirical findings, organisations can better improve their business processes and thereby their effectiveness and efficiency, while preventing others from making costly oversights that may not necessarily be only financial. In seeking to enlighten the often obscure evaluation of IS investments, this paper attempts to inductively emphasise the dissemination of knowledge and learning through the application of a fuzzy Expert System (ES) based knowledge mapping technique (i.e. Fuzzy Cognitive Map [FCM]). The rationale for exploring knowledge and IS investment evaluation is that a knowledge map will materialise for others to exploit during their specific technology evaluation. This is realised through conceptualising the explicit and tacit investment drivers. Among the several findings drawn from this research, the key resulting knowledge mapping through FCM demonstrated the complex, multifaceted and emergent behaviour of causal relationships within the knowledge area. The principal relationships and knowledge within IS investment evaluation are illustrated as being determined by a blend of managerial and user perspectives.