Brian D. Janz

Key issues in information systems management: 1994–95 SIM Delphi results

Over the past 15 years, the Society for Information Management (SIM) has periodically 1 Sirkka Jarvenpaa was the accepting senior editor for this paper. 2 Dr. Wetherbe is also FedEx Professor of Excellence at the University of Memphis. surveyed its members to determine the most critical issues in IS management. Again in 1994-95, SIM institutional and board members were asked to consider what they felt were the most critical issues facing IS executives over the next three to five years. Signaling an evolutionary shift in IS management, this study shows that business relationship issues have declined in importance compared to technology infrastructure issues. For IS executives and general managers, the key issue framework suggests some general directions for emphasis and provides a coarse measure for benchmarking their own concerns against those of their peers. The results of this study also impact educational missions in teaching and research to the extent that they need to be sensitive to the views of practicing fS executives.

Understanding the Antecedents of Effective Knowledge Management: The Importance of a Knowledge‐Centered Culture*

Within the context of knowledge management, little research has been conducted that identifies the antecedents of a knowledge-centered culture—those organizational qualities that encourage knowledge creation and dissemination. In this study, the existing literature on organizational climate, job characteristics, and organizational learning (in the form of cooperative learning theory) are linked with the current thinking and research findings related to knowledge management to develop a theoretical model explaining the relationships among organizational climate, the level of cooperative learning that takes place between knowledge workers, and the resulting level of knowledge created and disseminated as measured by team performance and individual satisfaction levels. The study goes on to empirically test the proposed research model by investigating the climate of organizations, and seeks 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. The hypothesized research model is tested using LISREL with data collected from 203 information systems (IS) professionals engaged in systems development activities. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications the results have for future research and managerial practice.

An exploratory study to identify the critical factors affecting the decision to establish internet-based interorganizational information systems

The Internet, with its unprecedented growth, is a promising platform to exchange information along the business channels. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that are critical to organizations in their adoption decision of Internet-based interorganizational information systems (IBIS). Using a field-based survey, the researchers obtained findings that suggested that the factors that significantly affect the adoption decision of IBIS are pressures felt from trading partners, pressure felt from competitors, establishing costs, network reliability, data security, scalability, complexity, support from top management, and trust between trading partners. This research highlights the similarities as well as the differences between IBIS and Electronic data interchange (EDI). The study showed that IBIS and EDI are similar in terms of the significant effect of factors such as pressure from trading partner, pressure from competition, establishing cost, top management support, and trust on the adoption decision. However, the results show that there are differences between IBIS and EDI in terms of establishing costs, scalability, and complexity.

The impact of time on the strategy-performance relationship Implications for managers

This study examined the influence of cycle time and the application of strategic information technology (SIT) on the relationship between business strategies identified during the course of the research (i.e., marketing differentiation, innovation differentiation and overall low cost) and firm performance (i.e., ROA, ROS). Data from a cross-industry sample of 116 executives in manufacturing and service businesses were collected using a web-based survey, conducted in cooperation with InformationWeek, a leading information technology industry magazine. Results of a path analysis indicated a significant, positive relationship of a market differentiation strategy to SIT to cycle time to performance. Strong positive direct relationships were evident for SIT to cycle time and for cycle time to performance. No other significant relationships were observed. D 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

A Comprehensive Examination of Internet-EDI Adoption

Abstract By taking advantage of the Internet, a new generation of Interorganizational Information Systems, i.e., Internet electronic data interchange (I-EDI) provides great efficiency for performing business-to-business transactions and is much more affordable than other network alternatives. Few empirical studies have been conducted to examine the adoption of I-EDI and little guidance has been given to the practitioners in the field. To fill this void, this research investigates the adoption of I-EDI by U.S. enterprises based on a comprehensive framework. Results from an online survey of 219 organizational respondents indicate that the proposed framework is able to help explain organizational adoption of I-EDI. This study provides insights and interesting findings toward technology adoption in Internet era. While some new factors are found to play important roles in IOS adoption, several conventional factors, such as technology compatibility and organization size, are no longer significant in explaining the adoption of I-EDI. Different effects of interorganizational factors such as power, trust, and relationship commitment on I-EDI adoption have been revealed. Implications for researchers and practitioners are provided.

Freedom to Cooperate: Gaining Clarity Into Knowledge Integration in Information Systems Development Teams

The specialized knowledge that exists among information systems development (ISD) teams must be shared and integrated to successfully develop systems solutions. Unfortunately, knowledge sharing and integration continues to be problematic. In this study, we seek out those antecedent characteristics that ISD teams should possess to facilitate the collaboration and knowledge integration necessary for enhanced performance. We propose cooperative learning theory as a lens to understand knowledge integration activities in ISD projects. We suggest that knowledge integration behaviors are discretionary, and that ISD professionals must feel autonomy in deciding to engage in them. We investigate whether the effects of autonomy on cooperative learning and of cooperative learning on work outcomes vary depending on the types of autonomy present in ISD teams. A research model is proposed, and it is empirically tested through a study of 206 ISD professionals from 38 ISD teams. Our findings suggest that autonomous teams engage more frequently in cooperative learning behaviors, and consequently perform more effectively and are more satisfied. We also find that relationships exist between the type of autonomy present in teams and the resultant elements of cooperative learning and work outcomes.

The Contribution of IT Governance Solutions to the Implementation of Data Warehouse Practice

Information systems (IS) strategic planners debate what is the most appropriate data warehouse (DW) topology for an organization. The primary question is whether to start DW projects with enterprise-wide data warehouses (EDWs) or with smaller-scale data marts (DMs). This article examines the relationship between modes of IT governance and DW topology to determine whether or not the implementation differences in DW topology can be described by differences in IT governance arrangements. Three primary modes of IT governance–centralized, decentralized, and hybrid – were used to arrange key IT activities. A replicated case study approach coupled with a research survey was used to provide a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between modes of IT governance and DW topology. Utilizing information from six organizations, the empirical evidence presented indicates that the organizations with higher levels of centralized IT authority are likely to implement a more centralized data warehousing approach. Key implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Information Technology, Culture, and Learning at Federal Express

AbstractIn a little over two decades, the Federal Express Corporation has grown from a startup in the overnight package delivery business to a

Towards a better understanding of system analysts’ tacit knowledge: A mixed method approach

9 billion global leader in the industry. How has FedEx achieved such success? The following case study finds that while leadership in information technology innovation has been central to FedExs success, attention to the diversity of both organizational and global cultures as well as organizational learning have helped to provide a foundation for long-term viability in the global marketplace.

Meeting the demand for IT employees: can career choice be managed?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to elicit tacit knowledge exhibited in expert information system (IS) professionals in a form that can be shared with others; and to develop categorical framework suggesting key content areas of tacit knowledge in the requirements analysis domain. Design/methodology/approach – Requirements analysis is selected as the main focus of this study due to the importance of this phase to the success of IS development and the nature of requirements analysis tasks requiring extensive amount of tacit knowledge. The authors used the “storytelling” approach, a semi-structured interview technique for knowledge elicitation. Findings – The study resulted in 132 knowledge items using a qualitative method and categorized them into 14 categories using cluster analysis. The study found that experienced, successful analysts see systems analysis in behavioral, managerial, and political terms and focus heavily on interpersonal, project management, and organizational issues. Research limita...