Edward W. N. Bernroider

ERP selection process in midsize and large organizations

In this paper we detail the results from an empirical study concerning differences in characteristics of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system selection process between small or medium and large sized organizations. In particular we address the fields of software packages considered and chosen, the weights assigned to different selection criteria, the size and structure of the team responsible for the decision, the methods employed and the effort expended.

IT governance for enterprise resource planning supported by the DeLone-McLean model of information systems success

I investigated the role of IT governance in driving the success of ERP projects. The tool for assessing ERP value was a comprehensive, multivariate and validated model adapted from the widely used Delone and McLean model of IS success. This showed that ERP investments were more effective in organizations having an IT governance domain consisting of proactive strategic guidance and participatory team building. Large enterprises, however, under-performed compared to SMEs and needed specific performance drivers, such as top management commitment to become effective.

Profile distance method: a multi-attribute decision making approach for information system investments

This article addresses the area of decision making for information systems (IS). We recognize the great demand for methods and techniques that can be of practical help by presenting a new, conceptual approach, the profile distance method, to support the IS selection problem. This approach combines the merits of two prominent concepts individually applied in decision making: the utility ranking method (URM) and the data envelopment analysis (DEA). In addition, the method involves calculating distances between the desired system profile defined in the additive multi-attribute utility model and the individual alternative profiles calculated by the DEA derived optimization process. The results can be visualized to support the decision maker in justifying and communicating the model outcomes. The proposed method is illustrated within a real-life case study concerning an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software selection problem.

Three‐dimensional morphometry in scanning electron microscopy: a technique for accurate dimensional and angular measurements of microstructures using stereopaired digitized images and digital image analysis

A method for accurate dimensional and angular measurements of microstructures analysed in the scanning electron microscope is described. The method considers central and parallel projections and involves (a) digital image acquisition of stereopaired images from the scanning electron microscopes photodisplay, (b) generation of 3D‐image representations, (c) setting of measuring points in the digitized stereopaired images, (d) computation of exact space coordinates (x/y/z) from the corresponding point coordinates (xL/yL; xR/yR), (e) determination of distances and angles between consecutive corresponding points using vector equations, and (f) transfer of computed data into spreadsheets of the data analysis software using dynamic data exchange with simultaneous graphical display of the frequency distribution of variables.

A method using weight restrictions in data envelopment analysis for ranking and validity issues in decision making

In this article we introduce a comprehensive yet efficient approach based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) with restricted multipliers for accountable and understandable multiple attribute decision making (MADM). Information system (IS) appraisals are motivated and used for illustrating the proposed methodology. Results show that the given DEA based approach can easily and significantly increase the information frame of the decision maker by identifying disparate rankings and by affirming the stability and validity of ranking outcomes. The given validity concept is contrary to the directions given in the main body of research and can also be used to question ranking outcomes of classic MADM methods.

Contrasting ERP Absorption Between Transition and Developed Economies From Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)

This article investigates Enterprise Resource Planning absorption in transition and developed economies in Central and Eastern Europe. Using absorptive capacity theory and data envelopment analysis, we view organizational transformation in Enterprise Resource Planning absorption as an economic production process. Despite converging Enterprise Resource Planning saturation levels, the data identifies gaps in absorption levels and performance. Organizations in transition face greater challenges, engage more in phased Enterprise Resource Planning absorptions, and expect higher levels of external support.

Information systems as a discipline in the making: comparing EJIS and MISQ between 1995 and 2008

This paper aims to shed light on the dynamics of information systems (IS) as a discipline in the making. We use the ideas of the sociologist Abbott to propose three different stages of a disciplines development: differentiation, competition, and absorption. These stages reflect how disciplines go through different cycles and how they acquire, consolidate or lose elements of knowledge. We map these stages using citation and co-citation analyses of two main IS academic journals (EJIS and MISQ) from 1995 to 2008. Our results indicate that IS is currently in a stage of absorption, with research being consolidated around the theme of ‘IS acceptance’. Dominant models and frameworks related to this theme are predictive and thus lend themselves usable for positivistic and quantitative research. In this stage there is also a healthy degree of variety in IS including dormant elements which could reignite. Implications derived from our findings aim to help in the consolidation and extension of knowledge about IS in both academia and practice.

Research in information systems: a study of diversity and inter-disciplinary discourse in the AIS basket journals between 1995 and 2011

The paper investigates how Information Systems (IS) has emerged as the product of inter-disciplinary discourses. The research aim in this study is to better understand diversity in IS research, and the extent to which the diversity of discourse expanded and contracted from 1995 to 2011. Methodologically, we apply a combined citations/co-citations analysis based on the eight Association for Information Systems basket journals and the 22 subject-field classification framework provided by the Association of Business Schools. Our findings suggest that IS is in a state of continuous interaction and competition with other disciplines. General Management was reduced from a dominant position as a reference discipline in IS at the expense of a growing variety of other discourses including Business Strategy, Marketing, and Ethics and Governance, among others. Over time, IS as a field moved from the periphery to a central position during its discursive formation. This supports the notion of IS as a fluid discipline dynamically embracing a diverse range of adjacent reference disciplines, while keeping a degree of continuing interaction with them. Understanding where IS is currently at allows us to better understand and propose fruitful avenues for its development in both academia and practice.

A technological, organisational, and environmental analysis of decision making methodologies and satisfaction in the context of IT induced business transformations

Although Operational Research (OR) has successfully provided many methodologies to address complex decision problems, in particular based on the rationality principle, there has been too little discussion regarding their limited consideration in IT evaluation practice and associated decision making satisfaction levels in an organisational context. The aim of this paper is to address these issues through providing a current account of diffusion and infusion of OR methodologies in IT decision making practice, and by analysing factors affecting decision making satisfaction from a Technological, Organisational, and Environmental (TOE) framework in the context of IT induced business transformations. We developed a structural equation model and conducted an empirical survey, which supported four out of five developed research hypotheses. Our results show that while Decision Support Systems (DSSs), holistic IT evaluation methods, and management support seem to positively affect individual satisfaction, legislative regulation has an adverse effect. Results also revealed a persistent methodology diffusion and infusion gap. The paper discusses implications in each of these aspects and presents opportunities for future work.

Entscheidungsfindung bei der Auswahl betriebswirtschaftlicher Standardsoftware — Ergebnisse einer empirischen Untersuchung in österreichischen Unternehmen

AbstractsThis paper describes the results of an empirical study of the decision making process concerning ERP software investments. The effects of several variables such as size or industry and the importance attributed to different criteria on the decision have been investigated. Furthermore, we discuss the methods to realize a decision as well as the groups of actors who are involved in the decision process. In addition, the costs for decision making and the following implementation have been examined with regard to correlations with other characteristics of the organization, e.g. size or a preceding business process reengineering initiative.