Kai Reimers

Implementing ERP systems in China

The paper reports the findings of an exploratory study of R/3 uses in China which was conducted in spring 2000. The broad purpose of the study has been to identify crucial implementation processes and context variables which warrant closer attention in the study of IT-enabled organizational change. Ownership characteristics, which display a great variety in China and thus can be studied in relatively greater detail here than elsewhere, are strongly associated with implementation process characteristics, and the association of ownership structures with implementation results is much less pronounced. In contrast, it emerged that project governance, specifically the role and decision making style of the steering committee, could be associated with a broad set of outcome variables after controlling for ownership and other important context factors.

An empirical evaluation of existing IS change theories for the case of IOIS evolution

The phenomenon of inter-organizational information systems (IOIS) evolution has not yet been adequately researched and understood. We present and analyse empirical data from a case in which electronic ordering in the Australian pharmaceutical industry evolved over a 30-year period from closed to quasi-open systems. We analyse this revelatory case using a practice-theoretical framework to make visible the phenomenon of IOIS evolution. An essential characteristic of this framework is the distinction between and symmetrical treatment of material, normative and ideational structures within the practices that constitute the IOIS. Against the findings of this case study, we then evaluate two promising models of long-term IS change, namely Porras (1999) Colonial Systems model and Lyytinen and Newmans (2008) Punctuated Socio-technical IS Change model. These models are selected as highly elaborated IS exemplars of two classes of theories of organizational change, namely evolutionary and dialectical theories. We find that these two models can only partially explain our findings. Finally, we make suggestions for developing more comprehensive theoretical models within these two classes of IS change theories. In practical terms, our paper shows that the transformation from closed to open IOIS may require adoption of longer time frames than are usually assumed and closer attention to norms and rationales usually neglected in IS projects.

The Difficulty of Studying Inter-Organisational IS Phenomena on Large Scales: Critical Reflections on a Research Journey

We argue that certain theoretical commitments that underpin much existing Inter-organisational Information Systems (IOIS) research at small scales become untenable when IOIS are studied at the scale of whole industries and over time periods greater than individual implementation projects. We make this argument by a detailed analysis of the problems we encountered when applying conventional research design methods in the early stages of a five year international comparative study of IOIS in pharmaceutical supply chains in four countries. We found that the large scale of our unit required a move away from the construction of discrete variables (dependent and independent) as well as from input-output process logic, to an alternate modelling approach derived from Structuration Theory and Practice Theory. We illustrate the revelatory power of this new lens by applying it to two cases. The paper will be of interest to IOIS researchers because we have systematically worked out the reasons for difficulties that limit IOIS research to unit and time scales smaller that the actual phenomenon. Because we refused to limit our own research object in this way, we ventured further into these problematic areas than others.

A Multi-Level Approach for Devising Effective B2B E-Commerce Development Strategies with an Application to the Case of China

This paper introduces a framework for devising effective business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce development strategies which is used for organizing some first data on the case of China and for drawing tentative policy conclusions. The framework is based on the assumption that B2B electronic commerce is a dynamic phenomenon involving increasing degrees of information systems externalization and thus needs to be analyzed on the level of the individual company as well as on the level of the whole industry. The aim of the framework is to identify which level forms the main bottleneck for further development at a given point in time. Albeit the framework is based on a set of established theories, notably Nolans Stages Theory and the Industry Life Cycle theory, it needs further refinement and verification.

Antecedents of a Transaction Cost Theory of Vertical IS Standardization Processes

The analysis of standardization processes is dominated by the concept of positive network externalities. This paper develops an alternative view on standardization processes which is based on transaction costs rather than positive network externalities. We call this view the institutional view and distinguish it from the physical view that is associated with the concept of positive network externalities. We develop a transaction cost‐theoretic model of standardization processes in the context of the development of vertical IS standards and discuss its merits and limitations. We also use some findings regarding the development of EDI‐based interorganizational information systems to motivate our efforts.

Toward a Theory of IOIS Variance: A New Framework for Studying Inter-organisational Information Systems

Observing that existing models of inter-organisational information systems IOIS have not been developed to explain IOIS variance, in this paper the authors develop three criteria a new theoretical framework should meet: 1 It should support identification of and distinction between essential properties of IOIS; 2 it should explain the resilience of IOIS, that is, why properties of IOIS persist in the face of environmental change; and 3 it should offer a way of describing IOIS on organisational and collective levels, that is, the level of various types of collectives of organisations, such as networks, associations or industries. This paper then assesses four theories commonly used in IOIS studies Transaction Cost Theory, Resource Dependence Theory, Neo-Institutionalism, and Structuration Theory in view of these three criteria. Based on this discussion, the authors develop a new framework for studying IOIS variance which views IOIS as constellations of aligned practices.

Novice-based data collection methods for the study of IOIS: practice probes and learning communities

In response to the increasing influence of practice theory perspectives for studying organisational and inter-organisational information systems, we demonstrate that an important dilemma from this perspective for data collection methods is between authentic access to practices and the ability to thematize knowledge of practices. We propose a promising new approach to this dilemma that uses the learning experiences of novice practitioners to collect data as they are progressively enrolled in the practice, and describe two instantiations of this new approach, practice probes and learning communities.

Effectiveness of the international 3G standardisation process and implications for China's 3G policy

We analyse the international process of standardising the so-called third-generation (3G) mobile communications systems as well as Chinas 3G policy in order to shed light on the relationship between regulation and innovation. For this analysis, we propose a transaction cost-theoretic framework by distinguishing between two types of transaction costs related to the coordination of the development of new complementary products and services, on the one hand, and to communication of knowledge necessary for evaluating products incorporating new technology from a buyers point of view on the other hand. Based on this analysis, we conclude that the relationship between regulation and innovation is contingent while proposing that the transaction cost-theoretic framework suggested in this paper – if suitably elaborated – offers a way to gauge future regulatory measures with regard to their likely impact on innovation.

GEARBOX (China) Ltd.: will the company's ERP system support its ambitious growth strategy?

This case describes the experience of a wholly foreign-owned manufacturing company in Tianjin/China regarding the use of its ERP system in its main functional departments, purchasing, production planning, sales/distribution, and finance. The company is part of a group which is a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of mechanical devices, called gearboxes, that are needed to drive a wide range of facilities such as escalators and baggage conveyor belts in airports. It has entered China in 1995 and the Tianjin manufacturing facility has soon become a hub for the Asian market. The main challenge confronting the management team is to support the breakneck growth rate of this young company. The companys ERP system plays a crucial role in this task. However, it seems that middle managers are frequently hitting an invisible wall when trying to expand the use of the ERP system in order to cope with ever-increasing workloads and coordination tasks. This case serves to illustrate cultural issues implicated in the use of an enterprise wide information system in a medium size company operating in an emerging market economy. In addition, issues of operations management, global management, and organizational behaviour are addressed.

How do industry-wide information infrastructures emerge? A life cycle approach

Industry‐wide information infrastructures (IIIS) have recently gained increased attention by policy makers, especially in the healthcare sector where it is believed that IIIS can substantially contribute to the taming of exploding healthcare costs and dramatically improve service quality, e.g., by avoiding widespread medication errors. However, the emergence and evolution of IIIS is as yet poorly understood, partly because the information systems (IS) literature traditionally uses much smaller units of analysis such as projects, organizations or small networks of organization. In this paper, we propose a combined company‐level and industry‐level framework to shed light on the process of IIIS emergence. We demonstrate, for the first time, that IIIS emergence is intricately linked to the industry life cycle for the case of fragmented industries. We also explore the relationship between the industry‐level and company‐level life cycles in the process of IIIS emergence, and develop a novel proposition regarding this relationship. Our findings suggest that current policy initiatives to promote the development of IIIS have not adequately taken industry‐level conditions into consideration.