Nilesh Saraf

Assimilation of enterprise systems: the effect of institutional pressures and the mediating role of top management

We develop and test a theoretical model to investigate the assimilation of enterprise systems in the post-implementation stage within organizations. Specifically, this model explains how top management mediates the impact of external institutional pressures on the degree of usage of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The hypotheses were tested using survey data from companies that have already implemented ERP systems. Results from partial least squares analyses suggest that mimetic pressures positively affect top management beliefs, which then positively affects top management participation in the ERP assimilation process. In turn, top management participation is confirmed to positively affect the degree of ERP usage. Results also suggest that coercive pressures positively affect top management participation without the mediation of top management beliefs. Surprisingly, we do not find support for our hypothesis that top management participation mediates the effect of normative pressures on ERP usage, but instead we find that normative pressures directly affect ERP usage. Our findings highlight the important role of top management in mediating the effect of institutional pressures on IT assimilation. We confirm that institutional pressures, which are known to be important for IT adoption and implementation, also contribute to post-implementation assimilation when the integration processes are prolonged and outcomes are dynamic and uncertain.

IS Application Capabilities and Relational Value in Interfirm Partnerships

This study examines how capabilities of information systems (IS) applications deployed in the context of interfirm relationships contribute to business performance. We propose that these capabilities augment the relational value that a firm derives from its business partners---channel partners and customer enterprises---in the context of the distribution channel. Two cospecialized relational assets are considered as key to realization of relational value---knowledge sharing and process coupling. Hypotheses linking two IS capabilities (IS flexibility and IS integration) to the relational asset dimensions, and ultimately to firm performance, are proposed. The research model is tested based on data collected through a survey of business units of enterprises embedded in customer and channel partner ties in the high-tech and financial services industries. We find that IS integration with channel partners and customers contributes to both knowledge sharing and process coupling with both types of enterprise partners, whereas IS flexibility is a foundational capability that indirectly contributes to value creation in interfirm relationships by enabling greater IS integration with partner firms. We find that two types of relational assets are significantly associated with business performance---knowledge sharing with channel partners and process coupling with customers---pointing to underlying mechanisms that differentially leverage resources of different types of channel partners. Implications for theory development and practice based on these findings are proposed.

How does organisational absorptive capacity matter in the assimilation of enterprise information systems

Extant literature offers two mostly distinct perspectives on enterprise systems assimilation – driven either by internal expertise and learning capability or by external institutional pressures. This study combines the two perspectives and subscribes to the view that organisations’ learning capability moderates their acquiescence to institutional pressures. The study then anchors organisational learning capability to the concept of absorptive capacity and proposes that its two dimensions – potential absorptive capacity (PACAP) and realised absorptive capacity (RACAP) – affect enterprise systems assimilation through different pathways. Our survey‐based empirical study of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in the post‐implementation stage reveals that while both PACAP and RACAP have a positive direct impact on assimilation, PACAP positively moderates the impact of mimetic (institutional) pressures, but not normative (institutional) pressures, on assimilation; whereas RACAP positively moderates the impact of normative pressures, but not mimetic pressures, on assimilation. Thus, our theoretical contribution lies in understanding the distinct ways in which PACAP and RACAP moderate the influence of external institutional pressures on enterprise systems assimilation.

Alliances, Rivalry, and Firm Performance in Enterprise Systems Software Markets: A Social Network Approach

Enterprise systems software (ESS) is a multibillion dollar industry that produces systems components to support a variety of business functions for a widerange of vertical industry segments. Even if it forms the core of an organizations information systems (IS) infrastructure, there is little prior IS research on the competitive dynamics in this industry. Whereas economic modeling has generally provided the methodological framework for studying standards-driven industries, our research employs social network methods to empirically examine ESS firm competition. Although component compatibility is critical to organizational end users, there is an absence of industry-wide ESS standards and compatibility is ensured through interfirm alliances. First, our research observes that this alliance network does not conform to the equilibrium structures predicted by economics of network evolution supporting the view that it is difficult to identify dominant standards and leaders in this industry. This state of flux combined with the multifirm multicomponent nature of the industry limits the direct applicability of extant analytical models. Instead, we propose that the relative structural position acquired by a firm in its alliance network is a reasonable proxy for its standards dominance and is an indicator of its performance. In lieu of structural measures developed mainly for interpersonal networks, we develop a measure of relative firm prominence specifically for the business software network where benefits of alliances may accrue through indirect connections even if attenuated. Panel data analyses of ESS firms that account for over 95% of the industry revenues, show that our measure provides a superior model fit to extant social network measures. Two interesting counterintuitive findings emerge from our research. First, unlike other software industries compatibility considerations can trump rivalry concerns. We employ quadratic assignment procedure to show that firms freely form alliances even with their rivals. Second, we find that smaller firms enjoy a greater value from acquiring a higher structural position as compared to larger firms.

Is Integration and Knowledge Sharing in Multi-Unit Firms: The Winner's Curse

Knowledge sharing across business units (BUs) is paramount for enterprises that aim to exploit latent cross-BU synergies. This paper examines how information systems (ISs) integration and two forms of cross-BU knowledge complementarities (workflow interdependence and BU relatedness) affect an important dimension of a firms absorptive capacity – cross-BU knowledge sharing. The analysis, performed on survey data from 75 enterprises, supports all of our hypotheses. First, we hypothesized that cross-BU workflow serves as a conduit for knowledge transfer as participants continually engage in spontaneous adaptations. Second, IS application integration and cross-BU relatedness should both directly contribute to knowledge sharing. Third, IS application integration should positively moderate the impacts of cross-BU relatedness. Finally, and most interestingly, we hypothesized a redistribution of the effects of IS integration by which it becomes a key contributor to knowledge sharing, but also causes a reduction in the impact of workflow interdependence. Thus, while the seamlessness of high IS application integration has obvious benefits, it paradoxically also reduces the occasions for cross-BU workflow adaptations, which is a key mechanism for knowledge transfer. That is the phenomenon we call the ‘winners curse’.

‘Warren Buffet is my cousin’: shaping public understanding of big data biotechnology, direct-to-consumer genomics, and 23andMe on Twitter

ABSTRACT Scholars, educators, regulators, pundits, and other observers are advocating for regulation and oversight of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genomic testing. As a result, the technology has been subject of highly visible public and regulatory controversy. In this article, we explore the nature and the shape of the sentiment of public discourse about the DTC company, 23andMe. We conduct a quantitative content analysis and qualitative framing analysis on Tweets. We find that the discourse surrounding DTC genomics and 23andMe is largely positive. We also identify a number of frames users deploy to debate, discuss, and share their experiences with DTC genomics and 23andMe. We argue that these frames create meaning around this emerging technology for its users.

How do you think you are doing? Managerial perceptions, aspirations and innovation

Empirical studies on the behavioral theory of the firm have been mostly silent on the possibility that managerial perceptions of relative performance may diverge from the relative performance measu...

Evolution of an Open Source Community Network

The study attempts to better understand the evolution of the structure of a network using two snapshots of the developer-project affiliations in an Open Source Software (OSS) community. We use complex networks and social network theory to guide our analysis. We proceed by first extracting separate bipartite networks of projects in each of the five development stages – planning, pre-alpha, alpha, beta and production/stables stages. Then, by analyzing changes in the network using degree distributions, assortativity, component sizes, visualizations and p-star models, we try to infer the project-joining behavior of the OSS developers. Simulations are used to establish the significance of some findings. Highlights of our results are the higher levels of assortativity and networking in the Beta and Stable subnetworks, and a surprisingly higher level of connectivity of the Planning subnetwork. Significant clustering of projects is observed based on the programming language but not on other project attributes, including even licenses.