Raluca Bunduchi

Business relationships in internet‐based electronic markets: the role of goodwill trust and transaction costs

Abstract.  Transaction costs and goodwill trust, which differentiate between transactional and collaborative relationships, were found in existing research to play a significant role in the way organizations use internet technologies to manage their relationships with customers and suppliers within electronic markets (EM). However, a thorough investigation of role that the two dimensions play together in shaping the use of EM is lacking from the mainstream literature. This research addresses transaction costs and goodwill trust together to clarify the transformations that internet use has brought on the nature of interorganizational relationships that develop between EM players. The research finds the use of EM in collaborative relationships is governed by trade‐offs between different outcomes that different EM functionalities have on organizational objectives. Organizations assess these trade‐offs, and select those functionalities that best serve to achieve their collaborative relational objectives. In contrast, no trade‐offs are find in the transactional model, as the use of EM here is driven principally by transaction cost reductions.

Shaping IT Standardization in the Automotive Industry – The Role of Power in Driving Portal Standardization

The advent of Internet technologies during the past decade has accelerated the diffusion of interorganizational networks and has intensified collaboration among organizations. Currently, most interorganization systems have moved to the public Internet network and rely on Internet and associated standards such as XML to codify and exchange data. Though often portrayed as a narrow technical matter, interorganizational systems standard setting is a complex social process, shaped by the power relations among the potential participants. This paper discusses the role that the power relations among the automotive industry actors played during the early development stages of Covisint – an interorganizational system aiming to set up a de‐facto platform for e‐commerce in the automotive industry. Whereas current empirical studies on standardization focus on the success of coalitions of large users to establish de facto standards, our study explores the failure of such an initiative. The study finds that changes in t...

The costs of adoption of RFID technologies in supply networks

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the different types of adoption costs faced by organizations involved in the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) within supply networks, and to understand how these potential costs affect the likelihood of RFID adoption., – The paper applies an existing generic theoretical framework of costs associated with process innovation adoption to the case of RFID technology. Data are collected by interviewing participants in the RFID adoption process in supply network settings, and by examining a range of publicly available information on RFID development. The data are used to test and expand the theoretical framework., – Of the six main categories of generic process innovation costs, four are identified as applicable in the case of RFID adoption by early adopters: development, switching, cost of capital and implementation. No evidence is found for initiation and relational costs. In addition, a seventh category of costs is identified as applicable to the adoption of RFID in supply networks: ethical costs associated with privacy and health issues., – Further empirical work is required to test the generalisability of the findings. Because RFID technology is still in the early phases of development, the research has been able to consider only early adopters: further work is required as the technology matures to assess the impact of costs throughout the technology development lifecycle., – The work demonstrates that when considering the adoption of RFID managers need to look at a range of potential costs in making the investment decision. Policy makers also need to consider how organizations consider a range of costs that may not be explicitly specified when making adoption decisions., – The paper tests and extends the generic framework of costs associated with process innovations in supply networks. The study also clarifies the various costs involved in the adoption of RFID technologies by early adopters, and their influence on the decision to adopt.

Trust, partner selection and innovation outcome in collaborative new product development

A key feature of collaboration in general and collaboration for innovation in particular is the existence of trust. Trust is important because it reduces the costs and risks involved in collaboration, while also increasing the overall performance. This article explores the role that trust plays during the selection of suppliers in new product development (NPD), and the outcome that reliance on trust has on the innovation effort. The research involves a case study of two organisations following contrasting approaches to NPD sourcing, but both relying on collaborative, long-term relationships. In both cases, we find goodwill trust as the key variable explaining the reliance on collaboration. We also find that over-reliance on goodwill trust and geographical proximity in selecting NPD suppliers leads to an emphasis on incremental innovation which hampers the ability of both organisations to engage in radical NPD.

Social Shaping a Standardization: A Case Study from Auto Industry

Inter-organizational collaboration requires systems interoperability which is not possible in the absence of common standards. However, empirical research has shown that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) standards can be a major barrier in the progress of Information Technology (IT)-enabled inter-organizational collaboration. Though often portrayed as a narrow technical matter, standard setting is a complex social process, shaped by an array of factors and representing embodiments of social relationships between the actors. This paper approaches standardization from a Social Shaping of Technology (SST) perspective. The paper explores the characteristics and factors that shape the development and implementation of a standard in the case of a portal implementation in the automotive industry.

Process Innovation Costs in Supply Networks: A Synthesis

This paper provides a synthesis of the literature on the costs incurred by organizations that develop, adopt and use inter-organizational process innovations in supply networks. A review of the literature in this area suggests that innovation costs influence the pattern of adoption. There is, however, a lack of consensus about what these innovation costs entail. Based on a review of innovation literature in the area of information systems, this paper develops an integrative framework of inter-organizational process innovation costs. The framework identifies six broad categories of costs (both tangible and intangible) that map onto different stages of organizational innovation: development and initiation costs associated with the generation of an innovation; switching costs and the cost of capital associated with the acceptance stage; and implementation and relational costs associated with implementation. The framework serves not only to organize the existing literature but also to provide the impetus for future research into the role that different categories of costs play in shaping inter-organizational process innovation in supply networks.

IMPLEMENTING BEST PRACTICES TO SUPPORT CREATIVITY IN NPD CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS

The use of cross-functional teams increases creativity in new product development leading to shorter development time and higher product innovativeness. Research in new product development has identified a number of organisational practices associated with supporting organisational creativity in cross-functional teams including frequent and open communication, building organisational slack, attitude to risk and top management commitment. Using a single case study approach, this paper explores the challenges associated with the implementation of such organisational practices in the R&D department of a large telecommunication company. Challenges include sequential involvement of functions in the team, broken communication between different teams, management attitude to resource constraints, and short-term management focus on incremental innovation.

Homogeneity and heterogeneity in information technology private standard settings - the institutional account

The IT (information technology) standardisation landscape is characterised by the increasing importance of private standard setting consortia, a greater convergence between the structural features of formal and private standard organisations, and greater diversity in standard organisations. Institutional theory has been applied to explain the convergence of standard setting bodies. This paper applies institutional theory to four studies of standards organisations, showing that there are indeed homogenising mimetic, coercive and normative forces in standard setting that lead to the convergence of emergent organisations with the institutional features, but that there are also forces promoting heterogeneity, in particular the multiplicity of institutional fields within which standards consortia operate, leading to a complex, and often conflicting, matrix of institutional norms to be accommodated.

Human resource information systems in health care: a systematic evidence review

Objective: This systematic review aimed to: (1) determine the prevalence and scope of existing research on human resource information systems (HRIS) in health organizations; (2) analyze, classify, and synthesize evidence on the processes and impacts of HRIS development, implementation, and adoption; and (3) generate recommendations for HRIS research, practice, and policy, with reference to the needs of different stakeholders. Methods: A structured search strategy was used to interrogate 10 electronic databases indexing research from the health, social, management, technology, and interdisciplinary sciences, alongside gray literature sources and reference lists of qualifying studies. There were no restrictions on language or publication year. Two reviewers screened publications, extracted data, and coded findings according to the innovation stages covered in the studies. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist was adopted to assess study quality. The process of study selection was charted using a Preferred Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) diagram. Results: Of the 6824 publications identified by the search strategy, 68, covering 42 studies, were included for final analysis. Research on HRIS in health was interdisciplinary, often atheoretical, conducted primarily in the hospital sector of high-income economies, and largely focused uncritically on use and realized benefits. Discussion and Conclusions: While studies of HRIS in health exist, the overall lack of evaluative research raises unanswered questions about their capacity to improve quality and efficiency and enable learning health systems, as well as how sociotechnical complexity influences implementation and effectiveness. We offer this analysis to decision makers and managers considering or currently implementing an HRIS, and make recommendations for further research. Trial Registration: International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42015023581. http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.asp?ID=CRD42015023581#.VYu1BPlVjDU.

The tensions shaping the emergence of standard bodies: The case of a national health informatics standards body

This study applies New Institutional theory to identify the social processes shaping the emergence of a standard setting body. Meyer and Rowan’s classification of the mechanisms that lead to the creation of institutional rules—relational networks, degree of collective organisation and leadership—is applied to a health informatics private standard consortia operating in the UK. The study identifies a number of conflicts within the institutional contexts within which the standard body operates. Such conflicts undermine the institutionalised rules that frame the emergence of the standard body and lead to the erosion of the institutionalised standardisation practice.