Shari S. C. Shang

Assessing and managing the benefits of enterprise systems: the business manager's perspective

. This paper focuses on the benefits that organizations may achieve from their investment in enterprise systems (ES). It proposes an ES benefit framework for summarizing benefits in the years after ES implementation. Based on an analysis of the features of enterprise systems, on the literature on information technology (IT) value, on data from 233 enterprise systems vendor-reported stories published on the Web and on interviews with managers of 34 organizations using ES, the framework provides a detailed list of benefits that have reportedly been acquired through ES implementation. This list of benefits is consolidated into five benefits dimensions: operational, managerial, strategic, IT infrastructure and organizational, and illustrated using perceived net benefit flow (PNBF) graphs. In a detailed example, the paper shows how the framework has been applied to the identification of benefits in a longitudinal case study of four organizations.

Understanding Web 2.0 service models: A knowledge-creating perspective

We examined Web 2.0 services that provide different levels of knowledge exploitation and developed a framework for classifying existing service models from a knowledge-creation perspective. More than 1000 Web 2.0 application sites were analyzed and classified. We termed the two types of service platforms: Experience-Socialization and Intelligence-Proliferation. These involved four types of service models that we termed as Exchanger, Aggregator, Collaborator, and Liberator. These models show the diversity of existing Web 2.0 applications and provide a framework for a better understanding of operating patterns and value propositions within the Web 2.0 paradigm.

Service innovation through dynamic knowledge management

– The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study on the management of intellectual capital in Fortune Motors. It intends to highlight how an automobile service firm apply dynamic knowledge management concept to create new service processes which resulted in breaking through the bottleneck of profit loss., – The study is based on an in‐depth case study, semi‐structured interviews and extensive access to the secondary data on the firm. A qualitative approach was used to analyze the data due to the complexity of contextual content., – The proposed model has been validated and found that dynamic capabilities could enhance knowledge management by linking external resources or stimuli and internal knowledge management practices. Empirical evidence has also been provided on how a firm can apply dynamic capabilities to its knowledge management to substantiate service innovation., – Further studies verifying the linkage between knowledge management and specific capabilities can be extended from this study., – The proposed model provides a guideline for practitioners in managing their valuable knowledge and enhancing the existing knowledge management practices., – This paper identifies a gap in the linkage between knowledge management and constant environmental changes that has been overlooked. To narrow down this research gap, a model of a cyclical flow has been proposed containing processes of integration/coordination, learning/experimentation and innovation and transformation.

Managing process deficiencies with enterprise systems

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the deficiencies and the sources of deficiencies in process changes associated with the implementation of enterprise systems (ES).Design/methodology/approach – In‐depth studies of four firms and additional verification in seven other firms.Findings – Results reveal that deficiencies of process changes with ES are mainly associated with the packaged and integrated nature of enterprise system software, particularly its configurability, in‐built processes, multiple options, data and process integration, streamlined processes, and standard processes. In order to eliminate deficiencies and gain benefits, organizations need to invest in on‐going software exploration, business examination, and process and software changes that align new processes and management responsibilities.Originality/value – In the expanding world of ES research, this study is significant because it explores the sources of deficiencies associated with process change and provides guidance to...

People-driven processes in customer relationship management

Customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the most popular strategies for an organization to satisfy its customers and obtain growth profits. Much attention of the research to date, however, has been paid to strategy, implementation, and organization performance, with the people dimension in CRM being under-researched. This study attempts to investigate the importance of people-driven processes of CRM in organizations and identify factors affecting the effectiveness of people-driven CRM processes. A multiple case study approach was applied and in-depth interviews were conducted with managers from four case companies to identify the factors influencing the people-driven CRM processes. Four dependency factors affecting the effectiveness of people-driven processes were identified, including customer emotional needs, customer involvement, employee capabilities, and organizational customer-oriented culture.

Dual strategy for managing user resistance with business integration systems

To build a deeper understanding of, and to propose strategies for, managing different kinds of user resistance to business integration systems, this study explores the reasons, behaviours and strategies of user resistance. Delphi techniques were used to collect in-depth data from 20 industry experts. The major implication of the study is that there are great differences between operational and managerial user behaviour in reacting to integration technologies. Operational users resist systems primarily due to self-interest, and they tend to resist the system by passively communicating negative feelings across the organisation and by making careless mistakes. Managerial users, mainly due to concerns about overall benefits to the organisation, tend to actively disrupt project implementation and operation and accept inferior-quality performance. Directive strategies in smoothing the system transition are perceived to be more effective in managing resistance from operational users. Participative strategies are perceived to be effective in managing resistance from managerial users. Organisations applying business integration systems need to distinguish between different types of users and apply dual strategies in managing the business integration.

A model of intellectual capital management capability in the dynamic business environment

This paper discusses the way in which intellectual capital (IC) can be managed to assist organization to overcome dynamic challenges. An intellectual capital management capability (ICMC) model is developed which permits the management of an organization to realize the potential of IC by measuring the maturity level of its IC. The model is consistent with dynamic capability theory, which suggests leveraging internal and external resources in response to environment changes to sustain competitive advantage. By utilizing in-depth interviews with 25 chief executive officers from firms possessing high IC, this study seeks to inform the readers of the preliminary work and the way in which the maturity level of ICMC can be measured through the development and deployment of dynamic capabilities. The verification and enhancement of the proposed model has also clarified our understanding on the evolutionary path of management capabilities of IC.

An Analysis of Business Models of Web 2.0 Application

Web 2.0 is the network on which individuals contribute to the development and distribution of tools, contents, and software applications over the Internet. This concept enables a huge increase in the complexity of e-commerce development. For example, various innovative business models have emerged from the largely spread-out technological concept, providing different values to customers as well as service providers. The objectives of the study are to explore and exploit Web 2.0 services in knowledge management for businesses. We adopt a KM perspective to explore the Web 2.0 challenges that service providers face in harnessing knowledge. More than one thousand sites of Web 2.0 applications were analyzed and classified and five types of business models were identified: exchanger, organizer, aggregator, collaborator, and liberator. These different types of Web 2.0 applications reveal the diversity of existing Web 2.0 applications as well as the risks and benefits associated with knowledge management of Web 2.0, and they provide a better understanding of the operating patterns and value propositions of the technology.

Field Effects of Social Media Platforms on Information Sharing Continuance: Do Reach and Richness Matter?

Based on the Field Theory, this study postulates that the cognitive processes involved in making decisions to share information on social media platforms could be dynamically affected by network features and the contextual environment. The field effect is exerted by the reach and richness of network features, which virtually form a psychological pressure on ones perception of the sharing situation. A research model is developed, in which the effects of extrinsic and intrinsic motivators on information-sharing continuance are moderated by the network features of social media platforms. A global sample from content contributors in two major social media platform contexts, experience-socialization (ES) platforms (N=568) and intelligence-proliferation (IP) platforms (N=653), were collected through the participatory research method. By using partial least-square analysis, the moderating effects of network features on cognitive-sharing processes under the two contexts were confirmed. For contributors on ES platforms, network features negatively moderate community identification and perceived enjoyment toward information sharing. By contrast, for contributors on IP platforms, network features negatively moderate the effects of perceived usefulness and altruistic tendencies on their intention to share, but self-efficacy for sharing is positively induced. The conceptualization of network features and refined knowledge about the situational and contextual effects of social media platforms are useful for further studies on social behaviors and may ultimately benefit platform providers in their attempts to promote information-sharing continuance.

Measuring process capital from a system model perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to seek effective measurement methods that reflect the real value of process capital.Design/methodology/approach – From a system model perspective, the authors refined the existing knowledge of process measurement by distinguishing three kinds of indicator for the value of process capital: input, output, and the capability to manage process capital. The design of this study, therefore, incorporates a longitudinal analysis of the content of process capital and traces its evolution by attaching a monetary value to activities and assets.Findings – The tested results reveal that the input measure is a less effective measure for process capital, while the output measure is a valid one for measuring operational and managerial performance of process capital. The capability to manage process capital can predict all dimensions of process capital in both the short‐ and long‐term periods.Practical implications – A practical view of process capital enhances the current understan...