Stefan Henningsson

Socio-technical IS design science research: developing design theory for IS integration management

Design science research is an essential part of IS research since the field should not only try to understand how the world is, but also how to change it. We argue that the aim of IS design science research should be to develop practical knowledge not only for the design of novel information technology (IT), but also for IS governance and management. Whereas at least some methodological support exists for researchers engaged in IT-centric design science research, limited support is available for researchers who want to develop design knowledge and theory for IS governance and management. To overcome this shortcoming, we suggest a socio-technical IS design science research approach. The approach has four main activities: (1) identifying problem situations and desired outcomes, (2) reviewing extant theories, knowledge and data, (3) proposing/refining design theory and knowledge, and (4) testing design theory and knowledge. The applicability and usefulness of the proposed approach is shown by means of a design science research project concerning IS integration management in the context of mergers and acquisitions.

The new normal

Graphical abstractDisplay Omitted Address competition and collaboration in the payment ecosystem.Develop the Mobile Payment Market Collusion (MPMC) framework.Integrating theories of market collusion with the literatures on business and technology ecosystems.Validating the framework by a case study of technology-based market collusion in mobile payment ecosystem. The introduction of mobile payments is one of many innovations that are changing the payment market. This change involves new payment service providers entering this lucrative market, and meanwhile, the existing stakeholders are trying to defend their oligopolistic positions. The mobile payment market cooperation (MPMC) framework in this article shows how the digitalization of payments, as a technology innovation, affects the competition and collaboration among traditional and new stakeholders in the payment ecosystem at three levels of analysis. We do this by integrating theories of market cooperation with the literatures on business and technology ecosystems. The MPMC framework depicts technology-based market cooperation strategies in the context of recent battles in the mobile payments ecosystem. In these battles, the competitors can use technology either in defensive build-and-defend strategies to protect market position, or in offensive battering-ram strategies for ecosystem entry or position improvement. Successful strategies can lead to: (1) Ricardian rents, based on operational efficiency advantages traceable to the firms position relative to suppliers and monopoly power; and (2) Bainian rents, resulting from the extent the firm is able to resist price competition in the market. We validate the framework that we propose through three case studies of technology-based market cooperation in the mobile payments ecosystem.

An approach to analyzing and planning post-merger IS integration: Insights from two field studies

Information systems (IS) integration is among the most challenging tasks in corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As). In this paper we propose and illustrate the use of an approach to analyzing and planning post-merger IS integration that extends general theory for IS planning, considering the specific characteristics of the M&A context. We highlight that planning effectiveness is possible to achieve in fundamentally different ways, dependent on the characteristics of the merger or acquisition at hand.

The DySIIM Model for managing IS integration in mergers and acquisitions

Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are prominent means for corporate strategy. In many M&As information systems (IS), integration is critical for achieving the intended goals. By integrating previous research on M&A and IS integration, we develop a six‐dimensional theoretical framework for IS integration in corporate M&As. The framework is used to describe and explain IS integration management in four M&As. Based on the four cases, the theoretical framework and the existing literature, an initial model (Dynamic System of IS Integration in M&A, DySIIM) describing and explaining how IS integration relates to the M&A process is developed. Through the combination of the DySIIMs dimensions, the dynamics of different parts of the M&A process are captured. The model can be used in further research to build cumulative knowledge about how to manage IS integration in M&A. The model can also be used by companies in their M&A since through the combination of dimensions, it shows the IS integration issues, decisions and actions that a company has to address in the process.

Shaping the Post-merger Information Systems Integration Strategy

Many researchers and business professionals have emphasized the importance and difficulties of successful information systems (IS) integration in the context of mergers and acquisitions (M & A). However, existing research remains sparse, failing to explain how firms design their IS integration strategy and its relation to successful IS integration. In order to overcome this shortcoming, we adapt six dimensions of strategic IS planning to the post-merger integration situation, namely comprehensiveness, formalization, focus, flow, participation, and consistency in the post-merger IS integration context. We then use two in-depth cases studies to shed light on these constructs. We find evidence that contradicts the typical view presented in the M & A literature, and argue that there are several different approaches to post-merger IS integration planning. In the analysis, we point out specific differences between the cases that eventually lead up to these fundamentally different approaches to IS integration design

Mastering the Integration Chaos Following Frequent M&As: IS Integration with SOA Technology

The use of service oriented architectures (SOA) is rapidly penetrating contemporary business life based on the promise of scalable and flexible information infrastructures. However the technique is still in it infancy and many questions regarding the consequences of a shift towards this kind of IT architecture still remains unanswered. We approach the relation between SOA and another actual topic, namely corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Based on a literature review and an empirical study of five industrial companies we conclude seven relationships between properties of SOA and M&A, which should be valuable both for business professionals considering the SOA alternative and to advance the academic domain that is concerned with integration and M&A

Three Strategies for Green IT

An investigation of green IT in 14 Danish companies identifies three strategies: storefront focuses on external presentation, tuning involves simple changes for improved efficiency, and redesign reinvents the company to leverage green ITs potential.

Strategic Value of IS Integration in M&A--The Relation between IS Integration and M&A as a Tool for Corporate Strategy

During the last decade research in the scientific domain of information systems (IS) in corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) has become increasingly popular. A not very surprising development regarding the significance of the empirical phenomenon of M&A and the importance of IS for modern business. However, the idea of IS playing an important role in M&As rests on assumptions, anecdotes from the business press and only very vague empirical evidence. By contrary, it has been demonstrated that IS do not always play an important part. In this article we argue that the absence of insight into the relation between IS and M&A hampers the development of the scientific field and distract business professionals. To overcome this lack of understanding, this article draws on traditional strategic theory, represented by the Porterian I/O-, RBV, and strategic process- perspectives, and examines how IS relates to M&A as an act of corporate strategy

Developing ecological sustainability: a green IS response model

Growing private and public concern with the environment is pushing businesses to increase their awareness and action. Using the Nordic bank Nordea as a case study and a Green information systems (IS) organizational response model developed on the basis of extant literature, we investigate how Green IS initiatives become part of a firms overall strategy and part of the organizational sustainability process. We find that Green IS initiatives are initiated through a bottom‐up process where environmentally concerned individuals identify issues and become Green IS champions. They use their authority and edification skills to promote Green IS to the organizational agenda. If the issue is aligned with the organizational agenda, it receives managements endorsement. The empirical case also shows two types of systemic feedback that can fuel a self‐reinforcing sustainability process. The first type of feedback increases the champions ability to promote Green IS in the future through authority and edification. The second type leads to the transformation of organizational value through reinforcement and extension. Finally, we identify interrelationships between organizational response processes, where higher‐order response processes, e.g. change of corporate values, function as gatekeepers or pre‐conditions for when and which issues are promoted to the organizational agenda.

Industry-Wide Supply Chain Information Integration: The Lack of Management and Disjoint Economic Responsibility

Experiences from enterprise-wide integration initiatives during more than four decades indicate that industry-wide information integration could render substantial benefits. Two ways in which industry-wide integration differs from enterprise-wide integration are that there is no common management level and the economic units in the integration are the constituent units, not the industry. Management involvement has been emphasized as perhaps the most critical success factor for enterprise-wide information integration. The common economic unit enables increased costs in one part of the organization to lower the total cost in the company as a whole. In this article the authors address which consequence these two differences have for the development of information integration in four industry-wide supply chains. The authors find the existing methods for enterprise-wide information integration, such as BPR, virtually impossible to apply on industrywide information integration and that the disjoint economic responsibility is a hampering aspect in reaching potential benefits of industry-wide information integration.