Steven R. Gordon

Understanding the influence of information systems competencies on process innovation: A resource-based view

The resource based view of firms is used to explore how information system (IS) competencies affect process innovation in an organization. Data was collected through a case study of two process innovations at a healthcare firm in the United States. The findings illustrate how six IS competencies - Knowledge Management, Collaboration, Project Management, Ambidexterity, IT/Innovation Governance, Business-IS Linkages - can differentially affect the conception, development and implementation of process innovations. Implications for researchers and practitioners are drawn from these conclusions and suggestions for further research are proposed.

The impact of information technology on customer and supplier relationships in the financial services

This study examines the role that information technology plays in supporting relationships between customers and suppliers in the financial service industry. It traces the interrelationships among the different sectors of this industry – brokerage houses, retail banks, institutional banks, mutual funds, insurance underwriters, and others – and identifies roles that information technology and electronic service delivery can play in creating and supporting inter‐organizational integration across sector boundaries. It further identifies the opportunities for and threats to these relationships caused, in large part, by the continuing evolution of information technology. This study will help managers in the financial services to analyze the opportunities and assess the risks of building tighter relationships with their customers and suppliers through electronic commerce.

How do a company's information technology competences influence its ability to innovate?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe research that explores how an organizations information technology (IT) competences influence its ability to innovate.Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on prior research to describe stages of the innovation process and to identify several IT competences that have been linked to innovation success. Then, examining innovation at three case study sites, it demonstrates how IT competences can influence the success of innovation at various stages of the innovation process.Findings – The paper finds that IT competences in information and knowledge management, project management, collaboration and communication, and business involvement are likely to improve an organizations ability to innovate.Research limitations/implications – The research in this paper is exploratory. The small number of cases limits ones ability to claim that the IT competences one has identified always affect innovation.Practical implications – The paper shows that organiza...

Structuring the Interaction Between it and Business Units: Prototypes for Service Delivery

Abstract Companies have introduced innovative organizational structures to deal with rapidity of change, the globalization of markets, and expectations for increased quality and customer service. During this process, many have discovered that the interaction between IT and business units is key to success. This article presents the results of a pilot study that examined the structure of this interaction in eight Fortune 500 manufacturing companies. It answers the questions: What prototypes describe the interaction between IT corporate business units? What outcomes are associated with the various prototypes? What are the implications of these models of structure for the effective delivery of IT services?

Design of air transportation networks

Abstract This paper presents a method for evaluating and choosing between various network configurations for an air transportation network. Based upon a model for determining the optimal assignment of capacity to a given network, it is possible to define what kind of networks best serve a particular pattern of traffic, and how that optimal network might change when aircraft of different size are used, or when traffic patterns grow. These analyses also suggest how load factors should most economically be balanced between long and short haul, and between high and low density routes.

Organizational options for resolving the tension between IT departments and business units in the delivery of IT services

The organization of companies’ information technology (IT) functions has been studied and described in three ways: on a centralization‐decentralization continuum, on the basis of technological architecture, and, for multinational companies, as reflective of their strategic focus. This research proposes a classification of organizational structures based on the tension between business units and IT departments in the delivery of IT services. Using a cluster analysis on a sample of 40 companies having corporate offices in the USA or The Netherlands, it identifies four basic structures or patterns that describe the similarities and differences in the way IT services are handled. The paper then describes the implications of these structures for companies that are considering the redesign or restructure of their information technology function.

The Case for Case-Based Research

SETTING THE SCENE JITCAR was founded by Shailendra Palvia in 1999 in response to an impression among researchers that publishing high-quality case-based research in the major journals in our field was difficult and becoming increasingly so (Palvia, 1999). Dub6 and Par6 (2003) document that between 1990 and 1999, case articles accounted for only 15 percent of manuscripts published in the seven journals that they identified as the top outlets for information systems (IS) research. Additionally, case research was the primary research technique in only 80 percent of these articles, or 12 percent of the total.

Organizational hurdles to distributed database management systems (DDBMS) adoption

Abstract Organizations adopt new technologies, ultimately, to enhance their competitive position and profitability. A distributed database management system (DDBMS) is an example of a technology that may enhance a companys profitability but is also likely to change the way it does business. Specifically, DDBMS adoption may disturb the locus of power, alter the organizational structure, and change the culture of a company. This exploratory study examines the organizational factors that influence the likelihood of DDBMS adoption. It identifies organizational hurdles to adoption, offers an agenda for research validation, and proposes strategies for overcoming the identified hurdles.

Information technology service delivery: An international comparison

Abstract This article describes the delivery of information technology (IT) services in a sample of companies in the United States and the Netherlands. As a pilot study and one of few comparative international studies of service delivery, it begins to identify and explain differences in IT service delivery among companies based in different countries. the study compares sample companies in two countries along four dimensions of IT services — setting of priorities, standard setting, development, and operations. It also examines how the delivery of IT services has changed in recent years and comments about international differences in how these companies have dealt with such change. Finally, it addresses the implications of these results for the delivery of IT services in a global environment and offers directions for future research.

Factors that affect the adoption of distributed database management systems

A distributed database management system (DDBMS) offers an organization the ability to centralize or decentralize its management of data. In this paper we examine how the likelihood of DDBMS adoption is affected by four organizational factors, drawn from previous research and a pilot study conducted by the authors: (1) centralization - decentralization of management decision making; (2) centralization - decentralization of the information systems function; (3) attitudes of top management toward technology; and (4) forces behind information technology selection. We surveyed the chief information officers of 500 companies selected from the top Fortune industrials and the top Fortune service firms. Our results demonstrate that the decentralization of decision making, the decentralization of the information systems structure, and the attitudes of top management toward technology explain the propensity to adopt DDBMS; the locus of responsibility for driving the selection of information technology does not significantly explain DDBMS adoption in the way we hypothesized. Understanding an organization in terms of these factors is important in assessing the organizations readiness to adopt DDBMS technology and ability to use DDBMS successfully upon adoption.