Thanos Papadopoulos

Information systems strategy: Past, present, future?

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the current discourse in the Strategic Information Systems (SIS) domain about the future and identity of SIS. We draw on Nelsons theorisation of the co-evolution of Physical and Social Technologies to redefine the SIS domain as a Complex Adaptive System (CAS) for the co-evolution of ICT and organisational capabilities and business models to create social and economic value. We conduct a meta-analysis of the domain based on a longitudinal review of SIS research over 33years, and contrary to contemporaneous SIS literature which suggests that a paradigm shift may be necessary to address the increased turbulence, uncertainty and dynamism in the emerging competitive landscape, we find that the SIS research domain has the requisite adaptive capacity to evolve gracefully to address the challenges of the emerging networked competitive landscape. Drawing on complexity science and network theory we identify four priorities for the development of the domain for the future: conceptualisation of the SIS Domain as a CAS for the co-evolution of Physical and Social Technologies; the adoption of the network paradigm; access to a science of networks; and adoption of Complexity Science as an articulation device within SIS and across disciplines.

The role of actor associations in understanding the implementation of Lean thinking in healthcare

Purpose – The importance of networks in effecting the outcomes of change processes is well-established in the literature. Whilst extant literature focuses predominantly on the structural properties of networks, our purpose is to explore the dynamics of network emergence that give rise to the outcomes of process improvement interventions. Through the use of actor-network theory (ANT), the purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics in the implementation of a process improvement methodology in the complex organisational setting of a UK National Health Service Trust. The paper illustrates the utility of ANT in articulating the dynamic nature of networks underpinning socio-technical change, and our analysis provides insights for the management process change initiatives. Design/methodology/approach – This is a rich qualitative study in the Pathology Unit of a UK National Health Service Trust, using ANT as the theoretical lens for tracking the emergence and transformation of networks of individuals over the course of a management intervention to promote “Lean thinking” for process performance improvements. Findings – ANT is useful for explicitly tracking how organisational players shift their positions and network allegiances over time, and for identifying objects and actions that are effective in engaging individuals in networks which enable transition to a Lean process. It is important to attend to the dynamics of the process of change and devise appropriate timely interventions enabling actors to shift their own positions towards a desired outcome. Research limitations/implications – The paper makes the case for using theoretical frameworks developed outside the operations management to develop insights for designing process interventions. Originality/value – By understanding the role of shifting networks managers can use timely interventions during the process implementation to facilitate the transition to Lean processes, e.g. using demonstrable senior leadership commitment and visual communication.

Exploring the determinants of knowledge sharing via employee weblogs

Weblogs have been used by organisations as both a communication means and a knowledge sharing tool. Traditionally, research has explored the use of weblogs and virtual communities for knowledge sharing. Nevertheless, relatively little has been published focusing on the factors that influence the intention to share knowledge in employee weblogs. This paper aims to address this gap based on a survey of 175 respondents. The results indicate that self-efficacy, perceived enjoyment, certain personal outcome expectations, and individual attitudes towards knowledge sharing are positively related to the intention of knowledge sharing in employee weblogs.

Social media for openness and accountability in the public sector: cases in the Greek context

This paper explores the use of government social media for opennessand accountability. The extant literature has highlighted the benefits of social media use in this context to enhance citizen participation and engagement in decision-making and policy development, facilitate openness and transparency efforts, and reduce corruption. Yet, there are limited studies that discuss those properties of social media that can afford openness and accountability, and their implications for policy and practise. To address these gaps, a study is conducted in the Greek context using interviews with top managers, policy makers, and relevant stakeholders across five initiatives. We discuss distinct affordances for openness and accountability, and propose their inclusion as building blocks of the national ICT policy for openness and accountability. Finally, we provide the implications of the affordances lens for policy and practise, the limitations of the study and future research avenues.

New service development in e‐government: identifying critical success factors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to suggest a model that incorporates critical factors contributing to the success in new service development (NSD) projects in electronic government (e‐government).Design/methodology/approach – After a brief introduction to e‐government and NSD in respect to models for successful implementation, the authors justify and build on the existing literature that advocates the use of critical success factors (CSFs) to study the implementation of these projects. They suggest a model that incorporates the determinants of success or failure for a new service through a set of variables.Findings – This paper proposes a framework, which is believed to help with the empirical research of CSF in NSD. The suggested framework attempts to bring experience in leadership and coordination of work theory and practice together by synthesising the existing literature with real‐life experience.Research limitations/implications – The paper contributes to the e‐government implementation litera...

Stakeholder network dynamics and emergent trajectories of Lean implementation projects : a study in the UK national health service

Relatively little has been published about the dynamics and mechanisms underpinning the trajectories and outcomes of public service Lean projects. This article addresses this gap by using Actor Network Theory (ANT) to elucidate the dynamics of Lean implementation in a UK hospital trust. The authors show how implementation trajectories play out in complex contexts with multiple and diverse stakeholder constituencies. The analysis provides insights into the process and role of network formation and stabilization in Lean implementation. Finally, the authors discuss the implications of their findings for management practice.

Visual Interactions with Strategy Tools: Producing Strategic Knowledge in Workshops*

How do managers visually interact with strategy tools during workshops to produce knowledge about strategic issues? Building on the strategy-as-practice perspective and visual organization studies, we conceptualize workshops as arenas where visual interaction with strategy tools takes place. Following this approach, we examine how a top management team creates a strategy tool during a workshop (using primarily video data). Our findings reveal three distinctive patterns of visual interactions: shift, inertia, and assembly. We also show how each of these patterns is enabled by the affordances of the tool used. Our study contributes to theoretical elaborations of how actors visually interact with strategy tools, which offers extensions to the strategy-as-practice and visual organization literatures.

Continuous improvement and dynamic actor associations: A study of lean thinking implementation in the UK National Health Service

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the link between continuous improvement (CI) and dynamic actor associations through a case of lean thinking implementation in healthcare.Design/methodology/approach – The paper follows the qualitative case study strategy. Data were collected by interviewing (tape‐recording) managers and staff, analysing relevant written project material, and conducting non‐participant observations.Findings – The findings suggest that the implementation of CI depends on the emergence of a “favouring” network from the dynamic associations between heterogeneous entities. This network aims at facilitating change leadership, establishing behaviour/culture prone to CI, and constructing a behaviour non‐resistant to CI needed for creating competencies for the continuous roll‐outs of such changes. Continuous translation is the underlying mechanism for establishing the favouring network.Originality/value – The paper addresses the literature gap regarding the role of dynamic actor as...

Modelling and Analysis of Sustainable Operations Management: Certain Investigations for Research and Applications

Sustainable operations management (SOM) can be defined as the operations strategies, tactics and techniques, and operational policies to support both economic and environmental objectives and goals. The subject of sustainability has gained much attention from both researchers and practitioners in the past 6–8 years. Most of the articles deal with sustainability from environmental perspectives, but a limited number of them integrate both economic and environmental implications or focus on trading-off between profitability, competitiveness and environmental dimensions. Moreover, there is a limited focus on modelling and analysis (MA) of SOM integrating and balancing the interests of both economic and environmental interests. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this paper to review the extant literature on SOM. The objective is to understand the definition of SOM and present the current status of research in MA, as well as future research directions in the field. Considering the recent focus of the subject, we review the literature on MA of SOM beginning in 2000 in order to make our study current and more relevant for both researchers and practitioners. Finally, a summary of findings and conclusions is reported.

Vision, applications and future challenges of Internet of Things: A bibliometric study of the recent literature

Purpose – The emergent field of Internet of Things (IoT) has been evolving rapidly with a geometric growth in the number of academic publications in this field. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature of IoT in past 16 years using rigorous bibliometric and network analysis tools, offering at the same time future directions for the IoT research community and implications for managers and decision makers. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopted the techniques of bibliometric and network analysis. The paper reviewed the articles published on IoT from 2000 to 2015. Findings – This study identifies top contributing authors; key research topics related to the field; the most influential works based on citations and PageRank; and established and emerging research clusters. Scholars are encouraged to further explore this topic. Research limitations/implications – This study focusses only on vision and applications of IoT. Scholars may explore various other aspects of this area of research....