Benchmarking information technology practices in small firms

Composite Indicator of the Organisational Information and Communication Technologies Infrastructure—A Novel Statistical Index Tool

This paper proposes a tool for objective evaluation of organisations’ information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure development level: Composite Indicator of the Organisational Information and Communication Infrastructure—CIOICTI. Based on separate research in 68 different companies, it aggregates hardware, software and humanware aspects of ICT development in organisations, especially valuing companies with synergetic aspects. It consists of six linear and non-linear indicator components, each designed to evaluate one specific aspect of ICT development, based on the weighted sum principle. The proposed CIOICTI examines ICT infrastructure as a necessary but not sufficient condition for successful ICT usage in business performance improvement. The obtained CIOICTI values are summarised in the distribution and tested for normality. Results are tested on the data from observed companies, averaged according to company size and industry and benchmarked. The proposed composite indicator can be used as an objective tool for researchers and practitioners to assess the level of ICT development for benchmarking with other companies, planning organisational changes or assessing infrastructural requirements for planning and implementation of ICT related projects in a business organisation.

A Methodology to Compare the Usability of Information Systems

The usability of customer facing software interfaces is a source of competitive advantage for organisations. The usability of systems has also shown to encourage the effective and efficient completion of tasks and in consequence, operations. Furthermore, competitive analysis of the usability of software products has been shown to be a useful tool in the adoption of the user centred design philosophy within organisations. However, low adoption of usability evaluation is prevalent due to a lack of methodologies to support organisations in their endeavours to achieve better usability. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to present a methodology to compare the usability of information systems. By using such a methodology, organisations will be able to gauge the standard of the usability of their information systems, by comparing it to others.

Unravelling managerial competencies and the profitability of small technology-oriented businesses: A case of public access venues in an emerging economy

Orientation: The tweak speed of technological changes, volatility of domestic markets, shifts in consumer behaviour and homogeneity of Internet-based services are pressurising entrepreneurs operating small technology-oriented businesses such as public access venues (PAVs) (e.g. Internet cafés) to develop a compendium of managerial competencies to deal with these challenges effectively and expeditiously. Yet rigorous research on managerial competencies of Internet café business owners or managers in emerging economies such as South Africa is conspicuously missing, raising critical questions about the perceived significance of such competencies in management and entrepreneurship literature.Research purpose: This research, therefore, examined the managerial competencies discernible among PAV or Internet café owner or managers and their implications for the profitability of their businesses.Motivation for the study: To establish the managerial competencies of PAV or Internet café business owners or managers and their effect on the profitability of their businesses.Research approach/design and method: Drawing on a quantitative approach and a survey design, a structured questionnaire was administered to 152 Internet café owners or managers to establish the influence of their managerial competencies on the profitability of their businesses.Main findings: Three assortments of managerial competencies were evident among Internet café owners or managers, namely, resource management, innovation management and market management capabilities. The results of the Pearson’s correlations revealed that managerial competencies are significantly correlated to business profitability, resource management capabilities have the highest correlation with profitability (Correlation = 0.743, p = 0.000), followed by innovation management capabilities (Correlation = 0.732, p = 0.000) and lastly marketing management capabilities (Correlation = 0.695, p = 0.000).Practical/ managerial implications: Because many businesses were very small establishments, employing less than six employees and with owners or managers who had less than 6 years of experience, it would be critical to establish if the provision of management training to owners or managers from the inception of the business would increase the growth orientation of such businesses. Because resource management capabilities have the highest correlation with firm profitability, the managerial training of small business owners or managers should concentrate more on this dimension compared to other managerial capabilities to improve their competitiveness.Contribution/value-add: Strategic interventions to improve the profitability of these small technology-oriented businesses border on scrupulously addressing and aligning their resource management, innovation management and market management capabilities.

Exploring An Alternative Method of Evaluating the Effects of Erp: A Multiple Case Study

Previous research has already established that compared to other types of investments, information technology (IT) investments are insufficiently or not at all evaluated. This can be partly explained by the lack of adequate IT evaluation methods and tools. In the case of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems whose effects on organizational processes and performance are intrinsically profound and wide-ranging compared to those of traditional IT limited to some spheres of organization, evaluation activities may be an issue of great concern. This study thus aims to propose and test an alternative evaluation method adaptable to the organizational context, making it possible to measure the contribution of an ERP system to organizational performance in all its aspects. Combining a process-based model and a scorecard model, the proposed method was first designed from a review of information systems evaluation literature. It has then been validated and refined through a multi-case study of manufacturing firms: an in-depth pilot case study was conducted, and thereafter the study was replicated on two other cases. Results show that the method proposed here enables organizations to determine the extent to which the firm's operational and overall performance has been impacted by the adoption and use of ERP systems, through the automational, informational, and transformational effects of ERP on their business processes. From a practical point of view, three contributions must be mentioned: the proposed method allows for a strong contextualization of its application, it is action-oriented, and it allows comparison across organizations even though organizational contexts may totally differ.

The Application and Adaptation of a Diffusion of Innovation Framework for Information Systems Research in NHS General Medical Practice

This paper proposes an adapted diffusion of innovation (DOI) framework that may be considered relevant and useful to researchers undertaking studies of information systems innovations in healthcare organizations. A particular focus concerns problems and issues associated with professional cultures and powerful organizational control structures. A review of four empirical DOI studies are undertaken to identify candidate frameworks for the retrospective analysis of a pilot study conducted across General Medical Practices based within a Primary Care Trust in the north east of England. A research approach, based on phenomenology, semi-structured interviews and template analysis is adopted in order to conduct and provide a rich analysis of the data. The findings are discussed using the modified DOI framework. Discussion and conclusions relate to the extended use of the DOI framework, its further development and how it may be used to understand how ICT innovation is politically constrained, perceived and motivated within healthcare environments