Adoption of information systems in organizations

Exploring the contextual factors affecting financial shared service implementation and firm performance

Purpose

Although the financial shared service (FSS) mode has become a well-established organizational arrangement, current information system (IS) research remains limited and mixed. The purpose of this study is to narrow research gaps in the literature on shared services from an FSS practice perspective. The following research questions guide this study: (1) what are the important antecedents of FSS implementation? (2) what is the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance?

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework and previous innovation studies, this study explores the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance. A questionnaire survey was conducted on Chinese firms using partial least squares (PLS) for data analysis.

Findings

The authors find technological, organizational and environmental factors affect the extent and depth of FSS implementation. The empirical results show that relative advantage, compatibility, top management support, managerial obstacles and competitive pressure significantly affect FSS implementation, but bandwagon pressure does not have a direct impact on it. Top management support is the most important factor, and managerial obstacles and compatibility are controllable and manageable factors for firms. The study confirms that FSS improves the financial and non-financial performance of firms significantly, and the degree of improvement in non-financial is greater than that in financial performance.

Practical implications

A comprehension of the key factors influencing FSS implementation will help companies predict weaknesses in their implementation plan and design suitable strategies to handle deployment to achieve these benefits. Managers can make a comprehensive decision regarding the long-term development of combining FSS and the suitability of companies.

Originality/value

The findings contribute to the shared services implementation theory by identifying a set of theoretical factors that shape a firm's shared service implementation. This study provides empirical support to gauge the impact of FSS implementation on firm performance and provides new evidence for a shared-service payoff study. Moreover, the study extends the applicability of the TOE framework and the balanced scorecard (BSC) viewpoint to the FSS implementation field.

The effect of family business exposure on individuals' entrepreneurial intentions: an institutional theory perspective

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of family business exposure on individuals' entrepreneurial intentions (EIs). By applying the institutional framework at the micro level, this study proposed the mediation of three types of institutional forces (coercive, normative and mimetic) between the relationship of family business exposure and EIs.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 367 university students in Pakistan. The survey design was used for the data collection. The measurement and hypothesized models were tested using the structural equation modeling technique in Mplus 7.0.

Findings

The findings of this study revealed that family business exposure positively influenced the institutional forces (coercive, normative and mimetic) which further developed the individuals' EIs. However, family business exposure did not affect the EIs directly that showed the full mediation of institutional forces between the relationship of family business exposure and EIs.

Originality/value

This is the first study in its nature which applied institutional theory from the macro level to the micro level within the context of family business. The results revealed the institutional forces as the underpinning mechanism which explains the relationship between family business exposure and EIs.