Adoption of computer aided software engineering (CASE) technology

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.

Behavioral intention to use distance teaching in the pandemic era

This study aimed at exploring the impact of post-epidemic era on teachers’ behavioral intention of distance education. In this study, purposive sampling method was used to enroll 390 teachers in colleges and universities, high schools and vocational schools, and junior high and elementary schools to be the research subjects for the questionnaire survey. A total of 360 questionnaires were collected for statistics, and AMOS 23.0 statistical software was used to analyze the correlation between variables. Meanwhile, a structural equation model was used to analyze and verify the impact of the technology acceptance model, information system success model, and diffusion of innovations theory. According to the results, the system quality of distance teaching platforms certainly affected perceived usefulness, and perceived usefulness affected teachers’ attitudes toward using distance teaching systems. In addition, perceived ease of use had an impact on perceived usefulness, and trialability had an impact on teachers’ attitudes toward using distance teaching systems. Finally, teachers’ attitude toward using a distance teaching system also affected their behavioral intention. According to the results, suggestions were made in this study to teachers and students for distance teaching. Additionally, the main contribution of this study lies in providing specific strategies for further distance teaching through empirical results in combination with on-site teaching.

The Assessment of Big Data Adoption Readiness with a Technology–Organization–Environment Framework: A Perspective towards Healthcare Employees

Big data is rapidly being seen as a new frontier for improving organizational performance. However, it is still in its early phases of implementation in developing countries’ healthcare organizations. As data-driven insights become critical competitive advantages, it is critical to ascertain which elements influence an organization’s decision to adopt big data. The aim of this study is to propose and empirically test a theoretical framework based on technology–organization–environment (TOE) factors to identify the level of readiness of big data adoption in developing countries’ healthcare organizations. The framework empirically tested 302 Malaysian healthcare employees. The structural equation modeling was used to analyze the collected data. The results of the study demonstrated that technology, organization, and environment factors can significantly contribute towards big data adoption in healthcare organizations. However, the complexity of technology factors has shown less support for the notion. For technology practitioners, this study showed how to enhance big data adoption in healthcare organizations through TOE factors.

Factors affecting the intention to adopt e-government services in Malawi and the role played by donors

Despite many papers written on the adoption of e-government services in developing countries, authors have not approached their articles empirically. For those that have, obvious constructs critical to the development of e-government in developing countries were overlooked. This paper extends the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework with a decomposed theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the technological acceptance model (TAM); it is guided by stimulus-organism-response (SOR) in its attempt to develop a successful model that can be used to study factors affecting the adoption of e-government services in Malawi, while taking into account missed constructs. Donor support was hypothesized to moderate the effect of e-government funding on perceived behavior control. Data were collected from 259 Malawian public servants, and structural equation modeling was used to evaluate factors affecting e-government services adoption. The study reveals that there is a need for the Malawian government to fund e-government projects to reduce over-reliance on donors.

Author Highlights for the Past 35 Years

This essay reviews leading contributions to The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems over the past 35 years, both in terms of identifying leading scholars who published most frequently in the journal as well as papers that have been cited most frequently. Using standard scientometric methods, I identify the leading authors who published five or more papers since 1982. In terms of analyzing highly cited papers, I organize the analysis into four time periods of nine years each, a structure that reveals that The DATA BASE has been a longstanding venue for IS scholars to introduce their early work - whether conceptual or empirical. Notably, several esteemed IS scholars published early conceptual versions of their ideas in The DATA BASE - often many years before they followed up with related work in other journals. In terms of highly cited papers, the analysis in this essay also reveals that The DATA BASE shifted toward publishing empirical papers after 1990 and, despite the prevalence of positivist, quantitative research during the past 25 years, qualitative research has also become prominent in the journal. More recently, the journal has also featured several literature review papers on important topic areas, such as virtual teams, technostress, IT outsourcing, and IT security. This essay reviews leading contributions to The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems over the past 35 years, both in terms of identifying leading scholars who published most frequently in the journal as well as papers that have been cited most frequently. Using standard scientometric methods, I identify the leading authors who published five or more papers since 1982. In terms of analyzing highly cited papers, I organize the analysis into four time periods of nine years each, a structure that reveals that The DATA BASE has been a longstanding venue for IS scholars to introduce their early work - whether conceptual or empirical. Notably, several esteemed IS scholars published early conceptual versions of their ideas in The DATA BASE - often many years before they followed up with related work in other journals. In terms of highly cited papers, the analysis in this essay also reveals that The DATA BASE shifted toward publishing empirical papers after 1990 and, despite the prevalence of positivist, quantitative research during the past 25 years, qualitative research has also become prominent in the journal. More recently, the journal has also featured several literature review papers on important topic areas, such as virtual teams, technostress, IT outsourcing, and IT security.

ESTABLISHING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN INNOVATION CHARACTERISTICS AND IT INNOVATION ADOPTION IN ORGANISATIONS: A META-ANALYSIS APPROACH

This paper presents the findings of a meta-analysis of innovation characteristics that influence the adoption of information technology (IT) in organisations. Past studies that examine the determinants of IT innovation adoption have produced inconsistent and contradictory results and deducing a definitive set of attributes for innovation adoption has become impractical. The study has aggregated findings of past research on IT adoption using meta-analysis to identify key factors in terms of innovation or technology that influences adoption of IT in organisation. Six innovation characteristics most commonly examined by researchers have been analysed. The results of this meta-analysis confirm that relative advantage, compatibility, cost, observability and trialability are strong determinants of IT innovation adoption. However, the study found no association between complexity and IT innovation adoption. The effect of stage of innovation, type of innovation, type of organisation and size of organisation as four moderating conditions has also been examined.

A Review of the Predictors, Linkages, and Biases in IT Innovation Adoption Research

We present a review and analysis of the rich body of research on the adoption and diffusion of IT-based innovations by individuals and organizations. Our review analyzes 48 empirical studies on individual and 51 studies on organizational IT adoption published between 1992 and 2003. In total, the sample contains 135 independent variables, eight dependent variables, and 505 relationships between independent and dependent variables. Furthermore, our sample includes both quantitative and qualitative studies. We were able to include qualitative studies because of a unique coding scheme, which can easily be replicated in other reviews. We use this sample to assess predictors, linkages, and biases in individual and organizational IT adoption research. The best predictors of individual IT adoption include Perceived Usefulness, Top Management Support, Computer Experience, Behavioral Intention, and User Support. The best predictors of IT adoption by organizations were Top Management Support, External Pressure, Professionalism of the IS Unit, and External Information Sources. At the level of independent variables, Top Management Support stands as the main linkage between individual and organizational IT adoption. But at an aggregate level, two collections of independent variables were good predictors of both individual and organizational IT adoption. These were innovation characteristics and organizational characteristics. Thus, we can consistently say that generic characteristics of the innovation and characteristics of the organization are strong predictors of IT adoption by both individuals and organizations. Based on an assessment of the predictors, linkages, and known biases, we prescribe 10 areas for further exploration.

An industry analysis of developer beliefs about object-oriented systems development

Object-oriented systems development (OOSD) is a recent innovation in software development that is often cited as a viable solution to many of the ills plaguing this critical industry. However, some express doubt about the potentially over-hyped claims of OOSD. While there are many accounts of the successful application of OOSD, widespread acceptance has not been achieved, implying that OOSD may not be viewed as positively by industry as the literature would suggest.To address this dilemma, the present study examines a wide variety of specific beliefs about OOSD as provided by a survey of 150 systems developers. Using Ajzen's (1988) theory of planned behavior as a foundation, an exploratory factor analysis is performed to determine which specific beliefs about OOSD are indeed salient indicators of three fundamental concepts that should influence acceptance: the usefulness of OOSD, social pressure to use OOSD, and the ease of using OOSD. The results of the study reveal that while many specific beliefs about OOSD are indeed salient indicators of these more fundamental, potentially influential factors, many other beliefs are not. This study should prove helpful to practitioners who are considering the adoption or continued use of OOSD, and to researchers who are interested in the diffusion of innovations in general