Business Commons^™

Application Of Business Analytics Approaches To Address Climate-Change-Related Challenges, Donald J. Jenkins

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Climate change is an existential threat facing humanity, civilization, and the natural world. It poses many multi-layered challenges that call for enhanced data-driven decision support methods to help inform society of ways to address the deep uncertainty and incomplete knowledge on climate change issues. This research primarily aims to apply management, decision, information, and data science theories and techniques to propose, build, and evaluate novel data-driven methodologies to improve understanding of climate-change-related challenges. Given that we pursue this work in the College of Management, each essay applies one or more of the three distinct business analytics approaches (i.e., descriptive, prescriptive, …

Simulation Modeling For Robust And Just Public Policy Decision-Making, Jack Mitcham

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Public policy decision-making is challenging for several reasons. First, the outcomes of pulling a public policy lever are often deeply uncertain because of the complexity of the social and physical systems involved. Second, even if outcomes can be predicted, there are multiple points of view to consider, and the same outcome can be viewed anywhere from very positively to very negatively by different stakeholders. Because of this, public policy decisions should be both robust and just. Robustness helps with the uncertainty in outcomes and justice helps with differences in worldview. In this dissertation, I employ system dynamics and agent-based simulation …

Organizational Study Of Information Technology, Law, And Purchasing Departments : City Of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

The Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management was hired by the City of Fitchburg to perform organizational studies of three departments, including the Information Technology (IT) Department, the Law Department, and the Purchasing Department. All three of the studies were to review the respective departments’ organizational structures, responsibilities, and practices with a goal of identifying areas of improvement that could result in improved operations and time and cost savings (IT and Purchasing) and areas in need of improvement (Law Department).

The Collins Center project team met with the directors of the three departments under review to understand their …

Better Knowledge With Social Media? Exploring The Roles Of Social Capital And Organizational Knowledge Management, Pratyush Bharati, Wei Zhang, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore social media’s impact on organizational knowledge quality through the theoretical lens of social capital and resource exchange. Design/methodology/approach – Theory-confirming, quantitative study using panel data collected through web-based survey Findings – The results show that while social media affect structural capital and cognitive capital directly, it only affects relational capital indirectly through structural and cognitive capital. Moreover, overall social media and the enhanced social capital do help promote organizational efforts in knowledge management, which subsequently leads to higher level of organizational knowledge quality. Research limitations/implications – All survey respondents were …

Global Delivery Models: The Role Of Talent, Speed And Time Zones In The Global Outsourcing Industry, Stephan Manning, Marcus Larsen, Pratyush Bharati

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

We investigate antecedents and contingencies of location configurations supporting global delivery models (GDMs) in global outsourcing. GDMs are a new form of IT-enabled client-specific investment promoting services provision integration with clients by exploiting client proximity and time-zone spread allowing for 24/7 service delivery and access to resources. Based on comprehensive data we show that providers are likely to establish GDM configurations when clients value access to globally distributed talent pools and speed of service delivery, and in particular when services are highly commoditized. Findings imply that coordination across time zones increasingly affects international operations in business-to-business and born-global industries.

Social Media Assimilation In Firms: Investigating The Roles Of Absorptive Capacity And Institutional Pressures, Pratyush Bharati, Chen Zhang, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

Firms are increasingly employing social media to manage relationships with partner organizations, yet the role of institutional pressures in social media assimilation has not been studied. We investigate social media assimilation in firms using a model that combines the two theoretical streams of IT adoption: organizational innovation and institutional theory. The study uses a composite view of absorptive capacity that includes both previous experience with similar technology and the general ability to learn and exploit new technologies. We find that institutional pressures are an important antecedent to absorptive capacity, an important measure of organizational learning capability. The paper augments theory …

Regional Infrastructure Department Implementation Plan: Prepared For The Towns Of Wenham And Hamilton, Massachusetts And The Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District, Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center For Public Management, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Edward J. Collins Center for Public Management Publications

The purpose of this Organizational Assessment is to: a) quantify the resources needed to establish a new regional public works department; b) assess whether those resources are available or could be made available; c) prepare a recommendation of those functions to be merged; and d) make recommendations on an organizational structure and governance process.

Predicting Hospital Patients' Admission To Reduce Emergency Department Boarding, Mohammadmahdi Moqri

Graduate Masters Theses

Emergency Department (ED) boarding - the inability to transfer emergency patients to inpatient beds- is a key factor contributing to ED overcrowding. This paper presents a novel approach to improving hospital operational efficiency and, therefore, to decreasing ED boarding. Using the historic data of 15,000 patients, admission results and patient information are correlated in order to identify important admission predictor factors. For example, the type of radiology exams prescribed by the ED physician is identified as among the most important predictors of admission. Based on these factors, a real-time prediction model is developed which is able to correctly predict the …

Social Media Assimilation In Firms: Investigating The Roles Of Absorptive Capacity And Institutional Pressures, Pratyush Bharati, Chen Zhang, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

Firms are increasingly employing social media to manage relationships with partner organizations, yet the role of institutional pressures in social media assimilation has not been studied. We investigate social media assimilation in firms using a model that combines the two theoretical streams of IT adoption: organizational innovation and institutional theory. The study uses a composite view of absorptive capacity that includes both previous experience with similar technology and the general ability to learn and exploit new technologies. We find that institutional pressures are an important antecedent to absorptive capacity, an important measure of organizational learning capability. The paper augments theory …

Connecting Big Data With Big Decisions: Ideas For Synthesizing Analytics And Decision Analysis, Jeffrey Keisler

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

This paper describes an approach to connect decision analysis models with outputs of analytic methods applied to various types of big data. Decision analysis models focus on issues of concern to a decision maker and incorporate use of a range of methods and axioms to develop insights about what the decision maker should do. In particular, decision analysis models typically use subjective judgments from the decision maker to describe beliefs about the likelihood of events and the desirability of outcomes. In order for human judgments to be improved by the availability of large amounts of data and processing power, it …

Java Applet Awareness Impacting User Web Browsing Behavior, Norilyz Figueroa

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

The purpose of this study is to investigate the web browsing behaviors of computer users and how awareness about threats impacts their behaviors. This research focused on how users behave towards web browser alerts which prompt users to install Java Applets. Applets have become common tools for enhancing user experience. However, installing these features overrides security mechanisms inherent in browsers and provides complete access to users’ computing resources. A survey was administered to two separate groups of students from the University of Massachusetts Boston to collect data. The first group took the survey after being given a few details about …

Employee Compliance With Information Systems Security Policy In Retail Industry. Case: Store Level Employees, Bertrand Muhire

Honors Thesis Program in the College of Management

In this digital era, information has become a very important component to any type of organizations. For some, it is not only an important component of daily routine operations but also required for competitive advantage. From big corporations to small businesses, non-profit organizations and governments, organizations need to safeguard and secure their information by implementing information security policies and make sure that all employees comply with such policies.

Since information is growing faster than in the previous decades, there is a need to safeguard and manage that information efficiently and effectively in order to make it useful. One of the …

Technology Assimilation Across The Value Chain: An Empirical Study Of Small And Medium-Sized Enterprises, Pratyush Bharati, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

No abstract provided.

Using Business Intelligence For Operational Decision-Making In Call Centers, Eric Kyper, Michael Douglas, Roger Blake

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

This paper proposes an operational business intelligence system to help achieve operational excellence in insurance call centers. We apply a decision tree based solution to collected data using a sliding window approach. Our solution provides two distinct advantages to call center managers. First, the decision trees allow managers to recognize key factors and the role they play in determining service levels. Second, our sliding window approach allows managers to see the effects on service levels of resource reallocation. Collected data from a large U.S. insurance company is analyzed. Initial results provide good insight into factors affecting this firm’s call center …

Smes And Competitiveness: The Role Of Information Systems, Pratyush Bharati, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

In this introductory article for the special issue on “SMEs and Competitiveness—The Role of Information Systems,” we provide a review of the current state of research on information systems and SMEs. A framework is provided that illustrates where the research has been concentrated and which areas are just beginning to be explored. The six articles that constitute this special issue are described in terms of this framework. A brief review of the articles is provided in which we indicate the question addressed, the factors taken into account, the nature of the research, and the dominant theory and perspective used in …

A Survey Of Schema Matching Research, Roger Blake

College of Management Working Papers and Reports

Schema matching is the process of developing semantic matches between two or more schemas. The purpose of schema matching is generally either to merge two or more databases, or to enable queries on multiple, heterogeneous databases to be formulated on a single schema (Doan and Halevy 2005). This paper develops a taxonomy of schema matching approaches, classifying them as being based on a combination schema matching technique and the type of data used by those techniques. Schema matching techniques are categorized as being based on rules, learning, or ontology, and the type of data used is categorized as being based …

Current Status Of Technology Adoption: Micro, Small And Medium Manufacturing Firms In Boston, Pratyush Bharati, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

Examining the extent and nature of adoption of technologies by micro, small, and medium-sized manufacturing firms in the greater Boston area.

Product Customization On The Web: An Empirical Study Of Factors Impacting Choiceboard User Satisfaction, Pratyush Bharati, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

Choiceboards are Web-based systems that allow consumers to customize their orders. The study investigated factors that affect consumers’ intention to use choiceboards. The research is based on Masons’ theory and DeLone and McLean’s model of information system use. It was found that intention to use is affected by overall satisfaction. In turn, these two factors are positively impacted by factors such as system quality and information quality. In spite of support from theory, the evidence for the factor, information presentation was weak.

Understanding The Future Of Global Software Production: Investigating The Network In India, Pratyush Bharati

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

No abstract provided.

Service Quality From The Other Side: Information Systems Management At Duquesne Light, Pratyush Bharati, Daniel Berg

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

Service organizations are continuously endeavoring to improve their quality of service as it is of paramount importance to them. Despite the importance of understanding the relationship of service quality and information systems, this research has not been pursued extensively. This study has addressed this gap in the research literature and studied how information systems impacts service quality. A research model is developed based on IS success model. System quality, information quality, user IT characteristics, employee IT performance and technical support are identified as important elements that influence service quality. An in-depth case study from the electric utility industry is used …

India’S It Services Industry: A Comparative Analysis, Pratyush Bharati

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Investigation Of Decision-Making Satisfaction In Web-Based Decision Support Systems, Pratyush Bharati, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

Web-based information systems are increasingly being used for decision support applications. However few empirical studies have been conducted on web-based decision support systems (DSS). This experimental research endeavors to understand factors that impact decision-making satisfaction in web based decision support systems. Using structural equation modeling approach, the analysis reveals that information quality and system quality influence decision-making satisfaction, while information presentation does not have an effect on decision-making satisfaction.

Using Choice-Boards To Create Business Value, Pratyush Bharati, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

No abstract provided.

Managing Information Technology For Service Quality: A Study From The Other Side, Pratyush Bharati, Daniel Berg

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

System quality, information quality, user IS characteristics, employee IS performance and technical support are identified as important elements that influence service quality. A model interrelating these constructs is proposed. Data collected through a national survey of IS departments in electric utility firms was used to test the model using regression and path analysis methodology. The results suggest that system quality, information quality, user IS characteristics through their effects on employee IS performance influence service quality while technical support influences service quality directly. The results also suggest that employee IS performance contributes more to service quality as compared to technical support. …

Global Perceptions Of Journals Publishing E-Commerce Research, Pratyush Bharati, Peter Tarasewich

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

No abstract provided.