Databases and Information Systems Commons^™

A Systematic Method For Discovering Effective Patterns Of Virtual Project Management, Deepak Khazanchi, Ilze Zigurs

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

The effective management of virtual projects within global organizations is an inherently collaborative activity as well as an increasingly critical issue. The concept of patterns provides a useful theoretical framework by which we can study the design of effective practices for the management of virtual projects. However, a number of significant gaps exist in our knowledge of this area and one of the most important is the need for a systematic method for discovering effective patterns. We propose such a systematic method and provide a detailed example of the use of our proposed pattern discovery method.

Ancillary Service Capacity Optimization For Both Electric Power Suppliers And Independent System Operator, Lijian Chen, Dengfeng Sun, Guang Li

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

Ancillary Services (AS) in electric power industry are critical to support the transmission of energy from generators to load demands while maintaining reliable operation of transmission systems in accordance with good utility practice. The ancillary services are procured by the independent system operator (ISO) through a process called the market clearing process which can be modeled by the partial equilibrium from the ends of ISO. There are two capacity optimization problems for both Market participants (MP) and Independent System Operator (ISO). For a market participant, the firm needs to determine the capacity allocation plan for various AS to pursue operating …

Irish Cios’ Influence On Technology Innovation And It-Business Alignment, Harvey Enns, Joseph J. Mcdonagh

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

Technology is the driving force behind many of today’s new products, services, and cost-cutting measures. However, there are gaps in our understanding about how technological innovation is fostered and nurtured in organizations.

Part of the answer is to examine how Chief Information Officers (CIOs) exercise influence regarding technological innovation in organizations. This is particularly important since the CIO is the head of technology in organizations, an important source of technological innovation. This article draws on an established executive influence framework to demonstrate how Irish CIOs are able to solidify Information Technology’s (IT’s) contribution to technological innovation via relational means. Most …

Economic Culture And Trading Behaviors In Information Markets, Khalid Nasser Alhayyan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There are four main components for influencing traders' behaviors in an information market context: trader characteristics, organizational characteristics, market design, and external information. This dissertation focuses on investigating the impact of individual trader characteristics on trading behaviors. Two newly-developed constructs, highly relevant to information market contexts, were identified to increase our understanding about trading behaviors: trader's economic culture and trader independence. The theory of planned behavior is used as the theoretical basis to postulate hypotheses for empirical testing. Data collected from subjects through a series of web-based experiments shows that trader participation can be fostered through recruiting individuals who are …

How Cios Overcome The Competing Values Challenge: Irish Cios’ Perspectives, Harvey Enns, Dean B. Mcfarlin, Paul B. Sweeney

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

Competing values are a fact of organizational life. However, there are gaps in our understanding about how these opposing beliefs hinder influence processes. This article draws on interview data to demonstrate how Irish Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are able to convince their colleagues to support new projects within their firms in the face of competing values. Focused interviews were used to explore the influence process and the competing values phenomenon, since this type of research is at an early stage and qualitative methods and analysis serve as a rich source of theory development.

The data showed that the CIOs who …

A Cultural Analysis Of Information Technology Offshore Outsourcing: An Exercise In Multi-Sited Ethnography Of Virtual Work, Tara Eaton

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study is an exploration of how ethnography and anthropological analysis can provide new understanding of transnational, multi-sited research phenomena. Research focused on the work activities of one American client organization and its Indian IT service provider situated in the global virtual field of Information Technology (IT) offshore outsourcing. The Principal Investigator adapted and applied an ethnographic approach for her fieldwork in order to understand the norms, beliefs, and values about work, as well as the relationship between cultural differences and virtual communication. Dissertation findings offer new insight for anthropological discussions of globalization as well as suggest further development of …

Using Organizational, Coordination, And Contingency Theories To Examine Project Manager Insights On Agile And Traditional Success Factors For Information Technology Projects, Michael J. Doherty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Two dominant research views addressing disappointing success rates for information technology (IT) projects suggest project success may depend on the presence of a large number of critical success factors or advocate for agile project management as an alternative to traditional practice. However, after two decades of research, success rates remain low, and the role of critical success factors or project management approach remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to use views of experienced project managers to explore the contribution of success factors and management approach to project success. Applying organizational, coordination, and contingency theories, the research questions examined …

Transcending Technological Innovation: The Impact Of Acquisitions On Entrepreneurial Technical Organizations, Bruce Crochetiere

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Technology firms with substantial cash reserves acquire smaller entrepreneurial firms for diversification. In 2006, 3 large firms acquired 28 organizations, with the combined deals exceeding {dollar}4.7 billion. The problem addressed in this study is that new start-up companies with innovative ideas may not mature when they are acquired by larger companies and do not fully articulate potential industry-transcending innovation. This is important because the unsuccessful integration of an acquisition can dismantle innovation and compromises economic inventiveness. Drawing from the disruptive innovation and the resource-based theories, the purpose of the quasi-experimental study was to examine the impact of acquisition by larger …

Acceptance And Usage Of Electronic Health Record Systems In Small Medical Practices, Ritu Tannan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One of the objectives of the U.S. government has been the development of a nationwide health information infrastructure, including adoption and use of an electronic health records (EHR) system. However, a 2008 survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics indicated a 41.5% usage of the EHR system by physicians in office-based practices. The purpose of this study was to explore opinions and beliefs on the barriers to the diffusion of an ERH system using Q-methodology. Specifically, the research questions examined the subjectivity in the patterns of perspectives at the preadoption stage of the nonusers and at the postadoption …

Entropy In Postmerger And Acquisition Integration From An Information Technology Perspective, Gloria S. Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mergers and acquisitions have historically experienced failure rates from 50% to more than 80%. Successful integration of information technology (IT) systems can be the difference between postmerger success or failure. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the entropy phenomenon during postmerger IT integration. To that end, a purposive sample of 14 midlevel and first-line managers in a manufacturing environment was interviewed to understand how the negative effects of entropy affect the ultimate success of the IT integration process. Using the theoretical framework of the process school of thought, interview data were iteratively examined by using keywords, phrases, …

Data-Driven Decision Making As A Tool To Improve Software Development Productivity, Mary Erin Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The worldwide software project failure rate, based on a survey of information technology software manager's view of user satisfaction, product quality, and staff productivity, is estimated to be between 24% and 36% and software project success has not kept pace with the advances in hardware. The problem addressed by this study was the limited information about software managers' experiences with data-driven decision making (DDD) in agile software organizations as a tool to improve software development productivity. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how agile software managers view DDD as a tool to improve software development productivity and …

An Empirical Study On User Acceptance Of Simulation Techniques For Business Process, Olurotimi Adeboye Ladeinde

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Non acceptance of technology may result in serious damages to organizations. For example, non acceptance of simulation technology cost Merrill Lynch Bank over {dollar}50 billion in 2008, while statistics in 2 separate studies showed that non acceptance of technology was responsible for a 57% decrease in performance level for physicians practicing in public tertiary hospitals in Hong Kong, and a 39% decrease in productivity for hotel workers in Seoul, Korea. The problem addressed in this research was non acceptance of simulation technology by project managers. This research investigated the correlation among personal innovativeness, organizational innovativeness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of …

The Potential Role Of Business Intelligence In Church Organizations, Charmaine Felder

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business intelligence (BI) involves transforming data into actionable information to make better business decisions that may help improve operations. Although businesses have experienced success with BI, how leaders of church organizations might be able to exploit the advantages of BI in church organizations remains largely unexplored. The purpose of the phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of pastoral leaders concerning the potential usefulness of BI in church organizations. Conceptual support for the study was based on the premise that churches may also benefit from BI that helps improve decision making and organizational performance. Three research questions were used to …

Learning Without Onboarding: How Assessing And Evaluating Learning Benefits New Information Technology Hires, Dory L. Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Onboarding ensures learning success through sharing and acquiring knowledge to remain competitive. However, little is known about new Information Technology (IT) hires' learning needs in the absence of onboarding; therefore, the purpose of this case study was to examine, increase, and retain their technical knowledge at the Unified Communications Company (UCC). Following the theoretical model of knowledge management, which holds that knowledge is the key to confirm learning and knowledge sharing, the research questions were used to examine how the company assessed and increased their technical knowledge and how they taught their culture in the absence of onboarding. A qualitative …

Asset Reuse Of Images From A Repository, Deirdre Herman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to Markus's theory of reuse, when digital repositories are deployed to collect and distribute organizational assets, they supposedly help ensure accountability, extend information exchange, and improve productivity. Such repositories require a large investment due to the continuing costs of hardware, software, user licenses, training, and technical support. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of evidence in the literature on whether users in fact reused enough digital assets in repositories to justify the investment. The objective of the study was to investigate the organizational value of repositories to better inform architectural, construction, software and other industries whether …

Choosing Management Information Systems As A Major: Understanding The Smifactors For Mis, Thomas W. Ferratt, Stephen R. Hall, Jayesh Prasad, Donald E. Wynn

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

Given declining management information systems (MIS) enrollments at our university, we seek to understand our students‘ selection of a major. Prior studies have found that students choose a major based on a number of factors, with subject matter interest consistently being most important. We contribute to the literature by developing a deeper understanding of what is meant by subject matter interest, which we refer to as smiFactors, for MIS as a major and career. Based on a qualitative analysis of open-ended survey questions completed by undergraduate business students, we confirm a number of smiFactors for MIS gleaned from recent studies …

Re-Solving Stochastic Programming Models For Airline Revenue Management, Lijian Chen, Tito Homem-De-Mello

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

We study some mathematical programming formulations for the origin-destination model in airline revenue management. In particular, we focus on the traditional probabilistic model proposed in the literature. The approach we study consists of solving a sequence of two-stage stochastic programs with simple recourse, which can be viewed as an approximation to a multi-stage stochastic programming formulation to the seat allocation problem. Our theoretical results show that the proposed approximation is robust, in the sense that solving more successive two-stage programs can never worsen the expected revenue obtained with the corresponding allocation policy. Although intuitive, such a property is known not …

Capacity-Driven Pricing Mechanism In Special Service Industries, Lijian Chen, Suraj M. Alexander

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

We propose a capacity driven pricing mechanism for several service industries in which the customer behavior, the price demand relationship, and the competition are significantly distinct from other industries. According our observation, we found that the price demand relationship in these industries cannot be modeled by fitted curves; the customers would neither plan in advance nor purchase the service strategically; and the competition would be largely local. We analyze both risk neutral and risk aversion pricing models and conclude the proposed capacity driven model would be the optimal solution under mild assumptions. The resulting pricing mechanism has been implemented at …

A Correlational Study Of Telework Frequency, Information Communication Technology, And Job Satisfaction Of Home-Based Teleworkers, Shana P. Webster-Trotman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2008, 33.7 million Americans teleworked from home. The Telework Enhancement Act (S. 707) and the Telework Improvements Act (H.R. 1722) of 2009 were designed to increase the number of teleworkers. The research problem addressed was the lack of understanding of factors that influence home-based teleworkers' job satisfaction. Job dissatisfaction has been found to have a significant impact on voluntary turnover. The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship among telework frequency, information communication technology (ICT), and job satisfaction. The research questions were designed to answer whether correlational relationships exist among telework frequency, ICT, and job satisfaction and …

A Structural Equation Model Of The Factors Associated With Influence And Power Of It Departments And Their Relationship To Firm's It Orientation And Business Performance, Raghu V. Kowshik

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although few firms can function without an information technology (IT) department, senior executives often consider IT as secondary. Historically, studies have found IT departments to have low influence and power status compared to other departments. Few, if any, studies have investigated what factors contribute to this subservient position. Three research questions that inspired this study regarding the IT department's influence and power included factors that shape the IT influence and power, the consequences for the firm's IT orientation and business performance, and how firm's IT orientation affects business performance. This quantitative study explored the notion that accountability, innovativeness, customer connectedness …

An Analysis Of The Impact Of Information Systems On The Level Of Trust In The Construction Industry, Michael Wayne Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even though the current level of communication and information sharing is greater than it has ever been throughout the history of the construction industry, the problem under investigation stems from the results of current research that indicate that many major projects have difficulty in achieving client expectations, resulting in a negative image of the construction industry. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact on the level of trust in the use of information systems between construction firms and their clients. The theoretical foundations of this research were based in interdependence and coordination theories. While information systems enable …

Predicting Inter -Organizational Knowledge Satisfaction Through Knowledge Conversion And Task Characteristics In A Minority -Owned Business, Terrence L. Ward

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Knowledge management has been extensively studied from the single organization (intra-organizational) perspective for many years. Although the literature on intra-organizational knowledge is extensive, there still exist gaps in the literature with regards to knowledge being shared by multiple organizations (inter-organizational knowledge). Inter-organizational knowledge satisfaction is gained when the organizations successfully embody the knowledge gained via the cooperation and crystallizes that knowledge within the organization. The problem addressed in this study is the lack of a model for predicting inter-organizational knowledge satisfaction utilizing task characteristics and the knowledge conversion process. The purpose of the study was to predict inter-organizational knowledge satisfaction …

Volume And Cost Implications Of Product Portfolio Complexity, Mark A. Jacobs

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

Business leaders are concerned about the impacts of increasing levels of product portfolio complexity since many sense that complexity related costs such as order management, procurement, and inventory threaten to undermine operational efficiencies and consume profits. Even so, managers do not fully understand the extent and breadth of the impacts of product portfolio complexity. A more complete understanding of the operational effects of product portfolio complexity is lacking partially because researchers have not yet offered a robust theoretical perspective or studied it in a focused controlled way; until now. Herein, measures of product portfolio complexity are developed and related to …

Networks And Network Security, Michael Kuralt

Theses and Dissertations

In a world of ever-increasing security threats, companies have the difficult task of securing their networks from attack. One of the largest threats to a company is the users on its network. By educating its network administrators and employees about network threats, a company can lower its vulnerability to network attacks. Individual users also can benefit from understanding networks and network security by learning how to keep their computer and their information safe. Companies and users can stay safe by understanding how a network functions, what threats exist on the Internet, how to prevent and deal with attacks, and how …

Product Complexity: A Definition And Impacts On Operations, Mark A. Jacobs

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

The difficulty for organizations arises because neither complexity nor its impacts on performance are well understood (Fisher & Ittner, 1999b). The mechanisms through which it affects cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility need to be explained (Ramdas, 2003). However, this cannot happen until complexity can be explained theoretically. But, to build theory there must first be a common understanding about the construct of interest (Wacker, 2004). Only then can researchers operationalize it and search for meaningful relationships. In light of this, I develop a definition of complexity below. A sampling of the operations management literature is then presented within the context …

Control Of The Electronic Management Of Information, A. Boone, R. Szatmary Jr.

Publications (YM)

This procedure establishes the responsibilities and provides direction for developing and evaluating the adequacy of process controls on specific uses of electronically stored information. These uses include, but are not limited to, information used in design input, developed as design output, or developed as input to or output from scientific investigation or performance assessment modeling and analysis. This pertains to information that resides in an electronic information management system or on electronic media.

A Dyadic Composition To Foster Virtual Team Effectiveness: An Experimental Study, Gamze Karayaz

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The importance of effectiveness for virtual teamwork continues to gain momentum as technology and globalization of work accelerate. The implementation of virtual teams provides one approach to enhance competitiveness, overcoming the disadvantages of space and time differences through collaborative technologies. The influence of structure to virtual team performance has not been clearly established in the literature. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the effectiveness of a dyad structured approach for virtual teams using a quasi-experimental research design.

This research investigated four questions related to the influence of structure on virtual team effectiveness related to task performance, communication …

Bec Metering Department New System Proposal, Bradley Godwin

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Cio Lateral Influence Behaviors: Gaining Peers' Commitment To Strategic Information Systems, Harvey Enns, Sid L. Huff, Christopher A. Higgins

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

In order to develop and bring to fruition strategic information systems (SIS) projects, chief information officers (CIOs) must be able to effectively influence their peers. This research examines the relationship between CIO influence behaviors and the successfulness of influence outcomes, utilizing a revised model initially developed by Yukl (1994). Focused interviews were first conducted with CIOs and their peers to gain insights into the phenomenon. A survey instrument was then developed and distributed to a sample of CIO and peer executive pairs to gather data with which to test a research model. A total of 69 pairs of surveys were …

Pricing And Product Mix Optimization In Freight Transportation, Michael F. Gorman

MIS/OM/DS Faculty Publications

We propose improved pricing and market mix can improve the profitability of the freight transportation provider through the reduction of equipment repositioning costs. We hypothesize that because of complexities surrounding pricing and equipment repositioning costing, existing pricing strategies in freight transportation fail to fully consider these costs. We test this hypothesis in an applied setting in which Monte Carlo simulation captures the stochasticity of market conditions inherent in the problem. We use a heuristic to improve the nondifferentiable, discontinuous objective function.

Our results from test cases show with high confidence that current prices are not optimal, as indicated by a …