{"title":"An Empirical Examination of the Use of IS-enabled Sustainability Initiatives Across the Integrated Sustainability Framework","authors":"Viet T. Dao, Thomas Abraham","doi":"10.17705/1PAIS.13303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17705/1PAIS.13303","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background: Using the Resource Based View (RBV) and the Integrated Sustainability Framework (ISF) as theoretical foundation, this study proposes and empirically examines hypotheses on how different types of IS-enabled sustainability initiatives are used to enable environmental and social sustainability in the four quadrants of the ISF. Method: The study uses a mixed-method approach, combining multiple-case study and non-parametric statistical analysis (Friedman test). IS-enabled sustainability initiatives were collected from Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reports of six leading global sustainability companies across three industries with different levels of IS/IT use intensity during 2009-2015 period. Results: The study finds empirical quantitative and qualitative support for the proposed hypotheses. In different quadrants of the ISF, companies were found to use different types of IS-enabled sustainability initiatives in different patterns to enable sustainability strategy. Conclusions: The study opens the IS box to provide further theoretical and empirical insights on how companies combine IS and business resources to develop different types of IS-enabled sustainability initiatives to help them address sustainability (both environmental and social) across the ISF. The study is among early IS research that adopts GRI reports as data source and presents a method for extracting GRI data for IS and sustainability research. Researchers and practitioners can both find the study’s findings instructive.","PeriodicalId":43480,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87732570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rick Gilsing, O. Türetken, B. Özkan, P. Grefen, O. E. Adali, A. Wilbik, F. Berkers
{"title":"Evaluating the Design of Service-Dominant Business Models: A Qualitative Method","authors":"Rick Gilsing, O. Türetken, B. Özkan, P. Grefen, O. E. Adali, A. Wilbik, F. Berkers","doi":"10.17705/1PAIS.13102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17705/1PAIS.13102","url":null,"abstract":"Evaluating the Design of Service-Dominant Business Models: A Qualitative Method Rick Gilsing, Eindhoven University of TechnologyFollow Oktay Turetken, Eindhoven University of TechnologyFollow Baris Ozkan, Eindhoven University of TechnologyFollow Paul Grefen, Eindhoven University of TechnologyFollow Onat Ege Adali, Eindhoven University of TechnologyFollow Anna Wilbik, Maastricht UniversityFollow Frank Berkers, TNOFollow Abstract Background: Driven by factors such as digitization and rapid technological change, many contemporary organizations adopt a service orientation to sustain competitiveness and to improve their value propositions to customers. In doing so, organizations typically engage in collaborative service ecosystems to co-create value and exchange services, and conceptualize such collaborations using business models. The resulting models should be evaluated to support the development of service ecosystems and their long- term viability. Despite academic efforts on the evaluation of traditional, organization- centric business models, limited research is present supporting the evaluation of service- dominant business models, taking into account their key characteristics, such as service exchange and value co-creation in business networks. Method: Following a design science research methodology, we have iteratively designed a method addressing the qualitative evaluation of service-dominant business models, building on and integrating the theory on service-dominant logic, business model design and business model evaluation. To structure the steps of the design process, we leverage a situational method engineering approach, following a paradigm-based strategy. To evaluate the validity and utility our method, we have applied it to a real-life business case in the mobility domain, involving eight industry stakeholders in the process. Results: The method constitutes a set of guiding questions and a procedural description of their use, addressing the evaluation concerns of feasibility, viability, structural validity and robustness with respect to the service-dominant business model. The results of the evaluation demonstrate that the use of the method facilitates users to reflect qualitatively on design decision with respect the business model design and offers insights on its expected performance. Conclusions: This work contributes to extant research on service systems engineering and the instantiation of service-dominant logic, clarifying how service ecosystems can be evaluated through the business model concept and explicating how business models are impacted through service-dominant logic.","PeriodicalId":43480,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86450922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Explorative Dive into Decision Rights and Governance of Blockchain: A Literature Review and Empirical Study","authors":"S. Leewis, K. Smit, J. V. Meerten","doi":"10.17705/1PAIS.13302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17705/1PAIS.13302","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background: Blockchain technology and accompanying programmed protocols (smart contracts) offer disruptive opportunities for businesses, public institutions, society, and its citizens. However, blockchain is a relatively young research area: the number of publications available regarding blockchain did not begin to rise significantly until 2012, and certain fields of the blockchain domain remain to be explored. A similar situation exists with research into the governance of blockchain solutions focusing on decision rights: the limited number of theoretical and empirical contributions hinders the proper adoption of governance mechanisms in practice. Method: A mixed-method approach was conducted in which 1) a structured literature review, 2) semi-structured interviews, and 3) a focus group discussion were utilized to determine the current situation regarding decision rights in the context of blockchain governance. Results: The structured literature review resulted in a total of 23 relevant contributions. Those contributions were consolidated to serve as input for a total of twelve semi-structured interviews, and for a focus group session with five participants, who were not part of the interviewee pool. Using that approach, an overview of the concepts, relationships and mechanisms pertinent to decision rights was composed. Conclusions: Considered together, the results show that decision rights are often overlooked at the start of a blockchain project, where technical considerations are dominant in the discussion with stakeholders. However, research also points out that the longer it takes to address decision rights in a blockchain consortium, the more complex and costly it becomes to introduce governance mechanisms at a later stage. Another important conclusion is that consensus is currently lacking as to what constitutes blockchain governance and what part decision rights play in governance processes, in both theoretical and practical terms.","PeriodicalId":43480,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87161877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transition from Offline to Online through Digital Resource Bricolage in A Health Crisis: A Case Study of Two Primary Schools","authors":"Miao Cui, Jinfang Qian, Xin Dai, Mengjun Liu","doi":"10.17705/1pais.13403","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17705/1pais.13403","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background: Health crisis responses underline maintaining normal operations. By utilizing digital resources, organizations are able to maintain essential operations through transiting their operations from offline to online during a health crisis. However, little is known about how organizations rapidly adapt to online operations. By taking resource bricolage as the theoretical lens, this study investigates the process that organizations rapidly transit from offline to online through digital resource bricolage during health crises. Methods: A case study of two primary schools that maintained operations during COVID-19 was conducted, with a focus on the utilization of digital resources and resource bricolage. Secondary data collection, interviews and coding strategy were utilized to collect and analyze data to reveal the process that organizations rapidly transit from offline to online through digital resource bricolage. Results: The findings reveal a sequential three-step resource bricolage process, including redeploying digital resource functions, combining digital and non-digital resources, and coordinating interaction among participants, as well as the corresponding resource bricolage behaviors and domains. Conclusions: This study contributes to information systems (IS) studies on crisis responses by identifying the sequential steps of digital resource bricolage to transit from offline to online during health crises. In addition, this study contributes to the development of resource bricolage perspectives by identifying new resource bricolage actions that suitable for the health crisis response.","PeriodicalId":43480,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73467879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avijit Chowdhury, Abdul Hafeez-Baig, R. Gururajan, Amanda McCubbin, M. A. Sharif, S. Miah
{"title":"The Role of Image Quality in Telehealth: Adoption Challenges in the Subcontinent","authors":"Avijit Chowdhury, Abdul Hafeez-Baig, R. Gururajan, Amanda McCubbin, M. A. Sharif, S. Miah","doi":"10.17705/1PAIS.13307","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17705/1PAIS.13307","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background: The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying challenges in the telehealth environment in India and Pakistan that impede the delivery of high-quality images between a patient and health care professional. Method: An exploratory study was conducted among healthcare professionals in India and Pakistan to assess their perceptions regarding image quality, which is used for the diagnosis and treatment decision making. This cross-sectional qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals in both India and Pakistan. Results: The interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis, which revealed three major themes. These themes being: ICT infrastructure and connectivity, expertise of persons taking images, and multiple transmission degrading image quality. Conclusions: Findings indicate that in both countries, the main underlying challenge is the lack of consistency in the network infrastructure between urban, rural and remote areas. Additionally, training patients to use hand-held devices to take high-quality images could hold the key to improving the reliability and, consequently, the quality of images transmitted between patients and health care professionals.","PeriodicalId":43480,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74911834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Process Model for ERP Upgrade and Replacement Decisions","authors":"Maksim Goman, S. Koch","doi":"10.17705/1PAIS.13203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17705/1PAIS.13203","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background: This paper aims to develop an effective decision making (DM) process for ERP change or replacement. ERP in most organizations constitutes a key critical system of high complexity with many stakeholders. A major change activity for such a system therefore exposes an organization to great risks, and thus should be well organized. Method: A design science approach was chosen for this research. Based on a review of related literature and evidence of the DM process at different companies, a general process of DM for ERP upgrade was designed, and later evaluated and improved through a case study approach. Results: The decision process assumes a model with variables describing characteristics and performance of possible alternatives, and the decision is decomposed into steps with three loops that are executed iteratively. We believe that the findings and approach can be useful both for the immediate problem context and also for other IT-related DM problems. Conclusions: The main outcome is the new process of DM that includes several novel contributions: three main loops of DM, multiple repetition of loops, and possible returns to the starting point.","PeriodicalId":43480,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82314555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Towards a Characterization of Digitalization Projects in the Context of Organizational Transformation","authors":"Philipp Barthel, T. Hess","doi":"10.17705/1PAIS.12302","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17705/1PAIS.12302","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The digital transformation (DT) disrupts companies across all industries, forcing them to rethink and adjust their value creation. The necessity to adapt to a digital future seems clear; however, many companies still struggle with “becoming digitally transformed”. While existing literature shows that projects can play a crucial role in realizing DT, we have a limited understanding of these projects. Therefore, we investigate these digitalization projects by asking: How are digitalization projects in the context of organizational transformation characterized and how do they contribute to organizations’ DT? With this study, we provide an initial characterization of these digitalization projects and advance the understanding of their importance for the overall DT process. Method: With our qualitative multiple-case study, we analyze five projects that were carried out in highly heterogenous contexts based on 27 semi-structured interviews. Subsequent to the individual analysis of each case, we draw insights from a cross-case comparison and identify common characteristics that distinguish digitalization projects in the context of DT. Results: Our analysis reveals that despite digitalization projects are manifesting in different forms, they are predominantly characterized by their embeddedness in and contribution to an overarching DT process, their derivation from a central DT strategy, the central role of digital innovation in these projects, the integration of technology and business perspectives on a project level, and the application of novel project methods. Conclusions: Digitalization projects in the context of DT can differ from traditional IT projects and thus need dedicated management approaches. We contribute to literature by elaborating an initial, theoretically sound characterization of these digitalization projects. In addition, we offer valuable insights to practitioners regarding how these digitalization projects can be recognized and managed successfully.","PeriodicalId":43480,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81187120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reinforcing The Status Quo in Organizations Through Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM)","authors":"Nur Syazwani Ahmad, S. Bahri, Ali Fauzi","doi":"10.17705/1PAIS.12304","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17705/1PAIS.12304","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The usage of mobile instant messaging (MIM) applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram in an organization has become increasingly popular. Unfortunately, studies on the phenomenon, especially its impact on organizations, such as power distribution, have been scarce. Thus, this study asks, how does MIM technology affect power distribution in an organization? The objectives are twofold. The first is to determine how the MIM technology altered the distribution of power in an organization. The second is to identify why a collaborative tool intended for social use can have a profound impact on power relations in an organization. Method: This case study involved interviews with twenty-one participants through six group interview sessions. The management selected the participants based on the study requirements. The interview participants were selected from different levels of the organization’s hierarchy that use MIM actively in managing work. Results: The findings suggest that increased use of MIM for many activities, such as delivering instructions and monitoring work progress, has had a profound effect on power distribution. The findings suggest that the implementation of MIM in managing work reinforces the status quo of top management through the congregation of employees, forced commitment, and the illusion of consensus. Conclusions: MIM can reinforce the power of the top management over the rest by extending its reach to all levels in the organization. Findings from this study add to the existing knowledge on the relationship between power and information systems (IS) and power relations and MIM.","PeriodicalId":43480,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84001455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Conceptual Framework to Discover IT Project Risks in Developing Economies: An Application to Cambodia and Uganda Contexts","authors":"O. Lee, J. Namayanja, Peng Xu","doi":"10.17705/1PAIS.12301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17705/1PAIS.12301","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The information technology (IT) project environment in developing economies is complex and dynamic due to their unique social, technological, cultural, and political contexts. However, the unique risk factors involved in IT projects in developing economies have seldom been discussed in the literature. This study proposes a conceptual framework for identifying risks in IT projects by considering the unique characteristics of project management in developing economies. Method: 17 project cases were examined via a series of expert interviews in Cambodia and Uganda. The interview results were coded into a total of 257 risk incidents, which were used to validate the proposed framework. Particularly, the risk incidents of each economy were matched with 16 risk categories under the proposed framework. The matched results were conceptualized into unique risk factors of each economy. Results: Our results reveal that the most critical risks in both economies involve the lack of structured and standardized project management (PM) processes, and misunderstanding and poor decision-making due to the lack of project experience and technical knowledge in local stakeholders. In addition to these shared risk factors, the two economies show distinct risk granularities. Particularly, IT projects in Cambodia are more vulnerable to cultural uniqueness while IT projects in Uganda suffer more with complex stakeholder structures. Conclusions: The proposed framework serves as guidance to identify IT project risks in developing economies. Furthermore, the identified risk factors using the framework proposed by this study help project managers or stakeholders recognize and mitigate the unique IT project risk factors in the two developing economies.","PeriodicalId":43480,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90479756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Why Context Matters: Explaining the Digital Transformation of the Manufacturing Industry and the Role of the Industry's Characteristics in It","authors":"Quirin Demlehner, Sven Laumer","doi":"10.17705/1PAIS.12303","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17705/1PAIS.12303","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The digital transformation is an increasingly popular research topic. Unfortunately, it lacks a common and sustainable theoretical fundament. Further, it is unclear which role the characteristics of the affected industries, firms and markets play regarding the impact that the digital transformation has on them. Method: Taking up these two challenges in a combined fashion for one of the economically most important, but also most specialized and physical global industries, we systematically review the latest literature on the digital transformation within the manufacturing context. Results: This work is the first one that provides a valid theoretical basis on the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry. Thereby, it becomes clear that this basis is severely depending on its context. In particular, we show that the manufacturing industry is special in several dimensions, mainly due to its high physicality. Many of the connected technological concepts and domains are solely applicable within that particular environment. Also, our results indicate that a notable share of manufacturing firms did not experience any or at least not big impacts by the digital transformation on the business model level but indeed heavy impacts on the process level until now. However, for our initial suspicion that the structural differences between the manufac-turing industry and other more hardware-independent industries are so far reaching as that they would even lead to definitional differences, no evidence was found. Conclusions: This study contributes to the ongoing line of activities trying to streamline the extensive research around the digital transformation and thereby especially emphasizes the importance of context in that area of research.","PeriodicalId":43480,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74784560","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}