Determinants of IS sourcing decisions: A comparative study of transaction cost theory versus the resource-based view

Many organizations have employed the concepts of ‘asset specificity’ and ‘uncertainty’ from transaction cost theory (TCT), and ‘strategic resources’ from the resource-based view (RBV) as drivers of their information systems (ISs) sourcing decisions. They, however, face a dilemma when TCT and the RBV suggest different sourcing alternatives. The study identifies contexts where sourcing decisions made based on these two theories differ, and examines which theory accounts better for an organization's sourcing decisions. Results show that a high-specificity asset is a major driver of sourcing decisions. It overpowers the effects of uncertainty on sourcing decisions; while a non-strategic resource has no impact on sourcing decisions. In particular, where the two theories make conflicting predictions, organizations should not always outsource non-strategic resources. Non-strategic resources that involve high specificity should be retained internally. The paper concludes with implications for academics and practitioners, and a discussion of future research directions.     

Custom Development as an Alternative for ERP Adoption by SMEs: An Interpretive Case Study

There have been few studies of the adoption of custom-developed enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. An interpretive case study of a SME in the agri-food industry was thus conducted to analyze this phenomenon. The study shows that custom ERP seems to represent a credible alternative for ERP adoption by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and that to minimize risk at the adoption stage, a SME can proceed in a rather intuitive and unstructured manner, based however upon certain principles, policies, and practices.     

Implications for strategic IS research of the resource-based theory of the firm: A reflection

This paper reviews key concepts from the resource-based theory (RBT) of the firm, including evidence of “empirical support” for RBT. However, the paper then turns the conventional logic of empirical testing of RBT on its head, and argues that all that empirical testing does is to show researchers’ success in identifying valuable, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable (VRIN) resources. Examining the IS literature from this perspective, the paper identifies a number of resources that really do seem to have been sources of competitive advantage. It concludes with recommendations on how RBT should be used in future strategic IS research.     

The ERP challenge in China: a resource-based perspective

Abstract. This paper introduces a resource‐based perspective (RBP) model on enterprise recourse planning (ERP) challenges to help make ERP decisions in China. While ERP aims at integrating functional‐area information systems within a company into a coherent, enterprise‐wide, and web‐enabled network, its implementation is especially challenging to enterprises in China because of high implementation costs, technical complexity, lack of information technology infrastructure, lack of well‐trained employees, lack of incentives to state‐owned enterprises, and a corporate culture different from that in the West. A RBP of a firm, however, posits that firms should compete on the basis of unique corporate resources that are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and unsubstitutable. Thus, this research assesses major ERP challenges in China based upon a three‐tier decision process in pursuit of a sustainable competitive advantage. This RBP model is then embedded with data from a survey research to illustrate potential applications and managerial implications.     

Solving misfits in ERP implementations by SMEs

The gap between the organizational needs and the extent to which an ‘off‐the‐shelf’ enterprise resource planning (ERP) system can meet these is called a misfit. A framework is developed to distinguish actual from perceived misfits. This is used to analyse the ERP implementation at four small‐sized and medium‐sized enterprises. The results show that they prefer to adjust the ERP system to their business processes when needed but often unnecessarily change the system to solve perceived misfits. The framework is a first step to prevent this unnecessary work in the future.     

Using a cognition-motivation-control view to assess the adoption intention for Web-based learning

People expect Web technology to facilitate learning, particularly in higher education. A key issue involves the factors motivating the adoption of the Web for learning. Drawing upon social cognitive theory (SCT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study adopts a cognition-motivation-control view to assess learner adoption intentions for Web-based learning. The proposed model is validated by surveying 319 undergraduate students who had enrolled in Web-based courses and attended a 12-hour training program on using a Web-based system for academic learning. The empirical findings identified that efficacy control and efficacy expectations can be used to guide learner adaptation learning behaviors on the Web. The limitations of this study are discussed and future research directions suggested.     

Market perception on cloud computing initiatives in organizations: An extended resource-based view

This study aims to investigate the economic value of cloud computing from the perspective of the stock market. More specifically, we conceptualize the relationship between the cloud computing initiatives of firms and the market reaction based on resource-based and extended resource-based views. For this study, we analyze 212 firm-level cloud computing announcements between 2006 and 2011 by employing the event study methodology. Our empirical results indicate that the market positively reacts to the cloud computing initiatives of firms. Moreover, the market reactions to cloud computing initiatives depend on three key characteristics of cloud computing, namely, firm-specific, resource-specific, and vendor-specific factors.     

应用AHP层次分析法评估ERP项目风险

风险评估是项目风险管理的基础，是确保ERP项目成功实施的关键。根据国内企业的ERP实施现状，分析了实施ERP项目存在的三大风险：软件风险、实施风险和管理风险。在此基础上引入AHP层次分析法建立ERP系统实施风险评估模型，结合山西恒康ERP实施项目，对ERP实施过程中的风险进行评估，应用AHP算法找出影响实施成功的关键风险因素。     

基于ERP思想设计电算化会计软件

在信息化迅速发展的今天,市场经济高速发展,全球经济贸易的复杂多变,对会计电算化软件提出了更高的要求。会计软件必须从“核算型”向“管理型”的迅速转变,即基于ERP思想进行设计;会计软件所使用的数据不仅能满足会计核算的要求,还能够满足企业决策的需求和安全可靠的要求。文章从ERP思想、数据共享、数据控制三个方面分析电算化会计软件设计方法。     

Exploring the perceived business value of the flexibility enabled by information technology infrastructure

We developed a multidimensional definition of IT infrastructure (ITI) and applied it in exploring the perceived strategic payoffs of ITI-enabled flexibility. We began by developing a typology of theoretical approaches that can be used to organize the literature and then developed a multidimensional model by conceptualizing how flexibility can be enabled through technical, human, and process elements of ITI and how these are interrelated. We used a resource-based view of the firm and a dynamic capabilities perspective to account for competitive impacts of the flexibility. Finally, we hypothesized on the moderating effects of organizational size and reporting level of the top IT executive. Data collected from 293 IT managers showed that the range of managerial ITI capabilities, which were positively affected by all areas of IT personnel knowledge and skills, was responsible for the competitive impacts of the ITI-enabled flexibility. Multigroup analyses showed that large organizational size or reporting to the CEO reduced the positive effects of the range of managerial ITI capabilities on competitive impacts.     

IT for niche companies: is an ERP system the solution?

Abstract.  Niche companies are per definition idiosyncratic. They survive in a competitive world by mastering a small market niche, providing what their customers need. This often requires a flexible organization, and the ability to customize products. To be more efficient, many of these companies rely on extensive use of IT, often by installing general Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. These systems have grown from isolated systems that handle planning based on incoming orders and the component structure of the various products, to systems with ambitions to embrace the total functioning of the company including vendor and customer relation management. In this paper, we present four case studies. One company is a part of a large enterprise, but performs niche functions within this enterprise. The other three are small- or medium-sized enterprises. Each of these performs in small niche markets. Common to all is the fact that they encounter problems with the utilization of their ERP systems. The major problem seems to be that the ERP system has an inherent business model that may not conform to the needs of the company. Without a good understanding of the underlying models and the constraints under which the fundamental algorithms operate, it is difficult to use these systems correctly. Even excellent systems may give bad results if they are applied to situations where they are not suited. Further, the monolithic structure of an ERP system, with a rather complicated parameter setting, is often insufficient to mould the system to the needs of a niche company. We discuss these problems based on our four case studies, and offer alternative approaches that may be considered.     

基于ERwin模型的ERP系统研究

在论述中国加入WTO后ERP系统应用现状的基础上,分析了关系数据库的建模方法,重点对用ERwin这一关系数据库应用开发的优秀CASE工具的应用进行了研究,提出了ERP系统的功能模块的组成,借助ERwin建立了ERP系统的信息模型,给出了其逻辑模式和物理模式的视图及其向具体数据库物理结构的转换方法。以SQLServer作为后台数据库支持,Delphi为前台界面开发工具,建立了一个ERP系统。为企业的ERP的研究和应用提供了一种方法和思路。     

GIS可视化技术在ERP中的应用研究

从GIS和ERP各自功能特点讨论了将GIS集成到ERP中的可行性,GIS能够弥补ERP在描述空间位置及基于空间位置上进行统计分析的不足。最后以某公司的GIS-ERP为例,介绍了如何将GIS与ERP进行有效集成,并重点论述了如何实现空间数据和统计数据的集成。     

Business analytics and business value: A comparative case study

With growing adoption of business analytics, it is important for investing firms to understand how business value is created from investments. Studies in IT domain have highlighted how higher investment in technology may not bring more returns, rather how IT as an organizational capability acts as a key mediator in value creation. This research extends the model to business analytics, to identify elements of analytics technology assets and business analytics capability and to understand the mechanism of business value creation using multiple case studies. We capture how analytics resources contribute to business performance by developing operational and organizational performance measures.     

论数据在ERP中的重要性

本文论述了数据在ERP系统中的重要性和上线前的数据准备过程。     

Using Fuzzy Analytic Network Process to assess the risks in enterprise resource planning system implementation

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the risk level for both intra-organizational cultures and for different industries in implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This study adopts the Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP) method to assess ERP implementation risks, which were categorized into four dimensions: management and execution, software system, users, and technology planning. An empirical survey was conducted that utilized the collected survey data of 20 ERP experts in Taiwan to assess, rank, and improve the critical risks of ERP implementation via the FANP method. Based on the results of the FANP method, a follow-up survey of ERP end-users in different departments of three industries was conducted to assess how intra-organizational cultures and cross-industries affect users’ perceived risks a real world scenario. Our research results demonstrated that “lack of management support and assistance” is vital risk for a successful ERP implementation. Top management support and involvement are crucial and essential factors to the success of a firm's ERP implementation. “Ineffective communication with users” was found to be the second highest risk factor. The benefits of using the FANP method for evaluating the risk factors come from the clear priority weights between alternatives. Finally, this study provides suggestions to help enterprises decrease ERP risks, and enhance the chances of success of ERP implementations among intra-organizational cultures and across-industries.     

SQL数据库备份还原法在ERP实验室的应用

本文祥细介绍了在ERP实验室中,从后台通过对ERP系统数据库备份——还原来有效管理ERP系统的一个方法。此方法有利于对ERP实验室管理,更方便学生进行ERP实验。     

扩展性ERP在航空物流中的应用

随着物流业的迅猛发展,航空物流业显示出了其它物流不可比拟的优势,但是在扩大业务的过程中如何更好地整合内外部资源,提升运输效率成了航空物流业迫在眉睫需要解决的问题,eERP的出现很好的解决了这类问题,为航空物流行业的企业大大的提升了效率。     

Exploring the relationship between big data analytics capability and competitive performance: The mediating roles of dynamic and operational capabilities

A central question for information systems (IS) researchers and practitioners is if, and how, big data can help attain a competitive advantage. To address this question, this study draws on the resource-based view, dynamic capabilities view, and on recent literature on big data analytics, and examines the indirect relationship between a firm’s big data analytics capability (BDAC) and competitive performance. The study extends existing research by proposing that BDACs enable firms to generate insight that can help strengthen their dynamic capabilities, which, in turn, positively impact marketing and technological capabilities. To test our proposed research model, we used survey data from 202 chief information officers and IT managers working in Norwegian firms. By means of partial least squares structural equation modeling, results show that a strong BDAC can help firms build a competitive advantage. This effect is not direct but fully mediated by dynamic capabilities, which exerts a positive and significant effect on two types of operational capabilities: marketing and technological capabilities. The findings suggest that IS researchers should look beyond direct effects of big data investments and shift their attention on how a BDAC can be leveraged to enable and support organizational capabilities.     

ERP系统接口技术的应用

本文对SAP ERP系统与其它外部系统交换数据接口进行了探讨,重点在ERP数据的导入导出方式及ABAP程序应用方面;讲了三个在石炼化公司应用的实例。