A large number of studies have been conducted during the last decade and a half attempting to identify those factors that contribute to information systems success. However, the dependent variable in these studies-I/S success-has been an elusive one to define. Different researchers have addressed different aspects of success, making comparisons difficult and the prospect of building a cumulative tradition for I/S research similarly elusive. To organize this diverse research, as well as to present a more integrated view of the concept of I/S success, a comprehensive taxonomy is introduced. This taxonomy posits six major dimensions or categories of I/S success-SYSTEM QUALITY, INFORMATION QUALITY, USE, USER SATISFACTION, INDIVIDUAL IMPACT, and ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT. Using these dimensions, both conceptual and empirical studies are then reviewed a total of 180 articles are cited and organized according to the dimensions of the taxonomy. Finally, the many aspects of I/S success are drawn together into a descriptive model and its implications for future I/S research are discussed.

Information Systems Success: The Quest for the Dependent Variable

How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

The ability to detect and accurately estimate the strength of interaction effects are critical issues that are fundamental to social science research in general and IS research in particular. Within the IS discipline, a significant percentage of research has been devoted to examining the conditions and contexts under which relationships may vary, often under the general umbrella of contingency theory (cf. McKeen et al. 1994, Weill and Olson 1989). In our survey of such studies, the majority failed to either detect or provide an estimate of the effect size. In cases where effect sizes are estimated, the numbers are generally small. These results have led some researchers to question both the usefulness of contingency theory and the need to detect interaction effects (e.g., Weill and Olson 1989). This paper addresses this issue by providing a new latent variable modeling approach that can give more accurate estimates of interaction effects by accounting for the measurement error that attenuates the estimated relationships. The capacity of this approach at recovering true effects in comparison to summated regression is demonstrated in a Monte Carlo study that creates a simulated data set in which the underlying true effects are known. Analysis of a second, empirical data set is included to demonstrate the technique's use within IS theory. In this second analysis, substantial direct and interaction effects of enjoyment on electronic-mail adoption are shown to exist.

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A Partial Least Squares Latent Variable Modeling Approach for Measuring Interaction Effects: Results from a Monte Carlo Simulation Study and an Electronic-Mail Emotion/Adoption Study

Organizations are attempting to leverage their knowledge resources by employing knowledge management (KM) systems, a key form of which are electronic knowledge repositories (EKRs). A large number of KM initiatives fail due to the reluctance of employees to share knowledge through these systems. Motivated by such concerns, this study formulates and tests a theoretical model to explain EKR usage by knowledge contributors. The model employs social exchange theory to identify cost and benefit factors affecting EKR usage, and social capital theory to account for the moderating influence of contextual factors. The model is validated through a large-scale survey of public sector organizations. The results reveal that knowledge self-efficacy and enjoyment in helping others significantly impact EKR usage by knowledge contributors. Contextual factors (generalized trust, pro-sharing norms, and identification) moderate the impact of codification effort, reciprocity, and organizational reward on EKR usage, respectively. It can be seen that extrinsic benefits (reciprocity and organizational reward) impact EKR usage contingent on particular contextual factors whereas the effects of intrinsic benefits (knowledge self-efficacy and enjoyment in helping others) on EKR usage are not moderated by contextual factors. The loss of knowledge power and image do not appear to impact EKR usage by knowledge contributors. Besides contributing to theory building in KM, the results of this study inform KM practice.

Contributing knowledge to electronic knowledge repositories: an empirical investigation

Knowledge Management

MIS projects are selected by any of four different groups within organizations: top management, steering committees, user departments, and MIS departments. Because of their inherent differences, each of these groups is likely to favor different types of MIS projects. That is, they exhibit different selection biasing. An investigation of the nature and extent of this biasing is examined in this research.Data were collected from 176 MIS projects selected from 60 organizations. Projects were categorized as being selected by top management, steering committees, user departments, or MIS departments, and specific characteristics (e.g., size, risk, and organizational commitment) were measured for each project.As hypothesized, the research showed that projects selected by different groups did indeed differ significantly with respect to these characteristics.• Projects selected by top management do not tend to be more strategic, profitable, resource consuming, larger risk, or related to organizational well-being than other project selection groups. These projects, however, did tend to experience the longest start delay and elapsed development time.• Projects selected by steering committees tended to be larger and riskier, and required more organizational change. Formal cost-benefit analysis is more predominant, but surprisingly, projects selected are not more cross-functional in scope. AB• User department-selected projects, comparatively, are smaller, more quickly developed, and involve the fewest users, layers of management, and business functions.• MIS-selected projects have more of an integration focus and follow more logical sequences in development. Their projects experience fewer delays in deliberation and duration, and less concern is given to cost-benefit analysis.The individual biasing attributable to each of the four selection mechanisms is described. The paper concludes by presenting the implications of having each of these groups select MIS projects. Using this information, organizations can establish or assess the effect of using different mechanisms for selecting MIS projects.

A comparative analysis of MIS project selection mechanisms

The idea that KM can help people in large, often widely geographically dispersed organizations find out who has subject matter expertise or who knows how and where to get at important knowhow is intrinsically appealing to knowledge managers. After all, helping people access the knowledge they need is fundamentally what KM is all about. Early approaches to expertise location and management (ELM) typically built skills repositories, but these have not been successful in accomplishing these objectives. As a result, expertise location and management is now on the steep downward slope of the KM “hype cycle” in most organizations. This paper explores the question of whether ELM is an idea that is evolving and maturing and which will ultimately deliver on its promised value, or whether organizations should simply give up on the idea as being not worth the effort. To explore this issue in more detail and to better understand how organizations are conceptualizing and implementing this specific KM initiative, the authors convened a focus group of practicing KM managers from a variety of organizations. This paper first situates the topic of expertise location -- where it fits in with other KM issues and also how our understanding of this topic has evolved over time. It next describes some of the benefits and challenges of ELM. Following this, it explores several different approaches to these types of initiatives. From these, we derive a number of principles for effective ELM implementations. Finally, we present some practical advice for managers who are considering using ELM in their organizations. The paper concludes that ELM has the potential to be a “killer app” for KM, but only if it can be focused and designed effectively to appropriately integrate technology with human facilitation.

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Developments in practice xxii: expertise location and management: hope or hype?

IT organizations face many new challenges While strong IT leaders are needed, few IT leadership teams as yet are well-equipped for the job Very practical reasons imply that all IT staff should now be expected to act as leaders, regardless of their official job title: a new top line focus; the growing impact of IT decisions on organizations; and the complexity of the work to be done These requirements are driving the need to push leadership skills and competencies further down in the IT organization This paper explores how organizations are addressing these new requirements for leadership in IT It examines the qualities that make a good IT leader and what companies are doing to build better leaders at all levels of their organizations It concludes by outlining a value proposition for investing in IT leadership development

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Developments in Practice XIX: Building Better IT Leaders - From the Bottom Up

Due to the unrelenting pace of technological change, the task of managing an organization’s IT portfolio can be formidable. Failure to accomplish this task effectively can expose an organization to technology failure and/or financial risk. This paper, based on discussions with a focus group of senior IT managers from a number of leading-edge organizations, outlines the challenges of managing the IT portfolio and presents recommended, “tried-and-true” strategies to tackle the problem.

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New Developments in Practice IV: Managing the Technology Portfolio

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James D. McKeen

Papers

A comparative analysis of MIS project selection mechanisms

Developments in practice xxii: expertise location and management: hope or hype?

Developments in Practice XIX: Building Better IT Leaders - From the Bottom Up

New Developments in Practice IV: Managing the Technology Portfolio

Developments in Practice XXIX: The Emerging Role of the Enterprise Business Architect