Lessons from enterprise systems competency centers in adopting digital transformation initiatives: An assemblage approach

2023 | Information and Organization | Citations: 0

Authors: Aryal, Arun; Truex, Duane; El Amrani, Redouane

Abstract: Firms are increasingly adopting digital transformation as a strategic priority. ... Expand

Abstract: Firms are increasingly adopting digital transformation as a strategic priority. However, the path to successful transformation remains uncertain for many organizations. This paper examines the establishment and evolution of competency centers in two case study organizations, historically used in enterprise systems, in addressing the complexity and challenges of digital transformation. The interactions within these competency centers are analyzed through assemblage theory to understand the emergent relations between heterogeneous parts (technology, people, and orga­ nization) and the dynamic processes of new configurations. The insights from this research show the critical role of the competency center in any enterprise system’s success and how it could continue playing a central role in future digital transformation initiatives. By providing a new lens to examine these issues, the assemblage theory provided a new theoretical perspective to the IS field and a new alternative empirical setting to the organizational literature. Collapse

Topics: enterprise information system digital transformation enterprise resource planning IT skill business process management

Methods: qualitative interview case study personal interview design artifact literature study

Caught in an Expectations Trap: Risks of Giving Securities Analysts What They Expect

2023 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Bascle, Guilhem; Jung, Jiwook

Abstract: Although recent research shows that there is mounting pressure on firms to achie ... Expand

Abstract: Although recent research shows that there is mounting pressure on firms to achieve earnings expectations of securities analysts, firms are far from being passive conformers; many firms proactively manage such pressure, particularly with earnings management tools. Yet why does the pressure to meet analyst expectations persist despite firms’ efforts to reduce it? To address the question, we develop an intertemporal model of the mutually reinforcing relationships between analyst expectations and firms’ strategic response, combining the behavioral theory of the firm and the concept of expectations trap. We argue that firms’ efforts to meet analyst expectations strengthen their salience as a predominant performance benchmark and, in doing so, ironically put them under greater pressure from analysts in three sequentially related steps—escalating future earnings expectations, imposing more severe penalties for failure to meet heightened expectations, and generating compensatory action for missed expectations. Our analysis, using data on more than 700 of the largest listed U.S. firms between 1986 and 2015, supports our arguments. Our study expands the scope of the behavioral theory of the firm, by demonstrating the increasing importance of performance feedback based on analyst expectations. Our study also contributes to the research on earnings pressure, by illuminating why the pressure persists despite firms’ efforts to reduce or evade it, and finally to the literature on strategic management of external expectations, by elaborating its unintended, long-term consequences. Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1569. Collapse

Topics: strategic management organizational productivity Generally Accepted Accounting Principles IS downsizing accounting

Methods: longitudinal research statistical hypothesis test Compustat descriptive statistic robustness check

Theories: behavioral theory of the firm institutional theory

A platform-based approach to ambidexterity for innovation: An empirical investigation in the public sector

2023 | International Journal of Information Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Cao, Lan; West, Barry; Ramesh, Balasubramaniam; Mohan, Kannan; Sarkar, Sumantra

Abstract: Innovation in the public sector plays an important role in improving the quality ... Expand

Abstract: Innovation in the public sector plays an important role in improving the quality of public services and addressing economic and societal challenges. Most of the previous research on innovations has focused on the private sector. How organizations may achieve ambidexterity for innovations in the public sector characterized by unique constraints has been largely underexplored. Platforms have emerged as key components in organizations’ ap­ proaches to innovation. Using an empirical study in a public sector organization, this study identifies a platformbased approach that can be used to achieve ambidexterity in balancing exploitative and exploratory innovations in the public sector. Organizations facing constraints pertaining to structure, risk, and value may benefit from considering their product/service development, process management, and value formulation through this approach. This study also identifies practices in platform development, appropriation, and control that contributed to the success of the platform-based approach. Collapse

Topics: innovation management organization structure business process innovation organizational culture new product development

Methods: qualitative interview case study triangulation personal interview literature study

Theories: ambidexterity theory

Understanding Employee Perspectives During an Acquisition – Case of Twitter

2023 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Dwivedi, Rahul

Abstract: Employee reviews offer valuable insights into the organizational culture of the ... Expand

Abstract: Employee reviews offer valuable insights into the organizational culture of the employer. Two important facets of such reviews are the topics addressed by the employees and the underlying sentiments. For this research, one year of employee reviews for Twitter was collected from Glassdoor. The goal is to extract the topics and underlying employee sentiments across three time periods (before the acquisition, after the acquisition announcement, and after the acquisition) in view of the recent privatization. Based on the findings from topic models, variations in topics discussed by the employees were found across different time periods. Statistically significant differences were also found in the sentiments of Twitter employees across the three periods as expressed in the reviews. The study can help business organizations to understand the employee's perspectives towards them during a drastic contextual event such as acquisition, thus helping them to identify areas of improvement. Collapse

Topics: Twitter website mergers and acquisition human resource management pandemic

Methods: product review sentiment analysis longitudinal survey longitudinal research two sample t-test with equal variance

Open Source Software Governance: A Case Study Evaluation of Supply Chain Management Best Practices

2023 | HICSS | Citations: 0

Authors: Harutyunyan, Nikolay; Riehle, Dirk

Abstract: Corporate open source governance aims to manage the increasing use of free/libre ... Expand

Abstract: Corporate open source governance aims to manage the increasing use of free/libre and open source software (FLOSS) in companies. To avoid the risks of the ungoverned use, companies need to establish processes addressing license compliance, component approval, and supply chain management (SCM). We proposed a set of industry-inspired best practices for supply chain management organized into a handbook. To evaluate the handbook, we ran a one-year case study at a large enterprise software company, where we performed semi-structured interviews, workshops, and direct observations. We assessed the initial situation of open source governance, the implementation of the proposed SCM best practices, and the resulting impact. We report the results of this study by demonstrating and discussing the artifacts created while the case study company implemented the SCM-focused governance process. The evaluation case study enabled the real-life application and the improvement of the proposed best practices. Collapse

Topics: open source supply chain management procurement management evaluation criteria mergers and acquisition

Methods: case study qualitative interview survey theory development personal interview

M&A Negotiations: Role of Negotiation Process, Ownership and Advisors on Deal Completion

2023 | Group Decision and Negotiation | Citations: 0

Authors: Kumar, Deepak; Sengupta, Keya; Bhattacharya, Mousumi

Abstract: Mergers and acquisition deals are uncertain, with completion likelihood changing ... Expand

Abstract: Mergers and acquisition deals are uncertain, with completion likelihood changing throughout the negotiation process. During negotiations, the firms process new information to modify their choices. This study aims to examine the dynamic nature of the M&A negotiation process. The study uses a sample of 983 worldwide unsolicited deals from 1999 to 2019 and classifies M&A deal outcomes using logistic regression, decision tree, and random forest classifiers. Ownership considerations and advisors are essential elements of the negotiation. Ownership sought has the potential to impact the deal's complexity and exercisable control. Prior ownership may either help gain information or recover due diligence costs. The advisors may assist the firms in the available information's financial and legal due diligence. Prior research lacks the negotiation period’s dynamism and gives mixed results for the impact of ownership and the role of advisors. We uniquely identify a non-linear inverted U-shaped relationship between the negotiation period and completion likelihood. The results prove that prior ownership, over the negotiation period, serves the dual objective of assisting deal completion and acting as a substitute for the termination fee. The acquirer and target advisors help with the completion of the deal. The varying effects for ownership and advisors over the negotiation process help explain the conflicting results in previous studies. The evolving negotiating circumstances play an important role in affecting the outcome. Our work shows the importance of temporal characteristics and the dynamic nature of decision-making during the M&A negotiation process and encourages further studies exploring processual theories. Collapse

Topics: logistics management decision making database system mergers and acquisition missing data

Methods: logistic regression random forest classification decision tree classification statistical hypothesis test machine learning

Theories: lemon market theory

Product Differentiation in IT Industries: The Interplay between M&As and In-House Innovation and Exploitative Innovation Orientation

2023 | Journal of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Qi, Kangkang; Han, Sumin; Jeong, Yeasung; Rhamati, Pouya; Susarla, Anjana; Sambamurthy, Vallabh

Abstract: Firms in IT industries are under constant competitive pressure from incumbent f ... Expand

Abstract: Firms in IT industries are under constant competitive pressure from incumbent firms and startups to offer innovative products and services. This study explores the effect of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on firms' product differentiation in IT industries. The unique characteristics of IT industries, namely hypercompetition, distributed innovation, modularity of products, and the tacit nature of knowledge, make M&As an attractive mechanism to enable IT firms to stay competitive. Drawing on product differentiation theory, we hypothesize a positive effect of M&As on product differentiation and suggest that this relationship is more potent in firms with higher in-house innovation, an exploitative innovation orientation, and under high levels of industry turbulence. We test our hypotheses using M&A transactions from 1996 to 2016 and a unique 10-K textual analysis-based measure of product differentiation. Using the difference-in-differences identification strategy, the following findings are supported: (1) M&As lead to higher product differentiation, (2) in-house innovation capability and exploitation-oriented innovation strategy positively moderate the positive effect of M&As. These results, which are robust to endogeneities and other robustness tests, contribute to theory and managerial practice by shedding light on the role of M&As as an essential mechanism for product innovation and the complementary role of in-house innovation capability and strategy for firms that intend to take advantage of M&As for creating a competitive edge through differentiating their products and services from competitors. These findings have important managerial value, providing an alternative narrative to the current view on M&As in IT industries as a means of absorbing and dismantling the competition. served or serves on the editorial boards of Information Systems Research and MIS Quarterly. Her research has been funded by prestigious organizations such as the National Institute of Health (NIH).Vallabh "Samba" Sambamurthy is the Albert O. Nicholas Dean of the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin. He is a leading expert on how businesses compete in the digital economy. He has published his work in several leading journals and served on the editorial boards of premier academic journals, including two terms as editor-in-chief of Information Systems Research, and has held leadership roles in professional associations. Sambamurthy has garnered several recognitions for contributions to teaching, research, outreach, and mentoring. Collapse

Topics: product differentiation innovation management database system environmental uncertainty research and development

Methods: robustness check longitudinal research statistical hypothesis test difference in differences propensity score matching

Knowledge monopolies and the innovation divide: A governance perspective

2023 | Information and Organization | Citations: 0

Authors: Safadi, Hani; Watson, Richard Thomas

Abstract: The rise of digital platforms creates knowledge monopolies that threaten innovat ... Expand

Abstract: The rise of digital platforms creates knowledge monopolies that threaten innovation. Their power derives from the imposition of data obligations and persistent coupling on platform participation and their usurpation of the rights to data created by other participants to facilitate information asymmetries. Knowledge monopolies can use machine learning to develop competitive insights unavailable to every other platform participant. This information asymmetry stifles innovation, stokes the growth of the monopoly, and reinforces its ascendency. National or regional gover­ nance structures, such as laws and regulatory authorities, constrain economic monopolies deemed not in the public interest. We argue the need for legislation and an associated regulatory mech­ anism to curtail coercive data obligations, control, eliminate data rights exploitation, and prevent mergers and acquisitions that could create or extend knowledge monopolies. Collapse

Topics: digital platform innovation management legal context digital ecosystem data-driven business model

Methods: machine learning

From broken habits to new intentions: how COVID-19 expands our knowledge on post-adoptive use behaviour of digital communication and collaboration

2023 | European Journal of Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Schoch, Manfred; Gimpel, Henner; Maier, Andreas; Neumeier, Kathrin

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented surge in digital communication ... Expand

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented surge in digital communication and collaboration. While a rich body of knowledge exists on IS use, our understanding of changes in post-adoptive use behaviour regarding communication and collaboration is comparatively limited. Existing models assume decreasing growth rates over time and are not designed to capture spikes in use behaviour such as the one observed during the pandemic. In this mixed methods study, we propose a hybrid model of sensemaking and post-adoptive communication and collaboration use that explains changes in use behaviour and outlines the influence of external trigger events. Based on real-world data from MS Teams, we show that individual feature use varies over time, with an increasing growth rate triggered by COVID-19. To understand drivers for the heterogeneous changes, we further conduct qualitative interviews. We find habits were deliberately altered during COVID-19 and replaced with new intentions through sensemaking. We derive propositions that may encourage further research into the subject. Extended knowledge of post-adoptive behaviour and its triggers assists practitioners in adjusting to the new normal or reacting to new situations beyond COVID-19. Collapse

Topics: sensemaking IT supported collaboration information system use user behavior self efficacy

Methods: qualitative interview cluster analysis mixed method design artifact longitudinal research

SocioLink: Leveraging Relational Information in Knowledge Graphs for Startup Recommendations

2023 | Journal of Management Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Xu, Ruiyun; Chen, Hailiang; Zhao, J. Leon

Abstract: While venture capital firms are increasingly relying on recommendation models in ... Expand

Abstract: While venture capital firms are increasingly relying on recommendation models in investment decisions, existing startup recommendation models fail to consider the uniqueness of venture capital context, including two-sided matching between investing and investee firms and a lack of information disclosure requirements on startups. Following the design science research paradigm and guided by the proximity principle from social psychology, we develop a novel framework called SocioLink by depicting and analyzing various relations in a knowledge graph via machine learning. Our experimental results show that SocioLink significantly outperforms state-of-the-art startup recommendation methods in both accuracy and quality. This improvement is driven by not only the inclusion of social relations but also the superiority of modelling relations via knowledge graph. We also develop a web-based prototype to demonstrate explainable artificial intelligence. This work contributes to the FinTech literature by adding an innovative design artifact—SocioLink—for decision support in the investment context. Collapse

Topics: electronic finance recommender system collaborative filtering database system mergers and acquisition

Methods: experiment design artifact computational algorithm machine learning design science