This document discusses theoretical foundations for information systems (IS) success in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It introduces four theories that may help explain IS success in SMEs: the theory of planned behavior, transaction cost economy, technology acceptance model, and the DeLone & McLean IS success model. The document also presents open questions about how to conceptualize IS success in SMEs and how these theories relate to the existing literature on adopting and using information technologies in small businesses.
The above article was published in the May 2008 edition of FEDTECH Magazine. It summarizes the key priorities of Federal CIOs as captured in the Information Technology Association of America's (now Tech Amercia) Survey of Federal CIOs, dated February 2008, entitled "Transforming IT to Support the Mission." The article is one in the series I write entitled "The Business of IT."
A SMART Seminar delivered on July 9, 2012 by Associate Professor Rajeev Sharma from the School of Information Systems and Technology at the University of Wollongong.
Creating Value towards Impact InvestingXavier Heude
(2nd Innovation for Financial Services Summit – Luxembourg, 19-21 Sept. 2012)
Definition & application :
- Context and Definition
- Value analysis
- Concrete cases
- Lessons learned
The author, Xavier Heude has been entirely dedicated to the development of Responsible Finance by the mean of promoting Impact Investing, mainly. He is convinced that Private and Institutional investors are growingly interested in putting some part of their money in business activities or projects where they can themselves follow up the financial performance, and last but not least, the social and environmental outcomes generated.
He is Co-founder of meso IMPACT Finance, a Luxembourg-based holding company aimed at taking stakes in SMEs that generate a social and environmental (measurable) impact. MIF helps them develop through a financial and extra-financial support (i.e. technical assistance).
He is also Délégué Général of SAKURA Initiative, a Luxembourg-based non-profit organisation promoting social and responsible practices in the economic and financial sector, through various means such as conferences and communication.
Xavier Heude founded also the “PEERS Direct Investment” – registered trademark in 2011, after having stated for many years, that there are still quite few incentives and operational frameworks and guidelines allowing and encouraging a large public to invest in socially responsible business activities or to support valuable social initiatives.
A network is being built, in order to contribute to expand the mark and get it known worldwide.
The above article was published in the May 2008 edition of FEDTECH Magazine. It summarizes the key priorities of Federal CIOs as captured in the Information Technology Association of America's (now Tech Amercia) Survey of Federal CIOs, dated February 2008, entitled "Transforming IT to Support the Mission." The article is one in the series I write entitled "The Business of IT."
A SMART Seminar delivered on July 9, 2012 by Associate Professor Rajeev Sharma from the School of Information Systems and Technology at the University of Wollongong.
Creating Value towards Impact InvestingXavier Heude
(2nd Innovation for Financial Services Summit – Luxembourg, 19-21 Sept. 2012)
Definition & application :
- Context and Definition
- Value analysis
- Concrete cases
- Lessons learned
The author, Xavier Heude has been entirely dedicated to the development of Responsible Finance by the mean of promoting Impact Investing, mainly. He is convinced that Private and Institutional investors are growingly interested in putting some part of their money in business activities or projects where they can themselves follow up the financial performance, and last but not least, the social and environmental outcomes generated.
He is Co-founder of meso IMPACT Finance, a Luxembourg-based holding company aimed at taking stakes in SMEs that generate a social and environmental (measurable) impact. MIF helps them develop through a financial and extra-financial support (i.e. technical assistance).
He is also Délégué Général of SAKURA Initiative, a Luxembourg-based non-profit organisation promoting social and responsible practices in the economic and financial sector, through various means such as conferences and communication.
Xavier Heude founded also the “PEERS Direct Investment” – registered trademark in 2011, after having stated for many years, that there are still quite few incentives and operational frameworks and guidelines allowing and encouraging a large public to invest in socially responsible business activities or to support valuable social initiatives.
A network is being built, in order to contribute to expand the mark and get it known worldwide.
In 2011, employers continued to battle through the toughest economy in decades, deal with record numbers of EEO charges and employment lawsuits, fight the tidal wave of wage and hour claims, and adjust to the regulatory-focused administration in Washington.
Keeping up on the trends is critical to protecting your organization in a time of unprecedented employment law risk, as well as legislative and regulatory activity. Find out how to sift through the multitude of employment issues, and really focus your compliance efforts looking ahead to 2012.
Leadership and Organizational Change in the Context of IT Eashani Rodrigo
This research investigates Information Technology (IT) driven organizational changes in Sri Lankan organizations by focusing on the leadership aspects. The main objective of this research is to identify which leadership styles are most effective in ensuring the success of change management processes within IT project implementations. In order to achieve this, firstly the research conducts an in-depth investigation of the relationship between leadership and change management practices within organizations. Encapsulating the findings, a model is proposed to pinpoints the most effective leadership style that should be adopted in accordance with each stage within the change management process the organization is about to undergo.
Introduction to the Decision Model - Larry GoldbergIIBA UK Chapter
Larry Goldberg, Managing Partner of Knowledge Partners International, LLC (KPI), delivera a thought provoking session on "The Decision Model: Aligning Business and Technology", a technology independent model based on the inherent structure of business logic .
Implementation Of Ontological Business Transactions Using Demo And The Normal...Martin Op 't Land
In the enterprise world, the organization and IT domains have fundamentally different change drivers. The challenge of keeping the dynamic alignment between these domains in an agile way requires new theoretical Enterprise Engineering grounds as well as new tools and methods for professionals to act.
This presentation will report on very recent efforts to couple DEMO theory, with its fundamental organizational building blocks of transaction (“molecule”), coordination act (“atom”), actor, action rule, etc. with Normalized Systems theory, with its fundamental IT system building blocks of elements and cross-cutting concerns, to achieve and industrialize new levels of business-IT agile alignment.
International summer school (July 2012, Enschede)Dimitrios Kordas
- Is the restructuring of interrelations between academic networks and markets feasible?
- How we can deal with modern migration phenomena?
- Are universities really able to maintain and empower their financial sustainability?
- How the recent socio-economic studies can be tranfered into EU regulatory framwerok? Is there any context to build on?
Hope this 2min. presentation to offer a conceptual model; aiming to integrate the aforementioned predominant topics and open a new window for further discussion and applied political research.
With respect to all comments, I am looking forward to receiving every critical review.
Dimitrios Kordas
Neudesic specializes in providing strategic consulting services to partners, including to assist them in governing their user portal solutions and infrastructure, especially leveraging SharePoint and Microsoft technology stack.
Your Leadership Brand - The CIO as Business Strategist driving innovation. CI...Livingstone Advisory
Your Leadership Brand - The CIO as Business Strategist driving innovation
When CIOs think like business strategists, they shift from primarily managing technology projects to become highly business relevant. The ability of CIOs to successfully make this shift is key to underpinning the transformation of IT within the organisation. This transformation is critical to organisations that are looking for ways of driving innovation and entrepreneurship within the IT group, which in turn drives sustainable business value. The role of the CIO is at the core of this transformation.
In this engaging and practical session, Rob Livingstone provides valuable insights on how organisations and CIOs alike can ensure this transition is made successfully, and rapidly.
Agenda included
Surveying the broader landscape
Is enterprise innovation the Job of IT?
The Future-State CIO Model
Getting past ‘Business – IT Alignment’
Creating Influence
Your leadership brand.
Your personal Brand – as you!.
In 2011, employers continued to battle through the toughest economy in decades, deal with record numbers of EEO charges and employment lawsuits, fight the tidal wave of wage and hour claims, and adjust to the regulatory-focused administration in Washington.
Keeping up on the trends is critical to protecting your organization in a time of unprecedented employment law risk, as well as legislative and regulatory activity. Find out how to sift through the multitude of employment issues, and really focus your compliance efforts looking ahead to 2012.
Leadership and Organizational Change in the Context of IT Eashani Rodrigo
This research investigates Information Technology (IT) driven organizational changes in Sri Lankan organizations by focusing on the leadership aspects. The main objective of this research is to identify which leadership styles are most effective in ensuring the success of change management processes within IT project implementations. In order to achieve this, firstly the research conducts an in-depth investigation of the relationship between leadership and change management practices within organizations. Encapsulating the findings, a model is proposed to pinpoints the most effective leadership style that should be adopted in accordance with each stage within the change management process the organization is about to undergo.
Introduction to the Decision Model - Larry GoldbergIIBA UK Chapter
Larry Goldberg, Managing Partner of Knowledge Partners International, LLC (KPI), delivera a thought provoking session on "The Decision Model: Aligning Business and Technology", a technology independent model based on the inherent structure of business logic .
Implementation Of Ontological Business Transactions Using Demo And The Normal...Martin Op 't Land
In the enterprise world, the organization and IT domains have fundamentally different change drivers. The challenge of keeping the dynamic alignment between these domains in an agile way requires new theoretical Enterprise Engineering grounds as well as new tools and methods for professionals to act.
This presentation will report on very recent efforts to couple DEMO theory, with its fundamental organizational building blocks of transaction (“molecule”), coordination act (“atom”), actor, action rule, etc. with Normalized Systems theory, with its fundamental IT system building blocks of elements and cross-cutting concerns, to achieve and industrialize new levels of business-IT agile alignment.
International summer school (July 2012, Enschede)Dimitrios Kordas
- Is the restructuring of interrelations between academic networks and markets feasible?
- How we can deal with modern migration phenomena?
- Are universities really able to maintain and empower their financial sustainability?
- How the recent socio-economic studies can be tranfered into EU regulatory framwerok? Is there any context to build on?
Hope this 2min. presentation to offer a conceptual model; aiming to integrate the aforementioned predominant topics and open a new window for further discussion and applied political research.
With respect to all comments, I am looking forward to receiving every critical review.
Dimitrios Kordas
Neudesic specializes in providing strategic consulting services to partners, including to assist them in governing their user portal solutions and infrastructure, especially leveraging SharePoint and Microsoft technology stack.
Your Leadership Brand - The CIO as Business Strategist driving innovation. CI...Livingstone Advisory
Your Leadership Brand - The CIO as Business Strategist driving innovation
When CIOs think like business strategists, they shift from primarily managing technology projects to become highly business relevant. The ability of CIOs to successfully make this shift is key to underpinning the transformation of IT within the organisation. This transformation is critical to organisations that are looking for ways of driving innovation and entrepreneurship within the IT group, which in turn drives sustainable business value. The role of the CIO is at the core of this transformation.
In this engaging and practical session, Rob Livingstone provides valuable insights on how organisations and CIOs alike can ensure this transition is made successfully, and rapidly.
Agenda included
Surveying the broader landscape
Is enterprise innovation the Job of IT?
The Future-State CIO Model
Getting past ‘Business – IT Alignment’
Creating Influence
Your leadership brand.
Your personal Brand – as you!.
1. Theoretical Foundations
for IS Success in
Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises
(work in progress)
Jan Devos
Ghent University Association
Department Howest, ELIT - Lab
Keywords: IS Success, IS Failures, SMEs, IS Theories, IT Governance, IT Adoption
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 1
2. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
(SMEs)
Definitional problem
Bolton Committee (1971) defines an SME as one that:
has a relatively small market share, is managed by its owners or part owners in a personalized
way, not by an organized managerial structure, is independent
U.S. Small Business Administration defines an SME as one that:
depends on the industry of the SME, number of employees (<500) or the average annual
receipts, is independently owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of operation
Europe defines an SME as
number of employees ( <10 10-50 <250), annual turnover, or annual balance sheet total
and Canada, Singapore, New-Zealand, Australia, ....
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 2
3. SMEs
Our Focus:
– Small companies (headcount <<200)
• white collars (>10) vs blue collars
– Family owned and managed
– Turnover < €20 million
– Cross sectional
– Small (domestic) markets and export
Relevance ? (Europe = 99%)
reference: website Europe (http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme)
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 3
4. IT and SMEs
Different economical, cultural and managerial
environment compared to corporate accounts
– Resource poverty (financial, knowledge, IT, ...):
• Depend heavily on external IT expertise (Verhees et al. 2004)
• Low IT capabilities and IT practices (Dibbern et al. 2009)
• Slow adopters of IT, reluctance to use advanced IT
– Centric role of CEO – owner (Cragg, 2008; Levy et al. 2004)
• Unique strategic orientations (Wang et al. 2009)
• Appetite for innovativeness depends on CEO (Dibrell et al. 2008)
– Lack of process orientation
• Too much task oriented (Antlova, 2009)
• Do not change business models if results (of IT) are unclear (OECD, 2004)
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 4
5. IT and SMEs
• Lack of relevant IS research in SMEs
– Since 1978 (to November 2010): less then 300 refereed A1-
publications (Devos, 2010; working paper)
– IS (business) research mainly in large organisations
• Obtaining IS Success in SMES
– Implementing IT Governance
– Guidelines and methods for governing, implementing and
managing IT are not suitable for SMEs
– Why? There are no basic theoretical foundations spelling out
how IS success can be achieved by implementing IT
Governance
– IT Governance … a bridge too far for SMEs
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 5
6. Questions
• How can we explain IS Success in SMEs?
• How can we rethink the concept of IT
Governance in SMEs?
What are the basic theoretical foundations of
IS Success in SMEs?
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 6
7. Research Question
How can these four theories help to explain IS
success in SMEs?
• Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)
• Transaction Cost Economy (TCE)
• Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
• DeLone & McLean IS Success Model (D&M)
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 7
8. Theory of Planned Behavior
Behavioral
Belief
Attitude
Evaluation
Normative
Belief
Subjective
Intention Adoption
Motivation Norm
To Comply
Control
Belief
Perceived
Perceived Control
Power
AJZEN, I. 1991. THE THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR. Organizational Behavior
and Human Decision Processes.
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 8
9. Transaction Cost Economy
Internal
Complexity / Transaction
Bounded Frequency Costs
Rationality Production
Assets Costs Adoption
Opportunism
External
Specificity
Transaction IN / OUTSOURCED
Uncertainty
Costs
Human Environmental Transaction Production
Factors Factors Costs Costs
Bounded Asset Internal Build cost
Rationality Specificity
Opportunism Uncertainty External:
Contact,
Run cost
Contract,
Frequency /
Control
Complexity
COASE 1937. The Nature of the Firm. Economica.
WILLIAMSON 1975. Markets and hierarchies: Analysis and antitrust implications. New York: Free Press.
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 9
10. Technology Acceptance Model
Perceived
Usefulness
Behavioral Actual
Intention to Use System Use
Perceived
Ease of Use
Source: Davis et al. (1989), Venkatesh et al. (2003)
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 10
11. DeLone & McLean IS Success Model
- Frequency
- Duration
- Intensity
- Nature
Information is
- clear
- accurate Information
- sufficient Quality
- up-to-date
Intention Use
- exact what is needed
To Use
- Availability Net
- Adaptability System Benefits
- Reliability Quality
- Response Time User
Satisfaction
- Assurance Service
- Responsiveness
Quality
- Empathy
DELONE & MCLEAN 2003. The DeLone and McLean model of information systems success: a ten-year update. Journal of
Management Information Systems
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 11
13. Nomological IS Net
IT managerial,
methodological, and
IT artifact Usage Impact
technological capabilities
IT managerial,
methodological, and
technological practices
(Benbasat et al. 2003)
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 13
16. Validation of the framework
• Mapping with Cobit v.4.1 (IT Governance Institute)
– mapping of the detailed control objectives of Cobit Acquire &
Deliver domain with the framework
– Cobit are best practices – but no theoretical underpinnings
– Cobit is well used with practitioners, even in SMEs (QuickStart)
– Cobit is very normative
• Interview with CIOs-CEOs from SMEs (to do)
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 16
18. Preliminary findings
• The framework offers a possible theoretical
foundation for a majority of Cobit A&I controls
• Complementary assets
– Major issue in Cobit
– Not directly in the framework
• part of the Information Quality (D&M)
• COBIT has less attention for behavioral aspects
– PU and PEoU are absent in Cobit (TAM)
• A ‘minimal’ capability maturity level is needed
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 18
19. Discussion and conclusions
Contribution of the framework:
- Novel, testable and empirical valid
- An unique SME perspective: egocentric role of CEO,
resource deficit, dependency on external expertise, …
- Generic, process oriented, cross-functional and not only
suitable for a particular IT or artifact (ERP, CRM, …)
- Start to rethink IT Governance in SMEs
- More ‘behavioral’ less ‘mechanical’ approach
Limitations:
- Validation over a large group of SMEs needed
- More and other theoretical perspectives are possible
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 19
20. Discussion and conclusions
Explanatory Explanatory
High
Domain of knowledge
High
Domain of knowledge D&M
TCE
PT TAM
PT
PAT PAT
ICT ICT
OT LMT Low OT LMT
Low TPB
Low High Predictive Low High Predictive
ECIS 2011 ES & BPC - J. Devos 20