Dear Readers

Citation

Irani, Z. (2007), "Dear Readers", Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 20 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeim.2007.08820faa.001

Dear Readers

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the sixth issue of the 20th volume of the Journal of Enterprise Information Management. This issue includes papers that cover different subject areas that span the whole enterprise, providing you with a rich flavored mixture of theoretical and practical papers.

This issue starts off with a paper that examines contracts in public jurisdictions to compare academic theories related to outsourcing risks and risk management strategies to current practice to extend and refine theory concerning what risk management strategies can, or should, be included in outsourcing contracts. The authors make use of an automated content analysis tool to rigorously compare contract documents in two public jurisdictions to a comprehensive outsourcing risk framework from previous research. Given the extensive use of outsourcing, this paper makes very interesting reading.

An ongoing dilemma of what constitutes information systems success at the user level is tackled by H. Agourram and J. Ingham, who present the meaning of IS success at the user level in a multi-cultural environment. The authors explore how IS success at the user level is defined and perceived by groups of people from different national cultures. This issue is of high relevance especially to both large and multinational organizations that conduct business activities in different cultural regions. Using ground theory combined with a case study strategy, the authors report the outcome of an investigation conducted at a multinational organization, which decided to implement a standardized ERP system in all its worldwide subsidiaries. In doing so, reporting eight categories of IS success in the organization’s Canadian, German, and French subsidiaries, in addition to comparing findings between the three to highlight the different perceptions of IS according to different cultures. Although the findings of this study are not generalizable, it may become possible through the use of a more quantitative approach and the replication of the study by other scholars. Thus, there is an opportunity for well-needed research in this area.

Reaping the benefits of mobile technology, V. Gruhn, A. Köhler and R. Klawes present an analysis of the optimization potential of service processes through mobile technologies. The conducted analysis aimed to organize business processes more efficiently to realize cost savings. The reported analysis shows the initial situation of the case company which is a company operating in the housing industry, as well as the alternative process models – based on mobile technologies – developed and how these alternatives were economically evaluated. The authors present a method developed during different projects conducted at their University. They then show how this method can be used to verify whether the adoption of mobile technologies is suitable to obtain a defined goal, and the requirements that need to be fulfilled by such a solution.

In a shift back to supply chain, M.N. Faisal, D.K. Banwet, and R. Shankar, reveal their newly developed conceptual model that quantifies and mitigates information risks that could impact a supply chain. The authors identify various information risks and use graph theory to quantify information risks. Subsequently, they use interpretive structural modeling to understand the interrelationships among the enablers of information risks mitigation. While doing so, the research presents a classification of the enablers of information risks mitigation according to their driving power and dependence.

The study also presents a proposed risk index to quantify information risks that, along the hierarchy based model, would help develop suitable strategies to manage information risks in supply chain. This is an interesting paper that lies parallel with other attempts to identify and quantify information systems’ related indirect costs and benefits.

Then, S. Özkan, R. Hackney and S. Bilgen describe how high quality information systems (IS) support is an integral factor in the success of contemporary organizations. Many international comparisons look at the expenditure spent on IS as a basis for determining how effective these infrastructures are. There is evidence that the assessment is wholly prescriptive and mainly based upon a cost/benefit analysis. This approach is believed to be deficient as a sole factor in evaluation procedures. The research in this study supports the notion that more systematic attention needs to be taken into evaluating the success of IS. A perspective noted through Process Research for Information Systems Evaluation (PRISE) is therefore proposed. The method was developed and subsequently evaluated through three case organizations: a commercial bank, software house, and university department. It is argued that PRISE offers a more holistic and valid opportunity to evaluate IS in organizations. Specific implications are drawn concerning its applicability, insights gained and suggestions for further research reported.

We conclude this issue with a contribution from H.B. Marri, A. Gunasekaran and R.A. Sohag who developed a framework for the implementation of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies (AMTs) in Small and Medium Enterprises. The authors used a quantitative approach based on a structured questionnaire targeting SMEs in Pakistan. The study reported a lack of engineering orientation, in-house expertise and organizations long-term vision to technology acceptance. The authors highlight the lack of attention of the surveyed companies towards the arrangement of training and education facilities both local and remote. They argue the necessity of establishing an operational environment in terms of in-house expertise in AMT, organizational responsibility, incentives and reward schemes, before implementing AMT. Thus, the presented framework could be used as a roadmap to guide SMEs during the implementation of AMT

We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed assembling it for you, and hope to receive your valuable contributions for subsequent issue(s).

Zahir Irani