Editorial

Citation

Irani, Z. and Dwivedi, Y. (2012), "Editorial", Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 25 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeim.2012.08825daa.001

Editorial

Editorial

Article Type: editorial From: Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Volume 25, Issue 4.

It gives us great pleasure to welcome our readers to the fourth issue of the 25th volume of Journal of Enterprise Information Management (JEIM), and express our appreciation to them for their continuous support during the past year. The continuous update of the journal's scope to promote theory and practice has led to an increase in submissions that has allowed us to further the quality of the journal. This issue incorporate excellent “quality” submissions that focus on providing a mixture of conjectural and practical contributions.

The fourth issue of volume 25 commences with a Viewpoint by Stephen Jones, entitled “CIO to CEO: a difficult transition?”. In this viewpoint, the author discusses on the changing role of CIO and illustrates how it resonates with the CEO role, especially in the public sector. The author also explores where and how this has developed in terms of the correlation between the skill sets of the two groups. Thus, the author suggested that CIOs should rise to the challenge and aim for CEO positions in organisations. In this viewpoint, the author brings together some of the recent discussions within the business, computing and information management press on the role of the CIO and CEO, especially in the public sector.

The above Viewpoint is followed by a paper from Robert Ogulin, Willem Selen and Jalal Ashayeri, entitled “Determinants of informal coordination in networked supply chains”. The authors empirically examine the capability connectivity, relationship alignment and the ability to informally network in the supply chain as determinants for better utilising capabilities amongst supply chain partners. In particular, the authors focus on how the determinants impact on operational performance in the supply chain when responding to short-lived demand requirements or highly dynamic markets. In doing so, the authors employed a mixed research methodology approach, including a qualitative exploratory phase to confirm the relevance of the research question to the practitioner, followed by quantitative structural equation modelling, based on a sample of 231 supply chain professionals. In this paper, the authors derived four determinants of informal networking, such as:

1. 1.

   capability connectivity, describing the ability of supply chain partners to rapidly and informally integrate capabilities, such as IT, to service an ad hoc market requirement;

2. 2.

   relationship alignment or the ability to informally integrate resources across supply chain partners in the context of highly dynamic market situations;

3. 3.

   the informally networked supply chain itself, measuring the ability of supply chain partners to respond to transient opportunities in the context of highly dynamic markets; and

4. 4.

   operational performance which measures the effect informal networking has on company performance.

This study focused on the analysing the informal coordination in networked supply chains and its effects from the view of a focal company. From practical implications perspective, the authors report that the management of industry rules, regulation, connectivity and relationship alignment are significant antecedents for informal coordination of supply chain capabilities in business networks. The paper, however, illustrates positive effects of informal networking in supply chains on operational efficiency, and suggests that companies should strive to enable greater flexibility to connect with their trading partners without an abundance of idiosyncrasies. The authors claim that this research adds a new concept, the informally networked supply chain, and shows that capability connectivity and relationship alignment may enable new alternative ways of coordinating supply chain capabilities to meet a specific market requirement. As such, it offers a new perspective in relation to flexibility and agility in the supply chain.

Then we have a research paper by Anders Haug, entitled “The implementation of enterprise content management systems in SMEs”. In this paper, the author demonstrates that none of the few longitudinal studies of enterprise content management (ECM) implementations focus on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To contribute to this area, the author generates insights in relation to how SMEs can successfully promote implementation of ECM solutions. In doing so, the paper analyses a longitudinal study of an ECM project. The overall findings of the paper entail a definition of a process model for ECM implementation in SMEs, identification of ten success factors related to ECM system implementation, and a definition of a new pattern for ECM technology development, compared to existing case studies. The author argues that since this paper appears to be the first detailed study of ECM system implementation in SMEs, it offers a point of departure for future research in the use of ECM technology in SMEs. The author asserts that the practitioners in SMEs preparing to engage in ECM projects may utilise the findings of the paper in relation to managing the implementation process and understanding various benefits that ECM systems can produce. At the end, the author claims that this research contributes to the sparse literature on ECM implementation. In fact, the case seems to be the first longitudinal study of ECM implementation in SMEs.

Thereafter, we have the paper by Udechukwu Ojiako, Maxwell Chipulu, Stuart Maguire, Bolaji Akinyemi and Johnnie Johnson, entitled “User adoption of mandatory enterprise technology”. By drawing on the extant Technology Acceptance literature, this paper critically examines the impact of mandatory enterprise technology adoption in Nigeria. In doing so, the authors collected their data from a survey of stockbrokers operating on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange on two occasions over a four-year period. Expert forecasting (TSModel) algorithms were employed to assess attitudinal changes of users on mandatory system adoption. After analysing the data, the results suggest that over time, users (stockbrokers) developed an increasingly negative perception of the technology, thus emphasising the need for managers to focus on subjective imperatives that might impact the adoption of mandated technology. The authors assert that Africa still remains neglected in relation to information systems/information technology (IS/IT) research. However, this negligence has driven the authors’ interest in seeking to understand how contextual peculiarities specific to Africa could play a significant role in an understanding of well-established IS/IT models. To facilitate deeper explorations of the antecedents of user adoption of mandatory enterprise technology, the authors choose to lay the theoretical foundations of this study in social theories (specifically, voluntariness and subjective norm).

The next paper is by Ian Stuart, Jacques Verville and Nazim Taskin, entitled “Trust in buyer-supplier relationships: supplier competency, interpersonal relationships and performance outcomes”. The authors argue that despite the extensive body of research on the relationship between trust and performance in a supply chain environment, the concepts and the relationship between them has not been fully understood. Thus, the authors consider this literature void and aim to develop a model that links the antecedents of trust, trust itself and firm outcome success. In so doing, the authors conducted a questionnaire-based survey to gather data for this study. The authors conducted statistical analysis for this study, which included factor analysis with reliability and validity tests, and partial least square of structural equation modelling. The findings suggest that trust is built principally through supplier centric traditional performance metrics such as delivery reliability and product quality conformance. However, contrary to the extant literature, the people-oriented trust enablers (e.g. personnel exchange, interpersonal contacts) have no bearing on the establishment of trust. The authors report that a relatively small sample size is a limitation of this research. However, as the same time the authors also assert that this study can be perceived as a directional one for future research. The results can be used by the managers to improve their understanding on the relationship with other parties in the supply chain. The authors claim that the significant value of this study can be retained by buying firm managers. The results are particularly important for them to improve their understanding in how they allocate time and resources in managing their supply chains and partner firms.

Finally, we have Ofir Ben-Assuli and Moshe Leshno presenting their paper, entitled “Efficient use of medical IS: diagnosing chest pain”. In this paper, the authors evaluate the contribution of medical IS to efficient use of information when diagnosing chest pain complaints with suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) as regards ordering of tests and accuracy of diagnosis. In so doing, the authors approached 102 physicians for the purpose of diagnosing three cases of chest pain in patients consulting an ED in a simulation study. Half of the participants had access to a medical IS with complete patient information and the other half of the physicians did not. The empirical work resulted in three key findings such as: first, participants who viewed the medical IS ordered fewer clinical examinations, second, participants who viewed the medical histories made a more accurate main differential diagnosis (DD) of AMI and third, physicians with access to the medical history reported significantly higher levels of confidence in their decisions, regardless of seniority. The authors suggest that IS leads to better utilisation of medical services, greater efficiency and lower costs and thus has implications for other health care sectors.

Zahir Irani and Yogesh Dwivedi