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1 – 10 of 989Aleš Zebec and Mojca Indihar Štemberger
Although businesses continue to take up artificial intelligence (AI), concerns remain that companies are not realising the full value of their investments. The study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Although businesses continue to take up artificial intelligence (AI), concerns remain that companies are not realising the full value of their investments. The study aims to provide insights into how AI creates business value by investigating the mediating role of Business Process Management (BPM) capabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The integrative model of IT Business Value was contextualised, and structural equation modelling was applied to validate the proposed serial multiple mediation model using a sample of 448 organisations based in the EU.
Findings
The results validate the proposed serial multiple mediation model according to which AI adoption increases organisational performance through decision-making and business process performance. Process automation, organisational learning and process innovation are significant complementary partial mediators, thereby shedding light on how AI creates business value.
Research limitations/implications
In pursuing a complex nomological framework, multiple perspectives on realising business value from AI investments were incorporated. Several moderators presenting complementary organisational resources (e.g. culture, digital maturity, BPM maturity) could be included to identify behaviour in more complex relationships. The ethical and moral issues surrounding AI and its use could also be examined.
Practical implications
The provided insights can help guide organisations towards the most promising AI activities of process automation with AI-enabled decision-making, organisational learning and process innovation to yield business value.
Originality/value
While previous research assumed a moderated relationship, this study extends the growing literature on AI business value by empirically investigating a comprehensive nomological network that links AI adoption to organisational performance in a BPM setting.
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Michael Rachinger, Romana Rauter, Christiana Müller, Wolfgang Vorraber and Eva Schirgi
Increased digitalization has influenced various business activities including companies’ business models (BMs) by enabling various new forms of cooperation between companies and…
Abstract
Purpose
Increased digitalization has influenced various business activities including companies’ business models (BMs) by enabling various new forms of cooperation between companies and leading to new product and service offerings as well as new forms of company relationships with customers and employees. At the same time, this digitalization has put pressure on companies to reflect on their current strategy and explore new business opportunities systematically and at early stages. While research on digitalization in the context of BMs is now gaining increased attention, a research gap still exists in this field since the number of empirical insights is limited. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative empirical data collected from 12 key informants working in two distinctive industries, the media and automotive industries, were collected. An investigation was carried out to examine the differences and similarities among how digitalization influences a company’s value creation, proposition and capture, as well as how firms cope with challenges presented by increased digitalization.
Findings
The findings of the study show that, whilst digitalization is generally considered to be important, the value proposition itself as also the position in the value network determine the perceived available options for business model innovation (BMI) by digitalization. Moreover, the organizational capacities and employee competences were identified as future challenges that will be faced by both industries.
Originality/value
The findings of this study have revealed that representatives of the media and automotive industries perceive both the pressures and opportunities of digitalization regarding BMI; its application and exploitation, however, remain challenging. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing empirical insights in the context of digitalization and BMI.
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Patrick Schweighofer, Doris Weitlaner, Martin Ebner and Hannes Rothe
The literature includes several studies that define different critical success factors (CSF) which have to be considered to support the implementation of technology-enhanced…
Abstract
Purpose
The literature includes several studies that define different critical success factors (CSF) which have to be considered to support the implementation of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) approaches. An analysis of such studies revealed that (1) regional differences seem to determine the CSF for TEL approaches, (2) certain CSF are relevant for TEL approaches in general, and (3) professionals in higher education determine which influential factors they consider when implementing TEL approaches. Thus, the question arises: in general, which influential factors do professionals in Austrian and German institutions of higher education actually consider when implementing TEL approaches?
Design/methodology/approach
The study is a quantitative research approach based on survey data.
Findings
The results show that certain influential factors seem to be generally important, such as the factors of respecting learning success or motivation. However, the outcome of the study also indicated that different moderating variables like experiences and personal relevance affect the professionals’ choices.
Originality/value
The originality and value are in the approach to identify generally important influential factors for the implementation of TEL approaches in Austrian and German institutions of higher education.
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Bartosz Marcinkowski and Bartlomiej Gawin
One of the leading factors that shape product and service delivery are data collected in databases and other repositories maintained by companies. The transformation of such data…
Abstract
Purpose
One of the leading factors that shape product and service delivery are data collected in databases and other repositories maintained by companies. The transformation of such data into knowledge and wisdom may constitute a new source of income. This paper aims to explore how small/medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) advance their business models (BMs) around data to handle data-driven products and how this contributes to their innovativeness and performance.
Design/methodology/approach
To investigate the phenomenon, the as-is BM of a multinational SME was mapped and its limitations were revealed through a qualitative study. The BM canvas was used. Then the data-driven approach was innovated within the facility management (FM) industry, where a high volume of operational and sensor-based data being collected creates added value in terms of new data-based products.
Findings
A data-driven business model (DDBM) blueprint for the FM industry that supports the need to complement service-driven operations with the data-driven approach is delivered. Enhanced BM equips a facility manager with additional managerial tools that enable decreasing property utilization costs and opens up new opportunities for generating revenue. This paper drafts the way to evolve from service to data-driven business and point out the attitudes that managers should adopt to promote and implement DDBM.
Practical implications
The DDBM constitutes a guideline that supports FM organizations in focusing their activities and resources on generating business value from data and monetizing data-driven products.
Originality/value
The research expands knowledge regarding BMs and their evolution. The gap regarding the DDBM innovation within the FM industry is filled.
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Zohreh Pourzolfaghar, Marco Alfano and Markus Helfert
This paper aims to describe the results of applying ethical AI requirements to a healthcare use case. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using open…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to describe the results of applying ethical AI requirements to a healthcare use case. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using open educational resources for Trustworthy AI to provide recommendations to an AI solution within the healthcare domain.
Design/methodology/approach
This study utilizes the Hackathon method as its research methodology. Hackathons are short events where participants share a common goal. The purpose of this to determine the efficacy of the educational resources provided to the students. To achieve this objective, eight teams of students and faculty members participated in the Hackathon. The teams made suggestions for healthcare use case based on the knowledge acquired from educational resources. A research team based at the university hosting the Hackathon devised the use case. The healthcare research team participated in the Hackathon by presenting the use case and subsequently analysing and evaluating the utility of the outcomes.
Findings
The Hackathon produced a framework of proposed recommendations for the introduced healthcare use case, in accordance with the EU's requirements for Trustworthy AI.
Research limitations/implications
The educational resources have been applied to one use-case.
Originality/value
This is the first time that open educational resources for Trustworthy AI have been utilized in higher education, making this a novel study. The university hosting the Hackathon has been the coordinator for the Trustworthy AI Hackathon (as partner to Trustworthy AI project).
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Philip Wotschack, Gergana Vladova, Patricia de Paiva Lareiro and Christof Thim
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how learning solely via an assistance system influences work performance compared with learning with a combination of an assistance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how learning solely via an assistance system influences work performance compared with learning with a combination of an assistance system and additional training. While the training literature has widely emphasised the positive role of on-the-job training, particularly for groups that are often underrepresented in formalised learning situations, organisational studies have stressed the risks that emerge when holistic process knowledge is lacking and how this negatively affects work performance. This study aims at testing these negative effects within an experimental design.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a laboratory experimental design to investigate how assistance-system-guided learning influences the individuals’ work performance and work satisfaction compared with assistance-system-guided learning combined with theoretical learning of holistic process knowledge. Subjects were divided into two groups and assigned to two different settings. In the first setting, the participants used the assistance systems as an orientation and support tool right at the beginning and learned the production steps exclusively in this way. In the second setting, subjects received an additional 10-min introduction (treatment) at the beginning of the experiment, including detailed information regarding the entire work process.
Findings
This study provides evidence that learners provided with prior process knowledge achieve a better understanding of the work process leading to higher levels of productivity, quality and work satisfaction. At the same time, the authors found evidence for differences among workers’ ability to process and apply this additional information. Subjects with lower productivity levels faced more difficulties processing and applying additional process information.
Research limitations/implications
Methodologically, this study goes beyond existing research on assistance systems by using a laboratory experimental design. Though the external validity of this method is limited by the artificial setting, it is a solid way of studying the impact of different usages of digital assistance systems in terms of training. Further research is required, however, including laboratory experiments with larger case numbers, company-level case studies and analyses of survey data, to further confirm the external validity of the findings of this study for the workplace.
Practical implications
This study provides some first evidence that holistic process knowledge, even in low-skill tasks, has an added value for the production process. This study contributes to firms' training policies by exploring new, digitalised ways of guided on-the-job training and demonstrates possible training benefits for people with lower levels of (initial) abilities and motivation.
Social implications
This study indicates the advantage for companies and societies to invest in additional skills and training and points at the limitations of assistance systems. This paper also contributes to training policies by exploring new, digitalised ways of guided on-the-job training and demonstrates possible training benefits for people with lower levels of (initial) abilities and motivation.
Originality/value
This study extends existing research on digital assistance systems by investigating their role in job-related-training. This paper contributes to labour sociology and organisational research by confirming the importance of holistic process knowledge as opposed to a solely task-oriented digital introduction.
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Christian Barth and Stefan Koch
In the last years the penetration of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems within small, medium and large organizations increased steadily. Organizations are forced to adapt…
Abstract
Purpose
In the last years the penetration of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems within small, medium and large organizations increased steadily. Organizations are forced to adapt their systems and perform ERP upgrades in order to react to rapidly changing business environments, technological enhancements and rising pressure of competition. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the critical success factors for such projects.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a literature review and qualitative interviews with CEOs, CIOs, ERP consultants and project managers who recently carried out ERP upgrade projects in their respective organizations.
Findings
This paper identifies 14 critical success factors for ERP upgrade projects. Amongst others, effective project management, external support, the composition of the ERP team and the usage of a multiple system landscape play a key role for the success of the ERP upgrade. Furthermore, a comparison to the critical success factors for ERP implementation projects was conducted, and even though there are many similarities between these types of projects, several differences emerged.
Originality/value
ERP upgrade projects have a huge impact on organizations, but their success and antecedents for it are currently under-researched.
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Luka Tomat, Peter Trkman and Anton Manfreda
The importance of information systems (IS) professions is increasing. As personality–job fit theory claims, employees must have suitable personality traits for particular IS…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of information systems (IS) professions is increasing. As personality–job fit theory claims, employees must have suitable personality traits for particular IS professions. However, candidates can try to fake-good on personality tests towards the desired personality type. Thus, the purpose of this study is to identify archetypal IS professions, their associated personality types and examine the reliability of the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test in IS recruitment decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors reviewed academic literature related to IS professions to identify job archetypes and personality traits for IS professions. Then, the authors conducted an experiment with 452 participants to investigate whether candidates can fake-good on personality tests when being tested for a particular IS profession.
Findings
The identified job archetypes were IS project manager, IS marketing specialist, IS consultant, IS security specialist, data scientist and business process analyst. The experimental results show that the participants were not able to fake-good considerably regarding their personality traits for a particular archetype.
Research limitations/implications
The taxonomy of IS professions should be validated further. The experiment was executed in an educational organisation and not in a real-life environment. Actual work performance was not measured.
Practical implications
This study enables a better identification of suitable candidates for a particular IS profession. Personality tests are good indicators of the candidate's true personality type but must be properly interpreted.
Originality/value
This study enhances the existing body of knowledge on IS professions' archetypes, proposes suitable MBTI personality types for each profession and provides experimental support for the appropriateness of using personality tests to identify potentially suitable candidates.
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Lukas Zenk, Dirk J. Primus and Stephan Sonnenburg
Do LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) workshops result in improved experience of flow components as well as higher levels of creative output than traditional meetings (MEET)? This research…
Abstract
Purpose
Do LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) workshops result in improved experience of flow components as well as higher levels of creative output than traditional meetings (MEET)? This research studies the extent to which LSP, as a specialized material-mediated and process-oriented cocreative workshop setting, differs from MEET, a traditional workshop setting. Hypotheses for differences in individual flow components (autotelic behavior, happiness, balance), group flow components (equal participation, continuous communication) and creative output were developed and tested in a quasi-experimental comparison between LSP and MEET.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted with 39 practitioners in six teams from various industries. In total, 164 observations were collected during two workshops using the Experience Sampling Method. The creative output was assessed by peer evaluations of all participants, followed by structural analysis and quantitative group comparisons.
Findings
The results show that two components of individual flow experience (autotelic behavior, happiness) were significantly higher in LSP, and one of the components of group flow experience (continuous communication) was, as expected, significantly lower. Regarding creative output, the LSP teams outperformed the MEET teams. The study suggests that a process-oriented setting that includes time for individuals to independently explore their ideas using a different kind of material in the presence of other participants has a significant influence on the team result.
Practical implications
LSP can improve the components of participants' flow experience to have an impact on the creative output of teams. In cocreative settings like LSP, teams benefit from a combination of alone time and high-quality collaborative activities using boundary objects and a clear process to share their ideas.
Originality/value
This is the first quasi-experimental study with management practitioners as participants to compare LSP with a traditional and widespread workshop approach in the context of flow experience and creative output.
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Vic Benuyenah and Bistra Boukareva
Despite business schools teaching human resources management (HRM) for several decades, the skill set of graduates today fails to match the requirements of the industry. Although…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite business schools teaching human resources management (HRM) for several decades, the skill set of graduates today fails to match the requirements of the industry. Although some attempt has been made to make the HRM curricula relevant, in most cases, a large gap exists between the subject, its assessment and the industry demands. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the changing trends in the field of HR and present ideas that will guide modern HRM curriculum development.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on professional experience of the authors in teaching and developing HR curricula as well as literature illustrations from work-based learning.
Findings
To achieve relevancy, HR curricula need to focus more on professional work-based skills that are pertinent to the contemporary workplace and re-structure exam formats to be in line with skills required in the HR profession.
Research limitations/implications
There is an opportunity to test the ideas expressed in this paper empirically; this can normally be done through a triad focus group including employers, students and teachers.
Originality/value
The paper is predicated on the mismatch between the teaching and assessment of some HR subjects and the needs of the contemporary HR profession.
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