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This paper aims at understanding the action of pilot entities, in order to ultimately infer about their role to the overall reform process of public sector accounting (PSA).

Taking the Portuguese case as a reference, the new institutional theory (isomorphism perspective) and institutional logics are used to explain the action and stance of pilot entities in the implementation process of reforms.

Pilot experiments are expected to provide feedback on the main difficulties felt in the implementation of a new PSA system, helping to define a global strategy to overcome those problems and to improve the system to be generally and finally put into practice. Nevertheless, entities seem to find it important to be pilots, more for individual advantages than for the common benefit of the reform as a whole. Therefore, in order for them to actually be important actors in the reform process, pilots need to be included in the decision process, better realizing the benefits of the new IPSAS-based system and be provided with the proper technical, human and financial support.

This research suffers from some limitations, namely concerning the use of questionnaires. The findings may, in some points, reflect the perceptions of the respondents and not the actual reality. Additionally, the respondents were not asked about any personal background factors, which may influence their answers. Also, they did not allow relating the new PSA system features with the way pilot entities (re)acted. In regard to the implications for practice, the study points to a need for decision-makers and external support bodies to work more closely with pilot entities in the overall design and implementation of PSA reforms. Pilot entities need to understand the importance and usefulness of changes, and reform authorities need to better recognize their institutional reality and the support they require. Only in this way, the use of pilots can make a difference in the implementation of PSA innovations.

This paper contributes to theory by adding to a better understanding of the role of the ones acting in the development and implementation of PSA innovations, enlightening on how pilot entities can act/react. Despite several studies on PSA reforms, very few so far have addressed pilot entities in particular, their attitude and actual contribution toward PSA reforms, and why. The case of Portugal as a frontrunner in adopting an IPSAS-based system within the EU helps contribute to that understanding in the setting of European countries.

The purpose of this paper is to propose the use of technology adoption model UTAUT as an adoption model of IT governance frameworks, specifically Information Technology and Infrastructure Library (ITIL). The aim is to help the decision maker to better map ITIL processes with business performance, to make a better decision on what processes to implement, and how to implement them.

The paper uses a literature review detailing critical success factors of ITIL implementation. The proposed model was then implemented by applying it to a case study of a company in the United Arab Emirates where the ITIL implementation project failed.

The proposed model gives ITIL the flexibility to work for a wide variety of industries and businesses, but it also introduces many challenges. One of the most apparent challenges is to map ITIL processes to the real world. As a result to analyzing the case study in light of the adoption model, a road map to successful implementation of ITIL is proposed.

This research is targeted more toward practitioners such as the IT experts; therefore further studies need be conducted to understand the views of the business in respect to the challenges and benefits of the ITIL implementation.

The paper proposed an adoption model for ITIL based on UTAUT which is evidently absent from the current literature. The research findings lead us to a proposal of a roadmap for ITIL implementing.

The purpose of this case study is to develop a complete understanding of the sales and operations planning (S&OP) process implementation effort at ASTRO Inc. and to determine the influential factors that led to its success, the interrelationship between them, as well as the level of influence of each factor compared to their counterparts. As we trace the evolution of S&OP in the organizational context, the view that its implementation leads to a positive impact in changing the way companies do business is not in itself novel. To date, there is limited academic investigation on how and why the S&OP process implementation leads to a successful organizational transformation.

The data used in this case study were collected through semi-structured interviews with selected employees and through documentary analyses based on the archives at ASTRO Inc., a large North American company, for the period from 2016 to 2018. The paper adopts a methodology based on a retrospective study and interviews.

The analysis shows that the S&OP process design and its implementation required efforts on many distinct but complementary fronts to be successful. However, the level of influence varies across the organizational enablers that contribute to this success. Its successful implementation is fundamentally dependent on the managers' ability to create mindset changes in the organizational culture, and to plan and coordinate the S&OP process deployment. The key enablers need to be skillfully combined, taking into account the contextual variables, namely, the company's internal context, the company's external context and the specific characteristics of the industry in which the company belongs.

The current study provides a better understanding of the implementation of the S&OP process and highlights the key enablers that led to its successful implementation. It provides practical managerial guidelines for designing, deploying and using an S&OP process in response to and in anticipation of customer demands, and competitive pressures.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have become imperative for companies in order to be competitive in a turbulent and highly competitive business environment. Unfortunately, the success rate of ERP implementations is very low, which was cited in many researches and a majority of authors have reported up to 90 percent failure rate. Therefore, new empirical studies are more than necessary to validate companies' contributions to the increase of the success rate of ERP implementation, which was the primary reason for this investigation. The main goal of this paper is to stress the impact of business process management (BPM) and some other critical success factors (CSFs) on successful ERP implementations.

The paper details an empirical investigation combined with a confirmatory approach using structural equation modeling.

The hypotheses confirm the impact of top management support, change management, and BPM on successful ERP implementation. These factors have a positive impact on successful ERP implementation and should be treated as very important in ERP systems implementation projects. The results also support the importance of top management perception (MP): if they consider BPM as a basis of business change, this contributes to a strong and positive influence on successful ERP implementation.

Other CSFs, also required for successful ERP implementations are not covered in this paper. The sample of companies used in this study is limited only to one country, and the aspect of chief information officers (CIOs) should not be omitted either, because other CIOs might have answered the questionnaire in a different way.

Companies should treat BPM as a basis of business change and therefore increase its usage in order to increase a possibility for a successful ERP implementation. Although the ERP implementation is not the most efficient per se, its effectiveness on business performance can be greater.

Contributions of the paper are important for both practitioners and researchers. The paper will provide a very few specific factors and findings which are useful for companies when planning to implement ERP systems, and should not be omitted. From theoretical standpoints the most CSFs in ERP implementations can be combined, which are dispersed in the literature, and thus facilitate or somehow even stimulate other researchers in further investigations of those factors, which are still not defined enough or investigated.

Setting measurable criteria for implementing ethical codes is a pivotal issue in construction organizations. This paper aims to present an approach for evaluating ethical codes implementation within an organization based on 30 indicators for effective implementation of codes of ethics, with the objective of enhancing employees’ ethical behaviour within the organization.

This study builds on a theoretical model that was developed using existing classification in the literature, including six processes of ethical codes implementation (process of: identification and removal of barriers, coding, internalization, enacting values, monitoring and accountability). The model was validated by applying partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) estimation approach on questionnaire survey data which were collected from construction practitioners in Hong Kong. Fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) analysis was adopted to assess the level of ethical code implementation.

The results of the PLS-SEM indicate a good model fit, and the model has a substantial predictive power and satisfactory model representation. Thus, the model is suitable for measuring or evaluating codes of ethics implementation within organization. The process of “enacting value” has the greatest influence on “ethical code implementation”. The results of FSE indicate that the overall level of implementation of ethical codes is high, but there are rooms for further improvement.

The response to the self-assessment questionnaire used for measuring the extent of implementation is relatively low, but it was adequate for statistical analyses considering the fact that it represents the second stage of data collection in a longitudinal manner, and only the respondents who participated in the initial questionnaire survey were asked to participate. The essence of doing this is to test the model for the purpose of self-evaluation of construction organizations regarding codes implementation. Thus, the outcomes are not representative enough for the entire construction organizations in Hong Kong. However, the model was tested to demonstrate how to reflect the strengths and weaknesses of construction companies in Hong Kong with respects to ethical code implementation to identify areas requiring improvement.

Facilities managers can benefit from the findings of this study by applying the model to assess ethical codes implementation within the organization to enhance ethical behaviour.

The main contribution of this study is the generation of a framework for measuring the extent of implementation of ethical codes within construction organizations. The contribution from this study can add significant value to facilities management discipline as well, being a business-oriented sector. As ethical behaviour plays an important role in delivering various facilities. The approach used in this study is useful for facilities managers in the process of implementing codes of ethics.

Different process models have been developed by academia and industry to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the design and construction activity in response to the need for improving performance. However, the effective and widespread adoption and use of process models have been limited, and the benefits resulting from these endeavours have been ambiguous at best and non‐existent at worst. This paper synthesises the key general and construction‐specific literature related to process model implementation around a generic model, providing a systematic picture on the current knowledge on implementation.

Secondary data sources were reviewed, criticised and synthesised. The books and academic papers identified focused on the areas of process management in construction and manufacturing, change management and knowledge/technology transfer.

The paper concludes that the body of literature related to process model implementation lacks an integrated focus and cohesion, and the need to appropriately locate and operate the implementation strategy within a visible organisational context is not adequately addressed.

The paper review and synthesis are limited to relevant literature within the context of implementation of process models.

Gaps in the literature are identified and discussed, and a set of questions proposed to stipulate future research.

The paper originality relates to providing a broad, systemic perspective on the complexity of process models implementation, analysing it from different but interrelated conceptual lenses.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a quality management system (QMS) implementation process for a medical devices manufacturer, which are covered by ISO 13485:2007 and RDC No. 59:2000 and based on operations strategy content definitions.

The research strategy is based on the Cambridge approach which is supported by action research techniques for producing “application” processes. This research strategy is also known as the “Process Approach” or “the Engineering Approach” and was developed in the mid-1990s by researchers from the “Institute for Manufacturing” (IFM/University of Cambridge).

The results reveal how real conditions “shape” implementation, indicating solutions for integrating procedures for performance and control indicators that represent manufacturing strategy objectives. The regulatory framework and the manufacturing environment offer these real conditions. The operations strategy that is underlying implementation shows how to reconcile regulation and strategy through its content.

The developed process can be improved by increasing the number of test cases until they bring no new contributions for its evolution. However, because it is a long-term and complex implementation process, the present research was concluded with a full understanding of process development.

The QMS implementation process based on the Cambridge Engineering approach creates several opportunities for discussing QMS design requirements, but also in testing procedures for quality policy deployment. Learning by doing is a practical contribution of the process as a participative component effectively applied in different moments at the mentioned workshops – WSH. The logical organization of the QMS implementation process shows causalities among manufacturing strategy, QMS and performance measurements, creating strategic coherence among the connected elements.

Although many studies had approached the QMS implementation, few of them actually addressed the system integration with the business strategic objectives. None of the studies to date related the implementation to the ISO 13485:2003 and the RDC No. 59.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation commonly fails to recognize the need to treat it as a business process automation that must be managed and monitored continuously. Moreover, many studies on business process management (BPM) assessment focus on snapshots of different areas of BPM and not on the different stages of the lifecycle. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model that combines the BPM lifecycle, program/project implementation framework, principles of good practice, maturity and critical practices to assess how companies implementing ERP apply different BPM practices, as well as which areas are lacking and why.

The relevant literature was examined to develop the model for the study. Case studies of three companies in Indonesia were then conducted. The state of BPM implementation in each case was assessed through interviews, document reviews and observations.

This study found that three leading companies in Indonesia, implementing ERP for more than five years, obtained high scores for BPM implementation. They perform well in terms of process identification, implementation, monitoring and control, but are weak in process discovery and re-design, mainly because they do not optimally use specific tools for process modeling and there is a lack of process governance. The studies also pinpoint potential linkages between competition intensity and the nature of the industry with the need for good BPM.

The model has only been tested in three cases in different industries and therefore the results, while providing good insights, cannot be generalized. More detailed assessment of certain BPM practices is needed. Furthermore, the assessment for each stage of BPM implementation was made at a single time, potentially yielding less detailed results than by assessing each stage of the BPM lifecycle.

The companies implementing ERP began with business process definition, but employ different process governance. The model developed here can be useful for leaders and teams to identify weak areas of practice within the stage of the BPM lifecycle; it can be used as an assessment tool for companies currently conducting BPM projects or programs including ERP implementation. It can also provide a roadmap for companies intending to conduct BPM programs.

Most of the BPM literature focuses on specific aspects. This study proposes a different perspective by providing a model to assess BPM implementation in each stage of its lifecycle and at the same time considers practical aspects of implementation, principles of good practice, maturity factors and critical practices.

This study aims to analyze the knowledge transfer process for implementing a company-specific production system (XPS) from a subsidiary of a multinational corporation (MNC) to its local suppliers.

A case study approach was adopted and applied in an automotive supply chain. Empirical data were collected from interviews, observations and internal documents.

The literature shows that the successful XPS implementation depends on the ability to transfer XPS knowledge; the motivation of the source unit to share XPS knowledge; the value and nature of knowledge embedded in XPS; the effectiveness of individual, social and organizational transfer mechanisms; the motivation and absorptive capacity of the target unit and, the organizational, social and relational contexts in which XPS is transferred. Based on the research findings, we develop 12 propositions and presented them in a framework.

This paper expands and enriches the literature on the knowledge transfer process of XPS. The proposed framework establishes theoretical propositions and associations raised by qualitative analysis. However, these propositions are potentially testable on a larger scale for broader generalization.

Managers can recognize critical factors and relationships needed to improve the XPS implementation from an MNC subsidiary to its local suppliers.

The proposed framework provides a scheme to capture the essential critical factors affecting a successful XPS implementation between MNC subsidiaries and local suppliers. Moreover, we found relevant associations between pairs of critical factors that were not identified in the literature.

This paper aims to report and analyse the lessons learned from a case study on the implementation of a quality management system within an IT Division in a higher education (HE) organisation.

The paper is based on a review of the relevant literatures and the use of primary sources such as document analysis, participant observation and interviews to develop a case study that describes and evaluates the implementation process.

The case study identifies four factors central to the effective implementation of the quality management system within a Division of a HE institution: senior leadership and sponsorship; stakeholder engagement; the management of culture change; and implementing quality processes.

The case study reveals that the implementation of quality management systems requires sustained effort, continuous leadership, and the long term commitment of resources and systematic auditing of performance and is best done on an incremental basis.

The paper is based on a single organisation case study, and utilises a variety of data collection methods to generate findings. The study findings illustrate that HE institutions may achieve greater success in implementing quality management systems if they focus on a particular division rather than an organisation‐wide approach.