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The paper proposes a maturity assessment method to measure the state of maintenance practices in a company.

The method assumes that a maintenance department is evaluated in terms of its managerial, organizational and technological capabilities. By its adoption it is possible to analyse the maturity level reached by a company, in order to classify the criticalities in its maintenance processes; a company can also make a benchmark with the best companies of a reference sample.

The paper presents the method as a support to identify the levers to improve the maintenance management system. The method is demonstrated on a company whose maturity is assessed before making a benchmark against a sample of other manufacturing companies located in the Northern Italy.

The paper presents a scoring method for maturity assessment and a procedure to use it in order to identify the criticalities in maintenance processes and to subsequently drive the improvement of the maintenance management system. The paper should be useful both to researchers and maintenance professionals interested in using new methods for long‐term planning in maintenance.

This paper presents a method for adapting an Information Security Focus Area Maturity (ISFAM) model to the organizational characteristics (OCs) of a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) cluster. The purpose of this paper is to provide SMEs with a tailored maturity model enabling them to capture and improve their information security capabilities.

Design Science Research was followed to design and evaluate the method as a design artifact.

The method has successfully been used to adapt the ISFAM model to a group of SMEs within a regional cluster resulting in a model that is aligned with the OCs of the cluster. Areas for further investigation and improvements were identified.

The study is based on applying the proposed method for the SMEs active in the transport, logistics and packaging sector in the Port of Rotterdam. Future research can focus on different sectors and regions. The method can be used for adapting other focus area maturity models.

The resulting adapted maturity model can facilitate the creation and further development of a base of common or shared knowledge in the cluster. The adapted maturity model can cut the cost of over implementation of information security capabilities for the SMEs with scarce resources.

The resulting adapted maturity model can facilitate the creation and further development of a base of common or shared knowledge in the cluster. The adapted maturity model can cut the cost of over implementation of information security capabilities for the SMEs with scarce resources.

This study aims to analyze and synthesize the design features of existing digital transformation maturity models with a developed classification scheme and propose a generic maturity model development wireframe based on design science research.

A systematic literature review is conducted on digital transformation maturity models in peer-reviewed journals, including the Emerald Insight, Science Direct, Scopus, Taylor & Francis and Web of Science databases, which resulted in 21 studies. A concept-centric tabular approach is used to analyze the studies, and intersectional demonstrations are used to synthesize the findings regarding the design features.

The classification scheme derived from the tabular concept-centric approach and iteratively evolved results in three main and 25 subcategories related to the design features. Analysis and synthesis of the studies reveal the granularity of the existing digital transformation maturity models concerning the design features. Furthermore, considering the design features in the classification scheme, a generic maturity model development wireframe is proposed to guide the researchers.

The generic maturity model development wireframe and the classification scheme that represents the design features of existing maturity models guide the researchers for the maturity model development roadmap.

The existing literature review studies do not focus on the design feature of digital transformation maturity models within a systematic literature review perspective. A unique classification scheme derived from the tabular concept-centric approach aims to analyze the granularity level of the existing models. Furthermore, the generic maturity model development wireframe includes the guidelines and recommendations of design science studies and presents a roadmap for maturity model researchers.

A mature adoption of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) goes steadily through different levels of maturity, whereby each level has its own types of services (e.g. software services or business services). However, the identification of such services is not an easy task even though there exist many service identification methods (SIMs). This paper aims to propose a new approach to select SIMs. The proposed selection approach for SIMs uses the desired SOA maturity level as the main guidance to assist the organizations in selecting a suitable SIM for each level of SOA maturity.

The methodology consists of three activities: surveying and selecting a suitable evaluation framework for SIMs, surveying and selecting a suitable SOA maturity model (SOAMM) and using the selected evaluation framework to decide a suitable SIM for the desired SOA maturity level with respect to the selected SOAMM.

Welke’s SOAMM and two existing evaluation frameworks for SIMs were found suitable to validate the proposed selection approach for SIMs. The two selected frameworks utilized the proposed selection approach to different degrees. To fully utilize the proposed selection approach, a comprehensive evaluation framework is required that addresses the most significant aspects of the existing SIMs.

In this research, the authors propose a new way of using Welke’s SOAMM to guide the organizations in selecting a suitable SIM from the existing evaluation frameworks for SIMs based on the desired SOA maturity level. In addition, the proposed selection approach improves the applicability of the existing evaluation frameworks, as it provides the organizations with a new way to select the methods.

The purpose of this paper is to present a multi-staged methodology for the assessment of technology maturity profiles. In particular, this research is being developed to simplify the maturity evaluation procedure in order to combine a large number of inputs from R&D projects and thus to obtain a broad picture of technology maturity profiles that is not specific to a particular organisation, industry sector or particular process.

A multi-stage method was employed. The first stage of which was a workshop involving a range of eminent academics and senior professionals from institutes or industry in order to outline the maturity scale and its defining characteristics. The second stage was to develop a questionnaire to investigate the maturity of particular technologies in the wider research portfolio. Finally, a case study was conducted to validate the practicability of the method by assessment of industry capability and advancement.

Based on the responses received from the questionnaire, a maturity profile was constructed for each project, displaying percentages of R&D efforts along the adopted maturity scale. The findings demonstrate that the real value of the generic matrix is in tailoring the framework according to the particular context of a firm in order to identify risks that would compromise the exploitation of the emerging technologies under development.

There are some limitations in this study which provide ground for future research. For instance, the proposed methodology could be applied to industrially sponsored R&D projects in addition to the publicly funded projects, which have been targeted in this study. This study uses a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the method, but this could be applicable to other industry domain. Further testing of the method is necessary in order to increase its robustness and to better understand its applicability and feasibility.

It could be considered that the success of this study could be emulated in a wider context of new manufacturing technologies which are being taken up by industry, utilising a comparable but amended scale of technology vs level of take-up and/or funding. It is potentially a useful way for funding bodies to monitor impact of sponsored R&D projects. For industry, it is also a vital link to the academic institutions developing emerging technologies, by guiding both industry sectors and individual customers to the relative maturity of particular technologies.

This study aims to propose a novel maturity model development framework based on design science theory utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods for empirical evidence and develops a descriptive digital transformation maturity model by using the proposed framework.

Design science theory is deeply explored and extended to propose a novel maturity model development approach, including robust and rigorous validation processes. Thus, three consecutive discussion sessions and evaluations with experts are carried out iteratively to evolve and saturate the efficiency and utility of the maturity model, and consensus among experts at each session is validated by the intra-class correlation (ICC) coefficient. Furthermore, the Wilcoxon signed rank test is utilized to test whether there is a difference between consecutive sessions. Finally, prototype testing as a pilot study and two case studies in the manufacturing industry are carried out to validate the applicability of the developed maturity model.

A 3-phase maturity model development framework that includes the activities and outcomes in each phase emerge based on the design science theory. The comparative literature analysis and discussion sessions resulted in six dimensions, ten sub-dimensions, 39-capability items that circumscribe the digital transformation concept and five maturity levels that demonstrate conceptual consistency and a measurement tool for self-assessment. In addition, prototype testing and case studies show that the developed maturity model can measure the company's maturity level. Finally, it is proven that the digital transformation maturity model is developed by following the proposed maturity model development framework.

The maturity model draws a framework for practitioners that facilitate an initial roadmap and enhance the adoption rate, and it motivates the practitioners for frequent and efficient assessments, thus helping the continuous improvement of the digital transformation journey.

The originality of this paper lies in proposing a novel maturity model development framework based on design science and presents the activities and validation methods for this purpose. Furthermore, a comprehensive and rigorously validated digital transformation maturity model is developed based on the proposed framework.

The purpose of this paper is to survey existing inter-organisational information security research to scrutinise the kind of knowledge that is currently available and the way in which this knowledge has been brought about.

The results are based on a literature review of inter-organisational information security research published between 1990 and 2014.

The authors conclude that existing research has focused on a limited set of research topics. A majority of the research has focused management issues, while employees’/non-staffs’ actual information security work in inter-organisational settings is an understudied area. In addition, the majority of the studies have used a subjective/argumentative method, and few studies combine theoretical work and empirical data.

The findings suggest that future research should address a broader set of research topics, focusing especially on employees/non-staff and their use of processes and technology in inter-organisational settings, as well as on cultural aspects, which are lacking currently; focus more on theory generation or theory testing to increase the maturity of this sub-field; and use a broader set of research methods.

The authors conclude that existing research is to a large extent descriptive, philosophical or theoretical. Thus, it is difficult for practitioners to adopt existing research results, such as governance frameworks, which have not been empirically validated.

Few systematic reviews have assessed the maturity of existing inter-organisational information security research. Findings of authors on research topics, maturity and research methods extend beyond the existing knowledge base, which allow for a critical discussion about existing research in this sub-field of information security.

A model to evaluate the maturity of the integration of three management systems in food industries, under the aspects of environment, quality and food safety is proposed.

The model is composed of maturity levels, allowing the understanding of the integration of the systems mentioned and their stage of evolution. The work was based on a bibliographic review of the topics: ISO standards, Integrated Management Systems (IMS) and already existing methods for maturity assessment. The referred model is composed of elements related to (1) audit dynamics, (2) changes in behavior, (3) the organizational structure, (4) the participation of senior management and (5) the interface with the cycle of continuous improvement.

The model is easily applicable and composed of five maturity levels, allowing the understanding of the stage of system evolution: (1) absence of maturity, (2) introductory level, (3) intermediate level, (4) toward excellence and (5) excellence.

The results of the model may help managers in the development of actions for the improvement of their integrated management (drivers for IMS) aiming at process control, the focus on the client and the integration of people and processes. Based on the drivers, the managers will be able to make plans characterized by orientations, techniques and tools applied in the several organizational processes. Using the proposed model, managers can enhance the desired results with efficiency and effectiveness.

The existing literature presents limited results on the integration of certified systems for the analysis of the maturity stages in manufacturing industries. Therefore, this study extends results from other studies on IMS, associating them to an organizational maturity analysis in food industries, resulting in a proposal of maturity model. This study also proposes the integration of ISO 14001, ISO 9001 and ISO 22000 to indicate the maturity stage of manufacturing industries in the food sector, supporting the strategic management process of organizations of any size. The model adopts several aspects of management and control to provide a holistic view on the integrated management of organizations. Finally, the proposed model considers several aspects of management and control for the food industries in the developing countries, providing a holistic view of integrated management.

Timely removal of formwork is one of the crucial aspects of construction management that directly influences the safety and quality of the structure as well as the economy of the project. Code recommendations in this regard are not widely practiced because of the difficulties in their implementations. Also, such code recommendations are not robust for all the possible construction conditions. The present paper proposes an IoT-enabled system that notifies the minimum striking time of vertical formwork based on a specified target compressive strength.

An IoT device is proposed for the timely removal of vertical formwork by monitoring of early age concrete compressive strength in real-time. The maturity method is utilized for this purpose. The implementation of the proposed system is demonstrated on three concrete columns. The proposed system is found to be suitable for any construction condition.

The proposed system is a novel, cost-effective, IoT-enabled real-time monitoring system which includes features like cloud connectivity and remote monitoring. This system can be easily implemented at the site without any human intervention.

The study explores the development of an IoT device for the timely removal of vertical formwork which will ensure quality, safety and productivity in concrete construction.

This paper is the first attempt to determine the minimum striking time of vertical formwork using IoT-based technology.

Insufficient productivity development in the global and Finnish infrastructure sectors indicates that there are challenges in genuinely achieving the goals of resource efficiency and digitalization. This study adapts the approach of capability maturity model integration (CMMI) for examining the capabilities for productivity development that reveal the enablers of improving productivity in the infrastructure sector.

Civil engineering in Finland was selected as the study area, and a qualitative research approach was adopted. A novel maturity model was constructed deductively through a three-step analytical process. Previous research literature was adapted to form a framework with maturity levels and key process areas (KPAs). KPA attributes and their maturity criteria were formed through a thematic analysis of interview data from 12 semi-structured group interviews. Finally, validation and refinement of the model were performed with an expert panel.

This paper provides a novel maturity model for examining and enhancing the infrastructure sector’s maturity in productivity development. The model brings into discussion the current business logics, relevance of lifecycle-thinking, binding targets and outcomes of limited activities in the surrounding infrastructure system.

This paper provides a new approach for pursuing productivity development in the infrastructure sector by constructing a maturity model that adapts the concepts of CMMI and change management. The model and findings benefit all actors in the sector and provide an understanding of the required elements and means to achieve a more sustainable built environment and effective operations.