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Article
Publication date: 22 March 2011

Hui Chen, Miguel Baptista Nunes, Lihong Zhou and Guo Chao Peng

Despite its tremendous success and achievements, the information science (IS) industry has been plagued by shadows of failure and inefficiency since its early days. This paper…

3211

Abstract

Purpose

Despite its tremendous success and achievements, the information science (IS) industry has been plagued by shadows of failure and inefficiency since its early days. This paper takes the stance that poor communication with target organizations and users is one of the major causes of these problems. If this communication is not properly recorded and managed, many of the agreed decisions may never be assumed by target organizations, therefore leaving project managers entirely responsible for failures or deviation from initial requirements. Nonetheless, the vast majority of Software (SW) development companies have very weak provision for Electronic Records Management (ERM). This is evident from the persistent use of ISO 9001 and ISO 90003 in their Quality Assurance (QA) and the consistent neglecting of the ISO 15489 standard for records management. This paper aims to examine this issue

Design/methodology/approach

Since there are no studies in this area, this research employed an inductive qualitative research approach that consisted of a combination of critical literature review, an exploratory case study and thematic analysis.

Findings

This paper reports on the study of an SW company that implemented ERM policies and an in‐house system that not only supports the recording of documentation and evidence for every phase of the development, but also the very difficult processes of organizational learning.

Practical implications

This paper is of interest to both IS academics and practitioners, namely those interested in QA and ERM.

Originality/value

There is very little research in this area that can inform both academics and practitioners on how to use ERM within SW project management practices. This paper aims at providing early insights into ways of addressing this gap and at generating discussion in this area.

Details

Aslib Proceedings, vol. 63 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0001-253X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 January 2016

Jorge Martins and Miguel Baptista Nunes

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an exploratory study that investigates Portuguese academics’ conceptions concerning the temporal properties of e-learning…

3799

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an exploratory study that investigates Portuguese academics’ conceptions concerning the temporal properties of e-learning, in the context of traditional Higher Education Institutions.

Design/methodology/approach

Grounded Theory methodology was used to systematically analyse data collected in semi-structured interviews with 62 academics. Data analysis followed the constant comparative method and its three-staged coding approach: open, axial and selective coding. Data collection and analysis developed until theoretical saturation was reached.

Findings

Emergent academics’ conceptions concerning the temporal properties of e-learning indicate the existence of unregulated and unaccounted for dynamics, which are a direct consequence of transitioning from campus-based lecturing to teaching online using the affordances of virtual learning environments. This transition produces disruptions to established workload metrics and work patterns, as well as conflicts with dominant modes of instructional delivery that are not synchronised with the demands of online interaction and immediacy.

Originality/value

This paper is valuable to e-learning strategists and administrators. An understanding of the temporal properties of e-learning as perceived by academics provides actionable knowledge that is directly applicable to the design of suitable work arrangements, normative frameworks and e-learning practices that address perceived time-related barriers. To mitigate the time-related conflicts and disruptions identified in the study the authors suggest the establishment of university-wide norms of virtual presence and the implementation of temporal protocols to sustain the productive engagement between instructors and learners.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 30 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2009

Guo Chao Peng and Miguel Baptista Nunes

The purpose of this paper is to develop a risk identification checklist for facilitating user companies to surface, organise and manage potential risks associated with the…

2619

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a risk identification checklist for facilitating user companies to surface, organise and manage potential risks associated with the post‐adoption of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

Design/methodology/approach

A desktop study, based on the process of a critical literature review, is conducted by the researchers. The critical review focuses on information systems and business research papers, books, case studies and theoretical articles, etc.

Findings

By systematically and critically analysing and synthesising the literature review, the researchers identify and propose a total of 40 ERP post‐implementation risks related to diverse operational, analytical, organisation‐wide and technical aspects. A risk ontology is subsequently established to highlight these ERP risks, as well as to present their potential causal relationships.

Research limitations/implications

For researchers, the established ERP risk ontology represents a starting point for further research, and provides early insights into a research field that will become increasingly important as more and more companies progress from implementation to exploitation of ERPs.

Practical implications

For practitioners, the risk ontology is an important tool and checklist to support risk identification, prevention, management and control, as well as to facilitate strategic planning and decision making.

Originality/value

There is a scarcity of studies focusing on ERP post‐implementation in contrast with an over abundance of studies focusing on system implementation and project management aspects. This paper aims to fill this significant research gap by presenting a risk ontology of ERP post‐adoption. It represents a first attempt in producing a comprehensive model in its area. No other such models can be found from the literature review.

Details

Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol. 109 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-5577

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 2006

Miguel Baptista Nunes, Fenio Annansingh, Barry Eaglestone and Richard Wakefield

The purpose of this paper is to present a study of knowledge management understanding and usage in small and medium knowledge‐intensive enterprises.

7490

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a study of knowledge management understanding and usage in small and medium knowledge‐intensive enterprises.

Design/methodology/approach

The study has taken an interpretitivist approach, using two knowledge‐intensive South Yorkshire (England) companies as case studies, both of which are characterised by the need to process and use knowledge on a daily basis in order to remain competitive. The case studies were analysed using qualitative research methodology, composed of interviews and concept mapping, thus deriving a characterisation of understandings, perceptions and requirements of SMEs in relation to knowledge management.

Findings

The study provides evidence that, while SMEs, including knowledge intensive ones, acknowledge that adequately capturing, storing, sharing and disseminating knowledge can lead to greater innovation and productivity, their managers are not prepared to invest the relatively high effort on long term knowledge management goals for which they have difficulty in establishing the added value. Thus, knowledge management activities within SMEs tend to happen in an informal way, rarely supported by purposely designed ICT systems.

Research limitations/implications

This paper proposes that further studies in this field are required that focus on organisational and practical issues in order to close the gap between theoretical propositions and the reality of practice.

Practical implications

The study suggests that in order to implement an appropriate knowledge management strategy in SMEs cultural, behavioural, and organisational issues need to be tackled before even considering technical issues.

Originality/value

KM seems to have been successfully applied in large companies, but it is largely disregarded by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This has been attributed primarily to a lack of a formal approach to the sharing, recording, transferring, auditing and exploiting of organisational knowledge, together with a lack of utilisation of available information technologies. This paper debates these concepts from a research findings point of view.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 62 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 December 2006

Brian E. Roberts

268

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 20 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Article
Publication date: 5 July 2023

Paula Gonçalves Amorim, Maria Augusta Siqueira Mathias, Aglaé Baptista Torres da Rocha and Otávio José de Oliveira

This work aims to propose guidelines for small industrial businesses to take their first steps toward implementing systems, programs and tools (SPTs) for environmental management…

Abstract

Purpose

This work aims to propose guidelines for small industrial businesses to take their first steps toward implementing systems, programs and tools (SPTs) for environmental management in a structured way.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted case studies in large companies certificated ISO 14001. They ran tests for construct validity, external validity and reliability. Cross-analysis of the information collected led to identifying patterns and strategies adopted by these companies to implement environmental management. Based on the literature on environmental management in small businesses and the author's experience, the practices learned from large companies were adapted to the reality of small ones, thus resulting in the proposed guidelines.

Findings

These guidelines enable small companies to develop their environmental management following the logical evolution of SPTs: ISO 14001, green supply chain management (GSCM), cleaner production (CP) and green design (GD). The implementation should happen gradually, through the PDCA cycle, according to three specific levels of environmental evolution.

Research limitations/implications

Since the guidelines focused on small industrial companies, future studies should consider other sectors, such as services, to benefit from the solutions presented. As for the implications, besides improving the small company's performance and enhancing its image, implementing the guidelines creates a green synergy along the supply chain, thus benefiting society beyond the company's borders.

Originality/value

The main theoretical-scientific contribution of this work is to deepen a block of knowledge that articulates environmental management and small businesses, creating a basis for further research and a reference for analyzing and discussing empirical studies in small companies. As an applied-management contribution, the guidelines allow small companies to effectively develop SPTs to move toward environmental sustainability.

Details

Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol. 30 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1462-6004

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 August 2021

Bharat Taneja and Kumkum Bharti

This study aims to examine the research pattern and growth trends of published research on a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) from 2012 to 2019. The…

1307

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the research pattern and growth trends of published research on a unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) from 2012 to 2019. The study also examines the research scope of UTAUT2 for future researchers.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has adopted a bibliometric approach followed by a structured literature review analysis to synthesize the research on UTAUT2 since 2012. In total, 163 documents were analyzed for type of studies, theories and frameworks, methodologies, author wise collaboration, organizations that contributed to the body of knowledge in the UTAUT2 research and journals that published studies in this domain. VOSviewer and Tableau were used for the data visualization, whereas TCCM, which means theory (T), context (C), characteristics (C) and methodology (M) framework is used to propose the future research directions.

Findings

The findings reveal research on UTAUT2 is growing. The structured literature analysis of the top 15 cited articles further analyzed the parsimony of new models in detail. In addition, the study highlights the inception by and promoters of UTAUT2 in a separate section. The data for this study was collected by searching the title, abstract and keywords of documents in the Scopus database.

Research limitations/implications

This study is based on research papers, published in the UTAUT2 research area, that have been extracted from the Scopus database by keywords only. Future studies can also perform a meta-analysis of various clusters generated by bibliometric analysis.

Practical implications

This study is useful for practitioners to devise strategies for increasing technology acceptance, adoption and utilization in the times to come.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the very few and early studies, which examined patterns and growth trends of the UTAUT2 studies with the TCCM framework, to suggest scope for future research studies.

Details

foresight, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 23 March 2017

Barbara de Lima Voss, David Bernard Carter and Bruno Meirelles Salotti

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in…

Abstract

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.

Details

Advances in Environmental Accounting & Management: Social and Environmental Accounting in Brazil
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-376-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2022

Elisabete Neves, António Dias, Miguel Ferreira and Carla Henriques

In the macroeconomic environment of the Iberian Peninsula, this paper aims to understand which factors, intrinsic to management, affect the performance of wine companies.

Abstract

Purpose

In the macroeconomic environment of the Iberian Peninsula, this paper aims to understand which factors, intrinsic to management, affect the performance of wine companies.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample comprises 3,113 wine Iberian companies between 2011 and 2018. This study has used the panel data methodology, specifically the generalized method of moments system estimation method of Arellano and Bond (1991); Arellano and Bover (1995); and Blundell and Bond (1998) to test the hypotheses proposed.

Findings

Using return on assets (ROA) and sales growth as measures of corporate performance, this study’s results suggest that sales growth is the variable that has the most significant determining factors, both specific to the company and given the macroeconomic environment. Investors and civil society well understand the meaning of sales growth, namely, in a sector close to the final consumer. When using ROA as a dependent variable, the results suggest that because it is a pure management variable, the manager tends to be more concerned with maintaining adequate levels of economic profitability to ensure sustainability and future solvency, without giving prominence to the macroeconomic environment.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that a study has been carried out in the Iberian Peninsula on the wine industry using ROA and sales growth as measures of corporate performance. This study shows that sales growth is a measure traditionally known to external stakeholders, and to that extent, its determining factors are the variables that these players most value in the market.

Details

International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1834-7649

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 April 2024

Majid Monajjemi and Fatemeh Mollaamin

Recently, powerful instruments for biomedical engineering research studies, including disease modeling, drug designing and nano-drug delivering, have been extremely investigated…

Abstract

Purpose

Recently, powerful instruments for biomedical engineering research studies, including disease modeling, drug designing and nano-drug delivering, have been extremely investigated by researchers. Particularly, investigation in various microfluidics techniques and novel biomedical approaches for microfluidic-based substrate have progressed in recent years, and therefore, various cell culture platforms have been manufactured for these types of approaches. These microinstruments, known as tissue chip platforms, mimic in vivo living tissue and exhibit more physiologically similar vitro models of human tissues. Using lab-on-a-chip technologies in vitro cell culturing quickly caused in optimized systems of tissues compared to static culture. These chipsets prepare cell culture media to mimic physiological reactions and behaviors.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors used the application of lab chip instruments as a versatile tool for point of health-care (PHC) applications, and the authors applied a current progress in various platforms toward biochip DNA sensors as an alternative to the general bio electrochemical sensors. Basically, optical sensing is related to the intercalation between glass surfaces containing biomolecules with fluorescence and, subsequently, its reflected light that arises from the characteristics of the chemical agents. Recently, various techniques using optical fiber have progressed significantly, and researchers apply highlighted remarks and future perspectives of these kinds of platforms for PHC applications.

Findings

The authors assembled several microfluidic chips through cell culture and immune-fluorescent, as well as using microscopy measurement and image analysis for RNA sequencing. By this work, several chip assemblies were fabricated, and the application of the fluidic routing mechanism enables us to provide chip-to-chip communication with a variety of tissue-on-a-chip. By lab-on-a-chip techniques, the authors exhibited that coating the cell membrane via poly-dopamine and collagen was the best cell membrane coating due to the monolayer growth and differentiation of the cell types during the differentiation period. The authors found the artificial membrane, through coating with Collagen-A, has improved the growth of mouse podocytes cells-5 compared with the fibronectin-coated membrane.

Originality/value

The authors could distinguish the differences across the patient cohort when they used a collagen-coated microfluidic chip. For instance, von Willebrand factor, a blood glycoprotein that promotes hemostasis, can be identified and measured through these type-coated microfluidic chips.

Details

Sensor Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0260-2288

Keywords

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