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The purpose of this paper is to develop a model that can be used to predict which small to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are more likely to become adopters of enterprise systems (ERP, CRM, SCM and e‐procurement).

Direct interviews were used to collect data from a random sample of SMEs located in the Northwest of England. Using logistic regression, 102 responses were analysed.

The results reveal that the factors influencing SMEs' adoption of enterprise systems are different from the factors influencing SMEs' adoption of other previously studied information systems (IS) innovations. SMEs were found to be more influenced by technological and organisational factors than environmental factors. Moreover, the results indicate that firms with a greater perceived relative advantage, a greater ability to experiment with these systems before adoption, greater top management support, greater organisational readiness and a larger size are predicted to become adopters of enterprise systems.

Although this study focused on the factors that influence SMEs' adoption of a set of enterprise systems (i.e. ERP, CRM, SCM and e‐procurement), it fails to differentiate between factors that influence each of these systems.

The model can be used to assist software vendors not only to develop marketing strategies that can target potential adopters, but also to develop strategies to increase the adoption of ES among SMEs.

The paper contributes to the continuing research in IS innovations adoption/diffusion in the small business context.

This paper seeks to describe a “bubble strategy” to public sector change, based on the principles that a change initiative must be defensible and supportive of an alternative, entrepreneurial culture.

The research is developed through an action research case in Salford City Council, through which theory from technology innovation, change management and other sources is explored.

The paper finds that the managers developed a dynamic process wherein their ability to defend the new change initiative was primary. This required “under‐the‐radar” tactics that allowed different elements of the change initiative to grow before they were assessed or adopted by the wider organisation.

The paper speculates on the ways in which the characteristics of the “bubble” could be adopted elsewhere. However, as an action research case, restrictions on the generalisability of the evidence are noted.

The “bubble” strategy is set out in its constituent parts and is thereby available for adoption elsewhere.

The strategy employed in the case is not documented elsewhere. The paper utilizes technology innovation theory and related literature like “skunk works”, outside their intended private sector context.

To construct, test and illustrate a sophisticated and theory‐based architecture for analyzing business process management systems (BPMS) used for business process change.

Exploration of business process modeling‐based BPMS via a meta‐survey of academic and business literatures. Two main dimensions are used based upon semiotics and a block‐based BPMS pyramid architecture. Each block is a core technology required for the functioning of the BPMS and include: the subject being modeled; the software formalism; the IT infrastructure; the modeling language and notation; and the underlying technical infrastructure.

Theoretically explains and empirically illustrates each core technology in the proposed architecture then does the same for the architecture, its arrangement as a whole and its interrelationships. Recognizes the lack of a theoretical basis for business process modeling constructs and the dangers that this generates. Explains why automatic BPMS require formal construct transmission from subject modeled to modeling hardware and software.

The architecture's core technologies span numerous disciplines so each set of literatures introduces the component concepts and their bases but is not exhaustive.

This paper proposes a considerably more sophisticated framework for BPMS analysis than is currently available; it is theoretically and not just empirically based; it uses a novel method of theoretical justification concerned with the transmission of modeled properties and characteristics between several technological media; and it illustrates the innovative analytical use of this architecture and the practical use of BPMS with three different case vignettes.

The way in which business process models are typically deployed emphasizes their use in a high‐level design or the capture of an existing process. At these stages evaluation of the model takes place only in informal and rudimentary ways. The real evaluation effort begins only with the output of the design process, e.g. an implementation of information technology (IT) support system. Explores the benefits and feasibility of evaluating a process model at an early stage of its creation. Anticipates two advantages. First, errors or invalid design concepts are detected earlier with consequent savings in cost. Second, non‐IT‐relevant aspects can come to light at an appropriate stage. Looks first, at the value of modelling goals. Second, presents in outline a design method for modelling business processes in which the concept of the goal is fundamental. Third, looks beyond the current scope of this method to the issue of evaluating the process designs. Concludes that business process models can be evaluated at the design stage, but the knowledge gained is only partial. Summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of the approach and describes some open questions.

This paper aims to identify the relationship between national culture, enterprise application (EA) implementations and firm value for a sample of the largest and most actively traded firms in Japan, the United Kingdom and the USA. The study seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the cultural traits that play a role in successful technological innovation.

Using 11 years of price and accounting data, as well as corporate announcements from English- and Japanese-speaking sources, this study applies event study methodology and fixed-effects regressions to a sample of international adopters of enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management and firm-specific applications.

The results show a country-related contrast in the way investors perceive value in EAs. Investors with national cultures that are more collectivist perceive their firms to be well-prepared to extract value from large-scale technologies. In contrast, individualistic cultures seem to face more implementation challenges.

Although the study provides statistically significant results, a larger sample of countries and enterprise systems adopters would further enhance a generalization of results.

The empirical results provide evidence of the national culture traits that seem to increase the likelihood of success in enterprise systems implementations as seen from the perspective of actual investors.

The empirical study of how multiple EAs (ERP, SCR, CRM and SPECIFIC) and national culture differences interact with a market-based metric of value (stock market prices), while also using an international sample of firms from three distinct regions, is novel to the existent literature.

The paper aims to provide business process designers a formal yet user friendly technique to evaluate the implications of a process design on process performance even before its implementation.

Based on practical experience, the paper has built on past research to hypothesize structural metrics for business processes that help assess the influence of process design on organizational goals.

This paper suggests a list of structural metrics that can be used to approximate common performance goals (i.e. soft goals) at the stage of process design. Distinct views for process depiction are discussed to explain how each metric can be calculated and what kind of performance goals it can approximate.

The paper has assumed an intuitive relationship between process structure and process performance which has to be validated empirically. There is scope for developing formal methods to translate changes in structural metrics to monetary value for business and also to refine the structural metrics further if required.

The suggested list of structural metrics and the corresponding process views can be used to compare process design alternatives to select a process design better aligned to organization goals.

A list of structural metrics based on practical experience can be easily applied by business process designers to create a formal yet user friendly approach for process design evaluation.

Smart card-based E-payment systems are receiving increasing attention as the number of implementations is witnessed on the rise globally. Understanding of user adoption behavior of E-payment systems that employ smart card technology becomes a research area that is of particular value and interest to both IS researchers and professionals. However, research interest focuses mostly on why a smart card-based E-payment system results in a failure or how the system could have grown into a success. This signals the fact that researchers have not had much opportunity to critically review a smart card-based E-payment system that has gained wide support and overcome the hurdle of critical mass adoption. The Octopus in Hong Kong has provided a rare opportunity for investigating smart card-based E-payment system because of its unprecedented success. This research seeks to thoroughly analyze the Octopus from technology adoption behavior perspectives.

Cultural impacts on adoption behavior are one of the key areas that this research posits to investigate. Since the present research is conducted in Hong Kong where a majority of population is Chinese ethnicity and yet is westernized in a number of aspects, assuming that users in Hong Kong are characterized by eastern or western culture is less useful. Explicit cultural characteristics at individual level are tapped into here instead of applying generalization of cultural beliefs to users to more accurately reflect cultural bias. In this vein, the technology acceptance model (TAM) is adapted, extended, and tested for its applicability cross-culturally in Hong Kong on the Octopus. Four cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede are included in this study, namely uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and Confucian Dynamism (long-term orientation), to explore their influence on usage behavior through the mediation of perceived usefulness.

TAM is also integrated with the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) to borrow two constructs in relation to innovative characteristics, namely relative advantage and compatibility, in order to enhance the explanatory power of the proposed research model. Besides, the normative accountability of the research model is strengthened by embracing two social influences, namely subjective norm and image. As the last antecedent to perceived usefulness, prior experience serves to bring in the time variation factor to allow level of prior experience to exert both direct and moderating effects on perceived usefulness.

The resulting research model is analyzed by partial least squares (PLS)-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The research findings reveal that all cultural dimensions demonstrate direct effect on perceived usefulness though the influence of uncertainty avoidance is found marginally significant. Other constructs on innovative characteristics and social influences are validated to be significant as hypothesized. Prior experience does indeed significantly moderate the two influences that perceived usefulness receives from relative advantage and compatibility, respectively. The research model has demonstrated convincing explanatory power and so may be employed for further studies in other contexts. In particular, cultural effects play a key role in contributing to the uniqueness of the model, enabling it to be an effective tool to help critically understand increasingly internationalized IS system development and implementation efforts. This research also suggests several practical implications in view of the findings that could better inform managerial decisions for designing, implementing, or promoting smart card-based E-payment system.

Tough pumps for Boots. A contract to supply 14 corrosion‐resistant pumps for the new production facility at The Boots Company plant in Cramlington, Northumberland, has been won by BTR Silvertown. This new order will bring the total number of BTR Ardua pumps at Cramlington to 24.