JOURNALS REVIEW

On Fulfilling 2nd Task of System and Information Technology

Subject

Presented by :
RIANTI PRATIWI
196020300111030

PROGRAM MAGISTER ILMU AKUNTANSI

PASCASARJANA FAKULTAS EKONOMI & BISNIS
UNIVERSITAS BRAWIJAYA
MALANG
2020
1st Article

1. Research Theme : Information Technology

2. Research Title : Information Technology and Banking Organization
3. Research Background :
The determinants and consequences of delegation have received a great deal of
attention from both economists and practitioners. Despite its importance and the large
amount of theoretical literature studying the different dimensions of delegation of
authority, empirical evidence is scant because of the difficulty in observing and
measuring delegation of authority
4. Research Question : what is the impact of information and communication
technology on the delegation of authority in the banking industry ?
5. Research Objective : to investigate the impact of information and communication
technologies (ICT) on local branch managers’ (LBMs) autonomy in small business
lending
6. Research Framework :

Information and communication

technologies (ICT)
Power Delegation
Scoring 0-2 (Y)

Scoring 3+

Size
Distance
Loan size
Branch size

7. Research Paradigm : Positivisme

8. Research Method : Quantitative
9. Research Reviews of the Literature :
• The impact of ICT on firms’ organizational structure : Brynjolfsson and Hitt
(1998) and Bresnahan et al. (2002) find evidence of complementarities
between ICT and a set of organizational variables measuring job
responsibilities for line workers, decentralized decision-making and the role of
self-managing teams. Colombo and Delmastro (2004), using a survey of Italian
manufacturing firms, find that the adoption of network technologies increases
the probability that decisions on capital investment and labour recruitment and
management are delegated to plant managersWilkinson and Cerullo, 1997 :
Another definition is "a unified structure within an entity, that employs physical
resources and other components to transform economic data into accounting
information, with the objective of satisfying the information needs of variety of
users.
• LBM’s role in the banking industry : focusing on the impact of organizational
structure – delegation or centralization – on information production and trans-
 mission inside an organization and on how a bank actually disseminates hard
and soft information across different hierarchical layers (Stein 2002; Liberti
2005; Liberti and Mian 2009). Uchida et al. (2008) analyse whether a loan
officer’s attributes affect the production of soft information.2 However, most of
the empirical findings in this literature rely on clinical studies of a single
organization and are therefore difficult to generalize with regard to the entire
banking sector. Moreover, these studies focus on the consequences of an
LBM’s attributes rather than on their determinants.
• Effects of ICT on the banking industry : Berger (2003) assesses the impact
of technological progress on productivity growth and on the structure of the
banking industry.3 Felici and Pagnini (2008) investigate how the ability of banks
to open branches in distant markets changed following the introduction of ICT.
None of these papers analysed the impact of new technologies on banks’
allocation of authority to grant loans.
10. Research Contribution to Theory :
First, direct measure of delegation of authority based on the maximal loan size that an
LBM can grant autonomously. This improves on the existing literature that relies on
qualitative proxies to measure the extent to which decision-making authority is
decentralized.
Second, the process of evaluation and decision-making on loan applications performed
by LBMs is a homogeneous task across the firms in the industry. This allows us to
obtain a cleaner measure of delegation of authority, reducing the scope for biases
arising from combining data from heterogeneous industries, or even from firms
performing different activities within the same industry.
Third, our work is the first to investigate the effect of ICT on power delegation in
banking, an industry in which delegation of authority is particularly relevant, as banks
organize their lending activity through a network of geographically dispersed branches.
The extent to which the authority to grant a loan is delegated to LBMs is crucial for
efficiency in allocating credit to firms and households.
11. Research Contributions to Practices
By holding larger ICT endowments, a bank improves its ability to oversee from a
distance the functioning of lending activity at branch level. This, in turn, leads to more
delegation in order to exploit LBMs’ local capabilities and specialization in business
lending.
12. Research Site(s) : Bank of Italy
13. Research Informants/ Respondents : Bank’s CEO
14. Research Findings
Our results indicate that banks equipped with more ICT capital delegate more decision-
making power to their LBMs for small business lending activity. These results are
robust to several checks, including instrumental variable estimation. We also find that
the impact of ICT on delegation is stronger for banks with a greater orientation towards
small business lending and with a longer tenure of LBMs in the same branch. Our
findings point to a complementarity between ICT and delegation. IV results suggest
that higher ICT endowments may cause an increase in power delegation to LBMs.
15. Research Implications
Our interpretation is that the lessening of agency problems (leading to more
delegation) due to the adoption of new technologies more than offsets the efficiency
gains in transmitting and processing information within an organization (that, in turn,
 would push towards more centralization). A final concern about our results regarding
the nexus between ICT and delegation in banking is related to the fact that during the
period covered by our analysis ICT technologies had been spreading through credit
markets. This put bank strategies off the equilibrium path. On the one hand, this could
be a privileged point of view for studying the effects of new technologies on banks’
internal organization as those effects achieved were at their maximum during that
period. On the other hand, there is the risk of looking at effects spreading from ICT that
might change once a new equilibrium is reached.
16. Researach References – Main Published Journals
Berger AN (2003) The economic effects of technological progress: evidence from the
banking industry. J Money Credit Bank 35:141–176
17. Research References – Main Textbooks : Not Presented
2nd Article

1. Research Theme : Technology Adoption

2. Research Title : Technology adoption and gender-inclusive entrepreneurship
education and training
3. Research Background :
First, the need for business owners to adopt ICT is compelling. Digital technologies are
key enablers of small firm performance (Benitez-Amado et al., 2010). ICT facilitates
improved access to information, employee collaboration, product quality, and task
efficiencies (Benitez-Amado, et al., 2010; Chen and Tsou, 2007). With the advent of
ever more powerful collaboration and productivity tools, adoption of ICT is critical for
competitiveness, growth and survival Research Question : How is the impact of
information and communication technologies (ICT) on local branch managers’ (LBMs)
autonomy ?
Second, previous research has documented that gender of firm ownership is a factor
in the technology adoption processes (MacGregor and Vrazalic, 2008; Oly Ndubisi and
Cengiz, 2005)[3]. Scholars have called for research about gender and technology
adoption in the context of EET (Dy et al., 2016; Kuschel and Lepeley, 2016). Similarly,
Byrne and Fayolle (2010, p. 95) conclude there remains the need for research and
“analysis of educational issues in women’s entrepreneurship” with respect to the “how,”
“what” “for which results” and “for who?” Multi-lateral women’s forums have also called
for meaningful responses to gender- inclusive ICT policies and programs among
women entrepreneurs
Third, governments have introduced policies and programs to encourage adoption of
technologies among entrepreneur. Scholars argue that most technology and
innovation interventions are gender-blind (Walker and Joyner, 1999; Henry et al.,
2017), and hence, accentuate the activities of men, often unconsciously excluding
women entrepreneurs
4. Research Question :
a. What strategies can be employed to create gender-inclusive information,
communication and technology (ICT) entrepreneurship education and programs
(EET)?
b. How can intermediaries better support the adoption of ICT among women
entrepreneurs?
5. Research Objective : to close gaps between knowledge about gender-related
barriers to information, communication and technology (ICT) adoption and the
provision of entrepreneurship education and training (EET) programs
6. Research Framework : -
7. Research Paradigm : Positivisme
8. Research Method : Qualitative – Semi structured Interviews
9. Research Reviews of the Literature :
• Digital Divide
Graham (2011) offers an account of the evolutionary nature of gender and the
digital divide, citing longstanding concerns about proximal and socio-economic
influences associated with access to tools and content of the information
revolution—including gender differences that relate to social polarisation. From
telegraphs, telephones and computers to the Internet and contemporary ICT
software, technological dualism has shifted from a focus on access to physical
 IT infrastructure to accessing ICT knowledge (defined as human and intangible
IT resources) (Graham, 2011). This includes “the application of technological
tools that support the process of starting and running a new venture” (Keyhani
and Jonsson, 2017, p. 316). Gender differences in ICT adoption reduce
resources available to women-owned SMEs, which may weaken competitive
advantage through lower resource capabilities (Benitez-Amado et al., 2010).
• Critique of entrepreneurship education and training
Employing a social feminist lens to examine EET, Byrne and Fayolle (2010, p.
77) argue this theoretical perspective serves to unearth gendered assumptions
with respect
10. Research Contribution to Theory :
From a theoretical perspective, the findings provide further evidence that adopting ICT
resources is a gendered process. The findings also provide insights to enhance the
capabilities of business owners, and implications with respect to increasing ICT
resources.
11. Research Contributions to Practices
The contribution of practice in this research are to provide insights to enhance the
capabilities of business owners, and implications with respect to increasing ICT
resources and providing documented strategies to support the adoption of digital
technologies within gender-inclusive ICT programs.
12. Research Site(s) : Canada
13. Research Informants/ Respondents :
- Seven directors of regional centres with mandates focussed on supporting
women business owners with respect to enterprise start-up and growth.
- Six senior executives of women’s business organisations whose mandates
related to advocating on behalf of and mentoring women business owners.
- Four senior managers of organisations that focussed on mentoring business
owners with respect to enterprise start-up and growth.
- Three women leaders who are active in supporting women entrepreneurs (for
example, board members of enterprise centres, associations).
- Two senior managers of ICT-related industry associations.
14. Research Findings
Expectancy factors
Expectancy factors refer to knowledge [lack of knowledge was then associated with
level of comfort securing ICT resources, and mis/perceptions about skills required to
adopt ICT: “Female entrepreneurs often do not know where to start when it comes to
IT adoption”], perceived ease of use [difficult for women entrepreneurs to find time to
learn about ICT as they juggle personal and occupational roles], and perceived
usefulness [women business owners were less likely to understand how ICT bolsters
business performance] (Davis, 1989a; Davis et al., 1989b).
Facilitating conditions
Informants referred to lack of facilitating conditions, defined as the degree to which a
business owner believes that infrastructure exists to support technology adoption. At
the structural level, informants talked about the rooted societal issues that led to the
gendered barriers to ICT adoption. These included lack of attention from governments
regarding the issue of ICT adoption among women business owners, lack of role
models, and shortages of women in leadership roles in the ICT sector. Informants
 referred to the lack of emphasis on digital technology in conversations among women
business owners.
Performance expectations
Within the interviews, there were a number of references that within Western societies,
men tend to specialize in technology to a greater extent than women. Managing
technology is seen as an agentic trait in Western societies, and implies the relevance
of role incongruity theory, such that when a woman is in an incongruent role (user of
technology; technology decision maker) she will be as seen less favourably in an
observer’s mind and she will be aware of that perspective. Thus, the gender gap in ICT
adoption is consistent with role incongruity.
Performance expectations Gender-inclusive information, communication and
technology programs and policies
In this part, informants advanced insights about the ways in which ICT programs can
address gendered related barriers of ICT adoption, enhance access to resources,
inform program design and delivery, and digital skill and competencies.
15. Research Implications
Findings can be used to construct gender-inclusive ICT supports and inform ICT
adoption policies. This includes program eligibility and evaluation criteria to measure
the socio-economic impacts.
16. Researach References – Main Published Journals
Benitez-Amado, J., Llorens-Montes, F.J. and Perez-Arostegui, M.N. (2010),
“Information technology- enabled intrapreneurship culture and firm performance”,
Industrial Management and Data Systems, Vol. 110 No. 4, pp. 550-566.Research
17. References – Main Textbooks :
Carter, S., Brierton, J. and Muldoon, J. (2014), Women in Enterprise: A Framework
and Action Plan to Increase the Contribution of Women’s Enterprise to the Scottish
Economy. Women’s Enterprise Scotland.
3rd Article

1. Research Theme : Human Resource Management and Digital Era

2. Research Title : The Changing Role Of Human Resource Management In An
Era Of Digital Transformation
3. Research Background :
Digital transformation strategies can be well understood in a business centric
perspective. These strategies focus on transforming products, processes and all
aspects of the organization as a result of new technology. Digital transformation
strategies bring change to and have implications for the overall business model (Matt
et al., 2015). Likewise human resource management is also business centric and
brings change by adding value to the organization as a strategic partner, administrative
expert and employee champion (Ulrich, 1997). Bengtsson & Bloom (2017) claim that
although it is clear that digitalization affects organizations and human resources, there
is little research on how digitalization is experienced by HR managers in practice.
4. Research Question :
what do HR (human resource) professionals perceive to be the changing role of
Human Resource Management in times of digital transformation?
5. Research Objective : To examine HR professionals think on how IS changing the
role of Human Resource Management in a time of digital transformation.
6. Research Framework : -
7. Research Paradigm : Interpretive
8. Research Method : Qualitative – Semi structured Interviews
9. Research Reviews of the Literature :
Resource-based display (RBV) is a model that sees resources as a key to superior
company performance. The RBV shows that the resources owned by companies such
as human resources and technological resources are the main determinants of value,
performance, and sustainable competitive advantage (Hoffer & Schendel, 1978;
Wenerfelt, 1984).
Regarding human resource management in the digital age, Palmer et al. (2017) claim
that human resource management as a result is more varied, more oriented towards
people with the responsibility of designing diverse and challenging jobs to keep young
employees more involved in their work. Digital transformation questions the traditional
way HR functions are carried out in organizations.
10. Research Contribution to Theory : Providing new insights or a concepts about how
digital transformation has transformed human resource business processes and
operations
11. Research Contributions to Practices
Pictures how effective and efisien Human resoyrce can respond to digital
transformation
12. Research Site(s) : Uni Emirat Arab
13. Research Informants/ Respondents :
Employee of five large institutional HR managers in the UAE (specifically at Emirates
of Sharjah & Dubai) owned by the private and public sectors
14. Research Findings
The result of the thematic analysis shows two main approaches to thinking about digital
transformation by HR managers, namely:
 The role of HR in supporting the digital transformation era
 Only one of the five managers mentioned the important role of HR in bringing about
digital transformation.
 How such digital transformation has revolutionized HR day-to-day practices
In this part, the main themes about how digital transformation has revolutionized
HR practices are:
a. HR planning
One of the five HR Managers addressed the use of technology in the forecasting
and goal setting stages of HR planning and another two HR Managers mentioned
the use of HRIS to facilitate the process of planning.
b. Recruitment and selection
All HR Managers mentioned the use of HRIS, two HR Managers addressed the
use of technology with regards to selection techniques such as simulation and
psychometric testing.
c. Reward management
Three HR Managers addressed the use of technology specifically the digitalization
of certificates. We are working on digitalizing most of the certificates, for example
the monthly excellence certificate. The employee will get a digital certificate and
there are other types of certificates or messages which can be received by an
employee for outstanding performance and the use of HRIS.
d. Performance management
Only one participant mentioned the use of HRIS in Performance Management.
e. Employee relations
All participants agree that in the era of digitalization communication has improved
as a company we are adopting a lot of the social media either in announcing new
products, new serves and in communicating internally and externally.
f. Culture
A participant also addressed the increased collaboration as a value within the
company culture (I believe that with the use of digital methods of communication
even the value of collaboration has been given greater weight within the company).
g. Health and safety
Two participants mentioned the use of technology in digital signage, another
participant spoke about wearable technology. We have wearable technology that
measures leaks, heat and toxic gasses that help us to identify risky environments
whilst another two participants addressed the use of technology in improving
security all our doors are mostly locked with a key code or with a card. All doors
are unlocked as soon as something happens so it will be easy for people to leave
the building. These are some of the health and safety measures.
h. Training and development (5)
All five participants spoke about the use of E-Learning as a widespread training
method within their organization. We have introduced E-Learning as part of our
digital transformation. Employees can attend training anywhere, even whilst sitting
at home they can attend training thanks to technology. Another participant also
mentioned how digitalization is shaping training objectives as more and more
employees need to be trained in information technology skills.
i. Advantages and disadvantages of digital transformations
All five participants believe that in the era of digitalization there are many
advantages such as the reduction in paper work, speed, ease in communication
and greater simplicity. One out of the five participants also noted disadvantages
 experienced in the era of digitalization namely the cost of software; machines do
not have the human touch and issues related to security of information.
15. Research Implications
A further recommendation for HR professionals is to use the data stored in their HRIS
to contribute to the formulation of strategy, design and implementation. The use of
HRIS to speed up processes that make it more efficient and effective must also be
extended to the analysis of that data. This data analysis can function to influence
strategy formulation.
16. Researach References – Main Published Journals
Becker, B.E., & Huselid, M.A. (2006). Strategic human resources management:
Where do we go from here? Journal of Management, 32, 898-925
17. References – Main Textbooks :
Cabral, A.R. (2017). UAE businesses lead digital transformation. Khaleej Times,
October 26, 2017.
4th Article

1. Research Theme : Information Systmen

2. Research Title : Advancing Qualitative IS Research Methodologies: Expanding
Horizons and Seeking New Paths
3. Research Background :
this special issue continues conversations reopened in recent JAIS editorials (e.g.,
Sarker et al., 2018a, 2018b) about the nature of qualitative inquiry and the limitations
and contradicting demands imposed by the prevailing methodological standards of
qualitative scholarship. In this sense, we also join debates in organization studies and
management about the lack of diversity in metatheoretical foundations and
methodologies in qualitative research (Bansal & Corley, 2011; Bansal, Smith & Vaara,
2018). Such conversations are critically important for our shared understanding of a
variety of methodological standards and practices and for questioning those that
obstruct rather than support knowledge creation and thus impede rather than enhance
research quality.
4. Research Question :
a. What is the purpose of a CR-based case study?
b. Given the typical focus on mechanisms as a means of explanation, how are
mechanisms identified?
c. What is the process by which CR-based case study research is conducted?
5. Research Objective : to foster and contribute to methodological advances of
qualitative research, including new philosophical approaches and innovative research
designs and methods that enable more profound, critically engaged, practically
relevant, and reflexive insights into information systems and organizing in the digital
era
6. Research Framework :
7. Research Paradigm : Non-Positivisme (Intepretive and Critical)
8. Research Method : sociomaterial methatgeoritical view, taking ontological
inseparability
9. Research Reviews of the Literature : In the social sciences, qualitative inquiry emerged
in the early 1970s as a reformist movement committed to questioning, critiquing, and
transforming social scientific research (Schwandt, 2000). As it expanded, the
movement contributed to unsettling the reign of positivist epistemology in social
sciences, including, with some delay and trepidation, IS. Such unsettling was
exemplified and at the same time sanctioned by Burrell and Morgan’s (1979) model of
paradigms that recognized nonpositivist paradigms (the interpretive, radical humanist,
and radical structuralist) alongside the positivist (functionalist) one. Importantly, this
model opened up an intellectual space for qualitative inquiry to emerge and flourish
underpinned by diverse philosophical positions. As a result, scholars of different
philosophical persuasions and often irreconcilable epistemological stances have been
attracted to qualitative inquiry
10. Research Contribution to Theory : The contribution of theory in this research is to
remind ourselves as IS scholars that, being at the epicenter of the digital revolution,
we have the opportunity, and indeed the obligation, to lead inquiries into the emerging
territories of digital transformations taking place in old and new forms of working and
organizing, both locally and globally, in private, public, and third sectors, and, more
broadly, in societies at large.
11. Research Contributions to Practices
Stimulate further epistemic developments and methodological advances beyond the
well-established and rehearsed paths as we confront and deal with the challenges of
the digital age.
12. Research Site(s) : Information System
13. Research Informants/ Respondents : PhD students and researchers (as authors,
reviewers, and editors)
14. Research Findings : The challenges of increasing the diversity in qualitative research
were among the driving motivations for this special issue. The four papers in the
special issue exemplify diversity, each expanding qualitative inquiry in different
directions.
The most obvious challenge for qualitative researchers when investigating digital trace
data is the enormous size of datasets that can comprise millions of data points, which,
as both paper 1 and paper 4 emphasize, make the application of qualitative research
methods simply unfeasible. Therefore, a number of computational tools and statistical
techniques have been combined with manual coding and other qualitative techniques
to process and make sense of trace data and to draw insights and support inductive
theory building (Whelan et al., 2016; Berente et al., 2019).
Some of the debates were about different philosophical approaches underpinning the
application of grounded theory. On the one hand, there were views (mentioned above)
that grounded theory as a general methodology/method was not and should not be
aligned with any particular philosophical approach and that it could be appropriated
using positivism, interpretivism, critical theory, critical realism, or other approaches
(Urquhart & Fernandez, 2013; Walsh et al., 2014). On the other hand, Charmaz’s
(2006) grounded theory is distinctly constructivist and, as such, well-established and
broadly practiced. The challenges of conceiving grounded theory studies informed by
different (single or multiple) philosophical approaches and applying grounded theory
methodology/method are still open to debate.
A critical problem that bedevils the IS action research community is the remarkable
propensity of IS researchers to engage in neo-methodological creativity, churning out
new forms of action research every few years; unfortunately, each new form fails to
make a sustained advance, in large part because of the dissipation of focus. Most of
the forms are practiced so seldom that they are barely more than flashes of meteors
in the night: the cumulative sense of progress is absent.
15. Research Implications : embrace theoretical and conceptual variety and experiment
with methodologically diverse inquiries that will permit us to chart novel pathways into
the exploration and understanding of our brave new digital world.
16. Researach References – Main Published Journals
Burton-Jones, A., & Volkoff, O. (2017). How can we develop contextualized theories
of effective use? A demonstration in the context of community-care electronic health
records. Information Systems Research, 28(3), 468-489.
17. References – Main Textbooks :
Alvesson, M., & Deetz, S. (2000). Doing critical management research. SAGE.
5th Article

1. Research Theme : Geographic Information Technology

2. Research Title : Geographic information technology usage in developing
countries – A case study in Mozambique
3. Research Background :
Geographical information technology (GIT), developed during the 1960s and 70s, has
matured in the last three decades and has received widespread attention in many
sectors of society. Development of natural resource management infrastructure, and
other social and economic development activities, can benefit from the use of GIT as
they contain major spatial components. the importance of GIT for organizations in
world development using Mozambique as a case study.
4. Research Question : what are the factors that influence the use of GIT in
Mozambique?
5. Research Objective : to identify the main drivers and uses of GIT in organizations
and to give an overview of GIT uses in developing countries with a focus on a case
study developed for Mozambique by analyzing the results of a survey of 123
Mozambican organizations that are current GIT users.
6. Research Framework :
7. Research Paradigm : Intepretive
8. Research Method : Case Study
9. Research Reviews of the Literature :
Agriculture and natural resources
In the agricultural sector, the crop suitability issue is leading many organizations (that
deal with land) to adopt GIT. The need of this sector (to improve the understanding of
land and productivity related variables) is crucial. In the environmental and natural
resources sector, van Westen (2013) reported that the adoption of GIT has been
motivated to implement disaster risk management procedures, Mohammed et al.
(2015) adopted it to avoid heavy losses in productive land, environmental degradation,
and biodiversity conservation (Swetnam and Reyers 2011). In the marine resources
sector, the adoption of GIT has been motivated to address a lack of efficient methods
for monitoring and managing marine environment processes and resources (Kairo,
Kivyatu, and Koedam 2002; Kulawiak, Chybicki, and Moszynski 2010; Mahboubi et al.
2015; Nunes and Almeida 2011), to control critical life habitats (Wright and Heyman
2008), and to map the coral reef marine ecosystem (Levine and Feinholz 2015). Gold
and Condal (1995), Nath et al. (2000) introduced GIT to support aquaculture and
manage pollution crises in coastal and ocean regions of Europe (oil spills).

Public service

The education sector has been one of those that have actively adopted GIT. The
capability to offer innovation and compatibility increases students’ productivity by
providing virtual environments and rapid problem solving (Balram and Dragićević
2008; Korucu 2012). The health sector also has been among those that have actively
adopted GIT, the reason lies in the interest in simulation and ability to predict disease
outbreaks and spread (epidemiology).

Other services and manufacturing

 The banking sector is using GIT to improve customer management, decision support,
prediction, and risk management. This adoption has been motivated by current
problems that banks are facing, namely competition (MacDonald 2001), financial fraud
(Ngai et al. 2011), poor customer satisfaction and retention (Jafrullah and Uppuluri
2003), loan losses and a lack of decision-making mechanisms in distributing loans
(Ajah and Inyiama 2011; Gabriela, Laurenţiu, and Simona 2010). In the transport and
communication sector the use of GIT has been motivated by the lack of appropriate
decision support systems to mitigate communication network damage (Kawamura et
al. 2014; Dorosh et al. 2012).

Analysis of GIT adoption in organizations and society

The literature reviewed above indicates the pervasive use of GIT in society and how
this technology traverses a very large range of economic sectors in the private and
public domains. It also shows that these technologies are used worldwide, although
the scientific literature for Africa in this area is very scarce. A closer analysis of the
different GIT drivers and uses leads to a summary of GIT adoption factors that can
help to explain and understand the reasons why organizations take on GIT. The
drivers, indirectly extracted from the text content analysis of the literature, motivating
organizations from different sectors to use GIT are: compatibility, competitive pressure,
complexity, donor pressure, government policy, intention to adopt, innovation, relative
advantage, security and technology competence.

10. Research Contribution to Theory : Extend literature about qualitative research or

methodology for Information System
11. Research Contributions to Practices
organizations of the public and private sectors can use GIT for customer management,
decision support, education, monitoring, prediction, research, resource management,
risk management, simulation, suitability analysis, sustainability, use, and access.
12. Research Site(s) : Mozambique
13. Research Informants/ Respondents : The respondents in this study are 123
organizations (of which, 61 from governmental organizations and 62 from the private
and non-profit sectors)
14. Research Findings : The analysis of the data collected from the questionnaire shows
that organizations in the education sector with a percentage of 23% are those that
represent most of the GIT use in Mozambique followed by environment (11%). Other
important GIT users can be found in the agriculture (10%), economic development
(8%), health (7%), and natural resources (7%) sectors. ICT, transportation,
construction, and services sectors are also noteworthy although still in a very early
stage of implementation. The other sector class (18%) includes other sectors less
important in terms of GIT use such as tourism management, logistics, public
administration including road and urban planning, sports, and water management,
among others. The agriculture sector absorbs 75% of the population of Mozambique
(UN FAO 2015).
The organizations started to intensify the use of GIT from 1995: in the period of 2010-
2014, the number of new organizations using GIT reached 44; 1995-2014, the number
of organizations using GIT increases very quickly in line with world evolution of GIT
use (Henttu, Izaret, and Potere 2012). Crossing data between sectors of activity and
type of most used technologies are led by the education sector. When looking at the
 technology mix, it is possible to find that the most common technologies (GPS and
GIS) used by the organizations are also those that are used together more frequently.
Analysis of the data collected from the questionnaire shows that GIT is being used by
many and diverse sectors in Mozambique. The proportion of public and private
organizations that responded to the survey is balanced. The public sector has been
more present in the environment, economic development, education, and agriculture,
whereas the private sector has more weight in transportation, health, services, ICT,
and natural resources (Figure 3). Organizations in the education sector with a
percentage of 23% are those that represent most of the GIT use in Mozambique
(Figure 4) followed by environment (11%). More than half of the organizations using
GIT have more than 50 employees (Figure 5). Organizations started to intensify the
use of GIT from year 1995 and in year 2014 the number of new organizations using
GIT reached 44 (Figure 6). All three GIT types, GIS, GPS, and RS are led by the
education sector (Figure 7). However, it is important to note that GIT use is spread
throughout all organizational sizes and the technologies most used are GIS and GPS
in all sectors.
15. Research Implications : give an overview of the state of affairs of GIT used in
Mozambique, and identified a number of drivers and uses that can form the support to
develop a conceptual model inspired on some of the results of the current research
16. Researach References – Main Published Journals
Chan, F. T. S., and A. Y. L. Chong. 2012. “A SEM-Neural Network Approach for
Understanding Determinants of Interorganizational System Standard Adoption and
Performances.” Decision Support Systems 54 (1): 621– 630.
doi:10.1016/j.dss.2012.08.009
17. References – Main Textbooks :
Joyce, K. 2009. “‘To Me It’S Just Another Tool to Help Understand the Evidence’:
Public Health Decision- Makers’ Perceptions of the Value of Geographical
Information Systems (GIS).” Health and Place 15 (3): 831–840.
doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2009.01.004.
6th Article

1. Research Theme : Information Technology

2. Research Title : How multinational corporations use information technology to
manage global operations (Whitaker, Ekman & Thompson,
2017).
3. Research Background :
The advantages associated with globalization come with several risks in managing
business operations across country borders. A presence in diverse locations presents
MNCs with higher levels of complexity, variability, unfamiliarity, and uncertainty [52].
Entry into foreign markets creates local adaptation costs, and location differences
create difficulties to transfer products, services, processes, and information between
headquarters and subsidiaries in various countries. Executives at MNCs face the
challenge of managing the operations of their subsidiaries with each other and with
headquarters to administer the firm as a coordinated global network [11]. To manage
these risks and achieve the desired level of administrative coordination, firms deploy
a wide range of mechanisms, of which several include a critical role for information
technology (IT) systems [19]. Despite a generally acknowledged importance of IT in
enabling global strategy and a broad understanding of the manner in which IT
enhances coordination and reduces cost, few studies have focused precisely on how
MNCs use IT to facilitate globalization.
4. Research Question :
a. Does MNC durable goods manufacturers place greater focus on using IT for value
chain configuration than MNC nondurable goods manufacturers ?
b. Does MNCs place greater focus on using IT to coordinate back-office processes
than front-office processes.
c. Does MNCs with individual consumers place greater focus on using IT to achieve
local responsiveness than MNCs with industrial customers.
5. Research Objective : to build depth and understanding for the mechanisms through
which MNCs use IT to facilitate globalization.
6. Research Framework :
7. Research Paradigm : Interpretive
8. Research Method : Case Study
9. Research Reviews of the Literature :
Value chain configuration
While IT systems enable MNCs to disperse value chain activities across geographic
locations, the nature of IT use for value chain configuration will vary based on the type
of product. Because durable goods require higher levels of R&D and capital investment
(Hitt & Ireland, 1985).
Value chain coordination
Once MNCs configure their value chains, they need to coordinate activities across the
value chain. While firms use IT to make decisions and manage resources for activities
(Ensign, 1999), the nature of IT use will vary based on the nature of activity.
Local responsiveness
Back-office processes are more amenable to global coordination because unique
front-office processes are required to tailor products for different markets (Ramarapu
& Lado, 1995). While industrial specifications have limited difference across markets,
 consumer preferences are more subject to local culture and tastes (Schilke et al,
2009).Research
10. Contribution to Theory : giving more clearly illustrates the theoretical mechanisms of
value chain configuration, value chain coordination, and local responsiveness that
have been identified in prior research. Based on these theoretical mechanisms, this
article also develops three predictive propositions that will enable researchers to
extend their study of IT and globalization.
11. Research Contributions to Practices
to demonstrate that the manner in which global firms use IT will vary based on the type
of product (durable goods last for a longer period of time and nondurable goods last
for a more limited period, and the stability of prices for durable goods is greater than
the stability of prices for nondurable goods), type of process (front-office processes are
those through which the firm interacts directly with the customer, and include
marketing, sales, and service & back-office processes include finance, accounting, IT,
and human resources), and type of customer (industrial customers have larger
transaction volumes per customer, while individual consumers have intermittent
transactions with lower dollar values per transaction.).
12. Research Site(s) : In four Multinational Corporations (MNCs) which is belong to
the 2011 Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s largest publicly traded firms and have
annual revenue over US$1 billion.
13. Research Informants/ Respondents : The researcher use all four firms are included
on the 2011 Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s largest publicly traded firms, and
have annual revenue of over US$1 billion. All four firms are headquartered in Northern
Europe, have over 50% of sales outside the home country, and have Europe and North
America as two of their top three sales markets. The equities of all four firms are
publicly traded on European and US exchanges. Our unit of analysis is the firm, with
the European headquarters and North American subsidiary of each firm as subunits of
analysis. The respondents in this study is the top IT and business executives in four
large MNCs to identify differences in application of the mechanisms.
14. Research Findings : The researchers conducted case studies of four large firms to
learn about the manner in which MNCs use IT to facilitate globalization. The case study
firms represented a range of industries and products, and included a range of
processes and customers. We developed three predictive propositions based on our
case study findings. These propositions will open the door for future analytical and
empirical research, and are important as MNCs expand their global operations and
earn an increasing portion of foreign revenue and profits.
The case study data and predictive propositions in this article move IT globalization
research forward in two ways. First, this article illustrates two objective dimensions
(durable product vs. nondurable product, industrial customer vs. individual consumer)
along which firms can be categorized for empirical research, and our propositions
identify three ways in which the use of IT to manage global operations can vary based
on these dimensions. This progress is important because early IT globalization
research has been able to categorize firms based only on generic strategy typologies.
By using objective dimensions such as durable product versus nondurable product or
industrial customer versus individual consumer, researchers can perform empirical
analysis to generate additional insights that will be tailored to specific types of firms.
 Second, in addition to identifying a classification scheme for firms, this article provides
useful guidance on other variables that can be considered in future empirical research
on IT and globalization.
15. Research Implications : There is a need for future research to better understand the
parameters for product, process, customer, and firm characteristics that impact the use
of IT for globalization, and analytical research could model the relationships among
these parameters. While the IT globalization mechanisms of value chain configuration,
value chain coordination, and local responsiveness have been separately articulated,
there is a need for empirical research to identify and test relationships among the
mechanisms.
There is also a limitation in this study, that the case study data on each firm is a
snapshot for a 15 month period. The researcher recognize that over time business
conditions can change or MNCs may change their corporate strategies and accelerate
or delay implementation of various IT projects for those business conditions and
corporate strategies.
16. Researach References – Main Published Journals
Andersen T, Foss NJ. 2005. Strategic opportunity and economic performance in
multinational enterprises: The role and effects of information and communication
technology. J Int Manage 11(2):293–310.
17. References – Main Textbooks :
Bartlett CA, Ghoshal S. 1989. Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution.
Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.
Yin RK. 2014. Case study research: Design and methods. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications.
7th Article

1. Research Theme : Information Technology

2. Research Title : Improvising information technology projects through the duality
of structure
3. Research Background :
There is always an emphasis on information technology (IT) projects because of their
significance in organizations. Thus, efforts and resources are carried out reciprocally
to ensure success. However, the failure of IT projects in many organizations is still high
and affects competitiveness. As a solution for recovery, various techniques and
approaches have been used. However, little or no progress has been made in
increasing the success rate of IT projects in many organizations.
4. Research Question :
(1) How can IT projects be improvised within the organization?
(2) What factors influence the improvisation of IT projects in organizations? and
(3) How are IT project tasks assigned and implemented?
5. Research Objective : to examine the factors that influence and influence IT projects,
improvisation and how improvisation is realized.
6. Research Framework :

7. Research Paradigm : Intepretive

8. Research Method : Qualitative-Case Study Approach
9. Research Reviews of the Literature :
a. Information technology project
IT project involves technology and non-technological capacity, which are further
divided into units and sections of activities, depending on the nature and requirements
for the project. The activities influence IT project improvisation through deliberate
action of employees in their quest to deliver plan, on behalf of the organization (Bansler
 & Havn 2004). In Sauer and Reich’s (2009) assessment, there are five key ‘directions’
that could be employed in the implementation of projects, which include complexity,
social process, value creation, broader conceptualization of project and reflective
practice.
b. Structuration theory
Structuration is a sociotechnical theory which focuses on agent, structure and
interaction. Interaction within a social system relies on how human actions are enabled
or disabled through the organizational structures, which are interestingly a result of
previous actions (Orlikowski & Robey 1991). Structuration, implicitly states that the
agents’ actions are conditioned by the organizational properties in social contexts
(Iyamu & Roode 2010). The theory examines different assumptions include knowledge
and techniques, which manifest from different practices and actions. The duality of
structure contains three dimensions, which include structure (signification, domination,
and legitimation), modality, and interaction (communication, power, and sanction), in
which both structure and interaction are linked through modalities: the interpretative
schemes, resources and norms.
c. Information technology project viewed through the lens of duality of structure
Improvisation of IT project was viewed, using the duality of structure from structuration
theory. Thus, structure, modality and interaction were followed in the analysis. This
was to examine and understand non-technical factors manifest in the improvisation of
IT projects, which influences success or failure in many organizations.
10. Contribution to Theory : Academics will benefit equally from this study, especially how
structuration theory is used to test and understand non-technical factors, which
influence IT improvisation in organizations. Also, this study contributes to the existing
literature in the fields of project and IT management..
11. Research Contributions to Practices
Managers will get a better understanding of how human actions are reproduced, to
enable and at the same time limit the processes and activities in the improvisation of
IT projects in their organizations.
12. Research Site(s) : Telecommunications organization based in South Africa
13. Research Informants/ Respondents : A total of 31 people at senior and junior levels
from the IT (x21) and business (x10) units were interviewed at the saturation point.
14. Research Findings :
 Cultural value
Cultural value of an organization is formulated overtime, primarily to uniformly
guide their employees towards ensuring sustainability and competitiveness. The
values of an organization are enforced through a dualistic process in accordance
to the structure (rules and resources), over dialogue as informed by interpretation
within a communicative scheme. Organizational values are enforced because of
their significance, mainly to dominate individuals’ personal belief or interest,
through a legitimate process.
 Organizational structure
The organizational structures help to define factors, such as rules, regulations,
responsibilities, reporting lines, technology resource and the communication
format amongst the stakeholders, which influence, not in a deterministic sense, the
outcome of IT project improvisation, directly or through manifestation. An
organizational structure dictates how the employees communicate and carry out
their activities. Also, the organizational formal structure dictates the reporting lines
 as employees interact in the formal environment of the organization. As a result of
the lack of dualism in the communication channel that is caused by organizational
structure, individuals begin to react through their personal interpretation of
technology artefacts, as well as the processes that are involved in IT project
improvisation. Through the interpretation, they begin to build their power as a form
of self-defence or self-reliance.
 Power relationship
Individuals and groups tap on available power to define a favourable relationship,
which ultimately have impact on improvisation of IT projects. What makes the
relationships that are founded on power to manage is that they are drawn and
shaped legitimately through the rules and regulations, using the available
resources of the organization. Thus, power relationship enables and at the same
time, constrain IT projects improvisation in organizations.
 Human capacity
Human capacity is critically vital in some organizations, as it is considered to be
the most valued resource in realization of IT projects. The individual influences in
an organization have the potential to contribute to IT project improvisation through
shared beliefs, practices and values. Values and practices within an IT project are
found in the symbols, which reproduces the outcome. Employees in an
organisation have their own perceptions, which allow them to accept or reject how
activities of IT projects improvisation are problematised for them. This action of
acceptance or rejection does not happen voluntarily. It is in fact driven by the
leaders in the projects, in a reproductive manner.
 Know-how
Agents have the ability to express reasons for why they do what they do in the
improvisation of IT projects. They may however, not be able to explain the source
of what drives their actions, but there are consequences and implications. Some
of the things an employee does are intertwined in his or her mind as knowledge
gained through practical consciousness. Based on their knowledge, actions are
produced and reproduced with the duration of the IT project improvisation. In
structuration, there are two types of knowledge: discursive knowledge and practical
knowledge. Discursive knowledge is the knowledge which agents in an
organization are able to articulate, whilst practical knowledge refers to the tacit
knowledge that agents draw from. In some cases it might be things that they do
because they knows just how to do them or the things an individual has been doing
for so long, they have become a part of them.
 Change management
Change management seems inevitable in some organizations, in the improvisation
of IT projects. Change management is a legitimate facility that is often used to
support and enable processes and activities. However, change management can
also be a constraining factor to the events that it was supposed to support and
enable. This could be attributed to interaction and interpretation of the
communication about project tasks and activities. It therefore involves a process of
negotiation between the focal actors and other stakeholders; hence the process
has to be of dualism. In an organization, where changes are communicated and
implemented as directives and instruction without exchange of information in the
form of dualism, it becomes complicated in ensuring that enough is known for the
decisions that were taken.
  Process
Process is an ongoing activity in an organization that entails engagement and
interaction between employees in a specific purpose. Improvisation of IT projects
is process oriented. The rationale for implementing certain projects remains a
challenge to those that are involved because of the nature of some processes.
Each part that is involved in IT projects improvisation has a role to play, whether in
the development or management process. In some instances, the role is
determined by the individual’s interest or the deterministic nature of the involving
process. Hence communication amongst the stakeholders is critically important.
15. Research Implications : Some benefits will be derived from new perspectives on the
complexity of improvised IT projects, which are often caused by a variety of visible and
unexpected non-technical factors. This includes how actions from relationships,
knowledge about facilities and communicative schemes are produced and reproduced.
There is also a limitation in this study, that the case study data on each firm is a
snapshot for a 15 month period. The researcher recognize that over time business
conditions can change or MNCs may change their corporate strategies and accelerate
or delay implementation of various IT projects for those business conditions and
corporate strategies.
16. Researach References – Main Published Journals
Ciborra, C., 1996, ‘Improvisation and information technology in organizations’, in The
Proceedings of International Conference on Information Systems, Association for
Information Systems, Cleveland, OH, USA, December 16–18, 1996, pp. 369–380.
17. References – Main Textbooks :
Giddens, A., 1984, The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structure,
Berkeley, CA, University of California Press.