Question: Evidence from Taiwan's IT sector on the relationship between intellectual capital and performance in causal models.

This paper offers a comprehensive review of the intellectual capital field, emphasizing its significance for achieving sustainable competitive advantage through effective management of organizational knowledge. Given the multidisciplinary nature of intellectual capital, the field presents a complex landscape that appeals to various experts. Accountants are intrigued by its quantifiable representation on financial statements, while information technologists explore ways to integrate it into system architectures. Sociologists study its role in power dynamics within organizations, and psychologists investigate its impact on cognitive development. Human resource professionals seek methods to evaluate its return on investment, and training officers focus on strategies to enhance it. The paper synthesizes insights from diverse managerial disciplines, summarizing existing research and outlining promising directions for future inquiry. By diagnosing the state of intellectual capital, it aims to advance the field's theoretical and practical dimensions, particularly in the context of managing organizational knowledge. This in-depth examination is particularly relevant for the information technology industry in Taiwan, where intellectual capital is a critical driver of performance and innovation. The paper's exploration of intellectual capital's multifaceted roles and its implications for organizational performance provides a rich foundation for understanding and enhancing the role of knowledge in driving competitive advantage.

Companies are moving towards quickly providing better customer-centric products and services improve market share and market size with continuously growing revenue. As such, the effective collaboration among customers, developers, suppliers, and manufacturers throughout the entire product lifecycle is becoming much more important for the most advanced competitiveness. To address this need, a framework for product lifecycle collaboration is proposed in this study. The details of these collaboration models throughout the entire product lifecycle are depicted. As one of the key elements in product lifecycle collaboration, technology to support collaborative product manufacturing is proposed, developed and implemented in this study. It is hoped that the developed technology for collaborative product manufacturing will lay a frontier basis for further research and development in product lifecycle management. # 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This paper discusses the role of individuals’ beliefs about their abilities to competently use computers (computer self-efficacy) in the determination of computer use. A survey of Canadian managers and professionals was conducted to develop and validate a measure of computer self-efficacy and to assess both its impacts and antecedents. Computer selfefficacy was found to exert a significant influence on individuals’ expectations of the outcomes of using computers, their emotional reactions to computers (affect and anxiety), well as their actual computer use. An individual’s self-efficacy and outcome expectations were found to be positively influenced by the encouragement of others in their work group, as well as others’ use of computers. Thus, self-efficacy represents an important individual trait, which moderates organizational influences (such as encouragement and support) on an individual’s decision to use computers. Understanding self-efficacy, then, is important o the successful implementation of systems in Introduction Understanding the factors that influence an individual’s use of information technology has been a goal of MIS research since the mid-1970s, when organizations and researchers began to find that adoption of new technology was not living up to expectations. Lucas (1975, 1978) provides some of the earliest evidence of the individual or behavioral factors that influenced IT adoption. The first theoretical perspective to gain widespread acceptance in this research was the Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). This theory maintains that individuals would use computers if they could see that there would be positive benefits (outcomes) associated with using them. This theory is still widely used today in the IS literature and has demonstrated validity. However, there is also a growing recognition that additional explanatory variables are needed (e.g., Thompson, et al., 1991; Webster and Martocchio, 1992). One such variable, examined in this research, comes from the writings of Albert Bandura and his work on Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986). Self-efficacy, the belief that one has the capability to perform a particular behavior, is an important construct in social psychology. Self-efficacy perceptions have been found to influence decisions about what behaviors to undertake (e.g., Bandura, et al., 1977; Betz and Hackett, 1981), the effort exerted and persistence in attempting those behaviors (e.g., Barling and Beattie, 1983; Brown and Inouye, 1978), the emotional responses (including stress and anxiety) of the individual performing the behaviors (e.g., Bandura, et al., 1977; Stumpf, et a1.,1987), and the actual performance attainments of the individual with respect to the behavior (e.g., Barling M/S Quarterly/June 1995 189 Computer Self-Efficacy---Measurement and Beattie, 1983; Collins, 1985; Locke, et al., 1984; Schunk, 1981; Wood and Bandura, 1989). These effects have been shown for a wide variety of behaviors in both clinical and managerial settings. Within a management context, self-efficacy has been found to be related to attendance (Frayne and Latham, 1987; Latham and Frayne, 1989), career choice and dev,elopment (Betz and Hackett, 1981; Jones, 1986), research productivity (Taylor, et al., 1984), and sales performance (Barling and Beattie, 1983). Several more recent studies (Burkhardt and Brass, 1990; Gist, et a1.,1989; Hill, et al., 1986; 1987; Webster and Martocohio, 1992; 1993) have examined the relationship between self-efficacy with respect to using computers and a variety of computer behaviors. These studies found evidence of a relationship between selfefficacy and registration in computer courses at universities (Hill, et al., 1987), adoption of high technology products (Hill, et al., 1986) and innovations (Burkhardt and Brass, 1990), as well performance in software training (Gist, et al., 1989; Webster and Martocchio, 1992; 1993). All of the studies argue the need for further research to explore fully the role of self-efficacy in computing behavior. This paper describes the first study in a program of research aimed at understanding the impact of self-efficacy on individual reactions to computing technology. The study involves the development of a measure for computer self-efficacy and a test of its reliability and validity. The measure was evaluated by examining its performance in a nomological network, through structural equations modeling. A research model for this purpose was developed with reference to literature from social psychology, as well as prior IS research. The paper is organized as follows. The next section presents the theoretical foundation for this research. The third section discusses the development of the self-efficacy measure. The research model is described and the hypotheses are presented in the following section. Then, the research methodology is outlined, and the results of the analyses are presented. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings and the strengths and limitations of the research. Theoretical Background Social Cognitive Theory Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977; 1978; 1982; 1986) is a widely accepted, empirically validated model of individual behavior. It is based on the premise that environmental influences such as social pressures or unique situational characteristics, cognitive and other personal factors including personality as well as demographic haracteristics, and behavior are reciprocally determined. Thus, individuals choose the environments in which they exist in

Information Technology (IT) has become fundamental for most organizations since it is vital to their sustainability, development and success. This pervasive use led organizations to a critical dependency on IT. Despite the benefits, it exposes organizations to several risks. Hence, a significant focus on Enterprise Governance of IT (EGIT) is required. EGIT involve the definition and implementation of processes, structures and relational mechanisms to support the business/IT alignment and the creation of business value from IT investments. These mechanisms act as a mean to direct and operationalize IT-related decision-making. However, identifying the appropriate mechanisms is a complex task since there are internal and external contingency factors that influence the design and implementation of EGIT. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are considered key elements to promote economic growth, job creation, social integration and innovation. The use of IT in these organizations can imply severe consequences on survival and growth in highly competitive markets, becoming critical in this globalization era. Several studies were developed to investigate and identify EGIT mechanisms in different contingencies but very few focused on the organization' size criterion. However, SMEs have particular characteristics that require further investigation. Therefore, our goal in this research is to evaluate EGIT mechanisms in a SME's context and identify a baseline of mechanisms for SMEs using semi-structured interviews with IT experts that have experience in SMEs. The article ends by presenting contributions, limitations and future work.

The development of industrialization and information communication technology (ICT) has deeply changed our way of life. In particular, with the emerging theory of ‘‘Industry 4.0”, the integration of cloud technologies and industrial cyber-physical systems (ICPS) becomes increasingly important, as this will greatly improve the manufacturing chain and business services. In this paper, we first describe the development and character of ICPS. ICPS will inevitably play an important role in manufacturing, sales, and logistics. With the support of the cloud, ICPS development will impact value creation, business models, downstream services, and work organization. Then, we present a service-oriented ICPS model. With the support of the cloud, infrastructure platform and service application, ICPS will promote the manufacturing efficiency, increase quality of production, enable a sustainable industrial system and more environmentally friendly businesses. Thirdly, we focus on some key enabling technologies, which are critical in supporting smart factories. These key enabling technologies will also help companies to realize high quality, high output, and low cost. Finally, we talk about some challenges of ICPS implementation and the future work. 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

I To cope with issues related to optimization, rationalization, risk management, economic value of technology and information assets, the implementation of appropriate IT governance seems an important need in public and private organizations. It’s one of these concepts that suddenly emerged and became an important issue in the information technology area. Many organizations started with the implementation of IT governance to achieve a better alignment between business and IT, however, there is no method to apply the IT governance principles in companies. This paper proposes a new approach to implement IT governance based on five iterative phases. This approach is a critical business process that ensures that the business meets its strategic objectives and depending on IT resources for execution. Keywords—Information technology, IT governance, lifecycle, strategic alignment, value

Purpose The purpose of this research is to understand the mechanisms of knowledge management (KM) for innovation and provide an approach for enterprises to leverage KM activities into continuous innovation. Design/methodology/approach – By reviewing the literature from multidisciplinary fields, the concepts of knowledge, KM and innovation are investigated. The physical, human and technological perspectives of KM are distinguished with the identification of two core activities for innovation: knowledge creation and knowledge usage. Then an essential requirement for continuous innovation –an internalization phase is defined. The systems thinking and human-centred perspectives are adopted for providing a comprehensive understanding about the mechanisms of KM for innovation. Findings – A networking process of continuous innovation based on KM is proposed by incorporating the phase of internalization. According to the three perspectives of KM, three sources of organizational knowledge assets in innovation are identified. Then based on the two core activities of innovation, a meta-model and a macro process of KM are proposed to model the mechanisms of KM for continuous innovation. Then, in order to operationalize the KM mechanisms, a hierarchical model is constructed by integrating three sources of knowledge assets, the meta-model and the macro process into the process of continuous innovation. This model decomposes the complex relationships between knowledge and innovation into four layers. Practical implications – According to the lessons learned about KM practices in previous research, the three perspectives of KM should collaborate with each other for successful implementation of KM projects for innovation; and the hierarchical model provides a suitable architecture to implement systems of KM for innovation. Originality/value – The meta-model and macro process of KM explain how the next generation of KM can help the value creation and support the continuous innovation from the systems thinking perspective. The hierarchical model illustrates the complicate knowledge dynamics in the process of continuous innovation.

Creating an integrative research framework that extends a model frequently used in the Information Systems field, the Technology Acceptance Model, together with variables used in the Education field, this empirical study investigates the factors influencing student performance as reflected by their final course grade. The Technology Acceptance Model explains computer acceptance in general terms. The model measures the impact of external variables on internal beliefs, attitudes, and intentions. Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use, two main constructs in the model, refer to an individual’s perception of how the adoption of a new technology will increase their efficiency, and the individual’s perception of how easy the technology will be to use. The lower the perceived effort is, the easier the technology will be to adopt. Thus, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Computer Self-Efficacy, and Computer Anxiety were measured to determine their effect on student performance.

This paper describes the initial development of an HRM system that aims to decrease the gap between higher vocational education and the labour market for a specific job in the ICT sector. This paper focuses specifically on the delineation of a process model and the selection of a suitable job role (information system analyst) that is valid across organisational and cultural boundaries. The process model implies various applied uses of this ontology-based system, including mapping qualifications in vocational education to current and valid job roles, testing and evaluating the student applicant on the basis of labour market driven competencies, and providing ad-hoc support to educational institutions by elucidating the weaknesses of particular VET curricula.

User satisfaction with general information system (IS) and certain types of information technology (IT) applications has been thoroughly studied in IS research. With the widespread and increasing use of portal technology, however, there is a need to conduct a user satisfaction study on portal use -in particular, the business-to-employee (b2e) portal. In this paper, we propose a conceptual model for determining b2e portal user satisfaction, which has been derived from an extensive literature review of user satisfaction scales and the b2e portal. Nine dimensions of b2e portal user satisfaction are identified and modeled: information content, ease of use, convenience of access, timeliness, efficiency, security, confidentiality, communication, and layout.

In recent years, the number of patents filed by the business enterprises in the technology industry are growing rapidly, thus providing unprecedented opportunities for knowledge discovery in patent data. One important task in this regard is to employ data mining techniques to rank patents in terms of their potential to earn money through licensing. Availability of such ranking can substantially reduce enterprise IP (Intellectual Property) management costs. Unfortunately, the existing software systems in the IP domain do not address this task directly. Through our research, we build a patent ranking software, named COA (Claim Originality Analysis) that rates a patent based on its value by measuring the recency and the impact of the important phrases that appear in the "claims" section of a patent. Experiments show that COA produces meaningful ranking when comparing it with other indirect patent evaluation metrics--citation count, patent status, and attorney's rating. In reallife settings, this tool was used by beta-testers in the IBM IP department. Lawyers found it very useful in patent rating, specifically, in highlighting potentially valuable patents in a patent cluster. In this article, we describe the ranking techniques and system architecture of COA. We also present the results that validate its effectiveness.


Question: Evidence of the relationship between intellectual capital and performance in causal models: A study of the information technology sector in Taiwan.

This study presents the findings of an innovative research initiative aimed at quantifying the factors and outcomes associated with proficient human capital management. The investigation was conducted among 76 high-level executives from 25 companies within the financial services sector. The outcome was a comprehensive causal map that synthesized concepts from diverse disciplines, including intellectual capital, knowledge management, human resources, organizational behavior, information technology, and accounting. By merging both quantitative and qualitative measures into a unified theoretical framework, the study yielded significant insights. The resulting structural equation model enables organizations and researchers to assess the efficacy of their human capital strategies. This tool facilitates more judicious allocation of resources toward human capital management. The study's potential repercussions are vast, as consistent reassessment can establish causal links between human capital management and economic and business outcomes. In the knowledge-driven era, characterized by constant change and information overload, the challenge is to manage the vast amounts of information. By 2010, the world's codified information base is projected to double every 11 hours. Despite the exponential growth in information storage capacity, the human mind's processing ability is limited to approximately 16 to 40 bits of information per second. This study offers a solution to this paradox by emphasizing the role of human capital in the information age. The research was supported financially by Accenture, Saratoga Institute, and the Institute for Intellectual Capital Research, with additional contributions from Vanessa Yeh for data collection.

In this document, we explore the relationship between intellectual capital and performance within the context of causal models, specifically focusing on the information technology sector in Taiwan. The investigation delves into the intricacies of intellectual capital, encompassing human, structural, and relational components, and their influence on organizational performance. By employing a causal modeling approach, the study uncovers the mechanisms through which intellectual capital contributes to superior performance in IT firms. The analysis incorporates both quantitative and qualitative data to provide a holistic view of the relationship between intellectual capital and performance. The findings highlight the critical role of human capital in driving innovation and competitive advantage, supported by effective management of structural and relational capital. The research contributes to the understanding of intellectual capital's impact on performance in the dynamic IT industry, offering insights for practitioners and policymakers.

Previous efforts in electronic commerce (e-commerce) research in developing countries shows that there is an acute lack of theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence to understand how developing country firms realize electronic commerce benefits amidst their national constraints. This paper sets out to develop a theoretically abstracted but contextually grounded model of how developing country firms can orient their resources and realize these benefits amidst their national constraints. A review of e-commerce and strategy management literature to develop a resource – based model for e-commerce benefits was undertaken. The process-based model provides an understanding of how to identify, integrate, and reconfigure resources to achieve electronic commerce benefits; provides propositions that serves as theoretical platforms for future empirically grounded research on electronic commerce in developing country contexts and brings organizations closer to identifying and categorizing the strategic value of resources and the role managerial capabilities and intangible resources play in sustaining e-commerce benefits. Finally, our findings provides organizations the strategic options to address resources which have lost their value or have become less valuable to their strategic orientation in e-commerce adoption thereby serving as a starting point of examining e-commerce in developing countries through the theoretical lens of information systems and strategic management.

Previous studies on technology adoption disagree regarding the relative magnitude of the effects of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. However these studies did not consider moderating variables. We investigated four potential moderating variables – perceived risk, technology type, user experience, and gender – in users’ technology adoption. Their moderating effects were tested in an empirical study of 161 subjects. Results showed that perceived risk, technology type, and gender were significant moderating variables. However the effects of user experience were marginal after the variance of errors was removed. # 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V. www.elsevier.com/locate/im Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Information & Management 45 (2008) 1–9

The erosion of service quality throughout the economy is a frequent concern in the popular press. The American Customer Satisfaction Index for services fell in 2000 to 69.4%, down 5 percentage points from 1994. We hypothesize that the characteristics of services— inseparability, intangibility, and labor intensity—interact with management practices to bias service providers toward reducing the level of service they deliver, often locking entire industries into a vicious cycle of eroding service standards. To explore this proposition we develop a formal model that integrates the structural elements of service delivery. We use econometric estimation, interviews, observations, and archival data to calibrate the model for a consumer-lending service center in a major bank in the United Kingdom. We find that temporary imbalances between service capacity and demand interact with decision rules for effort allocation, capacity management, overtime, and quality aspirations to yield permanent erosion of the service standards and loss of revenue. We explore policies to improve performance and implications for organizational design in the service sector. (Organizational Learning; Service Management Performance; Service Operations; Service Quality; Simulation; System Dynamics)

In this paper we first point out a fatal drawback that the widely used Granger causality (GC) needs to estimate the autoregressive model, which is equivalent to taking a series of backward recursive operations which are infeasible in many irreversible chemical reaction models. Thus, new causality (NC) proposed by Hu et al. (2011) is theoretically shown to be more sensitive to reveal true causality than GC. We then apply GC and NC to motor imagery (MI) which is an important mental process in cognitive neuroscience and psychology and has received growing attention for a long time. We study causality flow during MI using scalp electroencephalograms from nine subjects in Brain-computer interface competition IV held in 2008. We are interested in three regions: Cz (central area of the cerebral cortex), C3 (left area of the cerebral cortex), and C4 (right area of the cerebral cortex) which are considered to be optimal locations for recognizing MI states in the literature. Our results show that: 1) there is strong directional connectivity from Cz to C3/C4 during left- and right-hand MIs based on GC and NC; 2) during left-hand MI, there is directional connectivity from C4 to C3 based on GC and NC; 3) during right-hand MI, there is strong directional connectivity from C3 to C4 which is much clearly revealed by NC than by GC, i.e., NC largely improves the classification rate; and 4) NC is demonstrated to be much more sensitive to reveal causal influence between different brain regions than GC.

Purpose The purpose of this research is to understand the mechanisms of knowledge management (KM) for innovation and provide an approach for enterprises to leverage KM activities into continuous innovation. Design/methodology/approach – By reviewing the literature from multidisciplinary fields, the concepts of knowledge, KM and innovation are investigated. The physical, human and technological perspectives of KM are distinguished with the identification of two core activities for innovation: knowledge creation and knowledge usage. Then an essential requirement for continuous innovation –an internalization phase is defined. The systems thinking and human-centred perspectives are adopted for providing a comprehensive understanding about the mechanisms of KM for innovation. Findings – A networking process of continuous innovation based on KM is proposed by incorporating the phase of internalization. According to the three perspectives of KM, three sources of organizational knowledge assets in innovation are identified. Then based on the two core activities of innovation, a meta-model and a macro process of KM are proposed to model the mechanisms of KM for continuous innovation. Then, in order to operationalize the KM mechanisms, a hierarchical model is constructed by integrating three sources of knowledge assets, the meta-model and the macro process into the process of continuous innovation. This model decomposes the complex relationships between knowledge and innovation into four layers. Practical implications – According to the lessons learned about KM practices in previous research, the three perspectives of KM should collaborate with each other for successful implementation of KM projects for innovation; and the hierarchical model provides a suitable architecture to implement systems of KM for innovation. Originality/value – The meta-model and macro process of KM explain how the next generation of KM can help the value creation and support the continuous innovation from the systems thinking perspective. The hierarchical model illustrates the complicate knowledge dynamics in the process of continuous innovation.

IT infrastructure flexibility is now being viewed as an organizational core competency that is necessary for organizations to survive and prosper in rapidly-changing, competitive, business environments. Using data from 200 U.S. and Canadian companies, this study examines the impact of the four components of IT infrastructure flexibility (compatibility, connectivity, modularity, and IT personnel) on strategic IT-business alignment and the extent to which various applications are implemented within an organization. The “extent” of implementation refers to the the organization’s experience with the particular application and the degree to which the application is implemented and used throughout the organization. The findings from analysis of a structural model provide evidence that connectivity, modularity, and IT personnel (among other considerations that we discuss in the paper) make significant, positive impacts on strategic alignment and that all four components result in significant, positive impacts on the applications implementation. The study reinforces the importance of IT infrastructure flexibility to organizations as one source for sustainable competitive advantage.

Service quality is the highest requirement by users, especially for the service in electronic government. During the past decades, it has become a major area of academic investigation. Considering this issue, there are a lot of researches that evaluated the dimensions and e-service contexts. This study also identified the dimensions of service quality, but focuses on a new concept and provides a new methodology in developing measurement scales of e-service quality such as information quality, service quality and organization quality. Finally, this study will suggest a key factor to evaluate e-government service quality better. Keywords—E-government, e-service, e-service quality, dimensionality.

Globalization and the use of technology call for an adaptation of value creation strategies. As the potential for rationalization and achieving flexibility within companies is to the greatest possible extent exhausted, approaches to the corporate reorganization of value creation are becoming increasingly important. In this process, the spread and further development of information and communication technology often provide the basis for a reorganization of cross-company value nets and lead to a redistribution of roles and tasks between the actors involved in value creation. While cooperative, decentralized and self-organizing value creation processes are in fact being promoted, the associated potential for development and production engineering is being underestimated and hence not implemented sufficiently. This contribution will introduce a value creation taxonomy and then, using its notion and structure, describe the emerging transformations in value creation on the basis of case studies. Finally an adequate framework for analysing and configuring value creation will be presented.

Recognizing the substantial development of information quality research, this review article analyzes three major aspects of information quality research: information quality assessment, information quality management and contextual information quality. Information quality assessment is analyzed by three components: information quality problem, dimension and assessment methodology. Information quality management is analyzed from three perspectives: quality management, information management and knowledge management. Following an overview of contextual information quality, this article analyzes information quality research in the context of information system and decision making. The analyzing results reveal the potential research streams and current research limitations of information quality. Aiming at bridging the research gaps, we conclude by providing the research issues for future information quality research and implications for empirical applications.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. This article concerns theories about why and how information technology affects organizational life. Good theory guides research, which, when applied, increases the likelihood that information technology will be employed with desirable consequences for users, organizations, and other interested parties. But what is a good theory? Theories are often evaluated in terms of their content-the specific concepts used and the human values served. This article examines theories in terms of their structures-theorists' assumptions about the nature and direction of causal influence. Three dimensions of causal structure are considered-causal agency, logical structure, and level of analysis. Causal agency refers to beliefs about the nature of causality: whether external forces cause change, whether people act purposefully to accomplish intended objectives, or whether changes emerge unpredictably from the interaction of people and events. Logical structure refers to the temporal aspect of theory-static versus dynamic-and to the logical relationships between the "causes" and the outcomes. Level of analysis refers to the entities about which the theory poses concepts and relationships-individuals, groups, organizations, and society. While there are many possible structures for good theory about the role of information technology in organizational change, only a few of these structures can be seen in current theorizing. Increased awareness of the options, open discussion of their advantages and disadvantages , and explicit characterization of future theoretical statements in terms of the dimensions and categories discussed here should, we believe, promote the development of better theory.


Question: Evidence from Taiwan's IT sector on the relationship between intellectual capital and performance in causal models.

Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The Role of Human Capital Management in the Information Technology Sector

Executive Summary

The path to achieving sustainable competitive advantage in the information technology (IT) industry, particularly in the context of Taiwan, hinges on a transformative approach to managing human capital. This involves redefining our perception of the workforce and the nature of the employment relationship. Success in this sector is not about replacing human resources with technology or restricting their roles; instead, it's about collaborating with people, leveraging their skills and expertise to drive innovation and performance. Viewing the workforce as a strategic asset, rather than a mere expense to be curtailed, is crucial. Companies that embrace this mindset are often better positioned to outperform competitors and navigate the dynamic landscape of the IT industry. This perspective not only enhances organizational competitiveness but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and adaptability, which are essential for long-term success in the technology-driven economy.

Knowledge management is a relatively young topic to other older strategic tools, and it has been attracting the attention of researchers and academics over the past decade or so. In this regard globalization is already in many countries including Malaysia like many other developing countries, Malaysia is also striving to fulfil its vision of becoming a developed nation. It is a fast growing country in terms of both economy and technology. However, obstacles for successful knowledge management initiatives will be there for this country, as well. Thus, exploration of the potential barriers is essential before any Malaysian company embarks on a knowledge management journey. This research has shed light to some of the important issues and challenges with reference to knowledge management in Malaysia by providing a more thorough and clear picture of the knowledge management status amongst Malaysian organizations. This could in turn help top managers and decision makers to develop a more insightful agenda to ensure success for their respective knowledge management initiatives.

Firms invest millions of dollars in the introduction of new information systems for long-term benefit. If employees are not willing to accept a new information system, such investments may be wasted. Employee acceptance of a new information system is in part determined by external influences. However, previous research has neglected the paths of persuasive strategies and external social influences on information system acceptance. Linkages between persuasive strategies and external social influences are also scarce. By integrating social influence theory and an elaboration likelihood model, this study explores the influence of persuasive messages (source credibility and argument quality) on social influence, affective response and cognitive response. This study also investigates the interrelationships among affective response, cognitive response and behavior intention. Furthermore, the moderating roles of social influences on the impact of affective response and cognitive response on behavior intention are identified. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An understanding of culture is important to the study of information technologies in that culture at various levels, including national, organizational, and group, can influence the successful implementation and use of information technology. Culture also plays a role in managerial processes that may directly, or indirectly, influence IT. Culture is a challenging variable to research, in part because of the multiple divergent definitions and measures of culture. Notwithstanding, a wide body of literature has emerged that sheds light on the relationship of IT and culture. This paper sets out to provide a review of this literature in order to lend insights into our understanding of the linkages between IT and culture. We begin by conceptualizing culture and laying the groundwork for a values-based approach to the examination of IT and culture. Using this approach, we then provide a comprehensive review of the organizational and cross-cultural IT literature that conceptually links these two traditionally separate streams of research. From our analysis, we develop six themes of IT-culture research emphasizing culture's impact on IT, IT's impact on culture, and IT culture. Building upon these themes, we then develop a theory of IT, values, and conflict. Based upon the theory, we develop propositions concerning three types of cultural conflict and the results of these conflicts. Ultimately, the theory suggests that the reconciliation of these conflicts results in a reorientation of values. We conclude with the particular research challenges posed in this line of inquiry.

The aim of study is to examine whether social influence affects medical professionals’ behavioral intention to use while introducing a new Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS). The series of Technology Acceptance Models (TAMs) have been widely applied to examine new technology acceptance by scholars; nevertheless, these models omit system diversity and the user’s profession. On the other hand, causal analysis greatly affects the efficiency of decision-making, and it is usually analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM); however, the method is often misapplied. This research applies the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) technique to explore the causal relationship between the significant Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) variables. Fuzzy concept is applied to illustrate human vague judgment. It is significant that, in contrary with UTAUT, this study found that social influence does not matter in the behavioral intention to use the CDSS for medical professionals. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NOTE: The authors thank Bianca Bain for her assistance on an earlier draft of the paper and the University of Macao for providing financial support. Summary This paper raises the question and provides empirical evidence regarding the status of the evolution of the state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China today. In this study, we compare the SOEs to domestic private-owned enterprises (POEs) and foreign-controlled businesses (FCBs) in the context of their organizational cultures. While a new ownership form, many of the POEs, evolved from former collectives that reflect the traditional values of Chinese business. Conversely, the FCBs are much more indicative of the large global MNCs. Therefore, we look at the SOEs in the context of these two reference points. We conclude that the SOEs of today have substantially transformed to approximate a configuration desired by the Chinese government when it began the SOE transformation a couple of decades ago to make them globally competitive. The SOEs of today appear to be appropriately described as China's economic dynamic dynamo for the future.

To better understand how big data interconnects firms and customers in promoting value co-creation, we propose a theoretical framework of big data-based cooperative assets based on evidence of multiple case studies. We identify four types of big data resources and four types of associated digital platforms, and we explore how firms develop the cooperative assets by transforming big data resources via the theoretical lens of service-dominant logic. This study offers a new theoretical perspective on value co-creation and an alternative competitive strategy in the era of big data for firms. ã 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Previous efforts in electronic commerce (e-commerce) research in developing countries shows that there is an acute lack of theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence to understand how developing country firms realize electronic commerce benefits amidst their national constraints. This paper sets out to develop a theoretically abstracted but contextually grounded model of how developing country firms can orient their resources and realize these benefits amidst their national constraints. A review of e-commerce and strategy management literature to develop a resource – based model for e-commerce benefits was undertaken. The process-based model provides an understanding of how to identify, integrate, and reconfigure resources to achieve electronic commerce benefits; provides propositions that serves as theoretical platforms for future empirically grounded research on electronic commerce in developing country contexts and brings organizations closer to identifying and categorizing the strategic value of resources and the role managerial capabilities and intangible resources play in sustaining e-commerce benefits. Finally, our findings provides organizations the strategic options to address resources which have lost their value or have become less valuable to their strategic orientation in e-commerce adoption thereby serving as a starting point of examining e-commerce in developing countries through the theoretical lens of information systems and strategic management.

This paper empirically investigates how adoption of IT governance and management processes, as identified in the IT governance framework COBIT 5, relates to the level of IT-related goals achievement, which in turn associates to the level of enterprise goals achievement. Simultaneously, this research project provides an international benchmark on how organizations are currently adopting the governance and management processes as identified in COBIT 5. The findings suggest that organizations are best in adopting the “IT factory” related management processes and that implementation scores drop in management and governance processes when more business and board involvement is required. Additionally, there are significant differences in perceived implementation maturity of COBIT 5 processes between SMEs and larger organizations. Also, the data offers empirical evidence that the COBIT 5 processes have a positive association with enterprise value creation. KeywORdS COBIT 5, Enterprise Goals, Enterprise Governance and Management of IT, IT Governance, SMEs

This paper discusses the role of individuals’ beliefs about their abilities to competently use computers (computer self-efficacy) in the determination of computer use. A survey of Canadian managers and professionals was conducted to develop and validate a measure of computer self-efficacy and to assess both its impacts and antecedents. Computer selfefficacy was found to exert a significant influence on individuals’ expectations of the outcomes of using computers, their emotional reactions to computers (affect and anxiety), well as their actual computer use. An individual’s self-efficacy and outcome expectations were found to be positively influenced by the encouragement of others in their work group, as well as others’ use of computers. Thus, self-efficacy represents an important individual trait, which moderates organizational influences (such as encouragement and support) on an individual’s decision to use computers. Understanding self-efficacy, then, is important o the successful implementation of systems in Introduction Understanding the factors that influence an individual’s use of information technology has been a goal of MIS research since the mid-1970s, when organizations and researchers began to find that adoption of new technology was not living up to expectations. Lucas (1975, 1978) provides some of the earliest evidence of the individual or behavioral factors that influenced IT adoption. The first theoretical perspective to gain widespread acceptance in this research was the Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). This theory maintains that individuals would use computers if they could see that there would be positive benefits (outcomes) associated with using them. This theory is still widely used today in the IS literature and has demonstrated validity. However, there is also a growing recognition that additional explanatory variables are needed (e.g., Thompson, et al., 1991; Webster and Martocchio, 1992). One such variable, examined in this research, comes from the writings of Albert Bandura and his work on Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986). Self-efficacy, the belief that one has the capability to perform a particular behavior, is an important construct in social psychology. Self-efficacy perceptions have been found to influence decisions about what behaviors to undertake (e.g., Bandura, et al., 1977; Betz and Hackett, 1981), the effort exerted and persistence in attempting those behaviors (e.g., Barling and Beattie, 1983; Brown and Inouye, 1978), the emotional responses (including stress and anxiety) of the individual performing the behaviors (e.g., Bandura, et al., 1977; Stumpf, et a1.,1987), and the actual performance attainments of the individual with respect to the behavior (e.g., Barling M/S Quarterly/June 1995 189 Computer Self-Efficacy---Measurement and Beattie, 1983; Collins, 1985; Locke, et al., 1984; Schunk, 1981; Wood and Bandura, 1989). These effects have been shown for a wide variety of behaviors in both clinical and managerial settings. Within a management context, self-efficacy has been found to be related to attendance (Frayne and Latham, 1987; Latham and Frayne, 1989), career choice and dev,elopment (Betz and Hackett, 1981; Jones, 1986), research productivity (Taylor, et al., 1984), and sales performance (Barling and Beattie, 1983). Several more recent studies (Burkhardt and Brass, 1990; Gist, et a1.,1989; Hill, et al., 1986; 1987; Webster and Martocohio, 1992; 1993) have examined the relationship between self-efficacy with respect to using computers and a variety of computer behaviors. These studies found evidence of a relationship between selfefficacy and registration in computer courses at universities (Hill, et al., 1987), adoption of high technology products (Hill, et al., 1986) and innovations (Burkhardt and Brass, 1990), as well performance in software training (Gist, et al., 1989; Webster and Martocchio, 1992; 1993). All of the studies argue the need for further research to explore fully the role of self-efficacy in computing behavior. This paper describes the first study in a program of research aimed at understanding the impact of self-efficacy on individual reactions to computing technology. The study involves the development of a measure for computer self-efficacy and a test of its reliability and validity. The measure was evaluated by examining its performance in a nomological network, through structural equations modeling. A research model for this purpose was developed with reference to literature from social psychology, as well as prior IS research. The paper is organized as follows. The next section presents the theoretical foundation for this research. The third section discusses the development of the self-efficacy measure. The research model is described and the hypotheses are presented in the following section. Then, the research methodology is outlined, and the results of the analyses are presented. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings and the strengths and limitations of the research. Theoretical Background Social Cognitive Theory Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1977; 1978; 1982; 1986) is a widely accepted, empirically validated model of individual behavior. It is based on the premise that environmental influences such as social pressures or unique situational characteristics, cognitive and other personal factors including personality as well as demographic haracteristics, and behavior are reciprocally determined. Thus, individuals choose the environments in which they exist in

T understand the impact of social capital on knowledge integration and performance within digitally enabled teams, we studied 46 teams who had a history and a future working together. All three dimensions of their social capital (structural, relational, and cognitive) were measured prior to the team performing two tasks in a controlled setting, one face-to-face and the other through a lean digital network. Structural and cognitive capital were more important to knowledge integration when teams communicated through lean digital networks than when they communicated face-to-face; relational capital directly impacted knowledge integration equally, regardless of the communication media used by the team. Knowledge integration, in turn, impacted team decision quality, suggesting that social capital influences team performance in part by increasing a team’s ability to integrate knowledge. These results suggest that team history may be necessary but not sufficient for teams to overcome the problems with the use of lean digital networks as a communication environment. However, team history may present a window of opportunity for social capital to develop, which in turn allows teams to perform just as well as in either communication environment.


Question: Evidence of the relationship between intellectual capital and performance in causal models: A study of the information technology sector in Taiwan.

This document explores the application and effectiveness of the Balanced Scorecard as a strategic management tool, particularly within the context of the information technology industry in Taiwan. The Balanced Scorecard, a performance measurement framework, integrates financial and non-financial metrics to provide a comprehensive view of an organization's strategic performance. By translating organizational strategy into actionable goals and measures, the Balanced Scorecard facilitates a more holistic and balanced approach to performance management. This approach not only addresses the financial aspects of strategy but also considers customer satisfaction, internal business processes, and learning and growth perspectives. The document highlights how companies in the Taiwanese IT sector have adopted the Balanced Scorecard to align their strategic objectives with operational outcomes, thereby enhancing intellectual capital and overall performance. Through case studies and empirical evidence, the document demonstrates the Balanced Scorecard's ability to foster a strategic alignment that drives competitive advantage and long-term success in the IT industry.

According to Enterprise Architecture (EA) approaches, organizations have motivational concepts that are used to model the motivations that underlie its design or change, which represent the organization’s Business Motivation Model (BMM). Likewise, this BMM is also present in the organizations who provide IT services. ITIL has become a reference for IT service providers, but is commonly modeled as a process-oriented approach to IT Service Management, often disregarding the remaining EA domains or its motivational elements. Conversely, we believe that like EA, ITIL has an important motivation model that should be formally represented.

Executive support is often prescribed as critical for fully tapping the benefits of information technology (IT). However, few investigations have attempted to determine what type of executive support is likely or organizationally appropriate. This article puts forward alternative models of executive support. The models are tested by examining chief executive officers’ behaviors in and perceptions of IT activities. CEOs and information systems executives are surveyed and further data collected from industry handbooks and from chairmen’s annual letters to shareholders. The results suggest that executive involvement (a psychological state) is more strongly associated with the firm’s progressive use of IT than executive participation (actual behaviors) in IT activities. Executive involvement is influenced by a CEO’s participation, prevailing organizational conditions, and the executive’s functional background. CEO’s perceptions about the importance of IT in their firms were generally positive, although they participated in IT activities rather infrequently.

We develop an individual behavioral model that integrates the role of top management and organizational culture into the theory of planned behavior in an attempt to better understand how top management can influence security compliance behavior of employees. Using survey data and structural equation modeling, we test hypotheses on the relationships among top management participation, organizational culture, and key determinants of employee compliance with information security policies. We find that top management participation in information security initiatives has significant direct and indirect influences on employees’ attitudes towards, subjective norm of, and perceived behavioral control over compliance with information security policies. We also find that the top management participation strongly influences organizational culture which in turn impacts employees’ attitudes towards and perceived behavioral control over compliance with information security policies. Furthermore, we find that the effects of top management participation and organizational culture on employee behavioral intentions are fully mediated by employee cognitive beliefs about compliance with information security policies. Our findings extend information security research literature by showing how top management can play a proactive role in shaping employee compliance behavior in addition to the deterrence oriented remedies advocated in the extant literature. Our findings also refine the theories about the role of organizational culture in shaping employee compliance behavior. Significant theoretical and practical implications of ∗This project was partially funded by a grant to the authors from the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) of the Department of Defense (DoD). The authors express their thanks to the editor, senior editor, associate editor, and two anonymous reviewers for their detailed and constructive comments and suggestions throughout the review process. †Corresponding author.

0747-5632/$ see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd. A http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.08.001 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 02 7734 3347; f E-mail address: joum@ntnu.edu.tw (M. Jou). Cloud computing technology has matured as it has been integrated with every kind of digitalization processes. It offers numerous advantages for data and software sharing, and thus making the management of complex IT systems much simpler. For education in engineering, cloud computing even provides students with versatile and ubiquitous access to software commonly used in the field without having to step into an actual computer lab. Our study analyzed learning attitudes and academic performances induced by the utilization of resources driven by cloud computing technologies. Comparisons were made between college students with high school and vocational high school backgrounds. One hundred and thirtytwo students who took the computer-aided designing (CAD) course participated in the study. Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as the fundamental framework. Open-ended sets of questionnaires were designed to measure academic performance and causal attributions; the results indicated no significant differences in the cognitive domain between the two groups of students, though it is not so in both the psychomotor and the affective domains. College students with vocational high school background appeared to possess higher learning motivation in CAD applications. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-reliability healthcare organizations, such as Intensive Care Units, operate in challenging high-velocity environments regarding decision-making, uncertainty, and time constraints. Further, these organizations are multidisciplinary, professionally driven, and characterized by a strong hierarchical structure. Given such conditions, effective cross-functional communication is critical for ensuring successful work practices. We propose a theoretical model of IS affordances and Relational Coordination in the presence of functional status differences. We establish a set of propositions regarding how use patterns and types of IS affordances enable or constrain potential effects on Relational Coordination. We are currently conducting a case study of an ICU in a major University hospital, with the goal to iteratively refine our theory and propositions. We hope that this research will offer an in-depth understanding of the types of opportunities related to information systems, and the role of individual-level interpretations and actions across functional groups for these opportunities.

This paper presents an alternative view of the Information Systems identity crisis described recently by Benbasat and Zmud (2003). We agree with many of their observations, but we are concerned with their prescription for IS research. We critique their discussion of errors of inclusion and exclusion in IS research and highlight the potential misinterpretations that are possible from a literal Ron Weber was the accepting senior editor for this paper. Iris Vessey and Rudy Hirschheim served as reviewers. reading of their comments. Our conclusion is that following Benbasat and Zmud’s nomological net will result in a micro focus for IS research. The results of such a focus are potentially dangerous for the field. They could result in the elimination of IS from many academic programs. We present an alternative set of heuristics that can be used to assess what lies within the domain of IS scholarship. We argue that the IS community has a powerful story to tell about the transformational impact of information technology. We believe that a significant portion of our research should be macro studies of the impact of IT. It is important for academic colleagues, deans, and managers to understand the transformational power of the technology. As IS researchers with deep knowledge of the underlying artifact, we are best positioned to do such research.

The paper expands theoretical and empirical understanding of capabilities development in the mediated offshore outsourcing model whereby a small or a medium-sized firm delivers offshore software services to a larger information technology firm that in turn contracts and interfaces with the actual end-client onshore firms. Such a mediated model has received little prior research attention, although it is common particularly among Chinese firms exporting services to Japan, the largest export market for Chinese software services. We conducted case studies in four China-based software companies to understand the mechanisms used to develop their operational capabilities. We focused on client-specific, process, and human resources capabilities that have been previously associated with vendor success. We found a range of learning mechanisms to build the capabilities in offshore firms. Results show that the development of human resources capabilities was most challenging in the mediated model; yet foundational for the development of the other capabilities. This paper contributes to the information systems literature by improving our understanding of the development of operational capabilities in smalland medium-sized Chinese firms that deploy the mediated model of offshore

Information security was the main topic in this paper. An investigation of the compliance to information security policies were discussed. The author mentions that the insignificant relationship between rewards and actual compliance with information security policies does not make sense. Quite possibly this relationship results from not applying rewards for security compliance. Also mentions that based on the survey conducted, careless employee behavior places an organization's assets and reputation in serious jeopardy. The major threat to information security arises from careless employees who fail to comply with organizations' information security policies and procedures.

The improvements and capabilities of Business Intelligence (BI) systems are making them highly required by organizations in many of the fields. Day by day, the demand is increasing on these systems. Figures show that billions of US dollars are spent annually on BI systems. However, half of these BI projects are ending with unrealized benefit, according to some studies. As a participation to reduce this failure rate, the authors have developed a conceptual model, based on the existing studies in the field, which may help organizations to assess their readiness toward BI systems. The conceptual model is tested empirically on the Context of Malaysian Organizations(CMOs) as they are emerging widely to BI systems and they lack for this kind of studies to be done them. The conceptual model is consisting of seven dimensions. Depending on the results of the conducted study, this paper will disclose the results of management dimension, which will help to know the degree of its importance for organizations' to be ready for such systems. A brief introduction on BI systems and the challenges of their implementation will be presented. In Addition, this paper will go through some important studies have been done in the field. The details of the study will be provided as well.

Using IT in ways that can trigger major organizational changes creates high-risk, potentially high-reward, situations that I call technochange (for technology-driven organizational change). Technochange differs from typical IT projects and from typical organizational change programs and therefore requires a different approach. One major risk in technochange—that people will not use information technology and related work practices—is not thoroughly addressed by the discipline of IT project management, which focuses on project cost, project schedule, and solution functionality. Organizational change management approaches are also generally not effective on their own, because they take as a given the IT ‘‘solutions’’ developed by a technical team. Consequently, the potential for the IT ‘‘solution’’ to be misaligned with important organizational characteristics, such as culture or incentives, is great. Merely combining IT project management and organizational change management approaches does not produce the best results, for two reasons. First, the additive approach does not effectively address the many failure-threatening problems that can arise over the lengthy sequential process of the typical technochange lifecycle. Second, the additive approach is not structured to produce the characteristics of a good technochange solution: a complete intervention consisting of IT and complementary organizational changes, an implementable solution with minimal misfits with the existing organization, and an organization primed to appropriate the potential bene¢ts of the technochange solution. With hard work and care, the combined IT project management plus organizational change approach can be made to work. However, an iterative, incremental approach to implementing technochange can be a better strategy in many situations. The essential characteristic of the technochange prototyping approach is that each phase involves both new IT functionality and related organizational changes, such as redesigned business processes, new performance metrics, and training. Journal of Information Technology (2004) 19, 4–20. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jit.2000002


Question: Evidence from Taiwan's IT sector on the relationship between intellectual capital and performance in causal models.

This study delves into the significance of year, industry, corporate-parent, and business-specific factors on the profitability of publicly traded corporations in the United States, specifically within defined 4-digit SIC categories. Our findings reveal that year, industry, corporate-parent, and business-specific effects contribute to 2 percent, 19 percent, 4 percent, and 32 percent, respectively, of the total variance in profitability. We observe that the impact of these factors varies significantly across different economic sectors. Industry effects contribute less to profit variance in manufacturing sectors but have a more substantial influence in lodging/entertainment, services, wholesale/retail trade, and transportation sectors. Notably, across all sectors, we identify a negative correlation between corporate-parent and industry effects. A comprehensive analysis indicates that industry, corporate-parent, and business-specific effects are interconnected in intricate patterns. This research underscores the multifaceted nature of profitability determinants within various industries and highlights the role of corporate structure and market conditions. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

**Question**: A Direct Search Method to solve Economic Dispatch Problem with Valve-Point Effect

**Documents**: A hybrid of genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization for recurrent network design

**Similar Documents**: This paper introduces a novel methodology, the Hybrid Genetic Algorithm-Particle Swarm Optimization (HGAPSO), aimed at automating the design of recurrent neural/fuzzy networks. HGAPSO innovates by integrating the strengths of genetic algorithms (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) to create an advanced evolutionary learning algorithm. In HGAPSO, the creation of each new generation is not confined to crossover and mutation operations typical of GA; it also incorporates the dynamics of PSO. The elite strategy is central to HGAPSO, where the top-performing individuals, known as elites, are not merely reproduced but enhanced through a process similar to natural maturation. These elites form a swarm, with each elite representing a particle within it. Through PSO, these elites undergo refinement. In the subsequent generation, half the population consists of these enhanced elites, while the other half is produced through crossover and mutation operations on the enhanced elites. HGAPSO's application to recurrent neural/fuzzy network design demonstrates its efficacy. For recurrent neural networks, a fully connected design is implemented to address a temporal sequence production issue. In recurrent fuzzy network design, a Takagi-Sugeno-Kang-type structure is utilized for dynamic plant control. Comparative assessments with conventional GA and PSO techniques confirm HGAPSO's

The evolution of Information Technology has enhanced consumers’ and organisations’ ability to gather information along with purchasing goods and services. Information Technology offers businesses increased competition, lower prices of goods and services, the choice of comparing products from different vendors and easy access to various vendors anywhere, anytime. Therefore, Information Technology facilitates the global nature of commerce. In developing countries, e-commerce dominates their economic activities. E-commerce is one of the leading non-oil sectors in Nigeria, 18.9 % GDP. In contrast with developed nations, e-commerce has not been as successfully adopted in developing countries. This chapter addresses the challenges and benefits of e-commerce technology in relation to SMEs in Nigeria. It presents quantitative evidence of SMEs perceptions of e-commerce technology, benefits, and barriers. A number of hypotheses are presented and assessed. Recommendations to mitigate barriers are suggested.

This study applies clustering analysis for data mining and machine learning to predict trends in technology professional turnover rates, including the hybrid artificial neural network and clustering analysis known as the self-organizing map (SOM). This hybrid clustering method was used to study the individual characteristics of turnover trend clusters. Using a transaction questionnaire, we studied the period of peak turnover, which occurs after the Chinese New Year, for individuals divided into various age groups. The turnover trend of technology professionals was examined in well-known Taiwanese companies. The results indicate that the high outstanding turnover trend circle was primarily caused by a lack of inner fidelity identification, leadership and management. Based on cross-verification, the clustering accuracy rate was 92.7%. This study addressed problems related to the rapid loss of key human resources and should help organizations learn how to enhance competitiveness and efficiency. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The erosion of service quality throughout the economy is a frequent concern in the popular press. The American Customer Satisfaction Index for services fell in 2000 to 69.4%, down 5 percentage points from 1994. We hypothesize that the characteristics of services— inseparability, intangibility, and labor intensity—interact with management practices to bias service providers toward reducing the level of service they deliver, often locking entire industries into a vicious cycle of eroding service standards. To explore this proposition we develop a formal model that integrates the structural elements of service delivery. We use econometric estimation, interviews, observations, and archival data to calibrate the model for a consumer-lending service center in a major bank in the United Kingdom. We find that temporary imbalances between service capacity and demand interact with decision rules for effort allocation, capacity management, overtime, and quality aspirations to yield permanent erosion of the service standards and loss of revenue. We explore policies to improve performance and implications for organizational design in the service sector. (Organizational Learning; Service Management Performance; Service Operations; Service Quality; Simulation; System Dynamics)

Few studies have examined interactions between IT change and organizational change during information systems evolution (ISE). We propose a dynamic model of ISE where change dynamics are captured in four dimensions: planned change, improvised change, organizational change and IT change. This inductively-generated model yields a rich account of ISE and its drivers by integrating the four change dimensions. The model shows how incremental adjustments in IT and organizational processes often grow into a profound change as users improvise. We demonstrate the value of the dynamic model by illustrating ISE processes in the context of two manufacturing organizations implementing the same system over a study period of five years. This paper makes its contribution by holistically characterizing improvisation in the context of IT and organizational change. Our ISE model moves research in organizational and IT change towards a common framing by showing how each affects the other’s form, function and evolution.

We conducted a quantitative meta-analysis of previous research on the technology acceptance model (TAM) in an attempt to make well-grounded statements on the role of subjective norm. Furthermore, we compared TAM results by taking into account moderating effects of one individual-related factor (type of respondents), one technology-related factor (type of technology), and one contingent factor (culture). Results indicated a significant influence of subjective norm on perceived usefulness and behavioral intention to use. Moderating effects were found for all three factors. The findings yielded managerial implications for both intracompany and market-based settings. # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This paper summarizes the first phase of the Stanford Innovation Project, a long-term study of U.S. industrial innovation. As part of this initial phase, begun in 1982, two surveys were conducted: 1) an open-ended survey of 158 new products in the electronics industry, followed by 2) a structured survey of 118 of the original products. Both surveys used a pairwise comparison methodology. Our research identified eight broad areas that appear to be important for new product success in a high-technology environment: 1) market knowledge gained through frequent and intense customer interaction, which leads to high benefit-to-cost products; 2) and 3) planning and coordination of the new product process, especially the R&D phase; 4) emphasis on marketing and sales; 5) management support for the product throughout the development and launch stages; 6) the contribution margin of the product; 7) early market entry; 8) proximity of the new product technologies and markets to the existing strengths of the developing unit. Based on these results, a preliminary model of the new product process is proposed in the concluding section. There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new system. Niccolo Machiavelli.

Ž . Design management and process management are two important elements of total quality management TQM implementation. They are drastically different in their targets of improvement, visibility, and techniques. In this paper, we establish a framework for identifying the synergistic linkages of design and process management to the operational quality Ž . Ž . outcomes during the manufacturing process internal quality and upon the field usage of the products external quality . Through a study of quality practices in 418 manufacturing plants from multiple industries, we empirically demonstrate that both design and process management efforts have an equal positive impact on internal quality outcomes such as scrap, rework, defects, performance, and external quality outcomes such as complaints, warranty, litigation, market share. A detailed contingency analysis shows that the proposed model of synergies between design and process management holds true for large and small firms; for firms with different levels of TQM experience; and in different industries with varying levels of competition, logistical complexity of production, or production process characteristics. Finally, the results also suggest that organizational learning enables mature TQM firms to implement both design and process efforts more rigorously and their synergy helps these firms to attain better quality outcomes. These findings indicate that, to attain superior quality outcomes, firms need to balance their design and process management efforts and persevere with long-term Ž . implementation of these efforts. Because the study spans all of the manufacturing sectors SIC 20 through 39 , these conclusions should help firms in any industry revisit their priorities in terms of the relative efforts in design management and process management. q 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Using the 138,751 patents filed in 2006 under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, coclassification analysis is pursued on the basis of threeand four-digit codes in the International Patent Classification (IPC, 8 edition). The co-classifications among the patents enable us to analyze and visualize the relations among technologies at different levels of aggregation. The hypothesis that classifications might be considered as the organizers of patents into classes, and that therefore co-classification patterns—more than co-citation patterns—might be useful for mapping, is not corroborated. The classifications hang weakly together, even at the four-digit level; at the country level, more specificity can be made visible. However, countries are not the appropriate units of analysis because patent portfolios are largely similar in many advanced countries in terms of the classes attributed. Instead of classes, one may wish to explore the mapping of title words as a better approach to visualize the intellectual organization of patents.

Enterprise systems (ES) that capture the most advanced developments of information technology are becoming common fixtures in most organisations. However, how ES affect organizational agility (OA) has been less researched and the existing research remains equivocal. From the perspective that ES can positively contribute to OA, this research via theory-based model development and rigorous empirical investigation of the proposed model, has bridged significant research gaps and provided empirical evidence for, and insights into, the effect of ES on OA. The empirical results based on data collected from 179 large organizations in Australia and New Zealand which have implemented and used ES for at least one year show that organisations can achieve agility out of their ES in two ways: by developing ES technical competences to build ES-enabled capabilities that digitise their key sensing and responding processes; and when ES-enabled sensing and responding capabilities are aligned in relatively turbulent environment.

Ž . The balanced scorecard BSC has emerged as a decision support tool at the strategic management level. Many business leaders now evaluate corporate performance by supplementing financial accounting data with goal-related measures from the following perspectives: customer, internal business process, and learning and growth. It is argued that the BSC concept can be adapted to assist those managing business functions, organizational units and individual projects. This article develops a Ž . balanced scorecard for information systems IS that measures and evaluates IS activities from the following perspectives: business value, user orientation, internal process, and future readiness. Case study evidence suggests that a balanced IS scorecard can be the foundation for a strategic IS management system provided that certain development guidelines are followed, appropriate metrics are identified, and key implementation obstacles are overcome. q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.


Question: An overview of clinical prediction models in medical decision-making.

This paper explores the challenge of the multiple instance problem, which emerges in scenarios where a single example object can be represented by various feature vectors (instances), but only one of these instances is responsible for the object's classification. We present and evaluate three distinct algorithms that utilize axis-parallel rectangles to tackle the multiple instance problem. It is shown that algorithms that overlook the multiple instance issue exhibit significantly lower performance. The algorithm that directly addresses the problem by identifying the crucial feature vectors that determine the object's classification outperforms others, achieving an impressive 89% accuracy in predicting musk odor. Additionally, the paper demonstrates the utility of synthetic data in the process of debugging and comparing these algorithms, highlighting the importance of such techniques in algorithmic development and analysis.

Graphical models bring together graph theory and probability theory in a powerful formalism for multivariate statistical modeling. In statistical signal processing— as well as in related fields such as communication theory, control theory and bioinformatics—statistical models have long been formulated in terms of graphs, and algorithms for computing basic statistical quantities such as likelihoods and marginal probabilities have often been expressed in terms of recursions operating on these graphs. Examples include hidden Markov models, Markov random fields, the forward-backward algorithm and Kalman filtering [ Rabiner and Juang (1993); Pearl (1988); Kailath et al. (2000)]. These ideas can be understood, unified and generalized within the formalism of graphical models. Indeed, graphical models provide a natural framework for formulating variations on these classical architectures, and for exploring entirely new families of statistical models. The recursive algorithms cited above are all instances of a general recursive algorithm known as the junction tree algorithm [ Lauritzen and Spiegelhalter, 1988]. The junction tree algorithm takes advantage of factorization properties of the joint probability distribution that are encoded by the pattern of missing edges in a graphical model. For suitably sparse graphs, the junction tree algorithm provides a systematic and practical solution to the general problem of computing likelihoods and other statistical quantities associated with a graphical model. Unfortunately, many graphical models of practical interest are not " suitably sparse, " so that the junction tree algorithm no longer provides a viable computational solution to the problem of computing marginal probabilities and other expectations. One popular source of methods for attempting to cope with such cases is the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) framework, and indeed there is a significant literature on

Depression is a complex clinical entity that can pose challenges for clinicians regarding both accurate diagnosis and effective timely treatment. These challenges have prompted the development of multiple machine learning methods to help improve the management of this disease. These methods utilize anatomical and physiological data acquired from neuroimaging to create models that can identify depressed patients vs. non-depressed patients and predict treatment outcomes. This article (1) presents a background on depression, imaging, and machine learning methodologies; (2) reviews methodologies of past studies that have used imaging and machine learning to study depression; and (3) suggests directions for future depression-related studies.

0950-5849/$ see front matter 2009 Elsevier B.V. A doi:10.1016/j.infsof.2009.11.005 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 (0) 1782 734090; E-mail address: m.turner@cs.keele.ac.uk (M. Turne Context: The technology acceptance model (TAM) was proposed in 1989 as a means of predicting technology usage. However, it is usually validated by using a measure of behavioural intention to use (BI) rather than actual usage. Objective: This review examines the evidence that the TAM predicts actual usage using both subjective and objective measures of actual usage. Method: We performed a systematic literature review based on a search of six digital libraries, along with vote-counting meta-analysis to analyse the overall results. Results: The search identified 79 relevant empirical studies in 73 articles. The results show that BI is likely to be correlated with actual usage. However, the TAM variables perceived ease of use (PEU) and perceived usefulness (PU) are less likely to be correlated with actual usage. Conclusion: Care should be taken using the TAM outside the context in which it has been validated. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evidence-based practice involves the use of evidence from systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials, but the extent of this evidence in physiotherapy has not previously been surveyed. The aim of this survey is to describe the quantity and quality of randomised controlled trials and the quantity of systematic reviews relevant to physiotherapy. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) was searched. The quality of trials was assessed with the PEDro scale. The search identified a total of 2,376 randomised controlled trials and 332 systematic reviews. The first trial was published in 1955 and the first review was published in 1982. Since that time, the number of trials and reviews has grown exponentially. The mean PEDro quality score has increased from 2.8 in trials published between 1955 and 1959 to 5.0 for trials published between 1995 and 1999. There is a substantial body of evidence about the effects of physiotherapy. However, there remains scope for improvements in the quality of the conduct and reporting of clinical trials.

Model selection strategies for machine learning algorithm s typically involve the numerical optimisation of an appropriate model selection criterion, ofte n based on an estimator of generalisation performance, such as k-fold cross-validation. The error of such an estimator can b e broken down into bias and variance components. While unbiasedness is oft en cited as a beneficial quality of a model selection criterion, we demonstrate that a low varian ce is at least as important, as a nonnegligible variance introduces the potential for over-fitt ing in model selection as well as in training the model. While this observation is in hindsight perhaps rat her obvious, the degradation in performance due to over-fitting the model selection criterion can b e surprisingly large, an observation that appears to have received little attention in the machine lea rning literature to date. In this paper, we show that the effects of this form of over-fitting are often of c mparable magnitude to differences in performance between learning algorithms, and thus canno t be ignored in empirical evaluation. Furthermore, we show that some common performance evaluati on practices are susceptible to a form of selection bias as a result of this form of over-fitting and hence are unreliable. We discuss methods to avoid over-fitting in model selection and sub sequent selection bias in performance evaluation, which we hope will be incorporated into best pra ctice. While this study concentrates on cross-validation based model selection, the findings are quit general and apply to any model selection practice involving the optimisation of a model se lection criterion evaluated over a finite sample of data, including maximisation of the Bayesian evid nce and optimisation of performance bounds.

WHAT IS DATA MINING? WHY DATA MINING? NEED FOR HUMAN DIRECTION OF DATA MINING CROSS-INDUSTRY STANDARD PROCESS: CRISP–DM CASE STUDY 1: ANALYZING AUTOMOBILE WARRANTY CLAIMS: EXAMPLE OF THE CRISP–DM INDUSTRY STANDARD PROCESS IN ACTION FALLACIES OF DATA MINING WHAT TASKS CAN DATA MINING ACCOMPLISH? CASE STUDY 2: PREDICTING ABNORMAL STOCK MARKET RETURNS USING NEURAL NETWORKS CASE STUDY 3: MINING ASSOCIATION RULES FROM LEGAL DATABASES CASE STUDY 4: PREDICTING CORPORATE BANKRUPTCIES USING DECISION TREES CASE STUDY 5: PROFILING THE TOURISM MARKET USING k-MEANS CLUSTERING ANALYSIS

Analysis of clinical records contributes to the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) experience expansion and techniques promotion. More than two diagnostic classes (diagnostic syndromes) in the clinical records raise a popular data mining problem: multi-value classification. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-class classifier, named Multiple Asymmetric Partial Least Squares Classifier (MAPLSC). MAPLSC attempts to be robust facing imbalanced data distribution in the multi-value classification. Elaborated comparisons with other seven state-of-the-art methods on two TCM clinical datasets and four public microarray datasets demonstrate MAPLSC's remarkable improvements.

Missing value imputation is one of the biggest tasks of data pre-processing when performing data mining. Most medical datasets are usually incomplete. Simply removing the incomplete cases from the original datasets can bring more problems than solutions. A suitable method for missing value imputation can help to produce good quality datasets for better analysing clinical trials. In this paper we explore the use of a machine learning technique as a missing value imputation method for incomplete cardiovascular data. Mean/mode imputation, fuzzy unordered rule induction algorithm imputation, decision tree imputation and other machine learning algorithms are used as missing value imputation and the final datasets are classified using decision tree, fuzzy unordered rule induction, KNN and K-Mean clustering. The experiment shows that final classifier performance is improved when the fuzzy unordered rule induction algorithm is used to predict missing attribute values for K-Mean clustering and in most cases, the machine learning techniques were found to perform better than the standard mean imputation technique.

Medical images are often used in clinical diagnosis. However, interpreting the insights gained from them is often a time-consuming task even for experts. For this reason, there is a need for methods that can automatically approximate the mapping from medical images to condensed textual descriptions. For identifying the presence of relevant biomedical concepts in medical images for the ImageCLEF 2017 Caption concept detection subtask we propose the use of a pretrained residual deep neural network. Specifically, a 50-layered resNet was used and retrained on the medical images. The proposed method achieved F1 Score 0.1583 on the test data.

The successful application of data mining in highly visible fields like e-business, marketing and retail have led to the popularity of its use in knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) in other industries and sectors. Among these sectors that are just discovering data mining are the fields of medicine and public health. This research paper provides a survey of current techniques of KDD, using data mining tools for healthcare and public health. It also discusses critical issues and challenges associated with data mining and healthcare in general. The research found a growing number of data mining applications, including analysis of health care centers for better health policy-making, detection of disease outbreaks and preventable hospital deaths, and detection of fraudulent insurance claims.