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Business Dynamics in Information Technology PDF

382 Pages·2007·5.075 MB·English
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i Business Dynamics in Information Technology Petter Gottschalk Norwegian School of Management, Norway IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING Hershey • London • Melbourne • Singapore ii Acquisitions Editor: Kristin Klinger Development Editor: Kristin Roth Senior Managing Editor: Jennifer Neidig Managing Editor: Sara Reed Assistant Managing Editor: Sharon Berger Copy Editor: Killian Piraro Typesetter: Amanda Appicello Cover Design: Lisa Tosheff Printed at: Yurchak Printing Inc. Published in the United States of America by Idea Group Publishing (an imprint of Idea Group Inc.) 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200 Hershey PA 17033-1240 Tel: 717-533-8845 Fax: 717-533-8661 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.idea-group.com and in the United Kingdom by Idea Group Publishing (an imprint of Idea Group Inc.) 3 Henrietta Street Covent Garden London WC2E 8LU Tel: 44 20 7240 0856 Fax: 44 20 7379 0609 Web site: http://www.eurospanonline.com Copyright © 2007 by Idea Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without written permission from the publisher. Product or company names used in this book are for identification purposes only. Inclusion of the names of the products or companies does not indicate a claim of ownership by IGI of the trademark or registered trademark. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gottschalk, Petter, 1950- Business dynamics in information technology / Petter Gottschalk. p. cm. Summary: “This book presents business-technology alignment processes, interaction processes, and deci- sion making processes, in order to help the reader study information technology from a dynamic, rather than a static, perspective. By introducing two simple tools from system dynamic modeling - causal loops and refer- ence modes - the dynamic perspective will become important to both students and practitioners”--Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-59904-429-3 (hardcover) -- ISBN 1-59904-430-7 (softcover) -- ISBN 978-1-59904-431-6 (ebook) 1. Information technology--Management. 2. Information resources management. 3. Industrial management-- Technological innovations. 4. Electronic commerce. I. Title. HD30.2.G672 2007 658.4’038--dc22 2006033761 British Cataloguing in Publication Data A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library. All work contributed to this book is new, previously-unpublished material. The views expressed in this book are those of the authors, but not necessarily of the publisher. iii Business Dynamics in Information Technology Table of Contents Forewords ..............................................................................................vi Preface .....................................................................................................x Chapter I. Resource-Based Theory of the Firm ..................................1 Organizational Resources ...............................................................2 Capabilities and Resources .............................................................4 Strategic Resources .........................................................................6 Slack Resources .............................................................................11 Firm Boundaries ...........................................................................13 Activity-Based Theory of the Firm ................................................14 Information Technology Resources ...............................................16 Characteristics of Value Configurations .......................................21 Comparison of Value Configurations ............................................28 Chapter II. Organizational Business Dynamics ................................32 Dynamic Business Performance ...................................................33 Causal Loop Diagramming...........................................................35 System Dynamics Modeling ..........................................................38 Organizational Performance ........................................................40 Chapter III. Information Technology Governance ...........................45 Dynamics of IT Principles.............................................................48 Dynamics of IT Infrastructures .....................................................50 Dynamics of IT Architectures ........................................................52 Dynamics of IT Applications .........................................................54 Dynamics of IT Investments ..........................................................56 IT Governance Capability .............................................................58 iv Chapter IV. Dynamics of E-Business Infrastructure ........................62 Electronic Business Models ..........................................................67 Determining Appropriate Models .................................................78 Infrastructure Capabilities ............................................................84 Infrastructure Dynamics ...............................................................92 Strategic Agility.............................................................................94 Chapter V. Dynamics of Knowledge Management Systems ...........103 Characteristics of Knowledge .....................................................104 Knowledge Value Level ...............................................................109 Identification of Knowledge Needs .............................................111 Knowledge Categories ................................................................112 Knowledge Management Systems ...............................................121 Knowledge Technology Stages ....................................................125 Stages of Growth Models ............................................................126 The KMT Stage Model ................................................................132 Technology Stage Dynamics .......................................................144 Chapter VI. Dynamics of Outsourcing Relationships ....................153 Agency Theory ............................................................................154 Partnership and Alliance Theory ................................................157 Relational Exchange Theory .......................................................161 Partnership Quality Determinants ..............................................166 Partnership Quality Dynamics ...................................................171 Chapter VII. Corporate Strategic Management .............................174 Strategic Planning ......................................................................176 The Y Model for Strategy Work ...................................................193 Resource-Based Strategy ............................................................196 Activity-Based Strategy ...............................................................199 Strategic Alignment .....................................................................201 Strategic Management Dynamics ...............................................205 Chapter VIII. Dynamics of CIO Performance ................................209 The Chief Information Officer .....................................................210 The Chief Executive Officer ........................................................216 The CEO-CIO Relationship ........................................................218 Business Dynamics for Executive Performance .........................220 Changing Role of CIO to CEO ...................................................221 v Chapter IX. Knowledge Business Examples ...................................230 Dynamics of Law Firm Performance ..........................................230 Dynamics of Police Investigation Performance .........................252 Dynamics of E-Business Knowledge ...........................................271 Dynamics of Outsourcing Knowledge .........................................303 Chapter X. Conclusion ......................................................................352 About the Authors ..............................................................................356 Index ....................................................................................................358 vi Forewords Interactions between organizational performance and information technology create dynamics over time. Some of these dynamics are counterintuitive and surprising to management. Some of these dynamics have a spiraling effect of information technology that can cause not only exponential growth and prosperity, but also decline and collapse. Understanding the dynamics is es- sential to successful information technology management. In my own research, I have found several factors in the work practice that can cause new information systems to fail rather than succeed. One factor is territory guarding between different value areas and between operational organization structures. Another factor is legal obstacles. Territory guarding between different initiatives for organizational development in combination with legal obstacles is also decreasing the possibility to develop information technology systems that are useful to the workplace. Instead of implemented IT systems, development work has often resulted in visions on paper. According to the sociotechnical tradition, system development should not only be focused on the technology but also take into account organizational and human needs. It is important that information technology affects the work place in such a way that it will contribute to a thought-through and planned development of the work practice. System and work practice must be studied together. Toward the end of this book, dynamics of police investigation performance is presented as an example of organizational dynamics. Decisions made by the police are often based on information from IT systems. My research shows that important work practice knowledge is filtered out by the IT systems. Information technology people usually have a great influence on the deci- vii sions taken concerning the development of IT systems, which means that there often is much focus on technical questions. The technical demands, rather than the core activity, form the central issues. This is what makes this book so important. Only by increased insight into the use of information technology in supporting organizational activity over time will management be able to make smarter decisions. Understanding how executives themselves influence and are part of the dynamics will further enhance the chances of success. From action research it becomes clear that conflicts easily arise among employees who have a floor perspective and those who have a managerial perspective. Employees who have a floor perspective must dare to get into conflicts with management. In a large number of interviews that were carried out throughout Sweden, police officers pointed out factors that are negative influences on their working performance. Based on these interviews I com- piled a list over the mentioned factors and divided them into nine categories. The first category was discontent of present management—the way the organization is run and work practice follow-ups. Management has a lot to learn from this book, to avoid IT systems contributing to a counterproductive work practice, and to enable information technology to create successful business dynamics. Stefan Holgersson, PhD Police Officer, Stockholm Police, Sweden * * * In this book, Petter Gottschalk gives a rich analysis and description of the role of IT in business dynamics, derived from both his wealth of experience as an IT and corporate executive in several organizations as well as his aca- demic research and teaching position, which enable reflection on and the incorporation of current scientific insights in the field. The book attempts to give answers to questions such as what makes infor- mation technology management successful in business, how one can avoid failures of the application of IT in business, and how can we apply systems methodology, and more specifically system dynamics, in the understanding of such issues. The book examines step-by-step, logically and exhaustively, a wide variety of relevant processes and elements that are put in a strategic, systems, and viii governance perspective. However, not only an exhaustive analysis is made. Without an integrating approach it is hardly comprehensible to grasp the elements and their interactions in such a way that the reader is able to apply those in his own management or business environment. It is here that Petter Gottschalk has introduced a systems approach, which interlinks these ele- ments. A red thread through the book is the concept of systems thinking, whereby simultaneous stimuli and processes unroll and show certain different behav- iors depending on the system structure and the role of IT in the management of organizations. This integrative and descriptive systems approach proclaims a novel way to management sciences in information technology applied in business dynamics. Business dynamics in information technology can now be seen as one of the major fields of the application of system dynamics. System dynamics is used as a methodology for analyzing, describing, and un- derstanding systems behavior, and the book succeeds in classifying different settings that cause different outcomes, explaining the role of stakeholders in obtaining more successful outcomes and survival strategies of businesses. The different facets and dynamic interactions described in this book are extremely useful for management information professionals, general management and business schools, and universities that teach information technology-related management sciences and skills. System dynamics was founded in the early 1960s by Jay W. Forrester of the MIT Sloan School of Management, with the establishment of the MIT System Dynamics Group, which is still leading in the field. At that time, he began applying what he had learned about technical systems to everyday kinds of systems, such as several societal systems. The difference to other approaches of studying complex systems is the use of feedback loops and conceptual tools, which assist in the final formal mathematical modeling. Since then, system dynamics has been applied for the purpose of understand- ing the behavior of complex systems in disciplines such as demographics, environmental sciences, and economics. Although the book does not explain the actual formal mathematical modeling, it gives a valuable step up for the first phases one has to go through before the actual mathematical modeling for making simulations and studying behavior, robustness, tactics, and the like. ix I take this opportunity to share some of my own experience. From the year at the System Dynamics Group at Dartmouth College in the U.S., where I had the pleasure to work with Petter Gottschalk on several projects in which system dynamics was applied, I remember the discussions we had with one of the prominent advocates of system dynamics, Dana Meadows, who sadly has passed away. At that time, the late seventies, the implications of the intro- duction of information technology in society was hardly felt or understood. However, we developed a strong notion that IT would have a tremendous impact on society and would lead to trend shifts that were hard to predict. At that time, mainly linear models and regression techniques were en vogue. With the compilation of this book, I am delighted to see how much technol- ogy and systems understanding have been developed since then. The book represents another milestone in the application of system dynam- ics in such an important and relatively new field as business dynamics in information technology. Although I have been involved in the scientific re- search and application of system dynamics only a short period of time, and my professional focus has moved into business development of high-tech companies and research projects in life sciences, I still feel the richness of the system dynamics experience, which I still apply in my profession in ba- sically the same way as described in this book—namely, in terms of causal loops and reference modes. Though not mainly in information technology, I do frequently apply system dynamics thinking in the identification, selection, and development of new technologies that are suitable for further development into high-tech busi- ness enterprises. My work concerns combinations of various high-quality technologies that lead to solutions for which market demand exists. In my consulting and business development work I find that the complexity of factors and their interactions play a role that is nicely suited for system dy- namics modeling. With the step-by-step and comprehensive approach presented in this book and the cases that illustrate the systems approach, I recommend the book for information technology managers, researchers, policy makers, and system dynamics professionals alike. Rob Tweehuysen Tweehuysen BV, the Netherlands www.tweehuysen.nl x Preface Emerging business models, value configurations, and information technolo- gies interact over time to create competitive advantage. Modern information technology has to be studied, understood, and applied along the time dimen- sion of months and years, where changes are the rule. Such changes created by interactions between business elements and resources are very well suited for system dynamics modeling. System dynamics models represent a frame- work for understanding both successful and unsuccessful IT management over time. Systems dynamics simulations provide insights into the important interactions between IT investments and firm performance over time. So many organizations fail in their applications of modern information technology. An important reason for such failure is the lack of understand- ing of relationships between corporate management and IT management. Relationships between corporate and IT management are not static. Rather, they evolve over time, creating growth or decline in firm performance. The objective of this book is to integrate systems dynamics modeling and IT management to provide a framework for understanding relationships and interactions between business and technology over time. The most important consequence of this approach to the topic of IT man- agement is that our understanding shifts from event-oriented and sequential management thinking to feedback-oriented and parallel management think- ing. The event-oriented thinking is illustrated in Figure 1. Here management discovers a gap between current and desired business situation, leading to decisions, actions, and results. The feedback-oriented thinking is illustrated in Figure 2. Here management decision-making is part of the business dynamics.

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