Editorial

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Volume 27, Issue 5.

It gives us great pleasure to welcome our readers to the fifth issue of the 27th volume of Journal Enterprise Information Management (JEIM), and to express our appreciation for the many papers that we continue to receive for peer review. The continuous pursuit of the journal's scope to promote theory and practice has led to an increase in submissions that has allowed us to further the quality of the journal and see healthy levels of citations. This issue incorporates excellent submissions that focus on providing pragmatic contributions to theory and practice.

The fifth issue of Volume 27 commences with a research paper by Manish Gupta, B. Chandra and M.P. Gupta, entitled “A framework of intelligent decision support system for Indian police”. The principal focus of this paper is to present an architecture for Intelligent Police Systems (IPS). This is a type of Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS) that is based on data mining and performance measurement techniques (Bhargava et al., 2007). Through this system, the authors attempt to fulfil the emerging responsibilities and task of the Indian Police Service who deal with a large volume of data and high crime rates that are unmatched to any police force of the world. This research is undertaken in line with the recent cases of terrorism in India (e.g. the Parliament Attack in 2001 and Bombay Terrorist Attack in 2008). These terrorism cases highlight the need for an intelligent police system that can counter such internal as well as external intimidations proactively and support the policing department to broadcast intelligence information more efficiently and effectively. In so doing, proposing an IPS will seek to meet emerging requirement and provide information at all levels of decision making by introducing a multilevel structure of user interface and crime analysis. The proposed framework of IPS is based on data mining and performance measurement techniques to extract valuable information (e.g. crime hot spots, foresee crime trends) and rank police administration departments on the basis of crime prevention measures. Some of the major findings of this research include:

• IPS has been implemented using original Indian crime data provided by National Crime Records Bureau, which exemplifies effectiveness and practicality of the proposed system; and

• IPS can play a dynamic role in refining different outcomes in relation to the crime investigation, criminal detection and other areas of functioning of police organisation by analysing the crime data and information sharing.

Then we have Michael Newby, ThuyUyen H. Nguyen and Teresa S. Waring presenting their research paper, entitled “Understanding customer relationship management technology adoption in small and medium-sized enterprises: an empirical study in the USA”. Customer relationship management (CRM) systems have the potential to deliver benefits to not only multinational and large enterprises but also small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Several studies focusing on CRM in SMEs have reported less success in terms of benefits realisation (e.g. Harrigan et al., 2009). The demand for CRM systems has grown as more organisations see the value of better customer relationships, customer knowledge and customer retention. Bull (2003) argues that if SMEs are to successfully adopt and implement CRM technology, it is vital to understand their specific requirements as this is where differentiation can be sought. Literature indicates that the CRM systems adoption process in SMEs is an under-researched area (as also supported by Wahlberg et al., 2009). This research paper, therefore, contributes by extending knowledge and offering greater understanding of the CRM systems adoption process through an empirical study in the US region. In doing so, the authors initially:

• investigate management-related characteristics towards their perception on CRM systems and the effects on the likelihood of CRM systems being adopted; and

• thereafter, examining the organisational characteristics related to CRM systems implementation in manufacturing, retail and services sectors.

The findings specify that management traits considerably influence an organisation's perception of CRM systems, explicitly, innovativeness and positive attitude towards CRM. Through the use of a Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) model to understand the adoption process through the stages of perception, likelihood of adoption and extend of implementation, an organisation should evaluate its organisational characteristics before adopting CRM systems. Conversely, management irrespective of gender, age or education level needs to be supportive, innovative and have a positive attitude towards the new IT application, as positive view will likely lead to decision to adopt.

Thereafter, we have a paper by Cigdem Kadaifci and Ahmet Can Kutlu, entitled “Analyzing critical success factors of total quality management by using Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping”. In this paper, Cigdem and Ahmet highlight that total quality management (TQM) is a process that supports customer satisfaction through enhancing products, processes and services. Organisations employ TQM to increase profits, market share and competitiveness, and to be able to respond to ever-changing global changes. Loukis et al. (2009) examine the moderating effects of TQM with business process reengineering on the business value generated from firms through their Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) investment. A number of researchers assert that TQM implementation is an intricate process that is affected by several Critical Success Factors (CSFs) such as top management support, customer focus, information and analysis, training, supplier management, strategic planning, employee involvement, process management, etc. (Chen and Chen, 2009). This paper seeks to analyse the relationships between CSFs of TQM through Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs). FCM are fuzzy-graph structures for representing causal reasoning (Bueno and Salmeron, 2009). In this paper, FCM analysis demonstrates the most affecting and affected factors that influence a successful TQM implementation. Utilising the dynamic interrelationships between CSFs, the proposed FCM methodology provides new insights to the existing empirical TQM literature in identifying the CSFs since none of the studies consider both factor interrelations and fuzzy and dynamic approach together. One of the key findings of the study is “Top Management Commitment and Leadership” and “Strategic Planning” factors are found as the most influencing factors influencing the successful TQM implementation.

Hsin Chen, Anastasia Papazafeiropoulou, Ta-Kang Chen, Yanqing Duan and Hsiu-Wen Liu, presenting research entitled “Exploring the commercial value of social networks: enhancing consumers’ brand experience through Facebook pages”. Many organisations are using social network sites and their fan pages to market their brands and products; however, limited academic research has been carried out to understand how to improve consumers’ brand experience through social network pages. Only limited research studies have pointed out how the online community enhances brand equity by improving brand Word-of-Mouth (e.g. McAlexander et al., 2002; Hoeffler and Keller, 2002; Dwyer et al., 2007; Adjei et al., 2010). This research paper considers that determining:

• how to operate brand communities on Facebook;

• how to improve the relationship with customers through the Facebook page platform; and

• the reasons affecting customers’ intention to use the brand's Facebook pages are very important issues for companies.

Tsai (2005) argues that to improve customer experience, brands need to manage their media image through interaction with the media and customer. According to Barwise and Meehan's (2010), Facebook could help brands to disseminate Word-of-Mouth, whether positive or negative, with amazing speed. In doing so, this research paper aims to understand the factors influencing consumers’ willingness to utilise company Facebook pages and electronic Word-of-Mouth by proposing and testing a conceptual framework. This conceptual framework is inspired by theories in marketing and the information systems fields. The authors argue that only through applying both latter theories will a deeper understanding of the relationship between brand experience and Facebook be understood. The proposed research model attempts to illustrate factors according to customers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and their impact on brand experience, brand Facebook page loyalty and electronic Word-of-Mouth.

The above social network study is followed by a survey based research by Sedigheh Moghavvemi and Noor Akma Mohd Salleh, entitled “Effect of precipitating events on information system adoption and use behaviour”. This research paper criticises the extant research related to IS adoption behaviour. It states that most of the existing models and frameworks do not accurately capture the effect of external factors (i.e. unforeseen events) of individual intention that may inhibit the adoption and implementation of IS. This study draws upon the IS adoption and entrepreneurship literature to link the determinants, intention to use and the use of IS adoption by entrepreneurs. Additionally, this study examines the role of the volitional aspect of an entrepreneur's behaviour on the intention to use IS, and the effect of the precipitating events on the relationship between the intention and use behaviour. This volitional aspect of an entrepreneur's behaviour is known as the propensity to use by entrepreneurs, whereby entrepreneurs are deemed susceptible in their decision to adopt and use IS (Krueger, 1993; Krueger and Brazeal, 1994). Understanding the impact of volitional aspect may assist entrepreneurs in evaluating their prior intention before adopting IS, which translates into active usage. In order to validate the conceptual findings, the authors conducted a longitudinal study with entrepreneurs from the Malaysian SMEs. The questionnaire distributed in two phases, such as:

• in the first phase, a total of 1,200 questionnaires were distributed from which 640 responses were received – corresponding to a rate of 53.3 per cent; and

• in the second phase, e-mails and phone calls were utilised to distribute 602 questionnaires.

The final number of respondents corresponding to this study is a total of 329 respondents for both phases of field survey. The findings of this study suggest that performance expectancy and the propensity to act are the determinants of behavioural intention to adopt and use IS innovation by entrepreneurs.

Then we have Goutam Kumar Kundu and Jayachandra Bairi with their research paper, entitled “A scale for measuring the applicability of lean practices in IT support services”. Considering the influence that lean practices can have in the IT support service workplace, academics and practitioners have demonstrated an increasing interest in measuring them and henceforth there is a need for a reliable and valid measurement scale (Womack and Jones, 2003; Bicheno, 2004; Petersson et al., 2010). The authors, thus, aim to make a primary contribution to the area of applicability of lean practices in IT support services by developing and empirically validating an instrument to measure the perception of IT support service practitioners towards the applicability of the lean practice. The focus of the research is to collect data from the practitioners regarding the applicability of the lean practices and this involves the development of an instrument to capture the perceptions of the practitioners. Nevertheless, having found no existing instrument that can be used for the current research purpose; the authors have undertaken the task of developing a new instrument. It is useful to reiterate the purpose of developing the instrument:

• to collect quantitative data about the implementation of lean related practices in IT support services organisation; and

• to collect quantitative data about the ideal level of implementation from the practitioners’ perspectives.

As a result of the empirical research, this study offers a sound scale that assesses the perception of IT support service professionals about the applicability of lean practice, including resulting in a state-of-the-art description of the variables. By further scale development, the scales were found to demonstrate high degree of unidimensionality, reliability and validity.

Following the above paper on IT support service, we have another research paper by Abhishek Narain Singh, M.P. Gupta and Amitabh Ojha, entitled “Identifying factors of ‘Organizational Information Security Management’”. This research reports that the ever-increasing reliance of businesses on information and other vital organisational information resources has developed a serious need for enhanced information security. The global competitiveness and rapid technological developments are considered as external intimidations to organisational information resources. Despite the availability of state-of-the-art technological solutions, information security incidents still occur representing a stern challenge for organisations (von Solms and von Solms, 2004; Ruighaver et al., 2007) and this has led practitioners and scholars to realise the relevance of management and behavioural aspects of information security. In this context, the authors that explore information security challenges are doing so not merely around a technical domain, rather, the management and behavioural aspects also represent a fundamental area of academic challenge for organisations. The authors suggest that a synthesis exercise is required to bring clarity on categorising the issues of organisational Information Security Management (ISM) in order to take forward the research challenge. This paper, therefore, aims to identify management factors that address organisational information security challenges and statistically validate them. To achieve the latter objective, multilevel methodological approach was adopted:

• first, keyword analysis (Emrouznejad et al., 2008; Kevork and Vrechopoulos, 2009) was conducted to identify the key organizational factors highlighted in the information security literature; and

• second, inputs were taken from 24 experts (12 from industry, seven from academia and five from government agencies) to further strengthen and cross-validate the identified key areas of organisational ISM.

This paper categorises various organisational ISM functions into ten factors. Spanning across three levels (i.e. strategic, tactical and operational); these factors cover various management issues of organisational ISM.

Finally, Paul Glowalla and Ali Sunyaev present their paper, entitled “ERP system fit – an explorative task and data quality perspective”. According to Haug et al. (2011) data quality management (DQM) is fundamental to ascertain and alleviate poor data quality as well as related direct and hidden costs. Fehrenbacher and Helfert (2012) also argued that data quality is highly context dependent and root causes of visible data quality issues should be examined. A number of manufacturing and service sector organisations have employed Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to automate their operations (e.g. Botta-Genoulaz and Millet, 2006; Glowalla and Sunyaev, 2012). The authors in this research focus on ERP systems’ use in the service sector from a data quality perspective. Essentially, Paul and Ali aim to expedite our understanding of ERP system and data quality interdependency by presenting ERP systems’ use within DQM. In doing so, they address the research gap with the following research question:

• how are ERP systems used within DQM to provide a data quality fit for tasks within the insurance sector?

To respond to the above research question, the authors apply task technology fit (TTF) theory in an explorative study, conducting semi-structured expert interviews with participants in IT-strategic decision making. Through this empirical research, the authors show that ERP systems have an impact on data quality beyond its typically examined functionality.

We would very much like to thank all our contributors for their excellent high-quality contributions to this regular issue and hope JEIM readers will find the submissions stimulating, original and valuable.

Zahir Irani and Muhammad Mustafa Kamal

References

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Barwise, P. and Meehan, S. (2010), “The one thing you must get right when building a brand”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 88 No. 12, pp. 80-84

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Bicheno, J. (2004), The New Lean Toolbox, Picsie Books, Buckingham

Botta-Genoulaz, V. and Millet, P.-A. (2006), “An investigation into the use of ERP systems in the service sector”, International Journal of Production Economics, Vol. 99 Nos 1/2, pp. 202-221

Bueno, S. and Salmeron, J.L. (2009), “Benchmarking main activation functions in Fuzzy Cognitive Maps 2”, Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 5221-5229

Bull, C. (2003), “Strategic issues in customer relationship management (CRM) implementation”, Business Process Management Journal, Vol. 9 No. 5, pp. 592-602

Chen, J.-K. and Chen, I.-S. (2009), “TQM measurement model for the biotechnology industry in Taiwan”, Expert Systems with Applications, Vol. 36 No. 5, pp. 8789-8798

Dwyer, C., Hiltz, S. and Passerini, K. (2007), “Trust and privacy concern within social networking sites: a comparison of Facebook & Myspace”, Proceedings of the 13th Americas Conference on Information Systems, Keystone, CO, 9-12 August

Emrouznejad, A., Parker, B.R. and Tavares, G. (2008), “Evaluation of research in efficiency and productivity: a survey and analysis of the first 30 years of scholarly literature in DEA”, Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Vol. 42 No. 3, pp. 151-157

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Hoeffler, S. and Keller, K.L. (2002), “Building brand equity through corporate societal marketing”, Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, Vol. 21 No. 1, pp. 78-89

Kevork, E.K. and Vrechopoulos, A.P. (2009), “CRM literature: conceptual and functional insights by keyword analysis”, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 48-85

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Loukis, E., Pazalos, K. and Georgiou, S. (2009), “An empirical investigation of the moderating effects of BPR and TQM on ICT business value”, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 22 No. 5, pp. 564-586

McAlexander, J.H., Schouten, J.W. and Koenig, H.F. (2002), “Building brand community”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 66 No. 1, pp. 38-54

Petersson, P., Johansson, O., Broman, M., Blucher, D. and Alsterman, H. (2010), Lean-Turn Deviations into Success, Part Media, Gronviksvagen, Bromma

Ruighaver, A.B., Maynard, S.B. and Chang, S. (2007), “Organizational security culture: extending the end-user perspective”, Computers & Security, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 56-62

Tsai, S.P. (2005), “Integrated marketing as management of holistic consumer experience”, Business Horizons, Vol. 48 No. 5, pp. 431-441

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Wahlberg, O., Strandberg, C., Sundberg, H. and Sendberg, K. (2009), “Trends, topics and under-researched areas in CRM research”, International Journal of Public Information Systems, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 191-208

Womack, J.P. and Jones, D.T. (2003), Lean Thinking, Free Press, New York, NY

Further reading

Haug, A. and Arlbjørn, J.S. (2011), “Barriers to master data quality”, Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 288-303