Business value of big data analytics: A systems-theoretic approach and empirical test

2020 | Information & Management | Citations: 0

Authors: Dong, John Qi; Yang, Chia-Han

Abstract: Although big data analytics have been widely considered a key driver of marketin ... Expand

Abstract: Although big data analytics have been widely considered a key driver of marketing and innovation processes, whether and how big data analytics create business value has not been fully understood and empirically validated at a large scale. Taking social media analytics as an example, this paper is among the first attempts to theoretically explain and empirically test the market performance impact of big data analytics. Drawing on the systems theory, we explain how and why social media analytics create super-additive value through the synergies in functional complementarity between social media diversity for gathering big data from diverse social media channels and big data analytics for analyzing the gathered big data. Furthermore, we deepen our theorizing by considering the difference between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large firms in the required integration effort that enables the synergies of social media diversity and big data analytics. In line with this theorizing, we empirically test the synergistic effect of social media diversity and big data analytics by using a recent large-scale survey data set from 18,816 firms in Italy. We find that social media diversity and big data analytics have a positive interaction effect on market performance, which is more salient for SMEs than for large firms. Collapse

Topics: big data social media social media analytics value creation organizational value

Methods: survey theory development cross sectional research structural equation modeling econometric modeling

Theories: general systems theory

Putting Question-Answering Systems into Practice: Transfer Learning for Efficient Domain Customization

2019 | ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Kratzwald, Bernhard; Feuerriegel, Stefan

Abstract: Traditional information retrieval (such as that offered by web search engines) i ... Expand

Abstract: Traditional information retrieval (such as that offered by web search engines) impedes users with information overload from extensive result pages and the need to manually locate the desired information therein. Conversely, question-answering systems change how humans interact with information systems: users can now ask specific questions and obtain a tailored answer—both conveniently in natural language. Despite obvious benefits, their use is often limited to an academic context, largely because of expensive domain customizations, which means that the performance in domain-specific applications often fails to meet expectations. This article proposes cost-efficient remedies: (i) we leverage metadata through a filtering mechanism, which increases the precision of document retrieval, and (ii) we develop a novel fuse-and-oversample approach for transfer learning to improve the performance of answer extraction. Here, knowledge is inductively transferred from related, yet different, tasks to the domain-specific application, while accounting for potential differences in the sample sizes across both tasks. The resulting performance is demonstrated with actual use cases from a finance company and the film industry, where fewer than 400 question-answer pairs had to be annotated to yield significant performance gains. As a direct implication to management, this presents a promising path to better leveraging of knowledge stored in information systems. Collapse

Topics: information retrieval domain-specific language knowledge sharing Wikipedia open source

Methods: experiment deep learning artificial neural network question answering term frequency–inverse document frequency

Does CEO's IT Knowledge Matter? An Empirical Analysis of Earnings Conference Calls

2015 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Wu, Weifang; Zheng, Rong

Abstract: We study the impact of Chief Executive Officer (CEO)’s IT knowledge on firm perf ... Expand

Abstract: We study the impact of Chief Executive Officer (CEO)’s IT knowledge on firm performance by leveraging the knowledge-based view and the influence of top management. We take an innovative approach by examining CEO’s conversation with financial analysts and investors in the earnings conference calls, which are considered as the biggest information event for listed companies. We measure CEO’s IT knowledge by counting the amount of IT discussions in the CEO’s answers to IT-related questions at the conference calls. The results show a positive relationship between CEO’s IT knowledge and firm performance. The findings will have clear and high contributions to the core IS literature of business value of IT by explicitly studying the role of top executives in IT success. Collapse

Topics: IT skill organizational productivity information technology capability Chief Information Officer IS success

Methods: Compustat qualitative interview robustness check descriptive statistic statistical hypothesis test

Theories: knowledge based theory of the firm

AUTONOMIC MANAGEMENT OF SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE SYSTEMS WITH MULTIPLE QUALITY OF SERVICE CLASSES

2012 | European Conference On Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Brandt, Tobias; Tian, Ye; Hedwig, Markus; Neumann, Dirk

Abstract: In recent years the emergence of Software as a Service (SaaS) provision and clou ... Expand

Abstract: In recent years the emergence of Software as a Service (SaaS) provision and cloud computing in general had a tremendous impact on corporate information technology. While the implementation and successful operation of powerful information systems continues to be a cornerstone of success in modern enterprises, the ability to acquire IT infrastructure, software, or platforms on a pay-as-you-go basis has opened a new avenue for optimizing operational costs and processes. In this context we target elastic SaaS systems with on-demand cloud resource provisioning and implement an autonomic management artifact. Our framework forecasts future user behavior based on historic data, analyzes the impact of different workload levels on system performance based on a non-linear performance model, analyzes the economic impact of different provisioning strategies, derives an optimal operation strategy, and automatically assigns requests from users belonging to different Quality of Service (QoS) classes to the appropriate server instances. More generally, our artifact optimizes IT system operation based on a holistic evaluation of key aspects of service operation (e.g., system usage patterns, system performance, Service Level Agreements). The evaluation of our prototype, based on a real production system workload trace, indicates a cost-of-operation reduction by up to 60 percent without compromising QoS requirements. Collapse

Topics: IT productivity cloud computing software as a service enterprise information system information technology operation

Methods: case study computational algorithm literature study design artifact

EFFICIENT AND FLEXIBLE MANAGEMENT OF ENTERPRISE INFORMATION SYSTEMS

2012 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Hedwig, Markus; Malkowski, Simon; Neumann, Dirk

Abstract: The growing awareness of the substantial environmental footprint of Information ... Expand

Abstract: The growing awareness of the substantial environmental footprint of Information System has increasingly focused corporate transformation efforts on the efficient usage of Information Technology. In this context, we provide a new concept to enterprise IS operation and introduce a novel adaptation framework that harmonizes operational requirements with efficiency goals. We concretely target elastic n-tier applications with dynamic on-demand resource provisioning for component servers and implement an adaptation engine prototype. Our framework forecasts future user behavior, analyzes the impact of workload on system performance, evaluates the economic impact of different provisioning strategies, and derives an optimal operation strategy. More generally, our adaptation engine optimizes IT system operation based on a holistic evaluation of the key factors of influence. In the evaluation, we systematically investigate practicability, optimization potential, as well as effectiveness. Additionally, we show that our framework allows flexible IS operation with up to a 40 percent lower cost of operation. Collapse

Topics: systems operations IT productivity enterprise information system cloud computing information technology operation

Methods: design artifact longitudinal research time series analysis literature study machine learning

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET? A COMPARISON OF THEORETICAL LENSES TO STUDY TECHNOLOGY IN ORGANIZATIONS

2012 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Mueller, Benjamin; Raeth, Philip

Abstract: This paper investigates how the application of different theoretical lenses impa ... Expand

Abstract: This paper investigates how the application of different theoretical lenses impacts theorizing on technology in organizations. Based on a case study of a corporate Wiki introduction, three theoretical lenses are applied as sensitizing devices: a process theoretical analysis based on the Enterprise Systems Experience Cycle (Markus and Tanis 2000), a structurational analysis based on technologies-in-practice (Orlikowski 2000), and a sociomaterial analysis based on the mangle of practice (Pickering 1995). The authors reflect upon their own experiences in applying these and present a comparison of their observations. In doing so, the paper identifies and analyzes five emergent issues in theorizing across the three lenses: the role and nature of technology, technological change, changing practice, organizational change, and understanding stability. Similarities and differences among these three lenses are discussed and conclusions are drawn with respect to how what we as researchers see through our theoretical lenses determines what we will get in terms of theories. The paper thus presents other researchers with an opportunity to reflect upon the authors’ experiences and supports the choice of an appropriate theoretical lens for studying technology in organizations. Collapse

Topics: wiki intranet technological change organizational change organization structure

Methods: theory development field study case study qualitative interview synthesis

Theories: sociomaterialism theory structuration theory

Dynamic Service Level Agreement Management for Efficient Operation of Elastic Information Systems

2011 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 1

Authors: Hedwig, Markus; Malkowski, Simon; Neumann, Dirk

Abstract: The growing awareness that effective Information Systems (IS), which contribute ... Expand

Abstract: The growing awareness that effective Information Systems (IS), which contribute to sustainable business processes, secure a long-lasting competitive advantage has increasingly focused corporate transformation efforts on the efficient usage of Information Technology (IT). In this context, we provide a new perspective on the management of enterprise information systems and introduce a novel framework that harmonizes economic and operational goals. Concretely, we target elastic n-tier applications with dynamic on-demand cloud resource provisioning. We design and implement a novel integrated management model for information systems that induces economic influence factors into the operation strategy to adapt the performance goals of an enterprise information system dynamically (i.e., online at runtime). Our framework forecasts future user behavior based on historic data, analyzes the impact of workload on system performance based on a non-linear performance model, analyzes the economic impact of different provisioning strategies, and derives an optimal operation strategy. The evaluation of our prototype, based on a real production system workload trace, is carried out in a custom test infrastructure (i.e., cloud testbed, n-tier benchmark application, distributed monitors, and control framework), which allows us to evaluate our approach in depth, in terms of efficiency along the entire SLA lifetime. Based on our thorough evaluation, we are able to make concise recommendations on how to use our framework effectively in further research and practice. Collapse

Topics: cloud computing enterprise information system IT productivity infrastructure as a service database system

Methods: literature study computational algorithm optimization model design artifact economic model

Collaborative management of business metadata

2011 | International Journal of Information Management | Citations: 3

Authors: Hüner, Kai M.; Otto, Boris; Österle, Hubert

Abstract: Legal provisions, cross-company data exchange and intra-company reporting or pla ... Expand

Abstract: Legal provisions, cross-company data exchange and intra-company reporting or planning procedures require comprehensively, timely, unambiguously and understandably specified business objects (e.g. materials, customers, and suppliers). On the one hand, this business metadata has to cover miscellaneous regional peculiarities in order to enable business activities anywhere in the world. On the other hand, data structures need to be standardized throughout the entire company in order to be able to perform global spend analysis, for example. In addition, business objects should adapt to new market conditions or regulatory requirements as quickly and consistently as possible. Centrally organized corporate metadata managers (e.g. within a central IT department) are hardly able to meet all these demands. They should be supported by key users from several business divisions and regions, who contribute expert knowledge. However, despite the advantages regarding high metadata quality on a corporate level, a collaborative metadata management approach of this kind has to ensure low effort for knowledge contributors as in most cases these regional or divisional experts do not benefit from metadata quality themselves. Therefore, the paper at hand identifies requirements to be met by a business metadata repository, which is a tool that can effectively support collaborative management of business metadata. In addition, the paper presents the results of an evaluation of these requirements with business experts from various companies and of scenario tests with a wiki-based prototype at the company Bayer CropScience AG. The evaluation shows two things: First, collaboration is a success factor when it comes to establishing effective business metadata management and integrating metadata with enterprise systems, and second, semantic wikis are well suited to realizing business metadata repositories. Collapse

Topics: wiki usability Wikipedia user interface enterprise information system

Methods: design artifact focus group qualitative interview survey business process modeling

Taming Energy Costs of Large Enterprise Systems Through Adaptive Provisioning

2009 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 10

Authors: Hedwig, Markus; Malkowski, Simon; Neumann, Dirk

Abstract: One of the most pressing concerns in modern datacenter management is the rising ... Expand

Abstract: One of the most pressing concerns in modern datacenter management is the rising cost of operation. Therefore, reducing variable expense, such as energy cost, has become a number one priority. However, reducing energy cost in large distributed enterprise system is an open research topic. These systems are commonly subjected to highly volatile workload processes and characterized by complex performance dependencies. This paper explicitly addresses this challenge and presents a novel approach to Taming Energy Costs of Larger Enterprise Systems (Tecless). Our adaptive provisioning methodology combines a low-level technical perspective on distributed systems with a high-level treatment of workload processes. More concretely, Tecless fuses an empirical bottleneck detection model with a statistical workload prediction model. Our methodology forecasts the system load online, which enables on-demand infrastructure adaption while continuously guaranteeing quality of service. In our analysis we show that the prediction of future workload allows adaptive provisioning with a power saving potential of up 25 percent of the total energy cost. Collapse

Topics: enterprise information system database system Wikipedia computer hardware IT productivity

Methods: time series analysis longitudinal research experiment computational algorithm

Virtual worlds — past, present, and future: New directions in social computing

2009 | Decision Support Systems | Citations: 33

Authors: Messinger, Paul R.; Stroulia, Eleni; Lyons, Kelly; Bone, Michael; Niu, Run H.; Smirnov, Kristen; Perelgut, Stephen

Abstract: Virtual worlds, where thousands of people can interact simultaneously within the ... Expand

Abstract: Virtual worlds, where thousands of people can interact simultaneously within the same three-dimensional environment, represent a frontier in social computing with critical implications for business, education, social sciences, and our society at large. In this paper, we first trace the history of virtual worlds back to its antecedents in electronic gaming and on-line social networking. We then provide an overview of extant virtual worlds, including education-focused, theme-based, community-specific, children-focused, and self-determined worlds – and we analyze the relationship among these worlds according to an initial taxonomy for the area. Recognizing the apparent leadership of Second Life among today's self-determined virtual worlds, we present a detailed case study of this environment, including surveys of 138 residents regarding how they perceive and utilize the environment. Lastly, we provide a literature review of existing virtual world research, with a focus on business research, and a condensed summary of research issues in education, social sciences, and humanities. Collapse

Topics: virtual world social network Second Life online community innovation management

Methods: survey case study design artifact focus group personal interview