A Framework for Stakeholder Integration in Higher Education Information Systems Projects

Concern that universities are struggling with the complexities inherent in the implementation of their information systems prompted the HEFCE sponsored study, reported herein. The purpose of the research was to provide a basis for improving the likelihood of success, when undertaking university-based Information System (IS) projects; the particular focus being on ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) based integrated systems. The research outcome was an IS project management framework to provide general guidance and a bridge for co-operation between the very different stakeholder groups involved in such endeavours. Typically these would include senior university management, project teams (including consultants, where appropriate) and system vendors.     

Private Benefits,Warm Glow,and Reputation in the Free and Open Source Software Production Model

A great deal of production and consumption behavior takes place in the context of social organizations that seem to fall outside of the traditional paradigm of profit/utility maximization. These organizations are voluntary in nature and rely on contributions from members to achieve their objectives. Examples include the Linux operating system and other FOSS projects, political movements, churches and religious groups, Habitat for Humanity, and similar charitable organizations. In this paper, we consider a world containing agents with heterogeneous abilities who may voluntarily choose to make effort contributions to one or more different public projects. Agents are motivated by a desire to be seen as significant contributors to important and valuable projects, the warm glow from the act of contributing, and a desire to directly enjoy the benefits of projects when complete. We find that contributions from others can be either strategic complements or substitutes. We show that Nash equilibria exist and study how agents’ abilities and project quality affect the equilibrium levels of contributions.     

Evolutions and Contradictions in Mainstream Macroeconomics: The Case of Olivier Blanchard

This article traces the complex intellectual path of Olivier Blanchard, a personification of the controversial evolution of macroeconomic research over the last three decades. After contributing to consolidation of the core of mainstream macroeconomics, Blanchard recently suggested ‘rethinking’ some of its key aspects to take stock of the lessons of the 2008 Great Recession, which he witnessed as the International Monetary Fund’s Chief Economist. This welcome discussion, which according to Blanchard should open mainstream macroeconomics to heterodox thinking, has so far produced a certainly interesting albeit theoretically contradictory synthesis and limited policy consequences. The most paradigmatic aspect of this rethinking of macroeconomics is represented by the abandonment in teaching of aggregate supply and demand in favor of a revival of the IS–LM model complemented by the Phillips curve. While this change of perspective does allow for the instability of ‘natural’ equilibrium to be emphasized, a deeper reading may prove incompatible with the neoclassical foundations of the mainstream approach.     

Exploring the application of the Delphi method as a forecasting tool in Information Systems and Technologies research

The Delphi method has been used widely in clarifying decision-making based on the opinions of experts in all research areas. This study focuses on Information Systems and Information Technology (IS/IT) research area. Its aim is to explore the use of the Delphi method in topics related to IS/IT as a forecasting tool. A sizeable amount of research has been examined about IS/IT using the Delphi method. This work proposes a guideline for applying the Delphi method in IS/IT studies based on a literature review of high impact IS/IT papers that apply Delphi with a view to answering forecasting questions. This guideline defines the most relevant aspects which should be considered when applying this method. Previously, the authors conducted a literature review of 2502 articles from different research topics to obtain evidence about the diffusion of the Delphi method in IS/IT compared to other areas.     

Planning in the Dark: Why Major Engineering Projects Fail to Achieve Key Goals

The arguments, analysis and observations in this paper are based on 10 years of research with partners in the European and US aerospace and defence industries. During this period, the authors were part of a team of researchers who were seeking to develop a new methodology and tool set for project management, particularly aimed at large aerospace projects. The research was motivated by the seemingly ubiquitous reality of project failure, with large engineering projects apparently always late and over budget. Here the authors focus on aerospace and defence, but the problems are generic across all branches of engineering. In their view, aerospace and defence have more excuses than most, because not only are the projects huge, but also they are globally distributed and highly complex. As work progressed, a fundamental conundrum emerged. Through discussions with project managers and assessment of the teams that were undertaking the projects, it became obvious that they were well educated, intelligent, highly motivated and very capable people. So why were so many projects going wrong? And it was not just aerospace and defence, as projects were failing in many different sectors and in numerous geographic locations. Obviously the problems were not to do with incompetence, as they were clearly so generic. As a result, the authors focused their analysis on factors inherent in the way all major projects are undertaken. The ultimate finding has been that the very technology available for managing projects today is inadequate. As argued within the paper, modern, complex projects cannot be planned and executed using 50-year-old project management tools. The paper tells the story of what is wrong with the current technology and how and why it needs to change. The authors are well aware that there are also cultural problems in project management, but many of these are exacerbated by the use of inadequate tools.     

Nonlinear influence on R&D project performance

This study applies artificial neural network (ANN) to explore the relationships between the performance of R&D projects and its determinants. The results indicate that the quality of project environment has an inverse U-shaped effect on the performance of R&D projects, and both project managers' skills and the effectiveness of teamwork have monotonic positive influences on it. Besides, this study utilizes self-organizing map (SOM) to classify the Taiwanese information and electronics companies into three groups and further provides some suggestions. In addition, this paper uses an in-depth interview of qualitative research to explore why the quality of project environment has an inverse U-shaped effect on the R&D project performance, and finds out the main reason. There are two managerial implications in this study. First, the relationships between the performance of R&D projects and its determinants are not always linear in the complex and uncertain environment nowadays. Second, companies must care about the inverse U-shaped effect of the quality of project environment on the performance of R&D projects, although they can enhance the extent of project managers' skills and the effectiveness of their teamwork as much as possible.     

高校牵头国家重大科技项目科研组织模式研究——以北航长鹰无人机为例

新中国成立以来,国家在航空航天、通信计算机、智能制造、新材料等多个领域先后推出一系列重大科技项目,致力于突破关键技术、保障国防安全、推动社会经济发展。20世纪90年代末,我国将中高空长航时无人机研发作为重大战略性科技项目,在几乎一穷二白的困境下由高校牵头开展原型机自主研制并最终取得成功。以具有划时代意义的长鹰无人机研制历程为例,基于扎根理论归纳国家重大科技项目特征及科研组织模式,探讨模式中的关键组成要素及相互作用关系。结果发现,该模式以面向国家战略需求导向的大项目为牵引,在跨建制、跨单位、跨系统建成的国家队与产学研合作大平台的相互作用下,促成总体目标实现、人才队伍培养、产业发展带动等重大成果的正向激励反馈。在新时代背景下,该研究结论能为高校服务国家重大战略需求、更好地发挥科技创新生力军作用提供有价值的实践路径和管理经验。     

The entanglement of time and cost deviations in public projects

There is growing concern regarding cost and time overruns in public projects. However, despite the extensive literature on the subject, there is relatively little research on the impact of time overruns on cost overruns. This study assesses whether larger time deviations can lead to larger cost deviations. Our hypothesis is that a project with a time overrun is more likely to also have a cost overrun. The authors used a sample of 208 projects in Portugal, with data collected from the Portuguese Court of Auditors. Using the data, a number of econometric models were developed: Ordinary Least Squares, Generalized Linear Model, Tobit, and Probit. The instrumented variables and structural equation modelling techniques were applied to address potential endogeneity in the data. The analysis was controlled for factors such as political, governance, economic, and project variables. The results suggest that larger time deviations are associated with larger cost deviations. The inference is that projects that take longer to complete also tend to suffer from cost overruns.     

White elephants

Underdevelopment is thought to be about lack of investment, and many political economy theories can account for this. Yet, there has been much investment in developing countries. The problem has been that investment growth has not led to output growth. We therefore need to explain not simply underinvestment, but also the missallocation of investment. The canonical example of this is the construction of white elephants—investment projects with negative social surplus. In this paper we propose a theory of white elephants. We argue that they are a particular type of inefficient redistribution, which are politically attractive when politicians find it difficult to make credible promises to supporters. We show that it is the very inefficiency of such projects that makes them politically appealing. This is so because it allows only some politicians to credibly promise to build them and thus enter into credible redistribution. The fact that not all politicians can credibly undertake such projects gives those who can a strategic advantage. Socially efficient projects do not have this feature since all politicians can commit to build them and they thus have a symmetric effect on political outcomes. We show that white elephants may be preferred to socially efficient projects if the political benefits are large compared to the surplus generated by efficient projects.     

Region? Why Region? Security,Hermeneutics, and the Making of the Black Sea Region

In the context of post–Cold War European integration, ‘making’ regions has become commonplace. Far from reducing the significance of regional initiatives, inflationary regional labelling draws attention to the significant role played by ‘regions’ as legitimating political vectors. Why are political projects formulated in regional terms? Critically examining the Black Sea region project, this article suggests that region-making transcends the boundary between theoretical and political praxis. Regional entrepreneurs frequently use different conceptual categories in the formulation and justification of their initiatives. In order to understand why regional forms are preferred politically, it is necessary to scrutinise closely this contextual interaction between political praxis and conceptual logic. The article maps the various concepts of region which coexist in the Black Sea region project, and discusses their relationship with four political and hermeneutical strategies that link the regional project with its context, profoundly marked by the logic of European security integration. The ‘double hermeneutics’ of the Black Sea region highlights the contradictory security logics that structure European security in general and this regional project in particular. In the conclusion, the article draws attention to the significant epistemological and normative consequences of the double hermeneutics of the Black Sea region.     

Joint research and development projects as technology training ventures

This paper presents an empirically derived model of the process through which industrial firms that lack internal resources in a particular technology area to implement certain research and development (R&D) projects on their own, initiale nad implement them jointly with not-for-profit research institutions. Such joint R&D projects are typically initiated by smaller, technologically less advanced firms in developing countires, with the underlying objective of training themselves in the relevant technology area and acquiring new technological resources from more advanced local research institutions, while simultaneously and rapidly completing the immediate R&D project. This process model has been developed by drawing from and synthesizing several in-depth case studies of such projects. In developing countries, joint R&D projects of this nature are important, as they can be more effective than formal technology training programmes for not-for-profit research institutions to fulfil their charter by transerning their advanced technical knowledge to the relatively less advanced local industrial firms. Participating firms that seek to their immediate interest, and therefore learn it rapidly and effectively. This paper adds to the scarce literature on ht process of organizational knowledge acquisition through contractual arrangements such as joint projects. It also enables both firms and research institutions to understand effective proceses for initiating and implementing such mutually beneficial joint R&D projects.     

Can Starving Start-ups Beat Fat Labs? A Bandit Model of Innovation with Endogenous Financing Constraint*

Is there any such thing as too much capital when it comes to the financing of innovative projects? We study a principal–agent model in which the principal chooses the scale of the experiment, and the agent privately observes the outcome realizations and can privately choose the novelty of the project. When the agent has private access to a safe but non-innovative project, the principal starves the agent of funds to incentivize risk-taking. The principal quickly scales up after early successes, and can tolerate early failures. If the principal is equally informed about the outcome, then the agent is well-resourced, resembling a large research and development department.     

Commercial complexity and entrepreneurial finance

This paper shows that the probability of small business firms obtaining outside financing to support their research and development projects is greater given more complex commercial opportunities – defined as a greater number of different potential applications for a project’s anticipated results – for their innovations. The effects on the probability of outside finance found for other factors are consistent with the earlier findings in the literature about innovative entrepreneurial firms.     

Political Opinions and the TUCE

The TUCE is being widely used in economic education research at the college level. Although it has gained acceptance as a standardized evaluation instrument, it has also become the subject of close scrutiny. Rothman and Scott report on their study to determine whether or not the TUCE “may also measure political attitudes.” The relationship between the students' political opinions and their scores on the TUCE are examined, but other possible explanatory variables (such as previous economics instruction, sex and SAT scores) are also analyzed. The authors discuss possible reasons why “untrained conservatives know more about market systems than do untrained liberals,” and suggest that there are factors other than economic conservatism at work.     

Patents and R&D as Real Options

This article develops and implements a simulation approach to value patents and patent‐protected R&D projects based on the Real Options approach. It takes into account uncertainty in the cost‐to‐completion of the project, uncertainty in the cash flows to be generated from the project, and the possibility of catastrophic events that could put an end to the effort before it is completed. It also allows for the possibility of abandoning the project when costs turn out to be larger than expected or when estimated cash flows turn out to be smaller than anticipated. This abandonment option represents a very substantial part of the project's value when the project is marginal or/and when uncertainty is large. The model presented can be used to evaluate the effects of regulation on the cost of innovation and the amount on innovative output. The main focus of the article is the pharmaceutical industry. The framework, however, applies just as well to other research‐intensive industries such as software or hardware development.
(J.E.L.:G31, O22, O32).     

To bid or not to bid: That is the question: Public procurement,project complexity and corruption

The main aim of this study is to improve our comprehension of the role played by project complexity and institutional quality as possible drivers of the choice between open auctions and negotiations in a sample of Italian municipalities. Controlling for project characteristics, for observed and unobserved heterogeneity at municipality level, our main results suggest that projects that are more complex are more likely to be procured with negotiated procedures. On average, a rise in the project complexity index from the 25th to the 75th percentile of its distribution increases the probability of procuring the project with a negotiated procedure by about 6%–8%. However, our results also suggest that the impact of complexity might be more relevant in the case of projects procured by municipalities located in provinces characterized by low levels of corruption. Moreover, we also find that complex projects are associated to longer delays in their execution, larger rebates and to higher probabilities to be awarded to local firms.     

EQUIVALENT OPTION PRICE WITH SUPPLY UNCERTAINTY

This paper compares two ex ante measures of the benefits of a project with supply uncertainty: compensating option price, the willingness to pay for a project, and equivalent option price, the willingness to accept to forego a project. The paper shows that compensating option price does not generally rank three or more projects correctly, even when the projects only impose a change in a single good. Equivalent option price, like equivalent variation with certain outcomes, always ranks three or more projects correctly. This paper also presents a method to empirically estimate equivalent option price using estimates of the benefits of certain changes. This approach is practically important so that the same study results can be used to estimate equivalent option price even as new projects are developed or as changes occur in the scientific information regarding the probabilities of various project outcomes. An application of the empirical method estimates the benefits of a policy to improve air and water quality when there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of the policy.     

Innovation and Bureaucracy Under Soft and Hard Budget Constraints

Because of the inherent uncertainty, promotion of innovation critically depends on screening mechanisms to select projects. This paper studies the relationship between bureaucracy and financial constraints as two such mechanisms. The lack of commitment to hard financial constraints interferes with its ex post screening capability; ex ante bureaucratic screening is optimally chosen as a substitute. However, bureaucracy makes mistakes by rejecting promising projects and delays innovation, and the efficiency loss due to soft financial constraints increases as prior knowledge becomes worse and as research stage investment requirements become lower. In a centralized economy, bureaucracy may reduce the number of parallel projects, particularly for projects with higher uncertainties and less research stage requirements. This theory fits much of the evidence and in particular it explains why the computer industry, but not the nuclear or aerospace industries, has fared so poorly in centralized economies.     

Distributive Politics and the Costs of Centralization

This paper studies the choice between centralization and decentralization of fiscal policy in a political economy setting. With centralization, regional delegates vote over agendas comprising sets of region–specific projects. The outcome is inefficient because the choice of projects is insufficiently sensitive to within–region benefits. The number of projects funded may be non–monotonic in the strength of project externalities. The efficiency gains from decentralization, and the performance of "constitutional rules" (such as majority voting) which may be used to choose between decentralization and centralization, are then discussed in this framework. Weaker externalities and more heterogeneity between regions need not increase the efficiency gain from decentralization.     

Will Markets Direct Investments Under the Kyoto Protocol? Lessons from the Activities Implemented Jointly Pilots

Under the Kyoto Protocol, countries can meet treaty obligations by investing in projects that reduce or sequester greenhouse gases elsewhere. Prior to ratification, treaty participants agreed to launch country-based pilot projects, referred to collectively as Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ), to test novel aspects of the project-related provisions. Relying on a ten-year history of projects, we investigate the determinants of AIJ investment. Our findings suggest that review-agency preferences related to national political objectives and possibly deeper cultural ties influenced project selection and limited the number of AIJ projects. Bilateral ties also appear to have affected investment decisions directly, possibly because of related transaction costs. The results suggest an investment process different from the assumptions that underlie well-known estimates of cost-savings related to the Protocol’s flexibility mechanisms. We conclude that if approaches developed under the AIJ programs to approve projects are retained, the scale of investment under Kyoto’s flexibility provisions and their cost-savings will be less than what is generally anticipated and the pattern of investment less driven by abatement costs.