A new way of thinking about IT project management practices: Early empirical results

Despite decades of efforts to improve the management of Information Technology (IT) projects, failure rates remain high. This article first reviews literature about information systems success and IT project success. Most of the improvement efforts have focused on advancing variations of the traditional project management paradigm, such as embodied by the Project Management Body of Knowledge. This article describes a new way of thinking about managing IT project called Value-Driven Change Leadership (VDCL), and reports the results of an initial empirical exploration to identify project success factors stemming from VDCL as well as the traditional paradigm. The results are based on data collected from 16 medium-sized IT-intensive projects at eight Chicago-based organizations from six different industries. The results, although not based on a large sample, point to several project management practices associated with project success that stem from both the traditional paradigm as well as VDCL. For example, traditional practices managing stakeholders’ expectations, scope, and schedule are associated with project success, as are practices stemming from VDCL, such as managing the end-product’s architecture, business value added, and the organization change associated with systems implementation. The results of this study also suggest that further research into new ways of thinking about IT project management may be fruitful.     

Assessing Value Co-Creation and New Product Success from Cultural Orientations and Relationship Marketing Perspectives

This study's main objective was to assess value co-creation and new product success among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Indonesia by incorporating cultural orientations and relationship marketing perspectives. The samples were purposely selected in two sectors: handcraft and food and drink. They were approached through a door-to-door distribution of the questionnaires. The findings indicated that relationship quality can enhance value co-creation and new product success when SMEs have a favorable combination of learning, market, and entrepreneurial orientations. However, this study suggests that SMEs do not utilize their relationships as arenas for learning and learning orientation can affect relationship quality only when it is supported by the other orientations.     

Entrepreneurial resource acquisition via personal networks: an empirical study of German start-ups

This paper presents a resource-based theoretical model for an extended version of the network success hypothesis. It derives four main hypotheses for the relationships between resources obtained from personal networks of the founders and a new venture's success. The model takes into account a broad range of control variables. In the empirical study, based on a sample of 123 German entrepreneurs, we do not find much support for our hypotheses. We conclude that, quite in contrast to most existing theories, network links have close to no impact on getting cheap or exclusive resources.     

Developing the Causal Model of Online Store Success

This article introduces an Online Store Success Model (OSM) that reflects the characteristics of information systems, marketing, and e-commerce, and then empirically test the model. The OSM has five dimensions: system quality, information quality, service quality, trust, and customer loyalty. The model posits the causal relationships between the dimensions. In order to empirically test the model, a research model is developed and empirically analyzed by structural equation modeling using data from 244 customers on 69 online store websites. The results show that system quality significantly influences service quality and trust; information quality significantly influences service quality and customer loyalty; service quality also significantly influences trust and customer loyalty; and trust has a significant influence on customer loyalty.     

Investigating the Interrelationships among Success Measures of Open Source Software Projects

Open source software (OSS) has attracted extensive attention from researchers and scholars. This increasing attention is a result of the remarkable growth in the number of OSS applications in recent years. Despite an increased number of studies on OSS project success, the interrelationships among different success indicators of OSS projects are not well understood in literature. The present study reports on the interrelationships between the success measures of OSS projects, as defined by the ability of the project to attract user and developer interest, release management, project activity, and development sustainability. To test the relationships hypothesized, we gathered data from 1409 OSS projects over time (in two snapshots over a period of eight months). The results show the following: (a) project activity until any time period positively impacts the subsequent period’s developer interest and development sustainability; (b) development sustainability positively drives user and developer interest; (c) release frequency positively influences the next period’s developer interest, as well as development sustainability; (d) developer interest positively drives user interest. These findings have implications for both the OSS research community and OSS practitioners.     

Computer networking among executives: A case study

Group Support Systems may be “distributed”; for nonsimultaneous use by being embedded in a Computer‐Mediated Communication System (CMCS). In this manner, large groups may use them for complex tasks over an extended period of time. Will executives use such systems, and what are their reactions? This case study of elites engaged in formulating recommendations for the White House Conference on Productivity demonstrates that executives can use such systems, given that “critical success factors”; are met. Perceived information richness is strongly correlated with perceptions of productivity enhancement as a result of system use.     

An Exploratory Framework for Analysing International Retail Learning

It is argued that international retail research has overlooked an essential component of the retail internationalization process, notably learning. This paper proposes an exploratory framework that enables the application of learning theory to the study of international retailing. The paper provides a meaningful starting point for developing an overarching framework which would represent one sort of re-conceptualization of the retail internationalization process, and arguably a new perspective for reinterpreting, re-evaluating and refining the existing literature on international retailing. Alongside this exploratory framework, we present a series of research propositions that might serve as an agenda for research into international retail learning. The paper concludes with a summary of the key themes and ways in which the area of international retail learning may be investigated.     

Defensive Strategies of Local Companies Against Foreign Multinationals: Evidence from Chilean Retailers

ABSTRACT

Many retailers have been expanding into foreign markets, although not all such attempts at internationalization have been successful. This study examines the actions taken by Chilean retailers that negatively affected the operations of Home Depot, Carrefour and J.C. Penney in Chile. The results show that the strategies employed by local companies have consisted in: (1) becoming informed about the company's strengths and weaknesses, while imitating its best practices; (2) deepening their own market know-how and hiring high-level executives to lead defensive strategies; (3) opening stores in strategic places in order to win advantages concerning location; and (4) investing in technology and the training of employees. The overall effect on the market has been one of concentration and consolidation of the retail industry.

RESUMEN. Muchos retailers se están expandiendo a mercados extranjeros, sin embargo no todos los intentos de internacionalización son exitosos. Este estudio examina las acciones desarrolladas por retailers chilenos que afectaron negativamente la operación en Chile de Home Depot, Carrefour, y J.C. Penney. Los resultados de esta investigación muestran que las estratégicas empleadas por las empresas locales consistieron en (1) informarse en forma anticipada las fortalezas y debilidades de la empresa extranjera e imitando sus mejores prácticas, (2) fortaleciendo su conocimiento del mercado y contratando ejecutivos fuertes para liderar la estrategia defensiva, (3) apertura de locales en ubicaciones estratégicas para bloquear ventajas de localización, y (4) inversión en tecnología y capitación a los empleados. Los efectos sobre el mercado total fue de mayor concentración y consolidación de la industria.

RESUMO. Muitos varejistas têm expandido seus negócios para mercados estrangeiros, embora nem todas estas tentativas de internacionalização tenham sido bem sucedidas. Este estudo examina as aç[otilde]es implementadas por varejistas chilenos, as quais afetaram negativamente as operaç[otilde]es da Home Depot, Carrefour e J.C. Penney no Chile. Os resultados mostram que as estratégias empregadas pelas companhias locais consistiram em: (1) informar-se sobre os pontos fortes e fracos da companhia, ao mesmo tempo em que replicavam suas melhores práticas; (2) aprofundar o conhecimento a respeito de seu próprio mercado e contratar executivos de alto nível para liderar estratégias defensivas; (3) promover a abertura de lojas em locais estratégicos com o objetivo de conquistar vantagens relativas à localização; e (4) investir em tecnologia e no treinamento de funcionários. O efeito global desses movimentos no mercado tem sido o de promover a concentração e a consolidação da indústria varejista.     

Managerial Success Factors

Abstract

This article reports on an exploratory study conducted in the People's Republic of China (PRC) to identify the managerial success factors perceived by Chinese managers to be important in their market economy. The study also looked at how these factors are exhibited by recent graduates of Chinese universities now working in Chinese firms. Questionnaire responses were collected from managers in 113 Chinese state-owned exnterprises (SOEs) and private firms. Managers in both types of firms agreed on the relative importance and presence of the following factors: work habits, teamwork, creativity, ethics, communication, leadership, and business area knolwedge. Respondents gave higher ratings to the importance of each factor than to its presence in the recently hired gradutes. The results of this study provide a management profile of knowledge, skills, and abilities considered desirable by Chinese managers for today's market economy in the People's Republic of China. The identification of gaps between importance ratings and presence ratings provides valuable insight into changes that should be considered by educators in the design of business area currucula in Chinese universities.     

提高科技型中小企业创业成功率的关键——创业选择

多数科技型中小企业寿命很短,人们往往从外部环境或内部经营方面来找原因,其实导致科技型中小企业成功率低的根本原因在于创业初期的三方面选择,即行业选择,创办模式与制度选择,创新战略的选择。只有初期选择正确,中小企业才能健康快速成长。