scholarly journals Business value of in-memory technology – multiple-case study insights

2014 ◽  
Vol 114 (9) ◽  
pp. 1396-1414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rieke Bärenfänger ◽  
Boris Otto ◽  
Hubert Österle

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the business value of in-memory computing (IMC) technology by analyzing its organizational impact in different application scenarios. Design/methodology/approach – This research applies a multiple-case study methodology analyzing five cases of IMC application scenarios in five large European industrial and service-sector companies. Findings – Results show that IMC can deliver business value in various applications ranging from advanced analytic insights to support of real-time processes. This enables higher-level organizational advantages like data-driven decision making, superior transparency of operations, and experience with Big Data technology. The findings are summarized in a business value generation model which captures the business benefits along with preceding enabling changes in the organizational environment. Practical implications – Results aid managers in identifying different application scenarios where IMC technology may generate value for their organizations from business and IT management perspectives. The research also sheds light on the socio-technical factors that influence the likelihood of success or failure of IMC initiatives. Originality/value – This research is among the first to model the business value creation process of in-memory technology based on insights from multiple implemented applications in different industries.

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charmaine Glavas ◽  
Shane Mathews ◽  
Rebekah Russell-Bennett

Purpose Technology has profoundly transformed the international business environment, particularly regarding the flow of information and the way in which knowledge is acquired and shared. Yet, the extent of this transformation is still underappreciated. The purpose of this paper is to examine how small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner/founders acquire and utilize knowledge for internationalization via internet-enabled platforms. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analysis draws on multiple case study methodology to examine 13 Australian SME owner/founders and the knowledge they acquire from utilization of internet-enabled platforms. Findings The analysis reveals four differing types of internet-enabled experiences: “technical internet-enabled experiences,” “operational internet-enabled experiences,” “functional internet-enabled experiences,” and “immersive internet-enabled experiences.” The findings indicate that internet-enabled experiences can generate both explicit and tacit forms of knowledge for the pre, early and later phases of internationalization. Practical implications The findings provide a structured approach by allowing SMEs to “plot” themselves against the classification of internet-enabled experiences to denote their level of technological involvement, and for discerning the types of knowledge that can be acquired. The findings are particularly helpful for owner/founders, highlighting that internet-enabled platforms are affecting the ways in which knowledge can be acquired and applied to international businesses processes. Originality/value The findings extend the conventional notion of knowledge acquisition for international business by highlighting how information and knowledge can be acquired via internet-enabled platforms. The findings lay the necessary groundwork for building an evidence base and theoretically extending the concept of knowledge acquisition via internet-enabled platforms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred Huan Zhi Chan ◽  
Mohd Dahlan Malek ◽  
Ferlis Bahari

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify higher authority organizational stressors encountered by higher education deans. Design/methodology/approach This current research employed a qualitative approach utilizing a contextual paradigm with a multiple case study methodology. Findings Out of ten investigated deans in a public higher education institution in Malaysia, nine reported experiences of organizational stressor elements arising from higher authority. Three non-overlapping subthemes were systematically discovered. Practical implications Successful identification of these higher authority organizational stressors has implications for higher education management policies. Policies that reduce or eliminate these stressors may create a positive and progressive environment for deans and the higher education field. Originality/value This study will thus serve to promote a deeper understanding of higher authority organizational stressors encountered by higher education deans.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 647-671
Author(s):  
Marc van den Berg ◽  
Hans Voordijk ◽  
Arjen Adriaanse

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how demolition contractors coordinate project activities for buildings at their end-of-life. The organizations are thereby conceptualized as information processing systems facing uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach A multiple-case study methodology was selected to gain in-depth insights from three projects with different end-of-life strategies: a faculty building (material recycling), a nursing home (component reuse) and a psychiatric hospital (element reuse). Using a theory elaboration approach, the authors sought to explain how and why demolition contractors process information for end-of-life coordination. Findings End-of-life strategies differ in the degree of building, workflow and environmental uncertainty posed to the demolition contractor. Whether or not a strategy is effective depends on the (mis)match between the specific levels of uncertainty and the adopted coordination mechanisms. Research limitations/implications The explanatory account on end-of-life coordination refines information processing theory for the context of (selective) demolition projects. Practical implications The detailed case descriptions and information processing perspective enable practitioners to select, implement and reflect on coordination mechanisms for demolition/deconstruction projects at hand. Originality/value Reflecting its dual conceptual-empirical and inductive-deductive focus, this study contributes with new opportunities to explain building end-of-life coordination with a refined theory.


Author(s):  
Helen Perks ◽  
Dominic Medway

This article investigates the nature of resource-based processes in the development of new ventures, adopting a business duality lens. Business duality occurs where a new venture is developed alongside an established business. The research employs a multiple case study methodology situated in the farming sector. The details of resource assembly and deployment are examined and presented through four stages of the entrepreneurial process: initiation, experimentation, mature and late stage. The findings offer insight into the manner in which resource ties between the businesses relate to processes of resource assembly and deployment and in addition, inform a business duality-based taxonomy. This depicting three generic approaches to managing resource-based processes in the development of new ventures in the farming sector: holistic innovators, reactive innovators and cautious innovators. We conclude by considering the implications of our arguments for new venture activity in other business duality contexts.


Safety ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Charan Teja Valluru ◽  
Andrew Rae ◽  
Sidney Dekker

Subcontractors have always been linked to higher risk by the industry and academia. However, not much work exists in establishing the reasons behind this relationship. Much of the existing work, either categorise subcontractors under a theoretical label of work to apply the drawbacks of the label to them, or directly enter problem-solving mode. This study focusses on taking the perspective of subcontractors and explores ways in which this viewpoint interacts with safety systems and processes. This study applies a case study methodology to this problem. It examines a total of six cases reflecting six closed single subcontractor fatality accident investigation reports from the year 2004 to 2014 obtained from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM) Queensland. These cases are then thematically analysed by employing subcontractor theory to identify themes to categorise the links between higher risk and subcontractors. The themes identified match two pre-existing categories (Institutional safety mechanisms do not cope with variability introduced by subcontractors; expertise in work does not translate to expertise in safety) and two new categories (communication does not flow to the subcontractor from the layers above them; safety work is viewed differently by subcontractor staff when compared to principal contractor’s/operators’) of subcontractor risk. This study aims to serve as a starting point for further research in understanding the subcontractor safety situation by putting things into the subcontractor’s perspective.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Raimo ◽  
Ivano De Turi ◽  
Alessandra Ricciardelli ◽  
Filippo Vitolla

PurposeThis study aims to analyse the level of digitalization in the cultural industry. More in detail, it aims to examine the determinants and effects of the digitalization level of museum organizations and the role played by the COVID-19 pandemic in the adoption of digital technologies.Design/methodology/approachIn order to answer the research questions, this study uses the multiple case study methodology. In particular, three different museum organizations operating in the Apulian context were examined.FindingsThe findings show that the adoption of digital technologies derives from the desire to attract more visitors, reduce costs, improve the visitor experience and adapt to competitors. On the contrary, they show that the lack of funding represents a drag on the adoption of digital tools. In relation to the effects, the findings show financial advantages connected to an increase in revenues and a reduction in costs and non-financial benefits connected to an improvement of the intangibles. Finally, the results show that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies.Originality/valueThis work enriches the current literature through the analysis of the drivers and effects of digitalization in the museum industry and through the focus on COVID-19. Furthermore, to the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examines the level of digitalization of museum organizations in the Apulian context.


Author(s):  
Brent S. Opall

PurposeThe purpose of this inquiry is to examine why companies create LGBTQ-inclusive work environments and how these firms advance LGBTQ-inclusiveness through CSR practices and address challenges presented by strategic duality.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative multiple case study design, data was collected and then triangulated from interviews and company documents. NVivo, a qualitative research program, was used to organize, sort, query and model the data.FindingsSeveral themes were identified as reasons why Fortune 500 organizations sought to create LGBTQ-inclusive work environments. Themes include a positive return on investment, advancing human rights issues within the framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR), internal organizational pressure and parity with other Minnesota companies. Findings are examined through the theoretical lens of strategic duality.Research limitations/implicationsPrimary theoretical implications include contributions to our understanding of strategic duality by providing a first-hand account from people in organizations that encountered imperatives that to some degree are in conflict. By design, the multiple case study methodology does not allow generalizations to be drawn beyond the organizations included in this study.Practical implicationsBoth managers and researchers will find this study provides valuable insight on how people and organizations experience and navigate strategic duality (pairs of competing imperatives) within the context of the motivation behind creating an LGBTQ-inclusive work environment.Originality/valueThis inquiry provides a unique and valuable account as to why organizations choose to invest resources in creating a LGBTQ-inclusive work environment, the return on investment (ROI) and examines competing imperatives (strategic dualities) faced by management. Similar multiple case studies of this qualitative nature are rare, possibly even non-existent and, therefore, this study makes a significant contribution to the literature.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Kokina ◽  
Ruth Gilleran ◽  
Shay Blanchette ◽  
Donna Stoddard

In this paper we explore how Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is changing the work of accountants, identify the roles that accountants will play in their organizations' digital transformations, and categorize the skills and competencies that accountants will need to develop in order to successfully work alongside their digital colleagues. We employ a multiple case study methodology and collect interview data from eight organizations undergoing RPA implementations for their accounting and finance tasks. Our analysis reveals that accountants play important roles as identifiers, explainers, trainers, sustainers, and analyzers of their organizations' automation initiatives. To prepare to undertake these five roles, accountants will need to acquire new technical skills. Therefore, the paper concludes with a mapping of the skills needed for each role that the accountant is expected to play in RPA implementations.


Human Affairs ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 219-232
Author(s):  
Zdeňka Bajgarová ◽  
Iva Stuchlíková

Abstract This paper explores marital adjustment among couples raising a temperamentally difficult infant. Employing a multiple case study methodology we conducted ten interviews with six couples. The parenting distress these couples experienced meant they were at higher risk of marital maladjustment. Four couples experienced marital crisis, resulting in the separation of one couple. Our analysis suggests that reference to “insufficient father involvement” during the interviews signaled problems with the mother’s satisfaction and marital adjustment. We found that mothers consider four specific aspects of paternal behavior as constituting involvement: 1. the father caring for the child in the mother’s presence, 2. the father caring for the child on his own, 3. the father sleeping in the same room as the mother and baby, and 4. the father being psychologically involved and supportive.


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