Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, Weatherhead School of Management

Over time enterprises have woven together a fabric of processes, information structures, and computer tools to conduct their day-to-day business. Many of the components of this patchwork of systems cannot work together effectively, as the underlying models are incompatible. There is however, a strong business case to be made for ensuring that end-to- end business processes are interoperable, both across the enterprise, and with other enterprises. Qualitative research demonstrates that distinct cultures and non-overlapping knowledge between IS development (ISD) team members impedes system development success. It also identifies Boundary Spanning mechanisms as a significant mitigator. We develop these ideas further by exploring the mechanisms of knowledge sharing in project teams covering overlapping competence, and the presence of knowledge integration mechanisms - acculturation, boundary spanning roles- in how they affect ISD success. We utilize survey data derived from 139 ISD projects in a global US automotive OEM, completed between 2006 and 2009. We show that boundary spanning roles, acculturative processes, and cross-domain knowledge affect in significant ways IS development success. In particular, we demonstrate that facilitative boundary spanning roles - ambassador, coordinator, and scout - moderate the relationship between accumulated IS business domain knowledge and ISD success, and that IS business competence is partially determined by acculturation among IS team members, and the technical competence of the IS team. Teams with low levels of business domain knowledge may be able to mitigate their business knowledge deficit by engaging in boundary spanning behaviors as to enhance the flow of information across the team's knowledge boundaries.

Committee: Kalle Lyytinen, Ph.D. (Advisor); Nick Berente, Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Information Systems

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2016, Management

Organizations often struggle to achieve success when implementing complex enterprise systems despite the use of traditional governance structures such as project management methods and risk assessments. While this challenge is certainly multi-level, our motivation for this study stems from the lack of research that connects executive IT governance to implementation outcomes. Steering committees are in a unique position to influence implementation outcomes, yet the literature offers sparse perspectives with no insight into the internal dynamics of steering committees and their effects on implementation outcomes. We ask: What factors contribute to steering committee performance and influence implementation outcomes? In this dissertation, we develop a theoretical model of steering committee performance based on information processing capabilities. We surmise that the model offers greater explanatory power and depth than previous explanations of steering committee performance. The dissertation covers the motivation, detailed research questions, methods, research design, and key findings. We also review the implications of the findings for academia and practice. The study follows a sequential mixed-method approach that combines qualitative and quantitative inquiry. Using a grounded theory approach, we first conduct semi-structured ethnographic interviews among a theoretical sample of experienced steering committee team members. Based on the findings, we articulate a theoretical model founded on the information processing view that synthesizes the factors that influence steering committee performance. The information processing view offers us a lens to understand why steering committees struggle, and how steering committees contribute to their performance by building information processing capabilities. To validate our model, we conduct a survey among 164 steering committees and analyze the results using structured equation modeling (PLS). We find that implementation unce (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kalle Lyytinen (Committee Chair) Subjects: Information Systems; Information Technology; Management