Yes / This study extends the debate surrounding the components of IS project success by reviewing success factors from the perspective of their interdependency and influence on each other. This research utilises interpretive structural modelling as the methodology and framework to develop the relationships between the selected factors. This approach is presented as a mechanism that can provide greater insight to the underlying causal interrelationships associated with IS project success and the successful transition to operations. The findings identify a number of key outcomes that have significant driving influence on other interconnected factors in the final model. This study highlights the benefits of an interpretive approach where IS factor interrelationships can be modelled to demonstrate potential influence on other connected factors thereby, increasing the chances of project success.

As a result of the advances in information and communication technology, E-Learning has been integrated as an essential element in educational settings. Despite its successful implementation, a significant number of E-Learning projects fail to achieve their goals. This has motivated researchers and practitioners to study the reasons for failure and success and the factors that impact E-Learning. This research attempts to investigate the factors that influence the implementation and development of E-Learning and the most appropriate framework for secondary schools in Bahrain. The research adopted a quantitative approach to examine both teachers’ and students’ perceptions of critical factors in secondary schools in the Kingdom of Bahrain. A total of 540 respondents completed the survey-based questionnaire. The results revealed that there are four sets of factors which influence the success of E-Learning in the school education sector. These are: students’ characteristics (computers skills; motivation and attitudes); teachers’ characteristics (attitudes; control of technology and pedagogy and teaching style); technology (quality of technology and effectiveness of infrastructure) and design and content (perceived ease of use and quality of content). In addition, the findings show that there are some differences in perceptions amongst teachers according to gender, specialization, teaching experience and E-Learning experience. Similarly, the findings show that there are some differences in perceptions amongst students according to gender, specialization and level of study (years in school). The main contribution of this research is that it addresses the success of E-Learning in the schools sector in Bahrain and in the Arab region as this area of research lacks theoretical and empirical studies. In addition, the research proposes a conceptual framework that integrates the critical factors and demographic variables. The proposed conceptual framework contributes to the knowledge of E-Learning success by creating a guide for educational institutions and governments for better development and implementation, serving as a planning tool for new E-Learning projects and as an assessment mode for the efficacy of existing projects.

The purpose of this study is to provide recommendations to further develop and improvements of models which can be applied to IT governance models for system maintenance. The work investigates gaps in the implementation and using phase of the model pm3 and also models which are inspired in pm3. The aim of the present paper is to answer the research questions which are related to (1) which critical success factors that have an impact on the governance of system maintenance management and also for the model pm3 and (2) how maintenance management models can further be developed and improved. This qualitative study is a case study in which a questionnaire and interview in two steps have been completed. The sample of respondents have been made with a specific purpose that reflects the selected qualities and relevance of the study and also with a geographical distribution. The study resulted in a number of critical success factors for the model pm3 where some of these can be considered as general for all maintenance management models. The results shows the need of a maintenance management model that is designed for the agile working method and suitable for all types and sizes of organisations. It is an area where maintenance management models and pm3  need to develop within. / Syftet med denna studie är att kunna ge rekommendationer till utveckling och förbättringar av modeller som kan tillämpas vid IT-styrning av modeller för systemförvaltning. Arbetet undersöker brister i införandet och användandet av modellen pm3 samt modeller som är inspirerade av pm3. Studiens mål är att besvara frågeställningarna som behandlar (1) vilka kritiska framgångsfaktorer som har en påverkan för styrning av systemförvaltning samt för modellen pm3 och (2) hur förvaltningsstyrningsmodeller och pm3 kan utvecklas och förbättras. Den kvalitativa studien är en fallstudie där en enkätundersökning och två olika intervjusteg har utförts. Urvalet av respondenter har gjorts med ett specifikt syfte som speglar de utvaldas kvaliteter och relevans för studien samt med en geografisk spridning. Studien resulterade i en mängd kritiska framgångsfaktorer för modellen pm3 där en del av dessa kan anses som generella för alla förvaltningsstyrningsmodeller. Resultatet påvisar även behovet av en förvaltningsstyrningsmodell som är anpassad för det agila arbetssättet samt behovet av en modell anpassad för olika storlekar av organisationer. Vilket är ett område som förvaltningsstyrningsmodeller och pm3 bör utvecklas inom.

Complex projects often fail even when formal project management systems are in place. Project management processes and methodologies are well defined and described in academic and business literature. There is however less published research on the socio-cultural factors that are critical for project success. This study investigated whether project stakeholders view communication as one of the critical success factors for project success. Critical project success factors were identified from a literature study and ranked by 34 project stakeholders. The data was analysed using the Instant Priorities method and Analytical Hierarchical Process. A workshop on the use of communication within projects was observed. The results were translated into a project success factor model that explains the importance of communication in project success. Furthermore, a serious games based training tool is proposed. The aim of the training will be for participants to understand the communication preferences of themselves and the people they interact with in large projects. The proposed tool will require the participant to map typical stakeholder behavioural preferences. The well-known Marston DISC behavioural model is used as basis for understanding the behavioural preferences of different stakeholder groups. This research project supports the view that communication training across stakeholder groups should be used as a project risk mitigation tool. An increased understanding of the communication preferences of project stakeholders has the potential to shape a project culture that will stimulate teamwork combined with high levels of personal motivation as well as have the capacity to quickly identify and address project risks. / MSc (Computer Science), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This research studies the competencies of International Development (ID) project managers from their perspectives, taking into consideration the contextual factors and the challenges that they face when managing ID projects. The study adopts a constructionist ontological viewpoint and an interpretivist epistemological philosophical assumption. The nature of the research is exploratory with an inductive approach, using qualitative research method. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with experienced project managers in International Development projects. Template analysis strategy was used to analyse the data. The findings show that contextual factors have a significant influence on the challenges that ID project managers face when managing projects. Contextual factors are operating environment, large network of stakeholders and intangible goals of ID projects. Five challenges were identified as the results of the context, namely stakeholder management challenge, beneficiary needs analysis challenge, the challenge of balancing strategic and operational views, capacity building and training challenge and sustainable funding challenge. To overcome these challenges, seven ID project manager competencies were identified management skills, personal qualities, interpersonal skills, stakeholder engagement skills, capacity building skills, and change management skills. These competencies are found to be interrelated and complementary. While the role and responsibilities of ID project managers were also uncovered during the research, the findings on contextual factors, challenges and competencies help to better understand the ID project manager role and responsibilities. This study makes the contributions from both theoretical and practical point of view. With regards to theoretical contribution, our findings expanded on ID project manager competencies as well as relating them to the context and challenges in ID projects. The role and responsibilities of ID project manager is another theoretical contribution in this study. From a practical point of view, this thesis’s findings would be useful for various organizations who deliver ID projects, particularly human resources management. In addition, it can act as knowledge sharing with ID project managers and help in designing and enhancing educational programmes in ID project management. Overall, this could result in better delivery and overcoming the challenges of International Development projects.

El presente trabajo de investigación busca determinar los principales factores que influyeron en la evolución de las exportaciones de mangos frescos a Países Bajos en el periodo 2011 al 2017. En el primer capítulo se explicarán conceptos relacionados a comercio exterior como la liberalización económica, aspectos de la apertura comercial, la internacionalización, el libre comercio, modelos de integración económica y tratados de libre comercio. Asimismo, se abordarán temas vinculados a la relación comercial entre Perú – Unión Europea, haciendo énfasis en Países Bajos. Por otro lado, se describe a los mangos frescos desde su definición y origen, hasta sus propiedades y beneficios, para luego abordar en el intercambio comercial que tiene el producto entre Perú y Países Bajos. Además, se definen los factores de éxito tanto internos como externos. En el segundo capítulo se plantea el plan de investigación explicando el problema, la hipótesis y los objetivos de la investigación. En el tercer capítulo se explica cómo se procede a realizar la investigación, qué instrumentos se usa, cómo se procesa la información recolectada y se menciona las limitaciones de la investigación. En el cuarto capítulo se presenta la información brindada por los entrevistados, así como se analiza los factores por categorías y se clasifican según cantidad de menciones. Asimismo, se valida la hipótesis. En el quinto capítulo se presenta las conclusiones, mencionando el factor que tuvo mayor relevancia; y, por último, se acotará a mencionar recomendaciones para las entidades del estado, entidades privadas y futuras investigaciones. / The present research work seeks to determine the main factors that influenced the evolution of exports of fresh mangoes to the Netherlands in the period 2011 to 2017. In the first chapter, concepts related to foreign trade will be explained; As it is the economic liberalization, aspects of the commercial opening, the internationalization, the free trade, models of economic integration and the free trade. Likewise, issues related to the relationship between Peru and the European Union are addressed, with emphasis on the Netherlands. On the other hand, we begin to describe fresh mangoes from their definition and origin, to their properties, and we begin to analyze the commercial exchange that the product has between Peru and the Netherlands. Also, the success factors are defined, which are internal and external. In the second chapter, the research plan is addressed explaining the problem, the hypothesis and the objectives of the thesis. In the third chapter, it explains how the research proceeds, what instruments are used, how the information collected is processed and the limitations of the research. In the fourth chapter, the information provided by the interviewees is presented. The factors are analyzed by categories and classified according to the number of mentions. Also, the hypothesis is validated. In the fifth chapter the conclusions are presented, mentioning the factor that had greater importance; and finally, consult the recommendations for state entities, private entities and future research. / Tesis

Den teknologiska utvecklingen i samhället har lett till en brant ökning i användandet av ehandel. Denna utveckling har bidragit till att konsumenter ställer högre krav på sin shoppingupplevelse och företagen måste nu anpassa sig efter detta. Konkurrensen på ehandelsmarknaden sker på andra villkor gentemot den traditionella marknaden med fysiska butiker då företaget genast konkurrerar på en global skala. Företagen måste nu hitta nya sätt att synas och sticka ut från mängden för att inte försvinna i bruset. Vi har i denna studie undersökt vilka faktorer som är viktigast för att bli framgångsrika på en konkurrenskraftig internetmarknad. Med hjälp av tidigare forskning har vi identifierat ett antal ”critical success factors” som anses vara centrala för ett e-handelsföretags framgång. Dessa teorier har sedan ställts mot empirisk data insamlad från fem svenska e-handelsföretag från olika marknadssegment. De gemensamma faktorer vi sett från såväl teori som empiri är service och företagens förmåga att på ett personligt plan kommunicera med sina kunder över internet. Något som man normalt sett får i en fysisk butik är inte givet en e-handel, därav måste e-handlarna anpassa sin verksamhet gentemot konsumenten. / The technological development in our society has led to a steep rise in the use of ecommerce. This development has contributed to higher demands from consumers considering their shopping-experience and the companies must learn how to adapt. The terms of the competition on the e-commerce market are different from the traditional market with brickand-mortar stores as they immediately compete on a global scale. In order to not disappear in the sheer volume of competition, the companies now must find new ways to stand out. In this study, the authors have examined which factors that are significant to the rapid growth in e-commerce, and how they will comprehend with the competitive internet market. With help from previous studies, the authors have identified several critical success factors that may be central to the success of e-commerce businesses from different market segments. These theories have bene tested against the empirical data gathered from five different segments of the market. The common ground in the success factors analyzed from the empirical data as well as the theoretical data is service and personal communication towards the customer. Something that you normally would get in a traditional brick-and-mortar store, hence the e-commerce urgent need to adapt and submiss to the consumers.

Responsável pela recuperação de dados a partir de várias fontes, por analisar e dar apoio à decisão através de procedimentos computacionais e análises estatísticas, Analytics vem conquistando grande interesse da comunidade científica e também no atual mercado de negócios. Através da enorme oferta de ferramentas tecnológicas e do grande entusiasmo relacionado com a evolução das tecnologias da informação, a implementação de Analytics, na ausência de planejamento estruturado pode ocasionar baixo desempenho do projeto e agregar pouco valor ao negócio, apo ponto de trazer prejuízos para a organização. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo investigar os fatores críticos deste tipo de implementação na literatura científica e analisar como estes se manifestam nas organizações. A pesquisa constrói um quadro teórico conceitual a partir da revisão de literatura do tema para a análise da evolução deste nas discussões acadêmicas, através da aplicação de análises bibliométricas. Fatores são selecionados com base na literatura, referentes ao sucesso da implementação de Analytics relacionados aos sistemas de apoio à decisão, sendo divididos em construtos de Gestão de Negócios e Tecnologia da Informação. A pesquisa qualitativa, através do uso do método de estudo de caso, analisou quatro organizações de diferentes segmentos e projetos de implementação de soluções de Analytics. O trabalho conclui que há aderência aos fatores depreendidos da literatura e que haja reações distintas do alinhamento da Tecnologia da Informação com a estratégia do negócio de acordo com o tipo de solução implementada na organização. / Responsible for retrieving data from several fonts, for analyzing and providing support decision through computational procedures and statistical and for descriptive and predictive analysis, Analytics has been achieving great interest from scientific community and in the today\'s business market. Through the huge offer of technological tools and the great enthusiasm related to the information technology evolution, the implementing of Analytics in the absence of structured planning may cause low performance of the project and add low value to the business, and even bring loss to the organization. This research aims to investigate the critical actors of this kind of implementing and evaluate how they manifest on organizations. The methodology adopted focus on conceptual theoretical model built from the literature review followed by the analysis of the evolution of the topic in academic discussions through a bibliometric analysis application. Several factors are selected based on scientific production, all related to the success of implementing Analytics based on knowledge from other decision support system literature, divided in two constructs, Business Management and Information Technology. The qualitative research, with the use of case study method, analyzed four organizations from distinct market and products, as well as distinct Analytics implementation projects. The research concludes that there are strong relationship between the factors extracted from literature and shows that there are dissimilar reactions regarding the alignment between Information Technology and the business\' strategy, being related to the type of Analytics solution implemented in the organization.

Submitted by Karen Britto (karenbritto@unipampa.edu.br) on 2018-05-22T13:28:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Émerson Oliveira Rizzatti - 2018.pdf: 3594638 bytes, checksum: b7f79d8069a1fc1a4aceeb745ba52d54 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-22T13:28:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Émerson Oliveira Rizzatti - 2018.pdf: 3594638 bytes, checksum: b7f79d8069a1fc1a4aceeb745ba52d54 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-23 / O ambiente competitivo internacional em que estão imersas as atividades produtivas está baseado na capacitação tecnológica, na inovação, na flexibilidade e nas mudanças constantes e aceleradas. Tal cenário exige mudanças nas estratégias dos agentes econômicos e um aumento na participação do Estado no apoio aos sistemas produtivos regionais visando sua inovação e o seu desenvolvimento sustentável. Por isso, muitos governos investem na criação e manutenção de incubadoras de empresas, buscando fomentar o empreendedorismo, dar suporte aos empreendedores nos anos inicias do negócio e incentivar o desenvolvimento tecnológico de regiões ao redor do mundo. No entanto, o êxito das incubadoras e das empresas nelas incubadas é inter-relacionado e influenciado por diversos fatores, com dimensões internas e externas, estáticas e dinâmicas, táticas e estratégicas, organizacionais e técnicas, que influenciam diretamente na gestão e que garantem a sustentabilidade das organizações. O presente estudo, de caráter exploratório-descritivo, objetivou investigar a influência dos Fatores Críticos de Sucesso (FCS) no desempenho de incubadoras de empresas do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Após a revisão da literatura, foram identificados 33 FCS para as incubadoras. Esses FCS foram transcritos como perguntas no instrumento de coleta de dados para a entrevista com os 19 gestores de incubadoras de empresas em funcionamento no Estado. Na entrevista, além de identificar a percepção dos gestores com relação ao nível de prática de cada um dos FCS, também foram questionados os valores de 5 indicadores de desempenho das incubadoras para os anos de 2012 a 2016. Visando alcançar o objetivo específico de analisar a influência dos Fatores Críticos de Sucesso mais praticados sobre o desempenho de incubadoras de empresas do Rio Grande do Sul, foi aplicada como técnica o cálculo do coeficiente de correlação de Pearson para cada FCS em comparação com os 5 indicadores de desempenho. Após a realização das quarenta análises, não foi encontrada nenhuma correlação com valor significativo, o que indica que não é possível afirmar, que as oito categorias de Fatores Críticos de Sucesso exerçam influência sobre os cinco indicadores de desempenho das incubadoras estudadas. Esse fato pode ser explicado pelo pouco tempo de existência das incubadoras, pois 37% delas tinham quatro anos ou menos de atividades na data desta pesquisa, ou seja, essas incubadoras tiveram pouco tempo de colocar em prática muitos dos FCS aqui questionados, já que, de acordo com Dornelas (2002) o tempo médio de duração do ciclo de uma empresa dentro de uma incubadora é de 2 a 4 anos. Por outro lado, pode-se dizer que, de modo geral, o desenvolvimento dos FCS das incubadoras gaúchas é ainda inicial, pois poucas se avaliaram como tendo processos bem implementados e maduros dentre aqueles que foram avaliados. Mesmo assim, a questão de pesquisa foi respondida e os resultados apontam que três categorias de FCS apresentaram os maiores níveis de prática nas cinco incubadoras com as maiores médias nos indicadores de desempenho, sendo eles: Localização, Pré-Incubação e Graduação. / The international competitive environment in which productive activities are embedded is based on technological empowerment, innovation, flexibility and constant and accelerated change. Such scenario requires changes in the strategies of the economic agents and an increase in the participation of the State in the support to the regional productive systems aiming its innovation and its sustainable development. Therefore, many governments invest in the creation and maintenance of business incubators, seeking to foster entrepreneurship, support entrepreneurs in the early years of the business and encourage the technological development of regions around the world. However, the success of business incubators and incubated companies is interrelated and influenced by a number of factors, with internal and external dimensions, static and dynamic, tactical and strategic, organizational and technical, that directly influence management and ensure sustainability of organizations. This exploratory-descriptive study aimed to investigate the influence of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) on the performance of business incubators in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. After reviewing the literature, 33 CSFs were identified for the business incubators. These CSFs were transcribed as questions in the data collection instrument for the interview with the 19 incubator managers that are operating in the State. In the interview, in addition to identifying the managers' perception regarding the level of practice of each of the CSF, the values of 5 performance indicators of the incubators for the years 2012 to 2016 were also questioned. Aiming at reaching the specific objective of analyzing the influence of the most practiced CSFs on the performance of business incubators in Rio Grande do Sul, the Pearson’s correlation coefficient calculation for each CSF was applied as a technique in comparison with the 5 performance indicators. After the forty analyzes, no correlation with significant value was found, which indicates that it is not possible to affirm that the eight categories of Critical Success Factors influence the five performance indicators of the incubators studied. This fact can be explained by the short time of existence of the business incubators, since 37% of them had four years or less of activities at the time of this research, ie, these incubators had little time to put into practice many of the CSFs questioned here, according to Dornelas (2002) the average time of the cycle of a company within an incubator is 2 to 4 years. On the other hand, it can be said that, in general, the development of the CSFs of the incubators in the State of Rio Grande do Sul is still an initial one, as few have been evaluated as having well-implemented and mature processes among those that were evaluated. Even so, the research question was answered and the results show that three categories of CSFs presented the highest levels of practice in the five incubators with the highest averages in the performance indicators, being: Location, Pre-Incubation and Graduation.

Gestão de projetos com equipes virtuais é um tema relevante no meio acadêmico e na prática das empresas e neste contexto, o estudo dos fatores críticos de sucesso neste tipo de atividade possui grande importância. Este trabalho teve por objetivo identificar os fatores críticos de sucesso na gestão de projetos com equipes virtuais e verificar como cada um destes influencia no sucesso de projetos com equipes virtuais. Para tanto, identificou-se na literatura pertinente um conjunto de sete fatores críticos de sucesso com seus respectivos atributos. Usando-se de survey, foram coletados dados em duas pesquisas Primeiramente, um piloto que teve por objetivo coletar a percepção de gerentes de projetos sobre o nível de importância de cada um dos sete fatores críticos de sucesso identificados na literatura. Este piloto permitiu que um entendimento inicial fosse obtido de forma a se desenhar a pesquisa final. Em seguida, na pesquisa final, coletaram-se dados de projetos em nível mundial os classificando em América Latina, Ásia e Oceania, Estados Unidos e Canadá e Europa. Verificou-se a presença de cada fator crítico de sucesso frente ao sucesso percebido em cada projeto, avaliado conforme o modelo de SHENHAR e DVIR (2007). Usando-se de análise fatorial, determinou-se um conjunto de atributos para os fatores críticos de sucesso avaliados que foram comparados com o sucesso percebido em cada projeto através de análise de correlação de Pearson. Adicionalmente, fez-se uso de um conjunto de variáveis de controle para verificar se estas influenciavam na correlação entre os fatores críticos de sucesso e as dimensões de sucesso, de modo a dar solidez para os achados da pesquisa. O estudo concluiu que oito são os fatores críticos de sucesso em projetos que usam equipes virtuais, com a seguinte escala de importância, do mais para o menos importante: 1) liderança; 2) comportamento do membro da equipe; 3) padrão de comunicação da equipe; 4) confiança; 5) comunicação do membro da equipe; 6) ferramentas de controle; 7) gestão do conhecimento e; 8) organização e estrutura. Cada fator crítico de sucesso possui um conjunto de atributos e influencia de forma distinta em cada dimensão de sucesso de SHENHAR e DVIR (2007). Finalmente, são descritas as limitações do trabalho e recomendações de pesquisas futuras. / Project management using virtual teams is a theme of great relevance at this moment in the academy and for project management professionals. In this theme, the study of critical success factors is of great importance. This work had the objective of identify the critical success factors for managing virtual teams and verified how each of these critical success factors causes influence to the success of projects using virtual teams. For that, this work identified a group of seven critical success factors and their respective attributes in the literature. Using survey, collected data in two researches, a pilot research that had the objective of getting project managers perception on the level of importance of each of these seven critical success factors identified in the literature. This pilot research allowed an initial understanding so the final research could be drawn. In the final research, a world wide data was collected being classified as Latin America, Asia and Oceania, United States and Canada and Europe. It was verified the presence of each critical success factor against the perceived success of the project measured using the model from SHENHAR e DVIR (2007). Using factor analysis it was determined a set of attributes for each critical success factor comparing them to the perceived success of the project using Pearsons correlation analysis. In addition, a set of control variables was used to verify if these cased any type of influence to the correlation measured between the critical success factors and the success dimensions, in order to consolidate the findings of this research. The study concluded the existence of eight critical success factors in projects using virtual teams, in the following scale of importance, from the most to the less important: 1) leadership; 2) team member behavior; 3) team communication pattern; 4) trust; 5) team member communication; 6) control tools; 7) knowledge management and; 8) organization and structure. Each critical success factor has its own set of attributes and has a different influence in each success dimension from SHENHAR e DVIR (2007). Finally, it describes the limitations of the study and recommendations for future researches.