Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

abstract: Information technology (IT) outsourcing, including foreign or offshore outsourcing, has been steadily growing over the last two decades. This growth in IT outsourcing has led to the development of different hubs of services across nations, and has resulted in increased competition among service providers. Firms have been using IT outsourcing to not only leverage advanced technologies and services at lower costs, but also to maintain their competitive edge and grow. Furthermore, as prior studies have shown, there are systematic differences among industries in terms of the degree and impact of IT outsourcing. This dissertation uses a three-study approach to investigate issues related to IT outsourcing at the macro and micro levels, and provides different perspectives for understanding the issues associated with IT outsourcing at a firm and industry level. The first study evaluates the diffusion patterns of IT outsourcing across industries at aggregate level and within industries at a firm level. In addition, it analyzes the factors that influence the diffusion of IT outsourcing and tests models that help us understand the rate and patterns of diffusion at the industry level. This study establishes the presence of hierarchical contagion effects in the diffusion of IT outsourcing. The second study explores the role of location and proximity of industries to understand the diffusion patterns of IT outsourcing within clusters using the spatial analysis technique of space-time clustering. It establishes the presence of simultaneous space and time interactions at the global level in the diffusion of IT outsourcing. The third study examines the development of specialized hubs for IT outsourcing services in four developing economies: Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). In this study, I adopt a theory-building approach involving the identification of explanatory anomalies, and propose a new hybrid theory called- knowledge network theory. The proposed theory suggests that the growth and development of the IT and related services sector is a result of close interactions among adaptive institutions. It is also based on new knowledge that is created, and which flows through a country's national diaspora of expatriate entrepreneurs, technologists and business leaders. In addition, relevant economic history and regional geography factors are important. This view diverges from the traditional view, wherein effective institutions are considered to be the key determinants of long-term economic growth. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Business Administration 2012

<p> Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a single set of software applications that include finance, sales, and human resources and it is used to integrate business functions into a single computer system application, which allows different systems to work together. The quantitative correlation research study is to determine to what extent, if any, there is a correlation between the critical success factors (independent variables) (IV) and the successful implementation of ERP systems (dependent variable) (DV) in the Western region of the United States (specifically Washington, Oregon, and California). The IVs are the critical success factors (CSFs) (clear goals and objective, top management support, business process re-engineering, use of the consultant, effective communication, ERP vendor selection, ERP customization, ERP vendor support, and user training). The DV is the successful implementation of ERP. The study was to predict successful ERP system implementation using various technical and managerial constructs controlling for other demographics in a sample of Information Technology (IT) leaders working in Washington, Oregon, and California. The population of this study included a current 90 IT leaders from the Western region of the United States including Chief Information Officer (CIO), Project manager, consultant, and developer. According to the correlation results, none of the subscales was a significant predictor of successful ERP implementation, but four out of five of the technical success factors (ERP package selection, ERP customization, vendor support, and user training) had a moderate effect in increasing the likelihood of successful implementation. </p><p>

<p> The timely adoption of technology for organizations in making the right investment or divestment can be achieved by using multicriteria decision making approach with integrated views of established innovation theories, industry best practices in technology acquisition lifecycle, statistical analysis of available technology profiles, expert opinion and trend analysis. This research aimed to develop an analytical approach to assess the correlation among objective data (such as innovation maturity rating and market penetration) and subjective data (such as benefit rating and &ldquo;time to plateau&rdquo;) to provide organizations insights in technology adoption decisions. The objective of this study is not to study the Gartner&rsquo;s Hype Cycles but to utilize the longitudinal technology innovation profile data as factors for informed technology adoption decision. We combined mapping with Department of Defense Technology Readiness Level, statistical analysis, correlations, multiple regression analysis and trend analysis to provides an objective and quantifiable methodology to provide insight into the characteristics of innovations. The goal is to derive a logical and balanced approach for organizations&rsquo; decision-making base on objective (as in the technology maturity rating and market survey) and subjective (as in the expert opinion in benefit rating and time to plateau predictions) data analysis. We used Rogers&rsquo; concept of &ldquo;Diffusion of Innovation&rdquo; as a notional reference for Organizational Technology Adoption to conduct a statistical analysis of a selected set of 345 Gartner&rsquo;s technology profile data from 2009 to 2015. We used market penetration data as a proxy for technology acceptance. To ensure the fit for purpose, we compared Gartner&rsquo;s definition of technology maturity with that of the Department of Defense Technology Readiness Level (TRL). The trending data on market penetration, maturity rating, benefit rating and time to technology plateau determined that the 2^nd Order Polynomial Model provided the best statistical goodness of fit in all cases. We discuss the non-linear nature of the data and the for more predictive association of technological maturity with organizational adoption. Further empirical approaches with traditional analysis, machine learning or artificial intelligence would allow researchers to test, to explore and to better understand the diffusion of innovation first pioneered by Rogers, Moore and Bass.</p><p>

abstract: By offering increased access to medical care, telemedicine offers significant opportunity for the process of development under Amartya Sen’s definition, that development is freedom, including freedom from illness, early death, and preventable disease. It advances development by freeing people from these burdens. However, like many emerging technologies, organizing information and understanding the field faces significant challenges. This paper applies Bashshur's three-dimensional model of telemedicine to the classification of telemedicine literature found in databases to assess the value of the model as a tool for classification. By standardizing language and creating a repository of research done to date in a centralized location, the field can better understand how it is progressing and where work still needs to be done. This paper aims to see if Bashshur's model serves well for this task. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Global Technology and Development 2015

abstract: The telephone network is used by almost every person in the modern world. With the rise of Internet access to the PSTN, the telephone network today is rife with telephone spam and scams. Spam calls are significant annoyances for telephone users, unlike email spam, spam calls demand immediate attention. They are not only significant annoyances but also result in significant financial losses in the economy. According to complaint data from the FTC, complaints on illegal calls have made record numbers in recent years. Americans lose billions to fraud due to malicious telephone communication, despite various efforts to subdue telephone spam, scam, and robocalls. In this dissertation, a study of what causes the users to fall victim to telephone scams is presented, and it demonstrates that impersonation is at the heart of the problem. Most solutions today primarily rely on gathering offending caller IDs, however, they do not work effectively when the caller ID has been spoofed. Due to a lack of authentication in the PSTN caller ID transmission scheme, fraudsters can manipulate the caller ID to impersonate a trusted entity and further a variety of scams. To provide a solution to this fundamental problem, a novel architecture and method to authenticate the transmission of the caller ID is proposed. The solution enables the possibility of a security indicator which can provide an early warning to help users stay vigilant against telephone impersonation scams, as well as provide a foundation for existing and future defenses to stop unwanted telephone communication based on the caller ID information. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Computer Science 2017

abstract: Forrest Research estimated that revenues derived from mobile devices will grow at an annual rate of 39% to reach $31 billion by 2016. With the tremendous market growth, mobile banking, mobile marketing, and mobile retailing have been recently introduced to satisfy customer needs. Academic and practical articles have widely discussed unique features of m-commerce. For instance, hardware constraints such as small screens have led to the discussion of tradeoff between usability and mobility. Needs for personalization and entertainment foster the development of new mobile data services. Given distinct features of mobile data services, existing empirical literature on m-commerce is mostly from the consumer side and focuses on consumer perceptions toward these features and their adoption intentions. From the supply side, limited data availability in early years explains the lack of firm-level studies on m-commerce. Prior studies have shown that unclear market demand is a major reason that hinders firms' adoption of m-commerce. Given the advances of smart phones, especially the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, firms recently have started to incorporate various mobile information systems in their business operations. The study uses mobile retailing as the context and empirically assesses firms' migration to this new sales venue with a unique cross-sectional dataset. Despite the distinct features of m-commerce, m-Retailing is essentially an extended arm of e-Retailing. Thus, a dependency perspective is used to explore the link between a firm's e-Retail characteristics and the migration to m-Retailing. Rooted in the innovation diffusion theory, the first stage of my study assesses the decision of adoption that indicates whether a firm moves to m-Retailing and the extent of adoption that shows a firm's commitment to m-Retailing in terms of system implementation choices. In this first stage, I take a dependency perspective to examine the impacts of e-Retail characteristics on m-Retailing adoption. The second stage of my study analyzes conditions that affect business value of the m-Retail channel. I examine the association between system implementation choices and m-Retail performance while analyzing the effects of e-Retail characteristics on value realization. The two-stage analysis provides an exploratory assessment of firm's migration from e-Retailing to m-Retailing. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Information Management 2013

<p> This study expands upon research previously conducted on critical success factors for the implementation of agile software development methodologies. The purpose was to examine the relationships between 12 independent variables, representing possible critical success factors for agile software development projects (Management Commitment, Organization Environment, Team Environment, Team Capability, Customer Involvement, Project Management Process, Project Definition Process, Agile Software Engineering Techniques, Delivery Strategy, Project Nature, Project Type, and Project Schedule); and the dependent variable of project success, consisting of four dimensions (Quality, Scope, Time, and Cost). Participants in the study included 132 practitioners in U.S.-based global companies that have served as product owner, Scrum master, software developer, business analyst, and/or tester, for a completed large and distributed agile software development project using Scrum methodology. Graphical and quantitative data analysis techniques served to examine the study research model and test the hypotheses. Findings from data analysis support that all 12 critical success factors have an impact on the successful resolution of agile software development projects using Scrum methodology in U.S.-based global companies; however, with differing levels of significance. The results reflect all 12 factors are not significant for one or more of four dimensions of project success. Also, results support that five of the 12 critical success factors are significant; however, of these, three ranked higher than the others, and showed a significant effect on more than one of the dimensions of project success. These three factors are Delivery Strategy, Team Capability, and Project Definition Process.</p><p>

<p> Business leaders may see social media as a distraction for their workers; however, blocking access could lead to a reduction in productivity. Using social media technologies with knowledge workers could achieve cost reductions for payroll of 30% to 35%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how business leaders used a social media policy to support employee productivity. The conceptual framework for this study was social exchange theory, which supports the notion that dyad and small group interactions make up most interactions, and such interactions enhance employees&rsquo; productivity. The research question was to explore how finance industry leaders are using a social media policy to enhance productivity. The target population for this study was leaders from financial companies in Charlotte, North Carolina, who have experience in using social media policies to increase employee productivity. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 9 technology leaders and company documents at two companies related to the research phenomenon. Yin&rsquo;s 5-step data analysis approach resulted in 3 themes: employee productivity, communication, and open company culture. Business leaders should consider using a social media policy to engage employees to support productivity, enhance communication both externally and internally, and enrich company culture in a way that is visible to employees. Employee engagement in a social media platform to connect and communicate with people could lead to a happier workplace and encourage employees to volunteer more frequently for social good.</p><p>

A era da informação está sendo viabilizada por uma combinada expansão das telecomunicações e da tecnologia da informação. O acesso à TI tornou-se mais fácil e mais barato e o uso da TI está se massificando na vida das pessoas e principalmente no contexto empresarial. A TI passou a desempenhar papel decisivo e estratégico para as empresas desenvolverem negócios na nova economia. A TI tem influência no valor da empresa para seus clientes e é essencial para a consecução dos objetivos de negócios, pois envolve grandes investimentos e riscos. Tornou-se mais complexo administrar TI, pois a evolução tecnológica é acelerada, os projetos de TI demandam altos investimentos e os executivos de negócios, além de demandarem mais do que TI pode entregar, demonstram insatisfação com os níveis de serviço entregue pelas áreas de TI. É preciso dotar as empresas de sistemas produtivos, relacionados com: acesso, processamento, distribuição e armazenagem de informação. A gestão da TI requer cada vez mais a adoção de processos, modelos, estruturas, alianças e, sobretudo, focos de atuação da liderança, priorizados e alinhados com as estratégias de negócios para capacitar as organizações da TI a cumprirem satisfatoriamente suas atribuições. Em resposta a estes desafios as lideranças de TI estão buscando formas e modelos que possam auxiliá-las na gestão da TI. Neste contexto, as seguintes questões precisam ser discutidas: Que modelos em gestão da TI estão sendo adotados como referência nas organizações de TI?; Como os modelos estão estruturados e no que eles se diferenciam ou se integram entre si?; Os modelos abrangem todas as áreas de gestão da TI?; Como estes modelos são úteis para os executivos da TI? / The information age, is being made possible for a combine expansion of the telecommunications and the information technology. The IT access is becoming cheaper and easier than before and the use of IT is growing so fast in the people living and mainly in the enterprise context. IT is playing a decisive and strategic role to companies develop businesses in the new economy. IT has influence in the customer value and is essential for the achievement of the business objectives, therefore IT involves high investments and risks. Become more complex to manage IT, therefore the technological evolution, the IT projects demands high investments and the business executives are demanding more than what IT can deliver, demonstrating that they are no satisfied with the IT service levels. Is necessary to enable companies with productive systems, related with: access, processing, distribution and storage of information. The IT management requires more adoption of processes, models, structures, alliances and, over all, leaders must be focused on IT action model aligned and prioritized with the business strategies, enabling IT organizations to fulfill its attributions satisfactorily. To face these challenges the IT leaderships are searching forms and models that can guide them in IT management. In this context, the following questions need to be argued: Witch IT management models are being adopted as reference in the IT organizations?; How the models are structured and in what they differentiate or be integrated themselves?; Are the models cover all the areas of IT management?; How these models are useful for the IT executives?