This thesis is a critical investigation into the development, application and evaluation of ant colony optimisation metaheuristics, with a view to solving a class of capacitated facility location problems. The study is comprised of three phases. The first sets the scene and motivation for research, which includes; key concepts of ant colony optimisation, a review of published academic materials and a research philosophy which provides a justification for a deductive empirical mode of study. This phase reveals that published results for existing facility location metaheuristics are often ambiguous or incomplete and there is no clear evidence of a dominant method. This clearly represents a gap in the current knowledge base and provides a rationale for a study that will contribute to existing knowledge, by determining if ant colony optimisation is a suitable solution technique for solving capacitated facility location problems. The second phase is concerned with the research, development and application of a variety of ant colony optimisation algorithms. Solution methods presented include combinations of approximate and exact techniques. The study identifies a previously untried ant hybrid scheme, which incorporates an exact method within it, as the most promising of techniques that were tested. Also a novel local search initialisation which relies on memory is presented. These hybridisations successfully solve all of the capacitated facility location test problems available in the OR-Library. The third phase of this study conducts an extensive series of run-time analyses, to determine the prowess of the derived ant colony optimisation algorithms against a contemporary cross-entropy technique. This type of analysis for measuring metaheuristic performance for the capacitated facility location problem is not evident within published materials. Analyses of empirical run-time distributions reveal that ant colony optimisation is superior to its contemporary opponent. All three phases of this thesis provide their own individual contributions to existing knowledge bases: the production of a series of run-time distributions will be a valuable resource for future researchers; results demonstrate that hybridisation of metaheuristics with exact solution methods is an area not to be ignored; the hybrid methods employed in this study ten years ago would have been impractical or infeasible; ant colony optimisation is shown to be a very flexible metaheuristic that can easily be adapted to solving mixed integer problems using hybridisation techniques.

Thesis (MTech. degree in Business Information Systems)

The aim of this research is to investigate whether and how Strategic Quality Management (SQM) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can have an effect on each other. The fulfilment of this aim was by investigating the different aspects of the relationship between SQM and CSR to find the common ground for the integration and studying how the integration would be perceived by certain Saudi Arabian organisations, in terms of levels, natures and methods of the integration. In addition, this research will study the benefits, barriers, opportunities and motivations of the integration from the point of view of Saudi Arabian organisations within the dominant Islamic culture. To realise this aim and objectives, this author applied a multi qualitative multiple-cases study. The researcher conducted interviews and documentary analysis with some Saudi Arabian organisations as well as conducting a focus group with the experts in this domain in Saudi Arabia. The methodology of this study required special considerations in order to ensure its validity and reliability. The sampling of the cases that were selected for this research was according to the recognition of the Saudi Arabian Responsible Competitiveness Index, which were also awarded the King Khalid Responsible Competitiveness Award for their responsible practices and CSR applications. The final sample of this research consisted of organisations from the healthcare, manufacturing, petrochemical and service sectors. The findings showed that SQM and CSR have significant similarities in theory and major overlaps in practice. More importantly, the results strongly suggested that the integration between SQM and CSR could be viable in general and, more specifically, for Saudi Arabian organisations. Moreover, there were some indications of a cultural readiness to accept this integration to be applied in Saudi Arabia that is consistent with the Islamic teachings. Therefore the major contribution to knowledge of this research is the development of a framework and model that can be applied by Saudi Arabian organisations to integrate their SQM and CSR. The framework and model were developed upon several criteria and considerations that would make the integration appropriate for this specific context. Based on the research results and the development of the integration framework and model, some recommendations are made that would widen this effort at three levels for organisations, governments or authorities, and for further research.

Project control systems often fail to support management in achieving their global project goals. This thesis proposes a Multidimensional Project Control System (MPCS) as an approach for quantifying deviations from the planning phase to the execution phase with respect to the global project control specification (GPCS). The projects' current state must be translated into yield terms, which are expressed as a gap vector that represents the multidimensional deviation from the global project control specification. The MPCS methodology allows the project manager to determine: integrated project status; where problems exist in the project; when and where to take corrective action; and how to measure improvement. However, implementing the MPCS methodology does not require extra data collation. MPCS deals with the control of a single project and defines the project performances in comparison with the plan. The progression of several projects in parallel is a common situation in organizations, therefore a comparison of the various project performances is required. It is proposed that a comparison process be performed using the data envelope analysis (DEA) approach. The reference points for examining the performances of different projects and the directions of improvement for the projects are not necessarily found on the efficiency frontier. An algorithm is developed for applying multi-project system control having a relatively large number of inputs and outputs while maintaining the validity of the DEA methodology. The DEA output allows the diagnosis of those found on the efficiency frontier and those that need improvement.

With over forty institutes of higher education in Lebanon, each offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in Computer Science and IT-related majors, it is surprising and disappointing not to have any academic publications in IT managerial issues. This complete silence may be partly due to the fact that the focus of such programs is more technical than managerial, and partly because the majority of Lebanese universities are “teaching-oriented”, rather than “research-oriented” institutions. One of the major contributions of this thesis is to pioneer IT managerial research in Lebanon and pave the way for future research in this vital area. The main scope of this thesis is to determine how to derive business value from enterprise IS investments, and what conditions maximize that value. While each of the extant theoretical models provides insight on one key aspect of the IT value proposition, what seems missing is a model that combines the salient points from each of various models, and one that incorporates both a process and variance orientation, providing a more comprehensive explanation of the IT value proposition. Therefore, the main contribution of this thesis is development of a comprehensive new IT value model, providing a framework of the processes and factors needed to derive optimal business value from such investments. The new model incorporates salient features of extant IT value models, and is grounded in the data gathered in this thesis. The strength of the new model lies in combining three individual IT value research threads. The first is the RBV research stream, which posit that to derive business value from IS investments, organizations must invest in organizational resources, and must develop individual and organizational IS competencies. The second is the IS process research stream, which evaluates the path that IT investments take from value conception to value creation, and proposes a sequence of phases and activities that must be followed during that investment journey. The third research stream stresses the importance of considering additional contextual factors when engaging IS investments. A review of the extant literature is conducted to develop an initial conceptual framework combining salient features of existing IT value models. Next, using multi-grounded theory and multiple investigative methods, primary data is gathered from thirty-six large Lebanese organizations representing several business sectors. In order to ensure validity and reliability, data is gathered in iterative phases, starting with one-on-one structured interviews with CIOs, followed by a survey and CIO group discussions using the “communities of practice” method, and culminates in one-on-one structured interviews with all other stakeholders involved in the IS value proposition at four of the thirty-six participating organizations using the “deep case study” method. The data is analyzed to determine the key challenges inhibiting the success of IS investments, the key competencies and factors needed to derive business value from such investments, to validate and refine the initial conceptual IT value model, and to ground the attributes of the new model to reflect the Lebanese experience. The thesis concludes by suggesting guidelines for how organizations may develop and nurture the proposed organizational competencies. It also paves the way and suggests possible future research opportunities in Lebanon and beyond.

Academia and business could benefit significantly from a framework allocating scarce resources to corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes while considering the stakeholders’ importance. Methodologies that are capable of integrating CSR into business models in an operational way could be of great use. This thesis makes a contribution to knowledge by the development of a decision support methodology to allocate resources to CSR programmes. The research introduces the concepts of CSR and decision analysis, while identifying a hybrid integrated framework combining several decision analysis techniques allowing elimination of the deficiencies of mono-methodologies and facilitating resources allocation to CSR projects. Despite the high levels of awareness, the process of implementing CSR at the project level is difficult, as implementation of CSR at the design stage requires effective allocation of scarce resources in addition to considering diverging objectives of stakeholders, multiple criteria and uncertainty throughout the decision-making process. A three phase research programme involving a pilot study, framework building, framework testing and validation is conducted to understand the principles of CSR practices and related implementation issues. The research explores and identifies methodologies of decision analysis that can be applied in an integrated manner to address problems in CSR. The result is a sequential and iterative methodology that fills the gap identified through a literature review and practitioner survey. The documented framework, derived from the structured development and test programme, has shown to be feasible. It makes a significant contribution to knowledge, attained through the provisions of procedural fairness. The key stakeholders are fully engaged in the process of framework building as well as throughout the entire decision-making process. The research provides a framework to allocate resources to CSR programmes in an efficient manner by considering the stakeholders’ diverging objectives, companies’ competitive advantage, interdependent criteria, and limited resources.

<div>Digital transformation greatly affects all segments of our society. There are three powerful trends unleashed by the digital revolution: machine, platform, and crowd. The first trend emphasizes that machine learning can either complements or supplements human capabilities, which leads to data-driven decision making. The second trend shows that value creation is moving from physical products to platforms (e.g., Uber and Airbnb) where network effects can have a great impact. The third trend is about the emergence of online crowds. Several good examples are crowdfunding platforms like Indiegogo and collaborative platforms such as Wikipedia. My research work studies these three trends from different aspects. </div><div><br></div><div>In the first project, we investigated how professional reviewers influence subsequent non-editor reviewers in their writing behaviors. Restaurants that receive editorial reviews are found to have reviewers who not only post more frequently, but also give lengthier and more neutral feedback. Further investigation of the mechanism finds that in terms of the topics, sentiment, and readability, following reviews of restaurants that receive editorial reviews become increasingly similar to their editorial reviews, indicating that a herding effect is the main driver of the shift in later reviews. In this study, we not only look at quantitative review characteristics such as rating and review length, but also extract qualitative review characteristics embedded in review text using Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques (e.g., Topic modeling and Sentiment analysis). </div><div><br></div><div>In the second project, we studied how AI-based shelf monitoring can help manufacturers with their shelf management efforts. In general, we've discovered that AI-powered shelf monitoring boosts product sales. We further reveal that the positive effect shall be attributed to independent retailers rather than chained retailers. More broadly, the finding further suggests that AI-powered monitoring is more scalable, allowing manufacturers to cope more effectively with more heterogeneous objects. In this study, we analyzed shelf photos using deep learning (e.g., image recognition). Furthermore, we conducted a qualitative study (i.e., interviews) as a supplement attempt to uncover the underlying mechanism behind the interesting phenomenon found in our field experiment. </div><div><br></div><div>In the third project, we tried to understand the dynamic contribution patterns caused by backers’ multiple roles and fundraisers’ strategic behaviors. We show that projects described by more subjective content (i.e., title and introduction) significantly repel potential donors. We further show that fundraisers’ contribution to their own projects might increase donor’ intention to donate and has no significant impact on reward pledging of subsequent backers. Above that, we find a positive interplay between donation and reward pledge, suggesting a cross-channel peer influence that will facilitate the fundraising progress. </div>

<p dir="ltr">In my dissertation, I delve into the moderation and economic dynamics of online platforms. With the proliferation of platforms facilitating user interaction, it becomes imperative to grasp the mechanisms underlying content creation and the economic ramifications of such policies on diverse user groups. Comprising three essays, my dissertation examines the influence of crowd-sourced misinformation monitoring, the effects of privacy on content creation by fact-checkers, and the likelihood of platform acquisition.</p><p dir="ltr">In the first essay, I investigate the impacts of crowd-based misinformation monitoring programs by examining how implementing crowd-based monitoring affects both the quality and quantity of user-generated content. Using data from Twitter's Birdwatch program, I find that content quality, measured subjectively through cognition, improves, while objective measures like user engagement show no significant change. Additionally, there's a decrease in sentiment extremity and machine-learning-calculated misinformation, indicating a potential improvement in overall content quality and reduction in misinformation. However, the program's launch leads to fewer tweets suggesting a trade-off with reduced content volume. </p><p dir="ltr">In my second essay, I analyze how privacy measures affect fact-checkers' content creation. Using Twitter's Birdwatch program, which assigns aliases to fact-checkers, I study the impact of anonymity on their behavior. The results show that privacy measures lead to more content creation on the main platform without any impact to fact-checking activity. Additionally, the content becomes more neutral and less negative. Users also feel more comfortable discussing political topics on Twitter afterward. These findings underscore the importance of privacy measures for effective misinformation monitoring.</p><p dir="ltr">In my third essay, I examine the likelihood of platform company acquisitions, a trend on the rise. These companies' multi-sided nature increases their complexity, presenting both challenges and opportunities in acquisitions. While complexity can lead to information asymmetry, it also enhances attractiveness as an acquisition target. Analyzing Crunchbase data, I find a positive correlation between platform company complexity and acquisition likelihood. </p>

The thesis deals with the economic crisis and financial crisis of 2007 -- 2010. There is described the development of the economic situation during the economic crisis and the impact on individual sectors. The main attention is paid to the IT industry and specifically the market with business information systems. As a specific example demonstrating the impact of current crisis is selected company SAP, which operates in the field of business information systems nearly 40 years and is a world leader in business information systems. Various situations were analyzed during several economic recessions and compared with the current economic situation. Aim is to analyze the current situation, the impact on specific sectors, especially in the IT industry and producers of business information systems. You can find here the analysis of effect on SAP and what is its response to the crisis. There are most common anti-crisis measures taken and their impact on business and also recommendation that companies should watch out in times of economic crisis.

Checkland developed Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to address problem situations from a systems perspective; however, SSM needs to be extended with other methods to find superior solutions that overcome the need for a compromise or trade-off between conflicting or contradictory elements. This thesis extends Checkland’s SSM approach to resolve problems with conflicting or contradictory elements. This work integrates the powerful benefits of TRIZ-based analysis into SSM and provides a means for systemic resolution of business problems with conflicting sub-system elements. Furthermore, this study acknowledges that soft problems can have conflicting relationships among their elements, compares the strengths and weaknesses of SSM and TRIZ in problem structuring, and presents a collaborative SSM-TRIZ approach for problem structuring. Finally, this thesis applies the joint methodology to examine the business problem of customer needs assessment for a certain market segment of INCOSE’s planned Professional Development initiative. Although SSM-TRIZ helps structure problems with opposing requirements, it does not always provide definitive, prescriptive solution implementations for technical and business issues. Hence, hard thinking approaches cannot be discarded in practice after implementing SSM-TRIZ. Text mining was selected for providing a final and definite solution to the problem situation of interest.