Lärplattformar används idag i allt större utsträckning vid distansundervisning. Forskning pekar på att lärstilar är en viktig faktor att ta hänsyn till vid distansundervisning, dock är området beträffande lärstilar i relation till lärplattformar relativt outforskat, och det saknas tydlig vetskap om hur lärplattformar kan designas för att stödja olika lärstilar. Den här studien undersöker lärstilar i relation till funktioner i lärplattformar, genom en explorativ ansats och studie med designinslag. Utifrån en litteraturstudie identifierades funktioner i en lärplattform, vilka ställdes i relation till Kolbs teori om lärstilar för att mynna ut i ett antal rekommendationer för undervisning och användning av funktioner, som låg till grund för utformning av en prototyp. Prototypen fungerade som underlag för den empiriska undersökningen, vilken genom intervjuer utgjorde prövning av rekommendationernas relevans, samt kartläggning av hur funktioner i lärplattformar stödjer olika lärstilar vid användning. Studienresulterade i åtta designriktlinjer, och bidrar till den brist som idag råder i fråga om hur lärplattformar kan designas för att stödja olika lärstilar. / Learning management systems are currently used increasingly in distance education. Research indicates that learning styles are important factors to consider in distance education, however, the area regarding learning styles in relation to learning management systems is relatively unexplored, and there is no clear knowledge of how learning management systems can be designed to support different learning styles. This study investigates learning styles in relation to the features in learning management systems, through an explorative approach and study with design elements. Based on a literature study we identified features of a learning management system, which was put in relation to Kolb's theory of learning styles in order to lead to a number of recommendations for education and use of features, which formed the basis for the design of a prototype. The prototype served as the basis for the empirical investigation, in which interviews constituted testing of the relevance of the recommendations, and the mapping of the features of the learning management system to support different learning styles in use. The study resulted in eight design guidelines, and contributes to the shortage that currently exists in terms of how learning management systems can be designed to support different learning styles.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how stores in the retail sector and in business to consumers´ relations, are engaged in the CRM systems use and management. The purpose is also to see if the information that is gathered by the headquarters is transferred down to the stores.   The research follows a realistic philosophy combined with an abductive approach and a qualitative method. The choice of design to this research was an exploratory research combined with a case study strategy over a cross-sectional time horizon. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with managers in the six different retail stores.      The findings from this thesis showed various results when it came to the use of the CRM system and the amount of information that the stores got access to from the headquarter/partner. None of the stores managed their CRM systems themselves, it was only managed by the headquarters or partners of the retail chains. The amount of information that was transferred down from the headquarters or partners, affected how much the stores used the CRM system. The stores that got much information had more knowledge about the CRM system and used it a lot more than stores that got less information.   The limitations that can be found in this thesis is that it is only a small amount of stores within the retail market that has been examined, this might give a misleading result for the rest of the retail market and the global market as whole.

Corporate governance has been heavily criticised because of failures of companies across the globe. In response to these failures, legislative and regulatory changes have been introduced. However, sceptics argue that compliance to these legislative and regulatory acts is costly and time consuming, contributing to overregulation. Furthermore, these measures lack business value and there is no guarantee that adherence to these measures can be enforced. This thesis presents an argument for the better utilisation of electronic means and specifically Business Process Management Systems (BPMSs) in support of corporate governance. Orlikowski’s theory of “Technologies-in-Practice” is applied as theoretical underpinning to guide the research process. This thesis follows an interpretive research paradigm approach to gain insight and understanding of how the King principles for governance, can be inscribed into BPMSs and their components to improve corporate governance in South Africa. The theory of Orlikowski supports the structuration perspective of the research phenomenon. During this study, data was collected from a BPMS vendor company and seven South African BPMS user companies. After following a process of triangulation, the research findings were used to propose a theoretical framework that explains the utilisation of BPMSs in support of corporate governance in South Africa. Finally, a theoretical framework, reviewed by experts from the domains of corporate governance and business process management, is presented. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Informatics / unrestricted

The aim is to study the empirical relevance of performance management systems in the public sector, based on the performance management systems framework. A qualitative approach was chosen, making three case studies of Swedish municipalities by conducting personal interviews. The municipal chief executive, municipal CFO and a financial manager at a department were chosen at every municipality, providing us with diversified as well as accurate information. The interviews were based on the PMSs framework developed by Ferreira and Otley (2009), giving a broad and detailed description of the systems. This information, together with the theoretical framework, was then processed, leading up to the analysis and conclusions. Pursuant to the new public management, performance management is a relatively new concept in the public sector. The three studied municipalities all have relatively new PMSs, showing that this area is empirically relevant to study. As expected, the municipalities displayed both positive and negative sides of their systems, described in more detail in the paper. The PMSs framework is considered a useful tool in this study, making it relevant in the public sector. Still, both benefits and drawbacks are found, presented together with possible improvements.

Knowledge management (KM) is increasingly becoming important for organisations to enhance their competitive advantage, performance and to become more effective. Academic institutions and academic libraries, in particular, have come to the realisation that they too can benefit from knowledge management and are increasingly looking to adopt appropriate means to effectively manage their knowledge resources so as to improve the services rendered to their patrons. Knowledge management systems (KMS) are suitable means for academic libraries to manage knowledge and enable the processes of creation, storage, sharing and application of knowledge. While issues related to the design and implementation of knowledge management systems have been widely discussed within various sectors such as the business sector, there is a paucity of research pertaining to KMS implementation in academic libraries yet libraries have started to use several technologies for KM without putting certain issues that are critical to the successful implementation into consideration. Therefore, this study, puts forwards the idea of a KMS in Makerere University Library, exploring several aspects with the aim of discovering how the library can successfully implement a knowledge management system and in so doing explore the readiness of Makerere University Library to implement a KMS. An exploratory study was done adopting the qualitative research approach with Makerere University Library as the case study. The study involved interviews with eight library staff members in the librarian and IT staff categories that were purposively selected to provide information to the study. The major findings from the study revealed that, the majority of library staff at Makerere University Library understand the meaning of knowledge and knowledge management concepts though more training is still needed to clarify these concepts to some staff that do not have a clear understanding of the two concepts. The study also revealed that, the technological infrastructure of the library needs to be updated to support the KMS implementation. Other factors discovered that are key for the successful KMS design and implementation include: library management support, KMS budget, library culture, KM strategy, policies and guidelines, rewards and incentives. The study also identified benefits of a KMS for the library as well as challenges that the library may face in implementing a KMS. Finally, the study puts forward recommendations in the form of strategies for the library to successfully implement a KMS. / Mini Dissertation (MIT)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Information Science / MIT / Unrestricted

This study adopts the theory of planned behavior to understand and influence auditors’ knowledge-sharing behavior. Ajzen (1991) indicates that persuasive communications, such as belief-targeted messages, can be used as behavioral interventions to alter intentions and behaviors. Thus, this study develops and evaluates the effectiveness of behavioral interventions (belief-targeted messages) in encouraging auditors’ knowledge-sharing behavior. This study uses a 2×2 between-participants design. Arguments targeting behavioral beliefs and arguments targeting normative beliefs are manipulated. Consistent with expectations, the results of this study were that (1) auditors exposed to an intervention share more knowledge, compared to auditors not exposed to any interventions; (2) auditors share the most knowledge when exposed to an intervention that includes arguments targeting both behavioral and normative beliefs; (3) the effects of behavioral interventions on knowledge-sharing intention are mediated by auditors’ attitudes and perceived norms related to knowledge sharing; and (4) the influences of attitude and perceived norms on knowledge-sharing behavior are mediated by the intention to share knowledge. The findings of this study have implications for literature and practice. It extends the theory of planned behavior to the auditing setting and examines auditors’ knowledge-sharing behavior with the firm’s knowledge management systems (KMS). Knowledge sharing with the firm’s KMS could potentially mitigate knowledge loss for public accounting firms. The findings of this study provide guidelines to firms regarding how they can encourage knowledge sharing among auditors.

The subject of green management is today relatively unexplored in existing literature, especially regarding SMEs in logistics. To bridge this gap this study aims to find what factors influence the implementation of green management for SMEs in logistics. Furthermore, this study aims to address the influential weight of these factors to create an even greater understanding within the topic. The chosen research method of this paper is qualitative, and the empirical data is collected through semi-structured interviews with Swedish logistic companies who have acquired the environmental management system ISO 14001. Furthermore, the research approach of this study is deductive. When implementing green management, this paper has found 4 factors that influence a company in various ways. What also has been found is what factors that have more influential weight and are essential to make such implementation effective. The study provides both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically it fills a gap current literature and further explains SMEs in logistics use of green management. Practically companies can draw from this study to see if they work effectively with green management or better prepare for a transition. The researchers of this study suggest that the factors of influence that are presented in the empirical findings should be tested in a quantitative study with a larger sample size to better measure the effect of each one in a practical context.

Understanding how technology usage influences performance in the inside sales industry has become an important issue for practitioners. Yet, there is a dearth of literature in this area. Inside sales are sales that are performed remotely using the phone or Internet technologies. Leads (i.e., potential customers) are the life-blood of any inside sales setting, and their effective management is crucial for business success. Lead management systems are information technology (IT) tools designed to automate and support effective lead management. This study developed a conceptual model based on the Technology-Task-Fit (TTF) theory, capturing the impact of lead management systems on inside sales performance through the following mediating mechanisms: task characteristics (call productivity and effort on lead follow-up), selling behaviour (adaptive selling) and salesperson characteristics (salesperson’s competency). To validate this model, we conducted an empirical study with 108 responses collected from sales managers and decision makers. Using PLS-SEM for the analysis, our findings show that the use of lead management systems affects inside sales performance via improving salespeople’s adaptive selling, effort on lead follow-up and competency. The findings of this study contributes to the inside sales literature, and also educate practitioners of the key enablers of inside sales performance and technology usage approaches to the inside sales process.

Collaborative value creation (otherwise known as value co-creation) is a concept that has been explored over the years in the context of knowledge - intensive business services (KIBS) such as management consulting, engineering services, etc. A body of studies has investigated how to foster value co-creation among KIBS providers, clients, and partners during KIBS engagements. Knowledge processes have been identified as an important enabler of value co-creation. In organizations more generally, knowledge management systems and related ICT tools (referred to as KM tools in this research) have been identified to support knowledge processes. However, the support provided to knowledge processes in the specific context of KIBS engagements is yet to be explored. Through the development of a conceptual framework that examines the linkages between KM tools, knowledge processes, and value co-creation in the context of KIBS engagements, this research investigates how knowledge management systems provide support to value co-creation in KIBS engagements. We adopt a multiple case study research design. Using eight semi-structured interviews, we obtained data on knowledge processes and KM tools in KIBS engagements. The result is a refined framework that illustrates the type of KM tools currently used in KIBS engagements, the knowledge processes they support, and their relationship to value co-creation. We also present a discussion of how this framework can be applied practically. At a conceptual level, this study contributes to the field of KIBS by identifying how exactly knowledge processes provide support to value co-creation processes in KIBS engagements, and how KM tools provide support to knowledge processes. At a practical level, this study contribute s to the field of knowledge management systems design by providing guidance on the KM tools that can meet the specific needs of service providers, clients, and partners in the domain of knowledge-intensive services.

Práce charakterizuje systémy pro podporu správy dokumentů (DMS) a jejich využití v prostředí státní správy. Jsou popsány technologické i organizační aspekty práce s dokumenty v tomto prostředí. Speciální část je věnována legislativě, která hraje v prostředí státní správy velmi podstatnou roli. Praktické otázky jsou řešeny na základě případových studií z české praxe.