Previous studies highlight the major technological advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and the benefits of introducing artificial intelligence systems in the form of chatbots in, among other things, customer support. They also describe the impact of chatbots on organizations. Artificial intelligence technology provides computers with the ability to display human-like traits, such as reasoning, creativity, learning and planning. The advantages of artificial intelligence-based chatbots can be, for example, improved processes in customer support, reduced costs and less burden on employees regarding monotonous tasks. It is important beforehand, and also during the course of the project, to have a well-functioning operation from an organizational and technical perspective. If there are problems within the business that are not addressed, this can have consequences. It is therefore not only the implementation of the chatbot that should be focused on in order to succeed with the change, but also organizational and technical parts of the business that will very likely be affected by the implementation. About 87% of artificial intelligence system implementation projects fail. This is because several factors relating to the project or to the product implemented have not been taken into account. Therefore, this study investigates the research question: What critical success factors need to be considered when implementing chatbots in customer support? The purpose of this research question is to identify which critical success factors (CSFs) are most necessary for decision makers to be aware of. This is to have better conditions to succeed with the implementation and use of artificial intelligence-based chatbots in customer support. To answer this question, a qualitative study has been carried out in the form of a case study with interviews as a data collection method. Respondents relevant to the research area have been interviewed. In conducting this study, thematic analysis has been used as a data analysis method to identify, analyze and report patterns in the collected data. These have then been used to answer our question. The result generated 3 themes, 15 categories and 45 codes. The categories are divided according to critical success factors from previous studies identified using the codes extracted from the interviews. These critical success factors are in turn divided into three different themes that represent the different characteristic features among the factors, these are organizational, technical and resource factors. The critical success factors that are included in the theme organizational factors are: Lack of benefits visibility, Change management, Organizational culture, Organizational structure, Resistance and Ambiguous strategic vision. In the technical factors: Ethics issues, Insuf icient quantity of data, Integration complexity, Low data quality, Data governance issues, Security and confidentiality and Scalable and flexible system. The theme resource factors include: Selection of vendors and High cost of AI. The conclusion of this study suggests that there are a variety of critical success factors of organizational, technical, and resource-related nature that are important to consider when implementing chatbots in customer support. Those considered to be of the highest priority are the technical factors. Next in line are the organizational factors Organizational culture, Organizational structure and Resistance, followed by the rest of the factors in the same theme. The factors considered to be of the lowest priority are the ones included in the theme resource factors. There are also critical success factors from previous studies, that this study builds upon, that are considered not important enough to take into account. The critical success factors generated in this investigation are discussed regarding how the data extracted has a connection to a certain critical success factor. In the discussion, critical success factors generated are compared with the critical success factors from previous studies. Since this is a case study containing a limited number of respondents, there is of course a likelihood that there are more critical success factors affecting customer support chatbot implementation projects. However, the critical success factors that this study resulted in are considered to be of higher priority and can therefore have the greatest impact on such a project.

Although nearly everyone agrees that principals need formal training to prepare for their positions, few agree on what the nature of this training should be. Advanced university education may teach examples of leadership behaviors, but is it likely to transmit the practical knowledge and behaviors that are the hallmarks of successful principals? This study focused on the 13 critical success factors for school leaders as created by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB, 2002). The purpose of the study was to identify the extent to which these 13 standards have been addressed in formal and informal development training experiences of school principals in Tennessee. Data were collected using an open-ended interview guide while interviewing principals. The findings from this study suggested that the use of scenarios, cohort groups, experienced staff, and using current research were strategies that universities can use to develop a strong principal training program and support effective teaching of the 13 critical success factors. Two university training limitations became evident during the interview process: (a) lack of some type of internship or hands-on programs and (b) not having experienced instructors. In addition, the study's results led to recommendations that the following critical success factors, although they are currently addressed, should be addressed more effectively. Those factors are time organization, current instructional practices, parent involvement, understanding data, use of resources, obtaining support from central office, and increased use of professional development.

This paper focuses on the importance of effective software development processes and a foundational understanding of success factors in the public sector. Although there has been significant investment in information technology, not all public sector software projects result in a successful return on investment. This study explores the crucial factors, referred to as Critical Success Factors (CSFs), that enable the success of public sector software development projects. Additionally, this study aims to discover if the CSFs, the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), or its methodologies are more impactful for the success of software projects. This study aims to also identify the challenges public sector developers face during their efforts. By analyzing empirical data collected from a US Department of Defense Research and Development organization, this research aims to provide essential information for improving the likelihood of successful software project outcomes. Ultimately, this research can enable decision-makers to create better training opportunities, standard operating procedures, and hiring processes for public sector software projects.

An uncertain business environment and increased competition have resulted in change being an inevitable aspect for modern organizations. Therefore, it's important to understand what factors have the most impact on a change project's outcome. Previous research found that as much as 70 percent of change projects do not achieve the desired results. To address this issue, research has been conducted to establish factors that are important to operationalize independent of the change projects characteristics. However, the success rate of change projects is still low and contemporary research suggests how factors that are important to operationalize are influenced by change characteristics. This study examined the relationship between critical success factors and change characteristics through an individual case study of a change project. The method was qualitative and semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees at the case company. The study found that certain critical success factors established by prior research were not considered important for the change project's outcome, while other factors, including the respondents own suggestions, were considered crucial. The study also found that certain phases of the change project were considered more important than others.

The market for maintenance of dwellings in the construction industry is only getting more significant due to the time factor. Dwellings are only getting older, and demands for refurbishment are getting more obligatory for tenant-owned cooperatives.  This study examines the project manager’s approach when dealing with tenant-owned cooperatives and the management of pipe replacement. What risks and factors that are important to identify to achieve a possible decrease in disturbances in pipe replacement projects. To answer the purpose and the research questions asked, eight interviews were conducted.  The interviews were project managers with different experience level in the field of pipe replacement. The questions asked were based on the theoretical aspect of this study to examine further strategies that could help to achieve a successful project. The result from the interviewees was then analyzed and compressed to understand main factors and identify strategies to decrease disturbance during a pipe replacement project. The result from this master thesis indicates that a well-functioned communication prevents unpredictable risks together with a comprehensive pre-study. When dealing with a non-professional client, the right approach and educational level have to be established in the first interaction. When asked to rank the critical success factors, the most important ones were; Human-related factors, Project procedures, and Project-related factors. This consequently, implies which areas that are important for a project manager. As for the result of using risk management in pipe replacement projects, it could be regarded as either the most important or one very important tool to generate a successful project. / Marknaden för underhåll av bostadsrättföreningars bostäder i byggbranschen blir bara allt större på grund av tidsfaktorn. Bostäder blir bara äldre och krav på renovering blir mer obligatorisk för bostadsrättsföreningarna.   Denna studie undersöker projektledarens synsätt om hur man hanterar bostadsrättföreningar och projektledningen av stambyte. Vilka risker och faktorer som är viktiga att identifiera för att uppnå så nära som möjligt ett störningsfritt projekt. För att svara på syftet och frågeställningar har åtta intervjuer genomförts. Intervjuerna var med projektledare med olika erfarenhetsnivåer inom stambyte. Frågorna var baserad på den teoretiska aspekten av denna studie för att undersöka strategier som skulle kunna bidra till att uppnå ett framgångsrikt projekt. Resultatet från intervjuerna analyserades och undersöktes för att sedan förstå huvudfaktorerna och därmed identifieringsstrategier för att minska störningarna under ett stambytesprojekt. Resultatet av detta examensarbete visar att en väl fungerande kommunikation hindrar oförutsägbara risker med en djup förstudie. När projekt ledarna arbetar med en icke-professionell beställare måste man redan från början etablera rätt inställning. När de som intervjuades frågades om att rangordna vilka av de kritiska framgångsfaktorerna som var de viktigaste, var följande resultat; Mänskliga faktorer, upphandlingsprocesser och Projektrelaterade faktorer. Följaktligen, innebär vilket område som är viktigt för en projektledare. När det gäller resultatet av att använda riskhantering i rörbytesprojekt, kan det betraktas som antingen det viktigaste eller ett mycket viktigt verktyg för att skapa ett framgångsrikt projekt.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are considered to be a most efficient tool which is able to push economic and social development to experience significant progress and development as they offer useful services to consumers, and provide much needed employment. With this in consideration, they are useful for training, acquiring experience and technical and managerial skills. The objectives of this research are to identify the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for SMEs in Saudi Arabia. Based on the literature review, 20 factors have been identified and subsequently structured into three groups, namely entrepreneurial, enterprise and environmental factors. The study also focuses on the SMEs Support Programme by identifying the current situation and accordingly providing recommendations based on those made by the support providers. Data have been collected by utilising a mixed method approach: first, 146 postal questionnaires with SME owners/managers have been analysed by using SPSS; second, in order to gain further understanding of the situation and particular challenges, 15 in-depth interviews with support providers have been conducted; and third, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been used to analyse the pairwise comparison of the factors. The main findings of this study are that, for the CSFs for SMEs in Saudi Arabia, three factors are deemed to be important both for owners/managers and support providers. These factors are quality of the product and service, customer satisfaction, and business planning. The findings also indicate that there are many ¿important support gaps¿ which show that existing support needs to be addressed in order to improve and develop the support structure. / Government of the Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Higher Education.

Florida bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) were surveyed for the purpose of discovering the attitudes, beliefs, and actual behaviors of B&B owners and operators that contribute to an operation’s success. This study had several objectives: 1) to provide an analysis of attitudes and beliefs perceived to be necessary for success and the actual behaviors exhibited by operators based upon their self-definition of success, 2) to collect demographic information from various bed and breakfasts in Florida, and 3) to expand the limited amount of research that has addressed issues in the bed and breakfast industry. Between July 2009 and August 2009, data was collected by using a mailed survey. After collecting and compiling all of the information, Pearson’s correlation was used to determine if any correlations existed between owners and operator’s attitudes and beliefs and actual behaviors. Furthermore, the total sample was separated into a “successful” group and an “other” group in order to discover disparities between each group’s attitudes/beliefs and behaviors. This study was modeled after Bed and Breakfasts in Virginia: Identification of Success Factors (Kaufman, 1994), and had many correlations that were similar to Virginia’s bed and breakfast industry. In addition to the similar correlations found in the previous study, this study found several more attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that have deemed necessary for success by Florida’s bed and breakfast industry leaders. The study concluded that several attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors were necessary for success: bed and breakfast owners and operators must understand the B&B industry, have had past work experience in the hospitality industry, understand the basic functions of running a business, and maintain a positive relationship with employees and guests.

Många ERP-implementeringsprojekt går över planerad budget och planerade tidsramar. Tidigare forskning har resulterat i ett ramverk av kritiska framgångsfaktorer som bör beaktas under ett implementeringsprojekt. Hur väl stämmer denna tidigare utvecklade teoretiska bild av kritiska framgångsfaktorer överens med svenska ERP-konsulters bild av implementeringsarbetet idag? Syftet är att klargöra om ett tidigare utvecklat ramverk av kritiska framgångsfaktorer är aktuellt för dagens ERP-implementeringar. En litteraturstudie utfördes och följdes av fem kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer på fem etablerade svenska ERP-konsultfirmor. Studien noterade flera likheter mellan det teoretiska ramverket samt uppfattningarna hos de svenska affärssystemskonsulterna. Områden som projektplanering ansågs vara av yttersta vikt. Ett antal skillnader upptäcktes också. Det ansågs kritiskt att personal har möjlighet att lägga ner den tid som behövs. Vidare ansågs god kommunikation vara en grundläggande komponent. / Many ERP-implementation projects require more time and money than expected. Previous research has developed a framework consisting of several critical success factors that need to be considered during implementation projects. How well does the earlier developed theoretical picture of critical success factors align with the picture of several Swedish ERP-consultants today? The purpose is to clarify if a previously developed framework of critical success factors are applicable to current ERP-implementation projects. A literature study was performed and followed by five qualitative semi structured interviews at five established Swedish ERP-consulting firms. The study noted several similarities between the theoretical framework and the opinions of the Swedish ERP-consultants. Areas such as project planning proved to be of vast importance. A few differences were also revealed, such as the great significance of having the time necessary as well as proper communication.

Over roughly the last three decades, governments worldwide have implemented public private partnerships (P3s) to mobilize both private funds and public resources to develop transportation infrastructure, which has provided private entities contemporary opportunities to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain these important assets. Typically, P3s are large and complex undertakings that involve and impact many stakeholders, including public officials, financiers, builders, business owners and taxpaying citizens. Consequently, their efficacy depends – to a great extent – on how well they meet the interests of this array of stakeholders. Hence, effective assessment of P3s is crucial to determine whether these infrastructure initiatives and project outcomes satisfy these stakeholders' interests throughout a P3's life-cycle. Researchers and practitioners have considered various aspects of P3s when considering their performance. In general, the current research landscape related to P3 performance includes two major areas: (1) the identification and implementation of critical success factors (CSFs) and key performance indicators (KPIs), and (2) the development of frameworks that conceptualize approaches to measure P3 performance. Numerous studies have focused on CSFs that are the "ingredients" of effective P3s. More recent studies have emphasized KPIs that are metrics to assess them. Alternatively, some research has taken a life-cycle approach to propose approaches for P3 evaluation that are more comprehensive than assessments of P3 delivery time and cost. While this research has produced useful insights, limited emphasis has been placed on assessing P3 performance comprehensively and beyond the public and private sector dichotomy. Therefore, this research develops a framework that identifies and assesses key stakeholder interests in P3s as a means to characterize their performance. Subsequently, this framework was employed in a case study of four P3 projects to evaluate how well these cases met stakeholder expectations and ultimately performed. The research to develop the framework and conduct the case study was organized in three integrated studies. The first study employed a systematic literature review of CSFs and KPIs where the extant literature remains largely segmented and fragmented. Synthesis of the literature helped to identify and characterize various CSFs and KPIs and their current employment within the P3 performance domain. This led to the development of a CSF-KPI framework that integrates these factors and indicators throughout a P3 project's lifecycle. The outcome of the first study served as the foundation for the second study where the framework to assess stakeholders' interests was constructed. In this process, the second study followed a systematic approach by integrating key components to assess performance. The development process involved several key steps: (1) identification of the key stakeholders – specifically the state (elected bodies and executive agencies), investors (equity providers), producers (project service providers) and users/citizens (individuals or groups impacted by a project); (2) characterization of their principal interests; (3) selection of indicators of these interests; (4) linkage of the indicators with 11 performance dimensions ranging from project environment to revenue and operations; and (5) connection of the performance dimensions with four levels of performance: planning, project management, business, and future potential. The framework was demonstrated and substantiated using data from the I-495 Capital Beltway Express project. The application confirmed the replicability of the framework. The final study utilized the framework to evaluate P3s effectiveness in serving stakeholders goals and objectives. A multiple case study was conducted of four P3 highway projects in the United States: I-495 Capital Beltway Express, LBJ Expressway, SR 125 (South Bay Expressway), and SH 130 (5and6) to examine the extent that state, investor, producer, and user/citizen interests were fulfilled. Overall, I-495 and LBJ Expressway met stakeholder interests more effectively than SR 125 and SH 130 (5and6); these two cases had stronger planning, project management, and business performance. Notably, the I-495 case was an unsolicited (or market lead) proposal that followed a collaborative planning process to shape and define the project to meet mutual interests while the LBJ Expressway case utilized a competitive best-value procurement to generate an innovative technical solution that reduced the project's cost and footprint. Whereas SR 125 and SH 130 (5and6) experienced various issues that led to their bankruptcy; the new owners of both projects have taken steps to improve their outlook. Overall, the research deepens understanding of the factors that impact stakeholder interests and their expectations of P3s, presents a holistic framework for P3 assessments, and provides evidence of how well multiple P3s performed, moving beyond conceptual frameworks that are currently found in the literature. / Doctor of Philosophy / Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) have been adopted extensively to facilitate the development of transportation infrastructure. The need for more efficient and effective P3 projects makes performance assessment increasingly important, especially with respect to stakeholder interests and expectations. Also, effective and efficient assessment of P3 performance is crucial to determine whether this infrastructure development strategy meets owners and stakeholders needs throughout the P3 project lifecycle. The absence of an effective and comprehensive approach to evaluate P3 performance can result in reliance on anecdotal evidence, which may inaccurately portray the outcomes of these projects. While numerous studies have examined multiple facets of P3s over the last two decades, limited emphasis has been placed on comprehensively assessing their performance. Consequently, the purpose of this research is to advance the state of knowledge of P3 project performance in the transportation sector. To realize this purpose, this dissertation performed three integrated studies. The first study examined the current literature to identify factors that influence P3 outcomes and metrics that measure them. The second study developed a performance assessment framework, which captures various phases of a project's life cycle and considers the perspectives and objectives of the range of stakeholders involved in or impacted by P3s. Further, the framework was demonstrated and substantiated using data from the I-495 Capital Beltway Express project. Finally, the third study examined four cases in the US market – I-495, LBJ Expressway, SR 125 (South Bay Expressway), and SH 130 (5and6) – to examine to what extent state, investor, producer, and user/citizen interests were fulfilled. The case study illustrated that I-495 and LBJ Expressway met stakeholder interests more effectively than SR 125 and SH 130 (5and6); I-495 and LBJ Expressway fulfilled their implementation, financial and service expectations whereas SR 125 and SH 130 (5and6) experienced implementation issues and financial distress. Overall, these studies support improved understanding of the factors that impact stakeholder interests in P3s and provide evidence of how well four P3s projects performed over time.

No / Supply chain management (SCM) is a major issue in many industries as organisations begin to appreciate the criticality of creating an integrated relationship with their suppliers and customers, as well as all other stakeholders. Managing the supply chain has become a way of improving competitiveness by reducing uncertainty and enhancing customer service. The concept of value chain management (VCM) is becoming quite prevalent in industry. Despite this popularity, there is little evidence of the development of accompanying theory in the literature. Without theory development, it is difficult to identify specific hypotheses and propositions, which can be tested, resulting in research that lacks focus and is perhaps irrelevant. This paper analyses the merits and limitations of SCM and provides broader awareness of VCM, its critical success factors and proposes a model, which covers four key elements supported by a drive on agility and speed.