Organizational leaders have increasingly turned to enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications, also known as decision-support systems, to make their firms' operational, tactical, and strategic processes more efficient and effective in the changing global marketplace. High failure rates in ERP systems implementations make these projects risky, however. Most prior research on critical success factors for conventional ERP implementation has been on large enterprises, resulting in a gap in knowledge on these factors in the small and medium enterprises that constitute the majority of U.S. employer firms. A qualitative modified Delphi study with an expert panel of U.S. manufacturing consultants and 3 iterative rounds of data collection and analysis revealed consensus on 8 critical success factors in ERP implementations, with the highest agreement on top management support and commitment, enterprise resource planning fit with the organization, quality management, and a small internal team of the best employees. In addition to furthering knowledge in the fields of leadership and enterprise applications, the study expands enterprise resource planning experts' and scholars' understanding of strategies to improve project success and the triple bottom line for any size enterprise in the manufacturing industry. Practitioners in the ERP industry can also apply approaches outlined during ERP implementations to mitigate risk during these engagements. Implications for positive social change include additional job opportunities and higher wages through increased efficiencies in ERP applications.

Business Intelligence (BI) handlar huvudsakligen om att samla in, analysera och konvertera data till värdefull information som sedan används av beslutstagare för att vidareutveckla och optimera verksamheten (Negash, 2004). Utvinning av positiva effekter till följd av BI-implementering är dock inte något som organisationer kan eller bör ta för givet. Tidigare forskning påvisar att ett stort antal organisationer upplever svårigheter att utvinna nytta ur BI-initiativ och att satsningar på BI därmed ofta betraktas som ett misslyckande (Chenoweth, Corral & Demirkan, 2006). Baserat på tidigare forskning bedöms frekvensen av misslyckade BI-projekt vidare ligga någonstans kring 50-80% av alla BI-satsningar (Meehaan, 2011; Legodi & Barry, 2010). I dagsläget finns begränsad forskning om faktorer som påverkar BI-implementeringars framgång på grund av att utvecklingen av BI främst drivits av IT- industrin och dess leverantörer (Yeoh & Koronios, 2010). Detta pekar enligt oss på att det finns en diskrepans mellan forskning och praktik. Vår förhoppning är således att vår studie kan fylla denna kunskapslucka genom att presentera nya empiriska insikter kopplat till framgångsfaktorer för implementering av BI hos svenska organisationer, med hjälp av en vetenskaplig förankring. / Business Intelligence (BI) mainly concerns collecting, analyzing and converting data into valuable information that is then used by decision makers to further develop and optimize the business (Negash, 2004). However, the extraction of positive effects as a result of BI implementation is not something organizations can or should take for granted. Previous research shows that a large number of organizations find it difficult to derive benefits from BI initiatives and that investments in BI are often regarded as failures (Chenoweth, Corral & Demirkan, 2006). Furthermore, the frequency of failed BI projects is assessed to be somewhere around 50-80% of all BI initiatives (Meehaan, 2011; Legodi & Barry, 2010). There is currently limited research on factors that affect the success of BI implementations due to the fact that the development of BI has been mainly driven by the IT industry and its suppliers (Yeoh & Koronios, 2010). This leads us to believe that there is a discrepancy between research and practice. Our hope is therefore that we through our study will be able to fill this knowledge gap by presenting new empirical insights linked to success factors for BI implementation in Swedish organizations, using a scientific foundation.

In the island-city state of Singapore, growth and development are very much dependent on global trade. Project management is one of the key competencies that organizations and the government seek to develop to stay relevant and plugged-in to the global community. This research attempts to examine the predictors of project success in the Singapore context. This study uses Pinto's Project Implementation Profile (PIP) instrument as a basis and starting point for further study. It seeks to discover and identify critical success factors (CSFs) in Singaporean project environment. The study also aims to validate whether the PIP, which is commonly used in western societies, is also applicable in the Singapore context. A methodology combining Critical Incident Technique (CIT) has been used to identify possible CSFs, which are subsequently rationalized and validated with the CSFs in the PIP. A questionnaire survey (n= 267), involving project management professionals across several key sectors and industries, provided data for quantitative analysis. Multivariate analyses, which include factor analysis and multiple regression, were applied to identify and validate the CSFs that are significant in predicting project success. The results produce a predictive equation involving five CSFs that are significant in predicting project success in the Singapore context. The study generally supports the applicability of Pinto's PIP in Singapore, although with some differences. It is expected that the findings of this study will provide value to future researchers who are keen to further explore the 'elusive' CSFs of project management. The business community is also expected to leverage on the findings of this study to optimize their scarce project management resources in achieving and sustaining business competencies.

<p>There are several participants in the renewable energy sector, each one having their own perspective, according to their interests. One renewable source of energy is wind. Development of wind energy projects is complex and implies the conjunction of several endeavors that are hard to be undertaken by only one organization. The complexity of wind energy projects demands the interaction among actors, that is, the creation of partnerships.</p><p> </p><p>The purpose of this study is to question the nature of partnerships as a response to strategic decisions for the implementation of wind energy projects and to provide arguments to state that partnerships are indeed strategic. By making a comparison of the different roles of the actors involved in the sector and having a theoretical support created by a literature review of the subject, authors’ arguments are based on the analysis of six different perspectives from those actors in the wind energy arena: Utilities company, wind energy projects developers, government, financial institutions, international organization and consultants.</p><p>A qualitative approach guided the identification of the role of these wind energy participants as their perspective in the sector. Perspective cases were formed through interviews made to representatives of different actors and through secondary data.</p><p>Having an empirical approach, some wind energy projects and their involved partnerships were identified and analyzed. In addition, by analyzing the critical success factors of partnerships that influence crucial aspects for implementation of wind energy projects, it was confirmed that good partnerships are based on trust and their success is the result of establishing clear objectives and defining the roles and responsibilities of each partner. Besides, considerations regarding control management of partnership deployment among actors of the energy sector are suggested.</p><p>Latterly, it was uncovered that organizations sometimes do not recognize their relationships as partnerships, due to the bare understanding of the scope of <em>partnership </em>concept. In practice, partnership is conceived as a long-term relationship, while relationships for a limited time are commonly identified as contracts. However, it was concluded that in any case a partnership is developed, as partners gather their own expertise to achieve common goals.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>This research is meant to be a reference for decision-making individuals or project managers that need to evaluate ways to implement strategies. Also this study is conceived for those that need to decide if it is worthy to establish a partnership and its considerations, as a response to strategic decisions.</p><p> </p>

<p>Enterprises of any size need to face different challenges which might be specific to their environment or their structure. Therefore, to overcome these barriers each company owner needs to take into consideration suitable ways through which the available and potential resources can be best use in dealing with the business context. Issues like, market breakthrough and acceptance, competition, economic environment, can prove to be critical for a small business which bases its activities on innovation type of services and products.</p><p>By studding the specific context of small businesses with an entrepreneurial and innovative character, we try to address in this thesis one of the particular ways through which these type of companies can face challenges within their environment: by involving different categories of external support in their projects and business activities. While the need for capital, information and co-operation is growing along with the small business development, we also have chosen to focus our attention on three types of support infrastructures: finance, information and network. Then, each of these support aspects is analysed in connection with project critical success factors in order to establish a certain relevance that external assistance can have on project success.</p><p>The case studies are based on five small companies within a Swedish incubator in the region of Västerbotten county. As for our study we consider governmental agencies, universities and Science Parks, as three representative support agents, we decided to take closely analyse one of them, and so we looked at the policies and environment of the incubator which hosts the five small companies. And so, Uminova Innovation and its incubator, which are part of Uminova Science Park, could be considered as the overall case study framework. Then, the outcomes of this thesis highlight the perceived influence of the three support infrastructures: finance, information and networks on the business projects, activities and processes. Although the particular business characteristics have their own impact when it comes to the types of support each studied company choose to approach, a general link has been noticed between a certain type of business activities or plans and the involved support.</p><p>As this study brings up particular matters which engage both small business and the business support agents, we believe that the outcomes of the analysis and the broad theoretical framework would be a suitable reference for practitioners of support policies as well as for small business owners. Therefore, the actions and policies of these actors can be further developed by taking in consideration the critical success factors which have a direct implication in enhancing a particular support that further can contribute to project success.</p>

In recent years, the rise of the BRIC economies (China, India, Brazil and Russia) has caused industries in the developed and even in the developing countries, to shift toward the rising economies. The Chinese market has in the recent years become the fastest growing market with tremendous potential. Business enterprises have not only laid their eyes on the cheap labor costs, but are also deeply attracted by its market opportunities. Taiwan holds the advantage of being close in geographic proximity, and similar language and culture with China. Many Taiwanese business enterprises have made China the first choice when considering extending business to foreign markets. However, the enormous market incentives have accelerated competition within the industry. In addition to survival, it is more important for business enterprises to continually grow and profit. Therefore it is the aim of this study to investigate how business enterprises could find ways of ensuring its survival, which allows it to grow and profit, in the fierce Chinese battlefield. It is hoped from the study of Chinese business environment and analysis of current status, that key success factors of Taiwanese business enterprises in the industry can be identified. It is expected that the results of the study can be valuable recommendations to the industry. The traditional industries have always been the foundation of Taiwan¡¦s economic growth. The contributions made by the manufacturing industry to the economic growth of Taiwan cannot be overlooked. However, as the high-tech industries prosper and change of the domestic industry structure, traditional industries had been in an inferior position with respect to acquisition of resource, such as human and financial resources. Faced with a fierce competitive environment, how the traditional manufacturing industries break out of the growth-stagnant bottleneck requires the identification of key success factors of the industry. Business strategies should be developed according to such factors, putting effort in strengthening and building on the success factors, so that greatest leverage of limited resources can bring profit and continued competitive advantage. Although the copper alloy industry is considered a traditional industry, its products serve downstream users in ironmongery, electric appliance and electronics. The industry has its critical value of existence in the market¡¦s supply chain. Hence, the copper alloy plants have been chosen as he subject for this study. Through research and analysis of the industry, the study seeks to identify the critical success factors of copper alloy strip manufacturers in managing the Chinese market. The results will enable business enterprises to develop strategies for managing the Chinese market. This is a qualitative case study. Three largest copper alloy strip manufacturers were selected for the case study. Further to collection of secondary data on the copper alloy strip industry and supply-demand status of the China market, interviews were conducted with middle to senior managers of the manufacturers in the industry. Through the arrangement, analysis and study of secondary data and interviews, key success factors of the copper alloy industry were identified. The buying decisions and end user perspectives were referenced to validate the success factors identified from research. The study hopes to include the end user¡¦s purchasing perspectives into the key success factors identified from industry analysis. It is hoped that the key factors identified could be more objective, so that the success factors would be of value to business enterprises. Lastly, the key success factors of Taiwanese copper alloy strip manufacturers in conducting business in China are: (1) acquisition of core technology for high level products, (2) acquiring personnel with international capabilities and specialized knowledge in copper industry, (3) promote the bargaining power with raw material suppliers, (4) sound financial structure and financial management capabilities, and (5) establishment of network relationships. These five key success factors revolve around three critical resources, namely technology, human resource and financial resource. Through external networks, the strength of these three internal resources can bring about positive effects.

Cloud computing innebär användning av datorresurser som är tillgängliga via ett nätverk, oftast Internet och är ett område som har vuxit fram i snabb takt under de senaste åren. Allt fler företag migrerar hela eller delar av sin verksamhet till molnet. Sogeti i Borlänge har behov av att migrera sina utvecklingsmiljöer till en molntjänst då drift och underhåll av dessa är kostsamma och tidsödande. Som Microsoftpartners vill Sogeti använda Microsoft tjänst för cloud computing, Windows Azure, för detta syfte. Migration till molnet är ett nytt område för Sogeti och de har inga beskrivningar för hur en sådan process går till. Vårt uppdrag var att utveckla ett tillvägagångssätt för migration av en IT-lösning till molnet. En del av uppdraget blev då att kartlägga cloud computing, dess beståndsdelar samt vilka för- och nackdelar som finns, vilket har gjort att vi har fått grundläggande kunskap i ämnet. För att utveckla ett tillvägagångssätt för migration har vi utfört flera migrationer av virtuella maskiner till Windows Azure och utifrån dessa migrationer, litteraturstudier och intervjuer dragit slutsatser som mynnat ut i ett generellt tillvägagångssätt för migration till molnet. Resultatet har visat att det är svårt att göra en generell men samtidigt detaljerad beskrivning över ett tillvägagångssätt för migration, då scenariot ser olika ut beroende på vad som ska migreras och vilken typ av molntjänst som används. Vi har dock utifrån våra erfarenheter från våra migrationer, tillsammans med litteraturstudier, dokumentstudier och intervjuer lyft vår kunskap till en generell nivå. Från denna kunskap har vi sammanställt ett generellt tillvägagångssätt med större fokus på de förberedande aktiviteter som en organisation bör genomföra innan migration. Våra studier har även resulterat i en fördjupad beskrivning av cloud computing. I vår studie har vi inte sett att någon tidigare har beskrivit kritiska framgångsfaktorer i samband med cloud computing. I vårt empiriska arbete har vi dock identifierat tre kritiska framgångsfaktorer för cloud computing och i och med detta täckt upp en del av kunskapsgapet där emellan. / Cloud computing involves the use of computer resources that are available through a network, usually the Internet and it is an area that has grown rapidly in recent years. More and more companies move entire or part of their operations to the cloud.Sogeti in Borlänge needs to move their development environments to a cloud service as operating and maintaining of these are costly and time-consuming. As a Microsoft Partner, Sogeti wants to use Microsoft´s services for cloud computing, Windows Azure, for this purpose. Migration to the cloud is a new area for Sogeti and they do not have any descriptions of how this process works.Our mission was to develop an approach for the migration of an IT-solution to the cloud. Part of the mission included the identifying of cloud computing, its components, benefits and drawbacks, which lead to us acquiring basic knowledge of the subject.To develop an approach to migration, we performed several migrations of virtual machines to Windows Azure, and based on these migrations, literature studies and interviews we drew conclusions that resulted in an overall approach for migration to the cloud.The results have shown that it is difficult to make a general but detailed description of an approach to migration, as the scenario looks different depending on what to migrate and what type of cloud service is used. However, based on our experiences from our migrations, along with literature, documents and interviews we have lifted our knowledge to a general level. From this knowledge, we have compiled a general approach with greater focus on the preparatory activities that an organization should implement before migration.Our studies also resulted in an in-depth description of cloud computing. In our studies we did not find previous works in which the critical success factors have been described in the context of cloud computing. In our empirical work, we identified three critical success factors for cloud computing and in doing so covered up some of the knowledge gap in between.

There are several participants in the renewable energy sector, each one having their own perspective, according to their interests. One renewable source of energy is wind. Development of wind energy projects is complex and implies the conjunction of several endeavors that are hard to be undertaken by only one organization. The complexity of wind energy projects demands the interaction among actors, that is, the creation of partnerships.   The purpose of this study is to question the nature of partnerships as a response to strategic decisions for the implementation of wind energy projects and to provide arguments to state that partnerships are indeed strategic. By making a comparison of the different roles of the actors involved in the sector and having a theoretical support created by a literature review of the subject, authors’ arguments are based on the analysis of six different perspectives from those actors in the wind energy arena: Utilities company, wind energy projects developers, government, financial institutions, international organization and consultants. A qualitative approach guided the identification of the role of these wind energy participants as their perspective in the sector. Perspective cases were formed through interviews made to representatives of different actors and through secondary data. Having an empirical approach, some wind energy projects and their involved partnerships were identified and analyzed. In addition, by analyzing the critical success factors of partnerships that influence crucial aspects for implementation of wind energy projects, it was confirmed that good partnerships are based on trust and their success is the result of establishing clear objectives and defining the roles and responsibilities of each partner. Besides, considerations regarding control management of partnership deployment among actors of the energy sector are suggested. Latterly, it was uncovered that organizations sometimes do not recognize their relationships as partnerships, due to the bare understanding of the scope of partnership concept. In practice, partnership is conceived as a long-term relationship, while relationships for a limited time are commonly identified as contracts. However, it was concluded that in any case a partnership is developed, as partners gather their own expertise to achieve common goals.     This research is meant to be a reference for decision-making individuals or project managers that need to evaluate ways to implement strategies. Also this study is conceived for those that need to decide if it is worthy to establish a partnership and its considerations, as a response to strategic decisions.

Enterprises of any size need to face different challenges which might be specific to their environment or their structure. Therefore, to overcome these barriers each company owner needs to take into consideration suitable ways through which the available and potential resources can be best use in dealing with the business context. Issues like, market breakthrough and acceptance, competition, economic environment, can prove to be critical for a small business which bases its activities on innovation type of services and products. By studding the specific context of small businesses with an entrepreneurial and innovative character, we try to address in this thesis one of the particular ways through which these type of companies can face challenges within their environment: by involving different categories of external support in their projects and business activities. While the need for capital, information and co-operation is growing along with the small business development, we also have chosen to focus our attention on three types of support infrastructures: finance, information and network. Then, each of these support aspects is analysed in connection with project critical success factors in order to establish a certain relevance that external assistance can have on project success. The case studies are based on five small companies within a Swedish incubator in the region of Västerbotten county. As for our study we consider governmental agencies, universities and Science Parks, as three representative support agents, we decided to take closely analyse one of them, and so we looked at the policies and environment of the incubator which hosts the five small companies. And so, Uminova Innovation and its incubator, which are part of Uminova Science Park, could be considered as the overall case study framework. Then, the outcomes of this thesis highlight the perceived influence of the three support infrastructures: finance, information and networks on the business projects, activities and processes. Although the particular business characteristics have their own impact when it comes to the types of support each studied company choose to approach, a general link has been noticed between a certain type of business activities or plans and the involved support. As this study brings up particular matters which engage both small business and the business support agents, we believe that the outcomes of the analysis and the broad theoretical framework would be a suitable reference for practitioners of support policies as well as for small business owners. Therefore, the actions and policies of these actors can be further developed by taking in consideration the critical success factors which have a direct implication in enhancing a particular support that further can contribute to project success.

The performance assessment done by objective measures have now been replaced with subjective measures. Within the context of this research / interdependencies between a construction company&rsquo / s &ldquo / resources and capabilities&rdquo / , &ldquo / project management capabilities&rdquo / , &ldquo / strategic decisions&rdquo / , &ldquo / strength of relationships with other parties&rdquo / and &ldquo / external factors&rdquo / with &ldquo / project performance&rdquo / and &ldquo / company performance&rdquo / were investigated from a resource based perspective which put forward intangible assets of the company. To achieve the objectives, a questionnaire survey was administered to 73 Turkish contractors and the data obtained from 354 projects that were held during the last five years were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). It was hypothesized in this study that construction company performance is influenced by the resources and capabilities within the company, the long-term and short-term strategies adopted by the company, the strength of the relationships of the company with other parties involved in construction projects, external factors and project management competencies. A structural equation model was set up to measure the seven latent variables through their constituent variables and to see if the hypothesized relationships exist. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that, this research has introduced a method to measure performance both in subjective (qualitative) and the objective (quantitative) terms. The strong path coefficients between the constructs of the model are an indication that, after decades in pursuit of finding ways to improve the performance of construction companies, subjective dimensions of performance have proven to be as effective as the traditional objective dimensions.