Systems Engineering for Business Process Change: New Directions is a collection of papers resulting from an EPSRC managed research programme set up to investigate the relationships between Legacy IT Systems and Business Processes. The papers contained in this volume report the results from the projects funded by the programme, which ran between 1997 and 2001. An earlier volume, published in 2000, reported interim results.
Bringing together researchers from diverse backgrounds in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering and Business Schools, this book explores the problems experienced by IT-dependent businesses that have to implement changing business processes in the context of their investment in legacy systems. The book presents some of the solutions investigated through the collaborations set up within the research programme.
Whether you are a researcher interested in the ideas that were generated by the research programme, or a user trying to understand the nature of the problems and their solutions, you cannot fail to be inspired by the writings contained in this volume.

The digital business world is undergoing phenomenal and sometimes turbulent changes. The digital economy has also seen the rise of entirely new businesses. Traditional 'bricks and mortar' businesses are scrambling to become e-commerce businesses simply to survive in this new era. Whether in original economy or digital, IT investment is important in all businesses. Managing Information Communication Technology Investments in Successful Enterprises reports accounting and other information about business processes to assess performance. Managing Information Communication Technology Investments in Successful Enterprises discusses the impact of the IT revolution on the accounting function, and indicates the process of IT investment and its advantages and limitations. This publication is a revolutionary explanation of the purpose of IT investment and its role in organizations.

Value-creation in Middle Market Private Equity by John A. Lanier holistically examines the ecosystem relationships between middle market private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Small business is the job creating engine in the US economy, and consequently is a prime target market for private equity investment. Indeed, private equity backs over six of each 100 private sector jobs. Both the small businesses in which private equity firms invest, and the private equity firms making the investments, face inter- and intra-company fiduciary leadership challenges while implementing formulated strategy. The architecture of each private equity firm-portfolio company relationship must be uniquely crafted to capitalize on the projected return on investment that is memorialized in the investment thesis. Given the leveraged capital structure of portfolio companies, the cost of a misstep is problematic. Individual private equity professionals are typically members of multiple investment teams for the firm. Not only may each investment team have its own unique leadership style, but its diverse members have to assimilate styles for each team in which they participate relative to a specific portfolio company. Acquisitions and their subsequent integrations add exponential complexity for both private equity investment and portfolio company leadership teams; indeed, cultural integration ranks among the most chronic acquisition obstacles. Accordingly, the stakeholders of private equity transactions do well to embrace leadership best practices in applying value-creation toolbox best practices. The perspectives of both the private equity investment team and the portfolio company leadership team are within the scope of these chapters.

The increasing penetration of IT in organizations calls for an integrative perspective on enterprises and their supporting information systems. MERODE offers an intuitive and practical approach to enterprise modelling and using these models as core for building enterprise information systems. From a business analyst perspective, benefits of the approach are its simplicity and the possibility to evaluate the consequences of modeling choices through fast prototyping, without requiring any technical experience. The focus on domain modelling ensures the development of a common language for talking about essential business concepts and of a shared understanding of business rules. On the construction side, experienced benefits of the approach are a clear separation between specification and implementation, more generic and future-proof systems, and an improved insight in the cost of changes. A first distinguishing feature is the method's grounding in process algebra provides clear criteria and practical support for model quality. Second, the use of the concept of business events provides a deep integration between structural and behavioral aspects. The clear and intuitive semantics easily extend to application integration (COTS software and Web Services). Students and practitioners are the book's main target audience, as both groups will benefit from its practical advice on how to create complete models which combine structural and behavioral views of a system-to-be and which can readily be transformed into code, and on how to evaluate the quality of those models. In addition, researchers in the area of conceptual or enterprise modelling will find a concise overview of the main findings related to the MERODE project. The work is complemented by a wealth of extra material on the author's web page at KU Leuven, including a free CASE tool with code generator, a collection of cases with solutions, and a set of domain modelling patterns that have been developed on the basis of the method's use in industry and government.

Customers are increasingly seeking "low-cost, high-quality" or what is known as frugal products that meet the buyer's needs while reducing the associated cost of ownership. This book examines the developing principles and theories of frugal innovations across the globe. The authors identify frugal innovation (FI) using a multi-method approach to data analysis. They argue that the concept of frugality as a societal/ethical value has undergone several changes and propose a differentiated model of frugal innovations. They address frugal innovations that have never been accessible to the public. Hands-on case studies across various industry sectors and countries, supported by theory, provide multiple learning opportunities. The authors explore the relationship between FI and digitalisation and technology, and discuss how FI can be applied in the context of contemporary issues such as food security. Further, they articulate the mechanisms by which FI beliefs and values can be incorporated into organisational culture. The final chapters address both ethical and controversial views of frugal innovation. The book is a valuable resource for students in business courses, for industry professionals wanting to improve their triple bottom line, and for educators wanting to influence and change the mindsets of the younger generations to effectively deal with today's and tomorrow's challenges.

Interest in generally expanding the understanding of small and medium-sized enterprises, especially understanding their strategies and operations to enter international markets, is growing rapidly among researchers and academics globally. Government officials, regional and economic specialists, and international trade advisers are directly involved in assisting small and medium-sized enterprises in developing their international marketing expertise. Motivating SMEs to Cooperate and Internationalize consists of research studies, cases, and experiences obtained by researchers and academics from managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Europe as they worked closely with managers on issues and problems leading to internationalization of enterprises. This book will map not only the attempts of small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Europe to enter foreign markets, but also to understand how researchers and academics can help small and medium-sized Northern European enterprisers achieve their objectives. This compilation of approaches, perspectives, and experiences will serve as a resource tool for researchers and academics active in international management training programs worldwide and help illustrate how to close the gap between publishing results of their findings and efforts to disseminate their findings among managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in their domains. This book is the first attempt to integrate results of research studies and practices as an illustration of how knowledge of small and medium-sized enterprises has evolved since the 1980s with the contributions of individual researchers and academics in Northern Europe. It will be of relevance to academics and researchers interested in working closely with small and medium-sized enterprises to meet their goals in entering international markets.

The first part of this book contains three case studies which illustrate the idea of knowledge networks for growth. The step-by-step methodology of the second part shows the reader how to build up and maintain these networks. The templates in the last part of the book ease the adaptation of networks for the reader's own company or his or her specific business needs.

European venture capital (VC) funds have historically underperformed their US counterparts. This has resulted in reduced investment into European VC by the traditional institutional investors. This book investigates the factors that give rise to the performance difference. It is based on the author's research at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow which involved a qualitative study of some 64 VC firms in the UK, continental Europe and the US, supplemented by 40 interviews with other stakeholders, including limited partner investors, corporate venturers, entrepreneurs and advisors. Readers will gain an in-depth understanding of the various structural, operational and wider environmental factors that impact on the performance difference between UK/European and US VC funds. The study is unique in that it provides, for the first time, a holistic and extensive analysis of the entire investment process from sourcing deals to exiting deals specifically contrasting Europe and the US in terms of the variables pertaining to the investment process and the impact on the fund performance. Factors impacting on the performance differential are structural, resulting from characteristics of the funds themselves, operational such as the investment practices of the VC firms which manage the funds and environmental such as culture and attitude to risk and the wider ecosystem in which the funds operate. These factors are set out clearly for the reader. The characteristics of the better performing funds in Europe and the US are also investigated. The book is aimed at academics who are researching venture capital fund performance and investment practices and also at practitioners, advisors and policymakers who want to learn about best VC investment practices. Whilst the book is focused on European and US VC investing, the best practices are also pertinent for VC firms and funds setting up in other geographies, particularly in emerging markets. To this end, best practice guidelines based on the research are included.

The emergence of new platform business models, notably the sharing economy, is impacting the economy in various ways, altering the structure of many industries, and raising a number of economic and political issues. This book investigates the widespread influence of the sharing economy on businesses and society, as well as examining its underpinning economic principles and development. This volume presents an exhaustive review of the existing knowledge on the sharing economy and addresses several major areas of concern for incumbent businesses. It also explains the business models for those who are interested in embarking on their own ventures and provides an excellent source for further research. It takes an in-depth look at controversial labour policies, such as using labour as self-employed contractors or using regulatory grey areas to expand in markets. It is highly multidisciplinary, establishing links between economics, finance, marketing and consumer behaviour. This contribution on the sharing economy will enable researchers and graduate and doctoral students to expand and improve their understanding of this topic and identify new research problems in all of these areas. The book will also appeal to policy makers, regional and local government decision makers, and those interested in labour markets transformation.

In this monograph, a new process modelling approach for the public sector is described: the PICTURE method. The approach takes into account the specific characteristics of public administrations. Hence several advantages are derived: increased modelling speed, improved user acceptance and enhanced analysis capabilities.

This book provides a framework and real case analyses concerning business architecture strategy and platform-based ecosystems. Firstly, the book introduces a framework of business architecture strategy and suggests an engineering process that employs a business architecture analysis system in which the various business best-practices information technology (IT) tools are integrated into an interface. More specifically, this architecture analysis provides the means to realize two essential features: a strategy that allows global firms to sense changing market needs, and a tool that combines mechanical engineering with electronics and software IT tools. Secondly, the book discusses platform-based ecosystems. Crucial issues for today's firms are associated with value creation through their platform and ecosystem framework. With a major emphasis on modular product architecture, US firms have focused heavily on platform development in modular industries. Their base is operation system (OS) software, so that IT firms in general focus on software capabilities-and digital control in particular. In contrast, the advantage for Japanese firms is not digital but analog control. Without any drastic changes in their industry practices, Japanese firms are likely to sustain their analog platform advantage. The book subsequently puts forward a holistic view through the connection of business architecture strategy and platform-based ecosystems. The theoretical framework and case illustrations are especially useful to firms involved in a variety of industries that must respond to the turbulent environmental changes of the digital era. Most of the cases target not only Japanese firms but also many other global firms. Readers are systematically shown how to balance technological competence and customer competence by using the framework of business architecture strategy and platform-based ecosystems.

This book provides a historical inquiry into the quantification of needs in humanitarian assistance. Needs are increasingly seen as the lowest common denominator of humanity. Standard definitions of basic needs, however, set a minimalist version of humanity - both in the sense that they are narrow in what they compare, and that they set a low bar for satisfaction. The book argues that we cannot understand humanitarian governance if we do not understand how humanitarian agencies made human suffering commensurable across borders in the first place. The book identifies four basic elements of needs: As a concept, as a system of classification and triage, as a material apparatus, and as a set of standards. Drawing on a range of archival sources, including the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), and the Sphere Project, the book traces the concept of needs from its emergence in the 1960s right through to the present day, and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's call for "evidence-based humanitarianism." Finally, the book assesses how the international governmentality of needs has played out in a recent humanitarian crisis, drawing on field research on Central African refugees in the Cameroonian borderland in 2014-2016. This important historical inquiry into the universal nature of human suffering will be an important read for humanitarian researchers and practitioners, as well as readers with an interest in international history and development.

The recent surge of technology outsourcing has intensified the cross-cultural effects of information systems designs and constructions, as well as the potential shortage of suitable information specialists at strategic locations. Millions of dollars of investments in information systems are at risk of being underutilized or rejected by users for cultural reasons. ""Information Resources Management: Global Challenges"" addresses challenges in managing information resources in dynamic social environments across cultures, including research on key factors for social acceptance of information technology, and user adoption of information management methods. ""Information Resources Management: Global Challenges"" explores new paradigms under which information resources will generate original meanings for a contemporary generator of users, with increasing interest toward user-centered and culturecentric information systems.

Performance Assurance for IT Systems emphasizes the importance of addressing performance and technology-related issues from the beginning of the planning process, at the feasibility and bid stages. It promotes the concept of Performance Assurance throughout the entire system lifecycle, covering technology, relevant processes, and people-related topics. This accessible, jargon-free book shows how to meet the increasing pressure to deliver proposals and systems in shorter timescales, emphasizing pragmatic, cost-effective, and well-designed systems. The book consists of two major parts: Part I covers the processes deployed throughout the system lifecycle, including the choice of technologies, client requirements, sizing, stress testing, and capacity management; Part II provides a technology foundation made up of brief primers on hardware and software technologies, discussing key factors that influence performance and helping management make informed decisions on technical risk. The author includes references to problems encountered on "real life" projects, and provides insight valuable to a variety of IT professionals, from technical architects and developers to IT management.

This book highlights state-of-the-art research on big data and the Internet of Things (IoT), along with related areas to ensure efficient and Internet-compatible IoT systems. It not only discusses big data security and privacy challenges, but also energy-efficient approaches to improving virtual machine placement in cloud computing environments. Big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) are ultimately two sides of the same coin, yet extracting, analyzing and managing IoT data poses a serious challenge. Accordingly, proper analytics infrastructures/platforms should be used to analyze IoT data. Information technology (IT) allows people to upload, retrieve, store and collect information, which ultimately forms big data. The use of big data analytics has grown tremendously in just the past few years. At the same time, the IoT has entered the public consciousness, sparking people's imaginations as to what a fully connected world can offer. Further, the book discusses the analysis of real-time big data to derive actionable intelligence in enterprise applications in several domains, such as in industry and agriculture. It explores possible automated solutions in daily life, including structures for smart cities and automated home systems based on IoT technology, as well as health care systems that manage large amounts of data (big data) to improve clinical decisions. The book addresses the security and privacy of the IoT and big data technologies, while also revealing the impact of IoT technologies on several scenarios in smart cities design. Intended as a comprehensive introduction, it offers in-depth analysis and provides scientists, engineers and professionals the latest techniques, frameworks and strategies used in IoT and big data technologies.

The Early Development of the Aviation Industry: Entrepreneurs of the Sky provides an introduction to the world of the early aviation industry and the business endeavours of the original aviators. Many of the first pioneers who flew heavier-than-air planes went on to develop considerable industrial concerns. In doing so they exhibited a number of entrepreneurial qualities, which provide useful case studies for those interested in studying how successful entrepreneurs create or develop opportunities at the inception and emergence of high-tech industries. This book looks at the careers of pioneer aviators in the United States, Britain and France such as A.V. Roe, Thomas Sopwith, Glenn Curtiss and William Boeing. It examines this group of entrepreneurs during the start-up and early development stages of an emerging industry undergoing considerable technological change, and relates this experience to contemporary studies and experiences of entrepreneurship. The book explores what made these men successful in their entrepreneurial endeavours to help promote a better understanding of what makes an entrepreneur and what business and economic conditions are needed to allow such men to be successful. This book makes a major contribution to our knowledge of the development of the twentieth century economy and is essential reading for students and academics who are interested in the development of aviation and the nature of entrepreneurial behaviour.

This book presents 3D3C platforms - three-dimensional systems for community, creation and commerce. It discusses tools including bots in social networks, team creativity, privacy, and virtual currencies & micropayments as well as their applications in areas like healthcare, energy, collaboration, and art. More than 20 authors from 10 countries share their experiences, research fi ndings and perspectives, off ering a comprehensive resource on the emerging fi eld of 3D3C worlds. The book is designed for both the novice and the expert as a way to unleash the emerging opportunities in 3D3C worlds. This Handbook maps with breadth and insight the exciting frontier of building virtual worlds with digital technologies. David Perkins, Research Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education This book is from one of the most adventurous and energetic persons I have ever met. Yesha takes us into new undiscovered spaces and provides insight into phenomena of social interaction and immersive experiences that transform our lives. Cees de Bont, Dean of School of Design & Chair Professor of Design, School of Design of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University When you read 3D3C Platforms you realize what a domain like ours -- 3D printing -- can and should do for the world. Clearly we are just starting. Inspiring.David Reis, CEO, Stratasys Ltd This book provides a stunning overview regarding how virtual worlds are reshaping possibilities for identity and community. Th e range of topics addressed by the authors- from privacy and taxation to fashion and health care-provide a powerful roadmap for addressing the emerging potential of these online environments. Tom Boellstorff , Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine Handbook on 3D3C Platforms amassed a unique collection of multidisciplinary academic thinking. A primer on innovations that will touch every aspect of the human community in the 21st century. Eli Talmor, Professor, London Business School

"Everybody loves an innovation, an idea that sells." But how do we arrive at such ideas that sell? And is it possible to learn how to become an innovator? Over the years Design Thinking - a program originally developed in the engineering department of Stanford University and offered by the two D-schools at the Hasso Plattner Institutes in Stanford and in Potsdam - has proved to be really successful in educating innovators. It blends an end-user focus with multidisciplinary collaboration and iterative improvement to produce innovative products, systems, and services. Design Thinking creates a vibrant interactive environment that promotes learning through rapid conceptual prototyping. In 2008, the HPI-Stanford Design Thinking Research Program was initiated, a venture that encourages multidisciplinary teams to investigate various phenomena of innovation in its technical, business, and human aspects. The researchers are guided by two general questions: 1. What are people really thinking and doing when they are engaged in creative design innovation? How can new frameworks, tools, systems, and methods augment, capture, and reuse successful practices? 2. What is the impact on technology, business, and human performance when design thinking is practiced? How do the tools, systems, and methods really work to get the innovation you want when you want it? How do they fail? In this book, the researchers take a system's view that begins with a demand for deep, evidence-based understanding of design thinking phenomena. They continue with an exploration of tools which can help improve the adaptive expertise needed for design thinking. The final part of the book concerns design thinking in information technology and its relevance for business process modeling and agile software development, i.e. real world creation and deployment of products, services, and enterprise systems.

This volume explores from a legal perspective, how blockchain works. Perhaps more than ever before, this new technology requires us to take a multidisciplinary approach. The contributing authors, which include distinguished academics, public officials from important national authorities, and market operators, discuss and demonstrate how this technology can be a driver of innovation and yield positive effects in our societies, legal systems and economic/financial system. In particular, they present critical analyses of the potential benefits and legal risks of distributed ledger technology, while also assessing the opportunities offered by blockchain, and possible modes of regulating it. Accordingly, the discussions chiefly focus on the law and governance of blockchain, and thus on the paradigm shift that this technology can bring about.

This book captures a range of important developments that have occurred in Information Systems over the last forty years, with a particular focus on India and the developing world. Over this time, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Information Systems (IS) have come to play a critical role in supporting, complementing and automating managerial decisions, shaping and transforming industries, and contributing to deep societal and economic change. This volume examines a range of topics for those interested in the adoption and use of these technologies across varied situations. It combines empirical studies on the application and impact of IS with commentaries, debates and insights on the transformative role that IT and the IT industry have played, and continue to play, within India as well as globally. The book draws attention to issues and challenges that organizations grapple with in tech-enabled environments, and provides insights on the role of automation and computational techniques. It explores the global impact of the technology revolution on economic growth and development, electronic globalization, and the wider opportunities and challenges of a hi-tech world. The chapters cover various themes such as e-government in India, internet-based distribution systems, internet banking, and use of collaborative IT tools and functions to support virtual teams in the software industry and the business process outsourcing industry. Other chapters focus on methodological advances, such as systems thinking which finds applications in organizational decision-making, and the use of fuzzy logic. This volume will interest professionals and scholars of information technology and information systems, computer studies, IT systems, economics, and business and management studies.

This book explores the influence of the modes of knowledge transfer and environmental dynamism on the relationship between strategic actions and the sustainable balanced scorecard measurement of performance. Special emphasis is placed on emerging multinational enterprises in Kenya, a country that is rapidly becoming one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. The chapters address the best strategy for sustainable performance, the integral modes of knowledge transfer on strategy for sustainable performance and the achievement of sustainable performance in dynamic business environments. Providing innovative research on 25 diverse MNEs in Kenya, this book can be used by managers, investors, consultants, researchers and postgraduate students to understand the strategic mechanisms used by these emerging enterprises.

The modern dependence upon information technology and the corresponding information security regulations and requirements force companies to evaluate the security of their core business processes, mission critical data, and supporting IT environment. Combine this with a slowdown in IT spending resulting in justifications of every purchase, and security professionals are forced to scramble to find comprehensive and effective ways to assess their environment in order to discover and prioritize vulnerabilities, and to develop cost-effective solutions that show benefit to the business. A Practical Guide to Security Assessments is a process-focused approach that presents a structured methodology for conducting assessments. The key element of the methodology is an understanding of business goals and processes, and how security measures are aligned with business risks. The guide also emphasizes that resulting security recommendations should be cost-effective and commensurate with the security risk. The methodology described serves as a foundation for building and maintaining an information security program. In addition to the methodology, the book includes an Appendix that contains questionnaires that can be modified and used to conduct security assessments. This guide is for security professionals who can immediately apply the methodology on the job, and also benefits management who can use the methodology to better understand information security and identify areas for improvement.

More than ever, organisations are facing a data avalanche from various sources, be they in electronic or hard copy format. How an organisation manages this ever-increasingly important resource - data - can benefit or hinder its ability to achieve its objectives. Creating and Managing a CRM Platform for Your Organisation not only covers how the principles of data management, including data quality and data security, can be applied to an organisation's customer relationship management (CRM) platform, but also highlights how aspects of data management, marketing and technology are needed to operate, develop and manage a CRM platform in order to carry out tasks such as reporting and analysis, developing data plans, undertaking data audits, data migrations and campaign mailings which will result in an organisation using data effectively in order to achieve its goals and objectives. The issues and topics covered apply to all organisations that use a CRM platform and the data it contains as part of their business activities, regardless of the industry sector or size of the organisation. A comprehensive overview of the practices that can be effectively implemented when managing a CRM platform, this book is essential reading for professionals involved in the administration of the CRM platform within their organisation and data management.

This volume shows that in today's globalized world, clusters are an important factor in explaining the different growth rates of firms, cities and regions. Drawing on the expertise of an international contributor team, it covers topics such as clusters and small and medium-sized enterprise competitiveness, innovation and science parks, clusters and multinationals, and information and communication technology clusters. It reveals great diversity in terms of the origin of clusters, the organizational relationships at play, and the characteristics of the firms involved. Taking lessons from a rich variety of literature and empirical cases, the book provides valuable insights for regional development and industrial policy. Economic Clusters and Globalization will be of interest to scholars and policymakers in economic geography, regional studies, entrepreneurship and international business.

Strategic Renewal is an original research anthology offering insight into a subject area which, although critical for the sustained success of organizations, has received relatively little attention as distinct from the more general phenomenon of strategic change. Firstly, by providing a summary of the literature, this research anthology helps graduate students and new researchers grasp the current state of affairs in the field. Secondly, this research anthology will help update the knowledge base of the existing researchers in the field. By bringing together various studies, the research anthology determines the core concepts of the field and elucidates the key gaps and future research areas. Through contributions building on the knowledge bases of other disciplines, this research anthology develops an interdisciplinary research agenda, giving the reader an in-depth understanding of the mediating, moderating, and antecedent variables concerning strategic renewal. Strategic Renewal aims to provide a state-of-understanding to the subject, as well as a clear picture of the cross-disciplinary landscape that informs the subject. Thus, this research anthology is essential reading for managers, consultants, and other practitioners, as well as students and scholars of business.