1
1 Introduction
Large-scale IT projects can be extremely difficult to implement. Although a rising trend in successful implementations of IT projects can be identified, the percentage of successful implementations is still only 39% (The Standish Group, 2013). There are recent instances where the percentage of successful implementations of large-scale IT projects is even lower. Recent research on the success of large-scale IT projects in the Dutch government show that 80% of these projects exceed the predicted costs. The average budget overrun is 67%
(Mijnheer, 2014). According to Weill & Ross (2004) effective IT Governance is the best predictor for IT value generated by an organization. This thesis will focus on exploring IT Governance mechanisms and their relative effect on organizational success in different disciplines.
IT governance is becoming more and more common as a research subject, but the focus is mainly on exploring the general effectiveness of IT governance implementation. This thesis contributes to the research subject by answering the question of whether the effectiveness of IT governance differs for
IT governance effect size: Evaluating the
impact of Senior Management involvement
on differing organizational strategies
Rutger Bouwes
Graduate School of Informatics,
UvA, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands rutger.bouwes@student.uva.nl
Abstract: As the importance of IT governance becomes more and more apparent, the research on effect sizes for different organizations is still lacking. This research proposes a methodology for researching the relative effect size of IT governance mechanisms on organizations with differing strategies. This methodology is applied by researching the relative effect size of the ‘involvement of senior management’ mechanism on organizations that follow differing value disciplines. The problem is researched using a quantitative approach, where IT professionals evaluated senior management involvement and organizational success. The results reinforce the notion that senior management involvement is a very important factor in organizational success. However, the study shows no difference in effect size for senior management involvement. The implication for managers is that regardless of organizational strategy, senior management involvement is a good predictor for organizational success. We conclude with identifying limitations of the performed research and propose improvements to the approach.
Keywords: IT Governance, IT Governance Mechanisms, Value Disciplines, Organizational Success, Senior Management Involvement, IT Management.
2 organizations with differing strategies. This is
achieved by comparing the relative effect size of successful implementation of IT governance mechanisms for organizations with varying value disciplines.
Another goal of this thesis is to explore the literature on IT governance mechanisms and to structure this information. A set of widely researched mechanisms will be discussed, and their effect on organizational success will be explored.
There are many differing definitions of IT governance. In this thesis we will adhere to the definition as proposed by Weill (2004) who defines IT governance as “… the specification of the framework for decision rights and accountabilities to encourage desirable behavior in the use of IT”.
2 Literature
review
and
research model
2.1 IT Governance Mechanisms
According to Weill (2004), effective governance follows naturally from designing a set of IT Governance mechanisms. These mechanisms encourage behavior in line with the organizations strategy, values, norms and culture. IT Governance mechanisms ensure realization of IT goals and objectives in an efficient and effective manner (ITGI, 2009). Top performers of IT Governance design their IT Governance related to the governance of their other key assets while using IT governance to reinforce their performance goals (Weill, 2004). The effect of IT Governance mechanisms on the effectiveness of IT Governance has been widely researched (Vaswani, 2003; Weill & Ross, 2004; Ali & Green, 2012; Ferguson et al., 2013(extension of the work of Vaswani, 2003)). These studies identified a number of IT Governance mechanisms that positively influenced IT Governance effectiveness. Among these are IT steering committee (Vaswani, 2003; Weill & Ross, 2004), senior management involvement (Vaswani, 2003), corporate performance measurement systems (Vaswani, 2003), IT strategy committee (Ali & Green, 2012), communication systems that disseminate policies and procedures (Ali & Green, 2012), IT executive committee (Weill & Ross, 2004) and an IT architecture committee (Weill & Ross, 2004).
The methodology and approach of each of these studies differs greatly. Ali & Green (2012) focused on organizations in the public sector; Vaswani (2003) selected the organizations geographically by using auditors in Queensland, Australia. Weill & Ross (2004) used qualitative interviews amongst CIO’s to identify IT Governance mechanisms. We must be careful to generalize these results because effectiveness of IT governance mechanisms can differ between companies in different firms or industries (Ali & Green, 2012).
We will discuss mechanisms that fulfill three criteria: First, the mechanisms must be analyzed by a minimum of three authors. Second, statistical analysis must be performed by a minimum of two authors. And finally, the statistical analysis of at least two authors must conclude in a positive significant correlation with organizational success.
2.1.1 IT Strategy Committee
An IT strategy committee is generally created from the need for greater involvement in IT Governance from the board. As the importance of IT is increasing, the board can increase their involved by establishing a committee
3 responsible for decisions regarding IT strategy
and IT governance (Ali & Green, 2007; ITGI, 2009).
The IT strategy committee is committed to establishing effective IT governance by providing sufficient resources for achieving their objectives related to IT strategy and IT governance (Gottschalk, 1999). The IT strategy committee is also responsible for providing the management with direction related to IT strategy.
Several studies have found a significant positive correlation between the presence of an IT strategy committee and IT governance effectiveness (Vaswani, 2003; Ali & Green, 2007). Ali & Green’s (2012) latest research however could not find a significant positive correlation between the presence of an IT strategy committee and IT governance effectiveness.
2.1.2 IT Steering Committee
An IT steering committee is similar to a degree to the IT strategy committee. One major difference is that an IT strategy committee consists of IT professionals from all ranks within the organization, while the IT steering committee consists of high-level executives. The high-level executives can have different backgrounds, ranging from business executives to the CIO (ITGI, 2009). The goal of the IT steering committee is to link IT strategy and business strategy (Nolan, 1982).
Organizations that use the IT steering committee mechanism should grant the ultimate responsibility for IS planning to the IT steering committee (Weber, 1999). The importance of using an IT steering committee effectively is also visible by the important
position this mechanisms takes in the CoBiT 5.0 governance framework (ISACA, 2011).
Existing literature consistently finds a significant positive correlation with the presence of an IT steering committee and IT governance effectiveness (McKeen & Guimaraes, 1985; Vaswani, 2003; De Haes & van Grembergen, 2008)
2.1.3 Involvement of Senior Management in IT
Senior management involvement is an important indicator of effective IT governance, IT and business alignment and effective IS planning. Senior management involvement can arise naturally or by the explicit appointment of a project champion picked from the senior management.
The positive effect of senior management involvement on effective IS planning has been identified by a multitude of authors (Raghunathan & Raghunathan, 1989; Schuman & Rohrbaugh, 1991; Earl, 1993; Sohal & Fitzpatrick, 2002). The correlation between senior management support and organizational activity success has also been thoroughly researched (Luftman et al., 1999; Bowen et al., 2007). A significant positive correlation between senior management involvement and IT governance has been identified by De Haes & Van Grembergen (2008), Luftman et al. (1999), Ali & Green (2007) and Bowen et al. (2007). The importance of senior management involvement has also been addressed by Weill (2004), who identified a significant positive correlation with senior management involvement and the IT governance performance score (For an explanation of the IT governance performance score see 3.2). The complete set of recommended processes in
4 CoBiT 5.0 (ISACA, 2011) is enabled by senior
management involvement.
A lack of senior management involvement has also been shown to be negatively correlated with IS planning effectiveness (Cerpa & Verner, 1998; Sabherwal, 1999; Salmela et al., 2000). Bowen et al. (2007) found evidence using both quantitative and qualitative approaches that senior management involvement has a significant positive relation with IT governance success. Luftman et al. (1999) recognized senior management involvement the most important enabler of business and IT alignment.
2.1.4 Corporate Performance
Measurement Systems
In order to adequately assess the effectiveness of the implemented IT strategy it is vital to measure the outcomes. The goal of performance measurement systems is to detect and correct any deviations, in order to alter the strategy when necessary (ITGI, 2009). There are multiple ways to implement corporate performance measure systems, including but not limited to IT balanced scorecards, project tracking systems and IT charge back systems (Ali & Green, 2009).
Proponents of the balanced IT scorecard propose that the benefits of this approach are not limited to traditional financial evaluation methods. They also claim that customer satisfaction, innovation ability and internal process evaluation will benefit from the balanced IT scorecard approach (ISACF, 2003). Van Grembergen (2000) expands the benefits with efficiency of development and operations and IT staff expertise.
Another goal of corporate performance measurement systems is improving
accountability for various stakeholders (Miller & Isreal, 2002). Corporate performance measurement systems present management with the tools to increase governance and accountability.
Empirical evidence of a significant positive relation between the presence of corporate performance measurement systems and IT governance success has been found by Ali & Green (2007), Bowen et al. (2007) and De Haes & Van Grembergen (2008).
2.1.5 Corporate Communication Systems
One of the most important factors in enabling effective IT governance is a close relationship with the business and IT (De Haes & Van Grembergen, 2008). The goal of this close relationship is to increase understanding, participation and collaboration between both areas (Reich & Benbasat, 2000; Callahan et al., 2004).
Effective corporate communication systems enable awareness of the other parties perspective, with the ultimate goal of understanding the why and how of obtaining benefits (De Haes & Van Grembergen, 2005).
2.2 Value Disciplines
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution for implementing successful IT governance. When designing IT governance it is important to tailor the framework to the goals, strategy and culture of the organization. One concept of highlighting implications of different strategies for IT governance is the value discipline concept as proposed by Treacy & Wiersema (1993). Market leaders generally excel in one of the three value disciplines, while still maintaining a minimal degree of competence in the other two.
5 In order to design an IT governance framework
that maximizes effectiveness it is important to consider the characteristics of different firms (Ali & Green, 2012). Weill & Ross (2004) use the value discipline concept in order to differentiate between strategies. There are various differences in IT governance implementation between the value disciplines. In this research we will explore the effectiveness of governance mechanisms and whether they differ between disciplines. In the following part we will discuss the different value disciplines and their differences.
2.2.1 Operational Excellence
The value discipline of Operational Excellence is related to efficiency in the production, procurement and delivery process. An organization that focuses on Operational Excellence tries to lead its industry in price and convenience (Treacy & Wiersema, 1993). The aim is to cut overhead costs, eliminate steps in the transaction and reduce transaction costs with the goal of delivering their product and/or service to the end-user with the highest possible efficiency.
2.2.2 Product Leadership
The Product Leadership value discipline is about innovation in products and services. Companies that pursue the Product Leadership value discipline strive to continuously offer state-of-the-art products and services (Treacy & Wiersema, 1993). For a company to be an effective product leader the company must be creative, continuously pursue new solutions and optimize the business and management processes for speed. Product Leadership companies continuously improve and react quickly to changes in the environment.
2.2.3 Customer Intimacy
The final value discipline, Customer Intimacy, focuses on building long-term relationships with customers through tailoring their products and services exactly to the wishes of the customers. Organizations focusing on Customer Intimacy continuously segment their customer-base in order to give the customer exactly what they want. Customer Intimacy focused companies are generally highly decentralized, and focus on their IT infrastructure (Treacy & Wiersema, 1993).
2.3 Research Model
In order to maximize IT governance effectiveness it is important to consider the characteristics of different firms (Ali & Green, 2012). This statement implies that there might be a difference in effectiveness of certain IT governance mechanisms when deployed in different contexts. This difference however, has never been empirically research. The goal of this research is to explore whether or not this difference exists.
Due to limitations of time it was not possible to answer this question for each of the mentioned IT governance mechanisms. In order to maximize response rates we selected the IT governance mechanisms based on two characteristics: 1) A significant positive correlation between the IT governance mechanism and organizational effectiveness. 2) The IT governance mechanism must be extremely common. The second characteristic was important to maximize response rates. Selecting a mechanism that is used in most, if not all, organizations would increase the size of the pool of potential respondents. The IT governance mechanism that most closely matches these characteristics is Involvement of senior management in IT (see also: 2.1.3).
6 Time constraints also forced us to pick one way
of segmenting different contexts. With this constraint in mind the decision was made to define different contexts as different value disciplines (Treacy & Wiersema, 1993). The value discipline categorization has been used for the topic of IT governance by multiple authors, including but not limited to Weill & Ross (2004) and Peterson (2004). The value discipline categorization is also clearly defined and easy to understand, which should increase the response rate of the questionnaire.
From this information follow our hypotheses: H1: There is a significant difference in effect size of ‘involvement of senior management in IT’ in each value discipline.
H1a: The effect size of ‘involvement of senior management in IT’ is larger for Operational Excellence than it is for Product Leadership H1b: The effect size of ‘involvement of senior management in IT’ is larger for Operational Excellence than it is for Customer Intimacy. H1c: The effect size of ‘involvement of senior management in IT’ is larger for Customer Intimacy than it is for Product Leadership. From these hypotheses follows the following research model:
Figure 1 - Research Model
In the research model the moderator variable ‘Governance Performance’ is introduced. This moderator variable is included to more accurately predict the effect of senior management involvement. There is a significant positive correlation between Governance Performance and firm performance (Weill, 2004). In order to more accurately assess the impact of Senior Management Involvement for each of the value disciplines this moderator variable is introduced.
3 Operationalization
This study was conducted using a web-based survey. The full questionnaire can be found in addendum I. Respondents had to comply with three characteristics. The respondents’ function within the organization had to be closely related to IT. This means the target audience of the survey was limited to IT professionals, project leaders of IT projects, IT managers and IT senior management. An additional criterion was that the respondents’ had to be working at the organization for longer than 2 years and the respondents had to be familiar with the IT governance approach of the organization. This criterion was achieved by presenting the target audience with example questions related to IT governance. Possible respondents were encouraged to not submit the survey if the questions related to IT governance were unclear. The identity of the organization or the respondent was not released to the researcher. The dependent and independent variables were operationalized using questionnaires from existing studies. In order to increase the response-rate of the questionnaire it was important to reduce the number of questions. All questions presented in the survey were adapted from existing literature. The target
7 data sources were individuals in Dutch
organizations. This required the questions to be translated. The validity of these translations was tested using expert-feedback and pilot-studies.
Respondents were asked which function they performed within their organization. The respondent was given the option of five functions that encompassed the required characteristics of the respondent. The sole goal this question was to tailor the rest of the questions of the survey to more adequately fit the job description of the respondent.
3.1 Dependent Variables
The value discipline of the respondent (VD) was tested using a simple ranking question, where respondents had to order the three available value disciplines from most important to least important. The goal of this question was to identify the value discipline that is most important to the organization according to the respondent.
Operational Excellence (OE) effectiveness was measured using a 5-point likert-scale using questions adapted from Stank et al. (2001) who in turn adapted their questions from research performed by the Global Logistics Research Team & Council of Logistics Management (1995). The original questions can be found in addendum II. In order to reduce the total number of questions pertaining to this variable, the questions were reduced to three questions based on their relevance for our research while still answerable by our target respondents. The questions addressed the perceived importance of optimizing revenue, optimizing costs and optimizing time required for business processes.
The questions about Product Leadership (PL) effectiveness were adapted from the questionnaire validated and deployed by Duursema (2013). Duursema posited 16 questions related to Product Leadership. These questions can be found in addendum III. In order to reduce this number down to a number acceptable for our goals we identified common characteristics of the questions and reduced the total number of questions down to three. The respondents were asked to rate the perceived importance of delivering innovative products and/or services, stimulating creativity and creating a ‘premium’ image for their product or organization. The questions were asked using a 5-point likert-scale.
Customer Intimacy (CI) effectiveness is adapted from the questions used by Tuominen et al. (2004). The questions can be found in addendum IV. These questions were newly developed from existing ad hoc notions in literature (Tuominen et al., 2004) by Homburg (1998), Parvatliyar & Sheth (1997), Sheth & Parvatliyar (1995) and Treacy & Wiersema (1993). The six questions posited by Tuominen et al. (2003) were reduced to three using the same methodology as in Operational Excellence (OE) and Product Leadership (PL). This resulted in questions where respondents were asked to rate the importance of customer segmentation, excellence in customer-facing processes and involving the customer in developing products and/or services. As with these variables, the questions about Customer Intimacy were measured using a 5-point likert-scale.
3.2 Independent Variables
Top management involvement (TMI) was measured using a 5-point likert-scale. The questions were directly translated from the IT governance effectiveness questionnaire by Ali &
8 Green (2012) who adapted their questions from
the validated questionnaires created by Vaswani (2003) and Jarvenpaa and Ives (1991). Questions were rephrased based on the answers given on the question where the function within the organization was asked of the respondent.
3.3 Moderator Variables
Governance Performance (GP) is measured is measured using the Governance Performance calculation as posited by Weill & Ross (2004). The Governance Performance (GP) questions consist of eight 5-point likert-scale questions The eight questions are divided into four questions about the importance of IT governance outcomes, and four questions about IT governance influence. The Governance Performance is calculated using weighted scores and the following equation:
∑ ∑ Using this equation, a Governance Performance (GP) score which ranges from 20 to a 100 can be calculated in order to assess Governance Performance (GP).
4 Results
The survey was distributed among IT professionals from within our network, and using the Dutch association for CIO’s. In total 40 responses were received. Of these respondents, 14 identified themselves as managers, 13 as top management, 7 as IT professional and 5 as project leaders.
In order to create one variable from multiple questions, we combined the answers for questions related to senior management
involvement and the three value disciplines. The internal consistency, measured using Cronbach’s alpha, of this approach can be found in table 1. Variable α TMI .746 OE .687 PL .631 CI .527
Table 1 – Internal consistency
16 respondents identified Customer Intimacy as their primary value discipline. Another 16 respondents identified their primary value discipline as Operational Excellence. The final 8 respondents identified Product Leadership as their primary value discipline.
Questions related to top management involvement, governance performance and value discipline success were asked using a 5-point likert scale. The extreme values were labeled. We assume equal distances between the scores, and thus treat the data as interval. The data has been analyzed using linear regression, unless stated otherwise.
As expected, involvement of top management significantly predicted the success of the primary value discipline, β = .579, t(38) = 4.372, p < 0.01. The distribution of responses can be seen in the scatterplot as shown in figure 2.
9
Figure 2 - Relation between Top Management Involvement & Performance of Primary Value Discipline
The Governance Performance score ranged from the lowest possible score of 20 to the highest possible score of 100. The average Governance Performance score was 72.491. There is no significant correlation between governance performance and the performance of the primary value discipline, β = .158, t(38) = .955 , p = .346. Using governance performance as a moderator variable also yields no significant correlation, β = .173, t(38) = 1.056, p = .298.
A significant correlation does exists between top management involvement and governance performance, β = .448, t(38) = 3.089 , p < 0.01. When looking at the effect of top management involvement for each value discipline we can see the following results. For Operational Excellence there is a large, significant relation between top management involvement and success of the value discipline, β = .636, t(14) = 3.082, p < 0.01.
This significant relationship can’t be seen when analyzing the relation between top management involvement and value discipline
success for the Product Leadership value discipline, β = .497, t(6) = 1.402, p < .210. When looking at the correlation between top management involvement and value discipline success for organizations that follow the Customer Intimacy discipline we can once again see a large, significant correlation, β = .66, t(14) = 3.284, p < 0.01.
Both Operational Excellence and Customer Intimacy show a positive correlation between top management involvement and value discipline success. The difference in effect size between these two groups is not significant, z = 0.083, p = .467. This difference has been tested using the z-test.
5 Limitations, Discussion and
Future Research
5.1 Limitations
Our research has been limited in a multitude of ways. The first limitation is caused by time constraints. The survey had to be distributed and received in a relatively short time (14 days). This resulted a relative low number of respondents (n=40). Both the Operational Excellence and Customer Intimacy value disciplines were represented as the primary value discipline in 16 cases. The Product Leadership value discipline was represented in only 8 cases. The low number of respondents in each group may have impeded the validity of the results.
Categorization of the organizational strategy based on the value disciplines as proposed by Treacy & Wiersema (1993) was also influenced by time constraints. The value discipline approach is just one of many approaches of categorizing organization strategies. The
10 approach was used because of its simplicity and
understandability, even for individuals in organizations who are not aware of the entire corporate strategy. There are however many more strategy categorizations that can be researched in the context of our research. Time constraints also forced us to focus on a maximum of one IT governance mechanism. We researched the impact of top management involvement, but the effect of other IT governance mechanisms should also be explored.
The internal consistency of the combined scales (TMI, OE, PL & CI) was not ideal. Although the internal consistency of the questions related to top management involvement was good (α = .746), the internal consistency pertaining to the questions related to the Customer Intimacy value discipline was poor (α = .527). The questions related to the Product Leadership (α = .631) and Operational Excellence (α = .687) value discipline were acceptably consistent. The low internal consistency may have impacted the outcome of our research.
The research was performed using an online survey. Although quantitative research on the topic of IT governance is not uncommon (Ali & Green, 2012; Simonsson & Johnson, 2008), other authors use qualitative research and case studies to assess IT governance performance (Weil, 2004). Using an only survey for the research made all the data self-reported with no possible way to independently verify the data. This limitation can be mitigated using qualitative interviews or case study analysis. In order to increase the response rate of the survey we strived for a short time required for filling out the questionnaire. This was achieved by limiting the total number of questions. This
required adapting validated questionnaires to reduce the number of questions. This may have impacted the validity of the observed results. Although all questions were based on validated questionnaires, adapting them caused our questionnaire to no longer be verified.
5.2 Discussion
As expected we found evidence for a correlation between top management involvement and the success of the chosen value discipline. This result is in line with the existing literature on this topic (Raghunathan & Raghunathan, 1989; Schuman & Rohrbaugh, 1991; Earl, 1993; Luftman et al., 1999; Sohal & Fitzpatrick, 2002; Bowen et al., 2007; Ali & Green, 2007; Bowen et al., 2007; De Haes & Van Grembergen, 2008).
We also found a significant positive correlation between top management involvement and IT governance performance, which reinforces the notions of De Haes & Van Grembergen (2008), Luftman et al. (1999), Ali & Green (2007) and Bowen et al. (2007) that top management involvement is significantly positively correlated with IT governance performance.
The addition of Governance Performance as a moderator variable has not resulted in a significant positive correlation. It is important to note that the average Governance Performance score (72.491) is higher than the average Governance Performance score as measured by Weill & Ross (2004) which is 69. Weill & Ross (2004) measured the Governance Performance of 256 enterprises. The difference in Governance Performance score can be attributed to the limited sample size of our research. The higher average of the Governance Performance score can however also indicate better application of IT Governance in organizations. It is possible that in the 10 years
11 between the publication by Weill & Ross (2004)
and our research, organizations can more effectively implement IT Governance.
When analyzing the effect sizes of top management involvement for all three value disciplines we found no significant difference in effect size. Based on this result H1 is rejected. The effect size of top management involvement in the Operational Excellence value discipline is smaller than the effect size of top management involvement in the Customer Intimacy value discipline. This result was not expected. The difference is not significant. Based on this result H1b is also rejected.
Because there is no significant correlation between top management involvement and the success in the Product Leadership discipline we cannot research a possible significant difference in effect size between this value discipline and the Operational Excellence and the Customer Intimacy value disciplines. Due to this result both H1a and H1c must be rejected.
This results in the adapted research model as seen in figure 3.
Figure 3 - Results portrayed in Research Model
Our results do not support any of the hypotheses as proposed in 2.3. Further research is required. We will address further research in 5.3.
Implications for managers do follow from these results. Because there is no difference in the
effect size for different value disciplines, it is vital to understand that top management involvement is a good predictor of organizational success, regardless of organizational strategy. Involvement of top management is important for organizational processes in all three value disciplines.
5.3 Future Research
We found no support for the hypotheses in our results. This however does not mean we should no longer explore this topic. In 5.1 several limitations were discussed. Time constraints caused a low sample size and adaptation of validated questionnaires. Repeating this study without adapting the questions and using a larger sample size could conclusively prove or disprove the proposed hypotheses.
There are two other major categories of adaptations that can be made to our research in order to better explore the influence of IT governance on organizational performance. The first categorical change can be made to the mechanisms researched. In this paper we discussed many of the available IT governance mechanisms, but only researched the ‘involvement of senior management’ mechanism. Different mechanisms can have a different effect on organizational success. Further research can focus on one other mechanism, or explore multiple mechanisms at once and compare the effect sizes of the mechanisms on organizational success.
The second important categorical change can be made to categorizing organizations based on strategy. In our research we used the Value Discipline categorization by Treacy & Wiersema (1993). There are many more ways to categorize organizational strategy however. For example the generic strategies approach by
12 Porter (2008). It is also possible to research the
difference in effect size of IT governance mechanism for organizations in different sectors. The relative effectiveness of IT governance mechanisms can also be influenced by firm size, both in revenue and human capital, degree of internationalization and degree of centralization. There are many more ways to categorize organizations. Researching the relative effect size of IT governance mechanisms on the categories contributes to a better understanding of effectiveness of IT governance. This information can contribute to more effective implementation of IT governance while considering the context of organizations.
This study once again reinforced the importance of top management involvement. The inner workings of this mechanisms have however not been explored. Future research can aim to elucidate which factors influence successful implementation of this mechanism. This most likely will require a qualitative approach.
6 Special Thanks
This research could not have been completed without the help of my supervisor, Tom van Engers, whose insights and comments shaped this thesis. I would also like to thank my family, most notably Irene van der Does de Bye and Menno Bouwes, for their support and help in finding respondents. My gratitude also goes out to Rick Rademaker and Kerwin Doelwijt for encouraging me to finish the thesis in the library. Final thanks go out to everyone whom I have not yet mentioned who have supported and helped me in finishing this thesis.
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15 Addendum 1 – Questionnaire (Dutch)
VD1:
Organisaties streven verschillende zaken na. Welke van de onderstaande doelen zijn voor u het belangrijkst? Zet het belangrijkste doel bovenaan, en het minst belangrijke doel onderaan.
- Operationele Excellentie - Klant Intimiteit
- Product/Dienst Leiderschap Operationele Excellentie
Het doel van Operationele Excellentie is om de leider in uw industrie te zijn op het gebied van prijs en gemak. Organisaties die Operationele Excellentie nastreven, zoeken naar mogelijkheden om overhead-kosten te drukken en richten zich op het optimaliseren van bedrijfsprocessen.
Klant Intimiteit
Het doel van de strategie van Klant Intimiteit is het begrijpen van de voorkeuren van de klant het het inspelen op deze voorkeuren. Volgers van Klant Intimiteit streven naar excellentie in de geleverde diensten van klantgerichte processen.
Product/Dienst Leiderschap
Het doel van Product/Dienst Leiderschap is het leveren van innovatieve nieuwe producten en/of diensten. Volgers van Product/Dienst Leiderschap streven naar het leveren van de beste en nieuwste producten en/of diensten.
FUNCTIE:
Welke van de onderstaande functies beschrijft uw rol binnen uw organisatie het best? Als uw functie er niet bijstaat vul dan de functie in die vergelijkbaar is met uw verantwoordelijkheden en taken.
- Top Management (Verwijst naar TM vragen) - Manager (Verwijst naar BU vragen)
- Business Unit leider (Verwijst naar BU vragen) - Projectleider (Verwijst naar PL vragen) - IT professional (Verwijst naar BU vragen)
TMI1/TM:
In welke mate bent u betrokken bij strategische beslissingen gerelateerd aan het gebruik van IT binnen de organisatie?
16 In welke mate bent u op de hoogte van de kansen en mogelijkheden in IT voor de organisatie?
Bijvoorbeeld door het bezoek van vakbeurzen, business courses en/of het lezen van vakbladen.
TMI3/TM:
In welke mate bent u op de hoogte van innovaties in IT ontwikkeld door de belangrijkste concurrenten van uw organisatie? Bijvoorbeeld via uw netwerk, het lezen van nieuwsberichten en/of jaarverslagen?
TMI1/BU:
In welke mate wordt het Top Management betrokken bij strategische beslissingen gerelateerd aan het gebruik van IT binnen de organisatie?
TMI2/BU:
In welke mate is het Top Management op de hoogte van de kansen en mogelijkheden in IT voor de organisatie? Bijvoorbeeld door het bezoek van vakbeurzen, workshops en/of het lezen van vakbladen.
TMI3/BU:
In welke mate is het Top Management op de hoogte van innovaties in IT ontwikkeld door de
belangrijkste concurrenten van uw organisatie? Bijvoorbeeld via het persoonlijk netwerk, het lezen van nieuwsberichten en/of jaarverslagen?
TMI1/PL:
In welke mate wordt het Top Management betrokken bij strategische beslissingen gerelateerd aan het gebruik van IT binnen de organisatie?
TMI2/PL:
In welke mate is het Top Management op de hoogte van de kansen en mogelijkheden in IT voor de organisatie? Bijvoorbeeld door het bezoek van vakbeurzen, workshops en/of het lezen van vakbladen.
TMI3/PL:
In welke mate is het Top Management op de hoogte van innovaties in IT ontwikkeld door de
belangrijkste concurrenten van uw organisatie? Bijvoorbeeld via het persoonlijk netwerk, het lezen van nieuwsberichten en/of jaarverslagen?
TMI4/PL:
In welke mate was het Top Management betrokken bij beslissingen in uw meest recente project? In welke mate zijn de volgende activiteiten belangrijk voor uw organisatie?
17
OE1
Het afwegen van kosten afgezet tegenover mogelijke opbrengst
OE2
Het optimaliseren van bedrijsprocessen op het gebied van kosten
OE3
Het optimaliseren van bedrijfsprocessen op het gebied van tijd
In welke mate zijn de volgende activiteiten belangrijk voor uw organisatie?
PL1
Het leveren van innovatieve producten en/of diensten
PL2
Het stimuleren van creativiteit/out-of-the-box denken
PL3
Het opbouwen van een ‘premium’ product-, merk- of bedrijfsimago In welke mate zijn de volgende activiteiten belangrijk voor uw organisatie?
CI1
Het segmenteren van klanten om gepersonaliseerde producten/diensten aan te bieden
CI2
Het streven naar excellentie in het leveren van klantgerichte processen
CI3
Het betrekken van de klant in het ontwikkelproces van een product/dienst
De volgende twee vragen gaan over IT Governance. Onder IT Governance verstaan wij: Het framework van beslissingsrechten en verantwoordelijkheden met het doel om gewenst gedrag in het gebruik van IT te stimuleren.
Hoe belangrijk is deze uitkomst van IT Governance voor uw organisatie? GP1/IMP: Kosteneffectief gebruik van IT
18 GP3/IMP: Effectief gebruik van IT voor het gebruik van activa
GP4/IMP: Effectief gebruik van IT voor de flexibiliteit van uw organisatie
- Deze uitkomsten kunnen beïnvloed worden door IT Governance. Hoe groot is volgens u het effect van IT Governance op deze uitkomsten?
GP1/INF: Kosteneffectief gebruik van IT GP2/INF: Effectief gebruik van IT voor groei
GP3/INF: Effectief gebruik van IT voor het gebruik van activa
19 Addendum II – Original Questions: Stank et al. (2001)
For most items, respondents were asked to indicate agreement based on a five-point scale where I = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree. Items regarding logistical service performance used a slightly different scale where I = worse than competitors, 5 = better than competitors.
Internal Collaboration (IC)
IC I: My firm maintains an integrated database and access method to facilitate information sharing. IC2: My firm effectively shares operational information between departments.
IC3: My firm has adequate ability to share both standardized and customized information internally. IC4: My firm provides objective feedback to employees regarding integrated logistics performance. IC5: My firm's compensation, incentive, and reward systems encourage integration.
External Collaboration (EC)
EC 1: My firm effectively shares operational information externally with selected suppliers and/or customers.
EC2: My firm has developed performance measures that extend across supply chain relationships. EC3: My firm experiences improved performance by integrating operations with supply chain partners. EC4: My firm has supply chain arrangements with suppliers and customers that operate under principles of shared rewards and risks.
EC5: My firm has increased operational fiexibility through supply chain collaboration. EC6: My firm benchmarks best practices/processes and shares results with suppliers. Logistical Service Performance (LSP)
LSPI: The ability to reduce the time between order receipt and customer delivery to as close to zero as possible.
LSP2: The ability to meet quoted or anticipated delivery dates and quantities on a consistent basis. LSP3; The ability to respond to the needs and wants of key customers.
LSP4: The ability to provide desired quantities on a consistent basis.
LSP5: The ability to modify order size, volume or composition during logistics operation. LSP6: The ability to accommodate delivery times for specific customers.
LSP7: The global judgment regarding the extent to which perceived logistics performance matches customer expectations.
20 Addendum III – Original Questions: Duursema (2013)
The response options were worded as such that there were approximately equal intervals of agreement between them (Totally disagree, disagree, in-between, agree, totally agree)
Exploration
1. Consciously makes room for creativity 2. Stimulates thinking outside of the box 3. Engenders proactive behavior
4. Facilitates the experimentation with new ideas 5. Actively explores new markets
6. Recognizes potential new clients 7. Seeks entrance at new potential clients
8. Makes innovative proposals to penetrate new markets Exploitation
1. Works according to a structures system in order to ensure an optimal service offering 2. Checks work progress against agreed-upon objectives
3. Formulates clear objectives
4. Reassures time schedules and deadlines 5. Listens attentively to the client
6. Maintains a good relationship with the client
7. Actively evaluates whether clients expectation have been met 8. Is attentive to client needs
21 Addendum IV – Original Questions: Tuominen et al. (2004)
1. To which extent is the business involved in the customer’s planning process 2. To which extent does the business involve customers in their planning process 3. To which extent does the business partner and plan jointly with customers 4. To which extent does the business align each other’s operating processes 5. To which extent does the business design operational interfaces
