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Shared value enhances the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously reducing societal burdens. By allowing companies to share their resources, collaborative logistics systems provide companies with an opportunity to create shared value, namely, not only economic value by enhancing the utilization of resources, but also social value by reducing energy consumptions and greenhouse gas emissions associated with logistics and transportation. Emerging businesses, such as ES3 and Flexe, have recently demonstrated how they created shared value through collaborative logistics services, for example, ES3’s collaborative warehousing and direct- to-store (D2S) program, and Flexe’s on-demand warehousing platform. However, the development of collaborative logistics systems is currently at a nascent stage. There are quite a few socio-technical barriers to overcome for sharing resources (data as well as infrastructure). Drawing on the socio-technical approach, this research examines how companies create both economic and social value from collaborative logistics systems. We highlight socio-technical barriers, particularly one set of social barriers, that is, competition-oriented conservatism prevalent among companies. Using the case study methodology and interview data, we closely investigate ES3 and Flexe, which provide collaborative logistics services, and demonstrate how technical and social barriers are addressed to create shared value from collaborative logistics systems.

Urgent responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic depend on increased collaboration and sharing of data, models, and resources among scientists and researchers. In many scientific fields and disciplines, institutional norms treat data, models, and resources as proprietary, emphasizing competition among scientists and researchers locally and internationally. Concurrently, long‐standing norms of open data and collaboration exist in some scientific fields and have accelerated within the last two decades. In both cases—where the institutional arrangements are ready to accelerate for the needed collaboration in a pandemic and where they run counter to what is needed—the rules of the game are “on the table” for institutional‐level renegotiation. These challenges to the negotiated order in science are important, difficult to study, and highly consequential. The COVID‐19 pandemic offers something of a natural experiment to study these dynamics. Preliminary findings highlight: the chilling effect of politics where open sharing could be expected to accelerate; the surprisingly conservative nature of contests and prizes; open questions around whether collaboration will persist following an inflection point in the pandemic; and the strong potential for launching and sustaining pre‐competitive initiatives.

This research examines empirically factors influencing IT hardware production by employing a country-level data set for 1985–2009. Our results show that IT hardware production is driven by various ...

While the semiconductor industry is still dominated by large vertically integrated firms, fabless firms, which outsource their manufacturing, are gaining market share. Fabless firms are considered to have an advantage in product innovation, as they can focus their innovation efforts on chip design and can benefit from investments in process innovation made by their manufacturing partners. However, there is little empirical evidence of the performance of fabless firms compared to vertically integrated firms. This research empirically examines the relationship between R&D and the financial performance of fabless and vertically integrated firms from 2000 to 2010. Our results show that fabless firms maintain higher gross and net margins, earn a higher return on assets (ROA) and have greater intangible value (Tobin’s q) than vertically integrated firms when controlling for size, capital intensity and R&D ratio (R&D/sales). This supports the argument that fabless firms achieve greater performance by foc...

This tutorial provides a foundation on geographic information systems (GIS) as they relate to and are part of the IS body of knowledge. The tutorial serves as a ten-year update on an earlier CAIS tutorial (Pick, 2004). During the decade, GIS has expanded with wider and deeper range of applications in government and industry, widespread consumer use, and an emerging importance in business schools and for IS. In this paper, we provide background information on the key ideas and concepts of GIS, spatial analysis, and latest trends and on the status and opportunities for incorporating GIS, spatial analysis, and locational decision making into IS research and in teaching in business and IS curricula.

An analysis of more than 50 collaborations shows the secrets of success, write Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld and colleagues from the Stakeholder Alignment Collaborative.

Although the question of who pays for open data is important (“Who will pay for public access to research data?”, F. Berman and V. Cerf, Policy Forum, 9 August, p. [616][1]), a greater challenge lies in implementing the institutional and cultural changes required before data from government-sponsored research can be openly shared. The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has ordered U.S. federal agencies to formulate plans to share federally funded science data ([ 1 ][2]). This reflects a fundamental shift in the social contract between scientists and society. While seeking to strengthen science, the order also seeks better use of data to promote economic innovation, improve cross-disciplinary efforts, and address “grand challenge” societal problems such as global climate change and urban violence. The OSTP memo correctly notes that public availability of atmospheric data enabled commercial weather services and severe weather prediction. Yet many data, tools, and models in the geosciences are held by a mix of individual investigators, national data centers, university-based initiatives, and commercial labs, embedded in institutional arrangements that actively reward holding onto data and maximizing individual outcomes in a competitive environment. NSF's EarthCube project, a long-term strategic initiative to build the cyber infrastructure for integrating data, tools, and models in the geosciences, illustrates the challenges and benefits of community engagement and institutional alignment ([ 2 ][3]). The push for open data goes beyond the question of who pays. It challenges science to create a more cooperative culture that aligns credit and rewards with sharing data, tools, and models. 1. [↵][4] OSTP, Expanding Public Access to the Results of Federally Funded Research ([www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/02/22/expanding-public-access-results-federally-funded-research][5]). 2. [↵][6] EarthCube ([www.earthcube.org][7]). [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1241625 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 "View reference 1 in text" [5]: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/02/22/expanding-public-access-results-federally-funded-research [6]: #xref-ref-2-1 "View reference 2 in text" [7]: http://www.earthcube.org

In today's global electronics industry, lead firms and suppliers of key components capture greater value than contract manufacturers. Using data from the Taiwanese Stock Exchange from 2002 to 2009, this research aims to examine if the pattern of value capture in the global electronics industry holds for Taiwan. We also test the impacts of research and development (R&D) spending on firm profitability and returns. Our results show that lead firms and component suppliers capture higher gross profits from their R&D spending, compared to contract manufacturers. However, contract manufacturers have higher return on equity. Component suppliers’ return to R&D as measured by return on equity is lower than contract manufacturers. These findings suggest that component suppliers capture higher profits as lead firms do, but the cost of R&D for component suppliers is so high that their returns on investment are not as great as contract manufacturers. This also suggests that Taiwanese component suppliers are unable to c...

Understanding the earth as a system requires integrating many forms of data from multiple fields. Builders and funders of the cyberinfrastructure designed to enable open data sharing in the geosciences risk a key failure mode: What if geoscientists do not use the cyberinfrastructure to share, discover and reuse data? In this study, we report a baseline assessment of engagement with the NSF EarthCube initiative, an open cyberinfrastructure effort for the geosciences. We find scientists perceive the need for cross-disciplinary engagement and engage where there is organizational or institutional support. However, we also find a possibly imbalanced involvement between cyber and geoscience communities at the outset, with the former showing more interest than the latter. This analysis highlights the importance of examining fields and disciplines as stakeholders to investments in the cyberinfrastructure supporting science.

This research empirically examines the effect of various Internet shopping site qualities on the utilitarian and hedonic values of Internet shopping. The influence of the perceived level of Internet shopping value on customer satisfaction and repurchase intention is also investigated. We perform structural equation analysis with a sample of 293 observations consisting of two different income groups (workforce and student). Our results show that while system and service qualities are critical factors affecting utilitarian shopping value, information and service qualities are the factors most closely associated with hedonic shopping value. These findings suggest that service quality plays a significant role in increasing both utilitarian and hedonic shopping values. Our results also show that the impact of quality factors on Internet shopping values and subsequent repurchase intention differs across the two income groups.

This research asks who captures the greatest value in the global electronics industry by testing the concept of the “smiling curve”, which predicts that the greatest value is captured by upstream and downstream firms, and the lowest value is captured in the middle of the value chain. We test the concept using the Electronic Business 300 data-set for 2000–2005. We find that lead firms and component suppliers earn higher gross margins and net margins compared to contract manufacturers. However, the differences are minimal for return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). We also find that active component suppliers gain higher profits than passive component suppliers. These findings suggest that the smiling curve is right if value is defined in terms of gross margins, but the cost of sustaining a position on either end of the curve is so high that returns on investment are similar across the curve.

This research investigates the factors that influence the use of ubiquitous computing and U-business value. It considers system, information and service qualities as the major factors affecting the use of ubiquitous computing. System quality is measured by accessibility, stability and ease of use. Relevance, accuracy and timeliness are used to measure information quality. Reliability, quickness and secrecy are used to measure service quality. U-business value measures the value created from business operations, business processes, and customer relationships improved by the use of ubiquitous computing. Our results show that system accessibility, information accuracy and timeliness, and service quickness exert crucial influences on ubiquitous computing use. We also find that the use of ubiquitous computing creates value by enhancing business operations, business processes, and customer satisfaction. These findings suggest that information quality is relatively more important than system and service qualities for the creation of value in a ubiquitous computing environment. Our research model and empirical results provide valuable indicators for the direction of future research and also suggest managerial guidelines for the successful development and adoption of ubiquitous computing within an organization.

In today's global electronics industry, innovation is carried out by various value chain participants, including brand-name manufacturers (sometimes called lead firms), contract manufacturers and component suppliers, but there is little understanding of who benefits most from innovation in such networks. This research examines empirically the relationship of R&D spending and location in the value chain (lead vs. non-lead firms) to firm performance in the global electronics industry by using the Electronic Business 300 data set for 2000–2005. Our results show that firms spending more on R&D have higher gross profits, but do not have higher return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA). There is a strong positive relationship between lead firms and performance as measured by gross profit, ROE and ROA, but the relationship between lead firms and gross profit becomes insignificant when the interaction term of R&D and lead firm is included in the analysis. Finally, lead firm status has a positive interacti...

Previous researchers have investigated the principles of business process reengineering (BPR) and how firms approach this process. However, previous research makes no distinction among BPR projects in different organizational contexts. The present research investigates the BPR methods best suited for financial institutions. Based on a case study conducted in Chase Manhattan Bank, this research attempts to provide guidelines for BPR projects in financial institutions that will help them achieve dramatic performance gains. Chase BPR projects include four phases encompassing a wide scope of activities: energize, focus, invent, and launch. As seen in Chase BPR projects such as e‐fund disbursement cards and service charge reengineering, these efforts resulted in new products and services in addition to producing dramatic increases in revenue and operating savings.

This research examines how nonprofits use the internet to build public relations and increase charitable giving by analysing the content of the websites of various nonprofit organisations listed in the top 100 NPOs published by The Nonprofit Times. While there is no difference for most variables in the fundraising and communication practices between top tier ; and bottom tier NPOs divided by total revenue, the differences are found in such variables as campaign summary, messages from the CEO, volunteer opportunities, information sharing, social media use, and annual reports. These findings suggest that certain communication practices (information dissemination, interactive communication, and accountability) are positively associated with the level of fundraising. Compared to the findings of previous research, however, our findings show that the presence of characteristics related to communications and fundraising has increased on NPOs' websites. This indicates that by recognising the importance of the internet, NPOs are increasingly using it as a medium for communications and charitable giving.

While previous research has provided a great deal of information on individual factors that play a role in IT implementation success, a gap in the research exists when it comes to formulating a holistic view of overall internal environmental factors. This paper conducts a literature review and uses Weill’s conversion effectiveness model to develop a framework integrating the various enterprise-level contextual factors affecting IT implementation. The framework categorizes individual contextual factors into seven groups: path dependencies, project management, management structure, IT competency, socio-technical, complementary investments, and end user. This holistic interpretation of individual factors is an initial step toward understanding the complexities of internal corporate environments and their effects on IT implementation success. The framework can provide companies with a useful tool to evaluate their current environment, determine its strengths and weaknesses, and assess how these will affect IT implementation.

Companies invest in e-business and its supporting technology for their e-business initiatives. E-business applications such as supply chain management and customer relationship management improve transaction efficiency and scope economies as well as promoting new product and service offerings and close customer relationships. However, it is difficult for companies to capture these benefits as economic value or profits. Many companies launching e-businesses have not been successful at creating economic value. To justify continued expenditures, it may be necessary for IT managers to move beyond simply demonstrating the benefits of technology and objectively demonstrate the increase in economic value these technologies can produce. To create value from e-business, companies may have to develop appropriate strategies or unique value propositions to complement their e-business investments. This book presents a group of studies that yield significant new insights into the creation of e-business value.

Firms invest in information technology (IT) to improve their business performance. However, some firms fail to improve their business performance, while others succeed. This volume aims to solicit the studies that yield insights into the business value of IT.

Most information systems (IS) research has examined the impact of information technology (IT) on the organization of economic activities by starting from the theoretical speculation that IT reduces coordination costs and improves coordination of economic activities. This theoretical speculation, however, has not been empirically analyzed in the IS field. The value of IT for reducing coordination costs has also not been considered in the studies on IT productivity gains. This study empirically examines the relationship between IT and coordination costs, and the relationship between IT and firm productivity by considering coordination as a factor of production. The results indicate that IT is strongly associated with a decline in coordination costs and that IT and coordination make a substantial and statistically significant contribution to firm output. The results show that IT contributes to firm output by reducing coordination costs and improving coordination; that is, by making a higher level of coordination more efficient.