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JISTEM

JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT

R E V I S T A D E G E S T Ã O D A T E C N O L O G I A E S I S T E M A S D E I N F O R M A Ç Ã O

www.jistem.fea.usp.br ISSN: 1807-1775

Volume 8 : Number 2 : 2011

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JISTEM Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management Revista de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação Vol.8, No.2, 2011, pp. 267-510 ISSN online: 1807-1775

R. Gest. Tecn. Sist. Inf. /JISTEM Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management, Brazil

Volume 8 : Número 2 / Volume 8 : Number 2 2011

ÍNDICE / Content

267-268

1 Exploring Business Competitiveness in High technology Sectors An Empirical Analysis of the Mexican Software Industry Dora Luz González Bañales, Instituto Tecnológico de Durango, México Helga Patricia Bermeo Andrade, Universidad de Ibagué, Colombia

269-290

2 Networks Versus ICT Use: The Case Of SME From Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires (Argentina) Maria Verónica Alderete Conicet, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur (IIESS), Argentina

291-314

3 Public E-Procurement and the Duality of Technology: A Comparative Study in the Context of Brazil and Paraíba Flávio Perazzo Barbosa Mota, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Brazil José Rodrigues Filho, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Brazil

315-330

4 Digital Certification in the Brazilian E-government Certificação Digital no Governo Eletrônico Brasileiro Edilson Ferneda, Catholic University of Brasília, Brazil Luiza Beth Nunes Alonso, Catholic University of Brasília, Brazil Lamartine Vieira Braga, University of Brasília, Brazil

331-346

5 The Dimensions of IT Portfolio Management (ITPM): An Analysis Involving IT Managers in Brazilian Companies Pietro Cunha Dolci, Brazil Antônio Carlos Gastaud Maçada, Brazil

347-366

6 E-SCM And Inventory Management: A Study of Multiple Cases in a Segment of the Department Store Chain Alexandre Pereira Salgado Junior, Universidade Federal de São Carlos – UFSCar, Brazil Juliana Chiaretti Novi, Universidade Federal de São Carlos – UFSCar, Brazil Marcio Mattos Borges de Oliveira, Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto, Brazil Antonio Carlos Pacagnella Junior, Universidade Federal de São Carlos – UFSCar, Brazil

367-388

7 Antecedents of End-User Satisfaction with an ERP System in a Transnational Bank: Evaluation of User Satisfaction with Information Systems Luís Kalb Rose, Catholic University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

389-406

8 Aplicación de las Metodologías Ágiles en el Proceso de Producción de Piezas de Arte de Nuevos Medios: Bio-Lencia como Caso de Estudio Application of agile software methodologies in new media art: bio-lencia as a study case María Teresa Gutiérrez Martínez, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico Concepción Pérez de Celis Herrero, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico

407-424

268 Index

Vol.8, No.2, 2011

Gustavo Cossío Aguilar, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico

9 Application de la Veille Anticipative Strategique pour le suivi de L’environment et la Production de Connaissances Actionables The Use Of Anticipative And Strategic Intelligence For Scanning The Environment And To Produce Actionable Knowledge Raquel Janissek-Muniz, L´Ecole de Administration, UFRGS, Brazil Fábio Dídimo Becker, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Brazil Humbert Lesca, Université Pierre Mendès France (UPMF) Grenoble, France Henrique Freitas, L´Ecole de Administration, UFRGS, Brazil

425-440

10 A theoretical analysis of key points when choosing open source ERP systems Fernando Gustavo Dos Santos Gripe, Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto, USP, Brazil Ildeberto Aparecido Rodello, Faculdade De Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto, USP, Brazil

441-458

11 The Significance of Management Information Systems for Enhancing Strategic and Tactical Planning Akram Jalal Karim, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

459-470

Resultados do 8º. CONTECSI / Outcomes of the 8th CONTECSI – International Conference on Information Systems and Technology Management Edson Luiz Riccio, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil Marici Gramacho Sakata, TECSI/University of Sao Paulo, Brazil Nelma Terezinha Zubek Valente, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Brazil

471-507

Eventos/ Events

508

Submissão de Artigos / Contributions 509-510

JISTEM Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management Revista da Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação ISSN online: 1807–1775 Every four months/Quadrimestral

Universidade de São Paulo – FEA USP Prof. Dr. João Grandino Rodas – USP Reitor/Rector Prof. Dr. Hélio Nogueira da Cruz – USP Vice-Reitor/Vice-Rector Prof. Dr. Reinaldo Guerreiro - Diretor da FEA/Dean of FEA Editor Prof. Dr. Edson Luiz Riccio, University of São Paulo – FEA, Brazil Assistant Editor Marici Gramacho Sakata, TECSI University of São Paulo – FEA, Brazil Editorial Board – Comitê de Política Editorial Armando Malheiro da Silva, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal Christophe Benavent, Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Defense, Paris, France Henrique Freitas, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil JaeJon Kim, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea Luc Marie Quoniam, University Paris 8, Paris, France Michael D. Myers, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand Miklos Vasarhelyi, Rutgers Business School, New Jersey, USA Rejane Maria da Costa, University of Brasilia, DF, Brazil Robert D. Galliers, Bentley College, Massachusetts, USA Editorial Review Board – Comitê Científico Editorial Adam Mazurkiewicz, Instytut Technologii Eksploatacji, Poland Adalberto A. Fischmann, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil Antonio Carlos dos Santos, Federal University of Sao Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil Birger Hjorland, Royal School of Lis, Copenhagen, Denmark Burak Arzova, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turquia Dennis F. Galletta, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA Emerson Maccari, Uninove, Sao Paulo, Brazil Fabio Frezatti, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil Fernando Colmenero Ferreira, University of Madeira, Madeira, Portugal Geraldo Lino de Campos, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil Gilson Schwartz, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil Guilherme Ari Plonski, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil Jan Capek, Univerzita Pardubice, Pardubice, Czech Republic Jose Dutra de Oliveira Neto, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil José Rodrigues Filho, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Paraíba, Brazil Miguel Juan Bacic, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil Napoleão Verardi Galegale, Centro Paula Souza and Galegale Associados, Sao Paulo, Brazil Rosana Grillo Gonçalves, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil Salvador Ruiz-de-Chavez, APCAM, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico Published by TECSI - Laboratório de Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação - Revista de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação - EAC FEA USP Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 908 FEA 3, Cidade Universitária - São Paulo/SP 05508-900 Brasil Fone: 55-11-3091 5820 r.190 Fax: 55-11-3091 5820 [email protected] Indexation/Directories SciELO, Latindex, Proquest, Ulrich's Periodical Directory, DOAJ, The Index of Information Systems Journals, ACPHIS, Dialnet, Ebsco, Gale Infotrac, Portal de Periódicos USP, CAPES Webmaster [email protected] Technical Support Equipe TECSI [email protected] Terms and Conditions The articles are authors responsibility and all rights are reserved to TECSI. The use of these documents may be restricted by the user's agreement with the publisher. In addition, any user's unauthorized copying, distribution, public display, public performance, and preparation of derivative works from such documents is prohibited by copyright law. The "JISTEM" is free of charge and all editions will be available in the site. Direitos e Permissão Os artigos são de total responsabilidade dos autores e todos os direitos reservados ao TECSI, sendo permitida a publicação de trechos e artigos, com prévia permissão, desde que citada a fonte. A Revista de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação tem formato digital e é distribuída gratuitamente por meio eletrônico. Support: USP

JISTEM Revista de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management Vol. 8, No. 2, 2011, p. 269-290 ISSN online: 1807-1775 DOI: 10.4301/S1807-17752011000200001

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Recebido em/Manuscript first received: 15/06/2010 Aprovado em/Manuscript accepted: 01/03/2011

Endereço para correspondência/ Address for correspondence

Dora Luz González Bañales, Instituto Tecnológico de Durango, México. Departamento de Sistemas y Computación. Blvd. Felipe Pescador 1830 Ote, Durango, Dgo., México. 34290, E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Helga Patricia Bermeo Andrade, Universidad de Ibagué, Colombia. Carrera 22 Calle 67 Barrio Ambalá, Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia, Grupo GINNOVA, E-mail: [email protected] ISSN online: 1807-1775 Publicado por/Published by: TECSI FEA USP – 2011

EXPLORING BUSINESS COMPETITIVENESS IN HIGH TECHNOLOGY SECTORS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MEXICAN SOFTWARE INDUSTRY Dora Luz González-Bañales Instituto Tecnológico de Durango, México Helga Patricia Bermeo Andrade Universidad de Ibagué, Colombia _____________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study is to explore business competitiveness in a high technology sector through the analysis of the relationship among technological innovation, relational capital and market orientation, and their influence on companies’ business performance of the Mexican Software Industry. This study is analyzed under a positivistic and deductive approach, using multivariate statistical analysis on the data gathered via an online survey from 198 software industry companies. The outcomes suggest that technological innovation and relational capital significantly influence business performance, while market orientation indirectly influences performance through its interaction with technological innovation.

Keywords: Market orientation; Technological innovation; Relational capital; Business performance; Software industry.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank to the managers who responded to our survey and provided valuable information for successfully completing this study, also to the Mexican Ministry of Economy (PROSOFT), AMITI (Asociación Mexicana de la Industria de la Tecnología de la Información), AMCIS (Asociación Mexicana para la Calidad en la Ingeniería del Software), and AISAC (Asociación de la industria del Software, A.C.).

1. INTRODUCTION

Companies today are immersed in highly dynamic markets, where the goal to satisfy customers is no longer sufficient for long-term success. The business environment is characterized by a persistent need for loyal and profitable customers, for

270 González Bañales, D. L., Bermeo Andrade, H. P.

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rapid technological progress, continuous innovation, strategies to address increasing competitive rivalry, and membership of enterprise networks, among other concerns.

High technology companies, including those in the software industry, are thus driven to develop mechanisms to obtain strategies, generate and use information about customers, markets and competitors. This information is used to develop innovation strategies that allow firms to respond to their dynamic competitive surroundings. However, until recently, high technology companies, especially small firms, have rarely been study object in the fields of market orientation, technological innovation and relational capital. Consequently, a research opportunity arises to analyze the relationship among market orientation, technological innovation, relational capital, and business performance of small companies in the high technology sector. This paper takes the Mexican software industry as the object of study.

2. JUSTIFICATION AND OBJECTIVES

Empirical evidence shows that companies in high technology sectors exhibit internal characteristics that, together with a highly competitive environment, favor an excessive technological orientation, and sometimes the absence of a clear market orientation (García Manjón, 2008; Cahill & Warshawsy, 1994; Litter & Leverick, 1994). In fact, these companies are frequently born out of a technological discovery perceived to have great commercial potential but which, paradoxically, is allowed to develop independently of commercial analysis. In some instances, customers’ opinions are considered to have little importance during the initial product development process, as interest is centered on technical aspects due to a belief that excessive attention on the customer would limit the scope to make important innovative improvements.

Companies in the high technology sector understand that one of the best ways to face the situations described above is through the development of external collaborations with companies that have abilities or resources to promote knowledge generation, innovation and growth (Renko & Tikkannen, 2002), in other words, through the development of relational capital and innovation capabilities. Based on the empirical gaps outlined above, the following research objective was identified:

• To propose a research model that encapsulates the relationship among market orientation, technological innovation, relational capital and business performance in a high technology sector.

In order to validate the research model proposed, the study was applied to the Mexican software industry, with a second research objective:

• To analyze which companies in software industry sector perform better in relation to their levels of technological innovation, market orientation and relational capital.

3. RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RESEARCH QUESTION

A great deal of empirical research exists related to the importance of market orientation (customer needs) to business performance (see (Rodríguez, Carrillat, &

271 Exploring Business Competitiveness in High Technology Sectors: An Empirical Analysis of the Mexican Software Industry

R. Gest. Tecn. Sist. Inf./JISTEM Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management, Brazil

Jaramillo, 2004)) and on the relevance of technological innovation and membership of enterprise networks (relational capital) (Pittaway, Roberson, Munir, Denyer, & Neely, 2004; CIC, 2002) across sectors, including high technology (Santos & Vázquez, 2000; Santos & Vázquez, 1997). However, empirical evidence that relates these concepts to the software industry is still an emergent opportunity area. Thus the need arises for empirical research into the relationship among market orientation, technological innovation, relational capital, and business performance in the software industry sector. This paper addresses the following research questions:

Does a relationship exist among market orientation, technological innovation and relational capital in high technology sector companies (software industry)? And, if this relationship exists, does it influence business performance?

4. LITERATURE REVIEW AND HYPOTHESES

4.1 Technological Innovation and Business Performance

Considering the Oslo Manual (2005) guidelines, technological innovation can be measured in terms of capability, effort and results, as follow:

a) Innovation capability

Innovation capability is defined as a set of abilities and knowledge necessary to effectively absorb, dominate and improve the existing technology and to create new innovation ((Peeters & van Potterslberghe de la Potterie, 2005; Romijn & Albaladejo, 2002a). For the OECD(2005) capabilities in technological innovation are useful for the classification of companies and industrial sectors in developing countries. The capabilities of an organization allow for a company to take advantage of market opportunities. The most significant innovation capability in a company is knowledge accumulation, which is embedded mainly in human resources, and in processes. It is important to recognize that innovation capabilities are not easily measured, due to the tacit nature of knowledge. As Peeterset al. (2005) states, empirical evidence that demonstrates a positive relationship between innovation capability and business performance is still scarce and demands more conceptual research.

b) Innovation effort

In order to properly measure innovation effort, it is important to know the intensity of innovation activities. This involves the collection of detailed information on innovative activities over a period of time and, where possible, the financial investments in these activities. This financial indicator serves as a discriminant factor concerning the strategy and behaviour of the company. In addition, it can be complemented with general information on the sector in which the company operates, which could be gathered from innovation surveys available from diverse sources (e.g.: national institutes of statistics) (OECD, 2005).

c) Innovation results

The category of innovation results captures the success level of innovation in the market and the impact of project results (project impact performance). Factors that can be considered include to: sales, profits and market share, derived from the introduction


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of a specific innovation in the market and into the company (Atuahene-Gima, 1996), in other words, the percentage of the sales derived from the introduction of new products into the market and the company (CGCM, 2005).

Some studies suggest there is a close and positive relation between firm’s R+D+i efforts and business performance (Jimenez-Jimenez et al. (2010). The impact of innovative projects at enterprises level used to be reported in terms of gains in cost efficiency, sales or market share. However, this impact can be dependently of the innovation process. For example, the analysis of public service organizations in UK done by Damanpour et al. (2009) (quoted in Jimenez-Jimenez et al. (2010)) conclude that the adoption of a specific type of innovation every year (service, technological process, and administrative) had no effect on the organizations’ performance. Those results show that the relationship between innovation and performance is complex and requires more research; even though, the theory and most of the empirical studies suggest a positive relationship. Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 1. Technological innovation is positively related to business performance

4.2 Market Orientation and Business Performance

Market orientation has been identified in the last decade as a factor that helps to improve business performance. Market orientation has been discussed as an important organizational antecedent of business success (Kohli, Jaworski, & Kumar, 1993; Narver & Slater, 1990). The argument runs that market oriented organizations, that is, those companies that track and respond to customers’ needs and preferences, are more able to satisfy these needs, and thus perform better (Rodríguez et al., 2004; Alvarez, Santos, & Vázquez, 2001).

It is important to notice, that market orientation is more than a set of marketing activities. Market orientation can be considered, on one hand, as the business strategy that prioritizes customer interests and needs over other concerns (Deshpandé, Farley, & Webster, 1993; Narver et al., 1990), and on the other, as a set of activities (Kohli & Jaworski, 1990) that considers: a) organizational generation of market intelligence b) dissemination of that intelligence among departments, and c) organization responsiveness to it.

For the purposes of this research, market orientation must be understood under the perspective of creating superior value for the customer needs. In this way, it was studied in terms of the three dimensions proposed by Kohli, Jaworski& Kumar (1993): intelligence generation, intelligence dissemination, and responsiveness.

• Intelligence generation. Market orientation is a corporate culture and differentiation strategy that privileges the delivery of superior value to customers (Slater & Narver, 1994). A business with superb market information collection and processing capabilities can predict more precisely and make rapid changes in the marketplace based on its knowledge of what superior value means to customers (Pelham, 1997). Failure to ascertain current and future customer needs will result in the development of products and services that do not satisfy customers (Kara, Spillan, & DeShields, 2005).



• Intelligence dissemination. In order for market orientation to operate effectively, information developed in the intelligence generation stage must be shared with other functional units of the business. Superior performance from market orientation can only occur where there is an appropriate interfunctional coordination. Information exchange is crucial to achieving this goal. Successful dissemination or sharing of information provides marketers with the opportunity to ask questions and amplify or modify interpretations to provide new insights. Accomplishing this task requires that businesses provide forums for information exchange and discussion. This may include information technology, task forces, face-to-face meetings, integrator roles, or liaison positions. Openness in communication across business functions assists in responding to customers’ needs. Information dissemination is thus critical to the success of the market orientation process (Kara et al., 2005).

• Responsiveness. Superior performance can only be achieved by responding continuously to the customer’s changing needs. Thus, once the marketers have gathered the market intelligence and processed it by sharing it with the appropriate interfunctional groups, they must then develop appropriate action plans (Kara et al., 2005). Day (1994a) argues that a market orientation culture creates the need to gather the market intelligence and functionally coordinate actions to gain a competitive advantage. Kohli and Jaworski(1990) and Narver and Slater (1990) emphasize that the scale to which a business implements its market orientation strategy depends on its desired level of organization-wide concern and responsiveness to customer needs and competitive action.

In the last two decades hundreds of empirical studies have been conducted into the relationship between market orientation and business performance. However, empirical results of market orientation research are both complex and mixed (Gonzalez-Benito & González-Benito, 2005; Kara et al., 2005). For instance, in the meta-analysis conducted by Rodríguez et al. (2004) findings suggest that the relationship between market orientation and business performance is positive and consistent worldwide. One of the main contributions of that research is a sample that includes studies conducted in 23 countries spanning five continents; it is important to mention that stronger correlations between market orientation and business performance were found for not-for-profit compared to profit firms and service compared to manufacturing firms.

Supporting the previous mentioned facts, at literature review done by González-Benito (2005), it was found that nearly 88% of the studies analyzed (131 total) show a positive relationship between measures of market orientation and measures of performance, but no generalized consensus has yet emerged. On the one hand, the complexity involved in making both concepts operational presents an obstacle, and on the other, a debate exists regarding whether market orientation should be analyzed as a set of behaviors, or as part of the organizational culture (Clark, 2002), including the company size and the classification of the country as developed or developing (Mahmoud, 2011).


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To summarize this section, while there is no reason to believe that the strength of the relationship between business performance and market orientation varies depending on industry characteristics, customer characteristics, or on the type of performance measurement used, the literature generally supports the proposition that market-driven and innovative firms will outperform their competitors (Kara et al., 2005; Slater et al., 1994; Day, 1994b; Jaworski & Kohli, 1993; Narver et al., 1990). Therefore, it is expected that:

Hypothesis 2. Market orientation is positively related to business performance.

4.3 Relational Capital and Business Performance

The study of business networks conducted by Almaya and Ebers(1998) emphasizes that, although a great number of studies related to inter-organizational relationships, enterprise Inter-organizations and networks have taken place, this number of studies does not seem to be accumulating knowledge, and it does not lead to a conceptual consolidation; on the contrary, it seems that the increasing in number of studies has contributed more to a situation of “disorder”, this probably derived from the heterogeneity of concepts, theories and research results, producing a “jungle of concepts and terminology where each new participant can plant a tree”. Considering the previous facts, our analysis of relationships among the concepts of relational capital, technological innovation and business performance draws on those research works that better suit the objectives of this research.

Our theoretical conceptualization of relational capital is based mainly on Intellectus Model, designed to measure and manage the intangible values of knowledge (intellectual capital) (CIC, 2003). In this way, relational capital considers only the relationship between the company and its providers and competitors (we do not include customer relationship as part of relational capital).The research in the case of consulting industry (service industry),the empirical research of Huang &Hsueh(2007) about the cause-effect relationship and path coefficients found that among the 3 paths to business performance –structural capital, human capital and relational capital- only the path of relational capital to business has a direct and significant influence on business performance. By the other side, Smirnova et al. (2011) shows that in industrial markets competitor orientation directly and positively impacts on performance.

The previous facts lead to the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 3. Relational capital is positively related to business performance

4.4 Interactions Among Technological Innovation, Market Orientation, and Relational Capital

• Market orientation and relational capital

By 1990s and 2000s, companies that had a strong market orientation, the development of new products could be expected to be one of the most important activities. One of the first researchers to emphasize the importance of the role of the customer or user in an innovation process was Eric von Hippel ((1978 quoted (Pittaway, Robertson, Munir, Denyer, & Neely, 2004)). Hippel suggests that customers should play an active role in the innovation process. According to Leskievicz&Sandivik(2003) product innovations are among the most powerful tools used by marketing managers.



They have the capacity to significantly influence demand for a firm’s products, the same research provides empirical evidence of the contribution of market orientation to success of using product innovations. Other studies emphasize that the link between technical activities and marketing in the initial stages of an innovation process allows the development of products/services oriented towards customer needs (Pittaway et al., 2004).

Empirical studies tend to support the idea that the adoption of a market oriented philosophy influences positively the effectiveness and results of a company’s innovation activities (Morgan & Bolinao, 2008; Peeters et al., 2005; Walker, 2004; Peeters & van Potterslberghe de la Potterie, 2003b; Helfert, Ritter, & Walter, 2002; Atuahene-Gima, 1996; Deshpandé et al., 1993). It is important to mention that, recently, research performed by Maatoofi&Tajeddini(2011) found that managers’ support for innovation is greater in entrepreneurship oriented firms than market oriented ones. Therefore:

Hypothesis 4.Market orientation is positively related to technological innovation

• Market orientation and relational capital

In the literature, there are two definitions that state a relationship between marketing and relational capital 1) Kotler's ((1972), as quoted in (Hernández & Rodríguez, 2001)): “Marketing studies the way in which the interchange relationships are created, stimulated, facilitated, valued and governed. The essence of marketing is in the relationship of interchange, defined as the link of resources, people and activities oriented towards the creation and interchange of value for the market”. 2) Webster’s ((1992) quote in (Hernández et al., 2001)) states that, among other factors, marketing addresses the need to: “managing strategic associations and positioning the company among sellers and buyers in the value chain, with the objective of providing a superior value to the buyers”. In a recent study, the research of Sirnova et al. (2011) shows that marketing orientation aimed at developing a competitor orientation has direct positive outcomes for a firm. Therefore, considering the previous findings, the following hypothesis is proposed:

Hypothesis 5.Market orientation is positively related to relational capital

• Relational capital and technological innovation

Nowadays, innovation is understood not just as a technical issue but as a relational process that involves a variety of stakeholders, including: technological suppliers, customers, and technological centres (Arboníes, 2006). One of the aspects that emphasizes the innovating nature of a company is the outsourcing activities (Kulmala & Uusi-Rauva, 2005). Interaction and cooperation with industrial customers, suppliers, associations, public agencies and other agents external to the company can provide access to resources that would otherwise be difficult to access. Of these, interactions with customers and suppliers are the most significant (Muscio, 2006; Shameen & Zahra, 2006; Romijn et al., 2002a).

Empirical studies have found that innovation is influenced by many actors, both inside or outside of the organization. According to Pittaway et al (2004) the most important actors for the commercial sector are: customers in the first place (33.5%), suppliers in the second place (21.9%), and cooperation with universities (8.9%). Another empirical evidence (Romijn & Albu, 2002b) suggests that, although this last


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percentage is relatively low, the companies that have more relationships with universities and research centers are those that make a greater number of radical innovations, while those that have more relationships with suppliers make a greater number of incremental innovations. Concerning customers, their contribution is focused on product development that better addresses new market needs.

Collaborative research networks are especially important in high technology sectors, as these are industries where a single organization is unlikely to have all the resources and capabilities necessary to develop and implement a significant innovation. This reality has encouraged the creation of technological clusters (Schilling, 2005). Collaboration that arises from these networks can occur through joint associations, licenses, investigation societies, networks of added value, scientific interchange, research programs supported by the government and even through informal networks (Schilling, 2005; Pittaway et al., 2004). The research of Erlendsson (2005) (quoted in (Bolinao, 2009)) revealed that innovative companies are most likely to use alliances and partnerships as a means of adapting to market shifts. All these findings lead to the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 6. Relational capital is positively related to technological innovation

4.5 Technological Turbulence (Environmental Moderator)

Kohli and Jaworski(1993)consider three factors that can exert moderating effects between market orientation and business performance: market turbulence, competitive intensity and technological turbulence. In this research only technological turbulence was considered.

Some authors (Jaworski et al., 1993) (for more detailed information see (Deshpandé, 1999)) propose that organizations that work with emergent technologies can gain competitive advantage through technological innovation, diminishing, but not eliminating, the importance of market orientation. In contrast, organizations that work with stable, mature technologies are weakly positioned to leverage technology for competitive advantage, and so have to trust in market orientation to a greater degree (Deshpandé, 1999). According to Song and Parry (2009) the desired level of market orientation is potentially lower for firms that have the opportunity to establish a competitive advantage through technological innovation. As a result, when technological turbulence is high, the relative importance of certain kinds of market intelligence (e.g., consumer perceptions and preferences) will be lower than when technological turbulence is low.

Following Song and Parry (2009), they have analyzed that existing studies of market orientation have hypothesized that the strength of the market orientation & performance relationship depends on environmental variables such as market turbulence, technological turbulence, and competitive intensity, and they found that empirical studies have failed to confirm these hypotheses. However, they argue that environmental uncertainty influences the desired level of market orientation, and the gap between the desired and achieved levels of market orientation influence business unit performance; their data analysis confirms that the desired level of market orientation is a function of market turbulence, competitive intensity, technological turbulence, and innovation strategy. These considerations suggest the following hypothesis:



Hypothesis 5.Technological turbulence has a moderator effect on the relationship between market orientation and business performance

The conceptual model examined in the study is presented in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1. Research general model

5. RESEARCH METHOD

5.1 Sample, Data Collection Procedure and Questionnaire Design

The object of study for this empirical research was the Mexican software industry. This industry is small, with about USD$500 million yearly accruing from the provision of software-development services to the international community (Miller, 2007). In the case of Mexican software companies the average percentage of profit margins before taxes in 2005 was from 6 to 10% (González-Bañales, 2006). The target group was selected using two criteria: first, firms should be software developers; and second, they should be located in Mexico. Non-probabilistic sampling techniques were applied (convenience and ‘snow ball’).

The estimated population was 2,199 software companies; the calculated sample size was 97. The final number of usable questionnaires was 198; the response rate was 9.3% over the total population. It is important to mention that, due to the fast rate of change in the software industry, it is hard to define a world-wide or even national total population of software companies (Kulmala et al., 2005). The respondents in this study were mainly owners and managers of small and medium size businesses. Data collection was conducted through an online survey, designed and managed using the open source tool PHPSurveyor (nowadays the name of the application is LimeSurvey). The questionnaire design and measurement were conducted in year 2006-2007 based on the following scales: marketing orientation scale items were adopted from Kohli, Jaworski& Kumar (1993) –MARKOR- technological innovation scale items were based on the recommendations of Oslo Manual (OECD, 2005) and on items suggested by Peeters(Peeters & van Potterslberghe de la Potterie, 2003a; Peeters et al., 2003b); relational capital scale items were based on the Intellectus Model (CIC, 2002).

Technological Innovation

(innovation results, innovation capabilities, innovation effort)

Market Orientation (intelligence generation,

intelligence dissemination, responsiveness)

Relational Capital (relationship with competitors, alliances, business networks)

Business performance

Technological turbulence

(+) (+)

(+)

(+)

(+)

(+)


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6. ANALYSES AND RESULTS

Hypotheses were tested with path analysis using a series of regressions for the total sample. From 137 questions asked in the original questionnaire, 20 final variables were obtained through factor analysis, principal components method and the Varimax rotation method (see Appendix A). The final variables description is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Factor analysis summary

Variables Factor Analysis

Descriptive Statistics

Name

Description of Var.

in. ax. ean td. Dev.

Dependent Variable

Business performance 1

Economic outcome (profits and sales growth) 3.30 .636 2.210 .427 .000 .000

Independent Variable

Tec

hn

olo

gic

al I

nno

vatio

n (I

T)

Innovation results

T1

Perceived benefit of innovation impact on the global organization performance (profitability, market share, productivity, quality service...)

0.70 .781 3.366 .417 .000 .000

T2

Number of new or significantly improved products in the last 2 years

8 .520 .326

Innovation effort

T3

Measurement of innovation effort (qualitative and/or quantitatively)

1.20 .967 0.817 .931 .000 .000

T4

Percentage of total sales assigned to innovation activities

00 9.192 2.089

Innovation capability

T5

Generation of competitive intelligence (innovation projects)

8.26 .771 2.254 .147 .000 .000

T6

Organizational support for developing innovation culture

7.90 .799 3.584 .202 .000 .000

T7

Personnel assigned to research and development activities (R&D)

.960 .349



T8 Postgraduate personnel (masters degree and Ph.D.) 00 5.479 5.187

Mar

ket o

rien

tatio

n (M

O) Intelligence

generation O1 Intelligence generation

0.79 .663 2.389 .067 .000 .000

Intelligence dissemination O2

Intelligence dissemination 5.96 .673 2.517 .550 .000 .000

Responsi-veness O3

Responsiveness 2.99 .621 2.446 .438 .000 .000

MO Market orientation factorial: grouping MO1, MO2 and MO3

0.72 .793 2.739 .007 .000 .000

Rel

atio

nal

Cap

ital (

CR

)

Relationship with competitors

R1 Benchmarking activities

4.63 .844 0.346 .649 .000 .000

R2

Relationship with competitors: agreements and collaboration projects

9.41 .636 0.193 1.275

.000 .000

Alliances

R3 Number of alliances with competitors 0 .939 .362

R4 Average age of the alliances in years 2 .556 .107

R5 Alliances: perceived benefit

8.01 .648 0.721 .767 .000 .000

Enterprise networks

R6 Enterprise networks: perceived benefit 0.21 .918 2.813 .560 .000 .000

R7 The company is engaged with an industrial cluster

No)

Yes)

.202 .403

R8 The company belongs to an “integrating company” a

No)

Yes)

.202 .403

Moderator

Technological Turbulence T1

Technological Turbulence 7.18 .618 3.077 .809 .000 .000

a.An “integrating company” is a company of services. It is constituted to give services to its partners called integrated partners. The minimum to conform an integrating company is the alliance of 4 companies. The maximum is limitless. The members will contribute to the capital of the integrating company. Those companies


Vol.8, No.2, 2011, p.269-290

must be micro, medium or small sized. Mexico takes the concept of "integrating companies" from the Italian model; there are called industrial districts and partnerships-consortiums.

The outcome of path analysis is shown in Table 2. The variables not displayed (CR1, CR2, CR3, CR4, CR7, TT, IT4, IT7) were removed from the table as they were found to be invalid in relation to the regression model.

Table 2.Summary of path analysis (standardized coefficients β)

*p < .05; ** p < .01; ***p<.001; n.s. p> .10

The statistical results derived from Table 2 are consolidated in the simplified path analysis model presented in Fig. 2. This graphical model reveals interesting findings in terms of relationships among variables, because there are strongly, partially and weakly significant relationships.



Fig 2. Simplified path analysis model

Note: Simplified model is showing only the relationships that present practical significance in the path analysis

β>.30 small; β>.30 medium; β>.50 high. (Kotrlik & Williams, 2003)

All the coefficient regressions and R2 between variables can be consulted on Table 2

• Technological innovation is positively related to business performance (H1 supported). Results suggest that there is a significant positive relationship (p < .01) between technological innovation and business performance (IT1 Perceived benefit of innovation impact on the global organization performance (profitability, market share, productivity, quality service...); and IT2 Number of new or significantly improved products.

• Market orientation only has indirect relationship with business performance(H2 partially supported). The indirect relationship is through technological innovation (Innovation Results [IT1 Perceived benefit of innovation impact on the global organization performance (profitability, market share, productivity, quality service...)] and innovation capability [IT6 Organizational support for developing innovation culture]).

• Relational capital is partially related to business performance(H3 partially supported), as both positive and negative relationships were found. From one side, there is statistically significant positive relationship (p< .05) with low practical significance (β< .20) between business networks (CR6 Enterprise networks: perceived


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benefit) and business performance; b) there is statistically significant negative relationship (p< .05) with low practical significance (β<.20) between relationship with competitors (CR1 Benchmarking activities) and business performance.

• Market orientation is positively related to technological innovation (H4 supported). Results suggest that there is a significant positive relationship between market orientation and technological innovation. A practical significance is observed in a bi-directional relationship between market orientation and innovation capability (IT6 Organizational support for developing innovation culture), first: IT6 → MO β = .427, p< .001); second MO → IT6 (β = .551, p< .001). Other relationships are between market orientation and innovation results (IT1 Perceived benefit of innovation impact on the global organization performance (profitability, market share, productivity, quality service... )) with a high statistical and practical significance [β = .459, p< .001]; IT2 number of new or significantly improved products in the last 2 years) [p<.01]); innovation effort (IT3 Measurement of innovation effort (qualitative and/or quantitatively) [p<.01]); innovation capability (IT5 Generation of competitive intelligence (innovation projects) [p<.001]; Business networks (CR6 Perceived benefit [p<.05]).

• Market orientation is positively related to relational capital (H5 supported). Results suggest there is a significant positive relationship (p< .05) between market orientation and relational capital (business networks [CR6 Enterprise networks: perceived benefit]). A bidirectional relationship is observed.

• Technological innovation is in some way positively related to relational capital(H6 partially supported). There are both positive and negative relationships. For one side, there are significant positive relationships between: a) Alliances (CR5 perceived benefit) and innovation results (IT2 Number of new or significantly improved products in the last 2 years) ( p<. 001); b) Business networks (CR6 Enterprise networks: perceived benefit) and innovation effort (Measurement of innovation effort (qualitative and/or quantitatively)) (p < .05), c) Business networks (CR6 Enterprise networks: perceived benefit) and innovation capability (IT5 Generation of competitive intelligence (innovation projects)). But, for another side there are significant negative relationships between: a) Alliances (CR5 perceived benefit) and innovation capability (IT8 Postgraduate personnel (masters degree and Ph.D.) (p< .05); b) Business networks (CR6 Enterprise networks: perceived benefit) and innovation effort (IT4 Percentage of total sales assigned to innovation activities) (p < .05).

• Technological turbulence does not have a moderator effect between market orientation and business performance ((H7 not supported). Results suggest that technological turbulence does not exert a moderator effect between market orientation and business performance. Through path analysis a statistically significant positive relationship (p< .05) was found between innovation capability and technological turbulence (IT5 Generation of competitive intelligence (innovation projects)). The practical significance is low (β = .130).

7. CONCLUSIONS

After exploring business competitiveness in a high technology sector through our proposed research model, total as well as partial support for our research hypotheses were found. The relationship between technological innovation and business



performance (H2), market orientation and technological innovation (H4), market orientation and relational capital (H5) is totally supported. Three hypotheses were partially supported as both positive and negative relationships were found: relationship between market orientation and business performance (H2), relational capital and business performance (H3), technological innovation and relational capital (H5). Finally, the analysis indicates that there is not a moderating effect of technological turbulence between market orientation and business performance (H7).

One of the most remarkable findings regarding the unsupported hypotheses is the absence of a statistically direct relationship between market orientation and business performance. As stated above, many empirical studies have demonstrated the existence of a positive relationship between market orientation and business performance, across a great variety of sectors and countries (see (Gonzalez-Benito et al., 2005; Rodríguez et al., 2004). In contrast, this study has found that market orientation does not have a statistically significant, direct relationship with business performance, when it interacts in the same analysis with technological innovation and relational capital constructs. However, indirectly, it has an influence through technological innovation.

Although market orientation, innovation and collaboration with stakeholders (customers, suppliers, competitors, government…) are fundamental factors in achieving success in high technology sectors, one characteristic of these sectors is that technological orientation usually exceeds market orientation. Some empirical research has even found that innovation seems to be isolated from market orientation, and sometimes collaboration with business networks can be more of an obstacle than a catalytic factor, specially for small-sized companies (Mohr, Sanjit, & Slater, 2005; Viardot, 2004; Im & Workman, 2004; Renko et al., 2002; Romijn et al., 2002b; Crick & Jones, 2000; Deshpandé, Farley, & Webster, 2000). The findings obtained in this research challenge this conclusion, since, in the case of technological innovation and market orientation, a statistical and practical relationship with high significance was found. Also, it is important to note that findings suggest the existence of a positive and significant relationship between technological innovation and market orientation.

In summary, the analysis suggests that the constructs that present statistically significant influence on business performance on a high technology sector are (specifically to Mexican software industry): technological innovation and relational capital, and indirectly, market orientation through its interaction with technological innovation. In other words, these results suggest that organizations that work with new technologies and experience fast environment changes improve business performance through technological innovation and relational capital, and by assigning indirect importance to market orientation through technological innovation.

8. LIMITATIONS AND FURTHER DIRECTIONS

One of the primary objectives of this research was to understand which high technology companies perform better based on market orientation, technological innovation and relational capital, in the context of the Mexican software industry. Although an extensive number of publications address these subjects, empirical research


Vol.8, No.2, 2011, p.269-290

that focuses on these three concepts within the context of high technology sector is still scarce. This is one reason why this study is considered partly exploratory.

The exploratory nature of the study for the Mexican case demanded the adaptation of scales used in previous studies, whilst we are aware that not all studies were developed with companies in developing countries in mind. Another particularity of this study is the measurement used for the research variables. For instance, innovation capability measurement had stronger orientation towards new services, due to the focus on the Mexican software industry.

Since the findings suggest that market orientation does not have the expected significant direct influence on business performance, an important extension of the data analysis for this research would be to find indirect relationships among the different components of the model. An option for finding those indirect relationships is structural equation modelling (Partial Least Square –PLS- or Covariance-Base Models –CBSEM-), this technique allows the simultaneous addressing of the issues of construct measurement, and the structural relationships between constructs (Loehlin, 2004; Im & Varun, 2003; Chin, 1998).

Finally, the context of the study (Mexico) constrains the scope to which the results can be generalized to other firms and other national contexts. However, the focus on a Latin American country does increase the understanding of the role of technological innovation, market orientation and relational capital in business performance in the context of developing countries and helps demonstrate the universality and global importance of these concepts. Future research that replicates this study in other national contexts would be a welcome addition towards the understanding of the relationship of technological innovation, market orientation, relational capital and business performance.

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Appendix A. Factor list

Factor list Factor loadings

Factor R1 (Business performance) The average percentage of PROFITS before taxes 0.8561 The average percentage TOTAL SALES GROWTH 0.8561 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.636; Total variance explained = 73.30 Factor IT1 (Innovation results: Perceived benefit of the impact of innovation on global organization performance) Which has been the impact of the introduction of innovations in your company (products/services) in the following aspects?

Productivity 0.8191 Profitability 0.7982 Quality service 0.7495 Market participation 0.7471 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.781; Total variance explained = 60.70 Factor IT3 (Innovation effort: Measurement of innovation effort) In what degree does your company use the following concepts to measure the innovation impact? Using qualitative measures 0.9707 The obtained profits (derived from the innovation) 0.9545 Using quantitative measures 0.9481 The cost of the innovation 0.9466 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.967; Total variance explained = 91.20 Factor IT5 (Innovation capability: generation of competitive intelligence) It indicates the option that you consider better represents the innovation capability of your company, having in consideration the frequency with which the activity happens.

The company has an IT-based Intranet system to use the knowledge generated by the organization

0.7844

In the company, formal procedures are applied to evaluate the innovation projects risk degree (E.g.: metrics, statistical control, specific methodologies…)

0.7014

The company regularly relies on market surveys and benchmarking practices 0.6797 The company has a specialized training program for the employees 0.6093 The process of personnel recruitment assures to recruit personnel who will bring with them new abilities and ideas for the company

0.6056

The company is organized around projects and multidisciplinary teams 0.5314 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.771; Total variance explained = 28.26 Factor IT6 (Innovation capability: development of innovation culture) It indicates the option that you consider better represents the innovation capability of your company, having in consideration the frequency with which the activity happens.

The strategic goals for innovation are communicated to every employee 0.7877 The company favours brain storming sessions and/or face-to-face contacts to promote innovation projects and creative thinking

0.7617

The company promotes team-works to generate new ideas 0.7541 The personnel is explicitly rewarded for improving knowledge or innovation 0.6926 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.799; Total variance explained = 27.90 Factor MO1 (Market Orientation: Intelligence generation) In this company, market research is done to evaluate the perceptions of our customers with regard to products/services that we offer to them

0.7924

In this company, we meet with customers at least once a year to find out what products or services they will need in the future

0.7549

We periodically review the likely effect of changes in our business environment (e.g. regulation) on customers

0.7052

We are slow to detect changes in our customers’ product preferences (Reversed score) 0.5802 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.663; Total variance explained = 50.794 Factor MO2 (Market Orientation: Intelligence dissemination) We have interdepartmental meetings (or with the key personal of the company) at least once 0.7672


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every three months to discuss market trends and developments When something important happens to a major customer or market, the whole business unit knows about it in a short period of time

0.7669

Data on customer satisfaction are disseminated at all levels in the company on a regular basis 0.7454 Marketing personnel in our company spend time discussing customers’ future needs with other company departments

0.6923

When a member of the company or department finds out something important about competitors, the time in alerting other members or departments is slow (Reversed score)

0.2940

Cronbach’s alpha = 0.673 ;Total variance explained = 45.96 Factor MO3 (Market Orientation: Responsiveness) We are fast to decide how to respond to our competitors’ price changes 0.8540 At least monthly, we analyze the changes in our customer’s product or service needs 0.8540 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.621; Total variance explained = 72.99 Factor MO (Market Orientation: MO1, MO2 & MO3) OM2 Intelligence dissemination 0.8605 OM1 Intelligence generation 0.8517 OM3 Responsiveness 0.8098 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.793; Total variance explained = 70.72

Factor CR1 (Relational capital: benchmarking activities -competitors relationship-) In one year, how many man-hours does your company devote to make benchmarking activities? 0.9729 In one year, how many man-hours does your company spend doing general analysis of its competitors? 0.9727 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.844; Total variance explained = 94.63 Factor CR2 (Relational capital: agreements and collaboration projects -competitors relationship-) Number of collaboration agreements with competitors: 0.9456 Number of joint projects with competitors 0.9455 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.636; Total variance explained = 89.41 Factor CR5 (Relational capital: Alliances perceived benefit -Alliances-) Opening of new markets 0.8052 Quality improvement (products and services) 0.7501 Increase in the amount of new products/services (innovation) 0.7431 Sales increasing 0.7043 Reduction of launching costs (new products) 0.6702 Reduction of launching time (new products) 0.5850 Acquisition of new technologies 0.5568 Cronbach’s alpha = 0.648; Total variance explained = 48.01 Factor CR6 (Enterprise networks: perceived benefit)

Value the collaboration degree that your company maintains with: 0.7820 Suppliers 0.7232 Customers 0.7052 Competitors 0.6137 Universities Cronbach’s alpha = 0.918; Total variance explained = 50.21 Factor TT1 (Technological Turbulence) Our new customers usually have different needs from those from our existing ones 0.7523 In my sector, the preferences/needs of the customers change substantially at least every two years

0.7516

The information technology products/services and information systems that require our main segment of market is changing rapidly

0.6238

The activity of research and development in my company has been increasing substantially in the last two years

0.6058

Cronbach’s alpha = 0.618; Total variance explained = 47.175




Maria Verónica Alderete Conicet, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur (IIESS) - Departamento de Economía, Universidad Nacional Del Sur , 12 de Octubre y San Juan, (8000) Bahía Blanca, Provincia Buenos Aires, Argentina; + 54-0291-4595138; E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] ISSN online: 1807-1775 Publicado por/Published by: TECSI FEA USP – 2011

NETWORKS VERSUS ICT USE: THE CASE OF SME FROM BAHÍA BLANCA, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINE Maria Verónica Alderete Conicet Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur (IIESS), Argentina __________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

Cooperative networks are main tools to improve the competitiveness of Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SME). This study contributes to extend the literature review about the factors that foster firms’ cooperative conduct. Apart from that, the paper examines through a LOGIT model, the firm’s characteristics, especially ICT (information and communication technologies) use, and the environment’s and partners’ characteristics that influence the probability of building alliances with other firms from the same economic activity. In particular, we find that ICT use reduces the probability of networking.

Keywords: cooperation, information and communication technologies, small and medium sized enterprises, innovation, LOGIT.

RESUMEN

Los acuerdos cooperativos son considerados herramientas importantes para mejorar la posición competitiva de las Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas (PYMES). Este estudio realiza un aporte a la revisión de la literatura, con respecto a los factores que fomentan el comportamiento asociativo. Por otro lado, examina a partir de un modelo LOGIT las características de la empresa, con énfasis en el uso de las TIC, su entorno y sus socios que inciden sobre la probabilidad de configurar alianzas con otras empresas de la misma rama o sector. En especial, se encuentra que el uso de las nuevas tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación disminuyen la probabilidad de formar alianzas.

Palabras Clave: acuerdos cooperativos, Tecnologías de la Información y de la Comunicación, Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas, innovación, LOGIT.

292 Alderete Conicet, M. V.

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1. INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, the dynamism of a competitive firm flows from the development and implementation of a new technology to the adoption of new organizational structures. For more than 20 years, inter-firm cooperation has been considered a corporate strategy, but only recently this strategy has become more important. In particular, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME) participate in the two connected trends worldwide. On one hand, the paradigm shift from traditional mass production practices, where scale economies prevailed in large firms, to a new industrial framework based on flexible production systems responding quickly to the demand requirements. On the other hand, we observe the progressive diffusion of the new information and communication technologies (ICT) in the economic activity. By taking advantage of the ICT use, SME can obtain advantages in transaction and information costs, leading to the restructuring, both internal and external, of firm’s coordination and management. Mariotti (1997) argues that this paradigm shift is followed by the appreciation of innovation processes and technological change, key factors for the firm performance in the new competitive framework (Martín and Retondo, 2004).

Technology use affects production processes and conditions firms to adopt new strategies. Among these ones we find network building between firms, a current practice to enhance the competitiveness and survival of SME. Nohria and Eccles (1992) determine three main reasons for the increasing interest in networks in organizational studies: 1) the emergence of a new competition, as in the Italian districts and the Silicon Valley cases. This new organizational model is characterized by intra-firm and inter-firm networks, instead of the large firm hierarchy. 2) The ICT emergence that fosters inter-relations between isolated firms. 3) The consolidation of the network analysis as an academic discipline.

Wittmann et al (2008) analyze, through a descriptive analysis, the cooperation actions of SME from Rio Pardo Valley and Taquari in Brazil, members of the Cooperation Networks Programme. The main factors that promoted cooperation were the exchange of experiences between businessmen from the same production sector and the reduction of costs; and, at a lower level, the access to innovations and technologies.

There is still not a unified theory or theoretical perspective to understand the explanatory factors of inter-firm cooperation. Child and Faulkner (1998) state that different organizational theories analyze cooperation between firms, such as the economic theory, game theory, strategic management, theory of organizations and sociology (Wittmann et al, 1998).

Casarotto and Pires (1999) argue that the emergence and survival of networks and alliances depend on four aspects: a culture of trust between firms, cultural aspects and personal interests of the partners, a culture of competence of each partner and a culture of information technology to speed up the information flows between the firms of a network (Wittmann et al, 2008).

From an econometric perspective, some authors assume that the structural characteristics of a firm, as size and age, explain the cooperative conduct significantly. Besides, others argue that the owner’s personal characteristics influence on the decision

Networks Versus ICT Use: The Case of SME from Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires, Argentine


293

to cooperate. Furthermore, the industry’s characteristics, which are also specific to the firm’s location, such as the relevant market, the competence changes, the number of technology intensive firms, and the economic policy of the countr, also matter.

First, the paper introduces a brief review of the literature on some explanatory factors of the cooperative strategy of firms. Secondly, it describes the situation of SME from Bahía Blanca in terms of the most relevant variables on cooperation. Thirdly, an econometric model captures the significant variables on the probability to cooperate such as firm’s characteristics, especially ICT, the entrepreneur’s and specific market characteristics.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Several empirical studies have tested the theoretical arguments about inter-firm cooperation alongside different organizational settings enhancing its comprehension. Van Gils and Zwart (2009) indicate through an exploratory analysis that alliances are determined by a mix of organizational causes related to the partners and the industrial sector. However, only a few studies introduce ICT as a factor that fosters cooperation.

Many empirical studies employ the Internet and bandwidth availability as variables to identify ICT use. ICT use allows instant and in-real-time information and communication exchange. However, the effects of a richer and faster communication in cooperative behavior are still not clear.

According to OCDE (2004), Internet and e-commerce have the potential to reduce transaction costs and to increase transactions’ speed, trust and value, at firm level in their value chains. They can reduce inefficiencies from a lack of coordination between a value chain’s firms. Fernández and Nieto (2005) notice, from a Spanish firms’ database, that Internet use reduces internal coordination costs and transaction costs as a result of the positive relationship between Internet use, the degree of vertical integration and technological agreements with suppliers and clients. Thus, Internet not only changes the firm’s operation mode, but also its size and limits. Brynjolfsson et al (1994) find that information technology investment correlates with a reduction in firm size, suggesting that ICT affects a firm’s external coordination more significantly than its internal coordination.

Neves and Chiari da Silva (2003) analyze the viable information and communication media and complementary factors that affect networks’ building and performance.

Martin and Retondo (2004) analyze the hypothesis of a link between the degree of ICT use and diffusion, the level of endogenous competences of the firm and its partnership in a production network (defined as a network of suppliers from the supermarket, automobile, iron and steel, and oil-chemistry industries). The study uses a sample of 245 manufacturing firms from Buenos Aires and Córdoba Argentinean metropolitan areas. Among the firms with low ICT use and diffusion level, firms operating in networks prevail. However, the dependence direction is opposite to this paper’s, since the production network membership is an explanatory variable of the firm’s endogenous competences that finally would affect ICT diffusion.


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Among the structural characteristics that promote alliances is the firm size. Usually, the firm’s size predicts inter-firm cooperation. The larger the firm is, the higher the probability to cooperate will be. However, there is no consensus on this issue. Dana (2001) states that firms of all sizes are involved in inter-firm activities (Harl et al, 2003). While most of the authors observe the firm´s absolute size, Gomes Casseres (1997) observes the relative size of a firm compared to the competitors´ relative size. SME in market niches or as technological leaders could have less propensity to cooperate, while large firms with low market power or lack of technological know-how could reach scale or scope economies through inter-firm cooperation. SME could be leaders in their activity while large firms could be smaller than their competitors. Shan (1990) suggests that small firms are more likely to build cooperative arrangements than large firms (Street and Cameron, 2007).

Furthermore, Murria and Siehl (1989) conclude that alliances help to overcome scale economies present in international markets. It is assumed that the higher the level of internationalization (or export intensity measured as income percentage from external sales), the higher the probability to build alliances (Dickson and Weaver, 2003).

Apart from that, the firm age can affect the cooperation propensity. According to Bruederl and Preisendoerfer (1998) and Littunen (2000), especially newly born firms can benefit from inter-firm networks (Harl et al, 2003). In many cases, these firms can become competitive, innovative and efficient by networking. From the Resource Based View1, alliances are built to access critical resources and, therefore, to gain competitive advantages.

Moreover, the owner’s personal or individual characteristics matter. Pichler and Voithofer (1999) defined different types of entrepreneurs, the “pioneer”, who likes taking risks, is open to change; and the “organizer” with executive-manager skills. The pioneer seems to have a higher propensity to cooperate than the organizer. Apart from that, Colvin and Slevin (1989) propose the strategic orientation of the firm as a variable to differentiate between firms with a cooperative conduct and those with an independent one.

Lastly, we find the industry and specific to the firm’s location characteristics. Masurel and Janszen (1998) consider that a high commercial cooperation level comes from a high market concentration. In particular, when big stores dominate the market, SME (especially food retailers) joins in cooperative organizations more frequently. Some authors, like Sell (1995), explain that propensity to cooperation depends on the level of competence of the markets. Cooperative strategies can be different in oligopolistic markets firms from competitive markets ones (Harl et al, 2003). Rosenkopf and Schilling (2007) study the difference in networks and alliances structures alongside the different industries through the analysis of 32 industrial alliances. Industries that are ranked high in technological dynamism (as computers and office equipment, motors and turbines, video audio equipment) have a high percentage of networked firms. They present a graphic structure called “hybrid or spiderweb”. Firms in cotton, paper and leather footwear industries build networks of small size (between 12 and 13 members) and with few links between nodes. In contrast, computers, telecommunications and motor vehicles industries build large networks with more members and higher level of connectivity.

1 The Resource Based View considers an organization as a reflection of its internal resources. View built under the Schumpeterian value creation perspective, where the firm is a set of resources and capabilities.



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In respect to the firm’s environment characteristics, many authors study whether the degree of the link between an organization with other firms and the institutional system explains the development of networks. The environment must favor the building of networks process. According to Ahwireng Obeng (2001), governmental plans and policies towards cooperation increase network formation. Governmental institutions can act as intermediaries to promote the development of trust among the interest parts (Street and Cameron, 2007).

In the end, when firms decide to build networks they choice partners based on their existent relationships or search for references on other partners, previous alliances or third parties links (Gulati,1995). Collaboration with business partners can be a main source of learning for the firm.

Other important variable is the degree of innovation of the firm, in terms of products, processes and internal organization. According to Ahuja (2000), businesses with significant inventions, but lack of commercial, technical and social capital will more probably search for alliances (Street and Cameron, 2007). However, there is evidence of a strong correlation between innovation and networking. In Australia, in response to the low levels of investment (compared to OCDE countries) and due to the government interest to increase national competitiveness, new policies were implemented to promote networking (Brunetto and Farr-Wharton, 2007). Roger (2004), using a sample of Australian firms, finds evidence of persistence in innovative activities and that the use of networks is associated with innovation in some sector-firm size categories. Small manufacturing firms exhibit a positive association between networking and innovation. In contrast, non manufacturing firms present a positive relation in medium and large firms. Differently from this paper, Roger analyzes a PROBIT model where networking is an explanatory factor of innovation.

3. METHODOLOGY. DATABASE SOURCE

Empirical testing of the model implies a sample of 103 SMEs from the city of Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The database corresponds to the year 2006 from interviews made in 2007. According to the information from Bahía Blanca, in 2007 the city counted with 679 industrial firms, with a 99% of SME.

With the aim of achieving a representative sample, 103 firms were interviewed. The sample was constructed considering the natural stratification based on the production specialization of the total number of firms2. It collects information on different characteristics of the firm: owner´s socio-cultural characteristics, firm structural characteristics (including relationships with suppliers, clients and between firms), and market and environment characteristics. The classification of the firms by firm size corresponds to the number of employees and emerges from the analysis of the frequency of firms per each size category: Micro-firm (1 to 5 employees); Small 1 (6 to 10 employees), Small 2 (11 to 50 employees) and Medium (more than 50 employees). Most of the firms from this classification are Small 2 (40,8%), followed by micro-firms (28,2%), Small 1 (25,2%) and Medium (5,8%) in order of importance. There are firms

2 The number of firms interviews by industry were: 35 Food and Beverage , 8 Clothing and Textile, 7 Wood , 11 Paper, Editorials and Print, 5 Chemistry, 4 Non metal minerals, 17 Basic Metals and 16 Machines, Equipments and Vehicles.


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with different sizes, levels of productive specialization and, therefore, different degrees of complexity in terms of products and processes. Thus, there are not structural biases in the sample.

Next, we made a descriptive analysis of the firms considering the main variables from the literature. Afterwards, we apply a Categorical Principal Components Analysis to reduce data dimensionality, that is, to reduce the set of original variables into a smaller set of uncorrelated components that represent most of the original variables’ information. Then, a logistic binary regression captures the significant explanatory variables of cooperative propensity. Lastly, we elaborate some final considerations.

4. FIRMS CHARACTERIZATION BY COOPERATIVE CONDUCT

In this section, an explorative analysis shows the effect of the explanatory variables on cooperative conduct. First, we study the cooperative conduct of the sample. Only 9 firms (nearly 8%) participate in cooperative initiatives with other firms from the same economic activity (Table 1). The most frequent types of cooperative initiatives are UTE-Unión Transitoria de Empresas3 (Transitory Union of Firms, a kind of joint venture) and Other Initiatives. Among these last, there is an Operation Society, an Association for Promotion/Marketing (for trade fairs, publicity, TV programmes) and a Joint Sales Agreement. Two firms participate in a Research Consortium and there is not any Export Consortium. Thus, we observe just a few cooperative initiatives, and, moreover, of a heterogeneous type. Among the networked firms, one firm participates in two types of networks; this explains why the total of responses (10) is larger than the total of firms (9).

Table 1

N % column responses

Type of cooperation

Unión Transitoria de Empresas (UTE) 4 44,4%

Others 4 44,4%

Research Consortium 2 22,2%

Total responses 10 111,1%

Total firms 9

Source: The author.

3 An UTE is a plurilateral contract where companies or individual businessmen join to develop or execute a particular work, service or supply, including complementary works and services (art. 7 from the Spanish Law of 1982 and art. 377 from the Law of Societies from Argentine (Law 19550). They offer services to third parties and can be nonprofit societies, at least indirectly.



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Some descriptive statistics of the explanatory variables appear in Table A from Appendix.

4.1. Structural Characteristics

4.1.1 Firms Size

Nearly 56% of the firms with any cooperative initiative (called ‘networked firms’) are size Small 2 (Figure 1). Therefore, quite a half of these firms have more than 10 employees, while among the not networked firms those with less than 10 employees prevail.

Figure 1

Source: The author.

According to the classification of firms by amount of sales from the Small and Medium Size Enterprises Secretary (147/2006 order) for industrial sector (Micro-firm: less than $1.250.000 per year; Small: between $1.250.000 and $7.500.000; Medium: between $ 7.500.000 and $ 60.000.000 and large: more than $60 mill.), we observe in Table 2 that among non-networked firms micro-firms prevail, while most networked firms are small and medium sized4.

4 The total number of firms is lower than 103 due to missing data on value of sales.

Classification of networked firms by size

22,2 28,7

27,755,6

39,4

22,24,3

0% 10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Yes No

Cooperation with other firms

%fir

ms

Medium

Small 2

Small 1

Micro


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Table 2

Classification by Sales Total Micro-firm Small Medium N

row % N row % N row % N row %

Cooperation with other firms

Yes 2 25,0% 3 37,5% 3 37,5% 8 100%

No 38 67,9% 14 25,0% 4 7,1% 56 100%

Total 40 62,5% 17 26,6% 7 10,9% 64 100% Source: The author.

4.1.2 Firm Age

No significant difference on firm age seems to exist between networked and non-networked firms (Table 3). The sample includes firms with 30 years with the same company name. Local firms are usually familiar and traditional firms. As we can see in Table 3, the average age of networked firms is slightly higher than non-networked ones5.

Table 3

Networking Media N St. deviation Yes 30,67 9 25,189 No 27,93 94 20,189 Total 28,17 103 20,542

Source: The author.

4.2. Personal characteristics of the owner

4.2.1. Age of the owner

The age of the owner can be used as a proxy variable of the type of entrepreneur. In Table 4 we observe that owners older than 50 years old prevail (63,3% of the firms). Therefore, most of the owners are conservative entrepreneurs.

5 To determine that there is no significant difference in the average age of the firms according to their cooperative conduct, an ANOVA test was applied. We confirm this statement although it is not conclusive since the variance equality assumption is not satisfied.



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Table 4

Frequency Percentage Actual % Accum. % Valid Less than 30 years 3 2,9 3,1 3,1 Between 30 and 50 33 32,0 33,7 36,7 More than 50 years 62 60,2 63,3 100,0 Total 98 95,1 100,0 Missing data 5 4,9 Total 103 100,0

Source: The author.

4.3. Information and Communication Technologies

4.3.1. ICT access

ICT access is pretty disseminated among firms. Nearly 78% of SMEs have got Internet and e-mail access. Besides, website availability appears in 42% of SMEs. Access to EDI or Electronic Data Interchange systems, Extranet and Intranet are still low (20,4%, 19,4% and 1,9% respectively). Thus, the more complex ICT is, the lower the percentage of firms with ICT access.

However, if we compare networked and non-networked firms (Figure 2) we can observe that the percentage of firms with ICT access is higher in networked firms.

Figure 2

Source: The author.


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4.3.2. ICT Use or Diffusion

We differentiate between ICT access and ICT use. ICT use suggests how a firm takes advantage of ICT access.

Table 5

Cooperative Initiative

Total Yes No Promote the firm and its products on a website

Frequency 5 39 44 Col % 62,5 54,2 55

Sell products (e-commerce) Frequency 1 6 7 Col % 12,5 8,3 8,8

Buy products (e-commerce) Frequency 3 12 15 Col % 37,5 16,7 18,8

Contact with clients already known Frequency 8 59 67 Col % 100 81,9 83,8

Contact with potential clients Frequency 7 44 51 Col % 87,5 61,1 63,8

Contact with suppliers already known Frequency 8 61 69 Col % 100 84,7 86,3

Contact with potential suppliers Frequency 8 41 49 Col % 100 56,9 61,3

Collect information about the activity Frequency 5 38 43 Col % 62,5 52,8 53,8

Communication with public authorities Frequency 3 20 23 Col % 37,5 27,8 28,8

Banking or financial services Frequency 8 44 52 Col % 100 61,1 65

Suppliers post sale services Frequency 3 13 16 Col % 37,5 18,1 20

Post-sale services to clients Frequency 4 17 21 Col % 50 23,6 26,3

Others Frequency 1 2 3 Col % 12,5 2,8 3,8

Total Frequency 8 72 80 Col % 100 100 100

Source: The author.



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Most of the firms use the Internet to contact suppliers and clients that are already known, and for banking and financial services (Table 5). Networked firms also use the Internet to contact potential clients, promote the firm and collect information about the sector.

4.4. Industrial sector characteristics

On average, the most frequent destinations of sales are Bahía Blanca, and Federal Capital and Gran Buenos Aires (Table 6). We can observe that the average percentage of sales to Bahía Blanca is higher among not networked firms.

Table 6

Cooperation

Bahía Blanca

Buenos Aires SW

South of Arg.

Fed Cap. GBA

Rest of Arg.

Merco sur

Rest A.L.

Rest world

Yes

Media 41,25 20,42 26,07 29,17 22,58 20,00 1,00 10,50 N 8 6 7 3 6 1 1 2

No

Media 66,87 23,96 27,71 37,87 26,00 22,00 24,67 17,50 N 86 52 41 15 21 2 3 2

Total

Media 64,69 23,59 27,47 36,42 25,24 21,33 18,75 14,00 N 94 58 48 18 27 3 4 4

Source: The author.

The number of firms with international sales is small (see last three columns of Table 6). Only 7 firms have exported, 2 of which are networked with others. Therefore, the set of firms that are networked and have exported is small in this sample.

4.5. Characteristics of the Environment

We analyze the firms’ relationship with the environment through their frequent contacts with the Town Hall or other public organisms (Figure 3). Only 22% of networked firms had a contact with the environment.


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Figure 3

Source: The author.

Furthermore, the promotion of different economic policies according to the type of industry can foster cooperation. In the inquiry, there is information about the firms’ perception of the sufficiency level of local government economic policies promotion. The perception of insufficiency prevails, being superior among non-networked firms.

4.6. Previous alliances or arrangements with third parties

A firm’s business arrangements with suppliers and/or clients are supposed to be a source of experience for networking between firms.

Figure 4

Source: The author.

Business arrangements with suppliers

33,3

78,7

1,1

20,2

66,7

0%

10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

100%

Networked Non-networked

Firms %

Missing data NoYes



303

We observe that 25 firms made business arrangements with suppliers, that is, nearly 24% of the sample. Apart from that, 67% of the networked firms developed these arrangements (Figure 4).

4.7. Firm innovation

The database collects information about products, processes and internal organization innovation.

In general terms, we observe that the degree of innovation is low. In respect to product innovation, firms preserve the same product with changes in the inputs employed (28.16%), or changes in the recipient (25.24%). In general, the percentage of firms that introduces a new product to the market is small (15.53%). However, after the classification of firms in terms of cooperation, we observe (Table7) that, among networked firms, the percentage of firms that made a new product is significant. Therefore, the level of innovation of networked firms is higher than not networked firms.

Table 7

Product Innovation*

Cooperation

Yes No Total

N % N % N %

Change in some product recipient 0 0 26 27,66 26 25,24

Change in some product process 0 0 6 6,38 6 5,83

Change in some product inputs. 4 44,44 25 26,60 29 28,16

New product for the firm, not for the market 1 11,11 25 26,60 26 25,24

New product for the market 4 44,44 12 12,77 16 15,53

Total 9 100 94 100 103 100

Source: The author. * Categories ordered from low to high level of innovation.

Moreover, 35% of firms did not make any process innovation. However, 43.7% of the firms developed advances in automatization, machine improvements and replacement of parts (Table 8). This group represents 67% of firms that made process innovation. This level of innovation is sustained even if we classified firms according to the cooperative conduct.


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Table 8

Process Innovation

Cooperation

Yes No Total

N % N % N %

Absence of innovation 2 22,22 34 36,17 36 34,95

Process adaptation without new machinery 1 11,11 15 15,96 16 15,53

Advances in automatization, machinery improvements. 6 66,67 39 41,49 45 43,69

Production line change/ new process for the firm 0 0 4 4,26 4 3,88

New process to the market 0 0 2 2,13 2 1,94

Total 9 100 94 100 103 100

Source: The author.

Lastly, 50% of the firms did not make investments inside the firm organization. Only 8% made some strategic planning. If we group firms by cooperation, we observe (Table 9) that the internal organization level of innovation is higher among networked firms compared to the others (percentages for each category are higher in the first group).

Table 9

Internal organization innovation

Cooperation

Yes No Total

N % N % N %

Strategic Planning 1 11,11 7 7,45 8 7,77

Control Board 1 11,11 3 3,19 4 3,88

Management Software without control board 2 22,22 11 11,70 13 12,62

Written Informs about each performance area 0 0,00 3 3,19 3 2,91

Management processes and/or electronic systems reorganization 2 22,22 20 21,28 22 21,36

Absence of innovations 2 22,22 50 53,19 52 50,49

Do not know 1 11,11 0 0 1 0,97

Total 9 100 94 100 103 100

Source: The author.



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5. ESTIMATED MODEL

In the previous section we have analyzed the relationship between each explanatory variable and the cooperative conduct. Next, through the logistic regression we will determine the simultaneous influence of the set of variables in cooperation conduct, considering the importance of each variable while taking into account the simultaneous influence of the others.

We want to estimate which factors are affecting the probability of networking by means of a LOGIT model.

Dependent variable (networks): Cooperative conduct. Binary variable that takes value 1 if the firm has networked with other firms (have participated in any associative initiative), and 0 otherwise.

The LOGIT model derives from a model of latent or unobservable variable. Let y* be the latent variable ‘cooperative conduct’ that is determined by some independents observable variables through the following structural equation:

y*= β0 + x β + e , y = 1[ y*>0]

The relationship between the observed binary variable y (if the firm networked with other firms) and the latent variable y* (cooperative conduct) emerge through the following equation:

y = 1 si y* > 0

y = 0 si y*<=0

In this paper we supposed that the error term e assumes a logistic distribution with Var e = π2/ 3. Thus, the resulting LOGIT model equation is:

).exp(1

)exp()/1Pr(

x

xxy

βαβα++

+==

Independent variables:

By means of a Categorical Principal Components Analysis (CATPCA), we identified a few factors to represent the existent relationship among the interrelated variables (CATPCA appendix). We interpret the factors as follows:

ICT use: this bundle represents some ICT use variables, such as communication with authorities, post-sale services to clients, post-sale services to suppliers, contact with clients and potential suppliers, financial and banking services, and collection of information about the activity. We suppose that a higher ICT use will have a significant and positive impact on the probability of networking.


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Type of Firm: this bundle represents mainly quantity of employees and value of sales that are interpreted as firm size. We suppose that the larger the firm, the higher the probability of networking with other firms.

Market: this set comprises the market destination of sales, mainly Bahía Blanca or southwest Buenos Aires and the Federal capital and Gran Buenos Aires. This factor represents the main market. Usually, firms that mostly sell to local markets (Bahía Blanca) have less probability of networking.

This factor captures the industrial characteristics of the firm. We suppose that some industries are more willing to build arrangements according to their potential growth and profitability, degree of concentration, and so on. The variable ‘market destination of sales’ is preferred to the industry or economic activity variable due to the presence of heterogeneity in some industries, as in Food and Beverage.

Innovation: Mainly product and process innovations made during the last three years. We refer to the impact of innovation of networking, although there is a wide literature studying the inverse relationship (how networking promotes innovation). We suppose that the higher the level of innovation, the larger the need to network to share resources, especially knowledge.

Arrangements: Business arrangements with suppliers and clients on different items: price, quality, product delivery, etc. We suppose that these arrangements represent the training/experience of firms in cooperation with other agents.

Environment: frequent contacts with the City Hall, perception about local development policies and the relationship between firms and public authorities. Through this factor we analyze the link between the environment and the networking activity. We suppose that frequent contacts with authorities can foster networking in the business sector.

Table 10: Correlation matrix

Networks Type of firm

Market ICT use Innova-tion

Arrange-ments

Environ-ment

Netwoks 1.0000

Type of firm 0.3803 0.0001

1.0000

Market -0.1344 0.1758

-0.1373 0.1668

1.0000

ICT use -0.2703 0.0153

-0.0464 0.6827

0.1734 0.1239

1.0000

Innovation 0.1927 0.0512

0.0209 0.8338

-0.1064 0.2849

-0.1104 0.3295

1.0000

Arrangements 0.2650 0.0068

0.1482 0.1352

-0.1990 0.0439

-0.2116 0.0596

0.0415 0.6774

1.0000

Environment -0.0490 0.6228

-0.2312 0.0188

0.1583 0.1102

0.1299 0.2507

0.0773 0.4378

-0.1945 0.0489

1.0000

Note: Variables in black are significantly correlated.



307

Table 10 shows the correlation matrix. Fortunately, most of explanatory variables are not significantly correlated among them.

6. RESULTS

The goodness of fit of the model is adequate considering the observed measures of R2 and the Likelihood Ratio6 (Table 11). In contrast to Harl et al (2003) the firm size is a significant variable. Thus, the firm size affects the decision to network.

Apart from that, the market variable does not have any incidence on the probability of networking. Besides, ICT use presents a significant but negative effect, meaning that the higher the ICT use, the lower the probability of networking. This unexpected result can be understood by analyzing the type of networks or cooperative initiatives present in the sample, and the most frequently ICT uses. Firms group for a marketing goal, to promote sales, develop trade fairs, TV programs and for buying and selling jointly.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the increasing ICT use generates “intangible assets” (such as organization and management enhancements) that increase the global efficiency of all the production sectors (Naciones Unidas, 2007). Therefore, an adequate ICT use could generate competitiveness in some firms as an alternative to networking.

The estimated probabilities of networking for each firm vary from 0.000009 to 0.9971 with an average probability of 0.10.

Table 11

Variable Coefficient P-Value Level of significance Type of firm 1.044312 0.060 * Market .3283399 0.230 Ns ICT use -1.35919 0.067 * Innovation 2.060916 0.086 * Arrangements 1.46787 0.222 Ns Environment -.4860203 0.456 Ns _cons -5.226209 0.000 ** Pseudo R2 = 0.6100 LR chi2(16) = 31.47 Prob > chi2 = 0.0048 *Significance at 10%. Source: The author, estimation obtained through the STATA 8.1.

Next, we focused on some significant explanatory variables. To study the impact of each variable on the probability of networking, we compute the predicted probability under two possible values of the independent variables: maximum and minimum (Table

6 The model predicts 93,75% of the cases correctly. When the result is positive (firms networked) the model predicts well 80% of the cases, and when the result is negative (firms did not network) it does 94.6%. The best predictor category is alliances=0.


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12). We want to analyze the variation in the predicted probability when the independent variable takes a maximum or minimum level, without specific values for the rest of the variables which are considered at their average levels.

Table 12

Type of firm ICT use Innovation

Maximum 0.9699 0.0007 0.2714

Minimum 0.0036 0.2953 0.0003

Prob. Difference 0.9663 -0.2946 0.2711

Source: The author.

We can observe that the largest difference in the probability of networking is related to the firm´s size (0.9663). Nevertheless, innovation shows an important differential effect (0.2711).

Table 13 output shows that ICT use generates a significant variation in the probability of networking when firm size is maximum (in the sample, the largest firm is Medium size). Therefore, if the firm is maximum in size, a higher ICT use reduces the probability in nearly 40%.

Table 13

Firm Size

ICT use

Maximum Minimum Prob. difference

Maximum 0.5997 0.9990 -0.3993

Minimum 0.0002 0.0972 -0.097

Prob. Difference 0.5995 0.9018

Source: The author.

Then, we analyze the simultaneous effect of the significant variables. We can see (Table 14) that a higher ICT use affects negatively the probability of networking if: a) The firm size is maximum and the level of innovation minimum; b) The firm size is minimum and the level of innovation maximum.



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Table 14

Type of firm

ICT Use Prob. difference Max Min

Max Innovation Max 0.9754 1 -0.0246

Min 0.0355 0.9593 -0.9238 Prob Dif 0.9399 0.0407

Min Innovation Max 0.0044 0.7405 -0.7361

Min 0.0000 0.0026 -0.0026 Prob Dif -0.0044 0.7379

Source: The author.

Among medium firms, with high levels of innovation, the probability of networking is high, and ICT use does not have a significant incidence. However, in medium firms where the level of innovation is nearly inexistent, the probability of networking depends negatively on ICT use. Thus, the higher ICT use or diffusion would replace the networking need. ICT use and alliances emerge as alternative sources of competitiveness.

Among micro-firms, with a minimum level of innovation, the probability of networking is nearly inexistent, and ICT use effect is worthless. Nevertheless, micro-firms with high levels of innovation have less probability of networking if ICT use is high. ICTs are used to satisfy some objectives that can also be reached through networking, for instance, increase in sales, marketing, etc.

7. FINAL REMARKS

Nowadays, the dynamism of a competitive firm flows from the development and implementation of a new technology to the adoption of new organizational structures. We can find different types of cooperation, and different concepts used as synonyms as inter-firm cooperation, strategic alliances, networks, cooperative outsourcing, for instance.

In particular, the degree of networking among local SMEs is low. Based on the sample, we observe that only 8% of the firms have networked with other firms from the same industry, where the UTEs prevail. The low number of cooperative initiatives of the sample is one of the limitations of the estimated econometric model. However, we consider the model as robust taking into account the fact that convergence was reached with a few iterations, and that joint statistical significance of the model is high.

According to the estimated model, the probability of networking of a firm with others from the same industry depends positively on the firm size and type of innovation, and negatively on the ICT use. ICT use could be considered as a competitiveness substitute of cooperation in the case firms build networks to enter new


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markets, optimize inputs and marketing. However, ICT use could not be treated as networks substitutes when firms cooperate for achieving joint production and innovation, which are economically different business goals. Apart from that, although the model includes most of the relevant variables considered in other papers, it does not analyze others mentioned in the literature of networking such as trust, whose treatment in econometric models is still a challenge since the absence of an appropriate measure.

APPENDIX I

Table A: Descriptive Statistics.

Variables N Mín Máx Media St.Dev.

Number of employees 103 1 150 18,18 27,083

Value of sales without IVA tax in 2006 64 28878 40000000 3116940,23 6897254,185

Age of the owner 98 28 88 55,29 13,098

Age of the firm 103 1 96 28,17 20,542

Geographic distribution of sales

Local city (Bahía Blanca)

79 5 100 48,42 34,738

Buenos Aires southwest

10 10 100 46,00 34,625

South of Argentine 10 5 90 29,00 24,922

Federal Capital and Gran Buenos Aires

77 5 100 54,19 30,750

Rest of Argentine 30 5 80 34,13 25,369

MERCOSUR 7 5 85 37,86 31,472

Rest of Latin America

0

Rest of world 8 3 60 20,38 19,777

Type of process innovation

(1: Very low, 2: Low, 3: Medium, 4: High, 5: Very High)

103 1 5 2,22 1,038

Type of Product Innovation 103 1 5 3,00 1,400

Type of Organization or management innovation

103 1 7 4,82 1,631

Observations: the Statistics were calculated for the numerical explanatory variables. We do not consider the binary variables. N means the sample size selected for each variable.



311

APPENDIX II Categorical Principal Components Analysis

This analysis employs an optimal scaling technique to generalize CATPCA to transform variables having different units of measure (scale or numerical, ordinal, nominal). The method use is Principal Normalization Variable.

Table Cronbach’s Alfa

Variable Cronbach’s Alfa Total Variance ICT Use 0,835 4,356 Type of firm 0,946 3,447 Market 1,036 10,66 Environment 0,958 3,55 Innovation 0,901 2,506 Arrangements 1 2 Source: The Author based on CATPCA model summary, SPSS.

The weight of a dimension is measured by the eigenvalue. Under Joliffe rule (1972, 1986) a dimension is important if the eigenvalue is higher than 0.8, if a variable “weights high” in one of the dimensions, it is considered relevant for the dimension’s or component’s interpretation.

Table Components Loadings

Dimension 1 2

ICT Use Promote the firm and its products on a website -,142 ,465 Sell products (e-commerce) ,363 ,548 Buy products (e-commerce) ,433 ,611 Contact with clients already known ,427 ,278 Contac with potential suppliers ,579 ,108 Contact with suppliers already known ,269 -,325 Contact with new suppliers ,553 ,137 Collect information about the economic activity or industry ,504 ,113 Communication with public authorities ,603 -,135 Banking and financial services ,523 -,031 Suppliers’ post sales services ,527 -,493 Post sales services to clients ,571 -,400

Type of firm Number of employees ,916 -,378 Value of sales without IVA tax in 2006 ,896 -,379 Age of the firm ,516 ,726 Age of the owner ,421 ,740


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Market Local city 1,992 ,640 Buenos Aires Southwest -,720 -,092 South of Argentine -,438 -,658 Federal Capital and Great Buenos Aires -,578 -,371 Rest of Argentine -,772 1,042 MERCOSUR -,338 ,868 Rest of América Latina -,487 1,195 Rest of world ,265 -,615

Environment Communication frequency with Firms Unions -,239 -,671 Perception about the adequacy level of local policies to promote economic development ,491 ,815 Perception about the adequacy level of the relationship between the firms and Firms Unions ,996 -,288 Perception about the adequacy level of the relationship between the firms and local authorities ,997 -,274

Innovation Type of process innovation ,850 -,235 Type of product innovation ,850 ,237 Type of management innovation -,001 ,974

Arrangements Business arrangements with suppliers 0,877 -0,48 Business arrangements with clients 0,877 0,48

Source: The Author based on CATPCA, SPSS. Normalization by Principal components.

REFERENCES

Brunetto, Y. and Farr-Wharton, R. (2007). “The moderating role of trust in SME owner/managers’decision-making about collaboration.” Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 45, Nº3, pp. 362–387.

Dickson, P.; Weaver, K.M.; (2003) “Attributes of the strategic alliance readiness of SME´s”. Working Paper, International Council of Small Business, 48th World Conference, Belfast.

Gomes-Casseres, B.(2003); “Competitive advantage in alliance constellations”. Strategic Organization. Vol 1, Nº3, pp 327-335.

Gulati, R.(1995). “Social structure and alliance formation patterns: a longitudinal analysis”. Administrative Science Quaterly.

Harl, R.; Pleitner, H.J; Schermerhorn, J.R.; Welsch, H.P.(2003). “Collaboration Initiatives among SMEs”. ICSB 48 th World Conference, Belfast.

Naciones Unidas (2007). Informe sobre la economía de la información 2007-2008. Ciencia y tecnología para el desarrollo. El nuevo paradigma de las TIC.



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Neves, F.V. e Chiari da Silva, E.C. (2003). “Formação de redes de cooperação entre empresas: análise de modelos de comunicação e informação.” XXIII Encontro Nac. de Eng. De Produção, Ouro Preto, MG, Brasil, 21 al 24 de Out.

Nohria, N. y Eccles, R. G. (eds.) (1992). Networks and organizations: Structure, form, and action. Harvard Business School Press.

Okamuro, H. (2003). “Support networks for R&D of the japanese SMEs”. ICSB 48th World Conference. Belfast.

Roger, M. (2004). “Networks, firm size and innovation.” Small Business Economics, Vol. 22, pp. 142-153.

Rosenkopf, L. and Schilling, M. (2007). “Comparing alliance network structure across industries: observations and explanations”. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, Vol.1, pp. 191-209.

Street, C. and Cameron, A.F. (2007). “External relationships and the small business: A review of small business alliance and network research.” Journal of Small Business Management, vol. 45, N°2, pp.239-266.

Van Gils, A. and Zwart, P. (2009). “Alliance formation motives in SMEs: an explorative conjoint analysis study.” International Small Business Journal, vol.27, N°5.

Wittmann, M; Dotto, D; and Wegner, D. (2008). “Redes de empresas: um estudo de redes de cooperação do Vale do Rio Pardo e Taquari no estado do Rio Grande do Sul.” REDES, Santa Cruz do Sul, vol. 13, N°1, PP. 160-180.


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_____________________________________________________________________________________ Recebido em/Manuscript first received: 05/08/2010 Aprovado em/Manuscript accepted: 15/02/2011 Endereço para correspondência/ Address for correspondence Flávio Perazzo Barbosa Mota, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Centro de Tecnologia e Desenvolvimento Regional (CTDR), Departamento de Tecnologia e Gestão,Cidade Universitária, cep: 58.051-900, João Pessoa – PB, +55(83) 3216-7927, E-mail: [email protected] José Rodrigues Filho, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Centro de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas (CCSA), Cidade Universitária, cep: 58.051-900, Joao Pessoa, PB – Brasil, +55(83) 3216-7454, E-mail: [email protected] ISSN online: 1807-1775 Publicado por/Published by: TECSI FEA USP – 2011

PUBLIC E-PROCUREMENT AND THE DUALITY OF TECHNOLOGY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN THE CONTEXT OF BRAZIL AND OF THE STATE OF PARAÍBA Flávio Perazzo Barbosa Mota José Rodrigues Filho Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Paraiba, Brazil __________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

In this study, an attempt was made to understand the e-procurement theme from the perspective of the duality of technology, understanding it both as a product and as a means for human actions, which, interacting with institutional properties, produces and reproduces the current organizational practices. From the multiple interpretative case studies conducted, it was evidenced that e-procurement is a subjective element, sometimes understood inconsistently by human agents in the different organizational contexts studied (Brazil and the State of Paraíba). Users appropriate the rules, knowledge, and assumptions incorporated into the implemented system to perform tasks, contributing to a reaffirmation of the status quo.

Keywords: Public Administration. Eletronic Government. E-procurement. Duality of Technology. Qualitative Research.

1. INTRODUCTION

The diffusion of e-commerce technology in the private sector has led public administrations to use the potentialities of information and communication technologies (ICTs), including the redesign of several governmental activities (Cordella, 2007). Managing public purchases, “one of the main areas where the government can be ‘reinvented’” (Santos, 2004, p. 150), represents one of the areas that has received a great deal of investments and attention, both in technological terms, aiming to modernize the process, and in juridical–legal terms. In this way, the electronic public process (e-procurement) became widely adopted by organizations, including public administration

316 Mota, F. P. B., Rodrigues Filho, J.

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(PA), seeking to improve the business process (Coulthard & Castleman, 2001; Leukel & Maniatopoulos, 2005).

Although the investments in electronic government and information systems (IS) represent a significant proportion of the organization budget (Mussi & Zwicker, 2009), the literature presents several failure cases (Wilson & Howcroft, 2002; Doherty & King, 2005; Luna-Reyes, Zhang, Gil-Garcia, & Cresswell, 2005; Mussi & Zwicker, 2009); since the end or the objective is given a great deal of consideration, less attention is paid to the means by which and the context in which the introduction will happen. On this account, it is realized that unanticipated organizational impacts are common, which can represent failures or the neglect of the importance of human and contextual aspects (Mussi, 2008). ICTs, including those involved in electronic government, are rarely easily introduced, since they demand complex configuration and customization, according to the context (Badham, 1995). Thus, although the use of e-procurement in PA seems obvious, its development, introduction, and management should not only consider technical and economic factors (Coulthard & Castleman, 2001), since political, social, and organizational factors may also contribute to containing the benefits of the electronic procurement implementation (Henriksen & Mahnke, 2005), restraining the benefits that technology has to offer (Luna-Reyes et al., 2005).

In this way, it is apparent that e-procurement may not be understood as a deterministic object, implying that it should not be considered as a simple tool (Kling, 2000). Therefore, this vision retreats from the deterministic way that ICT impacts on organizations, understanding that technology shapes and is socially shaped by organizations. This understanding is useful for comprehending the reasons why the same technology may be implemented, interpreted, and it may generate distinct organizational impacts, even when introduced in similar contexts.

This study adopted the perspective proposed by Orlikowski (1992), the duality of technology, which, even though its utilization in Brazil is not wide (Fell & Rodrigues Filho, 2006, 2007), has attracted a significant number of international papers into the IS area (Jones & Karsten, 2008). The association of the duality of technology approach with the context of the Brazilian public e-procurement brings the possibility of increasing the understanding of the phenomenon and the organizational consequences of adopting this technology, since the consequences of the introduction and use of ICT, which is increasingly common in the public sector, has not yet been appropriately understood (Grönlund, 2002).

This study, therefore, addresses the management of public procurement, focusing on the electronic process used in the context of PA in Brazil and in the State of Paraíba for the acquisition of goods and services using the modality of pregão, a reversed bid auction modality. Besides, this study understands e-procurement technology both as a product and as a means for human actions that, interacting with institutional properties, produces and reproduces the current organizational practices, representing a set of rules and resources built by users in their everyday actions. The objective is to comprehend public e-procurement in Brazil and in the State of Paraíba based on the duality of technology approach, in the context of federal and state public institutions located in João Pessoa, the capital City of the State of Paraíba. From a theoretical viewpoint, this study is justified since it adopts an interpretative perspective (Walsham, 1993, 1995a), outside the dominant rational/technical standard of studies of IS (Avgerou, 2000; Avgerou & McGrath, 2005), electronic government (Heeks &

Public e-procurement and the duality of technology: a comparative study in the context of Brazil 317 and of the State of Paraíba


Bailur, 2007; Rodrigues Filho; Mota, 2010), and public e-procurement in Brazil (Sáfadi & Reinhard, 2002; Alves & Dufloth, 2004; Campos, 2008; Galhardo & Côrtes, 2008).

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

E-procurement

According to Santos (2004, p. 150), the management of procurement represents an important area of work in electronic government projects, in which is created “the biggest bureaucratic tool structure to control and prevent possible deviations, and for that there is one of the main spaces where the government can be ‘reinvented’.” Although e-procurement represents one of the key factors of public management policies, it has become a critical area, since the operationalization of buying, entering into contract, the economic gains, and the use of more transparent practices to control public spending have not occurred in an appropriate way (Gaetani apud Campos, 2008). Thus, as a response to this situation, e-procurement has been adopted by organizations, including PA, aiming to improve the business process (Coulthard & Castleman, 2001; Leukel & Maniatopoulos, 2005).

E-procurement is defined as the use of electronic commerce for buying, involving the use of ICTs such as the Internet to automate and dynamize the organizational process, from the requisition to the final payment (Thomson & Singh, 2001; Vaidya, Juul, Korzen-Bohr, & Pedersen, 2003). In the public context, e-procurement may be understood as a term that covers a wide range of technologies used to automate the internal and external processes associated with the searching for and buying of goods and services for PA (Leukel & Maniatopoulos, 2005). From a general viewpoint, the implementation of e-procurement systems within an electronic government strategy is motivated by government initiatives or legally imposed (Bof & Previtali, 2007), supported by a vision that they are tools capable of bringing benefits to PA (Talero, 2001), including the potential rationalization of public buying (Somasundaram & Damsgaard, 2005) and the simplification and automation of procedures that, combined with regulatory reformulation propositions, make e-procurement an attractive solution compared with the status quo (Henriksen & Mahnke, 2005).

According to Somasundaram and Damsgaard (2005), the use of an electronic process to conduct public buying has occurred in many countries, although with a great waste of resources due to a lack of knowledge about how, in fact, the process itself happens. Besides, not all nations develop e-procurement equally, as different standards exist (Somasundaram, 2004). In the public sector, the risks associated with e-procurement may be even higher than those in the private sector, because economic and social factors influence the administrative, political, and structural contexts in a singular way (Gichoya, 2005; Bof & Previtali, 2007), since the public procurement process is highly controlled, regulated, and influenced by public policies (Henriksen & Mahnke, 2005). Therefore, the public e-procurement implementation should be conducted more carefully, because depending on how it is implemented, there will be organizational and political implications (Coulthard & Castleman, 2001; Henriksen & Mahnke, 2005) that, according to how the process configuration is established, the political, organizational, and institutional structures will be reinforced or a total transformation will take place


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(McLoughlin et al. apud Maniatopoulos, 2005). Thus, the available technical options undergo a social shaping process, since economic, cultural, political, and organizational factors influence and are influenced by the technology use and development, which generate legal and theoretical consequences as well as unpredictable results depending on the institutional and organizational context (Maniatopoulos, 2005), and, while PA seeks to improve its efficiency and efficacy, it is restricted by laws and the political context (Fountain, 2001).

In this way, the peculiarity of the contexts in which e-procurement systems are introduced has resulted in the creation of specific legal mechanisms, causing, as a consequence, the necessity for the bureaucratic process to be in accordance with the institution that receives the system (Henriksen & Mahnke, 2005; Leukel & Maniatopoulos, 2005; Somasundaram & Damsgaard, 2005; Bof & Previtali, 2007). This implies that, as most purchasing orders occur by requisitions, it is necessary to make a major effort to include them in the system, resulting in internal expense for the coordination of contract procedures (Henriksen & Mahnke, 2005). Therefore, it is realized that ICTs are not always capable of generating the expected effects (Avgerou, 2000), since determining whether the obtained results reach the expected and planned objectives is not simple (Hardy & Williams, 2008). Political will and administrative behavior, for instance, affect the political results of the process, while legal norms and institutional characteristics influence both decisions and how PA deals with its administrative routines (Bolgherini, 2007). Besides, although the objective is to increase the efficiency, quality, and accountability of the public sector, ICTs cause changes in power relations in such a way that some people have increased power over other people (Zimmermann & Finger, 2005).

Structurational model of technology

The duality of technology has its origin in the adaptation of Giddens’s (2009) ideas to the IS field. Orlikowiski (1992) avoids the understanding of technology as a mere physical object, viewing it “as the outcome of coordinated human actions, which is inherently social” (Orlikowiski, 1992, p. 403). Thus, “the interaction of technology and organizations is a function of the different actors and socio-historical contexts implied in its development and use” (Orlikowski, 1992, p. 405). In this way, the technology assumes structural properties, being “physically constructed by actors working in a given social context, and technology is socially constructed by actors through the different meanings they attach to and the various features they emphasize and use” (Orlikowski, 1992, p. 406). This perspective is called the duality of technology (Jones & Karsten, 2008).

In the model by Orlikowski (1992), in Figure 1 and explained in Figure 2, structuration is understood as a dynamic process that is embedded historically and contextually; therefore, although the components and the nature of the relationships that compose the model are stable, the scope, content, and power will vary over time. According to Orlikowski (1992), instead of models that relate the elements in a linear way, the structurational model of technology proposed considers that the elements interact recursively, and may be in opposition and mitigate the effects on each other. It should be noted, however, that when revising this theoretical model, Orlikowski (2000) introduced the concept of “technology in practice,” emphasizing practice as the source and reinforcement of structures.



Figure 1. Structurational model of technology

Source: Adapted from Orlikowski (1992, p. 410) and Fell and Rodrigues Filho (2006)

Arrow Type of influence Nature of influence

a Technology as a product of human actionz

Technology is an outcome of such human action as design, development, appropriation, and modification

b Technology as a means of human actions

Technology facilitates and constrains human actions through the provision of interpretive schemes, facilities, and norms

c

Institutional condition of interaction with technology

Institutional Properties influence humans on their interaction with technology, for example, intentions, professional norms, state of the art in materials and knowledge, design standards, and available resources (time, money, skills)

d

Institutional consequences of interaction with technology

Interaction with technology influences the institutional properties of an organization, through reinforcing or transforming structures of signification, domination, and legitimation.

Figure 2. Structurational model of technology explanation

Source: Orlikowski (1992, p. 410)

3. METHOD

Klein and Myers (1999) point out that, in general, IS research may be classified into positivist, critical, or interpretative understanding. The positivist studies have been

Institutional Properties (1)

Human Action (Agency)

(2)

Technology (3)

( a ) ( b )

( c )

Medium

Produces

( d )

Influence human interaction with

technology


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dominant; however, the interpretative conception has been emerging as an important trend (Walsham, 1995a). This research adopts an interpretative perspective, since it does not seek to measure objectively the relationships previously established, which implies that it does not attempt to test hypotheses or quantify variables, which are characteristics of positivist studies (Orlikowski & Baroudi, 1991). Although the use of theories and theoretical models is not a common practice in interpretative studies, this research uses the duality of technology perspective (Orlikowski, 1992) as a background for understanding e-procurement. Thus, the objective is not to validate the theoretical model of Orlikowski (1992), proposed based on an interpretative study, but to use the model as a guide to comprehend the development and use of e-procurement in Brazil (federal institutions) and in the State of Paraíba (state institutions).

From the perspective described, the present research follows a qualitative approach, which represents “particular relevance in the study of social relations due to the pluralization of life spheres” (Flick, 2009, p. 20). Qualitative research, “as a set of interpretative activities”, does not privilege a unique methodological practice in relation to another,” and “It does not have a distinct set of methods or practices that are entirely yours” (Denzin & Lincoln, 2006, p. 20).

Research strategy

The case study was adopted as the research strategy, which probably, represents one of the most appropriated strategies in the perspective of interpretative research (Walsham, 1993). According to Yin (2005, p. 19), “the case studies represent the preferred strategy when questions starting with ‘how’ and ‘why’ are made, when the researcher has little control over the contemporary events inserted into some context of real life.” According to Yin (2005), case studies may be unique (one unit of analysis) or multiple (more than one unit of analysis). Multiple case studies aim to predict similar results or contrasting ones compared with what was predicted at the beginning of the research, contributing to the formation of knowledge on the studied theme.

The current research was conducted in the context of federal and state public institutions located in João Pessoa, the capital City of the State of Paraíba. The choice of the cases presented an opportunity to verify the similarities or the differences between the two levels of government that are located in the same context (the State of Paraíba) and have the same premises as acting in terms of laws for procurement, although they have distinct systems and structures of working.

The sub-units of analysis refer to the participants in this research. In each federal public institution, the operationalization of the procurement of goods and services is performed in the system (Comprasnet portal) in a unit/department/division (different nomenclatures according to the institution) composed of one or more auctioneers and their respective support team. In total, five auctioneers of distinct federal institutions participated in the research. In state-owned institutions, the procurement occurs through a public departmernt specially created for that purpose (Central de Compras – Procurement Center), but with the effective participation in the system by the users in each state department. The selected sub-units were seven public employees who work in procurement both in the Central de Compras and in state department.

Data collection techniques

Case study evidence may be obtained through various data collection techniques, such as documents, historical files, interviews, direct observation,



participant observation, and physical artifacts (Yin, 2005). Data collection to study and to explain social phenomena in qualitative research involves the use of documents, participant observation, and interviews (Myers, 1997). Thus, in this paper, empirical evidence was obtained using the following techniques:

(a) semi-structured interviews: these represent the main source of data in interpretative case studies (Walsham, 1995b). In the present research, the data collection instrument was a semi-structured interview plan divided into two parts. The first one aimed to identify the participants’ profile. The second one was composed of questions representing general and guiding topics (with a subjective nature) to conduct the interview. In the case that an interviewee did not answer appropriately, the researcher asked complementary questions in order to obtain a better understanding of the planned theme. Questions referring to the general theme were built based on the literature review, it being possible to identify from this the representative dimensions of the studied phenomena. The complete interview is included in the paper by Mota (2010). Consistent with the adopted structure in each of the five participants’ federal institutions, the public auctioneers in each public institution were interviewed. However, on every occasion, the auctioneers’ support members participated in or complemented the answers or even answered the question for the auctioneer. Consequently, a total of seventeen people participated in the interviews, consisting of five auctioneers interviewed formally and twelve support members divided among all the institutions. In the institutions in the State of Paraíba, seven interviews were conducted. In this case, there was no participation from other members, since, in general, one employee in each department is responsible for the procurement function, while the process of the buying happens through the public department called Central de Compras (Procurement Center).

(b) documental analysis: as a way to contextualize information (Flick, 2009), documents associated with the Brazilian legislation of procurement and the public administration reform in Brazil and in the State of Paraíba, news from the Internet portal Comprasnet, the Paraíba public government portal and newspapers, among others, constituted the secondary data analyzed.

Data processing technique

In line with the perspective and research approach chosen, the technique for processing the collected data by the described means constituted a qualitative data analysis, based on the method of Gläser and Laudel (2009), which emphasizes interpretation in almost all the phases of the process; the analysis was supported by computer (Nobrega, 2005) through the MIA software Makrosammlung für die qualitative InhaltsAnalyse [Macro Compilation for Qualitative Content Analysis]. In a specific way, the main idea behind the content analysis used in this paper (Gläser & Laudel, 2009) was to work with a system of categories – themes or multidimensional variables – derived from the literature review, with the possibility of changes and amplifications during the whole process of data analysis, without the detriment of the preservation of the theoretical considerations. Initially, texts are obtained from interview transcriptions. Then, through a crawler – part of MIA (download available at: http://www.laudel.info/buchdateien.html) – a new series of texts (results from extraction) is obtained, containing only the information relevant to the research. Subsequently, the analysis is performed, aiming to identify the relevant causalities for the interpretation. The adopted procedures are thoroughly described in the study by


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Mota (2010), which also presents the dimensions obtained that serve as the foundations for the result analysis presented in this paper.

Case studies’ description

Case 1: E-procurement in federal institutions

The e-procurement implantation history in federal institutions merges with the regulation trajectory of the pregão (local or electronic) modality of buying. It is necessary to point out that the e-procurement on the federal level is mediated by the Internet portal Comprasnet (http://www.comprasnet.gov.br), the main objective of which is to provide the PA with a set of tools capable of increasing its efforts towards the accomplishment of the fiscal adjustments within the institutional goals, seeking to obtain short-terms results through the universality, accountability, and pace of the Internet (Santos, 2004).

Thus, in this space, the electronic bids (pregão) occur; therefore, the operation is performed online, without the physical presence of the auctioneer. The proposals are made electronically by suppliers previously registered to access the system. Specifically, the operationalization of pregão occurs in the division/department responsible for it. However, this shows that the process happens in a decentralized way, since it happens independently in the different and distinct federal institutions of the Brazilian PA; therefore each one has autonomy in relation to the others and there is no concentration of efforts among them.

Case 2: E-procurement in state institutions

In order to search for a managerial model of government, the e-procurement in the State of Paraíba has as an initial mark decree n. 23.865 (Paraíba, 2003) (also known as Proestado), published in 2003, which defines the guidelines for the Paraíba public reform. This legal issue predicts the reform in ten areas of work, as the redefinition of the organizational and administrative structure, at all levels of the executive state power, in order to ensure the efficiency and efficacy of the governmental actions as well as the reduction of expenses and the provision of better services to citizens. One of the areas of work points refers to the revision, modernization, and consolidation of goods and services, suppliers’ selection by the state executive PA, at all levels, aiming to ensure uniformity, efficiency, and economy according to objectively fixed criteria and parameters.

Thus, in 2006, with the publication of decree n. 27.010 (Paraíba, 2006), which deals with the regulation of the procurement system of the State of Paraíba government – instituted through the state complementary law n. 67, from 2005 (Paraíba, 2005) – the public department, named Central de Compras (Procurement Center) was created, linked to the Department of Administration, aiming for the centralization of the acquisition of goods, material, and services for the State of Paraíba’s direct and indirect PA. The final aim is to obtain a higher volume concentration of transactions and price reductions given by the suppliers. Before the implantation of this system, the process happened in each governmental unit, that is, in a decentralized and essentially manual way. In the State of Paraíba, e-procurement is mediated by the Internet portal Central de Compras(Procurement Center) (http://www.centraldecompras.pb.gov.br).



4. RESULT ANALYSIS

Public e-procurement and the duality of technology

E-procurement in this study is understood as a technology that represents both a product and a means for human actions, which, interacting with the institutional properties, produces and reproduces the current organizational practice, and therefore, represents a set of rules and resources built by users in their everyday actions. In order to study e-procurement based on this understanding, the study uses the model of Orlikowski (1992), aiming to explore the interaction among e-procurement, human actions, and the institutional properties of the State of Paraíba through the identified dimensions from the qualitative content analysis (Glâser & Laudel, 2009) made in the transcription of the semi-structured interviews. The interpretation follows the argumentative logic presented by Orlikowski (1992) in her study, adapting, however, to the particularities of this study, namely the technology (e-procurement), the PA context studied, and the human agents involved. Therefore, the analysis in this paper is based on the identified dimension of these themes, presented in detail in the studies by Mota (2010) and Mota and Rodrigues Filho (2010).

The results obtained evidence that the e-procurement in Brazil and in the State if Paraíba was designed and implemented with the objective of increasing the efficiency of the procurement process through the rationalization and standardization of procedures. The e-procurement is used by cilvil servants who did not participate in its development. This provides involvement and a passive utilization of the implemented system, as well as an economic orientation; that is, the focus is on the results to be achieved and not on a reflection of the procedures performed (Orlikowski, 1992).

Nevertheless, with the understanding of Orlikowski (1992), there is still the possibility of changes and influences in the process through the reflexive actions of the users. Orlikowski (1992) highlights that this happens up to the point where these users understand the very nature constituent in the technology (in this paper, the e-procurement) implemented, and this understanding is determined by the degree to which the users recognize the mediating role of technology, conceive alternatives to the technology, and motivate themselves to act.

In order to illustrate this, it was evidenced in the collected data that the State of Paraíba´s e-procurement is not yet in full operation and that, in some federal public institutions, there is still the necessity for more adaptations. With the understanding of Orlikowski (1992), to the extent that e-procurement increases its potentialities, users’ reflection about the process tends to decrease. Nevertheless, according to Orlikowski (1992), human actions through dialectical control may act against the apparent determinism of the institutionalized technology; therefore, if the users recognize that they are an interpretative flexible process, they may modify their interpretation and use. Given the institutional context of the State of Paraíba and Brazil with their mechanisms of control and standardization of procedures, as well as the relatively rigid development of e-procurement, the use of the electronic system for procurement may be characterized as having low interpretative flexibility. In both cases, in principle, the law does not permit other ways to carry out procurement procedures. However, in the State of Paraíba case, even though, due to agility motives, there is still the possibility of searching for other alternatives, they are based more on power relations than actually on new methods available in the system implemented.


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Meanwhile, this search for alternative methods represents a form of reaction by e-procurement users, since it is understood that at certain times, in the State of Paraíba case, the Central de Compras (Procurement Center) represents a more bureaucratic way of proceeding with the procurement process. This example reveals that it is not possible to understand a technology as a fixed object at any stage of its development, since its possibilities and implementation standards may change through time and human actions (Orlikowski, 1992). Whether the method involving power relations, which opposes the predicted institutional properties in e-procurement, lasting over time or not depends on the point up to which this practice is sustained, as well as the proportion by which it propagates in other State of Paraíba´s public institutions. However, the more e-procurement is implemented in its fully capaCity, the greater the possibility that the users do not realize other opportunities to conduct the procedures to buy and contract goods and services in a way that is not the electronic one implemented.

To Orlikowski (1992), the contradictory nature of technology is evidenced at this moment. E-procurement, in both cases, was implemented with the objective of improving the efficiency of the procurement process, generating, consequently, financial economies. However, this limits the users’ actions to seeing only this possibility for undertaking the procedures; therefore, civil servants and PA remain loyal to one way, even though, perhaps, there are other possibilities. Besides, they may be unable to recognize it when e-procurement restricts productivity and more efficient work.

Therefore, it is possible to understand e-procurement from the adaptation of the structurational model of technology developed by Orlikowski (1992). In order to conduct e-procurement, the users utilize the electronic system implemented (in the State of Paraíba case, mediated by the public department and the Central de Compras (Procurement Center) system; in the Brazilian case, through Comprasnet) (arrow f , Figure 3). The institutional properties of PA influence the conducting of the procedures of the civil servants involved in the process (arrow g, Figure 3). When they carry out the procurement process through Central de Compras (Procurement Center) and Comprasnet, the actions and perceptions of the civil servants are mediated by interpretative schemes, norms, and the present resources in the e-procurement (arrow h , Figure 3). When they execute the procedures electronically, usually, they tend to reaffirm the institutional properties of PA (arrow i , Figure 3).

However, in accordance with Orlikowski (1992), it is possible that, occasionally, civil servants execute e-procurement in a non-predictable way with the implemented system (arrow f , Figure 3). Therefore, they have a certain amount of influence on the process and on their workplace, many proposing, in an active way, new functionalities and systems for the process, through the information provision about the difficulties faced. In this way, it is possible to identify bottlenecks, as well as the necessity for the allocation of resources and power redistribution.

This weakens the interpretative schemes, norms, and resources present in e-procurement, and also, in the case that it represents an alternative that is sufficiently strong and lasting, may transform the State of Paraíba’s institutional properties through the changing of legitimation, domination, and signification (arrow I , Figure 3). In this way, it may result in a revision and in a change to the procedures and legal mechanisms; that is, PA promotes actions aiming to legalize and recognize the changes in e-procurement (arrow g, Figure 3). Thus, it represents a modification of the public e-procurement operation (arrow f , Figure 3). However, once put into practice, e-



procurement becomes institutionalized, serving to reproduce the PA’s institutional properties.

Figure 3. Structurational model of Interaction with E-procurement in the State of Paraiba

Source: Adapted by the author based on Orlikowski (1992, p. 420) (1) Public Administration of the State of Paraiba; (2) Brazilian Federal Public Administration

5. CONCLUSIONS

This paper addresses the public management procurement theme. It was perceived that the introduction and use of e-procurement produces consequences for the user’s everyday actions, and also that these actions result in organizational implications in the context of the State of Paraíba’s federal and state public institutions. It was evidenced that the institutional properties presented in the public institutions of Brazil and of the State of Paraíba influenced and continue to influence the actions of PA and the users of e-procurement. The implementation of e-procurement is supported by human actions, including the legal measures approved to regulate it, the commitment of senior management, the users involved in the procurement process, and the recognition of the suppliers.

In the introduction of this system, a direction not to question whether this is the best way to perform or operationalize the procurement process was perceived. This represents an effective way to control the understanding and users’ actions, which consist of appropriate rules, knowledge, and embedded assumptions in the implemented system to perform tasks. The dual character of technology was evidenced, since contradictions in the interpretation of the same aspect of e-procurement by different users were perceived. Moreover, a reaffirmation of the status quo was perceived.

Contributions, limitations, and future research recommendations

In terms of scientific investigation, this paper presents contributions both to science and to practice. Scientifically, the use of an interpretative perspective in the e-procurement studies in Brazil, taking as a basis the duality of technology approach,

Institutional Properties of Administration

(1) (2)

Public Administration and Users

E-procurement

( h ) ( g )

( i )

( f )


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represented an advance, contributing to the understanding of the phenomena associated with this technology through a different angle. Through the content analysis method adopted to analyze and interpret the data in the investigated case studies, it was evidenced that e-procurement is a subjective element, comprehended, sometimes, contradictorily by human agents in the different organizational contexts. The results obtained through the interpretative perspective together with the qualitative approach used reinforce the necessity for the introduction and use of new technologies to be studied not only from a technical–economic viewpoint.

In practical terms, in both the cases studied, it was verified that, although e-procurement has obviously brought benefits to the federal and state PA, it still presents problems, with necessities for adjustment. It was perceived that some vices and negative cultural issues inherent in the PA are inserted into the public e-procurement, revealing that undesirable and avoided practices still remain, despite the introduction of a new technological tool, through the pregão. Thus, it is recommended that users and managers involved in public e-procurement perform actions to counteract the evidenced problems, allied with a more reflexive and active posture against e-procurement, aiming to make better use of the benefits mentioned.

This paper, however, having an exploratory nature, is liable to limitations that must be emphasized. Thus, aiming to protect against possible critics and also to raise the readers’ awareness and to propose future research, the following are pointed out as the main limitations of this paper: the research strategy was the case study, which, although it promotes a high level of internal validation, given the deep data gathered, it has a low level of external validation. Therefore, the conclusions are limited to the cases investigated, although the duality of technology approach may be used in other contexts outside the State of Paraíba and the City of João Pessoa. Due to time and resource issues, on the federal level, the interviews concentrated on the buying sector, without the perceptions of others who supply the requested goods/services. It is possible that other aspects related to the institutional properties, to PA and users, and to e-procurement itself, which are not presented in this research, may exist and influence e-procurement in Brazil and in the State of Paraíba in a way distinct from that here presented.

Therefore, being aware of the presented limitations and the fact that this study consists of unfinished research, it is suggested that future research involving the e-procurement themat may continue to revise, consider, or add other aspects and perspectives besides the cited ones, aiming to contribute to the enrichment of knowledge of the public administration, information systems, electronic government, and e-procurement in Brazil.

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Edilson Ferneda, Catholic University of Brasília, Brazil - SGAN 916, Modulo B, Sala A-126,70790-160 Brasília, DF , (+55 61) 3448-7159, E-mail: [email protected]

Lamartine Vieira Braga, University of Brasília, Brazil, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Ala Norte, Subsolo, Módulo 25, 70910-970 Brasília, DF, (+55 61) 3349-8898, E-mail: [email protected]

Luiza Beth Nunes Alonso, Catholic University of Brasília, Brazil, SGAN 916, Modulo B, Sala A-109, 70790-160 Brasília, DF, (+55 61) 3448-7137, E-mail: [email protected]

ISSN online: 1807-1775 Publicado por/Published by: TECSI FEA USP – 2011

DIGITAL CERTIFICATION IN THE BRAZILIAN E-GOVERNMENT CERTIFICAÇÃO DIGITAL NO GOVERNO ELETRÔNICO BRASILEIRO Edilson Ferneda Luiza Beth Nunes Alonso Catholic University of Brasília, Brazil Lamartine Vieira Braga University of Brasília, Brazil

__________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

This article aims to analyze the role of digital certification in the development process of the electronic government actions in Brazil, as well to provide future perspectives. Qualitative research was done and the data gathering performed through semi-structured interviews. Ten nationally recognized stakeholders were interviewed either for the conceiving of public policies regarding electronic government as well for the implementation and inspection of related projects. The study demonstrates that digital certification is straightly connected with information security. Indirectly, the security that digital certification provides is the major condition for the development of the electronic government, once it can provide the bases for the improvement of internal process in Public Administration and the increase of public services and better quality for the interface between the State and the citizen.

Keywords: digital certification, electronic government, security information.

RESUMO

Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar o papel da certificação digital no processo de desenvolvimento das ações de governo eletrônico no Brasil, inclusive apontando perspectivas futuras. Foi realizada uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa, cujo instrumento utilizado foram entrevistas semi-estruturadas. Procedeu-se à seleção de 10 stakeholders desta temática no País, tanto na formulação de políticas públicas quanto na implantação e fiscalização de projetos afins. O estudo mostra que a certificação digital relaciona-se diretamente com aspectos atinentes à

332 Ferneda, E., Alonso, L. B. N., Braga, L. V.


segurança da informação. Indiretamente, esta segurança que a certificação digital proporciona é condição necessária ao desenvolvimento do governo eletrônico, a partir do qual pode haver tanto o aperfeiçoamento de processos internos da Administração Pública quanto a maior disponibilidade de serviços públicos e a melhoria da qualidade de interface do Estado com o cidadão.

Palavras-chave: certificação digital, governo eletrônico, segurança da informação.

1. INTRODUCTION

The current technological revolution, focused on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), has found the Public Administration faces increasing demands from the society, which requires more efficiency from the State, in addition to asking for more public services, with more quality, social control, and respect to individual rights.

ICTs have been applied for more than 50 years by the government to automatize its activities. Although the use of computer and communication networks is not a new issue, the Internet has improved the communications and allowed the government to offer digital services (Foley, & Alfonso, 2009).

Since the early days of the computer development, we have been able to devise three phases regarding the potential of new technologies to improve government performance. In the early fifties the application of digital technology targeted the automation driven to more efficiency and government operations control. Next, from the eighties to the nineties, two alternatives visions could be perceived: privatization and reinvention; both recognizing that the Information Age made Public Administration obsolete. More recently, in the third phase, the digital democracy became a core issue in the concerns about new alternatives for governance, based on the spreading of ICTs with low cost (Starr, 2010).

The electronic government applies the ICTs in order to ease its process and offer better services to the citizen, to the companies, and, obviously, among its components. For the citizens, the electronic government gives the power that makes possible their active participation in the democratic institutions and in the political processes (Huang, Siau, & Wei, 2005).

While this context is promising for the electronic government development, the digital universe expansion brings issues related to weaknesses of electronic information, for what digital certification is one possible answer.

The research problem approached in the paper refers to how the modern ICTs, in particular, digital certification, can contribute to the advance in the Brazilian electronic government. The aim is to analyze, by means of qualitative research, the current benefits and expectations regarding the role of digital certification, particularly, its potential to provide support for the Brazilian Public Administration development.

To accomplish the objective, ten interviews were done with key players of the Brazilian electronic government involved in digital certification processes.

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2. JUSTIFICATION

Although the importance of information has been universally recognized (Moresi, 2001), what makes it especially significant in the current days is its digital nature (Capurro, & Hjørland, 2007).

A recent study estimated the world capacity to store, process, and communicate information by monitoring 60 different technologies (digital and analog) from 1986 to 2007. In 2007, humanity stored 2.9 × 1020 bytes, communicated almost 2 × 1021 bytes and processed 6.4 × 1018 instructions per second, considering the general use of computers. The computation capacity increased 58% per year during this time. The word capacity of bi-directional communication increased 28% per year and the information stored globally reached 23%. While telecommunications have been dominated by digital technologies since 1990 (with 99.9% digitally represented in 2007), almost all of our technology memory has been generated in a digital format since the early days of the year 2000 (94% digitally represented in 2007) (Hilbert, & López, 2011).

This expansion can be more easily understood by means of a set of trends (Stallings, 2007):

• Constant reduction in costs along with performance gains in computing and communications, mainly due to increasingly powerful machines, capable of processing complex applications, and the widespread adoption of optical fibers;

• Increment of equipment mobility, releasing workers from their confinement and allowing them to carry their work context wherever they go. It is already possible to envision the high speed Wi-Fi access increment, along with improvements in the ability to use services and resources anywhere;

• Rapid conversion of electronic assets into digital technology and the consequent conversion into a data storing format (including voice, image, and video) as it can be observed in DVDs (Digital Versatile Disk), digital cameras, digital TV sets;

• Emergence of Internet connected systems: digital TV, mobile computers, mobile phones, digital cameras, automobiles, remote data access, fax, e-mail and voice-mail, VoIP, Radio Frequency Identification, appliances, and security and surveillance systems.

While opening many opportunities, this scenario imposes new challenges related to the vulnerability of electronic information, due to its virtual nature or even to the characteristics of Internet.

Below, some situations are described, which illustrate the difficulties faced during the digitalization of information, usually present in paper documents (Stallings, 2005):

• Generally it is possible to recognize the difference between an original paper document and its copy. However, an electronic document is just a sequence of bits; there is no difference between the “original” and its copy;

• A modification in a paper document will leave some kind of physical



evidence. For example, by erasing part of a document, a stain may be left behind. On the other hand, the modification of some bits in a memory does not leave physical signs.

Regarding the world computer network, while the communication possibilities expand exponentially, it is important to consider that this channel is highly insecure. It happens due to its very conception that assumes a network of mutually reliable users, transparently connected. However, in the current days, Internet does not involve only mutually reliable users. Despite of this, communication is a necessity that must be satisfied even in the absence of widespread mutual reliability (Kurose, & Ross, 2008).

So, both the storage and communication of electronic data are subject to interception and content modification, including privacy violation or even the complete information destruction.

To understand the kind of threats in the virtual world, it is necessary to make explicit the main requirements related to information security (Stallings, 2007):

• Confidentiality – possibility to access data only by authorized people, even in a shared environment;

• Integrity – assurance of information accuracy, from the origin to the destination, without any modification;

• Authenticity – ability to verify the user´s identity, confirming the informed source of information.

After the main requirements related to information security ware made explicit, it can be defined as the preservation of confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity; additionally, other properties like availability, responsibility, non-repudiation, and reliability can be involved (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas, 2005).

Regarding the role of the State in this context, the rapid digitalization development will create an increasing exclusion of nations that do not establish policies for society transformation. This trend requires from the countries decisions that assure their insertion in the Information Society (Scartezini, 2004). For Brazil, in particular, these decisions are more urgent considering the modest 61st position occupied by the country in the world ranking of electronic government development (United Nations, 2010).

In face of this discussion, this research is fully justified by the current dominance of information in digital format, requiring theoretical deepening in security information issues. In the same sense, the transformation process that the Public Administration has suffered as a consequence of the Technological Revolution and globalization works as a motto for this research. As one could expect, Public Administration looks for adapting to the new demands from the Information Society, where the electronic government arises as a promising possibility of leading to the modification of routines and bureaucratic proceedings, establishing interface improvements between government and citizens, paving the road for many kinds of benefits for the collectivity and institutions.


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3. PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVE

The issues previously discussed, mainly the virtual nature of information in the current days and the urgency the State has in adapting to this new reality, originated the problem approached in this research. This problem can be described as how could modern ICT, digital certification in particular, contribute to the advance of electronic government in Brazil?

To find an answer to this question, it was performed an examination on the role of digital certification in the evolution of the Brazilian electronic government, as well as possible impacts to the Public Administration of Brazil.

4. METHODOLOGY

Regarding its form, this is a qualitative research since an understanding is developed from the patterns found in the data instead of proving or confirming a thesis. With respect to the purposes, it is considered descriptive, because it exposes opinions of people related to the electronic government on the digital certification application. As to the means, it is considered a field investigation, since interviews were carried out with people related to institutions involved in electronic government Brazilian policies (Moresi, 2001).

The selection of interviewees was based on the analysis of the functions of their positions – considering the strategic or management levels – and their degree of interaction/action in relation to the actions of a Certifier Authority belonging to the Brazilian Public Key Infrastructure (ICP-Brazil). The term “selection” was used instead of “sample” once in qualitative research interviewees does not follow quantitative procedures (Gaskell, 2002) which employs statistical sampling. The selection has considered one or more roles performed interviewees: (1) public policymakers of digital certification; (2) implementers and evaluators of projects and services of digital certification and; (3) auditors and inspectors of digital certification services.

The survey comprised five open questions that aimed at obtaining information on (1) pros and cons of the digital certification adoption, (2) the relation between digital certification and the electronic government, and (3) the prospects and proposals to broaden the digital certification use. Frame 1 shows the list of interviewees, along with affiliation and position.



Frame 1: Interviewees affiliation and position

# Affiliation Position1

1 National Institute of Information Technology

Director of Public Key Infrastructure

2 National Institute of Information Technology

Substitute Director of Audit, Inspection and Standards

3 ICP – Brasil Committee Coordinator

4 ICP – Brasil Committee Full Member (Association of Federal Judges of Brazil)

5 ICP – Brasil Committee Full Member (Brazilian Chamber of Electronic Commerce)

6 Certifying Authority of the Federal Service of Data Processing (SERPRO)

Head of the Technical Sector of Digital Certification

7 Certificate Authority of Federal Savings Bank (CEF)

Superintendent of Information Technology

8 Certifying Authority of Federal Revenue of Brazil

Coordinator

9 Certisign Certifying Authority Business Manager (Government Leader)

10 Certifying Authority of the Presidency Coordinator

5. RESULTS

In this section, it is exposed the results obtained from the interviews, as well as the corresponding analysis and interpretation. The summary of the results related to the main pros and cons of the digital certification adoption can be seen in Frame 2.

1 Position in the first semester of 2008.


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Frame 2: Pros and cons of the digital certification adoption

What would be the main advantages of adopting digital certification, both for their institution and for the citizens?

Total Interviewee

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Assure the security of the electronic information 8 X X X X X X X X

Allow authenticity of the electronic data 6 X X X X X X

Provide legal validity to electronic documents 5 X X X X X

Assure confidentiality to electronic data and transactions

4 X X X X

Provide integrity to electronic data 3 X X X

Reduce bureaucracy in administrative procedures 3 X X X

Improve efficiency 3 X X X

Virtualize physical processes 3 X X X

Assist the control and audit 2 X X

Waive physical presence in interactions with Government

1 X

Save time 1 X

Facilitate access to public services 1 X

Most of the answers pointed out the information security of electronic information as the main advantage of adopting digital certification. In this case, it is included the assurance of secure identification among the people involved as well as data integrity and confidentiality in electronic transactions (Stallings, 2007; Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas, 2005).

Five answers to this question emphasized the digital certification due to the fact that it enables electronic data authenticity; as previously observed, authenticity is one of the information security requirements (Stallings, 2007).

Other five answers argued in favor of the ability to provide legal validity to electronic documents as the main advantage of digital certification2.

To assure confidentiality to electronic data and transactions was the answer for four interviewees. Also, it refers to one of the requirements of information security

2 Assured in the Brazilian Law by Medida Provisória (Temporary Measure) # 2.200-2, August 24th, 2001.



(Stallings, 2007).

Three interviewees mentioned the ability to provide integrity to electronic data, also one of the information security requirements, as one of the most important consequence of adopting digital certification (Stallings, 2007).

It was reported as a consequence of adopting digital certification the possibility of reducing bureaucracy in the administration procedures. Three answers support this statement, confirming the tendency of the last governments (Butcher, 2003). This point of view is part of the reinventing process of Public Administration, specifically in eliminating unnecessary phases and in reducing or removing excessive formalities and the rigidity in procedural follow-up. It was described the reallocation of workers to more finalistic activities rather than to bureaucratic ones. As an example, it can be cited the case of Fiscal Auditors from the Federal Revenue Office of Brazil that had to be reallocated to audit operations in loco, after the introduction of virtual services to citizens (the service is known as e-CAC).

Three answers agreed with the efficiency improvements as the main reason for adopting digital certification. That is the result of the secure process of digitalization, avoiding the use and storage of paper. It totally adheres to the demand for a more responsive State along with a reduction in operational costs and resources optimization (Foley, & Alfonso, 2009; Starr, 2010; Butcher, 2003; Lévy, 2004; Stahl, 2005; Schelin, 2003).

Virtualization of the physical processes also appears as one of the main reasons for adopting digital certification. It is considered as a result of assuring security for electronic documents. It was also mentioned as an effect of providing legal validity to electronic document, enabling one to do better what already is done in the non-virtual world, promoting more reliability to digital processes.

The improvement of control and audit procedures, by increasing the traceability of digital documents with digital signatures, was reported in two answers. The consequence is the increasing reliability of digital processes by means of reducing frauds and the governance strengthening, as shown by Braga et al. (2008).

Finally, waiving the physical presence of people in electronic interaction with government was regarded by one interviewee as the main advantage of using digital certification. It is related to the legal and security layer provided by digital certification, which strengthens the confidence of the users in digital processes, allowing for the reduction bureaucracy and ease of the accomplishment of organization activities. Moreover, by being non mandatory, the physical presence leads to the reduction of time and money for travelling, for example (Zugman, 2006). To illustrate the access issue, one interviewee mentions a case of the Judicial Power in which the electronic process removes all limitations imposed by time and distance, being always accessible by any one of the parties involved.

Frame 3 summarizes the results related to the main barriers to adopt digital certification.


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Frame 3: Barriers to the adoption of digital certification

What are the main barriers or disadvantages? Total

Interviewee

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Cultural 6 X X X X X X

Infrastructure and logistics 4 X X X X

Existence of few applications 3 X X X

High cost 2 X X

Access difficulty 1 X

Difficulties to understand the technology involved

1 X

Firstly, it is important to notice that there was no mention of possible disadvantages related to adopting digital certification. Also, although the large set of possible applications of digital certification in Brazil, as reported by the interviewees, its potential is not yet completely explored. It can be observed both in the weak development of the Brazilian electronic government and in the low level of digital inclusion in the country.

Regarding the barriers, most of the answers (six) pointed out cultural issues as the most relevant. This includes the habit of using paper and beliefs that the younger generations are more familiar with the digital world. In this case, it is expected a gradual reduction of resistance to a new model, that is, an unknown model. It was also mentioned that cultural resistance can be more easily reversed in institutions than individually.

Secondly, infrastructure and logistics were mentioned, indicating the necessity to improve the Brazilian Public Key Infrastructure (ICP-Brasil) capillarity, broadening its scale. Although enough certification authorities exist, there are still few Registry Authorities3, most of them located in big cities. This can be considered as an important drawback since the physical presence of the digital certificate applicant is mandatory.

Three answers emphasized the existence of few applications using digital certification. There are not so many electronic services available, having little pressure to assure the information security with digital signatures. It is not enough to have the certificate, it is necessary to have an opportunity to use it.

3 Entity responsible for the interface between the user and the Certifier Authority, being linked to the latter. Its aims include requests reception, validation, and the face-to-face identification of the applicants. They are also responsible for forwarding to the Certifier Authorities the issuance or revocation of digital certificates.



High costs were mentioned twice. Regarding this issue, it was reported that not all institutions would be able to afford the infrastructure required for using certification.

At one moment, access difficulties were mentioned as a barrier. Actually, this is particularly relevant for Brazil, as shown in the research results related to the low level of digital inclusion in the country (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, 2007).

Finally, difficulty understanding the technology involved in digital certification was considered a barrier, what is a reality in face of the small amount of national technicians in the area.

Frame 4 shows a summary of the results related to the main approaches adopted by the Brazilian electronic government for using digital certification.

Frame 4: Electronic government and the use of digital certification

How could the electronic government make use of digital certification? Total

Interviewee

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Promoting a better interaction of the State with the citizens

6 X X X X X X

Secure authentication for accessing public services

4 X X X X

Data bases authentication 1 X

Electronic processing of documents 1 X

Six answers argued that electronic government could use digital certification in order to promote a better interaction between the State and the citizens. The evolution and increasing availability of ICTs have created opportunities for the reorganization in the way the State offers its services by exploring electronic means for meeting the society´s demands. In fact, the improvement of this relation comes from the development of digital government rather than from digital certification. (United Nations, 2005; European Communities, 2003; Trosa, 2001; Zugman, 2006; Schelin, 2003; Smith, & Smythe, 2004; Huang, Siau, & Wei, 2005; Lenk, & Traunmüller, 2007). However, the increasing use of Internet and digital media requires an institutional legality status and security to the electronic transaction, enabled by the application of digital certification. By assuring the information security of electronic information, government can interact virtually, with no physical presence, faster, comfortably, transparently, and simplifying the administrative processes.

Secure authentication for data access was the answer in four cases. Again, a requirement related to information security is mentioned (Stallings, 2007). In this case, it is possible for the State to dematerialize its relations, leaving the physical world of the “front desks” and going into the universe of the virtually provided services. Digital certification can provide the citizen with digital identification in a safe and legally valid


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way.

In a suggested answer, the government could make use of digital certification to authenticate its databases. As we have seen, authenticity is one information security requirement (Stallings, 2007). Government programs that require electronic transactions among many entities, also involving the citizens, can use this application of digital certification.

Finally, an answer pointed out the secure processing of electronic documents as an application of digital certification by the government. The Justice Section of Rio de Janeiro (part of the Brazilian Federal Justice), for example, has adopted digital certification to improve the processing of administrative electronic documents. Electronic processing with digital certification is a reality in most Brazilian Special Federal Courts and in some branches of fiscal and criminal federal courts of Rio de Janeiro (both from the Brazilian Federal Justice).

In Frame 5 results related to the perspectives of broadening the digital certification application are summarized.

Frame 5: Perspectives of broadening the digital certification application

What are the perspectives of broadening the application of digital certification?

Total Interviewee

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Providing more electronic public services 3 X X X

Enabling digital identification 3 X X X

Replacing the physical process by the electronic one

3 X X X

Improving State efficiency 3 X X X

Moving from the face-to-face to the virtual system

1 X

Increment of electronic transactions 1 X

More sustainable data archiving 1 X

Transforming the bureaucratic culture 1 X

Spreading digital certification 1 X

Regarding the perspectives of adopting digital certification, three answers agreed that when more virtual services are offered, new possibilities of using digital certification arise.



Also, three answers refers to the future availability of a digital identification, along with a digital certificate to the common citizen, as already happens in Spain and Belgium. An additional possibility would be the association of digital certification with some kind of biometric identification (facial, iris, or fingerprints recognition). In addition, more documents could be added to this digital identification, like tax payer’s id, voter registration, driver’s license, and worker license.

Replacement of the physical process by an electronic alternative was cited by three interviewees as a way to broaden the use of digital certification. According to one of them, the electronic processing with digital certification will soon replace the traditional physical processing in the Brazilian Federal Court.

Again, the increment of the State efficiency (Butcher, 2003) is seen in three answers. This would happen as a consequence of a series of events. It was suggested, for example, that the increasing of efficiency and tax collection capillarity, by means of instruments like the Electronic Invoicing System, would lead to a reduction in government costs. Another interviewee pointed out the reduction of operational costs with virtual public services as a consequence of the elimination of face-to-face assistance and the reduction of notarial costs. An interviewee noticed that this trend in Brazilian Courts will promote many benefits for society, emphasizing an increment in the processing speed and reduction in procedural costs.

It was mentioned in one answer, as a consequence of digital certification adoption, the security assurance for: moving from the face-to-face to the virtual system; increment of electronic transactions, removing progressively the paper use; more sustainable archiving; and a positive transformation in the bureaucratic culture, i.e., a paradigm shift in the State-citizen relation.

Finally, an interviewee envisions an extensive massification of digital certification, based on the technology convergence and increment in the Internet and mobile communication use for performing electronic transactions. These transactions include the electronic government ones, having the necessary security provided by digital certification. Another potential communication channel in this context is the Digital TV.

Frame 6summarizes the results related to actions that could be carried out to make digital certification widely known and used.


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Frame 6: Actions to make digital certification widely known and used

What could be done in order to make digital certification widely used and popular?

Total Interviewee

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Extend the set of electronic public services 6 X X X X X X

Develop information campaigns in communication means

5 X X X X X

Invest in interinstitutional partnerships 2 X X

Stimulate new applications 2 X X

Improve logistics 1 X

Train people in digital certification 1 X

Most of the answers (six) pointed out the extension of electronic public services as an effective approach to make digital certification more popular and used. According to interviewees, this extension depends basically on the government desire and the society’s demands, mainly from local governments. Moreover, it was emphasized the necessity of offering quicker and simpler electronic services that can stimulate the use of digital certification, having as a consequence the drastic reduction of traditional processes, characterized by slowness and bureaucracy.

The implementation of information campaigns comes in the second place, with five answers. Brazilian National Institute of Information Technology intends to include actions like these in the next Annual Budget Planning of Brazilian Federal Government, arguing in favor of the change to overcome both the cultural resistance against new technologies and the fear of replacing paper on the basis of a false belief of its security.

Two answers were in favor of the interinstitutional partnerships with Brazilian Mail Post Company, notaries, banks, and NGOs as a way to increment the use of digital certification.

Still, two answers were in favor of stimulating new applications of digital certification, mainly the ones that involve many government sectors to increment its use. It was suggested the obligatory use of digital certification in electronic transactions that involve contracts and payment, like in Internet Banking and electronic commerce.

Improvement in logistics was once mentioned as a way to disseminate digital certification beyond big urban centers.

In one case training of people in digital certification was suggested to make it more popular. Moreover, it would be possible to consider academic partnerships to develop new digital certification applications, making its adoption wider.



6. CONCLUSION

A qualitative analysis was performed on the collected data about how digital certification can help the development of the Brazilian electronic government, particularly as a support for improving Public Administration in a context that is requiring the reinvention of the State in face of new demands from Information Society.

Based on this analysis, it can be concluded that the main advantages of adopting digital certification refers to the accomplishment of information security, including requirements as data authenticity, confidentiality, and integrity. Additionally, it can be cited arguments related to legal validity of electronic documents and improvements in government control and audit.

Although digital certification is regarded as a system that promotes expense reduction, speed increasing, people comfort, etc., actually, these benefits come from the underlying ICT process supporting Public Administration, particularly in electronic government. Digital certification enables security to these processes, when electronically performed.

Regarding the main barriers to the digital certification use, the cultural issue must be emphasized, in addition the incipient Brazilian infrastructure and the few electronic applications, mainly in public services.

For the Brazilian electronic government, digital certification applies mainly to the authentication of government databases, to access public services, and to the processing of electronic documents.

Regarding the alternatives to make the digital certification more popular and used, the main suggestions were to increment the set of electronic public services and the implementation of information campaigns.

Finally, some perspectives on the broadening of digital certification in Brazil were emphasized. It includes the offering of digital identification along with digital certification, the replacement of physical processes by electronic ones, all that leading to the State’s efficiency improvement.

In addition, it was mentioned the transition from the face-to-face to the virtual practice, more sustainable archiving, and the bureaucratic culture transformation.

In short, it can be concluded that digital certification keeps a direct relation with information security and this one is a necessary condition for electronic government. In addition to this, digital certification maintains an indirect relation with the process improvements in Public Administration and with the interface quality between the State and citizens.

7. RECCOMENDATIONS

Taking into account the subject and time limitations imposed on this research, more investigation efforts can be suggested. A deeper study regarding the current applications of digital certification in Brazil could be developed. Additionally, it would be interesting, further, a comparative study on how the perspectives from now will meet


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the reality from a near future. Another possibility would be a comparative study on the adoption of digital certification in Brazil and in the world. Another study could evaluate the potential of digital certification as the basic technology for a data archiving and retrieving system, avoiding paper use in a sustainable way.

REFERENCES

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Braga, L. V. et al. (2008). O papel do governo eletrônico no fortalecimento da governança do setor público. Revista do Serviço Público (Brasília), v. 59, p. 5-21.

Butcher, T. (2003). Modernizing civil services: an era of reform. In: Butcher, T., & Massey, A. (Eds.). New horizons in public policy: modernizing civil services. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 1-15.

Capurro, R., & Hjørland, B. (2007). O conceito de informação. Perspectivas em Ciência da Informação, Belo Horizonte, v.12, n.1, p. 148-207.

European Communities (2003). The role of e-government for Europe's future. Brussels: Commission of the European Communities.

Foley, P., & Alfonso, X. (2009). E-government and the transformation agenda. Public Administration, Vol. 87, No. 2, 2009 (pp. 371–396).

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Hilbert, M., & López, P. (2011). The world's technological capacity to store, communicate, and compute information. Science, February 2011.

Huang, W., Siau, K., & Wei, K. K. (2005). Electronic government strategies and implementation. Hershey: Idea Group Publishing.

Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (2007). Pesquisa nacional por amostra de domicílios 2005: acesso à internet e posse de telefone móvel celular para uso pessoal. Rio de Janeiro: Diretoria de Pesquisas Coordenação de Trabalho e Rendimento.

Kurose, J. F., & Ross, K. W. (2008). Computer networking: a top-down approach. 4th ed., Boston: Pearson Addison Wesley.

Lenk, K., & Traunmüller, R. (2007). Broadening the concept of electronic government. In: Prins, J. E. J. (Ed.). Designing e-government. 2nd ed., Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International, p. 9-21.

Lévy, P. (2004). Ciberdemocracia. Lisboa: Instituto Piaget.

Moresi, E. A. D. (Org) (2003). Manual de metodologia da pesquisa. Brasília: Universidade Católica de Brasília.

Moresi, E. A. D. (2001). Gestão da informação e do conhecimento. In: Tarapanoff, K.



(Org). Inteligência organizacional e competitiva. Brasília: Editora Universidade de Brasília, p. 111-142.

Scartezini, V. (2004). Governo e comércio eletrônico nos países em desenvolvimento. In: Ferrer, F., & Santos, P. (Orgs). E-government: o governo eletrônico no Brasil. São Paulo: Saraiva, p. 3-15.

Schelin, S. H. (2003). E-government: an overview. In: GARSON, D. G. Public information technology: policy and management issues. Hershey: Idea Group Publishing, p. 120-137.

Smith, P. J., & Smythe, E. (2004). Globalization, citizenship and new information technologies: from the MAI to seattle. In: Mälkiä, M., Anttiroiko, A., & Savolainen, R. (Orgs.) eTransformation in governance: new directions in government and politics. Hershey: Idea Group Publishing. p. 272-307.

Stahl, B. C. (2005). The paradigm of e-commerce in e-government and e-democracy. In: Huang, W., Siau, K., & Wei, K. K. Electronic government strategies and implementation. Hershey: Idea Group Publishing, p. 1-19.

Stallings, W. (2005). Cryptography and network security: principles and practices. 4th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Stallings, W. (2007). Data and computer communications. 8th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Starr, P. (2010). The liberal state in a digital world. Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions, Vol. 23, No. 1, January 2010 (pp. 1–6).

Trosa, S. (2001). Gestão pública por resultados: quando o estado se compromete. Rio de Janeiro: Revan; Brasília: ENAP.

United Nations (2005). Unlocking the human potential for public sector performance. World public sector report 2005. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

United Nations (2010). United Nations e-government survey 2010: leveraging e-government at a time of financial and economic crisis. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Zugman, F. (2006). Governo eletrônico: saiba tudo sobre essa revolução. São Paulo: Livro Pronto.

JISTEM Revista de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação JournalofInformation Systems and Technology Management Vol. 8, No. 2, 2011, p. 347-366 ISSN online: 1807-1775 DOI: 10.4301/S1807-17752011000200005

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Recebido em/Manuscript first received: 13/11/2009 Aprovado em/Manuscript accepted:20/09/2010 Endereço para correspondência/ Address for correspondence Pietro Cunha Dolci, Information Systems Doctoral Student, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul School of Management PPGA/UFRGS Phone: 55 51 9168-7247/ http://sites.google.com/site/pietrodolci/ E-mail: [email protected] Antônio Carlos Gastaud Maçada, Associate Professor, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul School of Management, PPGA/UFRGS Phone: 55 51 3308-3536 / E-mail: [email protected] ISSN online: 1807-1775 Publicado por/Published by: TECSI FEA USP – 2011

THE DIMENSIONS OF IT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT (ITPM): AN ANALYSIS INVOLVING IT MANAGERS IN BRAZILIAN COMPANIES Pietro Cunha Dolci Antônio Carlos Gastaud Maçada Federal Universityof Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil __________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to explore and validate the dimensions of IT Portfolio Management (ITPM) in Brazilian companies, based on three different models. Five case studies were carried out in Brazilian companies that invest more than nine million reals per year in IT. Eight top IT executives from those organizations who had knowledge of the dimensions of ITPM were interviewed. Items were modified and new items included within the dimensions, while examples of equipment or systems applicable to each of the four dimensions were also identified. Research that helps managers to better understand and structure their IT investments by using the dimensions of ITPM is important to assist in the management of such resources.

Keywords: IT Portfolio Management, Dimensions of ITPM, IT Managers, Brazilian companies

1. INTRODUCTION

IT managers have used various methods and techniques for evaluating IT investments, ranging from simple formulas to complex computational methods or techniques that combine qualitative and quantitative analysis (Gunasekaran, Ngaiand Mcgaughey, 2006). However, Burke and Shaw (2008) show there are many studies in the literature on Information Systems (IS) that assume that IT investments are made in isolation. Weill and Olson (1989) have highlighted the importance of separating the different types of IT investments in various organizations and arranging them in such a way as to facilitate their management.

Verhoef (2008) suggests that IT Portfolio Management (ITPM), considered an important research topic in IT area (Burke and Shaw, 2008), is one way in which organizations can manage IT from an investment perspective, maintaining it aligned

348 Dolci, P. C. , Maçada, A. C. G.


with a continuous focus on business. ITPM, for Weill and Broadbent (1998), Aral and Weill (2004, 2007) and Weill and Aral (2006), guides IT executives to separate and classify IT investments into four different dimensions: infrastructure, transactional, informational and strategic, i.e., the portfolio of IT investments in each organization must be planned and managed according to the original concept of financial investment portfolios.

Although the concept has only recently begun to be widely discussed in IT research (Cho and Shaw, 2009), the term portfolio was created by Markovitz (1952) and began to be used in the IT field in 1981 (Mcfarlan, 1981). As with the investments made in a financial portfolio, IT investments can be divided and classified according to the benefits they provide and the strategies that companies want to implement and the objectives they want to achieve, which would thus constitute an IT portfolio.

The dimensions of ITPM are determined and structured by the perception of the company executive when deciding what percentage of the intended investments will be allocated to each of the management objectives. Since executives in different companies perceive their technology differently (Thomas and Mcdaniel, 1990), it is necessary to clearly determine the dimensions and the items of which they are composed. Thus, the guiding question of this study is: How are the dimensions of the ITPM technique seen by Brazilian companies?

In order to answer this question the following goal was established: to explore and validate the dimensions of ITPM in Brazilian companies, based on the models from Weill and Broadbent (1998); Aral and Weill (2004), and Weill and Aral (2006). The model proposed by these authors was chosen because the other models or frameworks in the IT literature on ITPM take a more general view of the term portfolio without identifying what is conceptualized as a portfolio. In these studies, ITPM is only addressed as part of a wider managerial context or the management of IT investments as a whole without focusing on its particular elements.

To achieve the proposed objective, five case studies were conducted (a pilot study, and four case studies) in large Brazilian companies in which the annual IT budget is high (more than R$ 9 million per year) and that have hundreds of users. Eight IT managers with knowledge of the concepts and dimensions of ITPM were interviewed.

The paper is structured as follows: section 2 presents the concepts of IT portfolio management (ITPM) and the evolution of the dimensions of ITPM as well as the key concepts involved (section 2.1); Section 3 describes the research method; Section 4 presents the pilot case study, while in section 5, the data from the different cases are analyzed, and finally, section 6 presents the main findings of the research, its contributions, limitations and some ideas for further research.

2. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT (ITPM)

ITPM provides a means to monitor and manage all IT investments in an organization so that benefits, costs and risks of individual investments can be evaluated in order to determine whether or not they are contributing significantly to organizational performance (Schniederjans, Hamakiand Schniederjans, 2004). According Maizlish and

349 The Dimensions of IT Portfolio Management (ITPM): An Analysis Involving IT Managers in Brazilian Companies

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Handler (2005), the ITPM technique is a framework and a tool that results in a positive correlation between the amount invested in IT and increased productivity. In contrast, for Verhoef (2008) ITPM focuses on the problem of managing the values of IT investments for the business. Furthermore, ITPM provides a holistic view of total IT investments and helps in the future of these expenditures (Symons, et al., 2005).

In addition, ITPM is required when the resources within the company are limited and the manager is not free to make any kind of IT investment that he believes would bring more benefits to the organization (Gliedman, 2002; Gliedman, Leaver and Sedov, 2010), which is the situation in all businesses. These limitations or restrictions may be related to finance, personnel, system resources and/or business challenges.

The IT literature contains several different ITPM models or frameworks (Maizlishand Handler, 2005; Zheng, 2007), though most take a more general view of portfolio and fail to clearly define what is meant by a portfolio, while others focus on selecting the IT portfolio (Cho, 2009), or on general rules to be applied when planning an IT portfolio (Karhade, Shaw and Subramanyam, 2009). In these studies, the topic was addressed within the wider managerial context or that of the management of IT investments as a whole without focusing on the specifics of each one, which would allow further exploration of the topic ‘IT portfolio’ and its dimensions.

Thus, we chose the model originally proposed by Weill and Broadbent (1998), and studied by Weill and Aral (2004), and Weill and Aral (2006), where IT investments are classified and structured into four different dimensions allowing a better view of IT investments. Papers that explore these dimensions and put them within their respective contexts (national in this case) can be used to provide a better understanding of each dimension. The following are the main concepts, their developments, and the authors of the dimensions of ITPM.

2.1 The Dimensions of ITPM

The concept of portfolio has its origins in the seminal article Portfolio Selection (Markowitz, 1952), which can be considered the birth of Modern Portfolio Theory. It was the first to consider the desire for investment diversification (Rubinstein, 2002). The concept of portfolio is used in several areas of knowledge such as mathematics, health and administration. In the latter, there is, for example, the use of advertising in the sense of the company product portfolio which means the number of products that the company has to sell to end customers (Kotlerand Armstrong, 1993). Another use of the term relates to portfolios of new products in development, which are composed of projects that result in new items that can be traded (Kumar, Ajjanand Niu, 2008).

This theory is also used in the in the IT field. As with financial investments, investments in IT in companies can be conceived not as a financial portfolio, but as an IT portfolio that contains investments with different management objectives, from operational to strategic (Weill and Broadbent, 1998; Schniederjans, and Hamakerand Schniederjans, 2004; Maizlishand Handler, 2005; Cho and Shaw, 2009).

The first author to explore the theme of portfolio in IT was Warren McFarlan (1981), who focused on IT portfolio in terms of the managing the risks involved in IT projects. Subsequently, Turner and Lucas (1985) pointed out the importance of this approach when analyzing IT investments, though they did not use the term IT portfolio



management. However, the work of Turner and Lucas (1985) can be considered the first to present the dimensions for the management of IT investments and was useful in the preliminary research into ITPM.

In their work, these authors separated IT investments according to the organizational goals they would help achieve, and described them as: (i) Operational, divided into production, logistics, supplies, buying and selling, general accounting, payroll and personnel; (ii) Managerial Control: divided into budget, general ledger, assets and depreciation, financial statement, project tracking, sales analysis and profit analysis; and (iii) Strategic Planning: consisting of the corporative database, economic analysis tools, technological forecasting, new product evaluation, acquisition and mergers analysis, competitor analysis and market analysis.

These managerial objectives were specified, derived and extended from Turner and Lucas’s (1985) research by Weill (1992) and came to be referred to as: (i) Transactional IT, (ii) Strategic IT, and (iii) Informational IT. The managerial objectives or dimensions created form the basis and focus of interest for the present research. Note that in the evolution of research, the nomenclature changed, with the operational part becoming Transactional IT, managerial control Informational IT and strategic planning IT Strategy. From this point on, the terminology used will be the latter, presented here.

These dimensions were completed in the research of Mirani and Lederer (1998), where strategic dimension changes the organization’s products or the way the organization competes by providing benefits such as competitive advantage, alignment, and customer relations; Informational IT provides information and communication infrastructure for the organization, with benefits in terms of access, quality and flexibility of information and, according to the authors, Transactional IT supports operations management and helps cut costs, benefiting the efficiency of communications, systems development and business.

A fourth dimension, IT infrastructure, was included later, and has been studied by several authors (Broadbent and Weill, 1997; Broadbent, Weill, and Neo, 1999; Broadbent, Weill, and ST Clair, 1999; Weill, Subramaniand Broadbent, 2002). Initial research defines IT infrastructure by the IT components, the human part, the shared IT services. It includes, furthermore, the way enterprises connect, share and structure information and the deployment of IT by the company. It represents the basis for the ITPM that is shared throughout the enterprise in the form of reliable services, and is usually coordinated by the IT group which includes technical and managerial expertise.

Following the identification of the origins of each dimension, IT investments are presented as an IT portfolio with four dimensions (Weill and Broadbent, 1998). According to Weill and Broadbent (1998); Aral and Weill (2004), and Weill and Aral (2006) the dimensions and their items can be defined, characterized, and composed as described below.

IT infrastructure is the basis of the portfolio, since it is the basis for the IT capabilities that, in turn, include the technical and managerial expertise required to provide a reliable service. Investments are shared with IT services used by several applications: servers, networks, laptops and customer database. They provide benefits such as business integration, business flexibility and business agility, reducing the cost of IT in the business units and reducing the cost of IT over time and with standardization.


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Within the IT portfolio, the next level is transactional IT; it processes and automates the repetitive and basic transactions of enterprises. The goal is to cut costs by substituting labor with capital, or work with larger volumes of transactions with greater speed and at a lower unit cost, or increase productivity. Transactional systems are built and dependent on a reliable capacity of the infrastructure.

At the top of the IT portfolio there are the uses of IT investments for strategic and informational processes which rely on and are supported by the IT infrastructure and transactional processes. Usually these two should be in accordance with the needs of companies before investments are made in strategic and informational IT processes.

The other IT portfolio level is informational, which provides information for the management and control of the company. Typically, it supports management control, decision making, planning, communication and accounting. Investments in this dimension provide information for purposes such as accounting, reporting, compliance and analysis. It provides benefits such as increased controls, better intelligence, better integration, better quality of information and information cycle time within the smaller company.

Finally, on the same level as informational IT, there is strategic IT, in which the objectives are slightly different from other parts of the portfolio. Such investments are made in order to gain competitive advantage or, more generally, to position the company in the market by increasing sales or market share. The deployment of the Automate Teller Machine (ATM) was a case of successful strategic use of IT in the 1980s. Citibank, a pioneer in the large-scale use of ATMs in New York, changed the banks forever. For Citibank, this strategy was brilliant. The impact on the market forced other banks to respond quickly and begin to build ATM networks at a high cost.

Figure 1 shows the hierarchically structured model (Weill and Broadbent, 1998; Aral and Weill, 2004; Weill and Aral, 2006) with the IT investments divided as in a portfolio, composed of the dimensions and their items: infrastructure, transactional, informational and strategic, while the last published paper on the subject, in 2007, is identified (Aral and Weill, 2007). This model was the reference for the exploration and analysis of the ITPM dimensions in this research. Table 1 provides a summary of all the authors who have studied some of the managerial objectives or dimensions investigated in this study.



Figure 1 – The Dimensions of IT Portfolio Management

Source: Weill and Broadbent, 1998; Aral and Weill, 2004; Weill and Aral, 2006.

DIMENSIONS

AUTHOR (YEAR)

Tu

rner

an

d L

uca

s (1

985

)

Wei

ll (1

99

2)

Bro

adb

ent a

nd W

eill

(19

97)

Mir

ani a

nd

Led

erer

(1

998

)

Wei

ll an

d B

road

ben

t (1

998

)

Bro

adb

ent, W

eill

and

Neo

(19

99)

Bro

adb

ent,

Wei

ll an

d S

t C

lair

(1

99

9)

Wei

ll, S

ub

ram

ani a

nd

B

road

ben

t (2

002

)

Ara

l an

d W

eill

(20

04)

Wei

ll an

d A

ral (

20

06)

Ara

l an

d W

eill

(20

07)

Infrastructure X X X X X X X X

Operational X

Transactional X X X X X X

Managerial X

Informational X X X X X X

Strategic X X X X X X X

Table 1 – Research into the dimensions of ITPM Source: Elaborated by the authors

INFRASTRUCTURE

TRANSACTIONAL

STRATEGIC

� Better information � Better integration � Faster cycle time � Improved quality � Increased control

� Competitive advantage � Competitive necessity � Increased sales � Market positioning � Product innovation � Process innovation � Renewed service delivery

INFORMATIONAL

� Business integration � Business flexibility � Reduced marginal cost of business unit’s IT � Reduced IT costs � Standardization

� Cut costs � Increase throughput


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3. RESEARCH METHOD

This qualitative and exploratory research is based on five different case studies. A qualitative approach is most suitable since it seeks to describe the complexity of a situation and provide an in-depth analysis of the interaction between the variables (Richardson et al, 1999), which is the case with the analysis of the dimensions of ITPM and the identification the items composing them.

Interviews were held with the chief IT executives from the companies that had recently begun to use or were already using the ITPM technique in their information technology investments. The IT managers already have some degree of understanding of the approach and were very interested in the subject and the interaction between universities and companies. The interviews, which were taped and transcribed, lasted one hour and thirty minutes on average and the companies were visited twice, on average.

Some characteristics of the respondents were taken into account, such as the length of time working with information systems, the length of time at the current company and knowledge of the dimensions of ITPM. The respondents were found to have acquired their knowledge of the dimensions of ITPM in several ways: (i) courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), U.S., with an author of the model being used, (ii) lectures held in Brazil, and (iii) access to scientific and trade articles written by those authors.

Another important feature of this research is that companies are expected to have a large annual IT budget, which, in the case of the analyzed companies, was more than R$9 million (Brazilian currency) per year and also have hundreds of users. Table 2 shows a summary of the information from each company (sector, IT investments and ratings of importance of the company in the national scenario) and on the respondents (position, length of time in IT / time working at the current company).

Case Sector Respondents IT

Investments Classification

Pilot Various

- Corporative IT Manager of the group (24 years / 8 months)

- forecast for 2008 to spend fifteen million reals on technology.

- one of the largest groups in the State in terms of liquid assets. - among the largest 120 Brazilian holding companies.

1 Petro-chemical Company

- Chief Information Manager (CIM) (25 years / 1.5 years) - Considered one of the top 40 CIOs in the country. - IT Infrastructure Supervisor. (22 years / 1 year)

- over R$ 9 million; - IT budget between 0.6% and 1% of revenue

- 100 largest groups in Brazil.- 100 largest publicly traded companies in Brazil - 25 largest companies in Southern Region



2 Financial Services

- Managing Director and IT Director (25 years / 8 years) - Considered one of top 40 CIOs in the country. - Specialist in IT at the company (26 years/ 4 months)

- area budget between 2.1% and 3% of revenue.

- among the 55 most proactive companies in Brazil

3 Steel

- Planning Director and IT Management (9 years / 6 years)

- 14% of the investments from 2008 to 2010 will be designated for IT

- 10 largest business groups in the country - 10 largest publicly traded companies in the country. - 10 largest organizations in the Southern Region

4 Automotive

- CIO (25 years / 7 years) - Considered one of the top 40 CIOs in the country. - IT Coordinator Project Management Office (PMO) (15 years / 3.5 years)

- budget of 1.1% to 1.5% of the company revenue.

- largest car manufacturers in the world and among the 10 largest companies in the country .- most innovative in IT in the country

Table 2 – Summary of the company and respondent information.

Source: Valor Econômico, 2008; Revista Exame, 2008; Computerworld, 2008.

The theoretical research in the previous step was used as the basis of the case study protocol, which is designed to guide the researcher when collecting data for a case study (Yin, 2005). In a case study, the protocol plays an important role in ensuring reliability, since it provides information so that the research, when repeated under the same conditions, obtains the same results (Riege, 2003; Yin, 2005). Thus, the protocol used in the case study was developed taking into account the dimensions originally proposed by Weill and Broadbent (1998), and subsequently studied by Weill and Aral (2004), and Weill and Aral (2006).

When analyzing the responses, content analysis was used, which consists of discovering the core meanings within the communication whose presence or frequency of appearance may have some meaning for the chosen objective of analysis (Bardin, 1977). Categories were determined based on the (units) core meanings, which were separated into three categories: final (four dimensions), intermediate (items in each dimension) and initial (definitions and examples), which are presented in each case separately. The main objectives of the analysis were: (i) to validate each dimension with its respective items, (ii) to explore their definitions and contextualize the examples, and


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(iii) to find new dimensions or items. Some examples of the categories found in each of the case studies are presented.

A pilot case study was prepared (presented in Section 4) with the purpose of enhancing the external and internal validity of the study (YIN, 2005). After which, the other four case studies were made (section 5). The cases were analyzed separately, then compared and consolidated to determine the final model with the ITPM dimensions.

4. PILOT CASE STUDY

The Pilot Case Study was conducted in one of the largest business groups in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, in which the Corporate IT Manager of the group was interviewed (Table 2). The company was taking steps towards using the ITPM technique to help with IT investments. A personal interview conducted with the IT manager lasted approximately one hour and thirty minutes. In relation to the concepts of ITPM he had attended a lecture, given by Peter Weill himself, on the theme of IT portfolio management. In addition the respondent had read some articles and the fundamental book on IT portfolio by Weill and Broadbent (1998).

The dimensions and items illustrated in Figure 1 were used as a reference and starting point. The questions encompassed how the respondent defines each dimension, if the items initially stipulated constitute part of each dimension and if there is any other that could be included.

Based on the content analysis, 51 initial categories were identified (e.g., definition of IT infrastructure; Type of control, Types of investments in IT to cut costs; Type of IT investments to gain competitive advantage), 23 intermediate categories (e.g., Definition and importance of IT infrastructure; Better information, Integration of information, Increased sales) and the four final categories (infrastructure, transactional, informational and strategic).

From this categorization, the definitions and examples of each of the dimensions were established, as shown below. The company investments in infrastructure are intended to support the flow of information and include related services. Examples are: servers, computers, printers, laptops, and the staff and technical teams to support the systems. The transactional dimension includes investments that facilitate the existence of the relationship of the company as a whole and the parts involved, examples being: systems responsible for day-to-day business and the exchange of data between users. The informational dimension includes investments in systems and management practices that allow data to be transformed into information and help in decision making, BI (Business Intelligence) for example. And the strategic dimension includes all investments that are aligned with the generation of profit.

All the items were confirmed by the respondent, with some modifications. The first item is the relocation of “integrating information,” which originally belonged to the informational dimension, to the transactional dimension. This is supported by the following transcript of the interviewee’s answer: “the information is grouped at the transactional level and arrives at the informational level already grouped [...] it’s a transactional function [...] Today, I can’t see the information not being integrated at the transactional level”. Another suggested modification was the inclusion of an item within



the strategic dimension. The new item would be “motivational”, where companies are also investing in IT technology in order to stand out and motivate their professionals. It also makes the company more attractive to future professionals, which affects the organization strategically. According to the respondent: “A company that invests in technology, by providing opportunities, training courses and which is modern in comparison to its competitors, has a strategic advantage.”

The pilot case study, which made it possible to validate the case study protocol, led to the revision of some questions and some changes were made: relocation of some questions; changes to the text of some questions to facilitate better understanding and the elimination of some questions. Additionally, this initial study provided the first issues that will later be compared and consolidated with other cases examined below.

5. DATA ANALYSIS

This section presents the analysis of the four case studies included in this research. The cases are analyzed separately, showing the definitions of all the dimensions and their items, both in accordance with the concepts and model presented in section 2. The dimensions and items illustrated in the initial model (Figure 1) were used as a reference and starting point for analysis and exploration. The questions encompassed how the respondent defines each dimension if the items initially stipulated constitute part of each dimension and if there is any other that could be included.

5.1 CASE 1

The first case study was conducted in a large petrochemical company, from which the Chief Information Manager (CIM) and - IT Infrastructure Supervisor were interviewed (Table 2). The former attended a course at MIT, given by one of the authors of the dimensions of ITPM, where he obtained access to the basic concepts about ITPM and its dimensions, which motivated him to apply the technique in the company, and relay information on the subject to other members of his team. Four interviews were held (one with the CIM, one with the IT Infrastructure Supervisor and two with both), each of which an hour and a half, on average.

Content analysis of interview transcripts led to the identification of 62 initial categories (for example, The individual in charge of investments in infrastructure is not from outside of IT; The informational level groups data from the transactional level and generates information; Cut costs is reducing costs; Software to assist in product innovation), 26 intermediate categories (for example, Gain agility; Gain more and better quality information; Data integration; Gain competitiveness) and the four final categories (infrastructure, transactional, informational and strategic).

Based on this categorization, the definitions and examples of each of the dimensions were established, as shown below. The infrastructure investments are made at the base of the company and provide support to other dimensions. Generally, investments in infrastructure services are greater than those in the assets themselves. According to respondents, the examples are: hardware, servers, desktops, notebooks, printers, basic software (operating systems, control software and network administration), database, routers, cabling, providers and the costs of link. The


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transactional dimension refers to spending on systems used in everyday business, applications that sustain the business transactions; it sustains the common daily processes of the company, examples are the integrated systems (especially ERP) project software, and communication, purchasing systems. The informational dimension refers to all the investment in IT made at the management layer to generate information to assist in decision making, e.g., BI, expert systems, auditing systems, and short and long term planning systems. The strategic dimension refers to investments intended to provide the company with greater competitiveness, sustainability, market position and different partnerships. In addition, they are all the investments that assist in strategic planning, which are aligned with overall organizational strategy and geared more towards the market. The respondent cited as examples of this dimension: the pier management system, e-procurement and foreign trade systems.

Some modifications were found by analyzing the interview data provided by the respondents. Content analysis revealed a change in the IT infrastructure dimension in this case, where the item “business flexibility” from the original model was changed to “business agility”. Agility is achieved when IT enables the use of technological resources in different ways, for example, the use of the database with easy and complete access. This change, according to respondents, is relevant because agility is to respond to market changes flexibly and more quickly, thus it incorporates proposed initial definition. Furthermore, in this dimension, the respondents pointed out that the items “reducing IT costs” and “reducing marginal cost of business unit’s IT” could be unified.

We identified some changes in the transactional dimension. The first is the change in the item “cut costs”, which should be treated as “reducing costs”, since according to the respondents: “There are the bad costs and the good costs [...] cost cutting involves removing what is not achieved [...] there are costs that are necessary for us to do things faster.”

Therefore, all IT investments help “reduce costs”, primarily through the reduction or improvement of the labor force. The second change is the inclusion of the item “optimizing process”, which according to the CIO means “more than lower costs, it implies more quality and more control.”

According to respondents, the last modification is the insertion of the item “integrating data” because it is a function of transactional dimension to integrate data, which is then processed the at the information level to become information to be used in decision making. An example of this integration is the use of secondary systems such as weight data collection systems that feed the ERP, which, in turn, provide information to executive information systems that enable access to information for business areas using a single central repository.

In the informational dimension, it was noted that the item “better information” found in the original model merged with the item “improved quality.” Thus, the first was replaced by “obtaining more information” because the use of management models such as the BI provides a greater quantity of easily accessed information to users, for example.

Finally, we identified two changes in the strategic dimension. Firstly, the item “increased sales” as originally proposed, was not confirmed by the respondents, as this is not a company’s strategy and, but, a primary objective. Secondly, the items “competitive advantage” and “competitive necessity” were replaced by “obtaining



competitiveness” because, according to respondents: “In the strategic dimension, rather than using the words competitive advantage and necessity, it is better to use obtain competitiveness because it encompasses the two and is more objective and easier to understand.”

5.2 CASE 2

The second company to be assessed was from the financial services sector, where we interviewed the IT and managing director and the company IT specialist (Table 2). ITPM was being used in the company whose IT department is structured in accordance with its four dimensions, to aid the classification of expenditures and investments in IT. Two interviews were held (one with the IT expert and one with both interviewees) which each lasted about an hour and half.

Content analysis of the transcripts from the interviews showed 55 initial categories (e.g. Videoconferencing helps reduce costs; data from transactional IT to informational IT; Speed and accuracy in decision-making; Online tool for order management), 25 intermediate categories (Definition and examples of IT infrastructure; Process optimization; Reducing the information cycle; Delivering renewed services) and four final categories (infrastructure, transactional, informational and strategic).

Based on this categorization, the definitions and examples of each of the dimensions were established, as shown below. The infrastructure is the technological basis that will be used by other systems and other ITPM dimensions within the organization e.g., equipment (network components, servers, desktops, laptops), systems (communication, electronic mail, operational, a data bank, antivirus, storage) and services (help desk, support, telephony and data links).The investments in the transactional dimension are related to the acquisition of software and systems to meet the daily transactions of the company, which include, according to the interviewees: integrated ERP systems, management systems and some specific areas of business such as payroll credit system, which handles all user information to release credit.

The informational dimension includes those systems that use a structured database provided by the transactional level in order to analyze and interpret data, so speeding up decision-making, and also helping make better decisions.Examples from the informational dimension are: purchases of software, access to BI cubes, consulting for improving the intelligence service, BI software installation, customization, software maintenance contract or any other service associated with the BI. And, according to the respondents, investments in the strategic dimension: “are intended to increase competitiveness, sales capacity or market share, and are associated with innovation, interaction and activities that provide differentiated value to the organization [...] they are all IT investments related to strategic objectives within the firm’s strategic planning.”

All items were confirmed by the respondent, and no modification was found to any of the items in any dimension. However, it is worth noting that the whole IT area is divided according to the four dimensions of ITPM: infrastructure, transactional (called solutions), informational (called information management) and strategic (called strategic and executive). Investments and use of BI were prevalent in the


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company, especially in the informational dimensions and is in line with other banks such as Unibanco, Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, among others (CIO, 2008).

5.3 CASE 3

The third case study was conducted in a company within the steel industry, where the manager of IT planning and management was interviewed (Table 2). The interviewee is familiar with ITPM as he attended a course at MIT in 2008 and was in the initial stages of applying the ITPM concepts to the management of IT investments in the company. The interview lasted about two hours.

The content analysis of the transcripts from the interviews showed 43 initial categories (Infrastructure is a prerequisite for standardization, IT investment reduces transaction costs, Types of informational controls; IT resource added to adding service), 23 intermediate categories (Integrating the business; Increased productivity; Information quality; Market positioning) and four final categories (infrastructure, transactional, informational and strategic).

Based on this categorization, the definitions and examples of each of the dimensions were established, as shown below. The infrastructure investments are intended to support business applications, networks, data processing centers, communication systems, processing, storage and also the basic software for the company to operate safely, for example, antivirus programs . The transactional dimension includes investments in systems used to run the daily operations, for example, accounts payable, receivable, inventory control, warehouse, dispatch, billing, and also are the transactions associated with the operations and the process of producing and selling. The informational dimension refers to all IT spending which helps companies improve decision-making and that related to the extraction and analysis of data generated and collected from the transactional systems, which, according to the respondents, include BI, executive information systems and CRM. Finally, the strategic dimension includes investments that contribute to the company’s strategic goals and are strongly associated with how the company positions itself in the market and the changes through which the company passes, in both the cultural and operational areas.

All the dimensions and items were confirmed by the respondents. A new item was included in the transactional dimension, “control of online data”, since, according to the interviewee: “control of online data is a concern of the transactional level, by establishing a monitoring environment within the company’s operations through the use of rules, consistency checks, fail-safe and fraud-proof processes, which can be provided by systems such as ERP.”

5.4 CASE 4

The fourth and final case study was conducted in an automotive company, where we interviewed the CIO and IT Project Management Coordinator were interviewed. Both respondents were familiar with the topic and concepts relating to ITPM technique. The company was using the ITPM dimensions to assist in technology investments. The interview lasted approximately two hours and one of the respondents, participating by teleconference, was not present during the full conversation.



Content analysis of the transcripts from the interviews showed 40 initial categories (Investments in IT infrastructure to reduce IT costs in business units; Investments transactional IT reduces costs; Information database; Definition of investments for strategic purposes), 24 intermediate categories (Business standardization; Optimize processes, Information integration; Product innovation) and four final categories (infrastructure, transactional, informational and strategic).

Based on this categorization, the definitions and examples of each of the dimensions were established, as shown below. The IT infrastructure consists of all IT equipment, hardware, software, cabling, networking, telecom and security. The transactional dimension includes investments designed to cut costs in the organization and are related to the consolidation of infrastructure, since they are interrelated, as, for example, in integrated system like ERP. The informational dimension consists of IT investments related to the analysis, collaboration, improved methodologies and communication tools to create a more collaborative environment. According to the interviewees, examples of this dimension are CRM, tracking tools for project development, investment monitoring and reporting for planning and corrective actions. Finally, the strategic dimension is related to the investments made by the company in order to achieve organizational goals such as, for example, the new systems used by the authorized dealers that create a differential in sales.

All the dimensions and items were confirmed by the respondent. One aspect that emerged from the analysis was the emphasis given to the security issue as an important element of infrastructure. Moreover, it was stressed that investments in the transaction dimension should only be made once the infrastructure has been consolidated, corroborating the statement by Weill and Broadbent (1998) on this issue. Another outstanding point is the nomenclature used within the company, where ITPM is referred to as TISI (Transactional, Infrastructure, Strategic and Informational).

6. FINAL REMARKS

The research objective of this study was to explore and validate the dimensions of ITPM in Brazilian companies based on models from Weill and Broadbent (1998); Aral and Weill (2004), and Weill and Aral (2006). The four dimensions (infrastructure, transactional, informational and strategic) were explored and validated in the five case studies carried out in large Brazilian companies with the CIOs, who had knowledge of the subject, providing the following final considerations regarding each one.

In the infrastructure dimension, the item “flexibility”, according to the analyzed cases, should be incorporated in “agility”, since it means flexibility with speed, which is consistent with the study from Mazutti, Maçada and Rivers (2005) which found that the same definition of agility. The “Business standardization” through infrastructure, according to the analyzed cases should be treated carefully, because the provision of uniform equipment and systems in the company avoids the possibility of differences in performance across the organization. However, some IT executives do not agree with this statement, because they consider the fact that the decision to standardize might affect the agility of the infrastructure. In contrast to the suggestion made in one of the cases of the case studies, the items “Reducing IT costs” and “Reducing marginal cost of business unit’s IT” should not be considered as a single item. They are distinct elements


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of the dimension, because there are investments in IT infrastructure that only benefit a single business unit and others that benefit the company as a whole, which is consistent with Weill and Broadbent (1998).

In transactional dimension, according to the cases examined in this study, two more items should be added “Optimizing process" and "Integrating data". The former has been incorporated into the final model, since it was identified that the transactional systems provide quality, operations control (identified in one case and included in this item), differentiation and speed to the processes. The latter was included because it found that the transactional systems help to integrate data that is transferred to the informational level. The inclusion of the item "information integration", mentioned in one case, was not corroborated in other cases, but the item was included in “data integration” because a relationship was identified between the transactional systems and data production. This finding is consistent with Laudon (2004), who states that the transactional ERP systems integrate all data and processes within an organization. The items “increasing productivity” and “reducing costs”, found in the original model, were highlighted by CIOs in this company survey, as the most important in the transactional dimension. This finding is in agreement with several studies in the literature showing the concern of the researchers with IT investments, aiming to increase productivity (Mahmoodand Mann, 2000; Torkzadeh, Koufterosand Doll, 2005) and reduce costs (Argyres, 1999; Dewettand Jones, 2001). Within the companies analyzed here, the systems used in this dimension are considered operating systems for the daily processes of the organization, ERP being the most popular system.

In the informational dimension the items “Improved quality” and “better information”, found in the original model, were considered very similar by the interviewees. The former one was maintained, while the latter was changed to “Obtaining more information” because information systems provide more and better information. According to the CIOs of analyzed companies, Business Intelligence is the most widely used practice in this dimension. The information systems provide greater control of information due to the monitoring of access, higher quality of information with fewer errors and integration of the data originating from the transactional systems. BI transforms data into information, providing controlled access to those involved in tem decision-making process and so contributing to the business intelligence (Tafnerand Bernhardt, 2007).

The research revealed that for the IT managers, the strategic dimension is the most difficult to define due to its complexity and lack of definition on their part of what is strategic in the organization. The study from Lunardi, Maçada and Becker (2003), pointed out the difficulty of experienced by executives in managing and using IT in business strategy, which is considered a critical issue. This difficulty can be seen to have persisted over the years and requires deeper study of the problem IT executives have defining what is a strategic IT investment for their organization. The item “motivational” suggested in one case, though it was mentioned that, for example, the changing and acquiring new technologies motivates employees because of the opportunity to work remotely (Mamaghani, 2006), was not confirmed in the other cases. However, while motivating the employees was not found to be one of the main strategic objectives of IT investments, it can be stated that in some cases the acquisition of new IT is seen as the motivation behind and consequence of IT investments.



The items “competitive advantage” and “competitive necessity”, from the original model, should be merged so as to form a new and single item called “obtaining competitiveness”. The literature distinguishes these two items: competitive advantage can be defined as the implementation of a strategy that adds value, when no other competitor is simultaneously implementing the same strategy or another strategy that produces equivalent benefits for the company and the market (Carneiro, Cavalcantiand Silva 1999), whereas competitive necessity is the obligation of companies to have some activities and practices that their competitors already have (Guelbert, 2004). Both definitions share the recognition that the competitive pressures or competitiveness lead companies to be more cost efficient, more stable and better able to respond to market dynamics (Feldens, 2005). It is noteworthy that the item “sales increases” was not suggested as a item of the strategic dimension by one company, though the authors decided to keep it, since the majority of respondents believe that IT investments can help in this activity, for example, new online tools for managing orders can result in higher revenues. Furthermore, the literature on IT confirms the indicator Return on Sales (ROS) as a measure of the financial impact of strategic investments in IT (Gunasekaranand Ngai, 2003). Finally, based on the information gathered and these considerations, the final model with the four ITPM dimensions of and related items was determined (Figure 2).

The following limitations to the research were identified (i) the use of case studies does not allow the results obtained from the research to be generalized, though it facilitates the exploration and deepening of the theme which was the aim of this research, and (ii) the inability to use the companies from the same industry for the analysis, which was due to the scarcity of companies familiar with the capacity of the ITPM technique to help IT investments, though this factor allowed the researcher to examine the dimensions in different economic sectors.

This research contributes towards both academic and business knowledge. The dimensions of ITPM were explored, defined and modified by Brazilian CIOs who are familiar with the subject and use it in their organizations. Moreover, some commercial research point to ITPM as a technique to assist CIOs in planning their investments (Symons et al, 2005). In addition, ITPM is considered one of the assessment categories for diagnosing the innovation of IT use prepared by InformationWeek magazine in Brazil (2008), which illustrates the importance of the technique and its current use in business. Research that helps managers to better understand and structure their IT investments is important.

Some suggestions for future research include (i) developing tools for analyzing the dimensions of ITPM quantitatively and measuring the correlation between the items in each dimension, and (ii) based on the results of this research, structuring the IT portfolio of different companies based on their investment accounts and building a database to assist in benchmarking Brazilian companies in relation to the percentage invested in each of the ITPM dimensions.


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Figure 2 – Final model of the Dimensions of the IT Management Portfolio Source: Elaborated by the authors

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INFORMATIONAL STRATEGIC

TRANSACTIONAL

INFRASTRUCTURE

� Improving information quality � Increasing control

� Integrating information � Obtaining more information

� Reducing cycle time

� Delivering renewed service � Product innovation � Process innovation � Obtaining competitiveness � Position in market

� Business agility � Business integration � Business standardization � Reducing IT costs � Reducing IT cost in business unit

� Increasing productivity � Integrating data � Optimizing process � Reducing costs

� Business integration � Business flexibility � Reduced marginal cost of business unit’s IT � Reduced IT costs � Standardization

� Competitive advantage � Competitive necessity � Increased sales � Market positioning � Product innovation � Process innovation � Renewed service delivery

� Better information � Better integration � Faster cycle time � Improved quality � Increased control

� Cut costs � Increase throughput



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_____________________________________________________________________________________ Recebido em/Manuscript first received: 25/11/2008 - 21/12/2009 Aprovado em/Manuscript accepted: 20/02/2011


Alexandre Pereira Salgado Junior- FEARP-Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto Departamento de Administração PAPO-Programa de Apoio à Produção e Operações http://www.fearp.usp.br/papo +55 (16) 9119-5141 E-mail: [email protected]

Juliana Chiaretti Novi - Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto E-mail: [email protected]

Marcio Mattos Borges de Oliveira - Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto E-mail: [email protected]

Antonio Carlos Pacagnella Junior - Universidade Federal de São Carlos – UFSCar E-mail: [email protected]


E-SCM AND INVENTORY MANAGEMENT: A STUDY OF MULTIPLE CASES IN A SEGMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT STORE CHAIN

O E-SCM E A GESTÃO DOS ESTOQUES: UM ESTUDO DE MÚLTIPLOS CASOS EM UM SEGMENTO DE CADEIA DE LOJAS DE DEPARTAMENTO

Alexandre Pereira Salgado Junior Universidade de São Paulo USP, SP, Brazil Juliana Chiaretti Novi Universidade de São Paulo USP, SP, Brazil Antonio Carlos Pacagnella Junior Universidade Federal de São Carlos – UFSCar Marcio Mattos Borges de Oliveira Universidade de São Paulo USP, SP, Brazil _____________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

Inventory management through the supply chains is a theme that has always enticed managers throughout the world. Due to the increase in market competitiveness and complexity, the traditional statistical models of forecasting demand, based on time series, no longer met the needs imposed on businesses to maintain adequate levels of their inventory and supply interruptions. With the intent to meet these market demands, ERP systems appeared in the 1990’s. Nevertheless, even if allowing for a more adequate level of inventory and supply interruptions achieved mainly by the optimization of internal processes and the reduction in lead time, ERP systems did not contribute to reach the SCM’s desired levels of inventory that were aimed at by the more competitive businesses. This is because ERP limits itself to an internal analysis of the business. By contrast, inventory management depends on the consumption information (which is external to the business). Aiming to improve even further the level of

368 Salgado Junior, A. P., Novi, J. C., Pacagnella Junior, A. C.

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services delivered to the end consumer, new solutions have been developed, among them the e-SCM, which, since it makes consumption information available in real time, ends up being more dynamic and efficient than the traditional demand forecasting models, Therefore, the present study aims to analyze how the e-SCM can collaborate in maintaining adequate levels of inventory and interruptions in the supply chains. The hypothesis made is that the traditional statistical forecasting models, based on time series and isolatedly, are no longer adequate to adjust the demand, as the tools based on these models do not update the demand in real time and this is fundamental in the current business dynamics. The research method used was the study of multiple cases in a segment of a chain involving a large retailer, its Distribution Center and a supplier of home appliances. For the analysis of the data, the content analysis technique was used. As main results, it was observed that, after the integration of the chain segment by the e-SCM, there was a reduction in the level of the inventory (36.8% in retail and 18% in the industry) and in inventory turnover (from 18.3 to 5.1 days in retail and from 19.6 to 3.2 days in the Distribution Center), aside from the variation in the interruption (from 17.3% to 2.6% in retail and from 3% to 0.1% in the case of the Distribution Center). Therefore, the study brings forth strong indication that the integration of the chain through the e-SCM, may contribute to the SCM’s competitiveness.

Keywords: e-SCM. Demand Forecast. Department Stores. Level of logistical services.

RESUMO

A gestão dos estoques ao longo da cadeia de suprimentos é um tema que sempre instigou gestores por todo o mundo. Com o aumento da competitividade e da complexidade dos mercados, os tradicionais modelos estatísticos de previsão da demanda, fundamentados em séries temporais, não mais atendiam as necessidades impostas às empresas na adequação de seus níveis de estoques e ruptura. No intuito de atender essas exigências do mercado surgem, nos anos 1990, os sistemas ERP. Entretanto, mesmo possibilitando uma adequação nos estoques e na ruptura, levado principalmente pela otimização dos processos internos e redução do lead time, os ERP não contribuíram para que o SCM atingisse o nível de estoque almejado pelas empresas mais competitivas. Isso porque o ERP limita-se a análise interna da empresa. Já a gestão dos estoques depende de informações de consumo (que são externas a empresa). Buscando-se melhorar ainda mais os níveis de serviços prestados ao consumidor final, novas soluções foram desenvolvidas, dentre elas, o e-SCM que por disponibilizar a informação do consumo em tempo real, acaba sendo mais dinâmico e eficiente que os modelos tradicionais de previsão da demanda. Dessa forma, o presente estudo objetiva analisar como o e-SCM pode colaborar para a adequação dos níveis de estoques e ruptura das cadeias de abastecimento. A hipótese defendida é a de que os modelos estatísticos tradicionais de previsão, baseados em séries temporais, isoladamente não são mais adequados para o ajuste da demanda, tendo em vista que ferramentas baseadas nestes modelos não atualizam a demanda em tempo real e isso é fundamental para a atual dinâmica empresarial. O método de pesquisa utilizado foi o estudo de múltiplos casos em um segmento de cadeia que envolve um grande varejista, seu CD e um fornecedor de linha branca. Para análise dos dados, foi utilizada a técnica de análise de conteúdo. Como principais resultados observou-se que, após a integração do segmento de cadeia pelo e-SCM, houve uma redução no nível dos estoques (36,8% no varejo e 18% na indústria) e no giro (de 18,3 para 5,1 dias no varejo e de 19,6 para 3,2 dias no CD), além da variação da ruptura (de 17,3% para 2,6% no varejo e de 3% para 0,1% no caso do CD). Sendo assim, o estudo traz fortes indícios de que a integração da cadeia, por meio do e-SCM, pode colaborar para o aumento da competitividade da SCM.

Palavras-chave: E-SCM. Previsão da demanda. Lojas de departamento. Nível de serviço logístico.

E-SCM and Inventory Management: a Study of Multiple Cases in a Segment of the Department Store Chain 369


1 INTRODUCTION

The transformations society has been experiencing, mainly in the last two decades, due to the impact of the so-called new economy, have established an extremely competitive environment for business organizations. In this scenario, inventory management through the supply chain stands out, for it has been a determining factor for the success or failure of many organizations (Gunasekaran; Ngai, 2009). With this increase in complexity of the markets, the traditional statistical demand forecasting models, based on time series, no longer met the needs imposed on them by the more competitive supply chains regarding their adequate levels of inventory and interruptions (Bayraktar et al., 2008). For Laudon and Laudon (2004), this new reality in inventory management depends, more and more, on Information Technology (IT) as a strategic resource in order to obtain a competitive advantage. According to Porter (1996), what one sees is the intensification of the adoption of IT as a support for businesses that begins with the conception of a product/service, passing through its commercialization and arriving at the logistics of its distribution. For Bannerman (2008), the effective use of IT has become imperative to the strategy and even to the survival of the organizations.

According to O’Brien (2004), with the development of information systems Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems emerged, promising a systemic management of the businesses. Nevertheless, even by providing an adjustment in the inventories, mainly driven by the optimization of the internal processes and by the reduction in lead time, this system did not provide a significant contribution so that Supply Chain Management (SCM) could reach a desired level of inventory and of service by the more competitive businesses. This is because ERP, which originated from the evolution of Material Requirement Planning (MRP) and Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRPII) systems, limits itself to the internal analysis of the business organization. In order for the more competitive businesses to reach the desired level of service, it is essential to study the supply and demand of the market, a fact which is limiting to the ERP integration system (Silva Neto, 2002; Corrêa; Gianesi; Caon, 2001; Souza; Saccol, 2003).

Therefore, beginning in the 1990’s, the focus was placed on the external relationships of the business (Freitas, 2001). At that time, all efforts were directed at the study of the relationship of the business with their stakeholders, their players in the productive chain, and especially, with their end consumers (Soroor; Tarokh; Shemshadi, 2009). Thus, the implementation of systems for the integration of information, in real time, through the chain has been increasing due to the needs of the market itself to adequate its inventories. Commercially, this system is known as e-SCM or ERPII.

The e-SCM may assist the players in the supply chain in solving problems related to the logistics, the sales or in the study of the customers’ habits, as is the case of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) (Salama et al., 2009). A concept that will be given emphasis and dealt with in this research is the relationship of the e-SCM with the adjustment of the demand forecast. Today, this partnership is essential for the synchronization between supply and demand, that is, between the links of the supply chain and, consequently, for the adequate levels of inventory (Salgado Junior et al.,


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2009). This is due to the fact there is a need for an adequate pace of purchases, production, distribution and provision of the supply chains which has to adjust to the speed of the final consumption. This avoids the lack or excess of merchandises, not only in retail, but in the entire supply chain. These adjustments in the chain are only possible if the information flows in real time. This is only possible through the e-SCM, for the demand forecast is done in longer periods like weeks, by-weekly or months (Lo et AL., 2008). It is worth remembering that e-SCM and forecast are not excluders, but in fact, they complement each other.

The study of demand forecast is not something new. It has been done in several sectors and bases itself on qualitative methods, like the ones related to the experiences of salespersons, and quantitative, like the ones based on statistical analysis of time series (Chen; Xiao, 2009). Nonetheless, with the increase in the number of products, suppliers and points of sale, the traditional demand forecasting models have become inefficient for the more competitive businesses. This is due to the gap between forecasts. With a turbulent and constantly changing market, it is necessary an adjustment, in real time, of this forecast to reduce the uncertainties and, consequently, the lack or excess of products. All these factors have a direct impact on the improvement of the levels of the inventory, of the interruptions and of the level of service provided to the end consumer. This is the case of the large department stores in Brazil, the case study of this manuscript.

In this context, the present article aims to analyze how the e-SCM may complement the traditional demand forecasting models and contribute to the adequate levels of inventory and interruptions of the supply chains of department stores.

2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Supply Chain Management (SCM), Information Technology (IT) and e-SCM

With the increase in competitiveness, the improvement in the management of the level of services delivered to the end consumer in the chain is a determining factor for the success of any entrepreneurship. According to Ching (199, p. 67), “supply chain management is all the effort involved in the different entrepreneurial processes that create value in the form of products and services for the end consumer”. Thus, the quest for criteria such as: a better final price of the product, reduction in the levels of interruptions and inventory, quick distribution or better methods of payment is essential for the maintenance of the business. For this to happen, it is necessary for the chain to manage in the best way possible its resources, its logistics, its inventory and its information (Gunasekaran; Ngai, 2009).

An efficient management of the chain is initiated with the administration of the inventory. Nevertheless, they represent tied up working capital and may deteriorate, be stolen or simply become obsolete. On the other hand, they represent security to the business like, for example, in the case of oscillating demand and in problems related to interruptions. According to Arnold (1999), p. 271), “the inventory helps to maximize



the service to the customers, protecting the business from uncertainties”. The volume of the inventory is a strategy defined by each business organization. Nonetheless, when there is a need to reduce it, this process is complex and demands time and investment by the organizations (Bowersox, 2001).

The inventory will always occur when there is uncertainty between supply and demand. If there is a perfect synchronization between the links in the productive chain, the maintenance of the inventory becomes unnecessary (Ballou, 2001). According to Bayraktar et al. (2008, p.193), “the sources of uncertainties are found in the processes in which there is a need to synchronize the demand with the supply”. Therefore, the inventory exists to compensate the possible incapacities to manage the productive links making it necessary to adjust it to maintain it competitive. For this to happen it is necessary to comprehend what the demand is composed of.

According to Pires (1995), the productive systems are divided into two basic types: the systems of make-to-order production, in which the demand forecast is quite simplified; and the system of make-to-stock production, in which the task of demand forecast is more complex, so the planner may resort to the classical forecasting methodologies. Graph 1 shows the combination of the back orders and the forecasts.

Source: Adapted from Slack et al. (2002)

Graph 1: Combining the back orders with and the forecasts

In this article, the problem is related to part of the total demand named the forecast, which has to be restructured aiming to improve the service delivered to the end consumer. That is, a better synchronization of the links of the productive chain is needed as well as more accurate forecasts that are closer to reality – which will be possible thanks to the availability of the information in real time. The e-SCM assists the company in both processes. The e-SCM stands out as a tool that assists with decision making through the productive chain. According to the supporters of the integration

Demand

Back Orders

Forecast

Total Demand

Time


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concept, ERP controls only the internal processes of the business, whereas the e-SCM allows a company to monitor its business in all of its productive chain, from the initial suppliers to the end customers, all interconnected by means of IT. This technology is assisting the chains in making their levels of service more adequate (Hendricks; Singhal; Stratman, 2007).

This occurs because the sale information to the end consumer is made available, in real time, to all links in the chain. According to Bose, Raktim and Alex (2008, p. 233), “the integration allows for an improvement in the adaptability of the business to the fluctuations that occur in the chain. There is an improvement in the planning capacity, in real time, and the possibility of the businesses to react quickly to the changes in supply and demand”. Consequently, the suppliers may alter their pace of production to monitor, in real time, any unexpected behavior from the demand avoiding excess (inventory) and the lack of products (interruption).

According to Koh and Gunasekaran (2008, p.253), “in the e-SCM the resources are better controlled and the decision making and the planning are emphasized not only because of the intrinsic advantages of ERP, but also because the resources of the entire chain are now available”. The same happens to the second-tier suppliers and so on. According to Chang et al. (2008, p.1809), “when applying the e-SCM, the orders can be forecasted efficiently and correctly, the costs of the inventory for the members of the supply chain may be reduced, and a scheduled production may be adjusted to optimize time”. As commented earlier, being limited to the internal environment of the business, ERP cannot assist in reducing the uncertainties of the chain.

For Themistocleous, Irani and Love (2004), the e-SCM also modifies the productive system of the value chain from “pushed” to “pulled”. This allows for an adequate level of the inventory in relation to the sales, even with the increase in the product mix.

2.2 Economic Order Quantity Model

The analysis of the total cost of the inventory is essential when one wishes to adjust them. In order to do so, costs are taken into consideration relating to the storage (which increase due to the size of the order), to the order (which decreases due to the increase in the size of the order) and to the purchase (which is a fixed cost). This may be mathematically expressed by: TC = PC + OC + StorC. This being TC = Total Cost, PC = Purchase Cost, OC = Order Cost and StorC = Storage Cost.

In this situation a trade-off may occur, in which if a business can reduce its storage cost (by fractioning its order), it can increase its order cost (by increasing the number of the orders by the same demand). If the latter increases significantly, due to the logistical or administrative order, a project for the reduction of the total cost may not be viable (Kobayashi, 2000; Schwitzky, 2001). Graph 2 is a schematic representation of this situation.



Source: Adapted from Francischini and Gurgel (2002)

Graph 2: Economic Order Quantity Model

2.3 Demand Forecast

The demand forecasts are the base for the planning process, being one of the most important activities in the production system. All inventory studies, in their beginning, are based on the forecasts of consumption of materials. This process establishes future estimates of the end products commercialized by the businesses. They also define which, how many and when certain products will be bought by the customers. For Christopher (1997, p. 173), “forecasting is a methodological process for determining the future data based on statistical, mathematical or econometric models, or also in subjective models supported by a clear and previously defined methodology of work.”

Sales forecasting is used by various departments of the business. However, it is difficult to be measured, because it is based on uncertainty. If it is lower than the demand, a shortage of products may occur, and if it is higher, excessive inventory may occur (Kotler, 2000). According to Bayraktar et al. (2008, p. 195), “demand forecasts, in practice, are rarely precise and become even less accurate in more complex levels of the supply chain”. According to Arnold (1999, p. 235), “the forecasts are more precise for shorter periods of time. The near future poses fewer uncertainties than the distant future”.

There are vast techniques and models (statistical, operational and strategic) described in literatures like, for example, those based on the time series that analyze in detail ways to forecast demand.. In spite of the evolution of these methods, demand forecast is not a purely exact science. It involves the experience and the personal judgment of the planner, the opinion of the managers, salespersons and buyers, aside

Cost

Q -

OrderCost

Q 0

Minimum Cost

Q - Ordered Quantity

Total CostStorage Cost

Q 0 Quantity of Lowest Cost

Purchasing Cost


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from the market research. Notwithstanding, even with all the resources available to do a good forecast, if compared to the back orders, this percentage of the sales is much more difficult to manage, it being responsible for the existence of the largest part of the inventory. For Corrêa and Gianesi (1996, p. 234), “the uncertainties of the forecasts and their corresponding errors come from two distinct forms: the first corresponds to the market itself, being of low predictability; the second corresponds to the forecasting system”. Another problem is that the constant growth in the oscillation of the demand of a growing number of products increases, , the need for rescheduling of the production increases proportionally, in addition to the fact that, with these oscillations the forecasts become less inaccurate as the horizon increases according to graph 3.

Source: Bowersox (2001)

Graph 3 - Uncertainties of forecast increase along with the horizon

Therefore, one of the mechanisms to make inventory adequate would be the one that would be able to improve the forecasts or transform them in back orders, thus providing a larger synchronization between supply and demand. Many companies have sought to transform a large part of their forecast into back orders by means of an increase in the number of technical visits or by offering discounts to those customers that purchase in advance. Nonetheless, there are segments in which this procedure is not possible. Thus, these companies overlook forecasts in order to anticipate the demand and plan what, how much and when to produce (Ching, 1999).

There are several techniques in which to work the forecast. According to Shingo (1996), these techniques may be classified into three groups:

• projection: admit that the future will be a repetition of the past or that the sales will evolve over time. A technique of an essentially quantitative nature;

• explanation: aims to relate past sales with other variables, whose evolution is known or predictable. Basically, it is the application of the techniques of regression and correlation;

previsão

tempo

As incertezas das previsõesaumentam com o horizonte

Forecast

time

The uncertainties of the forecast increase along with the horizon



• preference: experienced employees and people with knowledge of influential factors in sales and in the market establish the evolution of future sales.

In practice, there may be combinations of several models of the evolution of the consumption. According to Arnold (1999), there are two ways to estimate the consumption:

• after the placement of the order. This is only possible in the cases where the delivery times are sufficiently long.

• through statistical methods. It is the most used method. The forecasts are calculated through the historical values. Among these models there are: the previous period method, the moving average method, the weighted moving average method, the exponentially weighted average method and the least square method.

It is worth noting that it depends on each chain to adequately use the method that best suits its segment, product or demand.

Therefore, studies made on the integration of the supply chain, aiming to reduce the degree of uncertainty in itself, may improve the sales forecasts, the reliability of the delivery from suppliers and the management of the lead time of the production processes. Those are of essential importance so that companies may reduce the uncertainties regarding the internal and external environments and, consequently have a more adequate level of inventory, improve their level of service and reduce supply interruptions.. Thus, new solutions have been developed and applied to the most diverse segments, aiming to improve even more the levels of services delivered to the end consumer.

2.4 The large department store segment in Brazil

In Brazil, the department store segment is characterized by the high competitiveness and by highly demanding consumers. Without mentioning the numerous suppliers, products and points of sale that make the management of this segment even more difficult. In this context, the study of the level of the logistic services and of the integration with their suppliers is justified by its relevance and its compliance/addressing in all social classes, including the less economically favored.

Another important factor is the level of the logistical services. It directly affects the very survival of the business and its partners. For Jiménez and Muñoz (2006), this activity is the mechanism that brings together the industries, the retailers and the customers, involving important elements that are generally taken into consideration by the customers at the moment of deciding which business they will become partners with. Structuring these services is fundamental for any value chain and this is not any different from the department store segment. For Giacobo, Estrada and Ceretta (2005), with the evolution of the market and with the preoccupation of the businesses about the level of services offered to their customers, there was an attempt to identify and quantify the necessary factors in order to create new levels of services, such as: execution time and the respective level of reliability; task processing time; personnel and requested equipment availability; quickness in solving errors and failures; agility and precision in providing information of ongoing services; agility and precision in


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tracking the shipment under process or in transit; agility in dealing with complaints and in the provision of solutions. All these services are necessary in retail.

3 METHODOLOGY

Due to the initial phase of the development, in which there are studies related to the impact the e-SCM has on inventory and on interruptions in the department store chains, there is a deficiency in the structuring of this knowledge, which generates difficulty when raising the data that could be treated as statistics. Thus, this research was of the qualitative type and of an exploratory nature. For Malhorta (2001), the exploratory qualitative research provides a better vision and comprehension of the context of the problem. For Mattar (2005), although there may be restrictions to this type of study, the exploratory studies show to be adequate when the critical bulk of the knowledge of a subject is neither extensive nor important, when the initial stages are constituted for further and more structured studies such as the causal and descriptive ones.

The method used was the multiple case study method. According to Yin (2001), the case study is the preferred strategy when the questions are put forth as the “how” and the “why”, which is the aim for this present case. The case study allows for an investigation to obtain the most significant and holistic characteristics.. Still, according to the author, six sources of evidence should be used, as much as possible, so that a good case study is obtained, as follows: (1) documentation; (2) archival records; (3) interviews; (4) direct observation; (5) participant observation; (6) physical artifacts.

3.1 Research Protocol

The protocol contains the procedures, the instruments and the general rules that must be followed when applying and using these instruments and it is a tactic to increase the authenticity of the research. According to Yin (1990), this protocol or manual should contain:

• a general vision of the project of the case study: objectives, assistance, questions about the case study and relevant readings about the topics to be investigated;

• the field procedures;

• the questions about the case study that the investigator should keep in mind, the locations, the sources of information, the forms for registering the data and the potential sources of information for each question;

• a guide for the report of the case study.

3.2 The Case´s Choices

The companies studied are part of the same segment of the supply chain, involving retail (department store), Distribution Center (DC) and industry. . They were chosen according to their relevance and convenience. A multiple case analysis was opted for in one single segment of the chain since it is a recent phenomenon in Brazil and the fact that the data cannot be statistically extrapolated. In a case study the depth of



the analysis is more important than the volume of information. All the companies are of large-scale and are located in the State of São Paulo.

3.3 Key personnel for the interviews

The individuals of interest to the interviews, whose knowledge and atitudes, relating to ERP management system and the integration through the e-SCM, and who brought the most contribution to the case study were:

1. manager and/or supervisor in the area of operations and/or logistics graduated in and/or with knowledge of the management of integrated systems. Both were present in the three interviewed companies

2. manager in the area of information technology. This person was interviewed in retail and in industry;

3. manager responsible for the implementation of ERP and/or the process of business collaboration by means of the e-SCM. Also in the three companies.

Within each of these groups, essential personnel for the interview was identified, whose knowledge and opinions were complementary.

3.4 Collection and Analysis of the Data

For the current study, all primary and secondary data were used, obtained through structured interviews and visits to the companies (retail, distribution center (DC) and industry).. Structured interviews were held in each link of the studied chain segment. The direct observations of the property’s different activities allowed for the follow up of the data, as well as a more detailed and accurate perception of the objects of the research. According to Selltiz, Wrightsman and Cook (1987), the interview technique is a situation where a social interaction is developed in order to obtain information, as it is more adequate for the revelation of complex subjects, emotionally charged or to verify the feelings underlying a certain given opinion.

In order to better and further analyze the data, the following variables were defined that served to build a sequence of interviews:

Group 1: related to the organization’s data (size, scale, history, location);

Group 2: related to the measurement of the level of services (lead time, supply interruptions, product availability, inventory levels);

Group 3: related to the financial gains obtained by the integration (turnover, net current assets );

Group 4: related to the opinion of the managers about the benefits and challenges of this integration.

After the conclusion of the interviews, the data were analyzed initially, on an individual basis, and afterwards in the form of a comparative analysis between the studied companies. For this purpose, the content analysis was used, which enabled the codification, categorization and quantification of the collected data. This technique allows for the treatment of the information with a qualitative code to reach its classification and treatment. In all companies there was the preoccupation to analyze


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each variable’s situation, before and after the integration by means of the e-SCM aiming to analyze the changes generated after the integration.

4 CASE PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION

The purpose of this topic is to present a multiple case study involving a group of companies that belong to the same segment in the supply chain that presented limitations relating to the sales forecast, management of suppliers, logistics, inventory management and supply interruptions.

The project of integration by the e-SCM was assisted by a software consulting and development company. This took four years, and passed through all the departments and had the involvement of all areas relating to the supply chain. The absolute values were not disclosed by the company; however, the investment in the project was amortized by nearly 16 months in the case of the retail and by nearly 24 months in the case of the industry.

Firstly, the supply interruption process was identified as the main problem, caused many times by the difficulty in administering a large number of products. In 2004, as the project had been started, an evaluation was made to verify which products presented real impacts on the competitiveness and how much they represented in terms of inventory. 4. The absence of formal rules of inclusion and exclusion of products in the mix generated a large number of products with a low performance sales rate as shown in graph 4.

Source: Provided by the retail company

Graph 4: Products whose total sales “question” their participation in the product mix



In 2004, the company had 98 points of distribution, of which the 11.948 existing SKUs (Stock Keeping Units), 70% (8.364 SKUs) sold less than 100 parts per year (graph 4).

This data verifies that the number of retail points presented sales of less than one part per year per store. These figures are very low, thus not justifying the existence of these products to be in the product mix of the company, other than for strategic reasons, which was not the case in the majority of the products.

According to Kabayashi (2000), a fundamental step to make inventory more adequate is the reduction in the number of items that the company stores. In this case, it was noticeable the need to reduce the product mix of the company, to improve the management of the level of the inventory, of the inventory turnover and of the supply interruption. To try to solve this problem, an ABC curve was generated to define priorities. This way, it would be possible to identify which SKUs had a larger or smaller number of sales. It was also verified that the commercial representation of these products pointed to a low performance sales rate as shown in graph 5.


Graph 5: ABC Curve for sales in 2004

It was found that 13.6% of the products represented 90% of sales. The project of integration was then planned from this sample which was the most important for the company. With the 86.4% of the SKUs, which together represented only 10% of the sales volume, a policy of substitution or elimination of these items was adopted. After the project, the reduction in SKUs was 27.8%.

Once the starting point was defined, the company began to prepare itself for the project of implementation of the e-SCM, by comparing the 2004 inventory with the projected value for 2008. It was also verified that the inventory levels were high, and simultaneously, there was a high rate of supply interruption.. A fact that generated great


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dissatisfaction for the end consumer, as they ended up not finding the desired product, which then reduced the quality of the services delivered.As already discussed, this phenomenon may occur due to the lack of available information, in real time, through the chain.

The company used, essentially, for its demand forecast only the time series model based on the exponential moving average (supported by the ForecastR software for demand forecast). This was then confronted by the average projection by the salespersons, thus, generating a final indicator that was adjusted by-weekly (by the inventory replenishment model known as the maximum-minimum), as can be seen on the first part of graph The blue line (thinner) represents the demand and the black line (thicker) represents the inventory. Since the lines overlap, it is possible to verify that at certain moments there is a lack of the products (the blue line above the black line), and at other instances, the excess of products (the black line above the blue line). Both situations were undesirable to the company since it dealt with both problems: the lack of and the excess of products.

The consumption information started to be sent (after the bar code scanning), at moment of the sale, from the several retail points distributed throughout the south and southeast regions of the country, in real time (with IT support). This way, the Distribution Center (DC) as well as the industry would have the information on the final consumption in real time. The advantage is that in both cases, it would be possible to adapt the pace of production and distribution to the consumption. Thus, it would be possible to avoid the excess of and the lack of products to the end consumer, and consequently their undesirable effects. This situation can be verified in the second part of graph 6.

Source: Supplied by the Distribution Center (DC) of the retail company

Graph 6: Reduction in the Inventory turnover of an SKU at the DC after the implementation of the e-SCM



In graph 6, it is important to verify that before the integration, the inventory level of this SKU (which is between the 13.6% of the products of more relevance) was around 6 times higher. After the integration, the average inventory of the product shows a significant reduction, from 19.6 to 3.2 days. Another important factor is the existence of a reduction in the supply interruption of this product. Thus, the DC’s response to retail improved even further. Also, a significant reduction in the level of interruption of the inventory was observed.

In graph 6, the blue line, thinner, represents the demand, and the black line, thicker, represents the inventory. After the integration, in March 2007 (represented by the dotted blue line), it can be observed that the two lines are quite near (but not exactly in the same position), an evidence that the replenishment of the inventory is quite similar to that of the sales. Graph 7 analyses the reduction of the inventory in retail after the integration by means of the e-SCM.


Graph 7: Reduction in inventory at the retail company with the e-SCM project

It was verified that the 2006 inventory coverage at the retail place was high (R$58 million) when the real need was evaluated. The integration system reduced the average inventory from 18.3 to 5.04 days and increased the level of services from 82.7 to 97.33%. At retail, there was a 36.8% reduction in the total volume of inventory (graph 7).

Reduction of R$21.3 million, that is, 36.8%


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he range of information for this chain segment is quite vast, and to exemplify it, only the benefits of one product were analyzed. To complement this, other products responded in a quite similar fashion, as it can be observed in graph 8. The white bars represent the inventory for each category before the integration and, the bold bars, after it.

Source: Supplied by the Distribution Center (DC) of the retail company

Graph 8 – Reduction in inventory at the DC by category

5 CONCLUSIONS

This work aimed at analyzing how the e-SCM can complement the traditional demand forecasting models and how it can contribute to adequate levels of inventory and interruption of the supply chains of department stores. For this purpose, a case study of a segment of the supply chain was done and it was concluded, in general terms, that the e-SCM collaborates so that the chain segment can update, in real time, the pace of its productivity and distribution as it relates to the final consumption. This is a very



important fact, for if the links of the supply chain synchronize the production / the supply / the consumption, undesired inventory and supply interruptions are avoided..

Compared to the traditional demand forecasting models, the e-SCM alone or otherwise, is much more efficient. This is because the forecast is normally done monthly or by-weekly, making it much slower to update the information (in terms of quality and quantity). Without this agility the links of the chain end up “guessing” the optimal supply chain values. In general, there is an inaccuracy between what is consumed and what is produced. This inaccuracy is obtained through the forecast system, and it affects the interruptions and the excess of inventory. In the e-SCM, this adjustment counts on the IT systems that update the information in real time.

Since this is a case study, the data cannot be extrapolated, that is, nothing can be said about the functioning of the other chains. However, the data provide strong information to conclude that there is a tendency that the observed phenomena in this study may repeat themselves in similar supply chains.

Another important data is that the researched retailer represented only 3.6% of the industry’s sales.. Nonetheless, it was considered a representative sample of the total market in this segment due to the location of their 98 points of sale distributed throughout the entire southeast region of the country. Thus, the behavior of the integrated retail sales was extrapolated for the entire population with which the researched industry maintained commercial relationships.

Lastly, in the industry, the e-SCM contributed to the reduction of the inventory, from 32% in the case of raw materials (since they also knew how much they would purchase from their suppliers of inputs) to 18% in the case of the finished product. The inventory turnover that was on average 23 days became 9 days. The main results reached after the integration is summarized in table 1.

Table 1: The impact of the e-SCM on the management of three links in the same supply chain

Source: Developed by the authors

As for the qualitative and quantitative techniques of demand forecast, it was found that the gaps between forecasts did not allow for adjustments in the production, logistics and storage to reach the pace imposed by the new business models. From then on, there was a need for more adequate and smaller gaps in forecasts. This would only


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be possible after the availability of the information on the oscillations of the sales in real time. Therefore, the indicators from table 1 were only reached when the retail, the Distribution Center and the industry, acting together, decided to discuss their external relations by means of the e-SCM. This process is helping to improve the level of satisfaction of the end customer, reducing the inventory and the supply interruption and consequently, boosting sales. The results of each individual links will be discussed in further detail below.

Firstly, the department store had a significant reduction in its level of inventory after the integration by means of the e-SCM (around 36.8). This is a very expressive figure and it represented an absolute reduction of R$21.3 million. Now the company may use its net current assets to invest in other areas or to avoid the acquisition of loans, mainly when credit becomes expensive and scarce. Furthermore, the turnover of the inventory changed from 18.3 to 5.1 days. Its level of service went from 82.7 to 97.33%. This data is also very significant, for it means a reduction in the probability of a lack of the product (supply interruption), thus minimizing the need to search for the product at the competitor.

The mix of the products at the department store came into question (the ABC curve showed that 13.6% of the products represented 90% of the revenue and 70% of the products were sold less than once a year). The company focused its sales on the most important products (A) and tried to eliminate the ones that were of low turnover. The number of SKUs was reduced by 27.8% which improved its management. Furthermore, the cultural barriers used in the exchange of information between the links of the chain were also questioned, enabling therefore, the realization of new businesses.

Further on, advantages in the DC were also identified. By itself, the turnover of a product went from 19.6 to 3.2 days, and furthermore, the level of service improved, from 97 to nearly 100%. Graph 5 presents data that corroborate that this same type of benefit was extended to other categories of products.

In the case of the home appliances supplier, the turnover changed radically from 23 to nearly 9 days and there was a 32% reduction in the inventory of raw material and 18% in finished products. Another important factor is that the retailer (which represents only 3.6% of the volume of the business in the industry) served as a representative model of the segment, due to the distribution of their 98 points of sale. This allowed the industry to treat all their demand according to the oscillations of the retail group integrated into it by means of the e-SCM.

And finally, as a contribution, it is hoped that this study may assist in the decision of the chains or the segments of the department store chains that desire to integrate by means of the e-SCM.

6 LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDIE S

The collaborative process still presents a series of barriers, the majority related to the cultural questions. Among them, emphasis on the exchange of the information between the companies, reliability, the search for a long term win-win negotiation and



the sponsorship of the project by the upper management. Therefore, the main limitations of the study are:

• the need for the strategic data of the company whose access is difficult. This hindered the volume of the data that would allow for a more deep statistical analysis of the situation;

• new technology which limits the number of companies to be visited and studied, mainly in what relates to the collaboration by means of the e-SCM;

• omission of the data by the specialists;

• excessive protection of ERP and the e-SCM by the developers who may be interested in promoting them in a positive manner;

• typical limitations of the cause and effect relationship were observed. According to Cooper and Schindler (2003, p.137),

“empirically, we may never demonstrate a causation between A and B for certain. This is because we do not demonstrate such a causal association in a deductive manner neither do we use this manner nor validate these premises that the deduction demands in order to be conclusive. Contrary to the deductive syllogisms, the empirical conclusions are inferences – inductive conclusions. Therefore, they are probably conclusions based on what we observe and measure. But we cannot observe nor measure all the processes that may answer for the relationship between A and B”;

• The impossibility of studying the more distant links of the retail’s supply chain.

Considering the limitation of the research, referring to the size of the researched sampling, due to the number of chains that have already been integrated by means of the e-SCM, more comprehensive studies could be done. It is possible to hold further studies, considering the impact of the bullwhip effect on the level of services of more distant suppliers from the end consumer. As a suggestion, there is also the possibility of studying another specific segment, isolate it and analyze it in more depth. Some of the information present in this study may be used as an analogy in other chains, although there is peculiar information in each chain that may only be obtained by means of an exploratory research.

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Luís Kalb Roses, Catholic University of Brasília – Master Program in Knowledge and Information Technology Management - SGAN 916 Norte, Módulo B, Sala A125, 70790-160, Brasília (DF), Brazil. Telefone: 55 (61) 34487182. E-mail: [email protected]. ISSN online: 1807-1775 Publicado por/Published by: TECSI FEA USP – 2011

ANTECEDENTS OF END-USER SATISFACTION WITH AN ERP SYSTEM IN A TRANSNATIONAL BANK

Luís Kalb Roses Catholic University of Brasilia – Brasilia, Brazil __________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

The main objective of this study is to identify the antecedents of end-user satisfaction with an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, in the context of a transnational Bank. The Information System (IS) success theory is applied for the end-user computing satisfaction (EUCS) assessment. Quantitative data is analyzed through multivariate statistical techniques whereas qualitative data is analyzed through content analysis technique. The results indicate that the EUCS model is pertinent to the context of ERP systems for a fast data collection and overall perception of user satisfaction; nevertheless it is suggested the continuity of its evaluation in other research contexts and additional categories should be considered as antecedents to IS end-user satisfaction.

Keywords: ERP system, information system success, end-user satisfaction, system quality, information quality.

1. INTRODUCTION

ERP is a kind of information technology (IT) outsourcing (Aalders, 2001, Lacity, & Willcocks, 2004) and its concept originated from MRP (Material Requirements Planning) in manufacturing firms implementing IS in stock control, supply chain management and co-ordination between finance, sales and manufacturing operations (Trott & Hoecht, 2004). Therefore, ERP is viewed as a “broad set of activities supported by multi-module application software [IS] that help a manufacturer or other business manage the important parts of its business…” (Free On Line Dictionary of Computing, 2009). Today, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Supply

390 Roses, L. K.

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Chain Management (SCM), and Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) are among the ERP solutions offered by software suppliers.

According to Arc Advisory (2009), the worldwide market for enterprise applications is expected to grow US$43 billion by 2011, what represents a compounded annual growth rate of 8.3 percent over the next five years. The ERP market is worth US$18 billion and is expected to reach US$25 billion by 2011 at a compounded annual growth rate of 6.7 percent. These numbers reflect the need of enterprises to reengineer their processes through the adoption of an ERP, integrating them, as well as becoming more business focused and competitive. Supporting the adoption of an ERP, the market (ERP suppliers) is assumed to have competence in offering the appropriate technology for the main organization processes. Diverse sectors like health, tourism, transport, education, government, banking, etc., are users of ERP solutions.

Despite the significance of the business opportunities that these data suggest, the ERP client-supplier relationship is not always an easy and simple task. According to Rockford Consulting Group (2009), more than 60% ERP implementations historically fail. While most studies have focused on the factors related to the adoption, unsuccessful implementations, or even in identifying approaches for a better ERP implementation (Huang, Chen, Hung, & Ku, 2004; Ioannou & Papadoyiann, 2004), few have been dedicated to evaluate the perception of its users (Yang, Ting, & Wei, 2006).

In this sense, this study explores the end-user satisfaction with an ERP, in the context of six European branches of a South American transnational bank, with the purpose to answer the following question: What are the antecedents of end-user satisfaction with a bank ERP? For this, the main objective of this work was to assess the end-user satisfaction regarding a strategic ERP system, which has been used for more than eight years by those branches. The Doll, Deng, Raghunathan, Torkzadeh and Xia (2004) End-User Computing Satisfaction (EUCS) model was adopted. The validity of EUCS model was tested as a secondary objective of this study, along with the identification of opportunities for its improvement.

2. END-USER SATISFACTION IN ERP SUCCESS

Looking for the dependent variable of IS success, DeLone and McLean (1992) identified six categories: system quality, information quality , information use, user satisfaction, individual impact , and organizational impact. Through these categories, they proposed a model for IS success with a process type approach, as illustrated in Figure 1, instead of treating them independently. According to the model, system quality and information quality , singularly or jointly, affect positively or negatively information use and user satisfaction. Moreover, the amount of information use can affect user satisfaction, as well as the contrary, the latter affecting the former. They also posited that information use and user satisfaction are direct antecedents of individual impact , which would suggest some organizational impact.

In fact, the measurement of IS success is multidimensional and the research focus will indicate which categories will be more appropriate. Several researchers have

Antecedents of end-user satisfaction with an ERP system in a transnational bank


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used this perspective to some extent to assess IS success based on the DeLone and McLean model (Zviran, Pliskin, & Levin, 2005; Nelson & Wixom, 2005), where user satisfaction category was reported as the one of the most researched (Ives, Olson, & Baroudi, 1983; Baroudi & Orlikowski, 1988; Chang & King, 2000; Adamson & Shine, 2003; Doll et al., 2004; Wixom & Todd, 2005). Chin and Lee (2000, p. 554) define end-user satisfaction with an IS as an “overall affective evaluation an end-user has regarding his or her experience related with the information system [IS]”, being both IS use and other activities related (e.g., training, participation or involvement in development or selection) “of value in predicting subsequent behavior (e.g., utilization) or performance”.

Figure 1 – IS Success Model

Source – DeLone and McLean (1992)

The real-time environment of current IS applications is characterized by end-users interacting with them directly to input data as well as making queries (search for data) for specific decision making purposes. In this environment, end-users assume more responsibility in operating these applications and, as a consequence, they obtain an adequate perception about how they are served by them. This perception is extended to management level personnel who do not necessarily interact directly with the applications, but are mainly end-users of the information produced by them to run the business. The first kind of user would be characterized by Doll and Torkzadeh (1988) as a computing user, while the latter an information user. They also defined end-user computing satisfaction (EUCS) as an “affective attitude towards a specific computer application by someone who interacts with the application directly” (p. 260), definition that can be adapted to information user regarding the information they receive from the application.

The Information quality category is associated with the output of an IS (Yang et al., 2006), be the data on paper, electronic file or even on a monitor screen; while system quality category refers to the system that processes the information required to output, which represents user perceptions about his or her interaction with the system during the tasks performed (Nelson & Wixom, 2005). Individual impact category is the effectiveness of the IS in decision making by users, helping their understanding, problem identification, learning, etc., predicting the organizational impact category in terms of cost reductions, productivity gains, increased market share, return on investment or assets, staff reduction, etc. (DeLone & McLean, 1992).

System Quality

Information Quality

Individual Impact

Organizational Impact

Information Use

User Satisfaction

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For the six categories presented in the IS Success Model, DeLone and McLean (1992, p. 88) recommended “further development and validation before it could serve as a basis for the selection of appropriate I/S [IS] measures. In the meantime, it suggests that careful attention must be given to the development of I/S [IS] success installments”. That’s what this study is all about as it evaluates end-user computing satisfaction with an ERP system.

3. METHODOLOGY

The descriptive-exploratory survey strategy was developed with the objective to investigate a contemporary organizational phenomenon, which is complex and non dissociable from its real-life context. The site was six European branches of a large retail South American bank whereas the unit of analysis was the end-user satisfaction with an ERP system adopted for process automation of these branches.

The selection of the bank (assets over US$500 billion and among the 10 largest American banks) in the context of the ERP used by its European branches resulted from: a) the ERP is viewed as a strategic tool in the management of internal processes and business performance of the branches; b) the license contract with the ERP supplier being more than US$2 million; c) the same ERP automates the six branches in six different countries, which creates an opportunity for a wider perception of the system; d) ERP is a market leader; e) ERP has been used by the branches for more than eight years, a situation which allows for a deeper perception of the end-users; and f) authorization of the bank to develop this research.

3.1 DATA COLLECTION AND INSTRUMENT

Data collection process took place in the period between December 8th 2005 and January 20th 2006. The survey used the EUCS instrument from Doll et al. (2004), which has 12 items distributed in five dimensions (see Table 1), where the corresponding variables treated in this study were also associated. Content, accuracy, and format can be considered constructs (or dimensions) of information quality , as they refer to the output of the IS; while timeliness and easy use to system quality, timeliness being partially related to information quality as it evaluates the currency of information (if it is up-to-date).

The Doll et al. (2004) model seems to be very appropriate for the objectives of this study as it has been “widely used and cross validated to measure a user’s satisfaction with a specific application”, evaluating in few items aspects of information and system quality dimensions shared by other models that use more extensive items (Rivard, Poirier, Raymond, & Bergeron, 1997; Nelson & Wixom, 2005). In this sense, the model facilitates data collection for a fast overall perception, besides being considered a “surrogate for system success” (p. 229) from the user satisfaction standpoint, which is the focus of this paper.

A seven point Likert scale (1 for strongly disagree and 7 for strongly agree) was used in these 12 items, instead of the Doll et al. (2004) scale of five points. According



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to Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black (1998, p. 186-187), “the more points you use, the higher the precision you will obtain with regards to the intensity with which the person agrees or disagrees with the statement". The results of Cronbach's Alpha (see Table 4) show that the internal consistency of the scale was maintained, which assured the reliability of the instrument.

The instrument also aggregate an item (variable satisf) to evaluate the overall satisfaction of the respondent with the ERP system (“You are satisfied with the system”), using the same scale interval as the prior 12 items, besides an open-ended question (“Below, feel at ease to write any commentaries you’d like to do regarding your use of the system”), aiming to obtain general perceptions of the respondent about the ERP system. For Patton (2002, p. 21), the purpose of this question is to “enable the researcher to understand and capture the points of view of other people without predetermining those points of view through prior selection of questionnaire categories”. In this sense, the open-ended question provided flexibility and openness to respondent exposure about his or her points of view relating to the ERP system, which enhanced the richness of the research.

Table 1 – The Five Dimensions of End-User Computing Satisfaction

Dimension Items Variables

Content 1. The system provides the precise information you need cont_1

2. The information content of the system meets your needs cont_2

3. The system provides reports that seem to be just about exactly what you need

cont_3

4. The system provides sufficient information cont_4

Accuracy 5. The system is accurate acc_1

6. You are satisfied with the accuracy of the system acc_2

Format 7. The output of the system is presented in a useful format form_1

8. The system information is clear form_2

Timeliness 9. You get the information you need from the system at a suitable time time_1

10.

The system provides up-to-date information time_2

Easy Use 11.

The system is user friendly easy_1

12.

The system is easy to use easy_2

Source – Adapted from Doll et al. (2004)

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Closing the instrument, a demographic item (variable demogr) asked about the length of time the respondent had interacted with the system (less than 1 year, between 1 and 3 years, between 3 and 5 years, and more than 5 years). The instrument was pre-tested respecting the content of the 12 EUCS items, even in relation to the English language, which is considered a common language in the six branches. No difficulty or suggestion for modification was reported, which can be viewed as a result of past validation of the EUCS instrument.

3.2 SAMPLE AND DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

The sample was formed by the end-user computing employees of the branches, whose tasks are executed in direct interaction with the ERP system. The survey instrument was sent by e-mail to the branch executive managers who asked the employees to respond. A total of 63 responded instruments distributed in the six branches were collected electronically and returned by e-mail.

The demographic profile of the respondents is showed in Table 2, where the quantity (Qty) per branch is also shown. Only one respondent from the BRAN-5 branch participated in the survey, while BRAN-2 branch had the most participants (20). Moreover, there is a major concentration of respondents with more than five years’ experience (58.5%) in using the ERP system. Considering a population of around 100 respondents in the branches researched, the sample was considered representative as it reached 63% of the total, showing characteristics of independence and randomness in their selection from the researcher standpoint.

Table 2 – Time of the end-user with the IS

Branch < 1 year 1 - 3 years 3 – 5 years > 5 years Total

Qty % Qty % Qty % Qty % Qty %

BRAN-1 - - 1 11.1 - - 8 88.9 9 100

BRAN-2 2 10.0 7 35.0 4 20.0 7 35.0 20 100

BRAN-3 2 15.4 2 15.4 1 7.7 8 61.5 13 100

BRAN-4 - - - - - - 9 100.0 9 100

BRAN-5 - - - - 1 100.0 - - 1 100

BRAN-6 2 18.2 2 18.2 2 18.2 5 45.5 11 100

Total 6 9.5 12 19.1 8 12.7 37 58.7 63 100



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4. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Two main methods of analysis were applied to the data collected: structural equation modeling (SEM) and content analysis (CA). The first, a second generation statistical technique, was used with the purpose of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the EUCS model. The second was applied to qualitative data (text) from the open-ended question.

4.1 STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING

SEM is a technique to examine a series of dependence relationships at the same time, which is attractive for two main reasons (Hair et al., 1998): a) it deals with multiple relationships simultaneously while providing statistical significance; and b) it assesses the relationships comprehensively and provides a transition from exploratory to confirmatory analysis. This study intends to present the confirmatory analysis as it works with a validated model (Doll & Torkzadeh, 1988). Before this, it was analyzed the quality of the data.

4.1.1 DATA QUALITY ANALYSIS

As recommended before, the application of any multivariate data analysis technique aiming at a better prediction and more accurate dimensionality measuring (Kline, 1998), the quality assessment of the data collected was evaluated in terms of missing data, outliers, and assumptions of multivariate analysis. The SPSS™ software was used in the analysis of data quality.

Missing data per variable stayed below the conservative limit of 5% (Tabachnik & Fidell, 2001), one being identified as missing in time_2 and in demogr variables, which were estimated by the expectation-maximization method. No outlier with either a univariate, bivariate, or multivariate perspectives was identified. From a univariate perspective, the cases remained outside the limit of 2.5 standard deviations, considering a sample of fewer than 80 cases (Hair et al., 1998). From a bivariate perspective, when the combinations of two variables were analyzed through scatterplots (dispersion graphics), there was no observation that could be considered for deletion. Nor from a multivariate perspective, as the Mahalanobis distance (D2) didn’t indicate any case with a D2 value larger than twice the next highest value (Hair et al., 1998).

Tests for the assumptions of multivariate analysis considered the requirements of normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity. Normality was assured through the examination of statistic values (z) of skewness and kurtosis of each variable, which remained within the acceptable range of -1.96 to +1.96 for p=0.05 (Hair et al., 1998). Linearity was observed with a scatterplot between the most distant variable from normality characteristics (time_1) and the closest (time_2), considering z values of skewness and kurtosis. An ellipse was formed with an oval shape; there was no curvilinear relationship (Tabachnik & Fidell, 2001). Finally, homoscedasticity was a consequence of normal data distribution of each variable, besides the distribution of

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time_1 and time_2 (more discrepancy between each other than in relation to normality) exposing proportional variability (Tabachnik & Fidell, 2001).

Indeed, the quality of the data was considered appropriate for the CFA application, mainly because of the sample size, which reached slightly more than the minimum recommended of five observations per item (Hair et al., 1998), being in fact 5.25 (63 observations per 12 items).

4.1.2 CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS

CFA measured the fitness between the model and observations collected through statistic significance, generated by the AMOS™ software (see Figure 2). Once the fitness of the model to data researched was assured, the next step was to evaluate reliability (composite reliability and extracted variance) and construct validity (convergent and discriminant).

The estimation technique defined was maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), since it is the most common and has provided valid results for small samples like 50 observations (Hair et al., 1998). The estimation process was direct estimation, when the model is directly estimated from the chosen estimation technique (MLE). Therefore, each parameter is estimated with its confidence interval, which is originated from the sampling error. This process is executed just one time over the study sample.

The next steps were an initial evaluation of unreasonable estimations and the analysis of model fitness. In relation to the initial estimation, high correlation was perceived between the following pairs of constructs: format and content (0.738), format and accuracy (0.852), format and timeliness (0.922), format and easy use (0.818), timeliness and accuracy (0.764), and timeliness and easy use (0.762). Furthermore, the error variance er_6 of variable acc_2 had a negative value, besides a standardized coefficient slightly superior to 1.0 (1.029, in fact). A lower variance of 0.007 (Dillon, Kumar, & Mulani, 1987) to er_6 was established, producing the value 0.998 to that standardized coefficient (p<0.001). Once these adjustments were implemented for acceptable estimations of the overall model, its fit was assessed with goodness-of-fit measures.



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Figure 2 – Results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (factor loadings)

In CFA, the fit of the generic model shows the degree to which the indicators represent their constructs, being evaluated through three measure sets (goodness-of-fit measures) of observed variance matrix and that previewed from the proposed model (Hair et al., 1998): a) absolute fit measures, that assess only the overall model fit (structural and measurement, collectively) with normed chi-square (ratio chi-square over degree of freedom or χ2/ DF), goodness-of-fitness index (GFI), root mean square residual (RMSR), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA); b) incremental fit measures, which compare the proposed model to a null model, using Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) and normed fit index (NFI); and c) parsimonious fit measures, that measures the fit of the model per estimated parameter with goodness-of-fit index (GFI), normed-chi-square, and comparative fit index (CFI).

The application of multiple measures provides greater consensus regarding the acceptability of the model. These measures are presented in Table 3 and their overall values are within the minimum limits recommended for overall model acceptance, suggesting the model is an acceptable representation of the established constructs.

Since the overall model EUCS was accepted for measuring the ERP end-user satisfaction, the next step assessed the measurement and structural models. This step analyzed the measurement model fit, when each construct was assessed separately for the examination of indicators weights (loadings) in terms of statistical significance, as well as for the examination of composite reliability and extracted variance. All loadings (arrows linking constructs to their indicators in Figure 2) were superior to 0.50 (Hair et al., 1998) for p<0.001.

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Table 3 – Indexes of measurement model fit

Indexes Recommended Values

(Kline, 1998; Hair et al., 1998) Values

χ2 - 64.216

DF - 45

Χ2/ DF < 3 and preferable between 1 and 2 (p < 0.05) 1.427 (p = 0.031)

GFI High values (~1) indicate model goodness-of-fit 0.872

RMSR Next to zero 0.097

RMSEA < 0.10 0.083

NFI > 0.90 0.906

TLI > 0.90 0.955

CFI > 0.90 0.955

Table 4 shows the values of the composite reliability, through Cronbach’s Alpha, and extracted variance. All constructs had composite reliability superior to the minimum recommended of 0.70 (Nunnally, 1978), being impressive in the constructs content, accuracy, and easy use, which presented values superior to 0.90. Regarding extracted variance, all the constructs had values above the acceptable minimum of 0.50 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Then, based on the examination of the indicator weights, composite reliability, and extracted variance, the convergent validity was observed. So, the measurement model was accepted.

Table 4 – Composite reliability and extracted variance per construct

Composite Reliability Extracted Variance

Content 0.928 0.789

Accuracy 0.914 0.946

Format 0.751 0.805

Timeliness 0.709 0.775

Easy Use 0.942 0.827

The analysis of the structural model involves the inspection of a matrix with construct correlations, where high correlations (>0.90 or >0.80, if more conservative criteria) suggest corrective action like the deletion of one of the constructs or modification in the causal relationships (Hair et al., 1998). According to Table 5, the correlations can be marked between the constructs format and timeliness (0.922);



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format and accuracy (0.852), and format and easy use (0.818). Another criteria is the squared multiple correlations (R2), or covariance, having the indicators form_1 and time_1 obtained less than 50% of explained variance (Kline, 1998), or R2 x 100, by their respective factors format and timeliness (see Table 6), for p<0,001. As a result, the discriminant validity wasn’t confirmed and the structural model couldn’t be considered accepted. Kline (1998, p. 198) suggests that “no single method provides a definitive test of whether the researcher’s specifications about measurement are correct. Also, construct validity in not typically established in a single study”.

Table 5 – Matrix of construct correlations

Content Accuracy Format Timeliness Easy Use

Content 1.000 0.504 0.738 0.483 0.464

Accuracy 0.504 1.000 0.852 0.764 0.504

Format 0.738 0.852 1.000 0.922 0.818

Timeliness 0.483 0.764 0.922 1.000 0.762

Easy Use 0.464 0.504 0.818 0.762 1.000

Table 6 – Squared multiple correlations (R2)

Fator Content Format Accuracy Timeliness Easy Use

Indic.

cont_1 cont_2 cont_3 cont_4 form_1 form_2 acc_1 acc_2 time_1 time_2 easy_1 easy_2

R2 0.752 0.870 0.669 0.792 0.450 0.805 0.715 0.998 0.494 0.613 0.900 0.880

Table 7 exposes the respondent perceptions regarding each the EUCS item through median values per item, in which an interval was considered between 1 (not satisfied at all) and 7 (totally satisfied), according to the interval scale adopted. The overall impression is that the 12 system and information quality attributes were not a cause of a remarkable dissatisfaction nor satisfaction related to the ERP system, even though there was a slight dissatisfaction in item 11 (“The system is user friendly”). The item used to obtain an overall satisfaction perception of the respondent (variable satisf) corroborated this finding as it reached a median value of 4. This situation gives importance to the open-ended question, aiming at practical considerations for both the constructs used as for the causes of the neutral overall perception.

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Table 7 – End-user satisfaction with the ERP system

Construct Content Format Accuracy Timeliness Easy Use

Item 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Median 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 4

4.2 CONTENT ANALYSIS

CA was the method adopted to investigate the textual answers from the open-ended question of the survey. On analysis of the data collected from the documents, interviews and researcher observation, the technique of qualitative content analysis was applied through categorical analysis (Bardin, 1977, p. 153). The unit of significance, or register, was themes (thematic analysis). In this way, the categorization criteria were semantic and non syntactic (aggregating verbs, adjectives, pronouns, etc.) or lexical (aggregating by the sense of the words) (p. 118).

The themes are clippings of units with variable length extensions, including several sentences. For the categorization of the themes a category system was designed based on the target of the open question - user satisfaction. Nevertheless, the category system was not sufficiently exhaustive to restrict the analysis with the tunnel vision effect (Miles and Huberman, 1994, p. 85), which would jeopardize the perception of unusual data having important significance to the research (Marshall and Rossman, 1995).

This prior category system took into account the constructs of the Doll et al. (2004) EUCS model as well as from other variant end-user satisfaction models (Rivard, Poirier, Raymond, & Bergeron, 1997; Nelson & Wixom, 2005; Wixom & Todd, 2005) that were based on DeLone and McLean (1992) IS Success Model. These categories were segmented in system quality and information quality , referring to the first as “perceptions of the system itself and the way it delivers information”, and to the second as “dimensions that determine the user’s perception of the quality of the information included in the system” (Wixom & Todd, 2005, p. 91). The categories were illustrated with a respondent citation in quotation marks between parentheses (e.g., “My limited exposure [to the system] has not been a positive experience…”).

System quality defined categories were: a) timeliness or the degree to which the system offers timely responses to requests for information or action (“The system is sometimes quite slow…”); b) flexibility or the versatility of the system to be adapted to changing or new demands of the end-user (“As requirements for central banks and for branch administration change a lot, the system is not flexible to meet these new requirements…”); c) ease of use or how easy the system is to operate for accessing or extracting information (“I find it difficult to get what I want…”); d) integration or the way the system allows data to be integrated from various sources or different areas of the business (“Other systems are needed to find and feed information of input…”); and e) reliability or the dependability of system operation or trustworthiness of its



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continued performance (“Would it be useful to have an option which could prevent us from paying the same invoice twice…”).

Information quality defined categories were: a) accuracy or the user’s perception that the information is correct (“The profit figures produced by the system in 2000 were completely incorrect …”); b) currency or the user’s perception of the degree to which the information is up to date (“General ledger [monetary transactions in the form of debits and credits] is not real time…”); c) content or the degree to which the system provides all necessary information (“The system doesn’t provide us with all the information we need for our control…”, “The available information does not quite meet our requirements…”); and d) format or the user’s perception of how well the information is presented (“There are a lot of reports for each [system] module but none for an overall view…”).

Even though the category system proved its adequacy according to respondent´s answers, other categories were needed to support a broader view for the assessment of system and information quality . One of them was functionality , conceptualized in this study as being the degree to which the system functionalities provided satisfaction to end-user needs (“As we are in Administration and Accounts, payable is one of our functions which [the system] doesn't support…”), being linked to system quality. Two more categories were also identified for the context of supplier service quality, defined as an attitude or global judgment of how superior the service is (Robinson, 1999) if compared to prior expectations (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988): a) dependability (Russell & Chatterjee, 2003), a synonym for reliability in SERVQUAL model (Berry, Zeithaml, & Parasuraman, 1990) meaning the supplier’s ability to meet schedule and provide a reliable and accurate service (“Any new product [feature of the system] is always delivered late…”); and b) support or supplier providing easy access for clients questions related to system problems (“We can not ask the system supplier directly to solve problems or user-questions...”).

The claim for the service quality category was already identified by DeLone and McLean (2003) when they discussed the utility of IS Success Model updated with this category for measuring the e-commerce system success, category that was confirmed in the model by Petter and McLean (2010) in a meta-analysis assessment. De Lone and McLean (2003) argued for service quality category “as a consequence of the changes in the role of IS over the last decade” (p. 18) and made reference to SERVQUAL model. Even though this model has its origin in marketing discipline and has been applied to different services areas (Prayag, 2007; Kumar, Kee, & Charles, 2010) it has been a reference to evaluate IT services (Landrun, Prybutok, & Zhang, 2010).

The categories list was completed with two more ones, both related to knowledge quality of the employees to permit a better interaction with the ERP system (Bailey & Pearson, 1983; Baroudi & Orlikowski, 1988): a) training level or training received by the user for using the system (“The branch needs special trained staff which we do not have…”); and b) system understanding or how well the user knows the system (“We don’t know its [the system] maximum potential…”). Other categories could already be added to the list, but this study was interested in end-user satisfaction antecedents and the new potential ones were related to the impacts caused by user

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satisfaction, both in an individual sense (“A number of manual adjustments are necessary to obtain information [as needed]…”), producing task overload, as in an organizational one (“For more efficient and better software services the market presents better products and the Bank is able to save a lot of money…”), associate with the benefit- cost ratio.

Analyzing the categories and respective respondent citations, it can be considered that an instrument for end-user satisfaction assessment needs a broader range of items to obtain a more precise picture of the respondent´s perceptions. In this sense, the categories of system and information quality must have their constructs incremented, according to the category system defined. Other categories must also be taken into account, mainly in relation to service quality, as the differentiation between product (ERP system) and corresponding services becomes even more blurred for a quality perspective (Parasuraman et al., 1988), giving importance to the client-supplier relationship (Gronroos, 1988). The process defined for this relationship must guarantee the appropriate knowledge for using the product (i.e., ERP system) by end-users. If the end-users don’t know the system very well, it’s difficult for them to express a suitable perception.

Indeed, as there is an extensive use of alternative ways for an ERP system to perform the tasks in the branches (“Our reporting requirements may be obtained by queries and a special module [local applications]…”, “We use lots of queries and excel sheets to prepare the reports…”), which compensate the lack of information or functionalities in the system, it seems that the day-to-day tasks of the branches don’t suffer from the risk of discontinuity. Nevertheless, this surely impacts their efficiency, be it from an individual (work overload) or organizational (benefit-cost ratio) standpoint, which points to more two DeLone and McLean (1992) categories – individual and organizational impacts.

5. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

This study explored the antecedents of end-user satisfaction related to a specific ERP system used by a bank using the Doll et al. (2004) EUCS model as an empirical reference. The results obtained demonstrated the need for a broader range of constructs so as to have a more precise assessment of that satisfaction, like those of service (dependability and support) and knowledge quality (training level and system understanding) categories. Variant end-user satisfaction models helped in the identification of these two categories, which were not part of the original DeLone and McLean (1992) IS Success Model, even though service quality was included in the model revision (DeLone and McLean, 2003; Petter and McLean, 2010).

It is not possible to disqualify the appropriateness of Doll et al. (2004) instrument, as it facilitates data collection (only 12 items) and covers both system and information quality categories as antecedents of end-user satisfaction. It can be very suitable for collecting overall perceptions with a high rate of respondents in a short research period, besides being recommended for a broad range of system applications and respective comparability of results (Doll & Torkzadeh, 1988). Anyways, following



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DeLone and McLean (1992, p. 88) suggestion “…careful attention must be given to the development of I/S [IS] success installments”.

Among the identified limitations of this research are (a) the lack of discriminant validity of the EUCS model did not permit construct validity, even though the convergent validity was confirmed; (b) with the exception of the content construct of this model, all others have only just two indicators, limiting the effect of indicator exclusion as a corrective action in confirmatory factor analysis; (c) the limited possibility of generalization of the findings, as the study was restricted to a specific bank with a specific ERP system; and (d) the new categories identified through content analysis technique may be subject to question, since the content, as a whole, is not exhaustively treated (Bardin, p. 115). Regarding this last item, Bardin (1977, p. 115) emphasizes the fact that, although valid in the making of specific deductions on a precise inference category, it is not valid in general inferences. But its potential remains precise in exploring the reduced corpus of data and establishing more discriminating categories. So, it is suggested the continuity of assessing the EUCS model fit.

As practical contributions, the present study applied an end-user computing satisfaction model to an ERP solution, whose projections for increased adoption by enterprises imposes a close examination of how well it is perceived by end-users. As an assessment model, end-user satisfaction helps the management of ERP client-supplier relationship. Moreover, the suggested improvement of antecedent categories, along with their respective constructs, has a practical effect in IS managerial practices for business success from an end-user satisfaction perspective. Finally, future research is expected to integrate system, information, and service quality in the assessment of end-user satisfaction, in which the perception of information user will also be considered.

REFERENCES

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María Teresa Gutiérrez Martínez, Facultad de Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Facultad de Ciencias de la Computación, Av. San Claudio y 14 Sur, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 72570, Puebla, Puebla. México, +52 (222) 2 229 55 00 Extensión 7200 – Fax: +52 (222) 2 229 56 72 E-mail: [email protected]

Concepción Pérez de Celis Herrero, Facultad de Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México e-mail: [email protected]

Gustavo Cossío Aguilar, Facultad de Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, México e-mail: [email protected]


APLICACIÓN DE LAS METODOLOGÍAS ÁGILES EN EL PROCESO DE PRODUCCIÓN DE PIEZAS DE ARTE DE NUEVOS MEDIOS: BIO-LENCIA COMO CASO DE ESTUDIO

APPLICATION OF AGILE SOFTWARE METHODOLOGIES IN NEW MEDIA ART: BIO-LENCIA AS A STUDY CASE

María Teresa Gutiérrez Martínez Concepción Pérez de Celis Herrero Gustavo Cossío Aguilar

Facultad de Ciencias de la Computación, Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico

__________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

Inspired on the original idea by plastic artist Alfredo Salomón and using the title Bio-lencia, real-time system merging the knowledge areas of computing and art was created. In this paper we will analyze the piece’s characteristics as a software product and the challenges this tipe of products present from a software engineering point of view. We present a classification for unstable media art, highlighting its characteristics as software products, and demonstrate the production of such a piece by using agile development methodology. We particularly discuss the utilization of Extreme Programming, which allowed a correct interaction with the artist and main developer in this particular case. We also emphasize how the characteristics of trustworthiness, strength and rapid response time were of particular importance for the proper evaluation and functioning of the software used in Bio-lencia. Finally, as a part of the conclusions we discuss the problems we had to solve and the lessons we learned during the development of Bio-lencia

Keywords: Software engineering, Agile Software Development, Information recovery, Data mining, Software art, Web art, Text analysis

408 Gutiérrez Martínez, M. T., Pérez de Celis Herrero, C., Cossío Aguilar, G.

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RESUMEN

Inspirado en la idea original del artista plástico Alfredo Salomón y bajo el título de Bio-lencia, se creó un sistema en tiempo real que integra dos áreas del conocimiento: Arte y Computación. En este artículo analizamos, las características de la pieza como un producto de software y los retos que este tipo de productos presentan desde el punto de vista de la ingeniería de software. Presentamos una clasificación para el arte de medios inestables destacando sus características como productos de software y se realiza un ejercicio de producción de una pieza de este tipo utilizando metodologías ágiles de desarrollo. En particular discutimos la utilización de la Programación Extrema, la cual en el caso que aquí se presenta, permitió interactuar correctamente con el artista, quien es también el desarrollador principal. Se menciona también como las características de confiabilidad, robustez y tiempo de respuesta fueron de particular importancia para la correcta evaluación y funcionamiento del software que da vida a Bio-lencia. Finalmente como parte de las conclusiones se discuten los problemas y las lecciones que aprendimos durante el desarrollo de Bio-lencia.

Palabras Clave: Ingeniería de software, Ágil, Recuperación de Información, Minería de Datos, Software-Art, Web-Art, Análisis de Textos.

1. INTRODUCCIÓN

El uso de elementos de software, de herramientas y dispositivos multimedia hoy en día es usual en la mayoría de las ciencias y las disciplinas. La simbiosis arte y ciencia y en particular arte y ciencias de la computación es ya habitual, existiendo hoy en día laboratorios en diferentes universidades en las que los proyectos como el que nos ocupa son prioritarios: Universidad Ramón Llull, Escuela Superior de Diseño ESDi, Universidad Nacional de Singapur, Michigan State University, Computer Graphic Arts Society, Program in Media Arts and Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology y el Software Engineering Group del departamento de Computer and Information Science de la Universidad de Noruega de Ciencias y Tecnología (NTNU) entre otras.

El mundo del arte contemporáneo y los centros expositivos (museos, galerías, centros, etc.) se enfrentan en la actualidad al desafío que imponen las nuevas tecnologías. Existe un amplio sector de la creación contemporánea que utiliza como soportes, técnicas y herramientas digitales. Estas prácticas, conocidas frecuentemente con el nombre de media art o arte electrónico, comprenden el vídeo, las videoinstalaciones, las instalaciones interactivas, los media-performances, el net.art y el arte multimedia entre otras. Las nuevas tecnologías introducen, sin duda formas novedosas de comunicar, exhibir y acceder a la información, para que esta pueda ser evaluada y difundida.

Las instalaciones interactivas de arte son una forma interdisciplinaria de arte. Como expresión de arte, éstas tienen una variedad de definiciones. Los artistas de instalaciones tienen la habilidad y la tendencia a experimentar con medios y técnicas revolucionarios que involucran varias disciplinas, los artistas de instalaciones han colaborado con especialistas de campos como la antropología, la ciencias y la tecnología expandiendo de este modo su trabajo más allá de las fronteras del arte tradicional (Oliveira, Petry & Oxley 2003), (The open wall; Jachieri,Trifonova, Tufte & Gangvik 2008). Por otra parte las instalaciones de nuevos medios están relacionadas con

409 Aplicación De Las Metodologías Ágiles En El Proceso De Producción De Piezas De Arte De Nuevos Medios: Bio-Lencia Como Caso De Estudio


el diseño de sistemas basados en cómputo teniendo al espectador en mente (Preece, Sharp & Rogers 2006).

Dada la diversidad de piezas que incluyen los llamados nuevos medios, se han generado clasificaciones dependiendo del tipo y los dispositivos tecnológicos que éstas utilizan, considerando así el término de piezas de medios inestables para aquellas que incluyen desarrollos de software y dispositivos electrónicos como constituyente. Con base en las categorías establecidas en SIGGRAPH 2006 para las piezas que involucran medios inestables, propusimos (Pérez de Celis et al, 2008) la siguiente clasificación:

A. Piezas Electro Mecánicas, estas piezas están conformadas mediante el uso de circuitos integrados, equipo mecánico y dispositivos electrónicos. Algunos ejemplos de este tipo de piezas se muestran en la Figura 1.

(a) (b) (c)

Figura 1. Piezas Electromecánicas: a) Árcangel Constantini Spark-in-plug (vista lateral) b) Iván Puig Mandala para la vida moderna c) Gilberto Esparza Rigor Mortis vista del secuenciador electrónico

B. Piezas de Software, para estas piezas se considera el uso de programas de aplicación así como la implementación de aplicaciones utilizando software de base, interfaces, bases de datos, protocolos de red, herramientas multimedia e Internet. Algunos ejemplos de este tipo de piezas se muestran en la Figura 2. Dada la variedad de posibilidades para este tipo particular de piezas se sugiere la siguiente extensión para permitir la adecuada catalogación de las piezas que involucran programación:

• Interactivas: Generalmente estas piezas son instalaciones o intervenciones en las que el público interactúa con ellas a través de una interfaz.

• Trabajos de Fusión: En este tipo existe una simbiosis entre arte e investigación científica.

• Information Art : Piezas que utilizan bases de datos.

• Esculturas, Robots y Objetos Electrónicos Interactivos Estas piezas requieren la interacción con el espectador para activarse.

• Instalaciones de Audio Interactivas: requieren de sensores que sirvan de interfaz con el espectador.


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• Software Art: emisión de imágenes utilizan CD, DVD o pantallas (son imágenes digitales en 2D o 3D).

• Web-Art : hace uso de Internet.

(a) (b)

Figura 2. Piezas de Software a) Rafael Lozano-Hemmer Almacén de Corazonadas, Software-art interactivo. b) Alfredo Salomón Bio-lencia Internet-information-art, instalación

C. Piezas de Audio y Vídeo, estas piezas implican el uso de CD, DVD y otros contenedores, de hecho corresponden a las piezas de videoarte en sus diferentes formas de representación, en la Figura 3 podemos observar algunos ejemplos de esta categoría.

(a) (b)

Figura 3. Audio-Video a) Luciano Matus Intervención Luminosa, video instalación b) Iván Edeza Mano a mano

Si se analiza en la clasificación antes presentada, la gama de posibilidades y soportes en las obras de arte contemporáneo con la incursión de medios inestables, resulta natural que la conceptualización, realización, montaje y mantenimiento, de las obras de arte contemporáneo; en la categoría que consideramos en esta comunicación, deje de ser el producto de trabajo de un solo autor y se convierta en un proyecto multidisciplinario en el que están involucrados tanto el artista creador como ingenieros de software, programadores, electrónicos y especialistas en interfaces multimedia.



El proyecto que es motivo de esta comunicación, está catalogado como Internet art (a menudo llamado net.art). Pertenecen a esta categoría las piezas de arte o producciones culturales que utilizan Internet como su medio primario (pero no necesariamente el tema principal, aunque éste sea frecuentemente el caso). El arte de medios inestables, como lo mencionamos, involucra la construcción de sistemas complejos que pueden incluir dispositivos de hardware y desarrollos de software, es un ejercicio interdisciplinario, entre artistas e informáticos, donde estos últimos juegan el rol de colaboradores en la creación de una pieza de arte.

Existe entonces, en este tipo de proyectos de acuerdo con Candy (2002), Co-Creatividad en varias dimensiones: a) entre el artista y la tecnología digital, b) entre el artista y la audiencia y c) entre el artista y el informático, siendo esta última la que repercute en los diferentes escenarios presentados durante el desarrollo del proyecto de software y que determinan la gestión y producción del producto final. En este artículo enfocaremos justo el proceso de creación de un sistema de software complejo donde el producto final se ha denominado Bio-lencia y es una pieza de arte contemporáneo diseñada y producida para la exposición Plataforma 06, en la ciudad de Puebla, México (Salomón, Gutiérrez, Cossio y Pérez de Celis, 2007).

No es nuestro objetivo hacer una disertación sobre la creatividad requerida tanto de los artistas como de los informáticos involucrados en proyectos del tipo de Bio-lencia, sin embargo, es importante destacar que; si consideramos exclusivamente las metodologías de trabajo de los informáticos es deseable que exista el concepto de equipo entre los diferentes integrantes involucrados en el proyecto, de tal modo que exista una relación del tipo socio, en la que tanto los artistas como los informáticos y otros especialistas, que tengan injerencia en el proyecto, vean converger sus intereses. Es claro que una relación de este tipo es diferente a una relación del tipo asistente de, donde el artista es el que tiene el control exclusivo sobre la evaluación de los resultados. Es entonces que él como colaborar se vuelve un punto medular. En las secciones subsecuentes presentaremos primeramente porqué utilizamos la metodología ágil para gestionar el proceso de desarrollo de software, ya que por sus características, desde nuestro punto de vista es el más apropiado para la elaboración de productos de arte de nuevos medios. En las siguientes secciones, introduciremos algunos aspectos de la metodología Ágil utilizados en la exploración de los requerimientos y la metáfora del sistema que fundamentan nuestras decisiones de diseño. Posteriormente discutiremos las técnicas de recuperación de información utilizadas en Bio-lencia para el análisis de textos, y describiremos los detalles de implementación de la pieza y de los dispositivos de hardware diseñados y realizados para su funcionamiento. Finalmente presentamos nuestros resultados y perspectivas para el futuro.

2. INSTALACIONES INTERACTIVAS COMO UN PRODUCTO DE INGENIERÍA DE SOFTWARE

La idea de considerar una instalación interactiva de arte contemporáneo como un producto de software la presenta Oates (2006), posteriormente Trifonova et al (2008) extienden la propuesta y proponen un mapeo entre las instalaciones de arte y los productos de software, describiendo el proceso y los roles de los especialistas, así como las herramientas a utilizar, en la figura 4 reproducimos el esquema propuesto por


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Biswas (2008), donde se hace referencia al proceso integración entre el arte y la tecnología en el desarrollo de una instalación, como producto de software, nosotros extendemos estas propuestas considerando las metodologías ágiles (MA), y de éstas la de programación extrema, como la metodología más indicada para gestionar el proceso de desarrollo.

Figura 4 Proceso de integración entre el Arte y la Tecnología

El modelado y la documentación son dos aspectos fundamentales en cualquier proyecto de software. Mucha gente y en particular los artistas plásticos piensan visualmente y reaccionan positivamente al modelaje visual. Para nosotros el modelo inicial del sistema puede ser en su origen un conjunto de trazos en una servilleta de papel y un primer prototipo puede realizarse en un cuaderno de sketch, aceptamos también que el modelaje es un proceso pesado, donde se consolidan los equipos; los participantes, deben aprender a trabajar conjuntamente y a balancear sus debilidades con las fortalezas de los otros. Considerando lo anterior como la filosofía de modelado la cual, está en sintonía con la MA, la siguiente etapa es entonces preguntarnos, cómo vamos a llevar a cabo efectivamente este modelado.

2.1. LOS INVOLUCRADOS EN EL PROYECTO (PROJECT STACKHOLDERS)

Para el desarrollo de una instalación interactiva, sin perder generalidad, se requiere la participación de un equipo interdisciplinario ya que se involucra el diseño y construcción de dispositivos de hardware y componentes de software. Los miembros del equipo de trabajo de una instalación interactiva lo constituyen no solamente el artista sino uno o varios diseñadores y desarrolladores de software/hardware y también el público espectador. En la figura 5 se muestran los diferentes stackholders en un proyecto de arte y sus interacciones.

El artista como en el caso de Bio-lencia lleva el rol de iniciador del proyecto ya que él, es quién realiza el planteamiento conceptual inicial de la pieza; es decir visualiza el proyecto integralmente. Aunado al artista, en la mayoría de los casos se encuentran



los patrocinadores del proyecto quienes se encargan de administrar el presupuesto considerado, para su producción y posterior exhibición.

Los Ingenieros de software y hardware son los encargados de hacer realidad los deseos del artista, logrando que la pieza de arte final corresponda a lo que el artista ideó en cuanto a su funcionamiento, aspecto visual e interacción con el espectador. Por lo tanto, los ingenieros de software y hardware son los responsables de establecer formalmente los requerimientos para después implementarlos y obtener el producto final, que es la instalación interactiva de arte, respetando el presupuesto y los tiempos establecidos. Dada la naturaleza del proyecto y después de entrevistarnos con el artista, se decidió guiar el proceso de desarrollo utilizando MA con programación extrema.

Los espectadores intervienen cuando todo el sistema está terminado e instalado en su lugar de exhibición, sin embargo, influyen en el producto ya que se consideran para el desarrollo de la interfaz que interactuará con el espectador ya que la calidad de las gráficas, el sonido, el tiempo de refresco de la proyección, etc. son muy importantes para que el público tenga una correcta lectura de la pieza.

Figura 5 Stakeholders de una instalación interactiva de arte y su interacción

3. APLICACIÓN DE LAS METODOLOGÍAS ÀGILES PARA EL MODELADO DEL DOMINIO DE LA APLICACIÓN

3.1. OBJETIVO CONCEPTUAL DEL SISTEMA

Bio-lencia como ya lo mencionamos en las secciones precedentes es una pieza de arte de medios inestables en la categoría de Internet-information-art. Curatorialmente es una instalación cuyo objetivo conceptual, es considerar las reseñas que día a día emiten las agencias de noticias, con la intención de que el público espectador se entere, en tiempo real, de los sucesos violentos que se generan alrededor del mundo, actuando la pieza como un termómetro del planeta, pretendiéndose de este modo que el espectador tome conciencia y actué para erradicar los actos de violencia. El sistema


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cuenta entonces con una interfaz gráfica en la que se despliegan las noticias que diariamente circulan por Internet relacionadas con actos violentos y que entre sus textos se encuentran palabras como muerte, batalla, victimas y tropas, entre otras. El análisis de las noticias y la selección de aquellas de carácter violento, sirve como parámetro para detonar un Rifle AR15 que apunta siempre al centro de la proyección. En este último sentido, Bio-lencia es una instalación dinámico-pasiva donde el origen del contenido está predefinido por el artista.

En el desarrollo de un producto de software, la definición de los requerimientos, es la tarea de mayor importancia y como en otros ámbitos la ingeniería de requerimientos de las instalaciones interactivas no son la excepción, por lo que es importante que tanto los desarrolladores como los artistas, tengan una actitud abierta, pues a menudo puede presentarse uno de los casos siguientes: a) Las especificaciones del proyecto no están los suficientemente bien definidas por el artista o a menudo cambian dependiendo de la etapa creativa en la que se encuentre el proyecto. b) El artista tiene una idea clara de lo que quiere obtener como efecto final y como la pieza debe presentarse para su exhibición, pero desconoce cómo puede realizarse tecnológicamente. Este segundo caso, es en con él que nos enfrentamos después de la primera entrevista con el artista plástico Alfredo Salomón, por lo que se decidió considerar la técnica de historias del usuario (Baldwing, 2004), ya que fundamentalmente las historias de Bio-lencia están orientadas a una interfaz de usuario (IU) y por otra parte el artista contaba con los bocetos de lo que el sistema debería presentar al espectador.

La aplicación de la técnica de historias de usuario, propuesta por la metodología adoptada, facilitó la expresión de los requerimientos del sistema por parte del cliente y el entendimiento de estos por parte de nosotros, los desarrolladores.

En la Figuras 6 y 7 se muestra un ejemplo del formato diseñado para las historias de usuario escritas por el cliente, utilizados conforme a la metodología adoptada para especificar los requerimientos del sistema.

Figura 6. Historia de usuario 1

Historia de Usuario

Se cuenta con un conjunto de direcciones URL (fuentes RSS) de

portales noticiosos que ponen a disposición de los usuarios sus

noticias y necesito traer de alguna manera su contenido a una

aplicación y mostrarlas en pantalla.

Número: 1 Nombre: Obtener noticias de Internet

Prioridad: Alta Modificación de historia No. : No Aplica

Descripción:



Figura 7. Historia de usuario 2

3.2 METÁFORA DEL SISTEMA

Basándonos en las tareas extraídas de cada historia de usuario pudimos determinar que se requería diseñar los siguientes módulos y subsistemas:

• Un módulo de almacenamiento que contenga: las noticias seleccionadas, las fuentes RSS y el conjunto de palabras que conforman el vocabulario controlado del sistema.

• Un sistema principal, que entre otras funcionalidades, contenga:

− Un módulo que obtenga los contenidos publicados en Internet de las fuentes RSS (obtención del corpus).

− Un módulo que realice la selección de las noticias que entre sus textos tengan al menos una palabra del vocabulario controlado.

• Una interfaz gráfica que cumpla con los requerimientos del cliente y que interactuará con el sistema central del proyecto.

• Un dispositivo mecánico o electrónico que interactúe con el sistema central para que este le indique cuando debe dispararse la réplica de un rifle AR15

• Una aplicación web que interactúe con módulo de almacenamiento para poder administrar el contenido del mismo.

Entre las tareas y actividades que derivamos de las Historias de Usuario pudimos inferir, que se requería un vocabulario controlado constituido por un conjunto de palabras que connotan violencia. Como se trata de un sistema en tiempo real, cada noticia que se muestra al espectador, a través de la interfaz gráfica del sistema, debe haber sido publicada tan sólo unos minutos antes, por lo que se diseñó y programó un módulo analizador de textos que recupera y analiza cada noticia a partir de la

Una vez que las noticias son recolectadas de las fuentes RSS y

antes de que sean mostradas en pantalla se requiere que se

seleccionen aquellas que contengan palabras que están relacionadas

con la violencia, por ejemplo: muerte, heridos, masacre, etcétera y

que esas noticias seleccionadas se muestren en una proyección con

fondo negro y que los textos emerjan de la parte inferior de la

pantalla y posteriormente se almacenen para poder verificar si han

sido mostradas con anterioridad

Descripción:

Historia de Usuario

Número: 2 Nombre: Seleccionar noticias

Prioridad: Alta Modificación de historia No. : No aplica


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sindicación de contenidos Web RSS, este formato esta basado en XML (Extensible Markup Language) y fue desarrollado específicamente para todo tipo de sitios que se actualicen con frecuencia (Cuerda, 2004). El módulo diseñado, analiza todas las noticias que se publican en cualquiera de las agencias de noticias a las que se tiene acceso mediante una dirección URL y recupera sólo aquellas que están vinculadas con hechos violentos.

El sistema debe contar también con una base de datos, que además de funcionar como respaldo en caso de que el sistema no tenga acceso a Internet por causa de algún factor externo, almacene el vocabulario controlado, las fuentes RSS de las cuales se extraerán las noticias, los usuarios que tendrán acceso al sistema, así como, las noticias seleccionadas. Cabe mencionar que la base de datos también es utilizada para verificar que las noticias previamente seleccionadas no hayan sido mostradas con anterioridad y así poder evitar redundancia de información.

Figura 8. Boceto de la interfaz de usuario, en este caso del espectador entregada por el artista

Por lo que respecta a la interfaz gráfica, respetando el boceto original del artista, como se muestra en la figura 8, los textos de las noticias deben emerger de la parte inferior de la proyección, la cual está dividida en dos columnas, la primera de izquierda a derecha muestra el título y el contenido de la noticia en forma de renglones color blanco resaltando en rojo las palabras que pertenecen al vocabulario controlado, las mismas que son mostradas de manera independiente en la segunda columna. Adicionalmente se cuenta con una barra de porcentaje o medidor colocada entre la primera y segunda columna que está asociada al número de palabras que van apareciendo en la proyección y al índice de violencia1, y que actúa como un termómetro de violencia, es decir mientras más palabras relacionadas con temas de violencia se detecten, en las noticias analizadas y proyectadas, más rápido se incrementará el contador que indica que el arma puede ser detonada en cualquier momento. Cuando el contador llega al 100%, la pantalla se tornará color negro y en el centro aparecerá la palabra que detonó el arma. La frecuencia de disparos del rifle dependerá entonces directamente del número de noticias violentas que sucedan y sean registradas por el

1 El índice de violencia es un valor que se modifica dependiendo de las necesidades del artista.



sistema. Para poder realizar la detonación del arma, se fabricó un dispositivo opto-electrónico, que recibe la señal que envía el sistema cuanto se rebasa el índice de violencia.

En la Figura 9 presentamos la metáfora del sistema, mediante un diagrama de bloques de la instalación interactiva de arte, que contempla los módulos o subsistemas que lo conforman.

Figura 9. Diagrama de bloques de la instalación interactiva de arte

3.3 IMPLEMENTACIÓN BAJO PROGRAMACIÓN EXTREMA

El diseño e implementación de cada historia de usuario es un working software. Los working software, tienen un tiempo fijo de desarrollo y tienen que ser evaluados y validados en cada ciclo de iteración por el cliente, esta evaluación se requiere para poder continuar con el siguiente incremento o en su defecto realizar un nuevo ciclo de iteración. Nosotros como desarrolladores trabajaremos sobre las tareas que se han precisado en el análisis de los requerimientos. La Figura 10 presenta el proceso realizado para la implementación del sistema mediante programación extrema.


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Figura 10. Procesos realizados para la producción de Bio-lencia

Para ilustrar la documentación elaborada durante el proceso de implementación, presentamos una versión resumida del working software de la historia de usuario uno (ver figura 6).

WORKING SOFTWARE 1. OBTENER NOTICIAS DE INTERNET

Tareas a realizar

Tarea 1 - Obtener las noticias de las fuentes RSS proporcionadas por el cliente.

Tarea 2 - Mostrar las noticias obtenidas en pantalla.

Diseño

Se requiere crear o utilizar (en caso de que exista) una clase que nos permita realizar la lectura del contenido de las fuentes RSS proporcionadas y posteriormente mostrar lo obtenido en pantalla.

Implementación

Para realizar la lectura de las fuentes RSS utilizaremos la librería RSS.NET, que está compuesta por una estructura y 32 clases públicas que nos permiten parsear, leer y escribir fuentes RSS.

De acuerdo con las tareas que debe realizar esta parte del sistema principal de la instalación interactiva de arte, utilizamos tres de las clases de la librería RSS.NET, las cuales nos permitieron obtener la información que necesitamos de las fuentes RSS. En la Tabla 1 se muestran las clases utilizadas y los métodos que pertenecen a cada una de ellas.



Clase Métodos

RssFeed

RssChannel

RssItem

Tabla 1. Clases que pertenecen a la librería RSS.NET.dll y que son utilizadas por el sistema principal de la instalación interactiva de arte

Para poder extraer la información que se requiere, primero creamos una lista temporal con todas las direcciones URL, que se encuentran almacenadas en la base de datos, y sus identificadores. Posteriormente utilizamos el método Read(url) de la clase RssFeed que pertenece a la librería RSS.NET, que recibe como parámetro una dirección URL, para leer el contenido de cada fuente RSS. En la Figura 11 se muestra un ejemplo de una fuente RSS, en la que se pueden apreciar los elementos tanto obligatorios como opcionales que integran una fuente RSS.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" ?> <rss version="2.0" > <channel> <title>El Universal: El Mundo</title> <link>http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/rss/mundo.xml</link> <description>Servicio de Noticias en Español</description> <item> <title>Ataque a convoy estadounidense deja 21 muertos en

Afganistán</title>

<link>http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/555085.html</link> <description><![CDATA[ Un convoy militar de Estados

Unidos fue atacado el jueves en el oriente de Afganistán con un coche-bomba

que mató


Vol.8, No.2, 2011, p. 407-424

a 21 personas, incluido un soldado, y lesionó a otros 74 civiles,

informaron autoridades ]]></description> <author>EFE</author> <pubDate>Wed, 06 Oct 2010 08:52:00 CST</pubDate>

<comments>http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/comments</comments> </item> <item> <title>Explosión en mina colombiana deja cinco

muertos</title>

<link>http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/714113.html</link>

<guid>http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/714113.html</guid> <description>Como consecuencia de la explosión, que los

técnicos atribuyen en principio a la acumulación de gas metano, dos

mineros resultaron heridos y un tercero está

desaparecido</description> <author>Notimex</author> </item> </channel> </rss> Figura 11. Ejemplo de una fuente RSS

Como resultado de la lectura obtenemos un conjunto de elementos <item>, cada componente <title> y <description> de cada elemento <item> obtenido, es pasado como parámetro al método StripHTML(), el cual realiza un proceso de eliminación de lenguaje de marcado en el que se utilizan expresiones regulares para reemplazar cadenas no validas por caracteres validos imprimibles.

El método StripHTML(), después de realizar el proceso de eliminación de lenguaje de marcado, regresará la siguiente cadena, de la cual se han eliminado o transformado aquellos caracteres o cadenas no validos.

Finalmente, obtenemos una lista que es creada en tiempo de ejecución, la cual contiene las noticias y sus títulos, y se utiliza para mostrar las noticias en pantalla.

Tiempo de desarrollo: Una semana

Pruebas de aceptación

Se le presentó el resultado de la implementación al cliente, él estuvo de acuerdo con lo obtenido y propuso la siguiente historia de usuario.

Observaciones del cliente: Ninguna

Número de iteraciones: Una



La descripción detallada de todas las historias de usuario y su implementación puede consultarse en Gutiérrez (2011). Es importante mencionar que para desarrollar la instalación interactiva de arte en su totalidad se contó con 15 semanas, tiempo en el que el proyecto se realizó incrementalmente.

En la figura 8 se muestra la interfaz del espectador diseñada y un panorama general de la pieza ya instalada en su lugar de exposición.

Figura 8. Interfaz del espectador donde puede observarse del lado izquierdo la columna de las noticias seleccionadas y del lado derecho el atlas político de la tierra con un indicador de las palabras relativas a hechos violentos. Imagen de Bio-lencia. La Constancia Mexicana, Puebla México

4. RESULTADOS OBTENIDOS Y TRABAJOS FUTUROS

El desarrollo de un proyecto multidisciplinario, como lo es Bio-lencia, nos permitió trabajar con un grupo de especialistas procedentes de diversas áreas y converger en un mismo propósito, obtener una instalación interactiva de arte que cumpliera con las expectativas del cliente. Este proyecto de software además nos ha permitido incursionar en la conservación de medios digitales, tema que ha tomado relevancia a nivel internacional.

Computacionalmente hablando, Bio-lencia es un sistema que aplica técnicas de: recuperación de información al realizar la recopilación de la noticias, minería web de contenidos al seleccionar de las noticias obtenidas aquellas que poseen palabras del vocabulario controlado y diseño de circuitos integrados, todo esto enmarcado en un desarrollo de ingeniería de software utilizando la metodología ágil.

El producto de software desarrollado cumple con las prácticas de la metodología ágil de programación extrema que deben llevarse a cabo al implementar este modelo, ya


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que: el diseño del sistema es simple, el cliente formó parte del equipo de desarrollo, se implementó un sistema con funcionalidades mínimas que se fue completando gradualmente, se realizaron pruebas continuas por unidad de código y se realizó programación en parejas. En base a lo anterior podemos asegurar que el producto obtenido cumple con los requisitos funcionales y no funcionales plasmados por el cliente en las historias de usuario.

Concluido el desarrollo del sistema, realizamos el montaje de la instalación interactiva de arte, en el espacio asignado, para poder efectuar las pruebas de integración correspondientes. Las pruebas realizadas fueron muy satisfactorias tanto para el artista como para el equipo de desarrollo. La evaluación hecha in situ es uno de los aspectos más interesantes de este ejercicio ya que los efectos visuales, los tiempos de respuesta y la robustez del sistema ante fallos externos (baja señal o nula de Internet, problemas de voltaje, etc.), nos permitieron ratificar nuestras decisiones de diseño, ya que el sistema se apoya en la base de datos para garantizar que la pieza no permanecerá estática en caso de no contar con suficientes noticias para mostrar, ya sea porque al realizar la recopilación no alcanzó el número mínimo de noticias o porque se quedó sin acceso a Internet por causa de algún factor externo. Otra de los aspectos importantes en este tipo de sistemas es el hecho de utilizar software libre para garantizar las posibilidades de exhibición de la pieza.

Actualmente Bio-lencia trabaja con un diccionario de 241 palabras, de las cuales, 92 pertenecen al idioma español, 79 al idioma inglés y 70 al idioma francés además de contar con 341 direcciones URL. Como trabajo futuro se ha considerado realizar una segunda fase del proyecto la cual consistiría, en el desarrollo de un sistema web que se asemeje a Bio-lencia, en cuanto al manejo y recolección de información, pero que se encuentre disponible en Internet. La variante en este nuevo sistema será la interface con los espectadores pues contarán con un apartado en el cual se pueda ver, en tiempo real, la instalación interactiva de arte que se encuentre en exposición.

Si consideramos los resultados alcanzados con este proyecto considerándolo una pieza de arte, que es la otra evaluación del producto, la primera versión de Bio-lencia se presentó del 24 de Noviembre de 2006 al 28 de Enero de 2007, en el Nodo de Nuevas Tecnologías dentro del Festival de Arte Contemporáneo organizado por Plataforma 2006 (Plataforma, 2007), en la Ciudad de Puebla y teniendo como sede La Ex-Fábrica Textil La Constancia Mexicana, logrando una gran aceptación entre el público asistente, formó parte también de la Exposición INTERSTICIO, del 25 de Abril al 15 de Julio de 2007. La segunda versión de Bio-lencia fue seleccionada como una de las piezas del pabellón de arte y nuevas tecnologías en el Fórum Universal de las Culturas 2007, que tuvo como sede la Ciudad de Monterrey y para poner a disposición toda la información relacionada con el proyecto se creó el sitio web: http://teseo.cs.buap.mx/bio-lence y se agregó la posibilidad de analizar noticias en francés, por lo que se realizaron algunas adaptaciones a los módulos de análisis de textos de la primera versión. Como todas las noticias seleccionadas se almacenan e indexan, en una base de datos se cuenta actualmente con un corpus representativo de noticias ligadas a hechos de violencia. Este corpus, puede ser utilizado para hacer estadísticas relacionadas con la naturaleza de los acontecimientos y su origen geográfico. Este proyecto también ha servido como antecedente de un sistema de información de noticias producidas en los diferentes estados de México.



Con esta experiencia esperamos que se abran nuevas áreas de aplicación en las cuales los conocimientos adquiridos durante la formación en ciencias de la computación sean utilizados para que se colabore en la realización de trabajos específicos de arte, pero también es nuestro objetivo contribuir, con este proyecto, a la comprensión de la relación del arte, con la tecnología y la producción cultural.

REFERENCIAS

Amitava, Biswas. (2008). Managing art–technology research collaborations. Int. J. Arts and Technology, 1(1)

Candy, L. (2002) Co-creativity in interactive digital art, consciousness reframed. Proceedings of the Fourth international caiia-star research conference Perth: 2-4th August. CD ROM.

Cuerda, G. X. , & Minguillón, A. J., Sistemas De Gestión De Contenidos (CMS) de código abierto, http://mosaic.uoc.edu/articulos/cms1204.html

Douglas, B, & Scragg, G.W. (2004). The object primer, Third edition: Cambridge University Press (572 pages), ISBN:0521540186.

Gutiérrez Matínez M. T., (2011) Aplicación de Medios Inestables a una pieza conceptual de Arte Contemporáneo: Bio-Lencia, Tesis de Licenciatura, Facultad de Ciencias de la Computación, BUAP.

Jaccheri L., Trifonova A., Tufte G., Gangvik E. (2008) The Open Wall, (re)Actor3 Proceedings of the third international conference on digital live art, Liverpool, UK. September 3rd, pag. 25.

Oates, B.J. (2006) New frontiers for information systems research: computer art as an information system’, European Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 15, pp.617–626.

Oliveira, Nd, Petry, M & Oxley, N (2003), Installation art in the new millennium : the empire of the senses, 1st paperback ed. edn, Thames & Hudson,, New York

Pérez-de-Celis C., Cossío G., Gutiérrez M. T. (2008) Arte de Nuevos Medios: La importancia de la documentación técnica en su conservación y mantenimiento, Memorias de la 9ª. Reunión del Grupo Español de Arte Contemporáneo, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, España. Madrid.

Preece, J, Sharp, H & Rogers, (2006) Interaction design : beyond human-computer interaction, J. Wiley & Sons, New York, 2a. Edición

Salomón Alfredo, Gutiérrez María Teresa, Cossio Gustavo, Pérez de Celis C., (2007) BIO-LENCIA, Plataforma Puebla06, Ed. Turner, ISBN 10 968-9056-15-8, Ed. Ruth Estévez, Virginie Kastel, México.


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Trifonova A., Jaccheri L., Bergaust K., (2008) Software engineering issues in interactive installation art, Int. J. Arts and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 1,


____________________________________________________________________________________

Recebido em/Manuscript first received: 03/06/2010 Aprovado em/Manuscript accepted: 11/02/2011


Raquel Janissek-Muniz Professeur Adjoint EA/UFRGS, Tél +55.51.9911.6559, Professeur à l´Ecole de Administration - UFRGS. Membre du Groupe de Recherche GIANTI-PPGA/EA/UFRGS. Escola de Ad-ministração/UFRGS, Rua Washington Luis, 855, Centro, Porto Alegre RS Brésil, 90010-460 E-mail : [email protected], http://www.ieabrasil.com.br.

Fábio Dídimo Becker, Analyste de Business chez Grendene, Tél +55.54.8122.0569, Expert en Gestão do Conhecimento & Inteligência Estratégica – UCS: Universidade de Caxias do Sul - Caxias do Sul RS Brésil. E-mail : [email protected]

Humbert Lesca, Professeur Emérite, Directeur de Recherche au CERAG UMR-5820-CNRS, Université Pierre Mendès France (UPMF)Grenoble FranceDocteur d'Etat en Sciences de Gestion, Professeur Agrégé des Universités E-mail : [email protected], http://www.veille-strategique.org.

Henrique Freitas, Professeur Associé PPGA/EA/UFRGS, Chercheur CNPq, Porto Alegre RS Brésil. Professeur à l´Ecole de Administration – UFRGS. Coordinateur du Groupe de Recherche GIANTI - PPGA/EA/UFRGS. Chercheur 1C CNPq. E-mail : [email protected], http://gianti.ea.ufrgs.br


APPLICATION DE LA VEILLE ANTICIPATIVE STRATEGIQUE POUR LE SUIVI DE L’ENVIRONMENT ET LA PRODUCTION DE CONNAISSANCES ACTIONABLES THE USE OF ANTICIPATIVE AND STRATEGIC INTELLIGENCE FOR SCANNING THE ENVIRONMENT AND TO PRODUCE ACTIONABLE KNOWLEDGE Raquel Janissek-Muniz Escola de Administração - UFRGS Fábio Dídimo Becker Universidade de Caxias do Sul Humbert Lesca Université Pierre Mendès France (UPMF) Grenoble France Henrique Freitas Escola de Administração - UFRGS ABSTRACT

This article describes a demonstration of the L.E.SCAnning® methodology in a study case con-ducted in brazilian company, having with subject base the assessment of the shares available in the market aiming to interpret future scenarios and to produce actionable results. The method is based in qualitative research exploratory, using informations collected. The informations were organized by actor and subject, and, then, prepared by affinity, using the Puzzle Method. This work, taking in environment related to factors and important agents to evolution value of shares, shows that, applying the method and its concepts about weak signals in shares market is possible develop anticipative ideas.

426 Janissek-Muni, R., Becker, F. D., Lesca, H., Freitas, H.

Vol.8, No.2, 2011, p. 425-440

Keywords: Stock Market, Weak Signals, Grendene, Anticipative and Collective Strategic Intel-ligence, L.E.SCAnning® and Puzzle methods.

RÉSUMÉ

Cet article propose un usage innovant de la méthode L.E.SCAnning® pour le suivi de l’environnent. Avec une étude de cas, conduite dans une entreprise brésilienne, ayant comme domaine d’application l'évaluation des actions disponibles sur le marché, nous avons cherché à interpréter de futurs scénarios. La méthodologie est basée sur la recherche qualitative explora-toire, en utilisant des informations collectées. Les informations ont été organisées par cible puis regroupées par affinité (Méthode Puzzle). Ce travail cherche à démontrer que, en appliquant la méthode sur le marché d'actions, il est possible de produire des connaissances actionnables, et de construire, voire anticiper, des représentations futures.

Mots clefs : Marché d’Actions, Signaux faibles, Grendene, Veille Anticipative, Méthodes L.E.SCAnning® et Puzzle.

Cet article a été fait avec le support de CAPES et CNPQ [Institutions de Recherche Bré-siliennes].

1. INTRODUCTION

Grendene S/A est un des plus grands producteurs mondiaux de chaussures syn-thétiques et leader dans plusieurs segments sur le marché brésilien. La société est con-nue pour son excellence dans l'élaboration et le développement de chaussures thermo-plastiques injectées, fabriquées avec une technologie propre et exclusive. Avec cela, elle fabrique des chaussures innovantes et originales, permettant une production plus rapide, avec une plus grande précision, un emploi moins important de main d'œuvre et avec un coût inférieur à ceux des divers concurrents. En octobre/2004, Grendene a décidé d'ou-vrir son capital afin d’augmenter davantage son capital pour faire de nouveaux investis-sements, et accroître encore la position de ses produits sur le marché.

Lorsqu’une société décide d'ouvrir son capital, plusieurs facteurs doivent être pris en compte, par exemple : les règles du marché d'actions, l’environnement extérieur, etc. Une ouverture de capital exige une haute capacité d’investissement, non seulement dans des valeurs monétaires, mais aussi des valeurs intellectuelles en cohérence avec la préoccupation de l'avenir.

Au début, les valeurs des actions de Grendene ont été évaluées sur une base con-sidérée haute, mais ensuite elles ont décru dans un processus de variation de valeurs genre "montagne russe", et depuis ceci les valeurs ne sont plus remontées (Figure-1).

427

Application de la Veille Anticipative Stratégique pour le suivi de l’environment et la production de con-naissances actionables


Figure-1: Graphique de la projection des actions

Dans ce contexte, la recherche expérimentale présentée ici vise proposer une approche alternative aux méthodes utilisées par les gestionnaires de portefeuilles d’actions et fondées sur l’extrapolation mathématique des observations passées. En ef-fet, ces approches semblent ne plus correspondre aux contextes économiques actuels, ainsi des experts financiers l’ont écrit dans le journal Les-Echos (Conesa, 2008) : « La volatilité des marchés fait exploser les modèles de trading des banques… Les modèles utilisés par les services de trading sont calibrés en fonction de l’évolution du marché sur des référents historiques. Ils n’intègrent pas les à-coups… Les modèles sont calés sur les volatilités telles quelles ont été connues dans le passé… La situation actuelle est totalement sortie des zones d’observation habituelle ». L’expérimentation que nous pré-sentons dans la présente communication est une tentative d'identifier des informations plutôt qualitatives qui, utilisées comme il va être présenté, justifie les scénarios d'oscil-lation des actions de la société Grendene. Nous avons utilisé la méthode L.E.SCAnning® (Lesca, 2003) avec l’objectif de proposer une expérimentation pour le contexte de mar-ché d'actions (Lesca et Djouad, 2007), dans le but de faciliter le contrôle ultérieur des oscillations des valeurs dans le marché ouvert.

L’objectif de notre étude est de surveiller les acteurs de l’environnement exté-rieur concernés par l’identification des occasions et l’anticipation des problèmes ou des attentes, rendues possibles par l’interprétation d'informations pertinentes au contexte.

Nous avons cherché à évaluer comment la Veille Anticipative Stratégique Intel-ligence Collective (VASIC) peut être utile pour l'évaluation des informations concer-nant le Marché d'Actions. Dans le contexte étudié, nous avons essayé de concevoir des règles utiles d’identification anticipative des événements ou des actes qui pourraient faciliter ou limiter le succès des actions, et ce en appliquant les solutions fournies par


Vol.8, No.2, 2011, p. 425-440

VASIC pour le marché de la bourse, dans l’espoir de faciliter le contrôle des oscillations des valeurs dans le marché ouvert.

Notre choix est dû notamment à l'actuelle popularisation du marché d'actions et l'incitation d'ouverture de capital pour les entreprises, et également pour essayer l’expérimentation de la méthode sur un sujet suffisamment ample et sans limites très bien définies.

Dans cet article, après avoir présenté quelques notions sur le marché de capital, nous présentons des concepts clés pour notre recherche. Après le cadre méthodologique, nous traitons l’expérimentation de la méthode L.E.SCAnning®. Nous concluons l’article avec des aspects pratiques appliqués au contexte adopté, ainsi que quelques considéra-tions plus théoriques.

2. LE MARCHÉ DE CAPITAL

Toute société qui prétend ouvrir son capital sous forme d'actions a besoin de s'adapter au marché. Le choix d’ouverture de marché est un choix complexe, bien que important car il transforme les actifs liquides en investissement de capital fixe ; il change le délai des opérations (à court terme, à long terme) ; il fournit de la liquidité des titres sur le marché ; il transforme les montants du capital et le risque ; il accélère le processus de transfert des ressources, au même temps que l’information est meilleure divulguée (Casagrande et Rossi, 2010).

Ouvrir le capital sous forme d'actions exige une adaptation à quelques règles imposées par le marché. Quelques aspects impliqués dans cette décision (Neto et al., 2000 ; Pilagallo et al., 2004) sont ensuite présentés.

Une société normalement ouvre son capital dans l'intention d’acquérir des res-sources ou réorganiser son passif. La captation de ressources (Lucht et al, 2010) à tra-vers le lancement de valeurs mobilières est une alternative aux financements bancaires, ouvrant pour la société un ample spectre d'investisseurs potentiels.

En ce qui concerne l'émission d'actions, celles-ci représentent une option devant les modalités de ressources qui impliquent des paiements d'intérêts, dont le comporte-ment lié à la Politique Monétaire échappe au contrôle de la société. De plus, une aug-mentation de capital permet un accroissement du patrimoine liquide de la société émet-trice, mais ce processus n'est pas exempt de coûts.

La décision d'ouverture du capital ne doit pas être, néanmoins, associée exclusi-vement à une nécessité immédiate d’acquisition de ressources. Lorsque l'horizon de planification organisationnelle indique un besoin futur, les directeurs ou les actionnaires peuvent préférer des placements secondaires, ou primaires de petit port, de manière à préparer la société et le marché à une opération ultérieure plus grande. Le marché est habituellement suffisamment réceptif à la souscription d'actions destinées à l’acquisition de ressources pour de nouveaux investissements, vu que ceci signale une expansion des activités de l'entreprise.

La décision d'ouverture, de la part de la société, nécessite des coûts pour ré-pondre aux exigences légales (registres, assistance juridique, divulgation, intermédiation

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financière, société ouverte (divulgation d’informations, publications des résultats, audit externe...) (BOVESPA, 2005).

Disposer d'actions dans le marché et les maintenir à des niveaux raisonnables, exige une compréhension du marché et du contexte dans lequel la société est insérée. La conduite des stratégies organisationnelles, basée sur la connaissance de l'environnement (Baumard, 2002), peut signifier une position satisfaisante dans le marché d'actions par-tagées.

3. L’INFORMATION COMME MOYEN DE COMPRENDRE UN ENVIRONNEMENT

La quête incessante de la perfection au plus bas coût et la rapidité avec laquelle s’insèrent les nouvelles technologies, font que, de plus en plus, il est nécessaire d'être bien informé sur l’environnement pertinent de l’entreprise. L’un des objectifs straté-giques de l’entreprise est de ‘voir’ les acteurs en présence puis de ‘comprendre’ et de ‘réunir’ les conditions nécessaires pour s’adapter à son environnement (Martinet, 1984). Selon Janissek-Muniz et al. (2007), nous devons être attentifs, écouter et «apprendre» le marché, anticiper ses attentes, adapter les produits et établir des procédures pour le suivi de cet environnement. Il est également nécessaire de communiquer, d'organiser et de capitaliser cette expérience.

Un problème fondamental est identifier les informations pertinentes pour aider à la prise de décision. À partir de ce critère, il faut savoir interpréter les informations à travers la détection des significations qui y sont contenues et comprendre ce qu’elles signifient, afin de se faire une idée claire d'une nouvelle situation ou confirmer une autre vision précédemment définie.

Selon Freitas et Janissek-Muniz (2006), à chaque information obtenue, il faut se questionner : Quel type d'information ? Quelles informations ? D’où et pour qui ? Obte-nues quand/comment ? L'interprétation passe également par le classement de leurs par-ticularités : Rétrospective ou Anticipative, Opérationnelle ou Stratégique, Formelle ou Informelle, Disponible ou Indisponible,...

Les informations anticipatives ne doivent cependant pas être confondues avec l'information "sans importance". Elles doivent permettre d’entrevoir un créneau poten-tiellement important, et de prendre des initiatives dans sa direction. Quelques unes de leurs caractéristiques (Lesca et Blanco, 2002) font qu’elles sont: fragmentées, dissémi-nées, ambiguës, peu répétitives, sans utilité apparente,...

Cependant ces informations peuvent permettre une évaluation anticipée pour prendre une décision stratégique. Interpréter de telles informations est une démarche qui nécessite une méthode appropriée.

De nombreux auteurs ont proposé des modèles ou des méthodes pour se faire une représentation de l'environnement via l’obtention d’informations, en utilisant des appellations diverses :

• Strategic information scanning system (Aaker, 1983).

• Strategic Scanning Process (Aguilar, 1967).


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• Strategic environmental scanning (Stoffels, 1982).

• Competitive Intelligence (Jaworski et Wee, 1993).

• Surveillance de l’environnement (Thiétart, 1984)

• Environmental scanning (Jain, 1984 ; Lenz et Engledow, 1986 ; Choo, 2002).

• Environmental intelligence (Stoffels, 1982 ; Lenz et Engledow, 1986).

• Environmental analysis (Lenz et Engledow, 1986).

• Chief Scanning Behaviour (Daft et al., 1988)

• Structure de Surveillance Sectorielle Systématique (Jakobiak, 1992)

• Scanning Behaviour (Elenkov, 1997)

• Strategic intelligence systems (Montgomery et Weinberg, 1998)

• Veille Anticipative Stratétique et Intelligence Collective (Lesca, 2003).

Notre choix repose sur la Veille Anticipative Stratétique et Intelligence Collec-tive (Lesca, 2003), qui nous propose parmi ses étapes la méthode Puzzle (Lesca, 1992; Rouibah et Ould-Ali, 2002; Valette-Delamarre, 1993), laquelle nous avons donc cher-ché à expérimenter dans le présent contexte, nouveau pour nous.

4. VEILLE ANTICIPATIVE STRATEGIQUE ET INTELLIGENCE COLLECTIVE (VASIC)

Il est fondamental de connaître l'environnement dans lequel l'organisation est in-sérée, de façon à se préparer pour capter des informations susceptibles de nous aider à relever des défis ou à prévoir des risques de façon à se protéger suffisamment tôt.

Le concept VASIC s’insère dans cette idée. Il est le processus collectif et proac-tif, par lequel des membres de l’entreprise traquent (perçoivent ou provoquent, et choi-sissent), de façon volontariste, et utilisent des informations pertinentes concernant leur environnement extérieur et les changements pouvant s’y produire. Sa mise en œuvre opérationnelle permet, pour l’entreprise, d’organiser activement sa curiosité vis-à-vis des changements de son environnement dans le but de renforcer sa compétitivité du-rable. Son usage a pour but d’aider à « créer » des opportunités d’affaires, d’innover, de s’adapter à l’évolution de l’environnement, d’éviter les surprises stratégiques désa-gréables, de réduire les risques et l’incertitude en général (Lesca, 2003).

La VASIC permet la réduction d’incertitudes dans un environnement complexe constitué de différentes dimensions (clients, fournisseurs, investisseurs, etc.). Ces ac-teurs affectent la relation du système dans son ensemble et sont déterminants pour bien cibler la quête d’informations pertinentes.

Encore faut-t-il comprendre de quelle quête d’informations nous voulons parler ici : S’agit-il de chercher des tendances (continuité) ou, au contraire, s’agit-il de détecter et interpréter des situations singulières et insolites, des différences voire des points de

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rupture ? Ces derniers nous permettent d’orienter l’attention (March, 1991) vers des points singuliers, de façon à identifier des changements, d’anticiper un événement ou fournir une vision alternative. Ce qui rend la VASIC « actionnable » (Argyris, 1996) c’est la méthode L.E.SCAnning® qui a été développée par l’équipe du Professeur Hum-bert Lesca au sein du laboratoire CERAG dans le but d’obtenir des représentations à travers le regroupement d'informations à caractère anticipatif, et cela à l’occasion de nombreuses thèses de doctorat et recherches interventions dans plusieurs dizaines d’entreprises.

5. METHODOLOGIE

La présente recherche, qualitative et à caractère exploratoire, a été réalisée avec l'application de la méthode L.E.SCAnning®. Cette méthode est basée sur les techniques de recherche exploratoire qualitative, du type recherche-intervention, techniques qui conviennent au cas étudié ici.

Selon Andrade (1997), une recherche est exploratoire lorsque la méthode ne possède pas une rigidité dans la planification, parce que les informations rassemblées ne suivent pas une règle strictement préétablie, ne montrent pas une vision « positiviste » mais plutôt approchée, et dans laquelle le chercheur intervient, des faits observés. Il n’existe alors pas de métrique définie et les techniques quantitatives ne sont pas appro-priées.

La recherche qualitative offre notamment des avantages comme l’utilisation des registres non verbaux, passage de la connaissance du tacite à l’explicite (Nonaka et Ta-keuchi, 1997); possibilité d’inclure et interpréter des informations non attendues qui apparaissent pendant la recherche; validité notamment dans les études de cas et les re-cherches intervention.

En suivant encore Andrade (1997), pour comprendre le contexte d'application de la recherche, nous devons considérer que nous faisons partie d'une société où sont con-cernées des personnes qui iront à court ou long terme causer des impacts qui inévita-blement iront se refléter dans des réactions qui progressivement vont modifier la confi-guration du contexte.

Des informations sur la société Grendene et le Marché d'Actions ont été rassem-blées (Août-Septembre/2007). Pour interpréter des informations selon la méthode L.E.SCAnning®, il est nécessaire d’identifier les thèmes rapportés aux acteurs qui peu-vent influer non seulement sur l’entreprise mais également sur le marché pertinent pour celle-ci. Notre objectif a été de découvrir des signes qui pourraient justifier l’évolution des actions (parts du capital) de la société, ainsi que mettre en lumière des chemins pour une évolution positive dans l'avenir des valeurs des actions de Grendene. Nous analy-sons le graphique de l'évolution des valeurs des actions en essayant de justifier, par des moyens autres que statistiques, la chute initiale de ces valeurs. A cette occasion nous présentons des concepts utiles pour des opérations futures, dans l'objectif de maintenir une image concurrentielle dans le marché, en vue de la prise de décisions qui puissent attirer de nouveaux investissements.


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Notre application de la méthode a nécessité de surmonter quelques défis : par exemple, sensibiliser la direction de Grendene au projet ; définir une équipe projet et choisir un périmètre d'action.

6. LA METHODE L.E. SCANNING®

La Méthode L.E.SCAnning® (Figure-2) propose une démarche allant de la re-cherche des informations jusqu'à leur interprétation et à leur utilisation pour créer une vision argumentée de l'environnement et de son évolution à court ou moyen terme. Ce processus est ouvert sur l'extérieur de l'entreprise. Les étapes de l'application de la mé-thode sont présentées ci-dessous.

Figure-2: Méthode L.E.SCAnning® (Lesca, 2003)

A) Utilité (du dispositif VASIC) pour agir: Il s’agit de spécifier les objectifs d’action, en inférer le domaine d’application et délimiter le dispositif en identifiant les personnes qui participeront au projet. Chez Grendene, le cycle de vie des produits dé-passe difficilement 6 mois. Ainsi, la régularité des réunions doit être évaluée pour que les intervalles ne soient pas trop longs par rapport à ces 6 mois. Par exemple ils peuvent être de un mois environ.

B) Cible: On définit la cible en identifiant des acteurs de l’environnement et des thèmes pertinents sur lesquels la Veille doit concentrer son attention (sans pour autant fermer les yeux sur le reste). Dans le cas présent, quelques acteurs ciblés sont, par exemple : Investisseur étranger, Investisseur personne physique, Bovespa, Vulcabrás. Parmi les thèmes ciblés il y a : le Marché d'Actions, les Innovations pertinentes, le Mar-keting, les Relations avec des Investisseurs, l’Exportation.

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C) Traque: Les informations sont collectées sur la base de la cible définie. Le choix des capteurs/traqueurs doit être effectué en affinité avec les sources d'informa-tions, le profil ou le style cognitif et la motivation. Dans le cas présent, 104 informa-tions ont été recueillies sur des fiches de captage et disposées dans la matrice Ac-teurs/thèmes. La collecte (de Juillet à Octobre 2007) a été faite en utilisant les moyens de communication et les contacts personnels.

D) Sélection: Le capteur/traqueur effectue une sélection individuelle des in-formations qu’il va recueillir et, ensuite, vient s’ajouter une sélection collective effec-tuées par quelques personnes compétentes. Plusieurs critères de sélection sont successi-vement utilisés, de plus en plus précis.

E) Remontée: Le capteur/traqueur fait remonter les informations recueillies. Il est nécessaire qu’il sache à qui les informations seront envoyées. La centralisation des informations est assurée par l'animateur du dispositif.

F) Mémoire: En premier lieu, la mémoire de l’entreprise est située avant tout dans l'esprit des individus (mémoires tacites) qui la composent, mais, pour pouvoir être exploitées ensuite, les informations doivent être formalisées et stockées dans une base de données. Il est important de mettre en place le modèle d'organisation de stock-age (centralisée ou distribuée), un plan de classification de l'information, du matériel et des outils disponibles.

G) Animation: C’est la mission assignée à une personne qui a pour tâche de stimuler le flux d'informations du processus VASIC. Cette personne prendra le rôle de leader et de facilitateur du projet. Parmi ses tâches, citons la promotion du processus et la motivation des personnes qui en font partie.

H) Création de sens: Il s’agit d’une opération collective d’interprétation d’informations et construction d’hypothèses plausibles et argumentées. Nous avons identifié la nécessité d’implication des facilitateurs (visionnaires, avec facilité d’abstraction et ouverture d’esprit) avec, potentiellement, une grande richesse en infor-mations tacites concernant la connaissance du marché. La méthode Puzzle® permet, au moyen d’heuristiques, de structurer la réflexion collective du groupe de travail (Lesca, 2003).

I) Diffusion: Consiste à diffuser les informations et les connaissances qui en résultent à des utilisateurs potentiels, et en priorité les décideurs devant être alertés d’urgence. C'est à ce stade qui se produit le passage éventuel à l'action proactive.

7. RESULTATS : SCENARIOS OBTENUS AVEC LA METHODE PUZZL E

Avec l'ensemble des informations obtenues, nous avons appliqué la Méthode Puzzle et nous avons débouché sur 23 hypothèses plausibles pouvant donner naissance à des scénarios. Quelques uns des scénarios sont illustrés par la suite.

Sur la Figure-3 nous regroupons les informations et les idées qui en sont induites concernant l’innovation et le marketing, comprises au sens de la fixation d'un produit "fort" avec succès dans le marché mondial. Ceci est important car chaque fois que le produit est vu les actions sont rappelées. Le produit de Grendene doit soutenir une


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bonne image car, dans le cas contraire, il amènerait inévitablement à la baisse des ac-tions (parts de capital).

Figure-3 : Relation Grendene avec innovation et marketing

La Figure-4 suggère qu’à partir des informations concernant le fait que la Socié-té Vulcabrás aurait pris le contrôle de 15% des actions de la Société Azaléia, qui est concurrente directe de Grendene, l'événement a été vu comme une opération de Gren-dene, car Vulcabrás appartient à la famille Grendene. Cette opération est associée au renforcement de la marque.

Figure-4 : Relation des actions de Grendene avec les autres sociétés de la famille

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Enfin, à partir de la construction des Puzzles permettant de formuler différents hypothèses plausibles et scénarios ayant des impacts sur le comportement des actions, nous sommes arrivés à des conclusions. Nous vous présentons ici quelques-unes.

-L'investisseur étranger, en général, est sensible à l’instabilité de l’économie du Brésil.

-Le succès des actions sur le marché peut être lié à l'image d'un produit "fort" sur le marché mondial.

-La présentation des produits sur les marchés national et international à travers des foires, démontre une fermeté du produit sur le marché. Les foires sont un thermo-mètre de l'acceptation des produits, donc ceux qui déterminent le marché sont toujours présents.

-Des rumeurs concourent aux oscillations des valeurs des actions. Nous identi-fions une rumeur qui est apparue lorsque Grendene a initié un processus de démission au sein de l'unité de Fortaleza (nord du Brésil). Les actions ont souffert, dans cette pé-riode, d’une chute significative due à l'idée que la société aurait des problèmes finan-ciers.

-Une autre oscillation s'est produite lorsque Grendene a changé de banque. Nous remarquons une légère chute des valeurs après une stagnation, avec les valeurs bien plus hautes que dans la même période de l'année précédente.

-Les informations sur les investissements de Grendene concernant leur crois-sance et l’ouverture d'une nouvelle unité à Bahia, indiquent une légère augmentation du cours des actions.

-L’intérêt des personnes physiques sur le marché des capitaux a une relation di-recte avec la valeur des actions. Il y a eu une période où le volume des actions chez les investisseurs individuels a diminué. Conséquence ou non, nous constatons une légère chute dans les valeurs des actions. Au contraire, dans cette même période, le marché a connu une augmentation des valeurs.

-En comparant l'investisseur national avec l’étranger, nous identifions que les nationaux sont plus inquiétés par leur propre profit et cherchent la "Montagne Russe" des valeurs, tandis que l‘étranger est plutôt tourné vers la consolidation de l’entreprise dont il a des actions. Cela indique une caractéristique culturelle du peuple brésilien.

-Nous avons trouvé des informations qui caractérisent l'intérêt de l'investisseur dans les sociétés qui placent leur capital au profit d'un programme d’assistance à l'envi-ronnement. Grendene est dans le bon chemin car elle possède de telles actions.

-Il y a eu une croissance générale des sociétés brésiliennes, ce qui caractérise une occasion de croissance dans les investissements de Grendene. Grendene a grandi, mais n’atteint pas encore le volume de Bovespa. Peut-être est-ce dû aux chutes des va-leurs des actions dans le passé récent.

-Nous identifions également une valorisation du capital intellectuel concernant les investissements des sociétés virtuelles et de sociétés non productives. Il existe une croissance dans cette tranche de marché.


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-Il existe un grand attrait pour les sociétés qui investissent dans des actions de sociétés tournées vers l'aide à l'environnement et la conservation des ressources natu-relles.

-La société doit valoriser le capital investi par des personnes physiques essayant d'éclaircir la destination de ce capital, et doit fournir des moyens pour cette communica-tion.

-Les investisseurs doivent ressentir confiance et fierté de participer à un groupe qui contrôle une marque forte, et d’être facilement reconnus par le public en général en tant que participants actifs.

Notre expérimentation, des méthodes L.E.SCAnning® et Puzzle pour l’analyse du marché d’actions, constitue une innovation aux points de vue suivants :

- nous n’avions encore jamais tenté d’application dans ce domaine, et nous viserons à en tirer des conclusions de nature méthodologique (abandon ou bien persévé-rance avec modifications éventuelles);

- nous avons constaté que, même avec des informations rétrospectives, les interprétations faites en utilisant la méthode Puzzle peuvent permettre de construire une vision tournée vers le futur. Néanmoins, du fait de la dynamique du marché, les conclu-sions sont, bien entendu, susceptibles d’évoluer en fonction des nouvelles informations collectées ultérieurement. Telle est, en fait, la caractéristique importante de la méthode L.E.SCAnning® utilisée dans des environnements de forts changements, voire volatilité.

Pour la suite, ayant continué la traque des informations, les ayant regroupées se-lon les acteurs et les thèmes et ayant alors élaboré des puzzles en vue de faire émerger des scénarios plausibles, l’étape suivante d'un projet efficace serait leur diffusion et leur utilisation effective par des managers. Après cela, des nouvelles informations devraient être recherchées, rassemblées, assemblées pour faire évoluer les puzzles existants, et ainsi successivement jusqu'à ce que soit créé un sens argumenté et une connaissance utile pour des prises de décision ultérieures.

L'équipe « d’intelligence collective » initialement formée (chaque personne ayant la fonction appropriée selon son profil et expertise) pourrait être réorganisée et, si nécessaire, inclure/exclure des membres en fonction des questions à résoudre. La dyna-mique de la méthode - soit par la composition du groupe de recherche à chaque mo-ment, soit par l’enrichissement des informations à chaque fois, ou encore par les scéna-rios découlant des puzzles créés à chaque interprétation d'informations - est ce qui pro-duit la richesse potentielle de l'utilisation d’un tel outil de gestion anticipative straté-gique pour les organisations … et une possible voie alternative aux modèles et logiciels actuellement utilisés en gestion financière.

8. CONCLUSIONS

Au début de la recherche nous nous étions proposé de comprendre et de définir les profils des personnes qui composeraient l'équipe VASIC. Nous pensions être ac-compagnés par la psychologue de la société Grendene. Nous n’avons pas pu faire abou-tir cette intention car la psychologue a quitté la société pendant la réalisation de notre recherche-intervention. Ceci confirme le constat de Lesca (2003) concernant le turnover

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dans les sociétés, lequel est un facteur d’échec fréquent du projet de Veille Anticipative VASIC. De même il n'a pas été possible de compter avec l'aide de l'équipe de Relations avec les Investisseurs pour la définition de la cible. L'objectif de la traque/recherche des informations a été, néanmoins, atteint autant que nous pouvions l’espérer.

Nous avons identifié et évalué les informations importantes au moment du lan-cement des actions en Bourse et cela avec un résultat satisfaisant. Cela a été un très bon moment pour Grendene. Les informations rassemblées ont présenté un panorama idéal pour réaliser l'analyse d’informations (Caron-Fasan et Janissek-Muniz, 2004) et cons-truire des Puzzles.

Le fait d'avoir un excès d’informations sur le marché d'actions nous a fait con-clure que manipuler beaucoup d'informations cause des difficultés tout autant qu’un manque d’informations. Un excès d’informations produit la même gêne qu’une insuffi-sance d’informations. La méthode étant basée sur des informations qui, par nature, sont qualitatives (en majorité), ambigües voire incohérentes ou contradictoires, cela rend le processus parfois fatigant et difficile. L’expérience est toutefois enrichissante parce que dans un groupe réel de travail, beaucoup d’informations parmi celles qui nous avons retenues n’auraient pas passé la première sélection dans un contexte « traditionnel ». Dans la méthode L.E.Scanning®, et plus spécifiquement la méthode Puzzle (qui n’en est qu’une partie), l’apprentissage collectif de l’interprétation des informations change beaucoup de choses (d’où le nom Learning Environmental Scanning).

Une autre conclusion concerne la composition du groupe de travail. Dans le cas présent, au début nous avions défini un groupe comptant jusqu'à 8 personnes, mais après cette expérience nous croyons que l'idéal serait plutôt autour de 15, étant donné le con-texte et le besoin d’expertises diverses.

Un autre point qui nous semble important est que, ayant comme paramètre une date, il est difficile de rassembler des informations importantes relatives à un sujet don-né à une date donnée. Initialement, nous voulions élire des points du graphique et, à partir des dates, rassembler les informations qui pouvaient avoir contribué à l'oscillation des valeurs. Ceci s’est révélé irréalisable du fait de la difficulté à trouver des informa-tions rapportées à des dates arbitrairement choisies. Cette forme de traque d’information peut être praticable à l'intérieur d'une équipe de travail interne à l’entreprise. Pour nous, chercheurs extérieurs, la meilleure façon de rassembler les informations est bien par procéder par rapport à la Cible.

Pour que l'identification Acteurs/Thèmes soit complète, il faut qu'une équipe, déjà sensibilisée à la méthode, nous apporte son aide dans l’expérimentation, ce qui n’a pas été le cas. Les acteurs et les thèmes présentés dans ce travail ont été définis au fur et à mesure de l'analyse/interprétation des informations.

Une autre conclusion émergente concerne l'objectif de transformer des informa-tions tacites en explicites. Nous croyons que nous réussirons à atteindre cet objectif seu-lement après avoir construit beaucoup de Puzzles et fait émerger beaucoup de scénarios concernant divers sujets : en somme, lorsque nous aurons nous-mêmes acquis un ap-prentissage collectif suffisant de la méthode. Dans le cas concernant Grendene, il est trop tôt pour affirmer que nous avons atteint une représentation claire et explicite au travers des informations tacites.


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L’expérimentation nous a aidé à éclaircir l’idée que, pour appliquer la méthode, le chercheur ne doit pas nécessairement avoir connaissance du métier de l’entreprise. En fait, la connaissance de ce métier est importante mais pas fondamentale car elle sera acquise pendant la recherche.

Finalement nous croyons avoir atteint l'objectif initial de l’expérimentation des méthodes L.E.Scanning® et Puzzle dans le contexte de marché financier des actions, dans l'intention de faciliter le contrôle des oscillations des valeurs dans un marché ou-vert. Cette facilitation présente une valeur ajoutée pour l'entreprise. Nous croyons éga-lement avoir aidé la société Grendene à découvrir les bases de l’intelligence collective pour la Veille Anticipative.

L’expérimentation a été un défi du fait du manque de connaissance sur la mé-thode par les personnes engagées qui ont coopéré. Dans le cas présent, le défi réside dans la difficulté à identifier les personnes « appropriées ».

Mentionnons, enfin, comme autre point positif, que l'application de la méthode L.E.SCAnning® nous a permis d’identifier quelques informations très pertinentes qu’il serait dans d'intérêt du département de Relations avec des Investisseurs de connaître, ce qui n’était pas le cas. Si la méthode était en usage, ces « signes » captés dans l’environnement n'auraient pas été négligés.

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Aaker, D. A. (1983), “Organizing a strategic information scanning system”, California Management Review, Vol 25, n° 2, pp.76-83.

Aguilar, F. J. (1967), “Scanning the business environment”, New York, Macmillan, 239 p.

Andrade, M. M. (1997), “Como preparar trabalhos para cursos de pós- graduação: noções práticas”, Atlas, São Paulo.

Argyris, C. (1996), “Actionable Knowledge: Intent Versus Actuality”, The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, vol. 32, n° 4, p. 441.

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____________________________________________________________________________

Recebido em/Manuscript first received: 25/05/2010 Aprovado em/Manuscript accepted: 10/02/2010 Endereço para correspondência/ Address for correspondence

Fernando Gustavo dos Santos Gripe, Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto (FEA-RP / USP), Departamento de Administração – Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto – FEARP/USP, Endereço: Avenida dos Bandeirantes, 3900, Monte Alegre, Ribeirão Preto/SP , Brasil, 14040-900 E-mail: [email protected]

Ildeberto Aparecido Rodello, Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade de Ribeirão Preto (FEA-RP/USP), E-mail: [email protected] ISSN online: 1807-1775 Publicado por/Published by: TECSI FEA USP – 2011

A THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF KEY POINTS WHEN CHOOSING OPEN SOURCE ERP SYSTEMS

UMA ANÁLISE TEÓRICA DOS PRINCIPAIS TÓPICOS PARA A ESCOLHA DE SISTEMAS ERP OPEN SOURCE

Fernando Gustavo Dos Santos Gripe Ildeberto Aparecido Rodello Universidade de São Paulo USP/RP, Brazil

___________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

The present work is aimed at presenting a theoretical analysis of the main features of Open Source ERP systems, herein identified as success technical factors, in order to contribute to the establishment of parameters to be used in decision-making processes when choosing a system which fulfills the organization´s needs. Initially, the life cycle of ERP systems is contextualized, highlighting the features of Open Source ERP systems. As a result, it was verified that, when carefully analyzed, these systems need further attention regarding issues of project continuity and maturity, structure, transparency, updating frequency, and support, all of which are inherent to the reality of this type of software. Nevertheless, advantages were observed in what concerns flexibility, costs, and non-discontinuity as benefits. The main goal is to broaden the discussion about the adoption of Open Source ERP systems.

Keywords: Management Integrated Systems, Open Source ERP Systems, Information Systems, Information Technology, Business Management

RESUMO

O artigo apresenta uma análise teórica, baseada em uma revisão da literatura das principais características presentes em sistemas ERP Open Source a fim de contribuir com a análise de parâmetros que possam ser utilizados para a tomada de decisão na escolha pelo sistema mais adequado às necessidades da Organização. Para isso, contextualiza-se o ciclo de vida dos sistemas ERP, destacando as características dos sistemas ERPs Open Source. Como resultado, constatou-se que ERPs Open Source, quando analisados com cuidado, carecem de especial atenção às questões ligadas à continuidade e maturidade do projeto, estrutura, transparência,

442 Gripe, F. G. dos S., Rodello, I. A.

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frequência de atualizações e suporte oferecido, sendo fatores exclusivos tangentes à realidade destes softwares. Não obstante, vantagens com relação à flexibilidade, custos e a não descontinuidade do projeto são benefícios percebidos pelos mesmos. O principal objetivo deste artigo é ampliar a discussão sobre a adoção de sistemas ERP Open Source.

Palavras-Chaves: Sistemas ERPs Open Source – Sistemas de Informação – Tecnologia da Informação - Administração de Empresas

1 INTRODUCTION

Over the last decades, company computerization has grown as an irreversible phenomenon and supported world globalization presenting social, economical, political and cultural integration. In this manner, lower costs and agility of Communication Information Technologies (CITs) were given rise due to the use of these tools in large scale by companies and also because business competition has became fierce nowadays in free market (Castro, 2005).

In general, Information Systems (IS) have developed some variables aiming at operational, managing, strategic, and sales/business purposes, by the information exchange ease of use. Stallings (2009) explains that nowadays information communications and computer networking have become essential to the business functions, whatever its size. Furthermore, both management and staff must be in a deep touch with these technologies so that they can assess needs and manage the systems.

Despite the technological development, it is necessary to adopt a solid process of choosing solutions by the organization. This process is to analyze from tangible aspects (such as cost reduction and profit increase) to intangible ones, such as process standardization, establishment of connections between suppliers and partners, and the possibility of stagger, among others, so that potential advantages to be enjoyed do not turn into traumatic processes from a financial and managerial point of view (Souza & Saccol, 2003).

According to Jacobs & Weston (2007), in the mid-1970s plenty of software companies were established with the purpose of developing standard software for integrated business solutions. Some of these developers “saw the need for pre-packaged enterprise technology solutions as an alternative to customized business software applications”.

Souza & Saccol (2003) characterize ERP as software able to integrate information related to business processes across the companies, and is one of the main tools responsible for such an integration. O’Brien & Marakas (2007) exemplify this integration regarding processing and tracking of data on stock, invoicing, schedule for raw material consumption, and human resources, among others. Both authors, as well as Laudon & Laudon (2007), point out their composition by units/packages.

Besides the classification as ISs subtypes, ERP systems may or may not be private software, and may have an open or closed source code in addition to other features possible to be classified.

In this context, Gacek & Arief (2004) state that the term “open source” is applied to software development projects based on the contribution of several geographically dispersed collaborators, but who maintain an online contact with the project. The

A Theoretical Analysis of Key Points when Choosing Open Source ERP Systems 443


primary requirement for the feasibility of a project accepted as Open Source is its source code to be available for change.

Thus, Open Source ERP Systems is increasingly accepted by the general market, and one of the reasons is cost and the perception by the companies that customizations is an undeniable factor in any ERP performance and maintenance. The options of open code tend to be one step ahead of the private ones, since they offer unlimited access to the system core (Carvalho & Campos, 2006). ). However, it is important to highlight that some definitions state that, according to the kind of license, it is possible or not to modify the source code.

Also according to Carvalho & Campos (2006), there is a number of options of Open Source ERP in the market, presenting different levels of project maturity, different sizes of database, features, and technologies and so on. According to Serrano & Sarriegi (2006), both Open Source ERP and owners involve complex implementation processes in which software and companies are strange to changes during the processes.

Therefore, when considering the existence of many options available and their distinction for proprietary solutions, the present work is justified, as well as its purpose of performing a literature review on features inherent to the Open Source ERP systems; thus, characterizing important factors of success in order to promote the discussion about and assist in the decision-making process of companies which intend to implement this type of system as well as warning against possible obstacles they may face.

2 METHODOLOGY

According to Sampieri (2006, p. 54), a literature review consists of “identifying, obtaining and consulting the bibliography of any other material […] from which is extracted and re-compiled relevant and necessary information”. The present study was carried out according to the model proposed by the author in order to perform a qualitative and explanatory literature review. It was made the characterization and analysis of the main characteristics to be studied when comparing Open Source ERP among them, also considering their peculiarities before their proprietary options. The basic frame of reference for the characterization and analysis was defined from studies conducted by Correa (2008), Castro (2006), Szitas (2004) and mainly Herzog (2006).

The importance of such a work is to group and synthesize the main concepts related to the issue, thus supplying a unified frame of reference, which is specially justified because the subject is emergent and there is little research conducted. Furthermore, even if all concepts are not fully covered in their context, it is an initial source of research and discussion about the topic.

To reach the proposed objectives, this present work is organized as follow: section 3 contextualizes ERP systems in general lines, highlighting the main issues related to their use and implementation. Section 4 presents the context of the Open Source ERP system, characterizing basic concepts to discuss the features presented in section 5, which analyzes six classification macro-areas. The general discussion about the Open Source ERP is in section 6, and finally, in section 7 it is presented some conclusions and final considerations about the work.


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3 CONCEPTS Of ERP SYSTEMS

According to Norris et al (2001, p. XXI), what is currently known as ERP is “the last of several production, finance and manufacturing information systems […] to improve the information flow running in parallel with physical assets [… ] immediately above and under the supply chain”. Corrêa (2007) explains that MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) is a system to calculate the need of materials in order to offer management support.

Norris et al. (2001) emphasize that in the 1980’s, there were lots of research and efforts related to the MRP system in order to make it applicable to generate information and support other modules and functions, then renamed as MRP II. Nevertheless, throughout the 1990’s, specialists in software development created a system (or a “suite” containing several modules) capable of linking several internal areas of a company, named ERP.

Davenport (2002) highlights that although ERP is considered as an evolution of MRP and MRPII systems, it overcomes these expectations into a broader and more complex reality than a simple analysis of information needs and organizational integration.

Laudon & Laudon (2007) state that this suite, containing integrated software modules, is based on a simple database, centralizing the gathering of information processes such as production, finances, accounting, and marketing, among others. According to the authors, this great amount of data would be available to be applied to a myriad of intra-organizational areas.

According to Souza (2001, p.1) the significant growth in the use of ERPs is caused the competitive pressure of the market.

Companies recognized the need to better coordinate the activities of their value chains aiming at eliminating the waste of resources , reducing costs, and improving the time to respond to changes of the market needs.

O’Brien & Marakas (2007) mention the main benefits offered by companies using ERP systems are increasing in terms of quality and efficiency in processes, cost reduction, support to decision-making phases, and better enterprise agility. Souza & Saccol (2003, p. 21) also explain that regardless of the few quantitative analyses carried out so far, it is noticed the companies present “cuts in raw material stocks, reduction of time to fulfill orders, production deadlines and bills receivables, besides efficiency in eliminating hand-performed operations”.

The authors also mention that the availability of online information theoretically “contributes to the improvement of decision-making processes in companies using it”.

In what concerns reduction of stock volume, Laudon & Laudon (2007, p. 45) explain that once there is integration among order, production and goods deliver systems…

[…] the production area is able to produce only what was ordered by clients, buy the exact number of components and raw material, plan the production, and reduce the stock time of components or final products.

Laudon & Laudon (2007) also emphasize that the possible generation of value by integrated systems of large organizations which have many geographically remote



operational units; therefore, they use the system so their businesses, practices and processes are executed in a homogeneous and standardized manner, no matter how far one unit is from the other.

According to Inside-ERP (2008), since ERPs are linked to several areas of the company, their benefits are beyond the tangible reduction of costs. The intangible benefits are noticed in the reduction of time to solve problems, viability of connection among several branches, standardization and acceleration of organizational processes, and better affiliation among company, partners and suppliers.

3.1 ERP problems related to the use and implementation

Despite the tangible and intangible advantages above, it is necessary to highlight possible problems resulting from using or implementing ERP. According to Souza (2000), a major issue related to its use is presented in the implementation phase, which can take three years to conclude due to the impact of the processes change performed by the company which generally presents hierarchic and departmental approach before the process-oriented view the ERPs present. Souza (2000, p.51) also mentions:

Due to the complexity of the process, it is stated as critical factor to implement ERP systems the total commitment of top management […] when using their results, transference of responsibilities for the success of the project to user areas, training and communication.

In research carried out by specialists who used private systems, Themistocleous et al. (2001) point the main problems faced throughout the implementation process: budget over the previously planned (66%) and delay of schedule (58%). His work also establishes a relation of cause and effect between cost and time in solving problems, which involves internal and external factors of the company (conflict with consultants or staff, company strategy and sellers, general internal issues). From a technical standpoint, 82% of the interviewed people reported problems to integrate with systems already existent in the company, and 72% faced difficulties when customizing systems.

Although few companies admit, implementations are not well succeeded directly due to poor management, besides problems involving users and technical difficulties. Krasner (2000, apud Benesh 1999, p.38-43) mentions five areas commonly faulty during management processes: integrated planning of the project team, management of communication with large groups of people, formal decision-making process, and integrated test plan to consider the Know-how practiced in previous implementations.

4 OPEN SOURCE ERP SYSTEMS

As stated above, Gacek & Arief (2004) declare that the term “open source” is applied to projects of software development based on the contribution of several collaborators geographically dispersed but keeping online contact with the project. The basic requirement for the feasibility of an Open Source project is to make its source code available. Regarding the term definition, the authors refer to an “Open Source Initiative” (OSI), highlighting three basic aspects of the definition: free software distribution, access to the source code, and right to create derivative work.

According to OSI website (http://www.opensource.org), “is the stewards of the Open Source Definition and the community-recognized body for reviewing and


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approving licenses as Open Source Definition-conformant”. Their main goal is act as a charter institution and to prevent misuse of the Open Source term. Another important institution for Open Source universe is the Free Software Foundation (FSF), whose goals are to promote the development and use of free software by maintain the Free Software Definition and enforcing the General Public License (GPL) when copyright infringement occurs. There are five licensing classifications in Open Source universe, the first three according to FSF and the last two according to OSI.

The GPL declares that everyone can have access to the source code and any derived work can only be distributed under the same license terms. Besides this, you can execute the software, study, adapt and distribute its source code. There are three classification groups of GPL: Open Source Software under the GPL; Open Source Software - not under the GPL; Not Open Source Software. The OSI defines that there is just Open Source Software and Not Open Source Software.

In this context, the Open Source ERP systems have been increasingly accepted by the market in general. Some reasons are the low costs and the perception the companies perception that customization is an undeniable constant in the implementation of projects and ERP maintenance. In this subject, the option of open code surpasses the private one, since they offer facility for updates and faster bug fixes (Carvalho & Campos, 2006). It is noticed that many companies now accept the level of quality presented by these low cost technological solutions as an alternative to manage corporative environments

Finally, Herzog (2006) declares that this type of solution is frequently targeted by companies whose organizational and flexibility requirements are not covered by private packages. Similar scenarios are found in companies demanding ongoing adaptation of highly variable processes.

4.1. Reasons to open source ERP usage

According to Serrano & Sarriegi (2006), both Open Source ERPs and owners involve complex implementation processes in which companies and software are not familiar to changes in their processes. This mutual adaptation generally involves consultancy companies so that processes are less traumatic and less costly in what regards time and money. The authors also point that the benefits when choosing Open Source Systems are more substantial due to:

• Better adaptability: due to the availability of the software source code and its free manipulation, the customization tends to be easier. Thus, the need to customize it according to local laws and the company peculiarities, among others, are always necessary, independent of the area of work.

• Minimum supplier dependency: once a private solution is achieved, the company will be a “hostage” of the company which owns the project. Therefore, in case the owner leaves the project or the market, the continuity of the updating and maintenance of the ERP on the client company may be seriously jeopardized, since it will not have access to the source code of the software. Raymond (2003) suggests, regarding the closed source applications, that the more critical and vital the software is for a business, the less it will tolerate being controlled by an outside party. So almost no software consumer will choose to lock himself/herself into a suppler-controlled monopoly.



• Cost reduction: the Open Source ERP has no costs on license acquisition and usually does not need expensive equipment to be nicely performed. However Bozman et al. (2002) plead that comparing the total costs of ownership is the fairest way to confront costs, not only caring about the software acquisition.

Hexsel (2002) contributes with another point of view arguing about the low social cost. While the private software development is oriented to create benefits to the manufacturer, the Open Source Software aims to benefit its user. Furthermore, there is a phenomenon called software bloat; it happens when the private manufacturer develops new functions that will be useful only for a few users, these new capacities are commonly just perfunctory. Therefore the software tends to offer a lot of functions with limited usefulness for the most users.

According to Carvalho & Campos (2006), once the customizations are understood as necessary, the adoption of Open Source solutions are the best option to be chosen. The use of this software is competitively advantageous due to the integration it provides, it is fair to use its characteristics to obtain advantages greater than their competitors.

5. IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR THE OPEN SOURCE ERP SYSTEMS SELECTION

When the Open Source platform is chosen as a starting point to the ERP to be chosen, it is necessary to perform a comprehensive analysis of the features intrinsic to each software in order to choose the best option, according to Carvalho and Campos (2009). Herzog (2006) divides these features into five macro-areas: functional fit, flexibility, support, continuity, and maturity, which will be discussed in more detail.

5.1. Functional Fit

Functional fit is the level the ERP system fits into the specific processes of the company. The use of this term is more advisable than simply functionality. There are more possibilities of adjustments, less customization to be implemented and, consequently, lower costs. Besides, there are growing chances of the system to meet the managerial needs of the company. The functional adjustment also has great impact on the total cost and execution time. Our work is not focused on showing techniques to measure functionality, but Herzog (2006) indicates that the total number of tables on the database can be considered a measurement factor.

Reinforcing Herzog´s point of view, related to the importance to analyze functional adjustment, Correa (2008, p.96) reflects on the fact that in private ERPs, due to years of evolution, there is a great number of better practice processes available. In some Open Source solutions there are only “basic processes available, such as purchase orders, sales, stock, bills receivable, and accounting, among others”. The author also highlights specific cases of companies with highly customized processes, and few of them benefited by the existence of “better practices” in the system, which does not justify the cost of adopting private solutions.

According to Carvalho (2006, p. 5) the adopter of strategic positioning has a great impact on the way they see ERP; so, “different kinds of adopters may assess an identical project feature quite differently”. The author interprets the functional fit question


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splitting the Open Source ERP adopters in two groups, the Consumer and the Prosumers.

The Consumer would have “a passive role where the adopter will simply buy the adapting service from a software house, without any direct collaboration in the development process” while the Prosumer has “an active role where the adopter will assume the adoption process, reporting bugs, […] providing bug fixes, patches, and new features or even modules”. Moreover, Carvalho (2006) points out that is important to evaluate if the adopter´s IT team has the knowledge and availability necessary to develop new features and, if so, costs and time must be addressed to the project. Therefore, while analyzing the functional fit question and the missing technical features or functionalities, the adopter must decide if they will become a developer or the software weakness will exclude ERP from the selection board.

5.2. Flexibility

Flexibility allows overcoming the disparity between private solutions and systems totally customized to clients. Besides the possibility of adapting the software to the needs of a company, flexibility also implies issues such as ease of use. management and platforms independency. An ERP considered flexible must satisfy the criteria presented in Table 1 (Herzog, 2006). Lv & Chen (2010, p. 627) verify the flexibility´s importance “when our business process is highly variable and complicated, or we have to adjust system frequently”.

Characteristic Description Customization Introduction of modifications and adaptations to the software

in order to achieve expected behavior and functions. Flexible upgrades Upgrades do not cause impact on the customizations

previously implemented Internationalization Support to several languages, and finance and accounting

schemes Friendly interface Ease of use and learn when handling the system. Architecture Software components and their interfaces Scalability Support to expansion of users and data base. Security Possibility to define levels of access Interface Data exchange between different software Operating system (independency)

Enables the execution in several platforms

Database (independency)

Enables the execution in several databases

Programming language The programming language used to implement the source code.

Table 1 – Characteristic related to the project flexibility

Source: Adapted from Herzog (2006)

Based on the criteria presented in Table 1, but in a more detailed view, customization can be analyzed considering two categories. First, high level customization, when there is the possibility of editing metadata. In this manner, it is possible to personalize the system by means of an interface instead of a direct contact with the source code. The purpose is to reduce the time of learning and overcome a myriad of possible problems. Thus, a powerful interface of high level customization is



an important factor regarding productivity and reduction of implementation time, thus enabling an ongoing adaptations process. In turn, low level customization is when there is a direct contact with the source code program, enabling to meet the pinnacle of the system modeling to what the company needs.

Also in what concerns customizations applied to ERP, whether made in high or low level, upgrades previously or later installed may not be impacted. In this manner, they do not have to create the need of further customizations.

Another factor to be analyzed is the internationalization of the system. It is worthwhile the fact it offers support to several languages and finance and accounting schemes. For instance, there are different manners to make translation available, both for graphic interface (menu, fields to insert data, etc) and content (product description, for instance). Campos (2006) highlights the need to verify the real support of languages by the software. In his research, the author reports that although some systems mention the support to the Portuguese language, it could not be completely implemented or be available only in some specific versions.

Hau & Aparício (2008) list some points about software internationalization beyond the language translation alone: date and time format; currency format; alphabets, numerals, and left-to-right script vs. right-to-left; language character coding sets for textual display; name and titles; sorting of name and text; telephone numbers, addresses and international postal codes; weights and measures; accounting models, taxation models.

Graphical interface must be developed according to the required information, that is, a single task must not require navigation by means of a great number of different screens. A friendly interface is intrinsically attached to customizations possibilities, acceptance by the user, and costs with training and operation.

Szitas (2004) synthesizes the user friendliness aspects in some requirements: Simplicity/Clear Interface (the user friendly interface can help to reduce the resistance of employees against the installation of a new system); Easy access and usability; Intelligibility (includes tools making it possible for the unqualified users to easily navigate the system, for example, “wizards”); Flexibility (the interface must be flexible and configurable according to the user’s needs); More interfaces (distinct interfaces for different user´s levels of knowledge); Thin client (the user interface should be independent of the application task as much as possible).

Calisir & Calisir (2004, p. 7) conclude, after studying data from 51 ERP end-users, that learnability and the perceived usefulness are determinant to the end-user satisfaction. As an example, Calisir & Calisir (2004, apud Thong et al. 2002) say that “broad and shallow menu structures should be preferred to narrow and deep ones. The removal of unnecessary or redundant screens will also help to keep the navigation flow uncomplicated.”

In addition to that, the term interface also refers to the communication of the software with other systems and its data exchange with them. Such a possibility is called Enterprise Application Integration (Herzog, 2006, apud Alshawi et al. 2004, p. 454-462), and it standardizes these information exchanges in order to mechanize the practice among third parties, which can make the integration process easier.


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Campos (2006) exemplifies this data exchange in a scenario where the user intends to export/import data from an electronic spreadsheet to the ERP. In case the system offers native support to files in some desired formats, it is possible to save work hours spent on manual data transfer. However, in case the system does not offer such a support, the employee and the IT team loses time to create a solution. The time spent to develop such a solution depends on the type of interface used by the software. The author also mentions the importance to exchange information with other programs such as text editors or e-mails senders.

An important topic to consider when choosing the Open Source system is its architecture, in 2 or 3 layers. A two-layer structure consists of a data base and an application executed directly by the client. In the case of a three-layer application, the client executes only the user interface and a simple verification of data, thus processing less information, while the server executes the whole logic programming. Also from the perspective of the adopted architecture, Correa (2008) observes whether or not there is access to the system by means of the internet, and such functionality is desirable by some companies.

Scalability is an important factor to be considered, especially in what regards medium and long term horizons. It depends on the architecture (the three-layer is the most indicated), besides the technology of the database chosen. It is considered scalable the system able to expand (in number of machines and number of users supported) with minimum performance loss. Correa (2008) supports that solutions developed internally in the company present limitations regarding the issue, while Open Source or private solutions do not require such a limitation.

From the security standpoint, the system must enable the definition of several and different levels of access rights. Besides, users are able to only visualize the transactions/information they are responsible for. Campos (2006) questions other major factors to be considered as to the existence of security resources such as use of passwords, cryptography, and the security offered by the management of the data base and backups. Arguing about the safety and security, Szitas (2004, p. 466) says that the database, whose importance will be discussed below, is “probably the most critical part of the ERP”. Because “expropriating this can be invaluable for the competitor and, on the other hand, its possible damage can paralyze the company

The independency of the operating systems (OSs) and databases is an especially important issue from the standpoint of the user and from scalability. ERP can be executed from the most different OSs, giving the company more freedom to what concerns IT strategies. The operating system Independence is also discussed by Szitas (2004, p. 465) exalting the portability in the “modern software engineering nowadays”. About the platform-independence Szitas (2004) also says “this can be achieved by developing the user interface in a platform-independent way (e.g. in Java) or by using a standard protocol (such as HTPP, namely the web environment).”

As stated above, the database also influences the system scalability, but it is necessary to highlight there is a win-loss relation, once such an independency implies to reject the use of characteristics inherent to certain databases in order to achieve support to a greater number of technologies. However, it is highlighted that some of these rejected characteristics can be implemented in their own application by means of programming.



Campos (2006) remembers the importance of the free choice for a database, especially in the case of companies which already have recorded data and need to use it in the new system. Baharum & Hibibollah Haron (2009) have determined several critical factors to ensure the success of an Open Source ERP Implementation. The database migration is one of these factors because of the great importance of converting company´s data from older to a new data management system.

Finally, the analysis of the programming language used in the ERP coding is a criterion directly linked to the issue of low level customization. According to Prechelt (2000), in his comparative study, the programming languages C++, Python and Perl are efficient enough when using not much memory, while Java is less efficient in this case. Regarding the number of lines to be programmed to achieve the same result, C, C++ and Java need more extensive codes, opposing to Perl and Pyhton. Also considering lines to be programmed, C, C++ and Java are the programming languages which require the most time to build a standard program, while Perl and Python require less time.

5.3. Support

Support has contributed to decrease the time of implementation by transferring knowledge to the company, thus helping to develop internal activities or engaging external consultants to implement and maintain an Open Source System. Table 2 presents the major characteristics to be analyzed in this topic.

Reliance on the support offered to the system is an important topic to be evaluated. Most ERP open source systems have problems to be solved by means of a contact network, which can be compounded by internet forums, and e-mail discussion lists, among other online resources, to contribute to the discussion about the system and its development. Expert consultants and representatives of the system are another support tool.

Characteristics Description

Infra-structure Physical, virtual and phone channels available to solve problems

Training Availability of courses and certifications applied by the supplier company or third parties.

Documents Complete and updated literature which satisfies all levels of information required by users and developers

Table 2 – Characteristics related to the project support


The quality and the frequency of technical training to users and regular organization of events related to the software must be analyzed.

The comprehension and update of documents directed to users and developers are paramount, and a number of projects use Wiki interface to manage collaborative systems of support and information.


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5.4. Continuity

Continuity (Table 3) guarantees that the project is not abandoned, and in case it is, the organization IT team is able to continue developing it according to the need of the company. Unlike private systems, a consolidated Open Source ERP is rarely abandoned, since there are companies and online communities contributing to its development. However, when the project is managed by only one company, there is the risk that several versions of the system are published under different types of licenses different from the initially followed.

Nevertheless, in the case of Open Source systems, companies hold a small power to take hostile decisions as for the project gratuity, since there is the possibility of diversion of what the company preaches and what the community wants. Companies managing Open Source projects are highly dependent since they have an active community and only a small part of clients is interested in buying additional services.

The communities involved in developing the Open Source ERP, besides characterized by size and activity, can also be classified into four categories applied to the development of the systems according to Herzog (2006): virtual user who is active in forums, beta testers which identify bugs, creators of documents, systems developers. The bigger and more active the community is, the smaller the chances of abandoning the project. In case the project is hosted in some online environment of software development (SourceForge, for instance), it is possible to make a thorough analysis of the community, once the platform offers statistics and indicators about the project; this data can be questioned due to bad practices of the organization inside an online community. Table 3 shows a summary of the main characteristics related to the continuity of Open Source projects.

The projects may be headed by communities or private companies which orientate them. Whenever there is a company in charge of the project, it means it is responsible for its development for supplying related services and certifying partners for local support. A typical project headed by a private company comprehends the following agents: a private company in charge of the project, companies which are partners in the project, clients with a support agreement, clients with no support agreement, and users utilizing the systems. The business model and the size of the company heading the project are indicators of continuity. Finally, in what regards the projects directed by companies, it is highlighted that the contributions for their source code can be develop by the community involved and by partner companies

Characteristics Description Project Structure Open Source ERP Project can be conducted by

companies or communities Community activity Follows the level of contribution of the members Transparency Barrier to the new developers’ entrance, as well as the

possibility they have to influence the developing project.

Update frequency Analyzes the frequency of the updates Further factors External factors possible to influence continuity

Table 3 – Characteristics related to the project continuity




It is comprehended that in projects exclusively directed by a community, there is no companies financing them in special. While the size of a community is not a measurable factor, its activity is partly measurable. Besides considering the number of exchange messages, it is necessary to evaluate the time of delay between a question and its respective answer. The activity in areas such as document creation and new entries to wiki platforms must be considered.

Factors such as barriers to the entry of new developers, degrees of liberty and influence that the community is able to exert over the system development are inherent to the transparency of the project according to Herzog (2006). It is also highlighted the importance of the existence of the development scheme of the system´s documents, so that the current focus and future direction of the projects are noticed.

In what concerns the software source code, it is desirable it is meticulously documented with its logs and written in a manner that makes the programming easier to understand. Stamelos et al. (2002) propose a method to measure Open Source code quality, one of the metric components is the comments frequency inside the code. Xu (2003) explains that comments are a general rule of good programing, while the code shows “how” to complete a task, the programming codes show “why” the task should be completed this way.

The ongoing introduction of new functionalities and correction of the system errors are solid evidence of the project activity. Communication is related to the community activity while the regular update is related the system development/activity.

There are other factors to influence the continuity of the project. As previously addressed on “Flexibility”, the independency related to operating systems, databases, utilization of other parallel Open Source projects and dependency on technologies or proprietary components can negatively or positively influence this aspect.

5.5. Maturity

Finally, maturity is a concept related to the quality of software (number of bugs, level of execution and test time, among others). Table 4 presents the related characteristics:

Characteristics Description

Development Status Level of development (from planning to final commercial versions of the software)

References Literature of several sources reporting experiences, tests, and discussions

Table 4 – Characteristics related to the project maturity


In general, software is categorized by its own development stages (Herzog, 2006): planning, alpha, beta, and stable. The phase of planning means there is no executable program available yet, while the first version is executable and denominated “alpha”, which is generally unstable and incomplete, but used for demonstrations and suitable as a demonstration prototype.


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The beta version consists of software still under development and available for tests. After extensive tests and correction of primary bugs, the program can be considered a stable version, since there are only minor and permitted faults which do not harm its major functions.

Software can have its maturity status testified by the occurrence of discussions in forums, published tests by professional people and renowned companies, besides reviews exploring its faults and virtues. In this manner, it is possible to better know the system behavior in real situations before experiencing it in the company.

6 REMARKS ABOUT THE USE OF OPEN SOURCE ERP

According to Inside-ERP (2008, apud Aberdeen Group Inc. 2007), the total cost to acquire a private ERP comprehends factors such as size of the company, number of users of the system, depth and scope of functionalities, and benefits, among others. In this manner, this cost can be up to millions of dollars, which is prohibitive to several organizations. In this scenario, many mid-sized companies prioritize, as main points when choosing a private package, its acquisition cost and functional characteristics to the detriment of other important and above mentioned factors.

It is emphasized that due to the high costs of private solutions, initially, they were concentrated on large companies. However, after going through this cycle, the market of mid and small companies was also focused. According to Watson (2007), this flow meets the case of the Open Source ERPs, once they have been adopted by mid and small companies firstly. The costs involved in the case of Open Source solutions, in a simplified way, are the purchase of hardware equipment, training of staff, and organization of a technical team able to implement and customize them in case such tasks are not performed by an outsource company.

Nevertheless, it is worthy reflecting about a long term horizon in what concerns costs. Private ERPs offer specialized staff and support, but Open Source solutions headed by private companies are also able to offer such a level of certification. In general, according to what was proposed, Open Source ERPs require more modest hardware, which must be taken into account in what concerns future stagger and company growth.

In what concerns flexibility, Open Source solutions are more flexible than private ERPs, since their nature are not originally flexible, adapted to accept certain customizations, parameterizations, and flexibilities partially limited by the user. It is emphasized the need of some companies to adapt to the system due to its stiffening, which does not occur in case of Open Source solutions. It is also important to highlight that, regarding commercial packages, client companies are not completely familiar with the software core, occasionally requiring synergy and integration.

While private companies may fail or discontinue lines of software, it does not occur exactly to solutions directed by communities. In case the company adopting the system becomes little contributive or quit some projects, it can freely continue with the project.

However, like the commercial ERP software, the Open Source requires a very detailed selection process. It is paramount to align characteristics of the system with the



business strategy, making it a feasible tool for the organization to use. In this point, there are possible obstacles with low level of maturity in information technology.

Besides, attention must also be paid to the management of implementation. In the same context, a low level of maturity in information technology can lead the organization to fail when implementing the system, even if it was correctly chosen.

7 FINAL REMARKS

Once the philosophy of cooperation and free development are adopted, with no contract constraints imposed by private companies, it is possible to choose low cost solutions for implementation and licensing. Besides, there is no continuity of software lines (which force the clients to obtain new products) since the total development can be performed by the company itself.

These Open Source solutions are found in good number and present different characteristics, from the basics, such as support to languages to accounting regulations, beyond those that are highlighted in Eras et al. (2010). Since they have a different philosophy of project for private solutions, they present unique characteristics to be analyzed. Issues related to project continuity, activity degree, structure, transparency, and upgrade frequency are exclusive factors regarding the reality of this kind of software. However, project maturity and forms of technical support offered are also different in the manner they must be analyzed comparing to private solutions.

After the detailed analysis and comparison of the several characteristics presented, it is important to have a quick and low-cost implementation process development. In order to do so, the synergy of workgroup and effective training of the future system employees (Noudoostbeni et al., 2009) are indispensable, besides the full commitment of top management. It is emphasized that factors related to failure are ineffective planning of the implementation and insufficient training.

It is concluded that, in general, for mid and small companies or scenarios in which there is the need of frequent or deep software upgrade and customization, we believe the decision for an Open Source ERP system is highly acceptable. Therefore, following a detailed method of implementation and a choice which is focused and adapted to Open Source solutions (Mendes e Escrivão Filho; 2007), besides the focus on the factors here presented, as essential to the success of the project. Special attention to the factors related to failure must be paid as to the best choice to be made.

Regarding the limitations of this study, predominantly based on the literature review, legal, organizational, and cultural distinctions, among others from Brazil, are emphasized, in comparison to countries with the highest historical use of the software, focus of the study. We suggest for future work a statistical approach to the Brazilian companies that have had experiences with Open Source software management. Thus, a fairly accurate scenario of the reality is expected to be built about the domestic companies when considering technical factors which determine the success or lack of success of their choices in terms of systems..


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Recebido em/Manuscript first received: 16/05/2011 Aprovado em/Manuscript accepted: 10/07/2011


Akram Jalal Karim, Management Information System Department, College of Business and Finance, Ahlia University, P.O. Box 10878, 1st Floor Gosi Complex Exhibitions Road, Manama Kingdom of Bahrain Tel: 973-3838-3411 E-mail: [email protected]


THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR ENHANCING STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL PLANNING

Akram Jalal Karim

Ahlia University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain _____________________________________________________________________________________

ABSTRACT

Management Information Systems (MIS) is the key factor to facilitate and attain efficient decision making in an organization. This research explores the extent to which management information systems implemented to make successful decisions at two selected financial organizations. The research examined whether the selected financial institutions of Bahrain vary as to the use of Management Information Systems leadership of decision making for strategic and tactical planning purposes. The research adapted the quantitative research design to examine two research hypotheses. A total of 190 forms were equally distributed to those who are working at different management levels at the selected organizations. The results of the research showed that MIS was primarily used to enhance strategic planning in both financial institutions. The regression analysis revealed that Tactical planning is found to have no effect on Decision Making, while Strategic planning has a clear effect on the Decision Making Effectiveness in both organizations.

Keywords: Management Information Systems, Strategic Planning, Tactical Planning, Decision Making Process.

1. INTRODUCTION

Currently, organizations are in the race for enhancing their capability in order to survive in the competitions of the new century global market. Therefore, organizations are attempting to advance their agility level by improving the decision making process to be more efficient and highly effective to meet the successive fluctuations of the market. In an effort to achieve this, many modern organizations, either mid or large sized, have concerned with a cycle of progressive investments in and adopted new management information systems components. During last decade, a high percentage of financial organizations frequently used Management Information Systems to facilitate

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the provision of services; and that the speed of the adoption is expected to grow further as the technology expands.

Whitten et al. (2004, p.12.), stated that “information is an arrangement of people, data, process, and information technology that interact to collect, process, store and provide as output the information needed to support an organization,” which indicates that information system is an arrangement of groups, data, processes and technology that act together to accumulate, process, store and provide information output needed to enhance and speed up the process of decision making. In a Bank’s information system, there is always a potential crisis which makes the bank endure an insufficiency; thus, an advanced information system supported by a superior mechanism control is required to make certain that an information system has achieved the required processes.

If the relevant information required in a decision-making process or an organization planning is not available at the appropriate time, then there is a good change to be a poor organization planning, inappropriate decision-making, poor priority of needs, and defective programming or scheduling of activities (Adebayo, 2007).

Information is essential for the endurance of a financial organization in the global and competitive market.

The nature of globalization and competitiveness in the market stress on the importance of developing an organization capability through better enhancing MIS.

Accordingly, the stored information must then be recalled and distributed for the use of an organization leadership and top management as well as mid-level managers to take effective long term (strategic) and short term (Tactical) decision-making. MIS is deemed to be a system which provides organizations top management and, even lower level management, with appropriate information based on data from both internal and external sources, to allow them to make effective and timely decisions that best achieve their organization goals and satisfy stakeholder requirements (Argyris, 1971, p. 291).

The conception of information catches the attention of different professionals from different fields such as computer science, economics, business and management, political science, statistics, communication and information studies (Newman 2001). However, the question is “what type of information”? How Information management can play an essential role in the decision making process? How can the coordination between different departments (internal and/or external) and sharing information at the real time accelerate and enhance the process of decision making and avoid decision making errors?

This paper focuses on how information management is needed to generate proper planning and then decisions at both strategic and tactical levels in the two selected financial organizations.

The process of dealing with the financial institutions was tainted by a lot of sensitivity, because of the refusal of those institutions to reveal their decision-making mechanism due to their Disclosure Rules. So we decided to call the first selected institutions case one and case two referring to the second selected organizations.

1.1 Significant Research

Few authors have explored that the critical information required by midlevel and strategic level management is efficiently provided by MIS. A small amount of research has deliberated that the limitations and deficiencies in the process of management information system performance are the main reason for diminishing the efficiency of decision-making process in the organization (Fabunmi, 2003; Knight Moore, 2005).

The questions related to what extent the managing of these information systems assists different decisions at different management levels and the type of responsibility of the financial institution´s senior and tactical management in enhancing the management information has been raised with low empirically investigation and examination.

The Significance of Management Information Systems for Enhancing Strategic and Tactical 461

Planning


1.2 The purpose of the research

The purpose of this research is to explore the extent to which management information systems are used to make effective decisions of long and short term planning in two financial organizations at the Kingdom of Bahrain. The study will examine whether the government financial institution (Case one) and the Private financial institution (Case two) differ as to the use of management information systems for leadership decision makes in short and long term planning.

This paper aims to evaluate the impact of current MIS models being developed at the selected organizations, and how far they practice this concept in order to enhance their tactical and strategic planning.

1.3 The research organization

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. Sections 2 and 3 discuss the literature review and research methods. In Section 4, we present results and analysis. In section 5, a discussion will be presented. Finally, conclusion and recommendations are presented in sections 6 and 7, respectively.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

There is a lof of research on the approaches, techniques and technologies for the design and development of MIS. However, there are a few articles that cover the impact of Management Information Systems on planning strategies and decision making. While there are no universally accepted definitions of MIS and those that exist in literatures are just prejudices of the researchers (Adeoti-Adekeye, 1997). Lee, (2001) defined MIS as “a system or process that provides information needed to manage organizations effectively”.

Additionally, Baskerville and Myers (2002) broadly define MIS as “the development, use and application of information systems by individuals, organizations and society”. In his study, Becta (2005) describes an information system as “a system consisting of the network of all communication channels used within an organization”. In their study, Laudon and Laudon (2003) have defined MIS as “the study of information systems focusing on their use in business and management”. The abovementioned definitions showed that MIS has underlined the development, application and validation of relevant theories and models in attempts to encourage quality work in the area.

Referring to the literatures, the field of Management Information Systems (MIS) has had a variegated development in its relatively short life span. MIS has developed its own theme of research and studies (Baskerville and Myers, 2002).

Tracing previous literatures, we can report that during its first few decades, MIS concentrated on the information in the context of:

• Electronic data processing which carries out transaction processing functions and records detailed factual data.

• Management reporting systems which scrutinize the operational activities of an organization, providing summaries, information and feedback to management.

Only during the last two decades, the MIS field has shifted to the primary, considered the second type of communication, namely, instruction-based. This has become known as the domain of expert systems (Sasan Rahmatian, 1999). In attempts to review published studies on MIS and articles, Alavi and Carlson (1992) have identified popular research topics, the dominant research perspective, and the

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relationship between MIS research and practice. In contrast, Baskerville and Myers (2002) have examined the MIS field and found a constant shift of MIS research from a technical focus to a technology-organizational and management-social focus.

Skyrius (2001) underlines the decision maker's attitudes towards different factors influencing the quality of business decisions; these factors include information sources, analytical tools, and the role of information technologies.

Handzic (2001) also pays attention to the impact of information availability on people's ability to process and use information in short and long term planning and in decision making tasks. He revealed that the better the availability of information, the better the impact on both efficiency and accuracy of business decisions.

Liu and Young (2007) talk about key information models and their relationships in business decision support in three different scenarios. The authors proved that global businesses are in advance due to the Enterprise Applications System provided by modern IT tools such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) and Customer Relations Management (CRM) to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Decision Making process.

In order to improve the financial organizational capability and enhance its level of competition in the market, financial organizations should understand the dimensions of the Information Management, and clearly define and develop the resources in case of human, technological, and internal operations, among others,, and manage them well across the organizational boundaries. However, establishing the link between Information System Management, planning and decision making is, at best, tricky.

In an article by Shu and Strassmann (2005), a survey was conducted at 12 banks in the US between 1989 and 1997. They noticed that even though Information Technology had been one of the most essentially dynamic factors relating all efforts, it could not improve banks’ earnings.

However, conversely, there are many literatures approving the positive impacts of Information Technology expenses on business value. Kozak (2005) investigates the influence of the evolution in Information Technology on the profit and cost effectiveness of the banking zone during the period between 1992 and 2003. The study indicates an optimistic relationship among the executed Information Technology, productivity and cost savings.

Organizations that do not have formal Information sharing practices will fail to leverage their managers’ intellectual capital for business innovation and growth (O'Neill & Adya, 2007). MIS enables the exchange of experiences, which transfers the required information to the management levels to sustain competitive advantage since it affects the decision making to improve the quality of services provided. Therefore, Barachini et al. (2009) supported that it is imperative that these organizations continuously motivate their employees to share valuable information so that their intellectual capital can be leveraged.

Management Information System will give the banking management a new dimension in managing its knowledge and help in carrying out and maximizing the management’s initiatives in harmonizing the appropriate strategies in the short and long planning (Edmondson, 2002).

In his study, Obi (2003) suggested that MIS is indispensible in the area of decision-making as it can monitor by itself the instability in a system, verify a course of action and take action to keep the system in control. Literatures also suggested that non-programmed decisions are relevant as they provide support by supplying information to the search, the analysis, the evaluation and the choice and implementation process of decision making.

More recently, Adebayo (2007) explained that the existence of MIS is needed to improve and enhance decision making on the issues affecting human and material resources.


Planning


From the literatures presented, we can easily perceive that the importance of the role of both middle and top management to maintain a consistent approach to develop, use, and evaluate MIS systems within the institution. To financial institutions, MIS is used at various levels by top-management, middle and even by the operational staff as a support for decision making that aims to meet strategic goals and strategic objectives.

The above literatures also explore the importance of MIS in providing decision makers with facts, which consequently support and enhance the entire decision-making process. Furthermore, at the most senior level, MIS and DSS supply the data and required information to assist the board of directors and management levels to make an accurate and on time strategic decisions.

3 METHODOLOGY

The current study attempts to explain the relationship between various factors.

Due to the nature of the current study and its hypothesis, the primary research purpose of the current study is, thus, explanatory. Explanatory (or causal) explains the complexity of the interrelated variables identified that were posited in the hypothesis and research

By developing several hypotheses, the study thus adapt the quantitative research design to better test those hypotheses. Quantitative research uses survey as the main instrument to collect data.

3.2 Research questions and hypotheses

To achieve the purpose of the current study, the following research questions have been formulated:

1. To what extent is MIS being utilized to support Strategic planning for decisions in Bahrain’s financial organizations?

2. To what extent is MIS being utilized to support Tactical planning for decisions in Bahrain’s financial organizations?

To answer these questions, the current study carries out various hypotheses that developed from previous literatures and studies (Ajayi et. al, 2007). Figure 1 presents the proposed model and factors affecting the process of decision making.

Figure 1: The mode of the current study

Thus, we consider the hypothesis below:

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a. H1: The Tactical Planning (short term) generated by MIS is positively affecting the decision making process.

b. H2: The Strategic Planning (long term) generated by MIS is positively affecting the decision making process.

3.3 Survey Instrument

The participants were asked to indicate their perception on a likert scales (1- 5) with response ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. The collected data were analyzed based on correlation and regression analyses using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS).

The questionnaire of this study is adapted from previous literature and studies (e.g. Ajayi et. al, 2007). The main reason why we need to refer to literatures when developing a questionnaire is to ensure the high reliability and validity of the survey.

The questionnaire we prepared for this paper was divided into 2 sections. The first section concentrates on the general profile of the respondent including his/her age group, education level and profession and income group. In the second section we were interested in gathering information about the importance of MIS and its use in Case one and Case two of financial institutions in Bahrain. The respondents were provided with a list of questions related to the following factors;

• The important of MIS in supporting Tactical planning and consequently enhancing the decision-making process

• The important of MIS in supporting Strategic planning and consequently enhancing the decision-making process

• The effectiveness of a bank’s decision making process

Using a personal relationship, the questionnaire has been discussed with various levels of bank management and a pilot study has been conducted amongst low-level members of the bank´s staff. This improved the questionnaire, which has been used for the research presented in this study.

3.4 Population and Data collection

The population for the study is the top management (strategic), mid level management (tactical) and normal staff in Case one (government financial institution) and Case two (private financial institution). This population is deemed to be fully aware of the MIS use at the bank level.

A total of 190 forms were distributed equally (each bank with 95 survey forms). 12% for case one and 14% for case two are having management positions. In a convenience sample, the managers and bank staff were randomly approached.

The distribution took place for a three-week period in early March, 2010. The survey was designed in English language. The research tested the time to fill the survey and it took approximately 5-8 minutes to be completed.

The questionnaire we prepared and used had been pre-tested initially with few people (5 users) working in different sectors to ensure consistency, clarity and relevance to the Bahraini case. Minor changes (related to the questions content, wording, and sequence) were requested by those people, which we implemented before carrying out the final copy.


Planning


3.5 Data Analysis

The current study used SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science), software V.19 to analyze the data obtained from the survey. The current study use ANOVA to see if there are any differences between Case one and Case two when using MIS for supporting decision making processes. Moreover, the simple Regression was implemented to test the hypothesis and the linkages between dependent and independent variables.

4 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

This section presents the factor analysis test. Then, the results of correlation analysis of the three variables (Strategic planning, Tactical Planning, and The Effectiveness of Decision-making) are discussed. Finally, the results of the paper are discussed in accordance with the research objectives and hypothesis of the study.

4.2 Correlation Tests

Correlation analysis was incorporated to describe the strength and direction of the linear relationship between the two independent variables and the dependent variable (Pallant, 2001). Effectiveness of the bank´s decision-making processes, which are the dependent variables considered to be the bank´s succession in management building and facility, financial aspects and staff issues. Previous studies underpinned the importance of conducting correlation tests before the regression testing, the correlation between variables thus necessary (Coakes and Steed, 2007). The result of the correlations is presented in the following table (table 1).

Table 1: the results of Correlations test

The results of Correlations test Strategic planning

Tactical planning

D.M Effectiveness

Strategic planning r 1

p

Tactical planning r .252** 1

p .001

D.M Effectiveness r .318** .263* 1

p .000 .001

Notes: r = the value of Personal Correlation P= the significant level (2-tailed) ** . Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

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The results of correlation reveals that Strategic planning (r=0. 318, p < 0.01) found to be strongly and positively correlated with the bank’s Decision Making (D.M) Effectiveness, while Tactical Planning (r=0. 263, p < 0.05) found to be positively correlated with the bank’s D.M Effectiveness.

4.3 Regression

For further analysis, a Linear Regression analysis was conducted to examine the extent to which the independent variables (Strategic planning and Tactical Planning) influence the succession Effectiveness of the bank’s decision making (dependent variable). The independent variables were regressed across organizational outcomes. Tables 2, 3 and 4 summarized the results of the Linear Regression analysis.

The results of regression reveals that the model is significant (p < 0.01) and the coefficient of determination (R2) for the regression is (0.490), indicating that (49%) of the variation in the dependent variable (decision-making effectiveness) was explained by the independent variables included in the regression. The results of regression indicated that the variance in the Effectiveness of the bank’s decision making is explained by only one variable; Strategic planning, while Tactical Planning found not to affect the Effectiveness of the bank’s decision making process.

Table 2: Results of ANOVA test ANOVA test

Model R df Mean Square

F Sig.

1 Regression 0.490 3 4.240 9.594 .000a Residual 131 .442

Total 134

a. Predictors: (Constant), Tactical planning, Strategic planning b. Dependent Variable: D.M Effectiveness

Table 3: Results of Model Summary Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

Std. Error of the Estimate

Durbin-Watson

1 .490 .180 .161 .665 1 a. Predictors: (Constant), Tactical planning, Strategic planning b. Dependent Variable: D.M Effectiveness


Planning


able 4 Coefficients coefficients

Model Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig

B Std. Error

Beta ( β )

1 (Constant) 1.395 .415 3.364 .001 Strategic planning

.212 .087 .218 2.441 .016

Tactical planning

.124 .081 .136 1.532 .128

a. Dependent Variable: D.M Effectiveness Notes: P= the significant level, β = Standardized Coefficients

The regression analysis was implemented to support the correlation test. However, the study revealed that the Tactical planning is found to have no effect on D.M Effectiveness (Sig=.128 > 0.05). The regression analysis showed that Strategic planning, on the other hand (Sig=.016 < 0.05), affects the D.M Effectiveness in the bank.

Table 5 reveals the research hypotheses accepting/ rejecting based on the regression analysis.

Table 5 Research Hypothesis accepting/ rejecting

Hypothesis Accept the proposed hypothesis

Hypothesis 1: Strategic planning �

Hypothesis 2: Tactical planning X

5 DISCUSSION

The current study intended to measure the implementation and the use of MIS in two banks in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Two different planning activities have been identified to measure the banks implementation and use of MIS, these activities are: Strategic planning and Tactical Planning. Correlation analysis was incorporated to describe the strength and direction of the linear relationship between the two independent variables and the dependent variable.

The results of the descriptive statistics reveal that MIS was primarily used to enhance Strategic planning (long term) in the bank. The study also revealed that MIS is the least implemented in the Tactical Planning (short term).

Correlation test thus implemented investigate the relationship between the two variables. The result reveals that the two variables in this study are correlated with the effectiveness of the decision-making process in the banks. As for Cohen (1992), the result revealed that the Strategic planning is medium correlated with the effectiveness of

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the decision making process in the bank, while Tactical planning indicates small correlation with the effectiveness of the decision making process in the bank.

Moreover, the results of regression indicated that the variance in the Effectiveness of the bank’s decision making process is explained by only one variable, the Strategic planning, while Tactical Planning found not to affect the Effectiveness of the bank´s decision making process.

6 CONCLUSION

Management Information Systems is of paramount importance to reach effective decisions in an organization. The literatures presented in this study explained the significant role of MIS in the decision-making process enhancing in an organization. MIS is deemed to be an integrated user-machine system that provides information to support operations, management and decision-making functions at various levels of an organization. Organizations are aware that MIS is a special-purpose system useful for management objectives. The study has highlighted that MIS should be accessible in supplying appropriate and high quality of information from its generation to its users. To MIS, to be vital and effective, a carefully conceived, designed and executed database should exist to communicate the adaptive decisions.

The study has developed two independent variables (Strategic planning and Tactical planning) and one dependant variable (the Effectiveness of Bank Decision-making). To answer the research questions and to test the hypotheses, the study adapted the quantitative research design and implemented advance statistic methods (Correlation, ANOVA and regression). The study considered applied research as the results of this study expected to specifically assist bank top management and organizations in general to develop MIS designing, maintaining and implementation in order to enhance the process of decision-making.

In short, the results of the descriptive statistics revealed that MIS primarily used to enhance Strategic planning in the banks. The study also revealed that MIS is the least implemented in the Tactical planning.

Correlation analysis was incorporated to describe the strength and direction of the linear relationship between the two study variables. The results of correlation revealed that Strategic planning and Tactical Planning are positively correlated with the bank D.M Effectiveness.

For further analysis, a Linear Regression analysis was conducted to examine the extent to which the independent variables (Strategic planning and Tactical Planning) influence the succession Effectiveness of the bank decision making (dependent variable). The results of regression revealed that the model is significant and the coefficient of determination (R) for the regression is (0.490). The result of regression indicated that the variance in the Effectiveness of the bank decision making is explained by only one variable: Strategic planning. However, the study revealed that Tactical Planning is found to have no effect on D.M Effectiveness.

7 RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings of this study, MIS was not very adequately implemented for decision making on Strategic planning and Tactical Planning in Bahrain banks. Although there are differences (Case one) in the use of MIS for decision-making processes, the results revealed that the effectiveness of decision making is similar to the Case two. It is therefore recommended that the MIS units should be adequately maintained to ensure the free flow of information and adequate use of MIS in decision making in Strategic and Tactical Planning. The study also recommends that a proper


Planning


orientation should be conducted in order to help managers at all levels as to ensure proper and adequate use of MIS facilities in generating and disseminating information for better decisions in the banks.

The organization management does not always recognize the information needed, while the information professionals often do not comprehend and are aware of management in order to produce relevant information for the managers they serve. To be successful, an MIS should be designed and operated related to organizations, management and technical factors. The study encourages the organizations´ top management to participate in enhancing MIS and make an effective contribution to system design. The information specialists (including systems analysts, designer, ITC personnel, accountants and operations researchers) should cooperate and become more conscious and ware of managerial functions needs so that more effective MIS is developed.

Finally, we believe that to enhance MIS, banks or any organization that use MIS to enhance its decision making processes should develop effective communication channels between management and information professionals. Good communications then facilitates the task of developing relevant and appropriate information systems. It is no simple checklist to automatically produce the perfect MIS. Organization thus would be aware that what is required is an awareness and understanding of key principles and functions in which the design, implementation and operation of MIS are the results of rational decisions rather than haphazard development without considering the real organizational needs.

REFERENCES Adebayo F.A. (2007). Management Information System for Managers. Ado-Ekiti: Green Line Publishers. Adeoti-Adekeye. (1997). The importance of management information systems. MCB Bank. Library Review, 46 (5), 318-327. Ajayi, I. A. and Omirin, Fadekemi F. (2007). The Use of Management Information Systems (MIS) In Decision Making In the South-West Nigerian Universities. Educational Research and Review, 2 (5), 109-116. Alavi, M. and Carlson, P. (1992), A review of MIS research and disciplinary development. Journal of Management Information Systems, 8(4), 45-62. Argyris, C. (1971). Management information systems: the challenge to rationality and emotionality, Management Science, 17(6), 275-292. Barachini, F, (2009). Cultural and social issues for knowledge sharing, Journal of Knowledge Management. 13(1), 98 – 110. Baskerville, R.L. and Myers, M.D., (2002), Information systems as a reference discipline. MIS Quarterly, 26(1), 1–14. Becta (2005) School Management Information Systems and Value for Money. Coventry: Becta. [Online] Available: http://www.egovmonitor.com/reports/rep12009.pdf . Accessed on 23rd February 2011. Coakes, S. J., & Steed, L. (2007). SPSS Version 14.0 for windows: Analysis without anguish. Milton, Australia: John Wiley & Sons. Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155-159. Edmondson, A. (2002). The Local and Variegated Nature of Learning in Organizations: A Group-Level Perspective, Organization Science, 13(2), 128-147.

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Fabunmi M. (2003). Management Information Systems in Education in Babalola JB (ed.). Basic Text in Educational Planning. Ibadan: Department of Educational Management, Bank of Ibadan, Ibadan. Handzic Meliha (2001). Does More Information Lead to Better Informing, The Bank of New South Wales, Australia. [Online] Available: http://ecommerce.lebow.drexel.edu/eli/pdf/hanEBKDoesM.pdf Accessed on 22nd February 2011. Knight Moore. (2005). Administrative Barriers to Adoption of Distance Education. [Online] Available: http://www.knight-moore.com/pubs/ajde 8-3.html Accessed on 22nd February 2011. Kozak S. (2005). The role of information technology in the profit and cost efficiency improvements of the banking sector. Journal of Academy of Business and Economics, February 2005. Laudon, K.C. and Laudon, J.P. (2003). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall). Lee, A.S., (2001), Editorial. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), iii-vii. Liu, S and Young, R.I.M (2007). An exploration of key information models and their relationships in global manufacturing decision support, Proc. IMechE, Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 21(1), 711-724. DOI: 10.1243/09544054JEM531, http://dx.doi.org/10.1243/09544054JEM531. Newman, J. (2001). Some observations on the semantics of “information”. Information Systems Frontiers, l3(2), 155-167. Obi, Emenike. (2003). Educational Management: Theory and Practice. Enugu: JAMOE Nigeria Enterprises. O'Neill, B.S., and Adya, M. (2007). Knowledge sharing and the psychological contract: Managing knowledge workers across different stages of employment, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(1), 411-436. DOI: 10.1108/02683940710745969, http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02683940710745969. PALLANT, J. (2001). SPSS Survival Manual. Milton Keynes: Open University Press. Sasan Rahmatian. (1999). Management Information Systems Education from A Systemic Viewpoint. Systemic Practice and Action Research, 12(4). 399-408, DOI: 10.1023/A:1022400414231, http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1022400414231. Shu, W. & Strassmann, P.A. (2005). Does information technology provide banks with profit?. Information & Management, 42(5), 781-787. DOI: 10.1016/j.im.2003.06.007, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2003.06.007. Skyrius Rimvydas. (2001). Business Decision Making, Managerial Learning and Information, Bank of Vilnius, Luthuania. [Online] Available: http://ecommerce.lebow.drexel.edu/eli/pdf/skyriusEBKBusin.pdf Accessed on 22nd February 2011. Whitten J. L., Bentley L.D. and Dittman K.C. (2004). System Analysis and Design Methods, edisi ke-6 Mc.Graw-Hillk, New York.


_____________________________________________________________________________________

Edson Luiz Riccio, Professor Livre Docente da FEA USP, diretor do TECSI/FEA/USP e coordenador do 8º CONTECSI. Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 908 FEA 3 São Paulo / SP 05508-900 E-mail: [email protected]

Marici Gramacho Sakata, Mestre e Doutora em Ciência da Comunicação pela ECA USP. Pesquisadora do TECSI/FEA/USP E-mail:[email protected]

Nelma Terezinha Zubek Valente, Mestre em Controladoria e Contabilidade pela FEA USP e Doutoranda em Ciência da Informação pela ECA USP. Pesquisadora do TECSI/FEA/USP. Professora da UEPG, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brasil E-mail: [email protected]


RESULTADOS DO 8º CONTECSI – CONGRESSO INTERNACIONAL DE GESTÃO DA TECNOLOGIA E SISTEMAS DE INFORMAÇÃO

OUTCOMES OF THE 8th CONTECSI – INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT

Edson Luiz Riccio Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brasil Marici Cristine G. Sakata TECSI FEA USP, Universidade de São Paulo, Brasil Nelma Terezinha Zubek Valente Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brasil

RESUMO

Procuramos relatar neste documento as estatísticas, os dados e a importância do 8º CONTECSI – International Conference on Information Systems and Technology Management - Congresso Internacional de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação, realizado nos dias 01, 02 e 03 de junho de 2011 pelo TECSI/EAC/FEA/USP na Universidade de São Paulo. Este relatório apresenta: Estatísticas do 8º CONTECSI, Justificativas e Objetivos, Programa, Sessões Plenárias, Consórcio Doutoral, Sessões paralelas de apresentação de trabalhos, Menção Honrosa e Comitês. Salientamos a grande importância do auxílio financeiro recebido da CAPES, CNPq e FAPESP e o apoio da FEA USP, ANPAD, AIS, ISACA, Université Paris Quest Nanterre La Defense, Universidade do Porto, Rutgers School/USA, São Paulo Convention Bureau, e CCINT-FEA-USP.

Palavras-Chave: CONTECSI, Relatório, Congresso Internacional, Gestão de Tecnologia, Sistemas de Informação.

Riccio, E.l., Sakata, M. C., Valente, N. T. Z.


472

ESTATÍSTICAS DO 8º CONTECSI:

Tabela comparativa – 1º, 2º, 3º, 4º, 5º, 6º, 7º e 8º CONTECSI

1º 2º 3º 4º 5º 6º 7º 8º

Trabalhos Recebidos 100 146 210 310 315 265 370 331

Total de Trabalhos Aceitos - Em Sessão Paralela, Fórum de Pesquisa, Consorcio Doutoral e Comunicações

90 129 177 219 246 199

233 185

Participantes 130 170 232 274 309 360 350 360

Sessões Paralelas 24 29 42 42 42 47 47 44

Estados Brasileiros Representados 11 13 17 17 16 20 19 18

Países Representados 8 7 15 15 13 12 14 10

1º 2º 3º 4º 5º 6º 7º 8º

Palestrantes Internacionais 2 5

19

(*) 4 7

10

(**)

5

(***)

9

(****)

Apoio de Agência de Fomento

0 BNDES CNPQ

BNDES CAPES

CAPES FAPESP

CAPES FAPESP

CAPES CNPq

CAPES

FAPESP

CAPES

CNPq

FAPESP

Apoio de Instituições e Associações Profissionais

6 4 5 7 7 8

7

7

(*) Inclui palestrantes do evento conjunto internacional 11th World Continuous Auditing Conference.

(**) Inclui palestrantes do evento conjunto internacional 18th World Symposium of Continuous Auditing Systems on Financial Institutions.

(***) Inclui palestrantes do evento conjunto internacional 20th World Symposium of Continuous Auditing Systems on Financial Institutions.

(****) Inclui palestrantes do evento conjunto internacional 22th World Symposium of Continuous Auditing Systems on Financial Institutions.

Resultados do 8º. CONTECSI Congresso Internacional de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação /Congresso Internacional de Gestão da Tecnologia de Informação e Sistemas de Informação

Vol.8, No.2, 2011, p. 471-507

473

Authors by origin and research topic - Autores por origem e temática

A) JUSTIFICATIVAS E OBJETIVOS

O 8º CONTECSI International Conference on Information Systems and Technology Management dá continuidade a um dos primeiros eventos desta área, focados na Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação sob uma visão multidisciplinar. O CONTECSI tem reunido, com sucesso, acadêmicos e profissionais envolvidos com a temática de gestão da tecnologia e sistemas de informação para discussão do estado da arte deste campo.

O 8º CONTECSI contou com a presença de palestrantes de renome, tendo, nesta



474

edição, um total de 185 trabalhos apresentados em 44 sessões paralelas onde se discutiram os efeitos da Tecnologia e dos Sistemas de Informação na Sociedade e nas Organizações. Seu principal objetivo foi promover o relacionamento entre as diversas comunidades envolvidas: a que produz, a que implementa, a que utiliza, a que regulamenta e a que pesquisa o tema em questão. A presença de renomados palestrantes e pesquisadores nacionais e internacionais permitiu uma integração entre a comunidade acadêmica e profissional, ampliando o interesse na pesquisa, no compartilhamento de informações atualizadas e das práticas utilizadas.

O Congresso foi aberto pelo diretor da Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade - FEA-USP, Prof. Dr. Reinaldo Guerreiro. Os detalhes sobre o desenvolvimento do evento cujas atividades aconteceram nas instalações da FEA 1 e FEA 5 localizadas na FEA-USP, Cidade Universitária, Campus da Capital, São Paulo/SP, podem ser acompanhadas por meio do Programa do evento apresentado a seguir.

Programa

Wednesday 1st June | Quarta-Feira 1º de Junho

08h30 – 17h00 09h00 – 10h00

Registration | Credenciamento FEA 1 Hall | Saguão FEA 1 Welcome Coffee | Café de Boas vindas - FEA 1 1st Floor – 1º Andar

10h00 – 10h45 Opening Ceremony | Cerimônia de Abertura - Auditorium FEA 5 Auditório

Rector | Reitor da USP, Prof. Dr. Grandino Rodas FEA Dean | Diretor da FEA, Prof Dr. Reinaldo Guerreiro Chair | Coordenador do CONTECSI, Prof. Dr. Edson Luiz Riccio

10h45 – 12h15

CULTURE, MEDIA & DECEPTION - Auditorium FEA 5 Auditório Keynote Speaker : Prof. Dr. Joey George, USA President – AIS – Association for Information Systems – Florida State University. USA Chair | Moderador: Prof. Dr. Edson Luiz Riccio – Chair CONTECSI – TECSI FEA USP

12h15 – 13h00

Lunch | Almoço - FEA 1 1st Floor – 1º Andar

13h00 – 15h30

Parallel sessions, research forum | Sessões Paralelas, Fórum de Pesquisa - FEA 1 SESSION 1A - AIS Accounting and Financial Information – ROOM|SALA 1 Chair|Moderador: Theodoro Agostinho Peters Filho SESSION 1B - EDU IT Education and Society – ROOM|SALA 2 Chair|Moderador: Oscar Dalfovo SESSION 1C - ESD Engineering and Software Development – ROOM|SALA 3 Chair|Moderador: Ricardo Lopes Cardoso SESSION 1D - KMG Knowledge Management – ROOM|SALA 4 Chair|Moderador: Marina Keiko Nakayama SESSION 1E - ISM Information System Management – ROOM|SALA 5 Chair|Moderador: Aldemar de Araújo Santos SESSION 1F - ITM Information Technology Management – ROOM|SALA 6 Chair|Moderador: Joshua Onome Imoniana SESSION 1G - ITM II Information Technology Management – ROOM|SALA 7 Chair|Moderador: Kechi Hirama SESSION 1H - COMM I Research Communication – ROOM|SALA 8 Chair|Moderador: Nelma Terezinha Zubek Valente


Vol.8, No.2, 2011, p. 471-507

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15h30 – 16h00 Coffee Break - FEA 1 1st Floor – 1º Andar

16h00 – 18h00 17h00 – 18h00

Parallel sessions, research forum | Sessões Paralelas, Fórum de Pesquisa - FEA 1 SESSION 2A - KMG Knowledge Management – ROOM|SALA 1 Chair|Moderador: Nonato Assis de Miranda SESSION 2B - PPM Public Policy Management and IT/IS – ROOM|SALA 2 Chair|Moderador: Antonio Artur de Souza SESSION 2C - EDU/ITM/RF It Education and Society/ inf. Tech Management–Research Forum – ROOM|SALA 3 Chair|Moderador: Daniel Estima de Carvalho SESSION 2D - COMM II Research Communication – ROOM|SALA 4 Chair|Moderador: Nelma Terezinha Zubek ValenteCongregation Hall | Sala da Congregação E-GOVERNANCE – A GOOD PRACTICE OF E-GOVERNANCE: THE KNOWLEDG E ECONOMY APPROACH FOR THE SOCIAL INCLUSION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABI LITIES International Speaker Prof. Dr. Danilo Piaggesi - Fondazione Rosselli Americas

18h00 – 19h00

Congregation Hall | Sala da Congregação Book release Cocktail – Coquetel de Lançamento do Livro "Global Strategy and Practice of E-Governance: examples from around the world, IGI publisher" IGI Publisher Edited by Danilo Piaggesi, Kristian Sund e Walter Castelnovo, contributions of Edson Luiz Riccio and Valmor Slomski, USP and Gilmar Ribeiro de Mello, Univ. Estado do Parana. Foreword of Enrique V. Iglesias - Former President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and Ibero-American Secretary General (SEGIB), afterword of Geraldo Alckmin, Governor of the State of Sao Paulo Guest of honor: Dra. Linamara Rizzo Battistella, Secretária de Estado dos Direitos da Pessoa com Deficiência, Governo do Estado de São Paulo

Thursday 2nd June | Quinta-Feira 02 de Junho FROM 10H30 TO 18H30 THE 22nd WCAS WILL BE HELD AT THE AUDITORIUM, SEE PROGRAM. DAS 10H30 AS 18H30, O 22ND WCAS OCORRERÁ SIMULTANEAMENTE NO AUDITÓRIO, VEJA PROGRAMAÇÃO

09h00 – 10h15

International Panel: Overview of Information Technology in Korea: Contri bution to its economic growth Prof. Dr. JaeJon Kim, Chonnam National University da Korea - Auditorium FEA 5 Auditório

10h15 – 10h30

Coffee Break FEA 1 - 1st Floor | FEA 1 – 1º Andar



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10h30 – 11h00 ABERTURA DO 22º. WCAS - Auditorium FEA 5 Auditório 11h00 – 12h00 (WCAS) AUDITORIA E MONITORAMENTO CONTÍNUOS NO MERCADO NORTE

AMERICANO Palestrante: William R. Titera Partner Ernst & Young | Professional Practice - Auditing - Assurance Services – USA Debatedores: Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi , Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School Dr. Michael Alles , Department of Accounting & Information Systems, Rutgers Business School Moderador: Dr. Fernando Tostes – Professor da Faculdade de Administração e Finanças da UERJ – Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro

12h00 – 12h45 (WCAS) TENDÊNCIAS DA AUDITORIA E MONITORAMENTO CONTÍNUOS

Palestrante: Dr. Michael Alles , Department of Accounting & Information Systems, Rutgers Business School Debatedores: Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi , Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School William R. Titera Partner , Ernst & Young Professional Practice - Auditing - Assurance Services - USA Moderador: Dr. Fernando Tostes – Professor da Faculdade de Administração e Finanças da UERJ – Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro

11h00 – 12h00

CONTECSI PANEL: PUBLISHING YOUR RESEARCH PAPER - Congregation Hall | Sala da Congregação Prof. Dr. Joey George, Florida State University, USA Profa. Dra. Blanca Bravo , Universidad de Leon, Spain

12h15 – 13h45

Lunch | Almoço FEA 1 - 1st Floor | FEA 1 - 1º Andar

13h45 – 14h25 (WCAS) COMO A ATUAÇÃO INTEGRADA DO COMPLIANCE E DA AUDITORIA

INTERNA PODE SE TORNAR ESTRATÉGICA NA GOVERNANÇA CORPORATIVA Palestrante: Gustavo Amaral de Lucena – Diretor Fundador do ICIC – Instituto de Compliance e Integridade Corporativa e Diretor da PWC Debatedor: Cristiano Silva Borges – Diretor do ISACA Moderador: M.Sc. Washington Lopes da Silva – Gerente de Auditoria de TI da Redecard

14h25 – 15h05 (WCAS) OS DESAFIOS NA IMPLANTAÇÃO DO SPED – SISTEMA PÚBLICO DE ESCRITURAÇÃO DIGITAL Palestrante: Luciano Silva – Diretor de Soluções da Sonda Procwork Debatedor: M.Sc. Washington Lopes da Silva – Gerente de Auditoria de TI da Redecard Moderador: Dr. Jorge Rady de Almeida Jr – Professor da Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo

15h05 – 15h45 (WCAS) AUDITORIA CONTÍNUA NA GESTÃO INTEGRADA DE RISCOS

Palestrante: Elder Aquino – Diretor da KPMG Debatedor: Nilton Sigolo – Sócio da Auditoria & Associados

15h45 – 16h00 Coffee break FEA 1 - 1st Floor | FEA 1 - 1º Andar


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16h00 – 17h00 (WCAS/CONTECSI) XBRL – IMPLEMENTAÇÃO NO BRASIL

Moderador: Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi , Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School Palestrante: Dr. Edson Luiz Riccio , FEA USP Palestrante: Dr. Paulo Caetano da Silva , Banco Central e membro do “XBRL International Certification Board” Palestrante: Maria Betânia Gonçalves Xavier , Coordenadora-Geral de Sistemas e TI da Secretaria do Tesouro Nacional

17h00 – 17h30 (WCAS) IMPLANTAÇÃO DE AUDITORIA CONTÍNUA – BANCO ITAÚ Palestrante: Rogério Antonio Loyola – Gerente de Auditoria Contínua do Banco Itaú Unibanco Debatedor: Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi , Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School

Moderador: Dr. Napoleão Galegale – CEO da Galegale & Associados 17h30 – 18h15 (WCAS) PAINEL DE DEBATES – MODELOS DE AUDITORIA E MONITORAMENTO

CONTÍNUOS Debatedores: Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi , Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School M.Sc. Washington Lopes da Silva – Gerente de Auditoria de TI da Redecard Cristiano Silva Borges – Diretor do ISACA Gilda Manetti - Diretora da Tech Supply – Representante da ACL no Brasil Moderador: Dr. Napoleão Galegale – CEO da Galegale & Associados

18h15 – 18h30 Closing ceremony | Encerramento

13h15 – 15h45

Parallel Sessions, Research Forum | Sessões Paralelas, Fórum De Pesquisa SESSION 3A – AUD System Auditing and IT Governance – ROOM|SALA 1 Chair|Moderator: Marco Antônio Silva SESSION 3B – ERP ESD Engineering and Software Development – ROOM|SALA 2 Chair|Moderador: José Alfredo F. Costa SESSION 3C – KMG Knowledge management – ROOM|SALA 3 Chair|Moderador: Adicinéia Aparecida de Oliveira SESSION 3D – ISM Information System Management – ROOM|SALA 4 Chair|Moderador: Sergio Gozzi SESSION 3E – ITM Information Technology Management – ROOM|SALA 5 Chair|Moderador: Adilson Carlos Yoshikuni SESSION 3F – INT Internet – ROOM|SALA 6 Chair|Moderador: Pedro Tadeu Bertto SESSION 3G – INV IT and IS Innovation – ROOM|SALA 7 Chair|Moderador: Cesar Akira Yokomizo SESSION 3H – SEC IT and IS Security – ROOM|SALA 8 Chair|Moderador: Adriano Marcos Dantas da Silva SESSION 3I – DOCT I Doctoral Consortium – CONGREGATION HALL Chair|Moderador: George Leal Jamil

15h45 – 16h00 Coffee break FEA 1 - 1st Floor | FEA 1 - 1º Andar 16h00 – 18h00

Parallel sessions, research forum | Sessões Paralelas, Fórum de Pesquisa SESSION 4A – AUD/XBRL System Auditing and IT Governance/ XBRL – ROOM|SALA 1 Chair|Moderador: Regivaldo Gomes Costa SESSION 4B – ISM Information System Management – ROOM|SALA 2 Chair|Moderador: Rogério Mendes SESSION 4C – ICT Information and Communication Technology – ROOM|SALA 3



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Chair|Moderador: Takeshy Tachizawa SESSION 4D – AIS/RF Accounting and Financial Information System – ROOM|SALA 4 Chair|Moderador: Márcio Antonio Fedichina SESSION 4E – ISM/RF Information System Management – ROOM|SALA 5 Chair|Moderador: Adolfo Alberto Vanti SESSION 4F – ICT ICT/INV/RF Inf. and Com. Tech/ IT and IS Innovation – ROOM|SALA 6 Chair|Moderador: Cristina Dai Prá Martens SESSION 4G – INV IT and IS Innovation – ROOM|SALA 7 Chair|Moderador: Alessandro Marco Rosini SESSION 4H – ITM/RF Information Technology Management – ROOM|SALA 8 Chair|Moderador: Jussara Pimenta Matos SESSION 4I – DOCT II Doctoral Consortium – CONGREGATION HALL Chair|Moderador: George Leal Jamil

19h00 – 22h30

Official Dinner | Jantar Oficial - São Francisco Golf Club Bus departure from USP at 18h30 |Saída de ônibus da USP às 18h30

Friday 3rd June | Sexta-Feira 3 de Junho

09h00 – 10h30

INFORMATION SCIENCE: DOC E/OU TIC? International Speaker: Chair: Prof. Dr. Armando Malheiro , Univ. Porto, Portugal Speaker: Profa. Dra. Blanca Rodriguez Bravo – Universidad de Leon, Espanha Auditorium FEA 5 Auditório

10h30 – 10h45

Coffee break FEA 1 - 1st Floor | FEA 1 - 1º Andar

10h45 – 12h00

PANEL: RE-VISITING THE COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE CYCLE WITH THE 2. 0 CONCEPT Speakers: Prof. Dr. Luc Quoniam , Paragraphe, Université Paris 8, France, Prof. Charles Victor Boutet , Institut Ingémédia, USTV, Toulon France PANEL: CUSTOMER INTIMACY AND ITS DETERMINANTS : EMPIRICAL RESULT S FROM A MULTI SURVEY STUDY Prof. Dr. Christophe Benavent , Université Paris Ouest Nanterre, France, Chair Prof. Dr. Armando Malheiro , Univ. Porto, Portugal

11h30 – 12h45

Parallel sessions, research forum|Sessões Paralelas, Fórum de Pesquisa SESSION 5A – AIS Accounting and Financial Information System – ROOM|SALA 1 Chair|Moderador: Nonato Assis de Miranda SESSION 5B – AUD/RF System Auditing and IT Governance – ROOM|SALA 2 Chair|Moderador: Jose Manuel Cardenas Medina SESSION 5C – EDU/RF IT Education and Society – ROOM|SALA 3 Chair|Moderador: Jorge Ribeiro de Toledo Filho SESSION 5D – KMG Knowledge Management – ROOM|SALA 4 Chair|Moderador: Vilma Geni Slomski SESSION 5E – PPM Public Policy Management and IT/IS – ROOM|SALA 5 Chair|Moderador: José Gilson de Almeida Teixeira Filho SESSION 5F – ISM Information System Management – ROOM|SALA 6 Chair|Moderador:: Elvis Fusco SESSION 5G – ITM Information Technology Management – ROOM|SALA 7 Chair|Moderador: Gilberto Perez

12h45 – 13h45



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13h45 – 15h45

Parallel sessions, research forum|Sessões Paralelas, Fórum de Pesquisa SESSION 6A – AIS Accounting and Financial Information System – ROOM|SALA 1 Chair|Moderador: Antônio Teodoro Ribeiro Guimarães SESSION 6B – EDU IT Education and Society – ROOM|SALA 2 Chair|Moderador: José Rodrigues Filho SESSION 6C - EDU II IT Education and Society II - ROOM|SALA 3 Chair|Moderador:: Edmir Parada Vasques Prado SESSION 6D – KMG Knowledge Management – ROOM|SALA 4 Chair|Moderador: Aldy Fernandes da Silva SESSION 6E - ITM/RF Information Technology Management – ROOM|SALA 5 Chair|Moderador: Marcos de Moraes Sousa SESSION 6F - ISM Information System Management – ROOM|SALA 6 Chair|Moderador: Emerson Maccari SESSION 6G - ICT Information and Communication Technology – ROOM|SALA 7 Chair|Moderador: Alzenir José de Vargas SESSION 6H - INV IT and IS Innovation – ROOM|SALA 8 Chair|Moderador: Leonel Cezar Rodrigues

15h45 – 16h00

Coffee break FEA 1 - 1st Floor | FEA 1 - 1º Andar

16h00 – 17h30

Auditorium FEA 5 Auditório Best Paper Award & Closing Ceremony Melhores Trabalhos e Encerramento do 8º CONTECSI Musical Performance | Apresentação Musical



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B) SESSÕES PLENÁRIAS

Keynote Speaker

Dr . Joey F. George Professor of MIS & Thomas L. Williams Jr. Eminent Scholar in MIS, Department of Management, College of Business Florida State University CULTURE, MEDIA & DECEPTION Deceptive communication has been studied for decades, but within that vast body of work, relatively little research has been done regarding the roles of cultural or media differences and their effects on deception and its detection. Even less research has been done where culture, media and deception intersect. This presentation introduces two studies conducted at this intersection. The first is an investigation of media selection for deceptive communication, involving Chinese and Americans. The second is a study of deception detection, using Spanish and American participants and judges. Both studies show that culture informs deception and its detection, although media plays less of a role than might be thought.

Panel Information Science / Painel Ciência da Informação

Prof. Dr. Armando Malheiro da Silva Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, Portugal [email protected] DOC E/OU TIC

A escolha do tema “Doc e/ou TIC?”, como temática genérica da sessão plenária sobre Ciência da Informação inserida no 8º CONTECSI, teve claramente a ver com a necessidade de se levar as exigênciasque uma interdisciplinaridade assumida em pleno comporta para o plano delicado, mas fundamental, da discussão e análise terminológica e conceitual. As Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TIC) ainda são, para muitos, perspectivadas ora com receio, ora como um meio, um dispositivo ou uma ferramenta mágica e intimidante, mas cada vez mais se percebe que elas estão sendo incorporadas no quotidiano e em todos os planos da vida individual e coletiva. Sabemos que elas processam, armazenam e disseminam informação; contudo, o confronto com a noção tradicional de documento (informação registrada num suporte físico determinado) não chega a ser feita e, pelo contrário, a tendência é a fuga ao debate através de criações de conceitos, que os documentalistas usam por imposição dos informáticos, mas têm dificuldade em estabelecer pontes de sentido. Referimo-nos, concretamente, à expressão “objeto digital”, que na gíria informática e no glossário associado à construção e


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expansão dos repositórios institucionais e das bibliotecas digitais, tornou-se quase onipresente. Pensamos que pode ser muito estimulante perguntar: A noção de documento deve ser definitivamente abandonada? É óbvio não ser correto falar-se em desmaterialização da informação, uma vez que esta, ao sair do sujeito que a produz, sempre se materializa num qualquer suporte. A complexificação tecnológica dos novos suportes é incompatível com a noção de documento? Estas e outras questões devem ser postas e não é inútil, nem diletante, o esforço em busca de respostas construtivas.A par deste debate, coube, no espaço desta sessão plenária, o enfoque da informação eletrônica, cada vez mais concentrada e pesquisada nas Bibliotecas Universitárias, e outros temas que tangenciam o eixo temático proposto para este ano, porém totalmente pertinentes pela sua complementaridade.

22nd WORLD CONTINUOUS AUDITING SYSTEMS SYMPOSIUM (WCAS) June 2nd, 2011 International Speaker and Chair Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center &. Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School, USA The real time economy is driving substantive changes in business processes. A critical factor to drive these new processes is data quality and its assurance. The development of continuous audit technology is a key development in this area and has been progressively adopted by leading organizations. The World Continuous Audit Symposium in Brazil have focused on key financial processes and entities leading the state-of-the-art in their development. The 22WCAS will introduce the concept of common data receptacle, audit modular implementation and audit "apps." Several leading organizations will present their current developments.

C) DOCTORAL CONSORTIUM

Por: George Leal Jamil – Coordenador

Conjuntamente ao 8ºCONTECSI, no dia 02 de junho, realizou-se também a 5ª edição do Consórcio Doutoral, evento constante da programação deste congresso promovido pela FEA-USP e que se consolida como um projeto pioneiro no Brasil. A análise de projetos de doutorado submetidos ao Consórcio Doutoral teve como propósito permitir que tais propostas de pesquisas pudessem repercutir perante a comunidade acadêmica trazendo importantes benefícios tais como:

• Análise do projeto de tese por uma “pré-banca” de avaliação, composta por professores convidados e pelo coordenador do evento;



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• Interação com os participantes do Congresso, através de sessões de palavra franqueada, no intuito de discutir projetos, metodologia, referências, aspectos práticos e teóricos de condução dos estudos e cooperação;

• Debater e fazer divulgação prévia das idéias dos doutorandos, trazendo para os trabalhos experiências de terceiros e interessados.

Em todas estas situações, destaca-se que os apresentadores conseguiram formalmente, expor de forma aberta todo o ambiente de suas pesquisas, recebendo críticas construtivas, opiniões, direcionamentos e colaborações dos participantes do evento.

As apresentações realizadas durante este Consórcio Doutoral foram:

A GESTÃO DE PROJETOS COMO FERRAMENTA DE GERENCIAMENTO DE INCUBADORAS DE EMPRESAS DE BASE TECNOLÓGICA. PROPOSTA DE UM MODELO DE BASEADO EM PROJETOS PARA CRIAÇÃO DE INCUBADORAS DE EMPRESA: UM ESTUDO MULTI-CASOS EM INCUBADORAS NACIONAISAntonio Lobosco Orientador: Emerson A. Maccari TI VERDE: VALIDADE SOCIAL E MOTIVAÇÕES OCULTAS João Samarone Alves de Lima Orientador: Luiz Fernando Scheibe POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS PARA FINANCIAR LA IMPLEMENTACIÓN DE TECNOLOGÍAS DE INFORMACIÓN Y COMUNICACIÓN EN UNIVERSIDADES PÚBLICAS EN MÉXICO Y EN CANADÁ Miriam Noemí Verdugo Mendoza Orientadora: Rosalinda Gámez Gastélum DESEMPENHO DOS PROGRAMAS DE PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO STRICTO SENSU EM ADMINISTRAÇÃO, TURISMO E CONTABILIDADE NO BRASIL: UM ESTUDO DOS PROGRAMAS NO PERÍODO DE 2001 A 2009 Cibele Barsalini Martins Orientador: Prof. Dr. Emerson A. Maccari

Como tem acontecido desde a sua primeira edição, o Consórcio Doutoral do CONTECSI cumpre seus objetivos, ao propiciar à comunidade presente a discussão em torno dos projetos e aos doutorandos o refinamento esperado aos seus estudos. Tem-se percebido, no exame dos currículos dos participantes em edições anteriores, bem como da avaliação de trabalhos publicados que, não apenas os efeitos e repercussões benéficas desta atividade são percebidos, como também as próprias avaliações feitas pelas bancas e pelos participantes têm sido aceitas como um exame extraordinário dos trabalhos em desenvolvimento, repercutindo em citações sobre metodologia e testes dos projetos de pesquisa.

Nos moldes de grandes congressos e eventos científicos internacionais, porém adaptado à realidade brasileira e em caráter abrangente, aberto e participativo, o


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Consórcio Doutoral do CONTECSI tem se tornado um novo pólo de interação com a comunidade acadêmica e com os participantes frequentes do Congresso, gerando benefícios para os pesquisadores e instituições envolvidas.

D) 22º WORLD CONTINUOUS AUDITING SYMPOSIUM

O 22º. Simpósio Mundial de Auditoria Contínua de Sistemas foi realizado, pelo sexto ano consecutivo, juntamente com o 8º CONTECSI. Reuniu em torno de 80 pessoas no Auditório da FEA/USP, no dia 02/06/2011 e levou para discussão assuntos de interesses acadêmicos e profissionais, tais como: auditoria e monitoramento contínuos no mercado norte-americano; tendências da auditoria e monitoramento contínuo; formas pelas quais a atuação integrada do compliance e da auditoria interna pode se tornar estratégica na governança corporativa; desafios na implantação do SPED – Sistema público de Escrituração Digital; XBRL – implementação no Brasil, entre outros.

O Simpósio contou com a participação de palestrantes experientes no âmbito acadêmico e profissional. Como destaques, houve a presença dos professores Michael Alles e Miklos Vasarhelyi da Rutgers University. Também representativas foram as participações do sócio da Ernst & Young dos Estados Unidos, William R. Titera e de outras empresas que trabalham com a implementação de auditoria e monitoramento contínuos: Tech Supply, KPMG, PWC e Sonda Procwork.

Foram ainda apresentados casos práticos de implementação de Auditoria Contínua em empresas brasileiras, as quais ganharam maior eficiência e produtividade em seus processos de auditoria.

Durante as apresentações, percebeu-se o grande interesse dos participantes em relação aos assuntos abordados, considerando a variedade de questões advindas do público formado por profissionais e estudantes presentes.

O Simpósio também contou com um painel de debates, com profissionais e pesquisadores do tema, cujas discussões levaram à tona os principais desafios dos projetos de implantação de auditoria e monitoramento contínuos.

Como considerações finais, observou-se que o uso da tecnologia da informação nos processos de auditoria e monitoramento contínuos são essenciais para que as empresas atinjam um nível de maturidade satisfatório em seus controles internos. Também é fato que na área tributária brasileira já existem regras objetivas para o uso de dados corporativos para o monitoramento fiscal, contínuo, por parte do governo. Os esforços para a implementação da auditoria e monitoramento contínuos são grandes e as tecnologias atuais estão disponíveis no mercado e se tornando mais acessíveis para as organizações, o que trará maior produtividade e qualidade nos processos de auditoria e monitoramento para uma melhor governança corporativa.

O programa completo do 22º. Simpósio Mundial de Auditoria Contínua de Sistemas pode ser visualizado, a seguir.



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Program | Programa

Local: Auditorium | Auditório FEA 5

Thursday 2nd June | Quinta-Feira 02 de Junho DAS 10H30 AS 18H30, O 22ND WCAS OCORRERÁ SIMULTANEAMENTE AO 8TH CONTECSI VEJA PROGRAMAÇÃO

10h00 – 10h30

Welcome Coffee FEA 1 - 1st Floor | FEA 1 - 1º. Andar

10h30 – 11h00 ABERTURA DO 22º. WCAS - Auditorium FEA 5 Auditório 11h00 – 12h00 (WCAS) AUDITORIA E MONITORAMENTO CONTÍNUOS NO MERCADO NORTE

AMERICANO Palestrante: William R. Titera Partner Ernst & Young | Professional Practice - Auditing - Assurance Services – USA Debatedores: Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi , Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School Dr. Michael Alles , Department of Accounting & Information Systems, Rutgers Business School Moderador: Dr. Fernando Tostes – Professor da Faculdade de Administração e Finanças da UERJ – Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro

12h00 – 12h45 (WCAS) TENDÊNCIAS DA AUDITORIA E MONITORAMENTO CONTÍNUOS

Palestrante: Dr. Michael Alles , Department of Accounting & Information Systems, Rutgers Business School Debatedores: Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi , Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School William R. Titera Partner , Ernst & Young Professional Practice - Auditing - Assurance Services - USA Moderador: Dr. Fernando Tostes – Professor da Faculdade de Administração e Finanças da UERJ – Universidade Estadual do Rio de Janeiro

12h45 – 13h45


13h45 – 14h25 (WCAS) COMO A ATUAÇÃO INTEGRADA DO COMPLIANCE E DA AUDITORIA

INTERNA PODE SE TORNAR ESTRATÉGICA NA GOVERNANÇA CORPORATIVA Palestrante: Gustavo Amaral de Lucena – Diretor Fundador do ICIC – Instituto de Compliance e Integridade Corporativa e Diretor da PWC Debatedor: Cristiano Silva Borges – Diretor do ISACA Moderador: M.Sc. Washington Lopes da Silva – Gerente de Auditoria de TI da Redecard

14h25 – 15h05 (WCAS) OS DESAFIOS NA IMPLANTAÇÃO DO SPED – SISTEMA PÚBLICO DE ESCRITURAÇÃO DIGITAL Palestrante: Luciano Silva – Diretor de Soluções da Sonda Procwork Debatedor: M.Sc. Washington Lopes da Silva – Gerente de Auditoria de TI da Redecard Moderador: Gisleise Nogueira – Especialista Fiscal/Contábil da Aliz – Inteligência Sustentável

15h05 – 15h45 (WCAS) AUDITORIA CONTÍNUA NA GESTÃO INTEGRADA DE RISCOS

Palestrante: Elder Aquino – Diretor da KPMG Debatedor: Nilton Sigolo – Sócio da Auditoria & Associados


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16h00 – 17h00 (WCAS/CONTECSI) XBRL – IMPLEMENTAÇÃO NO BRASIL

Moderador: Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi , Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School

Palestrante: Dr. Edson Luiz Riccio , FEA USP

Palestrante: Dr. Paulo Caetano da Silva , Banco Central e membro do “XBRL

International Certification Board”

Palestrante: Maria Betânia Gonçalves Xavier , Coordenadora-Geral de Sistemas e TI

da Secretaria do Tesouro Nacional

17h00 – 17h30 (WCAS) IMPLANTAÇÃO DE AUDITORIA CONTÍNUA – BANCO ITAÚ

Palestrante: Rogério Antonio Loyola – Gerente de Auditoria Contínua do Banco Itaú

Unibanco

Debatedor: Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi , Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School

Moderador: Dr. Napoleão Galegale – CEO da Galegale & Associados

17h30 – 18h15 (WCAS) PAINEL DE DEBATES – MODELOS DE AUDITORIA E MONITORAMENTO

CONTÍNUOS

Debatedores: Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi , Director – Rutgers Accounting Research Center & Continuous Auditing & Reporting Lab, Rutgers Business School M.Sc. Washington Lopes da Silva – Gerente de Auditoria de TI da Redecard Cristiano Silva Borges – Diretor do ISACA Gilda Manetti Lauriano - Diretora da Tech Supply – Representante da ACL no Brasil Moderador: Dr. Napoleão Galegale – CEO da Galegale & Associados

18h15 – 18h30 Closing ceremony | Encerramento

19h00 – 22h30

Official Dinner | Jantar Oficial - São Francisco Golf Club Bus departure from USP at 18h30 |Saída de ônibus da USP ás 18h30

SYMPOSIUM Publishing your research in academic journals

Thrusday, June 2nd | Quinta-feira, 2 de Junho

Chair Prof. Dr. Edson Luiz Riccio, FEA USP, Brazil Speakers Prof. Dr. Joey George, Florida State University, USA Profa. Dra. Blanca Bravo, University of Leon, Spain The symposium on Publishing your Research is designed for PhD students and Researchers. Speakers will discuss the transition between a thesis and a publication, the



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decision between book and article publication and their experience on publishing researches in academic journals, such as how to chose a journal and how to prepare the manuscript. Support: JISTEM Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management http://www.jistem.fea.usp.br Qualis CAPES Indexation: Scielo, Dialnet, DOAJ, ProQuest, Ebsco, Periódicos CAPES, Portal de periódicos USP.

E) SESSÕES PARALELAS DE APRESENTAÇÃO DE TRABALHOS

Para embasar o relatório relativo aos resultados das sessões de apresentação de trabalhos, a coordenação do CONTECSI solicitou que todos os moderadores de sessões preenchessem um formulário referente ao andamento da sessão comentando sobre a atualidade dos temas, a interação entre os presentes, os questionamentos levantados, comentários adicionais e demais questões relevantes sobre o desenvolvimento e resultado de cada sessão.

A comissão organizadora do 8º CONTECSI agrupou os 185 trabalhos aprovados pela comissão avaliadora do congresso, em 44 sessões, de acordo com a área temática. Em alguns casos, houve necessidade de subdividir uma mesma área temática em duas ou mais sessões em razão da grande quantidade de trabalhos relacionados a um mesmo tema ou assunto. Por suas valiosas contribuições para o andamento das sessões paralelas de apresentação dos trabalhos cujos registros e comentários foram fundamentais para a elaboração deste relatório, a coordenação do CONTECSI agradece a todos os moderadores das sessões a seguir elencados:

Theodoro Agostinho Peters Filho, Oscar Dalfovo, Ricardo Lopes Cardoso, Marina Keiko Nakayama, Aldemar de Araújo Santos, Joshua Onome Imoniana, Kechi Harama, Nelma Terezinha Zubek Valente, Nonato Assis de Miranda, Paulo Henrique Garcia Mansur, Daniel Estima de Carvalho, Marco Antônio Silva, José Alfredo F. Costa, Adicinéia Aparecida de Oliveira, Sérgio Gozzi, Adilson Carlos Yoshikuni, Pedro Tadeu Bertto, Cesar Akira Yokomizo, Adriano Marcos Dantas da Silva, Regivaldo Gomes Costa, Rogério Mendes, Takeshy Tachizawa, Márcio Antonio Fedichina, Adolfo Alberto Vanti, Cristina Dai Prá Martens, Alessandro Marco Rosini, Jussara Pimenta Matos, José Manuel Cárdenas Medina, Jorge Ribeiro de Toledo Filho, Aline Rabelo, José Gilson de Almeida Teixeira Filho, Elvis Fusco, Gilberto Perez, Antônio Teodoro Ribeiro Guimarães, Marcos Godoy Spindola, Edmir Parada Vasques Prado, Marcos de Moraes Sousa, Aldy Fernandes da Silva, César Augusto Biancolino, Alzenir José de Vargas e Leonel Cezar Rodrigues.

Apresentam-se a seguir, ordenados por data de ocorrência, os principais destaques e comentários a respeito das sessões paralelas de apresentação de trabalhos, registrados pelos moderadores das sessões, onde ocorreram as apresentações dos referidos trabalhos:


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01 JUNE / 01 DE JUNHO (WEDNESDAY / QUARTA-FEIRA)

Na sessão 1(A), cujo tema central foi AIS – Accounting and Financial Information, foram apresentados os trabalhos: Aplicação Da Análise Por Envoltória De Dados No Estudo Comparativo Entre Gestão Econômico-Financeira Do Clubes De Futebol Versus Desempenho No Ranking De Clubes Da CBF, de Ananias Francisco dos Santos, Jorge Ribeiro de Toledo Filho; Compliance Of The Asset Control Software To The Precepts Of Cpc 27 And Icpc 10, de Ilse Maria Beuren, Paulo Roberto da Cunha, Roberto Carlos Klann, Soraia Pamplona; Use Of Information In The Cost Management Process: A Study On The Hotel Industry In Portugal, de Adriana Rodrigues Silva, Dina Guimaraes, Wilde Gomes Araujo; Erp Ii: Traces Of Technology In The Future Of Erp Systems, de César Augusto Biancolino, Emerson Antonio Maccari, Edson Luiz Riccio; Análise Das Competências Organizacionais No Período De Pós-Implementação Do ERP, de César Augusto Biancolino, Edson Luiz Riccio, Marici Gramacho Sakata, Sandra Raquel Pinto Alves. De acordo com o moderador Prof. Theodoro Peters Filho, a sessão ocorreu dentro da normalidade esperada, para o bom nível do Congresso. Todos os artigos foram apresentados, destacando os problemas e metodologias, seguidos de questões e discussões.

Na sessão 1(B), que teve como tema EDU IT – Education and Society, apresentaram-se os seguintes trabalhos: Learning Evaluation In Distance Courses: A Case Study, de Estéfano Vizconde Veraszto, Nonato Assis de Miranda, Jomar Barros Filho; A Discussion About New Technologies And Reframing Of Educational Paradigms, de Adilaurinda Ribeiro de Oliveira, Alessandro Marco Rosini; Desarrollo De Un Modelo Educativo Utilizando Gestión Del Conocimiento, de Araceli Romero Romero, Eva Martha Chaparro Salinas, Juan Alberto Ruiz Tapia, Julio Alvarez Botello; Estudio De Factibilidad Para La Incorporación De Una Maestría En Administración En La Modalidad A Distancia, de Eva Martha Chaparro Salinas, Maria del Carmen Hernandez Silva, Felisa Yaerim López Botello, Michael Gasca Leyva. O moderador Prof. Oscar Dalfovorelatou que todos os artigos foram apresentados, destacando aspectos importantes das apresentações e das discussões.

A sessão 1(C), moderada pelo Prof. Ricardo Lopes Cardoso, com o tema ESD – Engineering and Software Development, teve os seguintes trabalhos apresentados: Melhoria De Processos De Software Em Uma Empresa Utilizando A Metodologia Pro2pi, de Rogério Tergolina, Marcelo Schneck de Paula Pessôa, Clenio Figueiredo Salviano; Redesigning A Software Development Process Using Epf And Spem: A Case Study, de Claudia de Oliveira Melo, Gisele Ferreira, Rejane Maria da Costa Figueiredo. Segundo o moderador, as questões alocadas foram produtivas e bem focadas nos trabalhos a serem avaliados. O ponto negativo relatado pelo moderador foi que três papers não puderam ser apresentados devido à falta ou ausência dos autores, sendo que um dos artigos foi apresentado por um não autor.

Segundo a moderadora Profa. Marina Keiko Nakayama, a sessão 1(D), com o tema KMG – Knowledge Management e com os trabalhos: The Creation Of Favorable Atmosphere For The Processes Of Organizational Learning: The Case Of A Metallurgical Company In The Automotive Section, de Alila Alves Corrêa, Luiz Fernando Soller, Sergio Rodrigues Pontes; A Utilização Do Conhecimento Do Corpo



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Docente Na Melhoria Da Gestão Das Instituições De Ensino Superior Privadas, de Emmerson Ricieri Brito, Maria Celeste Reis Lobo de Vasconcelos, Simone Cristina Dufloth, Jorge Tadeu De Ramos Neves; O Papel Da Confiança Do Decisor No Processo Decisório Em Um Contexto De Risco, de Ricardo Simm Costa, Henrique Mello Rodrigues de Freitas; An Organizational Memory Model Based On Semantic Web Technologies For Managing Knowledge In A College Of Northwest Mexico, de Alonso Perez-Soltero, Miguel Enrique López Muñoz, Mario Barcelo-Valenzuela; Speculations On Intuition And Instantaneous Decision Making Process, de Emerson Antonio Maccari, Fernando Kuhn Andriotti, Henrique Mello Rodrigues de Freitas, Cristina Dai Prá Martens; Uma Investigação Sobre O Princípio Da Modalidade Aplicado A Um Curso Técnico De Nível Médio Brasileiro, de José Dutra de Oliveira Neto, Nádia Cristina de Azevedo Melli, teve seis apresentações, o que prejudicou as propostas e as qualidades das discussões. Apesar disso, o nível ótimo das discussões foi ótimo e as principais questões levantadas foram relacionadas aos aspectos comportamentais, psicológicos e subjetivos da confiança, intuição, pré-disposição e também aos aspectos da cultura organizacional e da aprendizagem mediada por tecnologias.A sessão 1(E), com a temática ISM – Information System Management, teve moderação de Aldemar de Araújo Santos, com os trabalhos: Uma Análise Da Mudança Da Política De Transporte Do Modal Rodoviário Para O Marítimo De Cargas Eletrônicas Provindas De Manaus Para São Paulo, de José Abel de Andrade Baptista, Marcelo Rabelo Henrique, Luciane Ribeiro Dias Pinheiro, Camila Rosa da Costa; Dimensões Do Risco Da Terceirização Do Desenvolvimento E Manutenção De Aplicativos Na Percepção De Seus Atores: Uma Meta-Análise, de Rosana Carmen de Meiroz Grillo Gonçalves; Adopção De Tecnologias E Sistemas De Informação Em Entidades Hospitalares – Estudo Do Caso De Um Hospital Português Da Região Norte, de João Varajão, Antonio Jose Balloni, Ricardo Martinho, Rui Rijo, Manuela Cunha. Segundo o moderador, duas apresentações não puderam ser apresentadas devido à falta dos autores. Todas as apresentações foram realizadas com bastante didática, destacando resultados e esquemas importantes. Houve muitas perguntas e discussões. Em apenas uma apresentação, houve discussão relacionada a falta do material.

A sessão 1(F) com tema ITM – Information Technology Management teve como moderador o Prof. Joshua O. Imoniana e os trabalhos apresentados foram: The Use Of Information Technology For Obtaining Competitive Advantage: A Study With Healthcare Organizations, de Gilberto Perez, Bárbara Morgerote Santos, Monique Carvalho Albuquerque, Tatiana Teixeira Carlos de Menezes; A Model To Evaluate Innovation Adoption Of Information Systems To Improve Processes And Services In The Health Industry: A Study About The Use Of The Electronic Patient Record System, de Gilberto Perez, Moises Ari Zilber, Ana Maria Roux Valentini Coelho Cesar, Sergio Lex; Information And Communication Technology (Ict) As Strategic Tool Of Enterprises, de Jose Antonio Carneiro, Gilberto Perez, Soraia Godoi Fautino Brasil; Evaluation Of Hospital Information Systems: An Study Of Philanthropic And Public Hospitals Located In Belo Horizonte/MG, de Antonio Artur de Souza, Cynthia Oliveira Lara, Anna Carolina Corrêa Pereira, Lívia Carolina de Matos Lima; (Research Forum) Apoio Tecnológico À Estratégia Organizacional: Fatores Para O Sucesso No Uso Do BI, de João Augusto Mescua Gomes, George Leal Jamil. Segundo o moderador, todos os trabalhos foram apresentados com temas bastante relevantes, mostrando um conhecimento prévio dos participantes presentes sobre os assuntos trabalhados.


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A sessão 1(G) com a temática ITM II – Information Technology Management II e a moderação de Kechi Hirama teve a apresentação dos seguintes trabalhos: Modelo De Maturidade De Governança De Processos De Negócio, de Giordano Alan Barbosa Sereno, Newton Castilho Lavoyer, Alécio Filipe, João Souza Neto; Modelo De Gestão Empresarial Com Suporte Das Tecnologias Da Informação: Estratégia De Reconfiguração Organizacional Baseada Em Hierarquização De Decisões, de Takeshy Tachizawa; The Design Of IT Management In The Top 100 Organizations Based In Brazil, de Sergio Alexandre Simões, Leonel Cezar Rodrigues; Information And Communication Technology (Ict) As Strategic Tool Of Enterprises, de Alberto de Medeiros Júnior; Fatores Determinantes Na Contratação De Fornecedores De Tecnologia Da Informação Em Empresas Do Vale Do Itajaí – SC, de Simone Cristina Aléssio, Oscar Dalfovo, Viviane Alexandra Machado Saragoça.. Segundo o moderador, foram apresentados apenas quatro trabalhos; o quinto não foi apresentado, pois estava programado para outra sessão. Houve, em média, cinco questões por artigo, todas bastante relevantes, mostrando um conhecimento prévio dos presentes sobre os assuntos tratados. Todos os temas foram atuais, destacando os problemas de gestão de TI nas organizações.A sessão 1(H) com o tema COMM I Research Communication teve a coordenação da Profa. Nelma T Zubek Valente e contou com a apresentação dos seguintes trabalhos: Graduação em Sistemas de Informação: Um Novo Perfil de Profissional para o Atendimento a Demandas da Sociedade Contemporânea, de Rosângela Lopes Lima, Isabel Leite Cafezeiro, Luiz Valter Brand Gomes; Modelo de Governança da Tecnologia da Informação do Escritório ao Chão de Fábrica: Um Estudo de Caso, de Ana Carolina Riekstin, Tereza Cristina Melo de Brito Carvalho; Formulação do Planejamento Estratégico de Tecnologia da Informação em Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior Através de Pesquisa-Ação, de Luiza Gonçalves de Paula, Asterio Tanaka, Renata Araujo; Teste de Software: Uma Proposta de Checklist para Teste Funcional de Webquest, de Toni Amorim de Oliveira, Max Robert Marino e Rosimeire Camargo Inácio. O artigo “An Organizational Memory Model Based on Semantic Web Technologies for Managing Knowledge in a College of Northwest México”, de Alonso Perez-Soltero, Miguel Enrique Lopez Muñoz e Mario Barcelo Valenzuela também programado para esta sessão não foi apresentado em razão da ausência dos referidos autores. Segundo a moderadora, a participação ativa de todos os presentes nas discussões e debates ocorridos após cada uma das apresentações trouxe valiosas contribuições não somente aos autores dos referidos trabalhos mas, também, a todos os pesquisadores, docentes e profissionais presentes na sessão. Tal diversidade é por certo o fator que alavanca a riqueza e relevância dos referidos debates. As questões levantadas focaram a problemática da pesquisa, a sua aplicabilidade, adequação/inadequação da metodologia da pesquisa e dos procedimentos de coleta de dados, e também aspectos relacionados à fundamentação teórica de alguns trabalhos. A pertinência e relevância dos comentários, críticas e sugestões apresentados certamente servirão para a melhoria e avanço dos referidos estudos. sessão 2(A), sobre KMG – Knowledge Management, que teve como moderador o Prof. Nonato Assis de Miranda, os temas apresentados foram: Elements Of The Intellectual Capital Of A Supermarket Catarinense, de Geovanne Dias de Moura, Odir Luiz Fank, Jorge Ribeiro de Toledo Filho; Relational View And Social Capital As Strategic Systems In Networks, de Omar Magalhães Dias, Theodoro Agostinho Peters Filho; Retenção Do Conhecimento No Contexto Do Desenvolvimento De Software: Estudo De Múltiplos Casos, de Fernando



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Hadad Zaidan, George Leal Jamil, Leandro Libério da Silva. Segundo o moderador, os níveis das discussões foram muito bons, principalmente em virtude da similaridade dos assuntos abordados. As principais questões levantadas ficaram por conta da criação de ferramentas de mensuração de construções como capital social, capital humano e capital estrutural. A intervenção dos presentes ocorreu de modo interativo, o que tornou a sessão agradável. Foi incluído na sessão o trabalho: Research Results Of The Potential And Profile Assessment (PPA) In Brazilian Professionals With Use Of Data Mining, de Heitor Garcia de Carvalho, Leandro Libério da Silva e George Leal Jamil.

A sessão 2(B), sobre PPM – Public Policy Management, moderada pelo Prof. Paulo Henrique Garcia Mansur teve a apresentação dos seguintes temas; The Use Of Websites In The Local Councils Of Santa Catarina For The Practice Of Transparency, de Daniela Regina Cunha, Fabiano Maury Raupp; Seeking For Transparency, Accountability And Participation In Websites Of Local Councils Of The Major Brazilian Capitals, de Fabiano Maury Raupp, Jose Antonio Gomes de Pinho; A Percepção Dos Contabilistas Do Município De Florianópolis, Com Relação À Implantação Do Sistema Público De Escrituração Digital, de Andrea da Silva Pires, Luiz Felipe Ferreira, Sérgio Murilo Petri, Neri Müller. Segundo o moderador, as discussões apresentaram um nível elevado sobre o protocolo definido para a pesquisa dos trabalhos, trazendo relevantes questionamentos a respeito da metodologia e da literatura. Dúvidas sobre a questão da transparência pública foram levantadas e também sobre o modelo proposto pelos autores, especialmente em relação ao fato de o mecanismo de avaliação dos websites ter mostrado eficiência. Conclui ressaltando que o tema é atual, oportuno e pode contribuir na definição de políticas públicas.

Na sessão 2(C), dedicada ao tema EDU/ITM/RF – It Education and Society/ Inf. Tech. Management – Research Forum, a moderação foi feita pelo Prof. Daniel Estima de Carvalho e contou com os seguintes trabalhos: The Cultural Issues Of Social Networking And Its Principles And Values For The Social Inclusion Of Their Communities Through Education, de Alessandro Marco Rosini, Ana Cristina Limongi-França; O Uso Do Ambiente Virtual De Aprendizagem (Ava) No Ensino Dos Cursos De Computação E Sistemas, de Maria José Carvalho de Souza Domingues, Rion Brattig Correia; Estudo Da Viabilidade Para Implantação Do Rfid Em Transportadora, de Airan Arinê Possamai, Janaina Schappo, Oscar Dalfovo; Significant Factors In The Implementation Of An Integrated Management System In A Higher Education Institution, de Auta Maria da Silva, César Augusto Biancolino, Emerson Antonio Maccari, Milton de Abreu Campanario. Segundo o moderador, as discussões foram interessantes, com diversas contribuições aos trabalhos e todas as apresentações remeteram a temas atuais.

Na sessão 2(D) cujo tema foi COMM II Research Communication, a moderação ficou a cargo da Profa. Nelma T Zubek Valente para coordenar as apresentações dos seguintes trabalhos: O Sistema de Remuneração Adotado por Empresas do Setor de Informática do Distrito Federal: Um estudo de Caso, de Wesley Antônio Gonçalves; Elaboração de Checklists Específicas para Modalidades de Softwares Educacionais, de Max Robert Marinho, Toni Amorim de Oliveira, Claudinéia Pereira de Sousa; Teste Funcional de Software: Uma proposta de teste em Software Educativo, de Toni Amorim de Oliveira, Max Robert Marinho, Henrique Candido de Moraes; Envolvimento com Produtos nas Coortes: Um estudo no Varejo Brasileiro, de Carlos Eduardo Lourenço, Willian Ramalho Feitosa; Automação de Subestações de Energia Elétrica na


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Norma IEC 61850 Utilizando as Recomendações NERC-CIP, de Antonio Eduardo Marques da Silva, Alessandro Anzaloni, Julio C. de Oliveira e Mauricio T. Pereira. De acordo com a moderadora, o último artigo programado para esta sessão não foi apresentado em razão da ausência dos autores. Relatou ainda que alguns trabalhos se destacaram pela interdisciplinaridade presente nos fundamentos teóricos que sustentaram os referidos estudos. Educação, Sociologia e Psicologia estão também subsidiando muitas das pesquisas realizadas evidenciando mais uma vez que o estudo dos sistemas e tecnologias não pode prescindir dos fundamentos relacionados aos aspectos sociotécnicos, humanos e comportamentais envolvidos nas tecnologias e sistemas desenvolvidos e implementados.

02 JUNE / 02 DE JUNHO (THURSDAY / QUINTA-FEIRA)

A sessão 3(A), com o tema AUD – System Auditing and IT Governance, teve como moderador o Prof. Marco Antônio Silva e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Estruturação De Auditorias Em Processos De Tecnologia Da Informação Utilizando Visões Do Arcabouço Cobit, de Diorgens Miguel Meira; Identificação De Possíveis Implicações Do Decreto 6.932/2009 Para A Governança De TI Na Administração Pública Federal, de Antônio Gomes de Lima Neto, Leopoldina Maria Colares de Araújo; The Profile Of The Decision Of Chief Information Officer (Cio) And Its Perception Arrangements With Respect To It Governance, de Cláudio Márcio Campos de Mendonça, Manoel Veras de Sousa Neto; Estudo Experimental Em Planejamento Estratégico De Si/Ti, de Leonardo Cordeiro de Araújo, José Gilson de Almeida Teixeira Filho; The Analytical Review Procedures In Audit: An Exploratory Study, de Anisio Candido Pereira, Joshua Onome Imoniana, Maria Thereza Pompa Antunes, Stephanie Martins Mattos. Segundo o moderador, os cinco artigos podem avançar quanto à abordagem metodológica. Relata ainda que as participações foram efetivas e trouxeram contribuições dos integrantes da plenária. Houve o comparecimento de todos os integrantes dos trabalhos (autores) e todos foram pontuais.

Na sessão 3(B), cujo tema foi ERP ESD – Engineering and Software Development, o moderador foi o Prof. José Alfredo F. Costa e foram apresentados os seguintes trabalhos: Ferramentas De Suporte A Mdd: Um Quadro Comparativo, de Monique Conceição Soares, Alexandre Marcos Lins de Vasconcelos, Cristine Martins Gomes de Gusmão, Jaelson Brelaz De Castro; Adaptxp: A Xp Adaptation Method For Software Development Organizations, de Kechi Hirama, Welington Alessandro Smaniotto Bispo; Estrutura De Conteúdo Multinível Para Personalização Em Sistemas Tutores Conexionistas, de Edna Lucia Flores, Sirlon Diniz de Carvalho; Interplay Among Software Product Lines, Model Driven Architecture And Service Oriented Architectures For Industrial Production Of Software, de Helga Duarte, Victor Mario Cardona Medina; Software Testing Services Challenges: A Brazilian Experience, de Antonio Carlos Tonini, Mauro de Mesquita Spinola, Rodrigo Franco Gonçalves, Vagner Luiz Gava; Software Público Brasileiro: Rumo À Qualidade No Processo De Desenvolvimento De Software Em Comunidades Virtuais, de Alessandra Casses Zoucas, Marcello Thiry, Márcia Regina Martins Martinez, Clenio Figueiredo Salviano; Quality Attributes On Service Oriented Architecture, de Jussara Pimenta Matos. Segundo o



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moderador, a sessão foi muito boa e com muitas discussões interessantes, embora um artigo não tenha sido apresentado devido à ausência do(s) autor(es).

A sessão 3(C), com o tema KMG – Knowledge Management, teve como moderadora a Profa. Adicinéia Aparecida de Oliveira e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: O Processo De Descoberta Do Conhecimento Como Suporte À Análise Criminal: Minerando Dados Da Segurança Pública De Santa Catarina, de Aires Jose Rover, Edson Rosa Gomes da Silva; Evidenciação Do Capital Intelectual Em Empresas Do Setor De Tecnologia Da Informação E Do Setor De Telecomunicações Listadas Na Bm&Fbovespa Nos Anos De 2007 A 2009, de Diane Rossi Maximiano Reina, Donizete Reina, Jefferson João Miguel, Tatiane Aparecida Tasca; Identificação De Atributos Do Modelo Teoria Da Criação Do Conhecimento Em Simulador De Comércio Exterior – Uma Perspectiva Dos Estudantes De IES, de Edson Wilson Torrens, Maria José Carvalho de Souza Domingues; Capital Intelectual: Um Estudo Comparativo De Suas Características Nos Contextos Nacional E Internacional No Período De 1994 A 2008, de Diane Rossi Maximiano Reina, Donizete Reina, Sandra Rolim Ensslin. Segundo a moderadora, o nível das discussões com os palestrantes e ouvintes foi muito bom. Foram levantadas questões atuais e pertinentes dos trabalhos. Um artigo não pode ser apresentado pela ausência dos autores.

A sessão 3(D), com o tema ISM – Information System management, foi moderada pelo Prof. Sérgio Gozzi e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Forecasting Time-Series In The Brazilian Retail Of Goods And Services: A Comparative Application Of Elman Artificial Neural Networks And Sarima Models, de Jorge Luís Durgante Pasquotto, Ronaldo Zwicker (In Mem); The Global Impact Of Gis As A Development In Marginal Regions (Region Mazahua The State Of Mexico). Conceptual Theoretical Reflection, de Elsa Mireya Rosales Estrada, Marcela Virginia Santana Juárez, Agustín Olmos Cruz, Luis Ricardo Manzano; Erm2c Methodology: The New Strategy To Improve The Learning/Teaching Process In Algorithm, de Ricardo Luiz Barros Leite Campos; Arquitetura De Dados Socioambientais: Referencial Sistêmico Para Desenvolvimento De Software Aplicado À Sustentabilidade Empresarial No Contexto Das Mudanças Climáticas Globais, de Takeshy Tachizawa; Controladoria Na Administração Pública Municipal: Um Estudo Das Informações Contábeis E Financeiras Dos Sistemas De Informação Utilizados Pelas Prefeituras Do Estado Do Rio Grande Do Norte, de Aldemar de Araújo Santos. Segundo o moderador, os trabalhos despertaram bastante interesse e questionamentos, tendo em vista a qualificação excelente dos participantes, a atualidade dos temas e também devido à clareza dos expositores que souberam transmitir as idéias das suas pesquisas no tempo concedido. Outro fato a ser destacado segundo o moderador é que devido à coincidência de interesses dos conferencistas nos temas apresentados, os debates ocorridos foram de alto nível e contribuíram para acrescentar conhecimento. Ressaltou ainda que todos os trabalhos foram apresentados no horário, não havendo ausência de nenhum autor.

Na sessão 3(E), com o tema ITM – Information Technology Management, que teve como moderador o Prof. Adilson Carlos Yoshikuni e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Proposta De Modelo De Implantação Do ITIL Para Gestão De Serviços De Ti De Empresas De Logística, de Marcio Aurelio Ribeiro Moreira, Savio Nascimento, Rogério Mendes, Flamaryon Guerin Gomes Borges; Mpls Migration A Multicriteria Decision Approach Using Macbeth, de Ana Cristina Pereira de Pedrosa Assolari, David Bianchini; Avaliação De Segurança Em Redes Sem Fio, de Marcio


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Aurelio Ribeiro Moreira, Jairo Rodrigues de Araújo, Rogério Mendes, Flamaryon Guerin; O Uso Da TI No Setor Da Saúde E O Aumento Da Exigência Da Demanda, de Macir Bernardo de Oliveira, Fernando José Barbin Laurindo; Rede De Valor Na Saúde E O Uso Da TI: Diferentes Soluções Que Concorrem Entre Si E/Ou Que Se Complementam, de Macir Bernardo de Oliveira, Fernando José Barbin Laurindo, todos os trabalhos apresentados tiveram um ótimo nível de fundamentação teórica e aplicação prática. O moderador relatou ainda que todos os artigos foram embasados em pesquisas de campo demonstrando a efetivação da teoria com prática.

Na sessão 3(F), cujotema foi INT - Internet, a moderação foi realizada pelo Prof. Pedro Tadeu Bertto, e ocorreram as apresentações dos seguintes trabalhos: Softwares De Recrutamento E Seleção Online: Estudo Realizado Em Empresas De Informática De Blumenau, Santa Catarina, de Giancarlo Gomes, Maria José Ribeiro, Marlei Rute Gruchinski; Análise Da Percepção Dos Valores Do Software Livre E De Código Aberto Em Projetos De Empreendedorismo: Um Estudo De Caso De Uma Prestadora De Serviços De TI, de Júlio Cesar da Silva; Análise Webométrica Dos Sites Das Instituições De Ensino Superior Da Região Sul Do Brasil, de Lara Fabiana Dallabona, Moacir Manoel Rodrigues Junior, Rita Buzzi Rausch; The Challenge Of Producing Digital Assets Against The Pirates: The Record Music Companies Case, de Alberto de Medeiros Júnior, Samuel Fructuoso Nunes Bordoni Figueiredo, Sergio Luis Seloti Jr; Fatores Que Influenciam A Percepção Dos Alunos E Professores Do Curso De Administração Do Centro Universitário São Camilo Na Realização De Compras Via Internet, de Luis Hernan Contreras Pinochet, Ana Cristina Pereira, Ana Carolina Rodrigues Duran, Germano Rodrigues Nunes; Análise Dos Fatores Críticos De Sucesso Na Implantação De Sistemas Integrados De Gestão Em Pequenas E Médias Empresas: Um Confronto Entre O Referencial Teórico E A Prática Organizacional, de Adriana Torre Morais, Júlio Cesar da Silva. Segundo o moderador, as temáticas discutidas se mostraram fundamentalmente atualizadas e contribuiram para a ampliação do entendimento do papel da TI e dos sistemas de informação na gestão das modernas organizações. Todos os autores compareceram, houve tempo para discussões e tudo ocorreu dentro da normalidade. A sessão 3(G), com o tema INV – IT and IS Innovation, teve como moderador o Prof. Cesar Akira Yokomizo e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Informações Em Tempo Real: Uma Análise Das Vantagens Da Aplicação Da Latência Zero Em Um Data Mart, de Adriano Arrivabene, Renato José Sassi, João Paulo da Silva Castro, Jorge Alonso Lima; The Context In Mobile Work: A Discussion In Light Of The Paradigm Of Ubiquity, de Kathiane Benedetti Corso, Henrique Mello Rodrigues de Freitas, Ariel Behr; The Meanings Of The Work Virtualization: Discursive Manifestations Of The Technological, Processing And Personal Perceptions, In The Intra-Organizational Relations, de Ângela Maria Martins Paiva, Daniel Jardim Pardini, Priscila de Jesus Papazissis Matuck; Ciudades Digitales La Opción Del Futuro. Perspectiva De Los Principales Casos Y Mejores Prácticas Dirigidas Al Caso De Colombia, de Margarita María Bautista. Segundo o moderador, todos os artigos da sessão foram apresentados e houve também a adição de mais dois trabalhos: El Know-How En La Internacionalización De La Franquicia, Particularidades En América Latina, de Guadalupe Davizón Corrales e Gis Application On Human Health: A Case Study In The Mazahua Region In The State Of Mexico, de Marcela Virginia Santana Juárez, Elsa Mireya Rosales Estrada, Agustín Olmos Cruz e Giovanna Santana Castañeda.



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Na sessão 3(H), com o tema SEC – IT and IS Security, o moderador foi o Prof. Adriano Marcos Dantas da Silva que coordenou a apresentação dos seguintes trabalhos: Biometric Identification Using Fingerprint In Web Systems, de Leandro Costa Coelho, Marcio Belo Rodrigues da Silva; Terceirização De Serviços De TI: Aspectos De Segurança, de Regivaldo Gomes Costa, Henrique Andrade de Almeida; Segurança Da Informação Em Ambientes De Rede De Computadores: Um Estudo Sobre Os Impactos Dos Procedimentos Dos Usuários, de Paulo César Ribeiro Quintairos, Edson Aparecid de Araújo Querido Oliveira, Mônica Gonçalves de Mendonça; Alinhamento Estratégico Entre Objetivos De Negócio E Segurança Da Informação No Contexto Da Governança De Tecnologia Da Informação (TI): Um Estudo No Setor De Automação Industrial, de Adolfo Alberto Vanti, André Marcelo Knorst; Investigação Empírica Sobre Percepção Da Segurança Da Informação Pelos Usuários De Uma Universidade Pública Baseada Na Análise Fatorial Exploratória, de Walber José Adriano Silva, Flavius da Luz E Gorgônio, Gustavo H. M. B. Motta; Governança De TI E SOA: Controle De Riscos Na Implementação Da Arquitetura Orientada A Serviços Utilizando Cobit, ITIL E ISO 27002, de José Rogério Poggio Moreira, Marcelo Janvrot Vivone, Paulo Caetano da Silva. Segundo o moderador, apenas um artigo não pode ser apresentado devido à ausência dos autores.

A sessão 3(I), com tema DOCT I – Doctoral Consortium, moderada pelo Prof. George Leal Jamil, teve a apresentação e discussão de quatro Projetos de Tese conforme detalhes já apresentados nas páginas 11 e 12 deste relatório. O moderador destacou o fato de os apresentadores conseguirem, formalmente, expor de forma aberta todo o ambiente de suas pesquisas, recebendo críticas construtivas, opiniões, direcionamentos e colaborações dos participantes do evento.

A sessão 4(A) com o tema AUD/XBRL – System Auditing and IT Governance/ XBRL, teve como moderador o Prof. Regivaldo Gomes Costa, e a apresentação dos artigos: Xbrl: Um Passo Para A Democratização Da Informação Contábil?, de Rosângela Mesquita Ayres, Paula Rodrigues da Silva, Isabelle Martelleto Silberman, Aracéli Cristina de S. Ferreira; Continuous Audit In Risk Control Of An Financial Institution, de Carlos Alberto Helfer, Sidnei Celerino da Silva; Xbrl: A Contribuition Of Information Technology To The Growing Demand For Corporate Information, de Fabio de Paula Santos, Wagner Däumichen Barrella; Novas Perspectivas Para O Governo Eletrônico: A Adoção Dos Dados Governamentais Abertos No Brasil, de Manuella Maia Ribeiro, Ricardo Matheus, José Carlos Vaz; Operational Risk Management In Business Information Technology: A Case Study, de Vinícius Costa da Silva Zonatto, Joao Alberto Lago, Francisco Carlos Fernandes. Segundo o moderador, as apresentações ocorreram conforme o planejado pela organização do CONTECSI, as palestras tiveram um bom nível e não houve ausências por parte dos autores. Sugere, entretanto, que um maior tempo para as apresentações possibilitaria uma melhor explanação técnica.

Na sessão 4(B), com o tema ISM – Information System Management, o moderador foi o Prof. Rogério Mendes para a apresentação dos trabalhos: Abordagem Proativa Como Redutor De Acidentes Em TI: Um Estudo De Caso Em Uma Organização Estatal De Pesquisa E Desenvolvimento, de Paulo César Ribeiro Quintairos, Edson Aparecida de Araújo Querido Oliveira, Jorge Tadano, Luiz Carlos Fraga e Silva Junior; Controladoria Na Administração Pública Municipal: Um Estudo Das Informações Contábeis E Financeiras Dos Sistemas De Informação Utilizados


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Pelas Prefeituras Do Estado Do Rio Grande Do Norte, de Francisco Jean Carlos de Souza Sampaio; The Principles Of Organization Focused On Strategy: A Study In Winning Companies Of The National Quality Award, de Antonia Maria dos Santos Siqueira, Adriano Macêdo dos Santos, José Alfredo Ferreira Costa, Marcelo Coelho Sá; Sistemas De Recomendação E Estratégias De Prescrição Na Web, de Fernando Colmenero-Ferreira, Adicinéia Aparecida De Oliveira; Factors Which Lead Academicians Of Course Administration In Private Higher Education Institution To Improper Use Of Ready-Made Assignments From The Internet, de Nelma T. Zubek Valente, Diva Brecailo Abib, Marcia de Andrade Pereira, Ana Carolina M. Pilatti de Paula. Segundo o moderador, apenas um artigo não pode ser apresentado devido à ausência dos autores. Os demais artigos foram apresentados dentro do prazo programado e após as apresentações, foram abertas para as perguntas ao público presente, que se mostrou sempre interessado e participativo.

Na sessão 4(C), com o tema ICT – Information and Communication Technology, a moderação foi realizada pelo Prof. Takeshy Tachizawa que coordenou a apresentação dos trabalhos: Theoretical Reflections Of Users’ Info-Communicational Behaviors On Social Networks In Internet, de Leandro Libério da Silva, Armando Malheiro da Silva, Fernando Hadad Zaidan; Informational Asymmetry And Organizational Performance: A Laboratory Study With Business Games, de Antonio Carlos Aidar Sauaia, Marco Antônio Silva; Pricing And Cognition: A Behavioral Study In A Simulated Environment, de Antonio Carlos Aidar Sauaia, Sergio Gerletti; Competências Em Informação E Comunicação: Necessidades Para Participação Em Redes Sociais Em Ambientes Digitais, de Mauro Araújo Câmara, Jussara Borges; Wikis Semânticos E A Construção Colaborativa De Ontologias: Um Estudo De Caso, de Fernando Hadad Zaidan, Marcello P. Bax. Segundo o moderador, as apresentações contaram com a presença de todos e os horários foram devidamente cumpridos. Ressalta também a excelente organização do 8º CONTECSI destacando aspectos como: material de apoio distribuído com bom conteúdo, serviço de recepção estruturado e suporte-atendimento às salas de apresentação.

A sessão 4(D), cujotema foi AIS/RF – Accounting and Financial Information System, teve como moderador o Prof. Márcio Antônio Hirose Fedichina e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Br-Gaap E Ifrs: Uma Análise Do Processo De Convergência Sobre A Ótica Do Functional Illiteracy, de Adriano Marcos Dantas da Silva, Agnaldo Batista da Silva, João Carlos Hipólito Bernardes do Nascimento, Juliana da Silva Reis; O Perfil Do Contador Na Perspectiva Da Utilização E Conhecimento Em Sistemas De Informações: Um Estudo Em Empresas De Serviços Contábeis De Florianópolis Associadas Ao Sescon Da Região, de James Hilton Becker, Tatiane De Oliveira Marques, Sérgio Murilo Petri, Maria Denize Henrique Casagrande; Desafios Na Implementação Do Balanced Scorecard Em Uma Ies Comunitária, de Alzenir José de Vargas, Carlos Eduardo Facin Lavarda; Contabilidade Tradicional E Economia Solidária, de Reinaldo Pacheco da Costa, Abraão Freires Saraiva Júnior. Segundo o moderador, todas as apresentações programadas foram devidamente apresentadas e o nível das discussões foram excelentes. Foi adicionada nesta sessão a apresentação do trabalho: A Percepção Dos Contabilistas Do Município De Florianópolis, Com Relação À Implantação Do Sistema Público De Escrituração Digital, de Andrea da Silva Pires, Luiz Felipe Ferreira, Sérgio Murilo Petri, Neri



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Müller.

Na sessão 4(E), com o tema ISM/RF – Information System Management, moderada pelo Prof. Adolfo Alberto Vanti foram apresentados os trabalhos: Motivations And Benefits Of ERP Systems Implementation: Case Study In Two Companies In Pernambuco State, de João Samarone Alves de Lima, Aldemar de Araújo Santos, Edson Costa de Barros Carvalho Filho; Um Estudo Sobre A Contribuição Da Tecnologia Digital Na Comunicação Da Estratégia Empresarial, de Adilson Carlos Yoshikuni, Napoleão Verardi Galegale; Rough Sets As Data Mining Tools: A Study On The Insolvency Regulated Business Sectors, de Andréia Carpes Dani, Moacir Manoel Rodrigues Junior, Nelson Hein; Disclosure Of Information And Transparency, de Udo Strassburg, Elias Garcia, Osmarina Pedro Gracia Garcia; Benefits of information and communication technologies in the ethanol supply chain: an Exploratory Study In The Brazilian Sugarcane-Based Industry, de Cesar Akira Yokomizo, José Petraglia, Sergio Gozzi, Paulo Tromboni de Souza Nascimento. Segundo o moderador, a sessão ocorreu dentro da normalidade com questões relevantes e atuais. Alguns trabalhos direcionaram para importantes avanços científicos. Porém, entende como necessário melhorar ainda mais a seleção de alguns trabalhos para o evento.

A sessão 4(F) com o tema ICT ICT/INV/RF – Information and Communication Technology / IT and IS Innovation foi moderada pela Profa. Cristina Dai Prá Martens e contou com os trabalhos: A Utilização Da Internet No Contexto Do Composto De Marketing: Uma Investigação Exploratória Com Ênfase No Caso Unimed Seguros, de Ana Carolina de Toledo, Claudio Alberto de Moraes, Guilherme de Farias Shiraishi, Luciano Augusto Toledo; Business Intelligence: Uma Revisão De Suas Aplicações E Publicações, de Pedro Tadeu Bertto, Fernando Celso de Campos; A Evolução Da Tecnologia Como Agente Principal Na Integração Total De Sistemas Que Coletam, Enviam, Analisam E Armazenam Informações, Influenciando A Comunicação E A Vida Humana No Século XXXI, de Fabio Luis Beraldo de Oliveira; Análise Do Cenário De Virtualização Em Servidores E Desktops, de Fabricio de Souza Venunes, Flamaryon Guerin Gomes Borges; Web Based Innovation: Interfaces Between The Use Of Virtual Social Networks And Innovative Consumer Behavior, de Andre Grutzmann, Fernanda Maria Felicio Macedo, Andre Luiz Zambalde. Segundo a moderadora, as discussões foram ricas e agregadoras para o grupo e autores. Entretanto, duas apresentações não ocorreram devido à ausência dos autores.

Na sessão 4(G), cujo tema foi INV – IT and IS Innovation, a moderação foi realizada pelo Prof. Alessandro Marco Rosini que coordenou a apresentação dos trabalhos: Melhores Práticas Para Promover Consciência Estratégica Sobre Planejamento Estratégico De SI/TI Em Organizações Governamentais Brasileiras, de José Gilson de Almeida Teixeira Filho, Hermano Perrelli de Moura; The Knowledge Management And Computerization Of The Judicial Process: A Study Of The Impact Of Contextual Factors On Learning Processes Of The Brazilian Judiciary And How They Impact Innovation Process, de Ramses Henrique Martinez; Sistemas De Recomendação Em Redes Sociais, de Cleomar Valois Batista Júnior, Marcius Armada de Oliveira; Impacts Of The Virtualization Of The Structure, Competitiveness, Practices And Organizational Behavior: A Study In A Multinational Steel Company, de Daniel Jardim Pardini, Daniela Rocha Bicalho, Priscila de Jesus Papazissis Matuck. Segundo o moderador, o nível das discussões foi bem elevado, contribuindo com a qualidade do evento. Informou também que as questões levantadas e discutidascontribuiram com o


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contexto acadêmico da gestão da tecnologia e sistemas de informação. Entretanto, houve um artigo que não pode ser apresentado devido à ausência dos autores.

A sessão 4(H), com o tema ITM/RF – Information Technology Management, teve como moderadora a Profa. Jussara Pimenta Matos e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Aspectos De Segurança E Sigilo Em Comunicações Voip Utilizando O Protocolo Sip, de Samuel Henrique Bucke Brito; Gestão Da Tecnologia Da Informação Em Hospitais: Uma Avaliação Das Unidades De Saúde Do Município De Guarulhos, de João Porto de Albuquerque, Antonio José Balloni, Marcelo Arno Nerling, Edmir Parada Vasques Prado. Segundo a moderadora, dois artigos não puderam ser apresentados devido à ausência dos autores. As discussões foram ótimas, houve interação e troca de experiências entre os participantes.

03 JUNE / 03 DE JUNHO (FRIDAY / SEXTA-FEIRA)

Na sessão 5(A), cujo tema foi AIS - Accounting and Financial Information System, o moderador Prof. Nonato Assis de Miranda, coordenou a apresentação dos trabalhos: Sped - Digital Bookkeeping System: A New Paradigm In Terms Of Tax Compliance, de Gustavo Rique Pinto Passos, Aldy Fernandes da Silva, Mauro Fernando Gallo, Carlos Alberto Pereira; Impact Of Organizational Culture In The Use Of Management Controls Of Metallurgical Companies, de Roberto Carlos Klann, Denise Del Prá Netto Machado; Impact Of The Aggregation Of Accounting Information In The Managerial Informations Systems, de Francisco Antonio Bezerra, Roberto Carlos Klann, Rodrigo Marciano da Luz. Segundo o moderador, todos os trabalhos foram apresentados e embora o número de participantes tenha sido pequeno, houve um debate bastante interessante quanto à questão da objetividade dos resultados apresentados e a subjetividade que está por trás da análise do público em geral.

A sessão 5(B) , teve como tema AUD/RF System Auditing and IT Governance, e contou com a moderação do Prof. José Manuel Cárdenas Medina na apresentação dos trabalhos: O Papel Da Controladoria Na Avaliação Dos Investimentos Em Tecnologia Da Informação, de Tomio Ogassavara, Napoleão Verardi Galegale, José Carlos Marion, Edson Luiz Riccio; Gerenciamento De Riscos De TI E Suas Práticas Nas Organizações Brasileiras: Um Estudo De Casos Múltiplos, de Alixandre Thiago Ferreira Santana, Manoel Veras de Sousa Neto; Necessidade De Avaliação Do Governo Eletrônico E Da Vigilância Digital No Brasil, de Jose Rodrigues Filho. Segundo o moderador, dado o curto tempo de apresentação, os participantes poderiam focar mais na “essência” da apresentação. Todos os artigos programados para esta sessão foram apresentados.

Na sessão 5(C) , com o tema EDU/RF IT Education and Society, a moderação ficou sob a responsabilidade do Prof. Jorge Ribeiro de Toledo Filho e foram apresentados os seguintes trabalhos: Percepção Dos Docentes Dos Cursos De Ciências Contábeis E Administração Sobre A Educação A Distância, de Rodrigo Angonese, Maria José Carvalho de Souza Domingues; Colina – A Collaborative Environment For Teaching And Learning Uml, de Breno Batista Machado, Ivaldir Honório de Farias Junior, Vítor Costa de Araújo, Weslei Alvim de Tarso Marinho; Diagnosis For



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Development, Integration And Convergence Of Disciplines From The Sport Education In Attendance To The Sport Of Distance Education Via Web At Universidade Estadual De Goiás – UEG, de Antonio Teodoro Ribeiro Guimarães, Francisco Alberto Severo de Almeida, Sônia Regina Gouvea Rezende, Armando Malheiro. Segundo o moderador, todos os artigos foram apresentados, os temas foram bastante interessantes e tudo ocorreu dentro da normalidade.

A sessão 5(D) , com o tema KMG Knowledge Management, teve como moderadora a Sra. Aline Rabelo e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Análise De Crédito Por Meio De Mineração De Dados: Uma Aplicação Em Cooperativa De Crédito, de Marcos de Moraes Sousa, Reginaldo Santana Figueiredo; Estudo Continuado Entre As Cinco Disciplinas De Senge E Confiança Como Facilitadora Da Gestão Do Conhecimento Em Três Equipes De Ead – UFSC E Senai, de Aline Pereira Soares, Marina Keiko Nakayama, Andressa Sasaki Vasques Pacheco, Patricia de Sá Freire; Gestão De Pessoas: O Desempenho Humano Em Pequenas E Médias Empresas De Alta Tecnologia, de Taciana de Barros Jerônimo. Segundo a moderadora, tudo ocorreu dentro da normalidade, os temas foram interessantes e as discussões foram ricas, agregando valor aos participantes e aos autores.

Na sessão 5(E), com o tema PPM Public Policy Management and IT/IS, a moderação foi realizada pelo Prof. José Gilson de Almeida Teixeira Filho e foram apresentados os seguintes trabalhos: Telemedicine: Information Technology In The Support To The Palliative Cares Of Cancer, de Antônio Augusto Gonçalves, Vera Maria Medina Simonetti; Public Politics The Reality In The Practice Of Management Agreements, de Luiz Lustosa Vieira, Jose Antonio de Aguiar Neto, Marcos Godoy Spindola; Potencialidades E Limites Para O Desenvolvimento Econômico E Inovativo Local: O Caso Do Porto Digital - PE – Brasil, de Ana Maria Magalhães Correia, Maria de Lourdes Barreto Gomes. Segundo o moderador, todos os trabalhos foram apresentados e com bastante pontualidade. Embora o número de participantes tenha sido pequeno, houve um debate enriquecedor. Todos os temas abordados refletiram sobre questões atuais como a iniciativa privada, o governo e soluções para melhoria. A sessão 5(F), com o tema ISM Information System Management, teve como moderador o Prof. Elvis Fusco e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Análise Comparativa Da Avaliação Da Gestão Em Sistemas E Tecnologias De Informação Nos Hospitais Brasileiros, de Ruy Ferreira, Adicinéia Aparecida de Oliveira, Antonio José Balloni, Nelma Terezinha Zubek Valente; Aplicação Do Conceito De Business Intelligence Em Uma Rede De Relacionamento Comercial Na Área De Mecânica Automotiva, de Anita Maria da Rocha Fernandes, Pedro Edmundo Floriani. Segundo o moderador, o primeiro trabalho mostrou o nível de conhecimento e a importância que os gestores de hospitais detêm e o segundo trabalho gerou uma discussão em relação à inobservância dos procedimentos metodológicos.

Na sessão 5(G), que teve como tema ITM Information Technology

Management, o moderador foi o Prof. Gilberto Perez que coordenou a apresentação dos trabalhos: Estudo De Caso Em Arquitetura De TI: Gestão E Influências Sobre As Decisões, de Chen Wen Hsing, Cesar Alexandre de Souza; Razão Da Inexistência De Correlação Entre Investimento Em Tecnologia Da Informação E Competitividade Da Empresa, de Ismar Vicente, José Celso Contador; Planejamento Estratégico Da


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Tecnologia Da Informação: O Caso De Uma Organização Call Center, de Denis Alcides Rezende, Marcos José Setim; Incidents Management Considering The Strategy As Practice Perspective: A Case Study In An Information Technology Firm, de Simone Cristina Aléssio, Rosalia Aldraci Barbosa Lavarda. Segundo o moderador, os detalhes das pesquisas foram aprofundados e o pouco tempo disponibilizadofoi insuficiente para as apresentações e os debates levantados.

A sessão 6(A), com o tema AIS Accounting and Financial Information System, teve como moderador o Prof. Antônio Teodoro Ribeiro Guimarães e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: A Contabilidade Como Instrumento Do Sistema De Informação Na Apuração Do Custo Aluno Em Instituição De Ensino Superior Público, de Claudecir Paton, Jorge Eduardo Scarpin; O Impacto Da Escrituração Fiscal Digital Para As Empresas, de Antonio Zanin, Lucimar Angela Frigeri, Silvana Kruger, Monica Salete Coser; Processo De Tomada De Decisão E Seus Desdobramentos Na Pesquisa Contábil Internacional, de Ricardo Lopes Cardoso, Octavio Ribeiro de Mendonça Neto, Jandira Sandra; Application Of Ahp Method In The Analysis Of Financial Statements Of The Metal Mechanic Sector Companies, de Adriana Kroenke, Nelson Hein; Determinantes Da Divulgação De Informações Voluntárias Por Meio Da Internet, de Rodrigo Angonese, João Roberto Sanches, Francisco Antonio Bezerra. Segundo o moderador, todos os artigos foram apresentados com boas discussões.

Na sessão 6(B) , o tema EDU IT Education and Society, foi moderado pelo Prof. Marcos Godoy Spindola com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Possibilidades E Contribuições Das Tecnologias Da Informação E Da Comunicação Na Gestão Escolar: Uma Experiência Prática Na Etec De Matão-Sp, de Nivaldo Carleto, Cláudio Benedito Gomide de Souza; An Analysis Of The Importance Of People Management Discipline In Undergraduate Information Technology Security Courses, de Marcio Romero, Renato José Sassi; Competitividad De La Práctica Docente En Los Escenarios Virtuales De Enseñanza - Aprendizaje, Como Oportunidad De Cobertura Y Equidad En La Educación Superior Con Calidad, de Julio Alvarez Botello, Araceli Romero Romero, Juan Alberto Ruiz Tapia, Minerva Martinez Avila; Plataformas De Apoio Ao E-learning Nas Instituições De Ensino Superior, de Rui Manuel da Silva Gomes; Estratégias De Inovação Tecnológica: Um Estudo Com Os Gestores E Alunos Dos Cursos Superiores De Tecnologia Do Instituto Federal De Roraima Que Ofertam Empreendedorismo, de Oscar Dalfovo, Ademar de Araujo Filho, Rion Brattig Correia; Information Transfer To Improve Rural Property Management:Dairy Region Case Oeste Goiano, de Wilda Soares Lemos, Sofia Galvão Baptista. Segundo o moderador, todos os artigos foram apresentados, os temas foram interessantes e as discussões agregaram conhecimento.

Na sessão 6(C), o tema EDU II IT Education and Society II, teve a moderação do Prof. Edmir P. Vasques Prado e contou com a apresentação do trabalho: Educação, Tecnologia E Sustentabilidade: Influências Sociais Nas Atitudes De Graduandos Paulistas, de Estéfano Vizconde Veraszto, Nonato Assis de Miranda, Jomar Barros Filho e Dirceu da Silva. Segundo o moderador, como houve apenas uma apresentação devido à ausência dos outros autores que apresentariam os demais artigos, houve bastante tempo para discussões enriquecedoras e agregadoras de conhecimento sobreo artigo apresentado.

A sessão 6(D), com o tema KMG Knowledge Management, teve como moderador o Prof. Aldy Fernandes da Silva e contou com a apresentação dos



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trabalhos: Análise Da Criação E Compartilhamento Do Conhecimento No Curso De Administração A Distância Da Universidade Federal De Santa Catarina – Projeto Piloto, de Carolina Schmitt Nunes, Andressa Sasaki Vasques Pacheco, Marina Keiko Nakayama, Pedro Antônio de Melo; Do Dígito Ao Digital Uma Aproximação Entre O Conceito De Meios De Comunicação Como Extensões Do Homem, De Mcluhan E As Novas Tecnologias Digitais No Cotidiano Social, de Lucilene Cury, Cleotildi Tibiriça, Ligia Capobianco; Modelo De Capacidade De Processo Para Serviços No Software Público Brasileiro, de Márcia Regina Martins Martinez, Sueli Aparecida Varani, Clenio Figueiredo Salviano; Organizational Memory Formulation And Social Interaction: The Unplugged It Case, de Jose Manuel Cardenas Medina, Mauro de Mesquita Spinola e Vagner Luiz Gava. 1

Na sessão 6(E) , o tema ITM/RF Information Technology Management, foi moderado pelo Prof. Marcos de Moraes Sousa e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Uma Start-Up Brasileira Especialista Em Cloud Computing: O Caso De Lançamento Da Mipc Informática, de Daniel Estima de Carvalho, Leandro Fraga Guimarães, James T C Wright; Using An Enterprise Model As A Requirements Model In Process Automation Systems: A Proposal, de Fábio Levy Siqueira, Paulo Sérgio Muniz Silva; An Environment For Text Classifiers Automatic Generation, de Luciano Castilhos Fernandes; Impacts Of Autonomous Composition Of Services At Service-Oriented Architecture, de Flavio de Oliveira Silva, Jorge Luis Risco Becerra, Selma S. S. Melnikoff, Sergio Takeo Kofuji, Pedro Frosi Rosa; Responsabilidade Social Corporativa Através Do Desenvolvimento Regional Sustentável: Prática Do Banco Do Brasil S/A, de Antonio Carlos Ribeiro da Silva, Isac Pimentel Guimaraes, Jarbas Oliveira da Cunha, Vilma Geni Slomski. Segundo o moderador, houve apenas um trabalho que não foi apresentado devido à ausência dos autores. Entretanto, em relação às demais apresentações, todas tiveram um nível elaborado de discussões.

A sessão 6(F), teve como tema ISM – Information System management, teve como moderador o Prof. Cézar Augusto Biancolino e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Gerenciamento Por Categoria Para Produtos De Higiene Pessoal E Beleza - Qualidade Percebida Pelos Consumidores Em Supermercados, de Maria Aparecida Gouvêa, Osmar Domingues; Avaliação De Modelo De Governança De TI Com O Uso De Fahp, de Adolfo Alberto Vanti, Angel Cobo Ortega, Rocio Rocha Blanco; Overview And Comparative Aspects Of Models Of Quality Tourism Services, de Teófilo Camara Mattozo, José Alfredo Ferreira Costa, Gutembergue Soares da Silva, Ana Cristina Cunha da Silva; High Availability Clusters Based On Free Software, de João Paulo de Lima Barbosa, Sérgio Manoel Ferreira Caldeira, Olavo José Luiz Junior. Segundo o moderador, apenas o trabalho “Avaliação De Modelo De Governança De TI Com O Uso De Fahp” baseou-se em pesquisa empírica. Todos os artigos foram apresentados e geraram discussões de bom nível.

Na sessão 6(G), cujo tema foi ICT – Information and Communication Technology, a moderação foi realizada pelo Prof. Alzenir José de Vargas e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Análise Da Produção Científica Acerca Da Teoria Da Agência E Assimetria De Informação, de Alexandre Matos Pereira, Francisco Antonio Bezerra, Irani Rocha, Sabrina do Nascimento; Implementação Do Padrão De Metadados Mtd2-Br Para A Ferramenta Dspace Visando A Interoperabilidade Com A Biblioteca Digital Brasileira De Teses E Dissertações (Bdtd), de Alexandre Stürmer Wolf, Ana Paula Lisboa Monteiro, Willian Valmorbida; Desenvolvimento Do “Portal


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Rede Aquifero Guarani/Serra Geral” Para Coleta E Disseminação Do Conhecimento, de Alexandre Stürmer Wolf, Willian Valmorbida; Framework Conceitual Como Base Para Construção De Catálogos Bibliográficos Digitais: Perspectiva De Uso Dos Frbr Orientados A Objetos, de Elvis Fusco, Plácida L. V. A. Da Costa Santos; Interation Between The Users With The Pergamum: A Survey At The Federal University Of Lavras, de Eliane Apolinário Vieira, Ewerton Alex Avelar. Segundo o moderador, todos os artigos foram apresentados e foram levantadas discussões relevantes relacionadas aos temas das apresentações.

A sessão 6(H), teve como tema INV – IT and IS Innovation, teve como moderador o Prof. Leonel Cezar Rodrigues e contou com a apresentação dos trabalhos: Business Models For Sat – Sistema Autenticador E Transmissor De Cupons Fiscais Eletrônicos, de Caio Fernando Fontana, Cledson Akio Sakurai, Eduardo Mario Dias, Vidal Augusto Melo; Proposta De Implantação De ERP SAP Sem Customizações - Premissas, Características E Desafios: Relato De Caso, de Bruno Coelho Ceolin, Júlio Cesar da Silva; An Analysis Of A Failure In A New Technology Adoption, de Benjamim Rosenthal, Henrique de Campos Junior, Ricardo Jucá Bentivegna, Wilian Ramalho Feitosa; Documentos Fiscais Eletrônicos Na América Latina – Uma Análise Comparativa Dos Principais Modelos Tecnológicos E Do Estágio De Evolução Dos Projetos, de Newton Oller de Mello, Eduardo Mario Dias, Sergio Ricardo Ciavolih Mota; A Methodology For Creativity Introduction In The Information Systems Planning, de Vitor Santos, Luis Alfredo Martins do Amaral, Henrique Mamede. Segundo o moderador, a maioria das questões sobre os trabalhos apresentados foi de ordem pragmática, situando-se no âmbito da análise e interpretação e não no âmbito das teorias científicas. Todos os artigos foram apresentados.

F) TRABALHOS QUE RECEBERAM MENÇÃO HONROSA NO 8º CON TECSI-

2011:

O 8º CONTECSI também se preocupou em destacar os melhores trabalhos

apresentados no evento, tanto do ponto de vista acadêmico quanto prático. Para tanto, foram levados em consideração os pareceres dos membros do comitê científico do evento para a classificação dos três melhores trabalhos. Assim, receberam menção honrosa, os seguintes autores com os respectivos trabalhos: WIKIS SEMÂNTICOS E A CONSTRUÇÃO COLABORATIVA DE ONTOLOGIAS: UM ESTUDO DE CASO Fernando Hadad Zaidan Marcello P. Bax SISTEMAS DE RECOMENDAÇÃO EM REDES SOCIAIS Cleomar Valois Batista Júnior Marcius Armada de Oliveira



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ARQUITETURA DE DADOS SOCIOAMBIENTAIS: REFERENCIAL SISTÊMICO PARA DESENVOLVIMENTO DE SOFTWARE APLICADO À SUSTENTABILIDADE EMPRESARIAL NO CONTEXTO DAS MUDANÇAS Takeshy Tachizawa TEMAS

AIS Accounting and Financial Information System

Sistemas de Informações Contábeis e Financeiras

AUD Systems Auditing and IT Governance Auditoria e Governança em TI EDU IT Education and Society Educação em TI e SI e Sociedade

ESD Engineering and Software Development Engenharia e Desenvolvimento de Software

ICT Information and Communication Technology Tecnologia da Informação e da Comunicação

INT Internet Internet

INV IT and IS Innovation Inovação em TI e SI

ISM Information Systems Management Gestão de Sistemas de Informação

ITM Information Technology Management Gestão da Tecnologia de Informação

KMG Knowledge Management Gestão do Conhecimento

PPM Public Policy Management and IT/IS Gestão de Políticas Públicas

SEC IT and IS Security Segurança em TI e SI

XBRL eXtensible Business Reporting Language eXtensible Business Reporting Language

COMM Research Communication Comunicação de pesquisa

DOCT Doctoral Consortium Consórcio Doutoral

PANEL Conference Panels Palestras

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE| COMITÊ CIENTÍFICO A. A. de Souza, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil A. A. Vanti , University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos, Brazil A. Carlos dos Santos, Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil A. de Medeiros Júnior, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Brazil A. Fischmann, University of São Paulo, Brazil A. J. Balloni, Centro de Pesquisa Renato Archer, Brazil A. Malheiro da Silva, Universidade do Minho, Portugal A. Rosini, Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil C. D. Prá Martens, Pierre Mendès France University, France C. D. Santos Jr, University of São Paulo, Brazil D. A. Rezende, Catholic University of Paraná, Brazil E. L. Riccio, University of São Paulo, Brazil E. M. Chaparro Salinas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado del México, México E. M. Luciano, Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil


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E. Maccari, Nove de Julho University, Brazil F. Colmenero Ferreira, University of Madeira, Portugal F. J. Laurindo, University of São Paulo, Brazil G. L. Jamil, Education and Culture Foundation of Minas Gerais, Brazil G. Lino, University of São Paulo, Brazil G. Perez, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Brazil G. Schwartz, University of São Paulo, Brazil H. Freitas, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil H. N. Rito Ribeiro, College of Technology and Management, Portugal I. Custódio, University of São Paulo, Brazil J. A. F. Costa, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil J. D. Oliveira Neto, University of São Paulo/RP, Brazil J.P. Matos, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of São Paulo, Brazil J. O. De Sordi, Catholic University of Santos, Brazil J. P. Alcázar, University of São Paulo, Brazil J. Rodrigues Filho, Federal University of Paraiba, Brazil L. C. Rodrigues, Nove de Julho University, Brazil L. de Faria Lopes, Federal University of São Carlos, Brazil L. Quoniam, University of Toulon-Var, France M. A. Gouvêa, University of São Paulo, Brazil M. A. Hirose Fedichina, Centro Universitário de Jales, Brazil M. C. Machado, Instituto Tecnológico da Aeronáutica, Brazil M. G. Sakata, University of São Paulo, Brazil M. J. Bacic, University of Campinas, Brazil M. R. S. Peters, Armando Álvares Penteado Foundation, Brazil M. Vasarhelyi, Rutgers University, USA N. Galegale, University of São Paulo, Brazil N. Reinhard, University of São Paulo, Brazil O. R. de Mendonça Neto, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Brazil R. C. Penteado Filho, Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Brazil R. G. Gonçalves, University of São Paulo/RP, Brazil R. L. Cardoso, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Brazil R. M. C. Figueiredo, University of Brasilia, Brazil R. Pacheco da Costa, University of São Paulo, Brazil R. Zwicker, University of São Paulo, Brazil S. A. dos Santos, University of São Paulo, Brazil S. R. P. Alves, Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, Portugal T. A. Peters Filho, Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial, Brazil V. Branco de Holanda, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil V. Slomski, University of São Paulo, Brazil COORDINATOR | COORDENAÇÃO Prof. Dr. Edson Luiz Riccio President of CCInt FEA USP –TECSI Director University of São Paulo



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ORGANIZING COMMITTEE | COMITÊ ORGANIZADOR Prof. Dr. Edson Luiz Riccio President of CCInt FEA USP –TECSI Director University of São Paulo Prof. Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi President of Rutgers Accounting Center, The New Jersey State University Prof. Dr. Luc Quoniam University of Toulon – Var, France, TECSI Researcher Prof. Dr. Armando Malheiro Silva CETAC Centre for Studies in Technologies, Arts and Communication Sciences Porto University, Portugal Prof. Dr. Christophe Benavent CEROS Centre d’études et de recherches sur les organisations et sur les stratégies Université Paris Ouest Nanterre, France Prof. Dr. Joey F. George - INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKER Florida State University, United States Prof. Dr. Danilo Piaggesi – INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKER Managing Director, Fondazione Rosselli Americas, Italia Prof. Dra. Blanca Rodriguez Bravo – INVITED KEYNOTE SPEAKER Universidad de León, Espanha SUPPORT ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE| COMITÊ ORGANIZADOR DE APOIO Profa. Dra. Marici Gramacho Sakata TECSI FEA USP Researcher, Brazil Profa. Nelma Terezinha Zubek Valente Equipe TECSI/FEA/USP Prof. Dr. George Leal Jamil Doctoral Consortium Organizer- Fumec University, Brazil Washington Lopes da Silva Cristiano Borges 22th World Continuous Auditing Systems Symposium Webmaster Marcos de Azevedo Iriarte Equipe TECSI/FEA/USP


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DESTAQUES Autores

O 8º CONTECSI dispôs de um espaço no stand para anunciar o lançamento de livros dos autores presentes relativos aos assuntos relacionados ao evento. Assim, todos os autores puderem divulgar e lançar seus livros no congresso. O espaço em questão não foi destinado à venda, mas à divulgação das referidas obras.

Dia 1º de Junho 17h - Sala da Congregação da FEA/USP

Danilo Piaggesi - Gerente Geral Fundação Roselli Americas - USA Edson Luiz Riccio - Presidente Comissão de Cooperação Internacional – FEA/USP- Brasil Convidam para a palestra e lançamento do livro Global Strategy and Practice of E-Governance: Examples from Around the World Danilo Piaggesi, Kristian J. Sund, Walter Castelnovo – Editores IGI Book, 2011 – Com Prefácio de Henrique Iglesias Presidente Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento e Posfácio do Governador Geraldo Alkmin. Contém capitulo escrito pelos Professores Gilmar Brandão, Edson Luiz Riccio e Walmor Slomski Que ocorre durante o 8º CONTECSI – International Conference on Information Systems and Technology Management - Dia 1º de Junho, às 17h na Sala da Congregação da FEA/USP, Av. Prof Luciano Gualberto 908 – Edificio FEA 1 , 1º andar. (A palestra é seguida de coquetel). Presença confirmada da Secretária de Estado,



506

Dra Linamara Batistella.

EVENTOS CULTURAIS

MÚSICA NO 8º CONTECSI

O 8º CONTECSI contou também com a presença e apresentação dos seguintes grupos culturais e musicais: QUINTETO DE METAIS Opening ceremony - June 1st | Abertura - 1 de Junho O Quinteto de Metais da CMU-ECA-USP foi criado há quatro anos e durante esse tempo passou por diversas formações, estas compostas sempre por alunos regulares do curso de música e também por músicos convidados. O grupo visa o aprimoramento musical dos músicos envolvidos, principalmente graduandos da USP, e tem como finalidade apresentações musicais dentro e fora da universidade. A formação atual (desde novembro de 2010) prima a execução de diversos estilos musicais, tanto música erudita quanto popular, pois é bom que o músico tenha tal habilidade. O grupo vem contribuindo, por meio de apresentações, para a difusão da música camerística, tocando transcrições e composições originais para a formação de quinteto de metais, contribuindo assim, para a formação global de seus integrantes e levando informação ao público. DUO DOPPLER Book Release - June 1st | Coquetel de Lançamento de Livro – 1º de Junho Criado no ano de 2008, o duo formado pelos flautistas Jonas Ribeiro e Stefânia Benatti, alunos do curso de Música da Universidade de São Paulo, dedica-se à pesquisa, apresentação do repertório existente para tal formação, encomenda de peças aos jovens compositores e também realizando concertos ao lado de jovens pianistas, dedicando-se inteiramente ao trabalho de música de câmara. No ano de 2009, ganhou o "Prêmio Nascente", promovido pela Universidade de São Paulo, na Categoria Música Erudita. No ano de 2010, apresentou-se na "3ª Mostra de Compositores da USP" com uma peça exclusivamente escrita para o duo e também obtiveram junto ao Quarteto Limpa Trilho - outro conjunto de música de Câmara ao qual participam - o 4º Lugar na "Feira Música Brasil 2010", promovido pelo Ministério da Cultura e FUNARTE. No mesmo ano, o duo foi convidado, junto à Camerata Antunes, a executar o Concerto de Brandenburgo n.4, para duas flautas e violino solistas e orquestra de cordas. Apresentam-se regularmente nas diversas Unidades da USP, Casa de Dona Yayá, Casa das Rosas, MASP, entre outros. TRIO MBARAKÁ DE VIOLÕES Official Dinner - June 2nd | Jantar Oficial - 2 de Junho Formado pelos violonistas Felipe Fachini, Giovanni Matarazzo e Julian Gomes Palmute, o grupo encanta o público pela simpatia e virtuosismo com que interpreta seu repertório. Desde sua fundação em 2007, entre encontros nos corredores do departamento de música da USP, o grupo tem como objetivo divulgar a música brasileira em suas diversas vertentes, interpretando obras de compositores como Hermeto Pascoal, Tom Jobim, Jacob do Bandolim e Pixinguinha, num esforço crescente


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de mostrar ao público uma variada gama de timbres e ritmos. Para isso, vem utilizando, além do violão, instrumentos como viola caipira e cavaquinho. Embora seu foco repouse sobre a música popular, preservam técnicas e abordagens da música erudita. Recentemente, venceu o concurso Mapa Cultural Paulista na categoria música instrumental, figurando como um dos melhores grupos jovens em atuação no Estado de São Paulo. SER TÃO TRIO Closing Cerimony - June 3rd | Encerramento - 3 de Junho Ser Tão Trio, composto pelos músicos Bruno Menegatti, Giovanni Matarazzo e Bruno Sanches, nasceu da vontade tripla de explorar a sonoridade de seus instrumentos em múltiplas linguagens, preservar estilos tradicionais brasileiros e misturá-los com tradições musicais de outros países. O trio leva ao público as múltiplas possibilidades de seus instrumentos. Da introspecção aos mais possíveis festejos. FOTO

Prof. Dr. Joey George e Prof. Dr Edson Luiz Riccio

Revista de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management Vol. 8, No. 2, 2011, p. 508 ISSN online: 1807-1775

Conference / Congresso

9th CONTECSI International Conference on Information Systems and Technology Management

May 30 to June 1st, 2012 USP/São Paulo/SP FEA USP São Paulo, Brazil

The 9th International Conference on Technology and Information Systems Management CONTECSI is an event focusing Technology and Information Systems Management under a multidisciplinary view. CONTECSI aims at putting together academics and professionals involved in IT and Systems management for a state-of-the-art discussion. International researchers are expected to contribute for the integration between the academic and the professional communities. The Conference welcomes papers submission for presentation and panel discussions. Major topics on interest include, but are not limited to: Information Society, Open Systems, Systems Interfacing and Integration, Wireless Computing, Entrepreneurship in IT and IS, Accounting Information Systems, E-Commerce / E-Business, Software Engineering, ERP Systems, Financial Management in Information Systems, IT Strategic Management, etc. All papers will be subject to a blind review process and full papers will be published (CD) in the Conference Proceedings. Deadline: January 10th, 2012 More information: http://www.tecsi.fea.usp.br/eventos/contecsi Chair : Prof. Edson Luiz Riccio. PhD – FEA USP and TECSI Contact: [email protected]

9º CONTECSI Congresso Internacional de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação

30 de Maio a 1 de Junho de 2012 USP/São Paulo/SP FEA USP São Paulo, Brasil

O 9º Congresso Internacional de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação CONTECSI visa reunir acadêmicos e profissionais envolvidos com a temática de gestão para discussão do Estado-da-arte deste campo. Atualmente este campo encontra-se disperso em áreas específicas, carecendo de uma visão holística e integrada do assunto. O CONTECSI contará com a presença de palestrantes de renome, bem como estará aberto para a recepção de trabalhos para serem apresentados em sessões paralelas e painéis.

Assim como compareceram nos anos anteriores, são esperados personalidades, professores e pesquisadores do Brasil e do exterior, principalmente de Universidades da França, Inglaterra, Espanha, México, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, Colômbia, Uruguai, Venezuela entre outras. Os focos de interesse deste congresso inclui todas as abordagens referentes à gestão de Tecnologia e dos Sistemas de Informação nas instituições públicas e privadas e na sociedade em geral. Data final para submissão de artigos: 10 de Janeiro de 2012 Mais informações no site: http://www.tecsi.fea.usp.br/eventos/contecsi Coordenação: Prof. Dr. Edson Luiz Riccio – FEA USP e TECSI Contato: [email protected]

JISTEM Journal of Information Systems and Technology Management Revista de Gestão da Tecnologia e Sistemas de Informação ISSN online: 1807–1775 Every four months/Quadrimestral


1) Paper Submission Guidelines Register at "Online Submissions" and submit your paper accordingly to JISTEM guidelines. a) Manuscript style Articles must be submitted in English, Spanish, Portuguese or French in MS-Word format. Authors must translate the final version of the article to English. First page must present: title of the article, author's full name, affiliation, full address, telephone, email, fax and a brief curriculum vitae. Limit of 3 co-authors per article. Second page must present: title of the article, abstract in the original language of the article of about 100 words, title, area and 5 key words (if accepted an abstract in English and key-words will be required), Articles must be limited to 30 pages in double-space, Arial or times new roman, 12 points; Authors must include figures and graphics in high-resolution 300 dpi (jpg or gif). They must be numbered (Arabic) and with the complete title. References to each table or figure have to be made in the text. Authors must submit the questionnaires and research results to the editor and review purposes. Acknowledgments to institutions regarding financial support can be included only in the final accepted version. b) Structure Style Articles should clearly present the Abstract, Introduction, Objectives, Justification, Question, literature review, research method, results, conclusion, recommendation and limitation, plus references; References are to follow the American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines. More detailed explanations and examples of these guidelines can be found at the following locations: http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html or Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., 2010) American Psychological Association (APA).A list of reference must be presented in alphabetical order. A glossary can be included in the end of the article if needed. 2) Book Review Book review should be sent by Prof. Edson Luiz Riccio at [email protected]

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1) Instruções para submissão de artigo a) Quanto à Formatação Os artigos submetidos para publicação, em inglês, espanhol, português ou francês, devem ser enviados em formato MS-Word. Após aceito, os autores devem traduzir o artigo para o idioma inglês. Na primeira página do artigo deve constar: título, subtítulo (se houver), tema, nome, instituição, departamento, endereço, telefone, fax e e-mail do autor e co-autores (máximo de 3 co-autores) e breve curriculum que indique sua formação, instituição/empresa a que pertence e sua área atual de trabalho.; Na segunda página do artigo deve constar: título, subtítulo (se houver), tema e resumo na língua original do artigo, com 100 palavras aproximadamente e 5 (cinco) palavras-chaves. Se o artigo for aceito para publicação será solicitado o envio do título, abstract e palavras-chave em inglês ; Os artigos deverão ter no máximo 30 páginas em espaço duplo, fonte arial ou times new roman, tamanho 12; As figuras e gráficos devem estar em alta qualidade com resolução de 300 dpi (figuras) e extensão jpg e/ou gif no artigo. Cada ilustração deve conter numeração e legenda. Deve ser feita referência à figura ou tabela no corpo do texto. Questionários e resultados da pesquisa devem ser enviados para a avaliação do Editor e pareceristas. Agradecimentos a órgãos de financiamento da pesquisa devem ser incluídos apenas na versão final do artigo, após o aceite. b) Quanto à Estrutura Os artigos enviados devem conter em seus tópicos os seguintes itens: Resumo, Introdução, Objetivos, Justificativa, Problema/Questão, Revisão da Literatura, Metodologia, Resultados, Conclusão, Recomendações, Limitações e Referência Bibliográfica; As citações e referências devem seguir o estilo da APA (http://www.apastyle.org/l) As referências deverão ser apresentadas no corpo do texto, incluindo o sobrenome do autor, a data de publicação e o número de página (se for o caso), conforme normas da APA. Referências bibliográficas completas do(s) autor(es) citados deverão ser apresentadas em ordem alfabética, no final do texto, de acordo com as normas da APA. Para maiores informações: American Psychological Association (APA). (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC Poderá ser incluído um glossário ao final do artigo, caso o autor julgue necessário; 2) Sugestões de livros para Resenha Resenha devem ser enviadas para o Prof. Edson Luiz Riccio pelo e-mail: [email protected]

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