Track Chair:

HUGH WATSON

Department of Management

Terry College of Business

University of Georgia

Athens, Georgia 30602

Phone: (706) 542-3744

Fax: (706) 542-3743

E-mail: hwatson@uga.edu

Minitracks:

Creativity in Information Systems

Data Warehousing

Globalization of Markets and Organizations

Information Technology and Market Structure

Information Technology in Developing Countries

Managing IS Projects

Methods & Tools for Information Systems Development

Strategic and Competitive Information Systems

Systems in Technology Transfer

Technology Management: Systems and Processes

Trends in Outsourcing of Information Services

Creativity in Information Systems

This minitrack deals with the study of creativity techniques in all aspects of information systems including, but not limited to, organizations, people, processes and products.

Creativity techniques

Creativity techniques addressed in this minitrack include, but not exclusively:

• Idea Generation
• Participatory design approaches
• Argumentation and Reasoning
• Rational role definitions
• Creative problem solving
• Strategic choices
• Creative style
• Bug list
• Brainstorming/brainwriting
• Task delineation
• Boundary examination
• Attributive association
• Analogies/metaphors
• Progressive abstraction
• Interrogatories
• Left-right brain alterations
• Manipulative verb

Creativity techniques can be in conjunction with and in the development of many different information technologies including, but not exclusively:

• System development
• IS planning
• Design games
• Organizational transformation
• Innovative technologies
• Political positioning
• User interface design
• Human-computer interaction
• Rapid prototyping
• Hypertext development
• Software process innovation
• IS professional achievement needs
• Group support systems
• Simulation systems
• Modeling systems

Data Warehousing

A growing number of organizations are building data warehouses for decision support applications, such as queries, decision support systems, graphical information systems, Web-based reporting systems, executive information systems, and data mining. This minitrack includes all aspects of data warehousing, whether it be extracting, cleaning, and aggregating data from source systems; maintaining the data on appropriate data stores (e.g., relational, multi-dimensional databases); and accessing the data through various applications. It also includes managerial and technical issues associated with data warehousing.

The scope of this minitrack should continue to remain fairly broad at this time due to the newness of the area and to the diversity of its categories. There is a need to support research in all facets of data warehousing.

Categories:

• Data Warehousing Applications
• Data warehousing and the Web
• Data mining
• Decision support systems
• Executive information systems
• Graphical information systems
• End user queries
• OLAP/ROLAP/MOLAP
• Data Warehousing Process
• Data extracting, cleaning, and transforming
• Maintaining data on appropriate data stores (e.g., relational, multi-dimensional databases)
• Meta-data management
• Managerial and Technical Issues
• Case studies
• Current Practices
• Development methodologies
• The economics of data warehousing

Globalization of Markets and Organizations

The globalization of markets in parallel with de-regulation and the enabling effects of information technology are creating a powerful set of forces that are dramatically changing the business environment. In response to these changes, companies are creating innovative strategies in organization design, supply chain management and marketing. Although there is considerable debate about the extent and nature of the globalization process, it is clear that domestic strategies for product development and organization structures centred on national markets are in general being superseded by a more international outlook and culture in most industries. The resulting organization structures include simple export relationships based in a home country, multinational arrangements where resources are spread across national boundaries but which still retain a country focus through to truly global or transnational companies typified by organizations such as Ford, Sony and global accountancy firms.

To survive in this new business environment, novel strategies are being employed to address the tensions between the need for a global outlook coupled with the necessity of dealing with local market demands. In addition to internal changes within the organization, there has been a re-structuring of market networks to form international alliances, integrated international supply chains and cross-industry collaboration that exploit synergies in areas such as marketing, e.g. automotive and telecommunications sponsored credit cards . It is clear that globalization process is affecting all types of firms regardless of geographic location, industry type and company size.

A global business represents a complex network of communication, coordination, and decision making. Recognizing the importance of the links between information technology, markets, organizations and strategy, this minitrack aims to bring together researchers and practitioners from the areas of information systems and organizational strategy and design with an interest in international issues.

This minitrack will consider the increasingly important interaction between traditional management disciplines and information systems in the globalization process. To explore these issues more effectively, collaborative research amongst academics based in different regions and working on projects with a common focus is encouraged. For example, comparative research into common theoretical problems or multiple studies of a single organization/market network would be appropriate. This would enable complex international projects such as the roll-out of a global SAP projects to be covered in a much more in-depth manner than would typically be the case when studied by an individual researcher. This collaborative research is in addition to the more traditional approach of national or international research carried out by individual researchers. Industrial speakers with contemporary insights into globalization and IT are also encouraged.

This minitrack will draw together research on a wide range of problem areas including:

• Management of business relationships,
• Management of global information systems including SAP,
• Globalization of logistics,
• Competition in global electronic markets,
• Electronic commerce in international business,
• Virtual organizations--their creation and management, and
• International marketing, financial and manufacturing information systems.

• Case and empirical studies of IT in multinational and global firms, focusing on the development and management of the technology
• Comparative research into common theoretical ideas and international studies into single organizations or market networks
• Organizational design of global organizations and supply chains using information technology and systems
• Studies of the integration of global systems including software package solutions such as SAP, Intentia's MOVEX, and Baan
• Coordination of global project teams and structures, for example in new product design teams, international audit and services, and global banking
• Innovative exploitation and business impact of new global technologies such as wireless communications and low-level satellites

Information Technology and Market Structure

Papers are being requested on any topic relating to strategic and competitive information systems. The following areas are suggestive of the range of topics that are considered suitable:

• Market quality, and the productivity of traders and of financial services markets, under conditions of rapid technological innovation
• The competitive balance among competing market centers and the possibility of winning order flow, and gaining competitive advantage through application of I.T.
• Methods for designing a market structure and implementing the appropriate technologies for organizing trading and price determination
• Information endowment, transparency and profitability; that is, how does information availability affect trading strategies, the balance of power among parties in the trade, and the profitability of these players? What is the future role of brokers and of other intermediaries?
• Globalization of financial markets, including increasing integration of markets and increasing inter-market competition
• Additionally, the study of information technology and financial markets is encouraged because financial markets, having no physical product for distribution, having existing mechanisms for providing information, and having existing mechanisms for secure payments, are already ideally suited to exploit rapidly the possibilities of electronic sales, distribution, and payment. Thus, they provide a good leading indicator of future trends in electronic commerce in other industries.

Information Technology in Developing Countries

This minitrack provides one of the key international platforms relating to issues concerned with the development, implementation and application of information technology in developing countries given the presence of a vast array of technological, economical, educational, organizational, political and cultural/societal issues. We take a wide view of Information Technology so as to include technologies relevant to the countries concerned rather than any accepted norms prevalent in developed countries. We are also interested in developing, underdeveloped or less privileged communities within otherwise developed countries and their use of IT. We welcome papers that contain original ideas and examples of practical application and implementation of information technology in the contexts we have identified. The specific topics of interest for this minitrack can be characterized according to the following five categories (though these are not exclusive):

A - Methodology

• analyst and stakeholder interaction and roles
• action research
• ethnographic/phenomenological/interpretive approaches
• assessment and measurement of system performance and effectiveness
• cross-cultural analysis

• decision and group support systems
• end-user development and case tools
• communication, facilitation and coordination

• administrative logistics and project management
• legislative support and administrative reform
• workflow management
• inter/intra/extranets
• capacity building
• (armed) conflict management
• telecommunications

• transferring designs into actual implementations
• societal implications of IT implementation
• implementation success/failures factors
• coping with resistance to change
• impact on job content and quality of working life
• stakeholder roles and responsibilities
• cross-cultural issues in IT implementation

• education and training of stakeholders and societal groups
• improving the quality of education
• curriculum innovation in educational institutions
• distance learning and remote education
• virtual learning environments

Managing IS Projects

This minitrack deals with the study of effectiveness measures for IS projects and their effective management.

Organizational and Cultural Issues

• Conflict resolution
• Project selection
• Resistance to change
• Organizational commitment
• Political environment
• Corporate Training
• Communicating project vision and goals
• Human resource development and allocation

• Team member selection
• Team building techniques
• Project leader development
• Skill set assessment
• Creativity techniques
• Productivity of team members
• Modeling techniques
• Project tools
• Team member retention

• Resource allocation
• Project visioning
• Project cost management
• JAD session management
• Outsourcing
• Project change orders
• Project deliverables
• Vendor negotiation

• Project management techniques
• Metrics and success measures
• Software reuse
• Cycle time/workflow productivity
• Implementation of the project
• Project cost tracking
• Evaluation techniques
• Value quantification
• Project start-up, tracking, and closeout

Methods & Tools for Information Systems Development

Effective information systems development requires a close integration of methods and tools throughout the system development life cycle. The objective of this minitrack is to present the latest research and development ideas on development methods and tools with an emphasis on their synergistic integration. We particularly encourage papers that present operational system development tools and their use on actual development projects.

For HICSS-32, we will continue our tradition of being a forum for innovative research and application in a wide variety of system development topics. In particular, for this year's minitrack, we hope to attract papers in the research areas of:

• Component-Based Systems Development
• Cleanroom Software Development
• Software Architecture
• Empirical Information Systems Development Research

Minitrack Chairs:

Alan R. Hevner	Richard C. Linger
Information Systems & Decision Sciences	Software Engineering Institute
College of Business Administration	Carnegie Mellon University
University of South Florida	Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
Tampa, FL 33620-7800	(412) 268-5851
(813) 974-6753	E-mail: RLinger1@aol.com
E-mail: AHevner@COBA.USF.EDU

Strategic and Competitive Information Systems

Papers are being requested on any topic relating to strategic and competitive information systems. The following areas are suggestive of the range of topics that are considered suitable:

• Detailed case studies of individual strategic information systems, and their impact on the innovator, their impact on its competitors and customers, and resulting changes in the structure of the industry
• Industry studies on the use of information systems, and the relationship between use of systems and market share, profit-ability, or other measure of competitive advantage
• Economic analyses of strategic and competitive information systems, or topics within the general area of the economics of information and information systems
• Implications of information technology on the competitive structure of industries, and the implications for strategies available to different firms
• Implications of emerging information technologies for the structure of individual firms, and the relationships among organizations* Social and public policy implications of rapid innovation in I.T.
• Managing the risk of large scale implementations, including the special risks of implementing strategic information systems and managing organizational change
• Strategic enabling technologies; e.g., imaging, EDI, intelligent inter-firm communications

Systems in Technology Transfer

Increasingly organizations, communities, regions, and nations are linking their standard of living/high value jobs to technology development and commercialization. Technological advances are being driven by economic competition among public and private organizations/institutions in developed and developing nations. Concerns of military security are shifting toward economic security. In many research organizations worldwide (e.g., federal labs, universities, R&D consortia) the value of basic research vs. economic relevance is being reassessed.

Technology transfer (TT) is the application of knowledge. Technology is essentially information. Transfer is the movement of technology via some type of channel: person-to-person, group-to-group, organization-to-organization. TT is fundamentally the communication of information that is intended to accomplish a task. TT is a particularly difficult type of communication; often it is ineffective.

TT is becoming a major management focus and involves a range of organizational, informational, and behavioral challenges to getting technology (ideas and products) from the research lab to the marketplace in a cost effective and timely manner.

Papers should focus on systems in technology transfer (TT) from both theoretical and practical perspectives; TT between industry, government, and academic organizations; spin-out companies; the management of TT in new organizational forms such as research consortia; and the global implications of technology management and transfer.

Minitrack Chair:

David Gibson

IC2 Institute

The University of Texas at Austin

2815 San Gabriel

Austin, TX 78705

(512) 475-8941

Office: (512)-475-8900

FAX: (512) 475-8901

E-mail: davidg@icc.utexas.edu

Technology Management: Systems and Processes

Papers are invited for the minitrack on Technology Management: Systems and Processes. The purpose of this mini-track is to stimulate applications of systems sciences to the management of technology (MoT) by providing a forum for the exchange of new research findings and concepts related to MoT and the creation of value. The scope includes both systems for managing technology (cases and models of success, the identification of critical success factors in MoT) and the social and psychological factors, models, and processes of organizational change and technology implementation throughout the value chain. The unifying theme is that of managing technology strategically so that an organization creates value for its stakeholders and learns from its implementation of technologies, particularly information technologies.

The mini-track has two major components:

1. The transition from value chains to value-creating networks. This mini-track focuses on the techniques and processes for managing technologies in such networks.

2. Differences in managing technology in SMEs and large enterprises: Small and medium sized enterprises have different needs and develop different systems for managing technology than do large organizations. The mini-track seeks research papers that examine the special needs of the two types of firms.

Minitrack Chairs:

Elisabeth Lefebvre	Robert M. Mason
Department of Industrial Engineering	Center for Mgmt. of Science & Tech.
Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal	Weatherhead School of Management
Case Postale 6079	Case Western Reserve University
Succursale Centre Ville	Cleveland, OH 44106-7235
Montreal, Quebec	(216) 368-4777
H3C 3A7  CANADA	FAX: (216) 368-4776
(514) 340-5861 (Dept.#: 514-340-4978)	E-mail: rmmason@ibm.net
FAX: (514) 340-5960
E-mail: lefebvre@cirano.umontreal.ca

Trends in Outsourcing of Information Services

Outsourcing is a strong trend in current business. A recent study indicated that "the global outsourcing market experienced its most successful year in 1995 with total worldwide revenues of more than $76 billion." (http://www.outsourcing.com/news/idcrep.html). Observation of the outsourcing market indicates no slowing down in this trend, especially at the eve of year 2000.

Recently, a shift in IS managers' concerns has been observed. A few years ago their main questions were around the question: "Should we outsource?". Now, they are asking more and more, "What should we outsource?" and "How should we outsource?". Different organizational forms are taking place and different outsourcing profiles can be observed.

The mini-track seeks to attract papers addressing various issues pertaining to outsourcing: organizational forms and alliances, contract management, decision process, impact evaluation, and so on. Case studies, presenting outsourcing arrangements and best practices, surveys, explaining outsourcing patterns or trends in the industry, as well as theoretical papers modeling contract types are welcome.

Minitrack Chairs:

Benoit A. Aubert	Suzanne Rivard
Technologies de l'information	Service de l'enseignement des technologies de l'infomration
Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales	Ecole des HEC
3000 Cote Sainte-Catherine	3000 chemin de la Cote Sainte-Catherine
Montreal, Canada H3T 2A7	Montreal, Quebec H3T 2A7
(t) 514.340.7307	CANADA
(f) 514.340.6132	514-340-6493
E-mail: Benoit.Aubert@HEC.CA	Fax: 514-340-6132
	E-mail: suzanne.rivard@hec.ca

last updated 3/25/98

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