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The Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy is rapidly being adopted by organizations that are concerned about remaining competitive in an intensely competitive global marketplace. As a result, Information Technology (IT) is being developed and deployed to foster these quality programs. However, little empirical research is available concerning implementation of technology in TQM environments. Research is needed to guide organizations toward a path of successful implementation of quality systems. The objective of this study is to devise a set of guidelines for organizations attempting to infuse total quality into their systems development efforts. The study draws upon data gathered from case studies of three organizations involved in total quality systems development. The three organizations were chosen based on their differences in size (total revenues). Contrasting the three organizations should add richness to the development of TQM guidelines. The study begins with a review of the quality research. The methodology is described in the next section. A synopsis of the case studies is then presented. Finally, a set of guidelines and theoretical implications synthesized from the literature and cases are introduced.

Executive information systems represent a significant departure from traditional computer-based information systems. Advocates of executive systems claim that their systems offer the leading-edge option for making computers truly effective for supporting key management functions. This paper examines the interaction between key characteristics of executive systems and fundamental features of human thinking drawn from the field of Behavioral Decision Theory. We examine the possibility that the operation of these systems may reinforce or intensify certain biases in human information processing. We present three examples of potential bias-intensification: availability, regression effects, and overconfidence. Next, the paper applies the concept of decisional guidance to develop design implications for executive systems. Lastly, the paper offers avenues for theoretical development and empirical research.

We develop a holistic model of transformation. Model development is grounded in current transformation theory. We embarked on this daunting task because we believe that holism offers an excellent paradigm for managing change that can be of benefit to both academics and practitioners. We initially test our theoretical model by examining how well it maps onto an existing organization. The organization in question is heavily involved in enterprise transformation. It is a multi-billion dollar organization that is considered to be the top performer in its industry. Our general research question is: how do organizations successfully manage transformation?.

Explores the drivers behind successful business process re‐engineering (BPR). Examines Caterpillar Inc, located in Peoria, Illinois, USA, using data collected over a four‐year period, beginning in 1992. Reveals positive outcomes which can be directly tied to the deployment of the business process simplification and improvement (BSP/I) methodology. BPS/I provides a systematic methodology for analysis, design and implementation of re‐engineering principles. In addition, it provides the environment to help its people generate creative solutions to critical business problems. Examines the link between the steps of BPS/I and the theoretical phases of the problem‐solving process. Also explores the link between BPS/I and Couger’s variant model of creative problem solving. Notes creative opportunities available to Caterpillar as a result of the identification of this link.

This case is a study of the application of tree-based solutions to Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) challenges in the development of a computerized system to meet complex, yet exacting compliance requirements extended to thousands of employees in a largescale organization. We rehearse the history of the project and include information on the theoretical structure of the tree-based solution used. Using primary research documentation, we use a constructivist approach to the issue of subject matter expert empowerment, a major theme of the case. Of particular interest is how the engineer in question was able to modify his work paradigm to incorporate a new role as digital content designer and overseer of the project. Additionally, the study concentrates on the overall effects of the project on other INEEL systems and working environments at the INEEL. Implications of management- and subject matter expert-directed system design projects using tree-based tools are considered with respect to all aspects of enterprise systems development.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has developed a novel framework for assessing and communicating uncertainty in the findings published in its periodic assessment reports. But how should these uncertainty assessments inform decisions? We take a formal decision-making perspective to investigate how scientific input formulated in the IPCC’s novel framework might inform decisions in a principled way through a normative decision model.

International audience; Even though the proven benefits of cloud computing paradigm, it must face a serious problem that can compromise its commercial success. It concerns the lack of efficient approach for using optimally the available resources. For this, several approaches have been proposed. However,they suffer from several shortcomings. For instance, often only one objective is taken into account expressing all operations in terms of cost. Furthermore, business processes should be insured with elasticity and multitenancy mechanism while adjusting the available resources to the dynamic load distribution. The proposed approach aims to optimize two conflicting objectives, namely the number of migrated tenants and the cost incurred using a set of resources. It allows to take into account the multi-tenancy property and the Cloud computing elasticity, and is efficient as shown by an extensive experimentation based on real data from Bonita BPM customers.

This article presents a summary of the Strategic Management Accounting (SMA) literature. In its first part, the article shows how authors define SMA (by its characteristics, its practices and methods) and compares SMA to Strategic Cost Management (SCM). The second part of the article discusses the empirical research work conducted in the SMA/SCM field and its main results. The article then questions the theoretical contribution of the SMA/SCM literature and its limitations before proposing a framework which relates the concepts of costs, value and price, and incorporates many of the practices usually connected to SMA.

This paper examines the relationship among IT capability, operations strategy decisions and operational performance. Using primary data from a sample of European firms, the authors test a model of fit between two specific IT capability-building decisions and three competitive priorities, and they analyze the impact of IT capability alignment on several dimensions of process performance. After uncovering three stylized configurations, they note that firms tend to adopt internally coherent IT capability-building decisions but they find only mixed evidence of alignment between IT capability-building decisions and competitive priorities. Interestingly, however, failing to achieve alignment has negative performance consequences but only for firms that develop limited IT capability. Their results suggests that IT plays a central role in the fulfillment of a firm’s operations strategy, not only for firms that pursue differentiation and are interested in improving the effectiveness of their customer-oriented functions, but also for firms seeking efficiency improvements in back-office operations. Although it is, a priori, more expensive, the development of advanced IT capability can support cost leadership strategies more effectively than a frugal approach, as long as IT projects are used to generate operational knowledge and thus improve process efficiency. At the same time, their results cast further doubt on the value of frugal IT capability, even for firms that strive to reduce cost.

Judgment (or logical) aggregation theory is logically more powerful than social choice theory and has been put to use to recover some classic results of this field. Whether it could also enrich it with genuinely new results is still controversial. To support a positive answer, the authors prove a social choice theorem by using the advanced nonbinary form of judgment aggregation theory developed by Dokow and Holzman (2010c). This application involves aggregating classifications (specifically assignments) instead of preferences, and this focus justifies shifting away from the binary framework of standard judgement aggregation theory to a more general one.

Decades of accumulated knowledge empowers our quest to de-bias human cognition. However, I propose that improvement methods aimed at certain biases may introduce new biases due to cognitive and situational limitations: Such limitations give rise to simplifying and protecting processes (SPPs), the unthorough nature of which results in biases. De-biasing may target these processes but ultimately cannot always resolve the underlying cognitive and situational limitations. Consequently, de-biasing runs the risk of forcing either a switch in SPPs or an introduction of new SPPs, thereby exposing us to the threats of new biases. In this paper, I analyse the model of simplifying and protecting processes and discuss promising directions of de-biasing. The model of SPPs stands in line with extant literature on the underlying causes of cognitive bias as well as on the methods of de-biasing, but extends them by synthesizing a coherent theory. It contributes to the judgement and decision making literature that seeks to answer four questions: (a) What mechanism underlies biases? (b) How to de-bias? (c) Why does de-biasing have limitations? (d) Where to channel de-biasing efforts so as to reduce the unbeneficial effects of biases?

How do we, as management researchers, develop novel theoretical contributions, and potentially break new ground, in management studies? To address this question, we review previous methodological work on theorizing and advance a typology of the reasoning processes that underlie theoretical contributions and significant advances in management studies. This typology consist of various types of analogical and counterfactual reasoning that range from focused thought experiments aimed at prodding existing theory in the direction of alternative assumptions, constructs and hypotheses to more expansive efforts around inducing new theoretical models and alternative explanations. With this typology we detail the mechanisms behind the formation of novel theoretical contributions and we illustrate the currency of our typology with a review of twenty-four major theoretical breakthroughs in management studies. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the implications of this typology for our collective efforts in building, elaborating and expanding theory in management studies.