Reseach paper presentations and journal submissions
Monday, November 13, 2006 Permanent link to this post
All these while that I have been rather dormant on this blog, my research has moved into top gear. With my co-authors, I submitted two papers to top journals and had three papers accepted at various research conferences in past three months or so. Here are the details:
The Alignment Between Software Structure and Collaboration Network Structure In Open Source Projects
Submitted to Information Systems Research
Ning Nan, Sanjeev Kumar and Li Wang
Abstract
In this study, we view open source software (OSS) as digital networks of processing elements (e.g., function and classes) and open source development teams as social collaboration networks of developers. By integrating theories and methods from social network, software engineering and organizational behavior studies, we examined the information processing need implied by structure of the digital networks, the information processing capability defined by structure of collaboration networks and the alignment effect between the two on developer productivity. With development data from SourceForge.net, we found that the alignment between the digital and the social networks is not always proper. Particularly, in projects with high software structural interdependency, the current collaboration network structure (larger and less centralized) is associated with lower productivity. Our findings indicate that OSS practitioners still need to deliberately manage collaboration structure of the development teams to enhance productivity. Furthermore, we found that the negative effect of collaboration network size on productivity was diminished in projects with high software structural interdependency but low requirement ambiguity. Therefore, eliciting clear and complete project specifications is a potential remedy to the difficulty of aligning software structure and development team size.
Antecedents and Performance Outcomes of Onshore and Offshore Business Process Outsourcing
Submitted to MIS Quarterly
Jonathan Whitaker, Sunil Mithas, Sanjeev Kumar and M.S. Krishnan
Abstract
Firms are increasingly utilizing onshore and offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) to manage their operations and achieve their strategic objectives. However, there is a lack of understanding of when firms are likely to use BPO, and when firms are likely to see business value from BPO. Building on previous research in transaction cost economics, business process management, strategy and international business, this paper proposes a theoretical framework for adoption and benefits of onshore and offshore BPO, and tests the framework using data on U.S. firms. Our analysis indicates that firms with broader IT application deployment and stronger business process codification are more likely to engage in onshore and offshore BPO. We also find that firms with broader IT application deployment are more likely to experience both cost and quality benefits from BPO.
This study makes two primary contributions to the emerging literature on BPO. First, we draw on previous research in transaction cost economics, business process management, strategy and international business to develop and validate a theoretical model for both the antecedents and performance outcomes of BPO. We extend previous research to understand the relationship between organization characteristics and adoption and benefits of the emerging practice of onshore and offshore BPO. Second, we establish a link between IT application deployment and BPO adoption and performance outcomes. This research highlights and validates the role that IT plays in enabling firms to locate their business processes across vendor and geographic platforms, and in facilitating cost and quality benefits from BPO.
Do CEO Characteristics Influence the Technology Strategy of a Firm?
Presented at INFORMS Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST) 2006
Srinivas Kudaravalli, Sunil Mithas and Sanjeev Kumar
Abstract
This study provides evidence for the link between CEO characteristics and technology strategy. We use IT and R&D spending in firms as evidence of strategic orientation to establish this link. The results of this study show that CEO characteristics account for a significant amount of variation in technology spending even after controlling for other firm level variables. In particular, the CEO’s career experiences in marketing and technical (R&D, Engineering or IT) functions and CEO’s stock holding in the firm have a significant impact on technology spending. We use these results as well as the comparison between IT and R&D spending in our sample of firms to illuminate the effect of top management on technology strategy.
Performance Outcomes of Onshore and Offshore Business Process Outsourcing
Presented at INFORMS Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST) 2006
Jonathan Whitaker, Sanjeev Kumar and M.S. Krishnan
Abstract
Firms are increasingly utilizing business process outsourcing (BPO) to manage their operations and achieve their strategic objectives. While researchers have noted the increase in BPO since the 2000 timeframe, there is limited work on the implications of BPO for firms. To study the performance outcomes of BPO, we first develop a theoretical model based on literature from operations management, performance measurement, and vendor management. We then validate our theoretical model by performing an empirical study of data from 49 publicly traded firms in the U.S.
Consistent with previous research in operations management and software development, we find that a firm’s performance measurement focus and strategy dictates whether the firm achieves quality, cost and/or time benefits, and that quality benefits from BPO lead to cost and time benefits. These results suggest that firms should place a strong focus on quality when evaluating processes and vendors for BPO, and that firms should incorporate a robust performance measurement system to ensure that their strategic objectives are achieved.
This study makes two primary contributions. First, we integrate literature from operations management, performance measurement and vendor management to develop a theoretical model for quality, cost and time benefits from BPO. Second, this paper extends the emerging literature on BPO. While recent research has investigated BPO benefits from the analytical and case-based perspectives, our empirical research investigates actual performance across a broader range of firms.
The Alignment Between Software Structure and Collaboration Network Structure In Open Source Projects
Submitted to Information Systems Research
Ning Nan, Sanjeev Kumar and Li Wang
Abstract
In this study, we view open source software (OSS) as digital networks of processing elements (e.g., function and classes) and open source development teams as social collaboration networks of developers. By integrating theories and methods from social network, software engineering and organizational behavior studies, we examined the information processing need implied by structure of the digital networks, the information processing capability defined by structure of collaboration networks and the alignment effect between the two on developer productivity. With development data from SourceForge.net, we found that the alignment between the digital and the social networks is not always proper. Particularly, in projects with high software structural interdependency, the current collaboration network structure (larger and less centralized) is associated with lower productivity. Our findings indicate that OSS practitioners still need to deliberately manage collaboration structure of the development teams to enhance productivity. Furthermore, we found that the negative effect of collaboration network size on productivity was diminished in projects with high software structural interdependency but low requirement ambiguity. Therefore, eliciting clear and complete project specifications is a potential remedy to the difficulty of aligning software structure and development team size.
Antecedents and Performance Outcomes of Onshore and Offshore Business Process Outsourcing
Submitted to MIS Quarterly
Jonathan Whitaker, Sunil Mithas, Sanjeev Kumar and M.S. Krishnan
Abstract
Firms are increasingly utilizing onshore and offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) to manage their operations and achieve their strategic objectives. However, there is a lack of understanding of when firms are likely to use BPO, and when firms are likely to see business value from BPO. Building on previous research in transaction cost economics, business process management, strategy and international business, this paper proposes a theoretical framework for adoption and benefits of onshore and offshore BPO, and tests the framework using data on U.S. firms. Our analysis indicates that firms with broader IT application deployment and stronger business process codification are more likely to engage in onshore and offshore BPO. We also find that firms with broader IT application deployment are more likely to experience both cost and quality benefits from BPO.
This study makes two primary contributions to the emerging literature on BPO. First, we draw on previous research in transaction cost economics, business process management, strategy and international business to develop and validate a theoretical model for both the antecedents and performance outcomes of BPO. We extend previous research to understand the relationship between organization characteristics and adoption and benefits of the emerging practice of onshore and offshore BPO. Second, we establish a link between IT application deployment and BPO adoption and performance outcomes. This research highlights and validates the role that IT plays in enabling firms to locate their business processes across vendor and geographic platforms, and in facilitating cost and quality benefits from BPO.
Do CEO Characteristics Influence the Technology Strategy of a Firm?
Presented at INFORMS Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST) 2006
Srinivas Kudaravalli, Sunil Mithas and Sanjeev Kumar
Abstract
This study provides evidence for the link between CEO characteristics and technology strategy. We use IT and R&D spending in firms as evidence of strategic orientation to establish this link. The results of this study show that CEO characteristics account for a significant amount of variation in technology spending even after controlling for other firm level variables. In particular, the CEO’s career experiences in marketing and technical (R&D, Engineering or IT) functions and CEO’s stock holding in the firm have a significant impact on technology spending. We use these results as well as the comparison between IT and R&D spending in our sample of firms to illuminate the effect of top management on technology strategy.
Performance Outcomes of Onshore and Offshore Business Process Outsourcing
Presented at INFORMS Conference on Information Systems and Technology (CIST) 2006
Jonathan Whitaker, Sanjeev Kumar and M.S. Krishnan
Abstract
Firms are increasingly utilizing business process outsourcing (BPO) to manage their operations and achieve their strategic objectives. While researchers have noted the increase in BPO since the 2000 timeframe, there is limited work on the implications of BPO for firms. To study the performance outcomes of BPO, we first develop a theoretical model based on literature from operations management, performance measurement, and vendor management. We then validate our theoretical model by performing an empirical study of data from 49 publicly traded firms in the U.S.
Consistent with previous research in operations management and software development, we find that a firm’s performance measurement focus and strategy dictates whether the firm achieves quality, cost and/or time benefits, and that quality benefits from BPO lead to cost and time benefits. These results suggest that firms should place a strong focus on quality when evaluating processes and vendors for BPO, and that firms should incorporate a robust performance measurement system to ensure that their strategic objectives are achieved.
This study makes two primary contributions. First, we integrate literature from operations management, performance measurement and vendor management to develop a theoretical model for quality, cost and time benefits from BPO. Second, this paper extends the emerging literature on BPO. While recent research has investigated BPO benefits from the analytical and case-based perspectives, our empirical research investigates actual performance across a broader range of firms.
Labels: Conference Presentations, Economics, FLOSS, India, Journal Submissions, Research
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