Articles 21 to 35 of 112
Gadgets at Work: The Blurring Boundary between Consumer and Corporate Technologies
The boundaries between work and play are beginning to disappear as consumer technologies -- including social networking tools, user generated content and wikis -- are increasingly adopted by corporate America. For technology companies, this emerging "consumerization" trend represents an opportunity, but it also brings new management challenges as companies struggle to embrace these technologies in a way that doesn't limit their usefulness but also doesn't result in lost time or money. And while there may be productivity gains for corporations that experiment with integrating the latest consumer gadgets, security remains the deal breaker, say experts at Wharton.
Put on Hold: Why Telecoms Can't Get Consumers to Bond More with Their Cell Phones
As the price of wireless transmissions drops, telecom carriers need to focus on new applications that will engage consumers more deeply with their mobile devices -- and encourage them to pay a premium for wireless services, according to speakers at the recent Wharton Business Technology Conference, whose theme was "Enterprise Agility: Lead with Speed."
Sony's Blu-Ray Victory: Learning to Catch the Technology Wave?
Determining when and what technological innovation to adopt can be a bit like predicting the outcome of the stock market on any given day. Sony’s recent win with its Blu-Ray technology over Toshiba’s High Definition DVD is the latest example of a firm learning from past mistakes and capitalizing on an existing product, the Sony PlayStation 3. But if knowing when to adopt a new technology is tricky, how is a company to stay competitive? Experts at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School discuss the role of strategy and luck in making the winning moves with new technologies.
Exploring Knowledge 'Stickiness' in the Healthcare Setting
Introducing a new process into an existing system, even when it is better, can cause some difficulty or “stickiness” in managing the transition. In their new paper, “Exploring Stickiness in Knowledge Transfer Processes: The Case of Evidence-based Medicine,” doctoral candidate Roopa Raman and Anandhi Bharadwaj, associate professor of Information Systems and Operations Management at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, examine the impact of knowledge transfer breakdown in the healthcare setting. The authors offer ways to spot trouble early and show how the use of information technology can play a key role in getting people to accept new knowledge and change their behavior.
Why Leveraging Technology Should be an Ongoing Business Strategy
The ability to harness technology and gain competitive and organizational advantage depends on how effectively IT is managed in an organization, says Maryam Alavi, vice dean and a chaired professor of information strategy at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. During a recent lecture at the annual Executive Women of Goizueta Conference in Atlanta, Alavi advised executives that gaining such advantage requires a constant alignment between technology and a firm’s business model and processes. “Technology can really change, diminish or render your business model obsolete,” explains Alavi. “If your business model and technology are misaligned, it’s going to have negative consequences.”
A Sunny Outlook for Cloud Computing?
In late 2007 information technology giants Google and IBM announced a joint venture aimed at addressing “the emerging paradigm of large-scale distributed computing,” also known as cloud computing. Under this evolving approach to information-technology, computer applications and activities are migrating away from individual machines and onto the Internet, where they can be easily distributed, updated and shared. Good news for consumers who must shell out money for each new upgrade, but how would the tech companies make money? In an interview with Knowledge@Emory, Benn Konsynski, a chaired professor of business administration for information systems and operations management at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, discusses this evolving technology and admits Google and IBM face at least two big challenges as they adapt to cloud computing: toppling entrenched business models and overcoming the basic nature of the Internet itself.
Career Crisis: Monster.com Has Choices to Make as It Approaches 'Middle Age'
When the Internet was young, pioneering online job recruitment firm Monster.com rocked the way people looked for work. Now, Monster itself has hit a rocky patch, marked by the resignation of three top officers, a major security breach and the rise of new competitors, including Craigslist. According to Wharton faculty and analysts, Monster is confronting the "middle age" that all veteran firms of the Internet's early days must face. The company remains a force in employment advertising, they say, but as it settles into maturity, Monster must find new ways to protect its established markets and expand overseas.
The Silver Bullet Market: Academia's Role
Decision Support Systems (or DSS) have the potential for providing managers with powerful tools for compiling useful information from raw data, facilitating the comparison of results and solutions and ultimately solving complex business problems. However, for those seeking quick answers or the so-called “silver bullet,” these technologies can be easily misappropriated and misused, almost in an addictive sense. The problem, warns Elliot Bendoly, associate professor of decision and information analysis at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, is that DSS are designed to complement the decision process, not overtake it - yet that distinction is too often underemphasized. In the soon-to-be published paper “Silver Bullet Junkies and the Codifiers that Love Them,” Bendoly and a coauthor examine the vulnerability of a support system design that fails to account for real-world issues such as human behavior. The pair also discuss the ethics surrounding academia's role in this arena.
Why ‘Everyday Low Prices’ May Not Be Such a Deal
Comparison shopping is the joie de vivre for many consumers. But do these same savvy buyers practice such diligence when they surf the Internet? Not always, says Ramnath K. Chellappa, associate professor of decision and information analysis at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, who studies pricing, in particular, airline pricing on the Internet. Research by Chellappa and colleagues reveals that the online strategy of offering an “Everyday Low Price” is so persuasive that many consumers will not bother searching elsewhere to comparison shop.
Identifying the Soft Skills Needed to Leverage B2B Commerce
Supply-chain strategy is changing with the times—becoming more high-tech and Internet-driven. Yet, in order to use Internet-based technologies most effectively to develop the right kinds of relationships with customers and suppliers, manufacturers need to recognize the need for other changes that support this new environment. Research by Eve D. Rosenzweig, an assistant professor of decision and information analysis at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, and co-author Aleda V. Roth identifies the managerial skill sets that are fundamental to leveraging technology in the world of Internet-enabled Business-to-Business (B2B) commerce. Rosenzweig uses empirical research methodologies to define and measure the competencies associated with the seller-side of Internet-enabled commerce.
Can Michael Dell Reinvigorate the Computer Giant?
The news that Michael Dell was taking back his old job as CEO of Dell Inc. has been met with cheers and doubts. At one time exceedingly entrepreneurial, the computer giant floundered under its hand-picked successor Kevin Rollins. Although Michael Dell’s name may add some cachet to the company, is he the right choice to catapult the company to the next level? Marketing and operational experts at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School discuss the challenges, including whether the company can change its business model and differentiate itself from competitors.
A Mathematical Approach to Aid Buyers in Online Reverse Auctions
Unlike eBay, bidders in online reverse auctions are not necessarily motivated to give buyer’s their bottom-line price. Because of this, buyers may end up paying a higher price to a bidder unaware there was room for negotiation. A new mathematical model, however, may balance this disparity. Sandy D. Jap, an associate professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, and a colleague developed a tool that aids buyers in reverse online auctions. Jap details how the tool can benefit both parties in a new paper entitled “BidAnalyzer: A Method for Price Discovery in Online Reverse Auctions.”
Why Lack of Specifics and Flexibility Can Detour IT Outsourcing Contracts
IT outsourcing contracts are often front-page news these days. On September 12, the U.S. Justice Department announced it had awarded Accenture Ltd. a contract potentially worth $54 million to build a new, integrated debt system. And just last week, Affiliated Computer Systems inked a $110 million IT outsourcing contract with Maryland’s Department of Human Resources. Clearly, there is a need for IT outsourcing, but what happens when outsourcing contracts fail? In a new paper entitled “An Empirical Analysis of the Determinants of IT Outsourcing Contract Structures,” Yuanyuan Chen, a doctoral student in information systems at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, and Anandhi Bharadwaj, an associate professor of decision and information analysis at Goizueta, examine these contracts and reveal some surprising results.
Can Advances in Technology and Ethical Behavior Coexist?
Technology today is a constantly moving force. No sooner is a concept defined than it becomes the tool to launch another round of innovation. As systems and methods converge, rendering older technologies obsolete and swinging the doors to access wide open, is the hold on ethics weakening? To mark the fifth anniversary of Knowledge@Emory, a panel of experts gathered at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School to explore the ways digital technology convergence is challenging ethical issues in society.
Can Sampling Help Curb Piracy?
Digital products such as movies, video games and software are popular—and easy to duplicate. Vendors are pouring tremendous resources into combating piracy, and yet the problem isn't going away. The question then becomes how best to manage it? Ramnath Chellappa, a visiting associate professor of decision and information analysis at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, along with a co-author, offer digital product vendors some solutions in “Managing Piracy: Pricing and Sampling Strategies for Digital Experience Goods in Vertically Segmented Markets,” which was recently published in Information Systems Research.
