Impact of Information Systems (IS) Steering Committees on IS Planning

Technology alignment in the presence of regulatory changes: The case of meaningful use of information technology in healthcare

OBJECTIVES

Using the context of the healthcare sector, this study examines the impact of regulatory change on technology implementation and use. Hospitals are now federally mandated to showcase meaningful use of information technology (IT). We theorize that IT plan scope structured prior to a regulatory change by means of a long-term planning horizon, top management involvement, and steering committee engagement impacts organizations' ability to fulfill meaningful use requirements three to five years later. Furthermore, we contend that this impact is contingent on the specific IT adoption strategy.

METHODS

Data from the HIMSS and HITECH Act databases were combined to analyze 688 hospitals. Regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses.

RESULTS

The results of this longitudinal study show that frequency of steering committee meetings and length of planning horizon broaden IT plan scope. Broader IT plan scope is positively associated with the ability of organizations to meaningfully use IT.

CONCLUSIONS

The link between IT plan scope and meaningful use metric is particularly significant for organizations that adopt a more integrated approach towards IT adoption. Average reimbursement amount differences are provided and discussed between the different IT adoption strategies.

Investigating Critical Success Factors Affecting ERP Implementation in Chinese and Pakistani Enterprises

Carrying with itself the most effective, efficient & cross-functional integrative capabilities, the importance in adoption & usage of ERP systems has significantly increased in vibrant and dynamically responding business settings of today. This study attempts to present the ERP system’s implementation success in terms of organizational impact, on time and under allocated budget by qualitatively examining relationship of each of the identified critical success factors (CSFs) to project’s implementation success in enterprises of a developing country, China, by using validated responses from 12 organizations, using a questionnaire survey approach. Summary of survey’s results are then presented in a tabular form to get a clearer view of the impact of CSFs during ERP system implementation. Findings confirm that 10, 9 and 1 out of the 20 proposed factors that are identified from the literature are critical, least critical & not critical respectively. Findings are then compared, in brief, with the enterprises of another developing country, Pakistan, to check for the similarities & differences. This study intends to enrich understanding on the most significant factors to trim down chances of failure regarding ERP project implementation success and is anticipated to contribute to the on hand body of knowledge in this regard.

Exploring the Role of Steering Committees in Realizing Value from Project Management

The impact of steering committees on project performance and their role in creating value from project management capabilities is not well understood. A case study analysis was chosen to analyze the configurations and specific functions of project steering committees. A measurement model for steering committee configurations was developed to enable further survey-based studies. One of the major insights resulting from the authors’ interviews with project managers and senior managers was that they perceived the existence of a project steering committee only when the context was defined and clarified. Furthermore, a large variety of committee involvements was identified, concluding that steering committees per se are very rare. On the project level, the cases clearly demonstrate that committees with project steering functions play an important role in the selection, initiation, definition, and control of projects. On the organizational level, they are important to implement and maintain project management standards. Finally, the results clearly indicate that steering committees directly support project success and are instrumental for attaining value from an organization's investments in its project management system.