CALL
FOR CHAPTERS
Submission deadline March 31, 2001
Creating
Business Value with Information Technology:
Challenges
and Solutions
A
book edited by Namchul Shin, Pace University, USA
Questions on the business value of information
technology (IT), which have been raised by managers and researchers for the last
decade, are not settled yet. Firms invest in IT in order to improve their
business performance. However, some firms fail to improve their business
performance while others succeed. The overall value of IT varies enormously
from firm to firm. Computerization does not automatically create business value,
but it is one essential component that should be coupled with organizational
changes such as new strategies, new business processes, and new organizational
structure. The critical question facing information systems (IS) managers is not
"Does IT pay off?" but "How can we best use IT and related
technologies?" However, little is known about successful strategies for
creating business value with IT, what characteristics of firms create more value
from IT, and what types of IT contribute to increase in business value.
Previous studies have sought to document the
relationship between IT investments and increases in business performance, but
many of them have not focused on how to make computerization more effective.
Furthermore, the question on the contribution of IT to firm profitability has
even not been clearly answered yet, while some of the recent studies have found
that, on average, IT is associated with increases in firm productivity. In their
MIS Quarterly article (1996), Hitt and Brynjolfsson stated, "Productive IT
can facilitate higher business profitability but is neither necessary nor
sufficient… Managers seeking higher profits should look beyond productivity to
focus on how IT can address other strategic levers such as product position,
quality, or customer service."
In the e-business era, IT alone does not bring
success. Firms, which do not make appropriate organizational changes and/or
develop appropriate business strategies, may fail to take full advantage of IT
capabilities. To gain competitive advantage, corporate managers should also view
IT as an "enabler" for organizational changes. They must also
understand how IT creates both tangible (e.g., revenue and profits) and
intangible (e.g., quality, responsiveness, coordination, and customer service)
business values.
This book aims to solicit the studies that yield
significant new insights into the business value of IT. This book is geared
toward both academics and practitioners. Thus, the studies should provide
practical implications as well as theoretical (and/or empirical) contributions.
Emphasis is given to both rigorous empirical studies and theoretical studies
that provide new insights.
Possible
topics include but are not limited to:
Strategies
for creating IT business value
Conceptual
frameworks/models of IT business value
Value
achieved from strategic alignment of IT
Cost
reduction from IT
Competitive
impacts of IT
Intangible
values of IT
Productivity/profitability
improvement from IT
The
business value of enterprise systems
Creating
value from e-business
Information
economics
Industry
impacts
Effective
or ineffective users of IT
Distribution
of benefits across firms
IT,
organizational changes and associated firm characteristics, and business value
The
link between tangible and intangible values achieved from IT
Resource-based approach to IT investment
SUBMISSION
PROCEDURE
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before March 31, 2001, a 2-5 page manuscript proposal clearly explaining the mission and concerns of the proposed chapter. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by May 15, 2001 about the status of their proposals and sent chapter organizational guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by September 15, 2001. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a blind review basis. The book is scheduled to be published by Idea Group Publishing in Fall 2002.
Inquiries and Submissions can be forwarded electronically (Word97 or higher) to:
Namchul Shin,
Ph.D.
School of
Computer Science and Information Systems
New York, NY 10038
Tel: 212-346-1492 Ÿ Fax: 212-346-1863 Ÿ Email: nshin@pace.edu