Decision makers require the right information at the right time, in the right place and in the right format so that they can make good decisions. Although business intelligence (BI) has the potential to improve decision making, there is little empirical evidence of how well this has been achieved. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the quality of decisions made using BI. The research question it addresses is what are the key antecedents of decision quality for users of business intelligence systems? The theoretical support for the model is developed based on the literature review that draws on decision support systems (DSS), group decision support systems (GDSS), and BI. Grounded on this literature review, the antecedents of decision quality are operationalized in this dissertation through independent variables such as the problem space complexity, the level of BI usage, the BI user experience, and information quality. The dependent variable is operationalized as decision quality and it captures the self-satisfaction with a decision made by users in a BI environment. The research model was tested using a survey of BI users whose names were provided by a marketing company. This research suggests that BI user experience is a more complex …

To prevent loss of lives during seasonal disasters, relief agencies distribute critical supplies and provide lifesaving services to the affected populations. Despite agencies' efforts, frequently occuring disasters increase the cost of relief operations. The purpose of our study is to minimize the cost of relief operations, considering that such disasters cause random demand. To achieve this, we have formulated a series of models, which are distinct from the current studies in three ways. First, to the best of our knowledge, we are the first ones to capture both perishable and durable products together. Second, we have aggregated multiple products in a different way than current studies do. This unique aggregation requires less data than that of other types of aggregation. Finally, our models are compatible with the practical data generated by FEMA. Our models offer insights on the impacts of various parameters on optimum cost and order size. The analyses of correlation of demand and quality of information offer interesting insights; for instance, under certain cases, the quality of information does not influence cost. Our study has considered both risk averse and risk neutral approaches and provided insights. The insights obtained from our models are expected to help agencies reduce …

In information systems design there are two schools of thought about what factors are necessary to create a successful information system. The first, conventional view holds that system performance is a key, so that efficiency characteristics such as system usability and task completion time are primary concerns of system designers. The second, emerging view holds that the visual design is also the key, so that visual interface characteristics such as visual appeal, in addition to efficiency characteristics, are critical concerns of designers. This view contends that visual design enhances system use. Thus, this work examines the effects of visual design on computer systems. Visual design exerts its influence on systems through two mechanisms: it evokes affective responses from IT users, such as arousal and pleasure and it influences individuals’ cognitive assessments of systems. Given that both affective and cognitive reactions are significant antecedents of user behaviors in the IT realm, it is no surprise that visual design plays a critical role in information system success. Human-computer-interaction literature indicates that visual aesthetics positively influences such information success factors as usability, online trust, user satisfaction, flow experience, and so on. Although academic research has introduced visual design into the Information Systems (IS) …

Extracting meaningful information from large collections of text data is problematic because of the sheer size of the database. However, automated analytic methods capable of processing such data have emerged. These methods, collectively called text mining first began to appear in 1988. A number of additional text mining methods quickly developed in independent research silos with each based on unique mathematical algorithms. How good each of these methods are at analyzing text is unclear. Method development typically evolves from some research silo centric requirement with the success of the method measured by a custom requirement-based metric. Results of the new method are then compared to another method that was similarly developed. The proposed research introduces an experimentally designed testing method to text mining that eliminates research silo bias and simultaneously evaluates methods from all of the major context-region text mining method families. The proposed research method follows a random block factorial design with two treatments consisting of three and five levels (RBF-35) with repeated measures. Contribution of the research is threefold. First, the users perceived a difference in the effectiveness of the various methods. Second, while still not clear, there are characteristics with in the text collection that affect the …

Social software has become pervasive including technologies such as blogs, wikis, and social networking sites. Interactive Web 2.0 technology is distinguished from earlier Internet channels, with content provided not only from the website host, but also and most importantly, user-generated content. These social technologies are increasingly entering the enterprise, involving complex social and psychological aspects as well as an understanding of traditional technology acceptance factors. Organizations trying to reap potential benefits of enterprise social software (ESS) must successfully implement and maintain ESS tools. This research develops a framework for assessing knowledge sharing based on reciprocal determinism theory and augmented with technology acceptance, sociological, and psychological factors. Semi-structured interviews with IT professionals, followed by a written survey of employees using ESS are used to collect data. The hermeneutic circle methodology is used to analyze the interview transcripts and structural equation modeling is used to analyze the survey data. Results show technological advantage has no significant effect on the intention to share knowledge, but community cohesiveness and individual willingness significantly affect knowledge sharing intention and behavior. The study offers a synthesized model of variables affecting knowledge sharing as well as a better understanding of best practices for organizations to consider when implementing …

In 2012, the CIA World Fact Book showed that the service sector contributed about 76.6% and 51.4% of the 2010 gross national product of both the United States and Ghana, respectively. Research in the services area shows that a firm's success in today's competitive business environment is dependent upon its ability to deliver superior service quality. However, these studies have yet to address factors that influence customers to remain committed to a mass service in economically diverse countries. In addition, there is little research on established service quality measures pertaining to the mass service domain. This dissertation applies Rusbult's investment model of relationship commitment and examines its psychological impact on the commitment level of a customer towards a service in two economically diverse countries. In addition, service quality is conceptualized as a hierarchical construct in the mass service (banking) and specific dimensions are developed on which customers assess their quality evaluations. Using, PLS path modeling, a structural equation modeling approach to data analysis, service quality as a hierarchical third-order construct was found to have three primary dimensions and six sub-dimensions. The results also established that a country's national economy has a moderating effect on the relationship between service quality and …

Business process re-engineering (part of the Business Process Management domain) is among the top three concerns of Information Technology (IT) leaders and is deemed to be one of many important IT leveraging opportunities. Two major challenges have been identified in relation to BPM and the use of IT. The first challenge is related to involving business process participants in process improvement initiatives using BPM systems. BPM technologies are considered to be primarily targeted for developers and not BPM users, and the need to engage process participants into process improvement initiatives is not addressed, contributing to the business-IT gap. The second challenge is related to potential de-skilling of knowledge workers when knowledge-intensive processes are automated and process knowledge resides in IT, rather than human process participants. The two identified challenges are not separate issues. Process participants need to be knowledgeable about the process in order to actively contribute to BPM initiatives, and the loss of process knowledge as a result of passive use of automated systems may further threaten their participation in process improvement. In response to the call for more research on the individual impacts of business process initiatives, the purpose of this dissertation study is to understand the relationship …