The common assumption is that an enterprise architecture (EA) program should be incrementally imp... more The common assumption is that an enterprise architecture (EA) program should be incrementally implemented (the maturing approach). But our research found that U.S. state governments are also using two other approaches, both of which take advantage of a “crisitunity,” a term popularized by The Simpsons. When told that the Chinese word for crisis consists of two characters, danger and opportunity, Homer Simpson suggests the word “crisitunity” to describe the situation. Although EA has been around for many years, the core question that remains unanswered is: How can EA deliver its promised benefits? As described in the full article, the answer lies in an organization choosing an appropriate and relevant EA approach. As well as the maturing approach, the choices are the refreshing and bundling approaches. The first step in building a relevant EA program is to understand and embrace the most appropriate implementation approach for your organization, using the decision process depicted in...
Prior research has suggested that for widespread adoption to occur, dominant designs are necessar... more Prior research has suggested that for widespread adoption to occur, dominant designs are necessary in order to stabilize and diffuse the innovation across organizations. This study explores the possibility of alternative designs, or stable and tenacious forms of implementation, at the presence of widespread adoption. In other words, is it possible for widespread adoption to occur with alternative designs instead of dominant designs? Using the data from the diffusion of Enterprise Architecture across the 50 U.S. State governments, the study shows that there are five alternative designs of Enterprise Architecture across all States, and each acts as a stable and autonomous form of implementation. These findings enhance our collective knowledge on innovation adoption, and suggest a potential research trajectory for innovation studies.
This paper revisits the concept of innovation changes during the implementation process. Prior li... more This paper revisits the concept of innovation changes during the implementation process. Prior literature has mostly focused on innovation changes during the adaptation process and organizational-level effects of those changes. However, such a theoretical lens leaves out an important dimension in the magnitude of changes: the potential community-level effects of changes. Large-scale, radical adaptation can be conceptualized as reinvention events that alter the nature of the innovation and create ripple-effects in the community. Thus, innovation changes include two possible processes: adaptation and reinvention. Through an in-depth case study of Enterprise Architecture implementation in an U.S. State government, this study illustrates how reinvention of innovation concepts can push the boundary of change, creating a new way of implementation in a community. The findings suggest the need to adjust our conventional methodological approach and theoretical lens in studying innovation cha...
Recent innovation studies point out the importance of a cognitive-institutional account, or a col... more Recent innovation studies point out the importance of a cognitive-institutional account, or a collective adoption rationale, to guide innovation adoption across organizations. Yet, to be effective, a collective adoption rationale needs to be compelling and evolving over time. As a result, the quest to create an effective account is a challenging and enduring task for many innovation promoters. Using the rhetoric issued by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) in the last decade, this study unravels the struggles of NASCIO over time to create a compelling collective adoption rationale of Enterprise Architecture (EA) in the U.S. State governments. The findings show three periods of rhetorical changes in which NASCIO utilized different strategies and approaches to address their audiences’ contingencies, aiming to increase the congruence of their rhetoric. Three elements of innovation rhetoric are found important: problem specification, innovation specifi...
IT capabilities, including IT governance, are widely believed to affect the value organizations d... more IT capabilities, including IT governance, are widely believed to affect the value organizations derive from IT. This paper focuses on what may be an important strategy for building enterprise-wide IT capabilities in large decentralized organizations: undertaking an IT centralizing reorganization to concentrate authority for IT activities and decisions at the headquarters level of an enterprise. IT centralizing reorganizations are theorized to change an organization’s IT governance in ways that promote capability development and enable enterprise-wide IT initiatives such as IT consolidation and outsourcing. These ideas are explored through a multi-method study of US state governments.
Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an important concept, promising various benefits such as reducing... more Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an important concept, promising various benefits such as reducing redundancy in IT investments, aligning IT strategy and business strategy, and enhancing communication between IT specialists and business leaders. Experts suggest that the more mature an organization’s EA, the greater benefit the organization will achieve. However, because EA is a conceptual innovation, organizations have more flexibility in implementing EA. Thus, it is possible that the expected outcomes from implementing EA depend not only on how well EA is implemented, but also on the kinds of EA that are implemented (i.e., EA features). In this preliminary study, we propose a typological theory that link EA features with organizational outcomes. We analyze five popular branded EA frameworks to identify the types of EA features and frameworks that are connected to specified outcomes. Several hypotheses are presented, and future research is needed to further connect EA features to org...
ABSTRACT The success of e-government is believed to depend in part on the organizational and inst... more ABSTRACT The success of e-government is believed to depend in part on the organizational and institutional arrangements that governments enact for the management of their IT resources. This paper develops the conceptualization of IT management arrangements by considering possible interactions between two dimensions — 1) the organization of IT activities and 2) control over decisions about IT activities (also known as governance) — for each of two categories of IT activities — 1) IT projects (such as website development) and 2) IT services (such as the operation of networks). In addition, the paper provides preliminary empirical evidence obtained from applying this expanded conceptualization in the context of American state governments. Many states appear to employ centralization of IT activities to offset decentralization of IT control and vice versa. Consequently, neither dimension alone provides a good characterization of governmental IT management arrangements. These findings have the potential to enhance our understanding of the barriers to, and enablers of, e-government success.
ABSTRACT Business-to-business interactions are increasingly conducted through interorganizational... more ABSTRACT Business-to-business interactions are increasingly conducted through interorganizational coordination hubs, in which standardized IT-based platforms provide data and business process interoperability for interactions among the organizations in particular industrial communities. Because the governance of interorganizational arrangements is believed to affect their efficiency and effectiveness, this paper explores how and why interorganizational coordination hubs are governed. Analysis of relevant prior theory and case examples shows that coordination hub governance is designed to balance the sometimes conflicting needs for capital to invest in new technology, for participation of industry members, and for the protection of data resources. Findings suggest that the governance of interorganizational coordination hubs is not the starkly categorical choice between collective (member-owned) and investor-owned forms as suggested by prior theory. Instead, many hybrid arrangements are observed in the five examined cases. Future theoretical development and empirical research are needed to understand the increasingly important phenomenon of coordination hub governance.
The common assumption is that an enterprise architecture (EA) program should be incrementally imp... more The common assumption is that an enterprise architecture (EA) program should be incrementally implemented (the maturing approach). But our research found that U.S. state governments are also using two other approaches, both of which take advantage of a “crisitunity,” a term popularized by The Simpsons. When told that the Chinese word for crisis consists of two characters, danger and opportunity, Homer Simpson suggests the word “crisitunity” to describe the situation. Although EA has been around for many years, the core question that remains unanswered is: How can EA deliver its promised benefits? As described in the full article, the answer lies in an organization choosing an appropriate and relevant EA approach. As well as the maturing approach, the choices are the refreshing and bundling approaches. The first step in building a relevant EA program is to understand and embrace the most appropriate implementation approach for your organization, using the decision process depicted in...
Prior research has suggested that for widespread adoption to occur, dominant designs are necessar... more Prior research has suggested that for widespread adoption to occur, dominant designs are necessary in order to stabilize and diffuse the innovation across organizations. This study explores the possibility of alternative designs, or stable and tenacious forms of implementation, at the presence of widespread adoption. In other words, is it possible for widespread adoption to occur with alternative designs instead of dominant designs? Using the data from the diffusion of Enterprise Architecture across the 50 U.S. State governments, the study shows that there are five alternative designs of Enterprise Architecture across all States, and each acts as a stable and autonomous form of implementation. These findings enhance our collective knowledge on innovation adoption, and suggest a potential research trajectory for innovation studies.
This paper revisits the concept of innovation changes during the implementation process. Prior li... more This paper revisits the concept of innovation changes during the implementation process. Prior literature has mostly focused on innovation changes during the adaptation process and organizational-level effects of those changes. However, such a theoretical lens leaves out an important dimension in the magnitude of changes: the potential community-level effects of changes. Large-scale, radical adaptation can be conceptualized as reinvention events that alter the nature of the innovation and create ripple-effects in the community. Thus, innovation changes include two possible processes: adaptation and reinvention. Through an in-depth case study of Enterprise Architecture implementation in an U.S. State government, this study illustrates how reinvention of innovation concepts can push the boundary of change, creating a new way of implementation in a community. The findings suggest the need to adjust our conventional methodological approach and theoretical lens in studying innovation cha...
Recent innovation studies point out the importance of a cognitive-institutional account, or a col... more Recent innovation studies point out the importance of a cognitive-institutional account, or a collective adoption rationale, to guide innovation adoption across organizations. Yet, to be effective, a collective adoption rationale needs to be compelling and evolving over time. As a result, the quest to create an effective account is a challenging and enduring task for many innovation promoters. Using the rhetoric issued by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) in the last decade, this study unravels the struggles of NASCIO over time to create a compelling collective adoption rationale of Enterprise Architecture (EA) in the U.S. State governments. The findings show three periods of rhetorical changes in which NASCIO utilized different strategies and approaches to address their audiences’ contingencies, aiming to increase the congruence of their rhetoric. Three elements of innovation rhetoric are found important: problem specification, innovation specifi...
IT capabilities, including IT governance, are widely believed to affect the value organizations d... more IT capabilities, including IT governance, are widely believed to affect the value organizations derive from IT. This paper focuses on what may be an important strategy for building enterprise-wide IT capabilities in large decentralized organizations: undertaking an IT centralizing reorganization to concentrate authority for IT activities and decisions at the headquarters level of an enterprise. IT centralizing reorganizations are theorized to change an organization’s IT governance in ways that promote capability development and enable enterprise-wide IT initiatives such as IT consolidation and outsourcing. These ideas are explored through a multi-method study of US state governments.
Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an important concept, promising various benefits such as reducing... more Enterprise Architecture (EA) is an important concept, promising various benefits such as reducing redundancy in IT investments, aligning IT strategy and business strategy, and enhancing communication between IT specialists and business leaders. Experts suggest that the more mature an organization’s EA, the greater benefit the organization will achieve. However, because EA is a conceptual innovation, organizations have more flexibility in implementing EA. Thus, it is possible that the expected outcomes from implementing EA depend not only on how well EA is implemented, but also on the kinds of EA that are implemented (i.e., EA features). In this preliminary study, we propose a typological theory that link EA features with organizational outcomes. We analyze five popular branded EA frameworks to identify the types of EA features and frameworks that are connected to specified outcomes. Several hypotheses are presented, and future research is needed to further connect EA features to org...
ABSTRACT The success of e-government is believed to depend in part on the organizational and inst... more ABSTRACT The success of e-government is believed to depend in part on the organizational and institutional arrangements that governments enact for the management of their IT resources. This paper develops the conceptualization of IT management arrangements by considering possible interactions between two dimensions — 1) the organization of IT activities and 2) control over decisions about IT activities (also known as governance) — for each of two categories of IT activities — 1) IT projects (such as website development) and 2) IT services (such as the operation of networks). In addition, the paper provides preliminary empirical evidence obtained from applying this expanded conceptualization in the context of American state governments. Many states appear to employ centralization of IT activities to offset decentralization of IT control and vice versa. Consequently, neither dimension alone provides a good characterization of governmental IT management arrangements. These findings have the potential to enhance our understanding of the barriers to, and enablers of, e-government success.
ABSTRACT Business-to-business interactions are increasingly conducted through interorganizational... more ABSTRACT Business-to-business interactions are increasingly conducted through interorganizational coordination hubs, in which standardized IT-based platforms provide data and business process interoperability for interactions among the organizations in particular industrial communities. Because the governance of interorganizational arrangements is believed to affect their efficiency and effectiveness, this paper explores how and why interorganizational coordination hubs are governed. Analysis of relevant prior theory and case examples shows that coordination hub governance is designed to balance the sometimes conflicting needs for capital to invest in new technology, for participation of industry members, and for the protection of data resources. Findings suggest that the governance of interorganizational coordination hubs is not the starkly categorical choice between collective (member-owned) and investor-owned forms as suggested by prior theory. Instead, many hybrid arrangements are observed in the five examined cases. Future theoretical development and empirical research are needed to understand the increasingly important phenomenon of coordination hub governance.
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Papers by Q. Neo Bui