Veröffentlichungen von Frank Schlosser

Journal-Artikel (Peer Reviewed)

Schlosser, F., Beimborn, D., Weitzel, T., and Wagner, H. (2015)
Achieving Social Alignment between Business and IT - An Empirical Evaluation of the Efficacy of IT Governance Mechanisms
Journal of Information Technology 30, 119-135, http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/jit.2015.2 (VHB-JOURQUAL 3 Rating: A)

View Abstract
How can firms improve the degree of social alignment between their business and IT units? Many years of research have shown the importance of business-IT alignment and its various facets, yet research on the efficacy of IT governance mechanisms to improve business-IT alignment is scarce. In this paper, we develop a model of social alignment at an operational level that considers the degree of social capital between an organization's business and IT units, IT personnel's business understanding, and a set of formal and informal IT governance mechanisms that drive the creation of social alignment and business value. Using survey data from 132 U.S. banks, we show that social alignment is driven to varying degrees by a broad variety of IT governance mechanisms ranging from top management support and IT representation on the executive board to joint IT planning and IS trainings, regular meeting cycles and liaison units. Our research contributes substantially to the practical demand on business-IT alignment research for an effective toolkit of IT governance mechanisms.

Konferenz-Artikel (Peer Reviewed)

Jentsch, C., Schlosser, F., and Beimborn, D. (2015)
Applying a configurational approach for explaining the role of relationship quality for successful outsourcing arrangements
Proceedings of the 9th Global Sourcing Workshop, La Thuile, Italy

View Abstract
Relationship quality dimensions like trust or commitment have been proven to be crucial determinants for the success of outsourcing arrangements. Most previous empirical studies focus on the success of relationship quality dimensions within a specific contextual outsourcing arrangement. We argue that the importance and formation of each relationship quality dimension highly depend on the contextual background of the particular study. To substantiate this contingency argument, we conducted 16 interviews with managers in different types of out-sourcing arrangements and questioned them about their understanding of relationship quality. Linking managers' statements with their outsourcing background, we found several configurational patterns that describe the different roles of relationship quality for successful outsourcing

Jentsch, C., Schlosser, F., and Beimborn, D. (2014)
From Strategic to Operational Collaborations: The Divergent Nature of Business/IT Shared Understanding
Proceedings of the 20th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), Savannah (GA)

View Abstract
The success of any business/IT collaboration depends on the shared understanding between business and IT professionals (B/IT-SU) on all organizational layers. However, most research on B/IT-SU merely focuses either on top management level or information system development (ISD) teams. This isolated research led to divergent conceptualizations of B/IT-SU. While studies on strategic collaboration concentrate on B/IT-SU of the objectives or the role of IT, ISD research postulates shared language as main B/IT-SU component. In this paper, we build on major findings of B/IT-SU research, and develop an integrated concept of the relevant dimensions that should be studied conjointly to provide a more consistent view of B/IT-SU. Furthermore, we discuss our concept from three perspectives: (1) strategic collaboration; (2) project collaboration; and (3) operational collaboration. The results provide insights into the key dimensions of B/IT-SU in regard to the distinctive hierarchical layer, respectively, and serve as initial foundation for further investigations of B/IT-SU.

Gruschwitz, S. and Schlosser, F. (2012)
Towards an integrated model for managing product and process quality in agile software projects
Proceedings of the 7th International Research Workshop on Information Technology Project Management (IRWITPM) (Pre-ICIS), Orlando (FL)
(Research in Progress)

View Abstract
Many software projects still experience delays, exceed budget or fail to deliver the expected quality due to poor project management, often caused by a lack of information about the real status of the project. This is particularly problematic in agile projects with their dynamic team configurations, high number of iterations and short development cycle times. A key challenge to effectively and efficiently manage agile projects is to select and implement both the right product and process quality metrics. We develop a catalogue of 40 metrics covering different product and process quality criteria. The catalogue is then used to select and evaluate a specific set of metrics that are implemented in an agile software development project. Our preliminary findings show that while the combination of product and process quality metrics is important, more research into their interdependencies and selection criteria is needed.

Schlosser, F. (2012)
Mastering the Social IT/Business Alignment Challenge
Proceedings of the 18th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), Seattle (WA)

View Abstract
The crucial role of IT/business alignment for business value of IT has been investigated for more than two decades. While both the intellectual and the social dimension of alignment received considerable attention at strategic level, only few studies have provided insights into alignment at non-strategic levels. With the intellectual dimension being quite well understood, this work focuses particularly on the social dimension of alignment, addressing aspects like shared understanding, common language, shared domain knowledge, and interaction quality between business and IT. Furthermore, there is a lack of research on how to achieve and maintain social alignment, making it difficult to develop guidelines for practice in this important area. This paper presents a multi-level construct for social alignment and adopts an IT governance perspective in order to identify specific practices and investigate their impact on social alignment. Using a qualitative approach by conducting a series of case studies, this research aims to contribute to our understanding of key IT/business alignment antecedents (or managerial actions) and how they influence social alignment.

Schlosser, F., Wagner, H., and Coltman, T. (2012)
Reconsidering the Dimensions of Business-IT Alignment
Proceedings of the 45th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), Maui (HI)

View Abstract
While the literature on business-IT alignment has become increasingly mature in the past 20 years, different definitions and conceptualizations have emerged. Several dimensions like strategic, intellectual, structural, social, and cultural alignment have been developed. However, no integrated and broadly accepted categorization exists and these dimensions are non-selective and do overlap. In this paper, we critically compare and reflect the existing dimensions of alignment and synthesize what has been researched about alignment and guide future research by revealing gaps in alignment research suggesting an agenda for future research. In regard to analyzing alignment, we propose to clearly separate between the organizational level and the content of alignment, for which we suggest three distinct dimensions: (1) human dimension; (2) social dimension; (3) intellectual dimension. The result is a consolidated grid of alignment studies allowing to identify both areas with a mature and rich strand of literature and those lacking research.

Joachim, N., Beimborn, D., Schlosser, F., and Weitzel, T. (2011)
Does SOA Create or Require IT/Business Collaboration? Investigating SOA's Potential to Reduce the Gap Between IT and Business
Proceedings of the 32nd International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), Shanghai, China

View Abstract
By extending the research on identifying the possible benefits of Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA), we investigate how SOA delivers its value in an organization. One perspective in the existing literature suggests that service orientation works through creating better IT/Business collaboration as the "services" concept is a shared mental model that reduces the mental gap between IT and business units. Another perspective proposes that SOA benefits require IT/Business collaboration in the first place as IT and business must closely collaborate in order to leverage SOA's potential. We develop a theoretical model to understand how service orientation and close collaboration between IT and business departments are related. An analysis using data from 122 organizations reveals that SOA does not advance - but rather requires - close collaboration between the IT and business departments (i.e., collaboration is a moderator, not mediator, between SOA and its impacts). Therefore, close IT/business collaboration is an important success factor for realizing SOA's value potential and must be established using other means.

Schlosser, F. and Wagner, H. (2011)
Applying Importance-Performance Analysis to IT Outsourcing: A Survey among Financial Institutions
Proceedings of the 15th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS), Brisbane, Australia

View Abstract
What is the importance of specific control and contractual mechanisms for IT outsourcing relationship quality and outsourcing success? Employing a survey among financial institutions and applying Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) known from marketing research, we analyse the relative importance of Service Level Agreements, control and contractual mechanisms for relationship quality and outsourcing success. Results show that, consistent with prior research, IT outsourcing relationship quality is positively related to outsourcing success. Extending prior research we show that outsourcing contract quality in general is most important for relationship quality, followed by control mechanisms and the characteristics of Service Level Agreements. We contribute to theory by revealing the differential importance of specific control and contractual factors for relationship quality and outsourcing success. Furthermore, we contribute to outsourcing practice by demonstrating the importance of specific measures in an IT outsourcing context and thus deliver direction for outsourcing management.

Schlosser, F. and Wagner, H. (2011)
IT Governance Practices for Improving Strategic and Operational Business-IT Alignment
Proceedings of the 15th Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems (PACIS), Brisbane, Australia

View Abstract
The literature suggests that business-IT alignment is an important antecedent of IS success, business process performance, and competitive advantage. Additionally, IT governance practices are highlighted as being instrumental to fostering business-IT alignment. In this paper, we derive various IT governance practices (in terms of structures, processes, relational mechanisms, and enterprise architecture characteristics) from literature and expert interviews. While prior investigations only considered the effect of such practices on strategic business-IT alignment, we also incorporate alignment at operational level. Using results from a case study in the IT services division of a large multi-national, multi-divisional company acting in diverse industries we highlight the effect of various IT governance practices and offer new insights by showing which mechanisms are effective in facilitating strategic or operational business-IT alignment. Our results indicate the most important practices for both strategic and operational alignment.

Beimborn, D., Joachim, N., Schlosser, F., Wagner, H., and Weitzel, T. (2011)
Die Bedeutung relationaler Faktoren für den IT-Wertbeitrag - Eine Studie unter den größten 1.500 US-Banken
Proceedings of the 10. International Conference on Wirtschaftsinformatik, Zürich, Schweiz

View Abstract
Diese Arbeit untersucht die Auswirkung von operativem ITBusiness-Alignment sowie insbesondere der Gestaltung der Beziehungsschnittstelle zwischen verschiedenen Fachbereichen auf die Nutzungsintensität von Informationssystemen sowie auf die Geschäftsprozessleistung. Wir entwickeln ein theoretisches Modell unter Anwendung einer sozialen Perspektive auf Alignment und auf die Beziehungsschnittstelle und evaluieren es anhand einer Studie der IT-Nutzung im Firmenkreditprozess US-amerikanischer Banken. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Qualität der Beziehungsschnittstelle zwischen verschiedenen Fachbereichen einerseits und zwischen IT-Einheit und Fachbereichen (gemessen in Form von Vertrauen, gemeinsames Wissen und struktureller Interaktion) andererseits erhebliche Auswirkungen auf die Nutzung der Informationssysteme im Kreditprozess und darüber auf die Leistung des Kreditprozesses haben. Insbesondere der Zusammenhang im Dreieck operatives Alignment, Beziehungsschnittstelle zwischen Fachbereichen und Nutzung von Informationssystemen liefert einen neuen Beitrag zu unserem Verständnis des Geschäftswertbeitrages der IT.

Schlosser, F., Beimborn, D., and Wagner, H. (2010)
Who Is Doing What? The Impact of Task and Role Documentation on Outsourcing Service Quality
Proceedings of the 16th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), Lima, Peru

View Abstract
Our research contributes to the quest for management action items that drive outsourcing management success. We hypothesize and empirically show that a certain piece of IT governance, the explicit documentation of roles and responsibilities of staff residing in the client firm's retained organization contributes to social alignment in terms of interaction quality, shared knowledge, and trust between the client firm's business and side and the outsourcing vendor. Our model is quantitatively tested by using data from 171 IT outsourcing arrangements in the German banking industry. We show that the documentation of tasks and responsibilities affects the service quality delivered by the vendor in terms of reliability and responsiveness, and that this impact is fully mediated by both client-internal social alignment and vendor/client alignment. This result represents a piece for helping practitioners to develop a better understanding of how to design their outsourcing governance to maintain and improve ongoing outsourcing relationships.

Schlosser, F., Wagner, H., Beimborn, D., and Weitzel, T. (2010)
The Role of Internal Business/IT Alignment and IT Governance for Service Quality in IT Outsourcing Arrangements
Proceedings of the 43rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), Kauai (HI)

Joachim, N., Beimborn, D., Hoberg, P., and Schlosser, F. (2009)
Examining the Organizational Decision to Adopt Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) - Development of a Research Model
Proceedings of the 2009 Special Interest Group on Adoption and Diffusion of Information Technology (DIGIT) (Pre-ICIS Workshop), Phoenix (AZ)

View Abstract
What are the determinants of an organization's decision to adopt Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)? Although the paradigms of service orientation and SOA have become quite omnipresent in the IS literature, research is still lacking to provide a comprehensive view upon drivers and inhibitors of the organizational decision to adopt SOA. Based on the mature strand of adoption research, this paper develops a conceptual model in order to increase the understanding of the determinants influencing this decision. Thereby, the drivers and inhibitors are distinguished in organization-specific and innovation-specific factors. The organization-specific factors cover two aspects: (1) the compatibility of technology and organization (i.e., SOA expertise of the employees, management support for SOA, IT/ Business alignment, degree of process documentation) and (2) management fad and fashion. The innovation-specific factors cover the perceived benefits, perceived complexity, and standardization of available technologies related to SOA. Beside developing this theoretical model for laying the foundation for future empirical research, a further contribution of this paper is the development of a comprehensive measurement model for SOA adoption, which differentiates between the IT and the enterprise layer.

Beimborn, D., Joachim, N., and Schlosser, F. (2009)
The Role of SOA for BPO Intention - Proposing a Research Model
Proceedings of the Workshop on eBusiness (Pre-ICIS Workshop), Phoenix (AZ)

View Abstract
How does the availability of an SOA within a firm affect the potential of and intention for outsourcing business activities? Since one of the promises of SOA is to modularize the IT representation of business processes, it should facilitate business process outsourcing in terms of buying the provision of single business functionalities. In this paper, we develop a conceptual research model that theorizes the relationship between SOA and BPO intention.

Schlosser, F. (2009)
Die Bedeutung von operativem IT Business Alignment für nachhaltigen Unternehmenserfolg - Ein theoretisches Rahmenwerk und Richtlinien für die Praxis
Proceedings of the 9th Doctoral Consortium WI, Wien, Österreich

Beimborn, D., Schlosser, F., and Weitzel, T. (2009)
Examining the Relationship Between Trust and Control in IT Outsourcing Relationships
Proceedings of the 17th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Verona, Italy

View Abstract
What is the role of control in maintaining trust in outsourcing relationships? Although the literature is quite rich on conceptualizing the relationship between control and trust in inter-organizational relationships, there exist quite sparse quantitative works which help to evaluate the models developed. In this paper, we analyze data from 156 IT outsourcing relationships of German banks in order to get insights into the actual relationships between different modes of control and the level of relational trust in these relationships. Additionally, we examine the role of service quality (measured in terms of reliability and responsiveness) in this context. The results show that trust is positively related with most modes of control, and that there is indicative evidence that control supports trust in high-service quality situations while it leads to a reduction of trust in relationships suffering from bad service quality (cycle of trust vs. distrust).

Schlosser, F. (2009)
A Social Linkage View on the Business Value of IT
Proceedings of the 17th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Doctoral Consortium, Verona, Italy

Beimborn, D., Moos, B., Schlosser, F., and Weitzel, T. (2009)
The Role of Client-internal Social Linkages for Outsourcing Success - An SNA Approach
Proceedings of the 15th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), San Francisco (CA)

View Abstract
What is the role of a firm's internal social relations between business departments and IT unit for the success of its IT outsourcing relationship? In this paper, we propose that the relationship between business and IT of a firm is crucial for achieving effective outsourcing management and for enabling the vendor to deliver the services as demanded. Since the business side of the client firm represents the users of the information systems but the IT unit represents the interface to the outsourcing vendor firm, interaction between both units is proposed to be required for maintaining a good outsourcing relationship. Based on a survey in the German Banking Industry and by adopting a Social Network Analysis Approach which captures the interaction structure within the client firm and thus represents an innovative scale to outsourcing research, we show that tight social linkages within the client firm lead to higher service quality achieved by the vendor firm.

Beimborn, D., Joachim, N., Schlosser, F., and Streicher, B. (2009)
The Role of IT/Business Alignment for Achieving SOA Business Value - Proposing a Research Model
Proceedings of the 15th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), San Francisco (CA)

View Abstract
What is the interplay between IT/Business alignment and Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) regarding the achievement of business value in terms of business flexibility? This paper introduces a conceptual model that derives propositions about how IT/Business alignment, IT flexibility, and business flexibility are interrelated and how SOA and alignment interact in order to increase business flexibility. We apply and integrate well-known multi-dimensional concepts of both IT/Business alignment (in terms of strategic alignment, structural alignment, and social alignment) and IT flexibility (technical and non-technical IT flexibility) and map the conceptual components of SOA (architectural and the governance dimension) to this resulting model. This conceptualization will allow for more profoundly structured research on how SOA contributes to business value.

Beimborn, D., Schlosser, F., and Weitzel, T. (2009)
Proposing a theoretical model for IT governance and IT business alignment
Proceedings of the 42nd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS), Big Island (HI)

Beimborn, D., Joachim, N., Schlosser, F., and Weitzel, T. (2008)
A Social Linkage View on the Business Value of IT
Proceedings of the 2008 JAIS Theory Development Workshop (Pre-ICIS Workshop), Paris, France

View Abstract
Our research intends to explore whether a social perspective on IT business alignment can help shed light on the IT value creation process by considering different facets of interpersonal linkage. In this paper, we develop a theoretical model which could be discussed at the JAIS workshop. Further, we use some empirical data from 149 US banks in order to find first empirical evidence whether our research focus represents a promising direction. We find initial support for our main hypotheses that communication, cross-domain knowledge and mutuality among and between IT and business staff significantly impact IT usage and business process outcomes. The final results of our research could contribute to our understanding of how the IT resource should be understood and used to measurably contribute to firm goals. The initial findings support the caveat of recent studies suggesting that informal aspects of alignment might be quite notable (e.g. Chan, 2002) and show that our theoretical understanding of alignment should be extended to better incorporate social aspects of daily work life.

Beimborn, D., Hirschheim, R., Schlosser, F., Schwarz, A., and Weitzel, T. (2008)
How to Achieve IT Business Alignment? Investigating the Role of Business Process Documentation in US and German Banks
Proceedings of the 14th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), Toronto (ON) Canada

Beimborn, D., Hirschheim, R., Schlosser, F., Schwarz, A., and Weitzel, T. (2008)
Comparing the Operational Integration of a Core Information System in Insourcing and Outsourcing Firms
Proceedings of the 14th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS), Toronto (ON), Canada

Beimborn, D., Schlosser, F., and Weitzel, T. (2007)
What makes successful banks successful? - The key role of alignment in financial process quality
Proceedings of the 2007 SIM Academic Workshop on IT Business Alignment (Pre-ICIS Workshop), Montreal (QC), Canada

Sonstige Artikel in Zeitschriften oder Zeitungen

Schlosser, F., Beimborn, D., Weitzel, T., and König, W. (2008)
IT Value Creation in Bank Processes
EFL Quarterly (3)

Weitzel, T., Beimborn, D., and Schlosser, F. (2008)
IT Business Alignment
WISU - Das Wirtschaftsstudium

Bücher

Beimborn, D., Blumenberg, S., König, W., Martin, S., Moos, B., Schlosser, F., and Weitzel, T. (2009)
Erfolgreiche Gestaltung partnerschaftlicher Outsourcingbeziehungen: Relationale Faktoren im Outsourcingmanagement der 1.000 größten Banken in Deutschland
Books on Demand, Norderstedt (ISBN 978-3-8391-2901-2). Online unter: http://www.bod.de/index.php?id=296&objk_id=286442

Buchkapitel

Beimborn, D., Joachim, N., and Schlosser, F. (2011)
The Role of SOA for BPO Intention - Proposing a Research Model
In: Raj Sharman, H. Raghav Rao, T. S. Raghu (Eds.): Exploring the Grand Challenges for Next Generation E-Business, Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, Springer, Berlin, 122-136

View Abstract
How does the availability of an SOA within a firm affect the potential of and intention for outsourcing business activities? Since one of the promises of SOA is to modularize the IT representation of business processes, it should facilitate business process outsourcing in terms of buying the provision of single business functionalities. In this paper, we develop a conceptual research model that theorizes the relationship between SOA and BPO intention.

Sonstige

Coltman, T., Reynolds, P., Schlosser, F., and Thorogood, A. (2012)
Managing the Network of Supply and Demand at AGL Energy
Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Case Studies for Academics. Online unter: http://cscmp.org/membersonly/case-studies/managing-network-supply-and-demand-agl-energy

View Abstract
AGL Energy operates in one of the most fiercely competitive markets in the world. Demand is volatile with high customer churn rates and supply procurement is real time with huge price variability. These characteristics make supply chain management difficult and the case study describes how information is used to match supply with demand.

Weitzel, T., König, W., Beimborn, D., Joachim, N., and Schlosser, F. (2010)
Die Bedeutung serviceorientierter Architekturen für den Unternehmenserfolg: Eine wissenschaftliche Erhebung in der deutschen Dienstleistungswirtschaft
Research Report, E-Finance Lab der Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main und Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg