Corporate governance and strategic resource allocation: The case of information technology investments

We empirically examine a set of relationships between corporate governance and information technology investments. Specifically, we test our relationships with data from a sample of major U.S. corporations using structural equation modeling. We established a negative relationship between information technology investments and two constructs of corporate governance, namely: (a) stock ownership structure (that includes large or insider shareholders); and (b) presence of takeover defenses. These results provide support for the “monitoring hypothesis” and the “managerial entrenchment hypothesis” of risky investments respectively. In addition, we observed a negative relationship between stock ownership structure and takeover defense adoption. Our study contributes to a critical understanding of the determinants of information technology investments viewed within the governance context of a relational exchange between two important corporate constituents: the managers and the shareholders.     

The management of information technology, governance, and managerial characteristics

Abstract. Using a sample of Fortune 500 industrial firms, this study hypothesizes that various infra-organizational factors, including those commonly associated with agency, governance and managerial characteristics of the firm, that affect the decision to create a top management executive position for a chief information officer (CIO). Statistically meaningful relationships were observed between the creation of a top executive CIO position and (1) top management's equity interests, (2) the number of outside directors on the board, (3) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) age, and (4) CEO Experience.     

An empirical investigation of information technology structure, control and corporate governance

In a study involving 72 large publicly-held organizations, the relationships between information technology (IT) structure, control, and corporate governance were examined. Despite the fact that some have called centralized systems electronic dinosaurs, many companies are turning to this traditional approach because it does offer one thing that decentralized systems generally lack, namely, control. The results indicate that information technology structure (centralized vs. decentralized) is strongly related to management equity ownership and to concentration of stock holding. For example, an organization where top executives and managers own a relatively high percentage of the company's stock possesses a more centralized information technology structure than an organization with a relatively lower percentage of management ownership. This means that user departments in the latter have more control over their IT functions than users in the former. Conversely, companies with a high level of stock concentration have a more decentralized IT structure. In addition, the research revealed a statistically significant relationship between a company's equity to debt ratio and the level of IT centralization.     

Appreciating Healthcare Data Privacy Laws in Canada,the United Kingdom,and the United States

Abstract

From a historical perspective, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States have an interesting relationship dynamic. The evolution of each country’s health system and, in turn, the transition to electronic health records (EHRs) provides another area to assess these countries relationships and policies. Government agreements between nations are the norm in taxation allocation and are becoming more prevalent in the area of an individual’s electronic protected health information. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to assess each country’s main healthcare data privacy laws, provide a framework for understanding the agreements between these nations, and provide insights for internal auditors on what to look for when assessing companies and government entities who address international laws in relation to protected health information (PHI).     

Corporate strategies for information technology: a resource-basedapproach

Case studies and recent economic theory are used to show why gaining and defending competitive advantage through innovative use of information technology has proved to be difficult. The principle lines of research in strategic and competitive information systems are surveyed. It is concluded that innovations can confer advantage if they leverage resources available to the innovator or to the innovator's cooperating group but not to competitors     

The impact of information and communication technology on relation-based governance systems

This study offers a new perspective to the analysis of the interface between information and communication technology (ICT) and corporate governance and how the interface differs across countries with different political and economic environments. We first introduce a theoretical framework of relation-based and rule-based governance that distinguishes economies/firms based on whether they rely on public rules or personal relations to govern business. Economically more developed countries tend to be rule-based and less developed countries (LDCs) tend to be relation-based. Based on the theoretical framework, the paper analyzes the interface between ICT and corporate governance and the barriers to adopting ICT by relation-based LDCs. We argue that economic- and legal-system-specific governance effects are more fundamental than national cultural effects on ICT adoption, and that the barriers to adopting ICT are greater for the LDCs that rely on relation-based governance. We expect that in the long run ICT will make rule-based, developed countries more competitive, thus exerting pressures on relation-based LDCs and accelerating the transition of LDCs from relation-based to rule-based governance. Increasing ICT compatibility, in turn, will facilitate LDCs transition to rule-based governance. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

电子信息技术在企业安全管理中的应用

电子信息技术的迅猛发展,为信息流通带来了极大便利。电子信息技术以其方便、快捷的特点,已深入到企业管理的各个方面。但就目前的情况来看,电子信息技术的高速发展为企业信息安全管理带来了一些困难。基于此,本文以企业信息安全管理存在的问题为切入点,对电子信息枝术在企业安全管理中的应用进行了深入探讨,以期为强化我国企业信息安全管理提供一些参考和借鉴。     

小型科贸公司综合信息管理系统设计

阐述了小型科贸公司的特点及其综合信息管理系统设计开发的必要性,分析了系统在用户管理、货物管理、财务管理、查询统计、信息输出等方面的功能需求,进行了系统总体框架、信息流程、工作流程等方面的总体方案设计,介绍了系统数据库表的组成及每张数据表所必需包括的数据字段,并说明了系统设计应该注意的几个问题,对类似系统的设计与开发具有一定的借鉴作用.     

论电子信息技术的应用特点与未来发展趋势

随着社会经济的不断发展,科学技术也在不断的创新中。在这种形势下,电子信息技术普及的速度得到了加快,同时也推动了其它领域的研究与发展,这为社会的进步及人们的生活提供了很多便利。随着网络电子设备的普及,电子信息技术已经遍布人们日常生活中的各个角落。本文首先介绍了电子信息技术的发展现状,然后对电子信息技术的应用特点进行了探讨,最后指出了电子信息技术未来的主要发展趋势,以供大家参考。     

National policies and patterns of robot diffusion: United Kingdom,Japan, Sweden and the United States

Widely varying patterns of diffusion of robots have been experienced to date among the leading industrialised countries of the world. These patterns have been associated with varying national contexts and, in particular, with quite different national policies towards robots. The paper presents results from a study of the relation of national policies and strategies to robot diffusion, focusing primarily on the Japanese and British cases, but also taking account of Swedish and North American experience.Various factors have been of clear importance in robot diffusion: the means of promotion of robots; the opportunities afforded by industrial structure; the climate created by national labour situations; the role played by robotics supply and service infrastructures; and of course, the effects of government policies, both in the broad sense of those policies which shape the general environment for diffusion, and in the narrow sense of those aimed specifically at robotics.These issues are discussed with reference to the countries considered. The authors conclude that the correct identification of the nature of development of robotics technology itself, which may be characterised as a case of “evolutionary innovation”, is of crucial importance in understanding the differing patterns of diffusion and the varying effectiveness of the policies pursued.     

Computers in engineering education in the United Kingdom

The programme of development of computer assisted learning materials for students of engineering in the higher education sector is described. The concept of the computer experiment is discussed and developed. The use of computer graphics is illustrated with examples taken from current teaching material.     

基于XML的电子病历系统及其院际信息共享技术研究

随着现代信息技术的良好发展,医院信息化也呈现出较好的状态,在国内外的医疗领域当中关于电子病历的研究和开发都已经成为了重点关注的对象。在这其中,最为关键的就是要能够利用一种标准、开放且易于扩展的技术和方法来实现电子病历的功能。可扩展标记语言(XML)采取一种自我描述的方式来对数据结构进行定义,这样就能够实现在描述数据的同时描述结构,基于这样一种特点,XML技术在电子病历及其他一些医疗领域当中已经得到了广泛的研究和应用。本文正是在这样一种背景条件下,对电子病历的基本定义、XML的基本原理、XML在电子病历系统当中的应用以及院际信息共享技术等内容进行了分析和探讨,希望对这样一种技术的进一步探究和深入有所帮助。     

Effective information technology (IT) governance mechanisms: An IT outsourcing perspective

Effective IT governance will ensure alignment between IT and business goals. Organizations with ineffective IT governance will suffer due to poor performance of IT resources such as inaccurate information quality, inefficient operating costs, runaway IT project and even the demise of its IT department. This study seeks to examine empirically the individual IT governance mechanisms that influence the overall effectiveness of IT governance. Furthermore, this study examines the relationship of effective IT governance, the extent of IT outsourcing decisions within the organizations, and the level of IT Intensity in the organizations. We used structural equation modeling analysis to examine 110 responses from members of ISACA (Information Systems and Audit Control Association) Australia in which their organizations have outsourced their IT functions. Results suggest significant positive relationships between the overall level of effective IT governance and the following mechanisms: the involvement of senior management in IT, the existence of ethic or culture of compliance in IT, and corporate communication systems.     

EDI技术在企业进出口申报业务中的应用

随着经济的飞速发展,信息的交换速度变得非常重要。作为电子化数据的交换工具———EDI技术是现今应用的重点。本文对当前的EDI技术做了一个综述,介绍了EDI技术的概念、构成要素和目前研究的核心技术,并从现实出发,介绍了EDI技术在海关、外经贸局等部门的应用,以期进一步推动EDI技术在应用领域的研究工作。