TY - CHAP A1 - Späth, Carina A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - Navigating Agile Transformations BT - Success Factors in German Companies T2 - SaudiCIS 2024 Proceedings:1st Saudi Conference on Information Systems, November 19 to 21, 2024, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia N2 - This study investigates how companies overcome challenges in agile transformations. Through interviews with ten experts from German companies across different industries, we identify key drivers, challenges, and success factors. Our findings reveal inefficiency, mimetic isomorphism, and competitive pressure as primary transformation drivers. We categorize challenges and solutions into people, organizational, and process-related factors, emphasizing the central role of human elements. The study presents 14 key success factors, with management involvement, commitment to agility, and strategic staffing emerging as crucial. These insights provide a framework for understanding and implementing agile transformations, offering guidance for organizations. Our results contribute to both theoretical understanding and practical application of agile methodologies in corporate settings. KW - Agile Transformation KW - Organizational Change KW - Success Factors KW - Change Management KW - Digital Transformation Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-78700 UR - https://aisel.aisnet.org/saudicis2024/46 PB - Association for Information Systems Electronic Library CY - Dhahran ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - Low-Code/No-Code: Citizen Developers and the Surprising Future of Business Applications JF - HMD Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-74906 SN - 1436-3011 SP - 1067 EP - 1069 PB - Springer Fachmedien CY - Wiesbaden ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strasser, Artur A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Knowledge transfer in IS offshoring BT - A Delphi study of the offshore coordinator role JF - Journal of Systems and Information Technology N2 - Purpose This paper aims to investigate the main tasks, necessary skills, and the implementation of the offshore coordinator’s role to facilitate knowledge transfer in information systems (IS) offshoring. Design/methodology/approach This empirical exploratory study uses the classical Delphi method that includes one qualitative and two quantitative rounds to collect data on IS experts’ perceptions to seek a consensus among them. Findings The participants agreed, with strong consensus, for a set of 16 tasks and 15 skills. The tasks focused primarily on relationship management and facilitating knowledge transfer on different levels. The set of skills consists of approximately 25 per cent “hard” skills, e.g. professional language skills and project management skills, and approximately 75 per cent “soft” skills, e.g. interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to deal with conflict. Two factors mainly influence implementing the offshore coordinator role: project size and the number of projects to be supported simultaneously. Practical implications The findings provide indications of how to define and fulfill this crucial role in practice to facilitate the knowledge transfer process in a positive way. Originality/value Similarities in previous research findings are aggregated to examine the intermediate role in detail from a consolidated perspective. This results in the first comprehensive set of critical tasks and skills assigned to the competency dimensions of the universal competency framework, demonstrating which and how many competency dimensions are critical. KW - Knowledge transfer KW - Delphi KW - IS offshoring KW - Offshoring coordinator KW - universal competency framework KW - Betriebliches Informationssystem KW - Offshoring KW - DV-Koordinator KW - Wissensmanagement Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-294 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/JSIT-01-2018-0008 SN - 1328-7265 VL - 21 IS - 1 SP - 36 EP - 62 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Könning, Michael A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - A Systematic Review of Recent Developments in IT Outsourcing Research JF - Information Systems Management N2 - Incomplete conceptualization of the information technology outsourcing (ITO) literature represents a challenge for navigating extant research and engaging into purposeful academic discourse. We extend the analysis of empirical findings on determinants of ITO decisions, outcomes, and governance. We identify increasing levels of research maturity, analyze effects of 38 new independent variables, highlight contradictory findings, and observe increasing interest in emerging topics such as innovation through ITO and multisourcing. KW - Outsourcing KW - Informationstechnik KW - Literaturbericht KW - Information Technology KW - Outsourcing KW - Literature Review KW - Sourcing outcomes KW - Sourcing decisions Y1 - 2019 UR - https://doi.org/10.1080/10580530.2018.1553650 VL - 36 IS - 1 SP - 78 EP - 96 PB - Taylor & Francis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kobus, Jörn A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Enabling digitization by implementing Lean IT BT - Lessons learned JF - The TQM Journal N2 - Purpose With the rise of digitization, IT organizations are challenged to provide efficient service delivery and offer innovative digital solutions while maintaining a constant resource capacity. To address this challenge, some IT organizations have adopted Lean Management (LM). Although LM is a standard production mode in manufacturing, it is less familiar to IT organizations. The purpose of this paper is to identify 12 lessons learned from companies who implemented LM in their IT organization (Lean IT) to free up their IT resource capacity from existing day-to-day operations so they could use it to enable their digitization strategy. Design/methodology/approach A case study of two major international companies from different industries. Data were collected from 25 structured interviews. Findings The lessons learned provide insights into how these companies implemented Lean IT, the potential outcomes they aimed for, what they did to achieve those outcomes, how they facilitated the implementation of Lean IT, and restrictions they encountered during the implementation. Research limitations/implications The findings are based on a limited range of IT organizations. Practical implications The lessons learned inform those implementing Lean IT because they explain how companies have implemented Lean IT to facilitate digitization and the benefits and pitfalls they encountered. A comparison of Lean IT and Lean Production shows that LM is transferable to IT organizations if domain specific requirements are respected. Originality/value This paper reports the unique experience of companies implementing Lean IT, which can inform other companies in a similar situation. KW - Digitization KW - IT management KW - IT organization KW - Lean management KW - Unternehmen KW - Informationstechnik KW - Lean Management KW - Digitalisierung Y1 - 2018 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-02-2018-0026 VL - 30 IS - 6 SP - 764 EP - 778 PB - Emerald insight ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kopper, Andreas A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Kontrollierte Nutzung von Schatten-IT JF - HMD Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik N2 - Basierend auf einer systematischen und umfangreichen Analyse von Praxisbeiträgen zum Thema Schatten-IT, die zwischen September 2015 und August 2016 erschienen sind, beschreibt der vorliegende Artikel Governance-Aspekte zu diesem Phänomen. Er ergänzt damit vorhergehende akademische Studien. Es zeigt sich, dass unter Praktikern der Eindruck vorherrscht, dass IT-Abteilungen unter zunehmendem Druck stehen, schneller auf sich ändernde Anforderungen aus den Fachbereichen reagieren zu müssen. Können IT-Abteilungen diesen Erwartungen nicht entsprechen, beschaffen sich Fachbereiche und Nutzer selbst Lösungen in Form von Schatten-IT. Als mögliche Antwort darauf kann sich die IT-Abteilung agiler organisieren und die IT-Architektur im Unternehmen modernisieren. Eine weitere Möglichkeit besteht darin, sich das innovative Potenzial von Schatten-IT zunutze zu machen und deren Umsetzung aktiv durch organisatorische und technische Maßnahmen zu unterstützen. IT-Sicherheitsmanagement und technische Schutzmechanismen können helfen, die so entstandenen Lösungen abzusichern und die Risiken zu minimieren. Nach vorherrschender Ansicht entwickelt sich die IT-Abteilung als Konsequenz aus all diesen Maßnahmen zu einem nutzerorientierten, internen Service-Provider und strategischen Partner für die Fachbereiche. T2 - Controlled Use of Shadow IT KW - Schatten-IT KW - IT-Governance KW - Agilität KW - IT-Sicherheit KW - IT-Abteilung KW - Corporate Governance KW - Agilität KW - Datensicherung Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1365/s40702-016-0286-x VL - 54 SP - 97 EP - 110 PB - Springer ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kobus, Jörn A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Einführung von Lean Management in IT-Organisationen JF - HMD Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik N2 - In der Produktion gilt „Lean Management“ als einer der de-facto Standardmanagementansätze. Lean Management in IT-Organisationen (Lean IT) ist dahingegen in der Praxis weniger verbreitet und in der Wissenschaft kaum erforscht. Dieser Beitrag aggregiert und erweitert die Ergebnisse mehrerer Forschungsarbeiten. Dabei werden vorrangig zwei Aspekte diskutiert: (1) Ein mögliches Einführungsmodell für Lean IT. Dieses verknüpft fünf Rollen (Sponsor, Programmleiter, Navigator, Linienführungskraft und Linienexperte) mit vier Phasen (Vorbereitung, Analyse, Gestaltung und Implementierung). (2) Besondere Herausforderungen für Linienführungskräfte, die aufgrund der „bottom up“-Ausrichtung bei Lean-IT-Einführungen stark gefordert werden. Neben einer klaren Vision für die Organisationseinheit und dem Verständnis, an welcher Stelle Lean IT die Organisationseinheit konkret unterstützen kann, benötigen sie Offenheit, Veränderungswillen und die Bereitschaft Verantwortung an Mitarbeiter zu delegieren. Außerdem sollten sie über ein ausreichendes Zeitbudget für die Einführung verfügen, um ihrer gestaltenden und qualitätssichernden Funktion nachkommen zu können. KW - Betriebliches Informationssystem KW - Lean Management KW - Lean IT KW - IT-Industrialisierung KW - Lean Management KW - IT-Effizienzprogramme KW - Einführungsmodell Y1 - 2016 UR - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1365/s40702-016-0266-1 VL - 53 IS - 6 SP - 879 EP - 893 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bary, Benedikt von A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Adding experts’ perceptions to complement existing research on information systems backsourcing JF - International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management N2 - This paper extends the existing literature on information systems (IS) backsourcing by the perception of practitioners. For this purpose, we conducted a series of qualitative, semistructured interviews with IS sourcing experts. The interview questions focused on the participants’ perceptions and experiences with the topic, on identifying reasons for and against IS backsourcing, and on revealing relevant trends pertinent to IS backsourcing. We then compared those findings with two previously conducted comprehensive literature reviews on academic and practitioner literature on IS backsourcing. By following this approach, we contribute to the existing research by verifying previous findings, for example, the most important reasons why companies decide in favor of IS backsourcing. Additionally, we were able to enhance previous contributions as we highlight the significance of differentiating between the scope of IS backsourcing by looking at the underlying services which are potentially backsourced. Further, we identified the importance of managers’ personal preferences as an additional reason for IS backsourcing, for example, based on personal experiences or a perceived need for change. Based on our findings, we created a comprehensive overview of all aspects connected to the IS backsourcing process and derived opportunities for further research to contribute to the IS backsourcing research agenda. KW - backsourcing KW - insourcing KW - back in-house KW - information systems KW - expert interviews KW - Betriebliches Informationssystem KW - Insourcing KW - Umfrage Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.12821/ijispm060402 SN - 2182-7788 VL - 6 IS - 4 SP - 17 EP - 35 PB - SciKA ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strasser, Artur A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - Information systems offshoring BT - Results of a systematic literature review JF - Journal of Information Technology Management N2 - An increasing amount of IS offshoring research has been published during the last four years. This paper presents a comprehensive view of the field of study from a managerial point of view. It provides a consolidated view of the field of study between 2010 and 2013 based on a manual search comprising 69 selected journals and 9 conferences, as well as a search using 6 journal databases. The literature review ensures continuity of research by connecting to a comprehensive literature analysis covering the years 1999 to 2009. This way it consolidates and critically reflects the state of the research of the last 14 years. Overall, we compiled 95 relevant publications originating from leading IS journals and IS conference proceedings. The results indicate that IS offshoring research is largely non-theory based, using almost entirely empirical data and interpretive research methods and -to a smaller extent -positivist research designs. The ISO research of the last 14 years focuses on the implementation stages "how" and "outcome" while the pre-implementation-stages “why”, “what”, and “which” are comparatively sparsely researched. Future studies should apply a more theory-driven approach with a greater attention on pre-implementation aspects of information systems offshoring. In addition, future research should investigate the special nature of near- and onshoring, captive offshoring as well asagile (project) management techniques suitable for ISO. KW - Betriebliches Informationssystem KW - Offshoring KW - Literaturbericht KW - Offshoring KW - Nearshoring KW - Information systems KW - Information technology KW - Literature review Y1 - 2015 UR - http://jitm.ubalt.edu/XXVI-2/article5.pdf VL - 26 IS - 2 SP - 70 EP - 142 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kobus, Jörn A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne A1 - Strode, Diane T1 - Lean Management in IT Organizations BT - A Ranking-type Delphi Study of Implementation Success Factors JF - Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA) N2 - Lean management (LM) is well established in manufacturing organizations, and LM adoption in service organizations has recently increased. However, we lack research that focuses on the success of lean management implementations in IT organizations (lean IT). This paper contributes to knowledge of the success factors of lean IT implementation and the relative importance of each factor based on the insights of field experts. The experts identified, agreed on, and ranked 12 implementation success factors for lean IT in a Delphi study using the best/worst scaling technique. The most important factors were leadership involvement, change culture and work ethic, employee involvement, and performance management. Factors of intermediate importance were implementation facilitation, training and education, clear vision and direction, long-term focus, communication, and a holistic approach. Least important factors were existing skills, organizational changes/standardization, and financial resources. This paper contributes a more nuanced understanding of the relative importance of lean IT success factors, proposes relationships between them, and comprehensively explains how to use the rigorous best/worst scaling method in a traditional ranking-type Delphi study. KW - Lean Management KW - Informationstechnik KW - Lean Management KW - Information technology Y1 - 2018 UR - https://aisel.aisnet.org/jitta/vol19/iss1/4/ SN - 1532-3416 VL - 19 IS - 1 SP - 55 EP - 85 PB - Association for Information Systems (AIS) ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bary, Benedikt von A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - Information Systems Backsourcing BT - A Literature Review JF - Journal of Information Technology Management N2 - Information systems backsourcing describes the transferof previously outsourced activities, assets, or personnel back to the originating companyto regain ownership and control. While there is much research on information systems outsourcing, the topic of backsourcing information systemsis still an emerging research area. Therefore, ourpaper aims to explore and synthesizethe existing literature on information systemsbacksourcing, since there is no exhaustiveliteraturereview of the state of the research to our knowledge available yet. In this paper, wecreate a framework to structure the existing research along the overallbacksourcing process. We identifydifferent motivators, such asexpectation gaps, orinternal and external organizational changes, leading towards a backsourcing decision, and factors positively or negatively influencing this decision. Additionally, we derive implementation success factors based on the existing literature to guide companies through the backsourcing process.We also differentiate the term backsourcing from related, sometimes synonymously used terms, by emphasizing the change of ownership back to the company of originas the main criterion.Additionally, we discuss opportunities for future research in the field of information systems backsourcing. KW - Betriebliches Informationssystem KW - Insourcing KW - Literaturbericht KW - Backsourcing KW - Backshoring KW - Reshoring KW - Inshoring KW - Information systems KW - Information technology KW - Literature review Y1 - 2018 UR - http://jitm.ubalt.edu/XXIX-1/article4.pdf VL - 29 IS - 1 SP - 62 EP - 78 PB - University of Tehran ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kobus, Jörn A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Change management lessons learned for Lean IT implementations JF - International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management N2 - Lean Management is a standard production mode that has been familiar to production organizations for several decades. To date, however, academic literature has presented surprisingly little information about the application of Lean Management in Information Technology (IT) organizations, or what is called Lean IT. Drawing upon an empirical qualitative case study of the IT departments of two multinational companies, in this paper we identify change management lessons learned for Lean IT implementations, as well as seven characteristics of a corresponding change management approach. As an extension of our work, researchers should validate and expand our initial findings, preferably in a quantitative setting. KW - Betriebliches Informationssystem KW - Lean Management KW - Fallstudiensammlung KW - Lean Management KW - Lean IT KW - Implementation KW - Case study KW - Lessons learned Y1 - 2017 UR - https://doi.org/10.12821/ijispm050103 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - 47 EP - 60 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Könning, Michael A1 - Heinrich, Kai A1 - Leyh, Christian A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - A quantitative analysis of culture-induced differences in pivotal IT outsourcing contract features T2 - Proceedings of the 27th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2019): Stockholm & Uppsala, Sweden, June 8-14 N2 - More than 30 years after its first implementation, IT outsourcing (ITO) is unanimously considered a critical component of corporate strategy for private and public institutions alike. While implementations of ITO around the world share some common characteristics like typical reasons for outsourcing, key success factors, or dimensions along which they can be classified, extant research also points to regional differences. However, research on this topic, specifically regarding pivotal contract features like contract value, contract length, or pricing methods, is still in its infancy, and quantitative analyses on the subject are particularly scarce. We address this research gap by analyzing data on 14,917 ITO contracts closed between 2007 and 2017 through the lens of cultural regions and three statistical methods. The contribution of our paper is threefold. First, our descriptive analysis points to globally decreasing contract lengths and contract values, confirming previous studies and practice reports. Second, an ANOVA with independent post-hoc testing provides quantitative supportfor the degree of dissimilarity among individual regions in pivotal ITO contract features. Finally, our quantitative replication of a previous study identifies culture-induced regional differences between USA and Japan regarding the effect of influence factors on ITO contract features. KW - IT Sourcing KW - IT Outsourcing KW - Sourcing Strategy KW - Contract Design KW - Cultural Regions KW - Betriebliches Informationssytem KW - Outsourcing KW - Vertrag KW - Kultur Y1 - 2019 UR - https://aisel.aisnet.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1115&context=ecis2019_rp SP - 1 EP - 15 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Wulf, Frederik A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Schön, Maximilian A1 - Strahringer, Susanne A1 - Loebbecke, Claudia T1 - Preparing for a Digital Future: Cloud Strategy at Continental AG T2 - Proceedings of the 40th International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2019): Munich, Germany, December 15-18 N2 - This paper is directed towards IT executives aiming to promote the adoption of cloud computing (CC) with in their company. We conducted a longitudinal case study on the evolving CC strategy and its implementation at the multinational company Continental, based on a previous case study by Loebbecke et al. (2012). We narrate Continental's pathway towards CC adoption, which comprised the experimentation, professionalization, and utilization of CC, and discuss current and previous barriers encountered during the implementation. We derive five lessons learned that can serve as practical guidance for executives aiming to accelerate CC adoption within their own organization: (1) differentiate the CC strategy by delivery model; (2)drive proof of concepts to generate reusable blueprints; (3) preinvest in the integration of IaaS and PaaS providers; (4) implement CC gradually, transforming applications during the transition to the cloud; and (5) disseminate knowledge within the organization to enable change. KW - Cloud Computing KW - Strategy KW - Implementation KW - Adoption KW - Knowledge transfer KW - Cloud Computing KW - Implementierung Y1 - 2019 UR - https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2019/practice_is_research/practice_is_research/1/ SP - 1 EP - 16 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Grundler, Andreas A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - Scaling Agile Frameworks vs. Traditional Project Portfolio Management BT - Comparison and Analysis T2 - Proceedings of the International Conferences on Internet Technologies & Society (ITS 2019), Hongkong N2 - Practitioners have developed numerous frameworks around scaling agile and lean methods. These frameworks are more frequently being used in practice in large-scale system development activities. Therefore, they are in the scope of project portfolio management. The paper examines the conformity of selected scaling agile frameworks to the objectives of project portfolio management through qualitative analysis. Four prominent frameworks are investigated: Scrum of Scrums, Large cale Scrum, Disciplined Agile, and the Scaled Agile Framework. The study shows significant differences between the frameworks and their view on project portfolio management with the Scaled Agile Framework offering the most detailed portfolio management-relevant processes and roles. In contrast to that, Large Scale Scrum does not see the need for portfolio management but promotes self-managing teams. Two of the four frameworks share the perception shift from projects to the products, which has significant implications for practitioners because it challenges and redefines prevalent management roles and practices. KW - Project Portfolio Management KW - PPM KW - Scaling Agile Frameworks KW - Agile at Large KW - Agile Softwareentwicklung KW - SAFe 〈Informatik〉 KW - Projektmanagement KW - Portfoliomanagement Y1 - 2019 UR - http://www.iadisportal.org/digital-library/scaling-agile-frameworks-vs-traditional-roject-portfolio-management-comparison-and-analysis SN - 978-989-8533-84-5 SP - 51 EP - 62 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Determinants of success in IS offshoring projects BT - Results from an empirical study of German companies JF - Information & Management N2 - High labor cost in western countries allows cost savings by companies engaging in IS offshoring. However, studies worldwide indicate that a large number of companies that engaged in IS offshoring are not satisfied with the outcome. Our study examined the determinants of IS offshore project success: We developed a model and empirically tested it with data collected from 304 experts who reported on projects offshored from Germany to a wide range of near and distant countries. The model posited a direct effect of offshoring expertise and trust in offshore service provider (OSP) on success, as well as an indirect effect mediated by project suitability, knowledge transfer, and liaison quality. An analysis using partial least squares (PLSs) provided significant support for almost all these relationships. However, it showed that offshoring expertise played a minor role in explaining success and the mediating constructs. Trust in OSP had a small direct effect on success and a medium to large effect on the mediating constructs. Project suitability, knowledge transfer, and liaison quality all had small direct effects on success. KW - Betriebliches Informationssystem KW - Offshoring KW - Wissensmanagement KW - Qualitätsmanagement KW - Information systems offshoring KW - Offshore project success KW - Project suitability KW - Knowledge transfer KW - Liaison quality KW - Offshoring expertise KW - Trust in offshore service provider KW - Partial least squares Y1 - 2010 UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2010.06.003 VL - 47 IS - 5-6 SP - 291 EP - 299 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Zemler, Florian A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - Blockchain and GDPR BT - Application Scenarios and Compliance Requirements T2 - Proceedings of the 30th Portland International Conference for Management of Engineering an Technology (PICMET), 2019, Portland, Oregon N2 - Blockchain and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are two topics that are currently highly discussed in academia and amongst professionals. The Blockchain technology is claimed to revolutionize how business is being conducted by its way of storing data and sharing it with others. The recently introduced GDPR has a huge impact on processing personal data because it brought major changes to privacy regulation. This might also affect the processing of personal data in Blockchain-based application scenarios. Based on literature analysis, the paper at hand provides an overview of the Blockchain technology, presents a decision model, and introduces two possible Blockchain application scenarios. It analyses relevant requirements of the GDPR in view of processing personal data and compares these with the fundamental principles of the Blockchain technology. The paper concludes that processing personal data in the Blockchain is violating the GDPR because it conflicts with fundamental specification of this regulation. This finding reveals the need for further research to propose concepts and frameworks for a GDPR-compliant processing of personal data using Blockchain technology. KW - Blockchain KW - GDPR KW - Blockchain KW - Europäische Union KW - Datenschutz-Grundverordnung Y1 - 2019 UR - https://doi.org/10.23919/PICMET.2019.8893923 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - The current state of IS offshoring in Germany BT - Project characteristics and success patterns JF - Journal of Information Technology Management N2 - This paper empirically examines the current state of the IS offshoring phenomenon in Germany regarding project characteristics and success patterns. Relying on a sample of 304 projects conducted at various industry sectors and companies, results show that IS offshoring primarily occurs in sectors Telecommunications and IT at large corporations. Cost reduction is the main reason for going offshore and offshore projects are executed as part of a larger program at companies. Noticeably, most projects are delivered from India. Additionally, neither captive offshoring nor offshore outsourcing dominates as a de-livery option. Comparing different project subgroups regarding project success, the results reveal that projects delivered by an internal or partially owned service provider are more successful. Other project characteristics such as a project’s embedded-ness in a larger offshoring program, a project’s size, or a project’s offshoring degree in terms of relatively offshored labor hours show few significant differences. The paper addresses the paucity of empirical research on the current state of the IS offshoring phenomenon in Germany. KW - Offshoring KW - Nearshoring KW - Information systems sourcing KW - Outcome KW - Project success KW - Success factor KW - Betriebliches Informationssystem KW - Offfshoring Y1 - 2010 UR - http://jitm.ubalt.edu/XXI-1/article4.pdf VL - 21 IS - 1 SP - 49 EP - 70 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Evaluation criteria for selecting offshoring candidates BT - An analysis of practices in German businesses JF - Journal of Information Technology Management N2 - The identification of suitable applications or projects is a main initial step in any software development or maintenance related IS offshoring arrangement. This paper examines evaluation criteria and their importance for selecting application or project candidates for offshoring. Based on a literature analysis and interviews with 47 experts from 36 different German companies describing 64 case examples, we find that in contrast to the literature, “size”, “codification”, and “language” are perceived as important selection criteria by experts. Case examples additionally show that “business specificity” seems to be a main reason for application or project failures, that “business criticality” appears to be less important than suggested by the literature, and that adequate “size” might be a necessary prerequisite, but seems not to be a sufficient criterion for an application’s or project’s suitability for offshoring. These differences in comparison to findings from the literature may be explained by cultural and language differences. KW - Offshoring KW - Nearshoring KW - Outsourcing KW - What to offshore KW - Selection criteria KW - Information systems KW - Betriebliches Informationssystem KW - Offshoring KW - Projekt KW - Evaluation Y1 - 2008 UR - http://jitm.ubalt.edu/XIX-4/article2.pdf VL - 19 IS - 4 SP - 16 EP - 34 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Wulf, Frederik A1 - Strahringer, Susanne A1 - Westner, Markus T1 - Information security risks, benefits, and mitigation measures in cloud sourcing T2 - Proceedings of the IEEE 21th Conference on Business Informatics (CBI): 2019, Moscow, Russia N2 - This paper develops a categorization of cloud security risks, elaborates how they impact information security, and discusses potential security benefits from cloud sourcing. This review integrates the literature on information systems and computer science to summarize managerial and technological mitigation measures that enhance cloud security. The analysis uncovers gaps regarding the empirical investigation of security considerations in the corporate decision-making process. Specifically, the micro level of how security comes into play in the decision-making process and whether mitigation measures proposed by scholars are practically feasible requires further investigation. Furthermore, the macro level, how stakeholders perceive cloud sourcing, is not yet well understood. KW - Cloud Computing KW - Security KW - Risks KW - Mitigation KW - Cloud Computing KW - Datensicherheit Y1 - 2019 UR - 10.1109/CBI.2019.00036 SP - 258 EP - 267 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Fuhrmann, Thomas A1 - Waas, Thomas A1 - Skelton, David T1 - Internationalization of a Computer Science Faculty BT - Lessons learned from a regional german technical university of applied sciences T2 - 9th Annual International Conference on Computer Science Education: Innovation and Technology (CSEIT 2018), 2018, Singapore N2 - The paper at hand describes how a regional university of applied sciences tried to internationalize its learning and teaching environment. It describes the challenges encountered, the managerial approach taken, illustrates the implemented initiatives, and how effective they turned out. The results might be relevant to faculty staff in managerial positions at regional universities all over the world that face the challenge to internationalize their teaching and learning environment for the benefit of their domestic students. KW - Internationalization KW - Faculty development KW - Change management KW - PDCA KW - Internationalisierung KW - Hochschule für angewandte Wissenschaften KW - Lernumwelt Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5176/2251-2195_CSEIT18.118 SP - 33 EP - 38 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Skelton, David A1 - Westner, Markus ED - Zegwaard, Karsten E. ED - Ford, Marty T1 - International internships BT - An investigation of international cooperative student experiences by partner institutions T2 - Refereed Proceedings of the 3rd International Research Symposium on Cooperative and Work-Integrated Education, Stuttgart, Germany : 3rd - 27th of June, 2018, Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany N2 - Students are increasingly considering expanding their cooperative experiences into the global environment. This paper investigates the experiences of students undertaking their internship capstone in other countries under the supervision of a partner institute and a participating industry sponsor. These experiences of German students interning in New Zealand (NZ), and NZ students interning in Germany offer an insight into the organisation required by the partner institutions and the comparative cultural and technical differences that these students have encountered. The international agreement between Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule (OTH) Regensburg, Germany, and the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), NZ, has already built a mutual framework of visiting lecturers teaching in each other's institutes, and a programme of hosting exchange students in each other's institutes. A natural progression of this partnership has now moved into the active recruitment and brokering of international internship opportunities for their respective final year Business and Information Technology (IT) students. The benefits are evident personally to the students, which are discussed in this paper, but there are also clear benefits for EIT and OTH in terms of marketing opportunities for prospective students and enriching the learning environments. This paper explores the challenges faced by the Schools of Business and Computing at EIT as it pioneers the first two years of establishing internship options for final year German exchange students within NZ, and matching final year EIT degree students to industry sponsors within Bavaria, a federal state of Germany. A qualitative approach was taken for this study with data acquired from internship students involved, the key organising lecturers from each institute, and industry sponsors from each country. A number of student, staff and industry representative interviews were conducted along with a cultural appraisal of relevant literature in the global education field. A further overview of the macro benefits for the partner institutes in terms of marketing, and programme enrichment is also part of the conclusion. The paper may be useful as a template for other institutes on developing international internship opportunities through global partners. KW - Wirtschaftswissenschaftliches Studium KW - Informatikstudium KW - Praktikum KW - Neuseeland KW - Deutschland Y1 - 2018 UR - https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336055832_Refereed_Proceedings_of_the_3rd_International_Research_Symposium_on_Cooperative_and_Work-Integrated_Education_Stuttgart_Germany SN - 978-0-473-46291-8 SP - 193 EP - 198 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bary, Benedikt von A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Do researchers investigate what practitioners deem relevant? BT - Gaps between research and practice in the field of information systems backsourcing T2 - Proceedings of the 20th IEEE International Conference on Business Informatics (IEEE CBI 2018): Vienna, Austria, 11-14 July N2 - There is a common understanding amongst academics that information systems (IS) research sometimes has limited relevance for practitioners. This can be explained by the fact that research lags behind the fast moving IS environment, has limited practical applicability and is hard to access. We have focused on the research area of IS backsourcing, and analyzed practitioner literature to increase our understanding of topics of interest for practitioners, to determine a potential gap between academic and practitioner literature, and to identify future research directions in this field. We observed that most publications are either news or background articles, focusing on describing backsourcing cases. Additionally, we identified four recurring themes, namely reasons for backsourcing, presentation of survey results, discussion of industry trends, and backsourcing success stories. The main reasons identified to trigger backsourcing decisions are cost savings, quality improvements, and increasing control and flexibility. By comparing our findings with academic literature on IS backsourcing, we conclude that generally both literature types cover similar topics. However, researchers have a more formulative or interpretive focus than the often descriptive practitioner literature. Academic literature also examines a broader range of topics, while practitioner literature has a narrower focus. Additionally, we observe one difference regarding applied terminology: while researchers employ the term backsourcing, practitioners mostly use back in-house or insourcing. Our paper contributes to facilitating the exchange between academics and practitioners, presents topics to consider when aiming to increase practical relevance and provides researchers with concrete directions for future research within the field of IS backsourcing. KW - Betriebliches Informationssystem KW - Backsourcing KW - Anwendung KW - Literaturbericht KW - Information systems KW - Backsourcing KW - Practical applicability Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/CBI.2018.00014 SP - 40 EP - 49 ER -