TY - JOUR A1 - Kratzer, Simon A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Traction with fraction: Strategic IS management in SMEs through Fractional CIOs JF - International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management N2 - Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly need to manage nformation technology (IT) effectively in order to remain competitive. However, compared to larger organizations, SMEs often face challenges in terms of resources and employer attractiveness, and regularly do not have the need to employ a Chief Information Officer (CIO) on a full-time basis. To address this issue, a growing number of global experts have begun to provide CIO services on a part-time basis for multiple clients simultaneously. This approach allows SMEs to tap into the expertise of experienced IT leaders at a fraction of the cost and without committing to long-term arrangements. While these professionals, known as “Fractional CIOs”, have proven their value in the field, there has been a lack of academic research on this emerging trend. Therefore, we carried out a comprehensive research project between 2020 and 2023, involving 62 Fractional CIOs from 10 countries. The research produced a definition, different types of engagements, and success factors for Fractional CIOs and their engagements. This paper summarizes these findings for a wider audience of academics and practitioners. KW - Fractional CIO KW - Chief Information Officer KW - SMEs KW - small businesses Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.12821/ijispm120101 SN - 2182-7788 VL - 12 IS - 1 SP - 5 EP - 16 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Käss, Sebastian A1 - Brosig, Christoph A1 - Westner, Markus A1 - Strahringer, Susanne T1 - Short and sweet: multiple mini case studies as a form of rigorous case study research JF - Information Systems and e-Business Management N2 - Case study research is one of the most widely used research methods in Information Systems (IS). In recent years, an increasing number of publications have used case studies with few sources of evidence, such as single interviews per case. While there is much methodological guidance on rigorously conducting multiple case studies, it remains unclear how researchers can achieve an acceptable level of rigour for this emerging type of multiple case study with few sources of evidence, i.e., multiple mini case studies. In this context, we synthesise methodological guidance for multiple case study research from a cross-disciplinary perspective to develop an analytical framework. Furthermore, we calibrate this analytical framework to multiple mini case studies by reviewing previous IS publications that use multiple mini case studies to provide guidelines to conduct multiple mini case studies rigorously. We also offer a conceptual definition of multiple mini case studies, distinguish them from other research approaches, and position multiple mini case studies as a pragmatic and rigorous approach to research emerging and innovative phenomena in IS. KW - Case study research KW - Multiple mini case study KW - Short case study KW - Methodological guidance Y1 - 2024 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10257-024-00674-2 PB - Springer Nature ER -