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Information Technology for Development
ISSN: 0268-1102 (Print) 1554-0170 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/titd20
Assessing the effects of information and
communication technologies on organizational
development: business values perspectives
Farrukh Saleem, Naomie Salim, Abdulrahman H. Altalhi, Zahid Ullah,
Abdullah AL-Malaise AL-Ghamdi & Zahid Mahmood Khan
To cite this article: Farrukh Saleem, Naomie Salim, Abdulrahman H. Altalhi, Zahid Ullah, Abdullah
AL-Malaise AL-Ghamdi & Zahid Mahmood Khan (2020) Assessing the effects of information
and communication technologies on organizational development: business values perspectives,
Information Technology for Development, 26:1, 54-88, DOI: 10.1080/02681102.2017.1335279
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2017.1335279
Published online: 11 Jun 2017.
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Assessing the effects of information and communication
technologies on organizational development: business values
perspectives
Farrukh Saleem
a,b
, Naomie Salim
b
, Abdulrahman H. Altalhi
a
, Zahid Ullah
a
,
Abdullah AL-Malaise AL-Ghamdi
a
and Zahid Mahmood Khan
a
a
Information Systems Department, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, King Abdulaziz
University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;
b
Faculty of Computing, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai,
Malaysia
ABSTRACT
Information and communication technology (ICT) projects for
organizational development deal with market challenges,
information handling, and the integration of multiple information
systems (IS) in an organization. This research investigates how ICT
projects (IS systems, etc.) affect the strategic, social, and human
development in an organization. Previous studies have highlighted
the advantages of ICT portfolio management techniques and
return on investment approaches; the current research focused
primarily on measuring business value on investment perspective.
Therefore, based on the findings from the literature review, an
integrated framework was proposed and validated using the case
study in Saudi Arabia to evaluate the effects of ICT/IS projects from
a managerial perspective. The framework consisted of a list of
processes, criteria, and sub-criteria for different kinds of extracted
features to measure the impact of ICT/IS projects. Our findings
demonstrated that the effects of ICT projects are not limited to
social and economic development, but are also categorized as
strategic, managerial, informational, operational, transactional,
organizational, infrastructure, and transformational development. It
is hoped that the findings of the current study can inform ICT
decision makers, experts, and researchers who have investigated
and are doing research in this area.
KEYWORDS
ICT for development; IS/ICT
project; strategic benefits;
organizational benefits; IT
infrastructure benefits;
managerial benefits;
operational benefits;
informational benefits;
transactional benefits;
transformational benefits
1. Introduction
The process of evaluation ensures the effects of information and communication technol-
ogy (ICT) resources on organizational development in different ways, such as human,
social, and economic effects. However, ICT projects need an appropriate use and accep-
tance policy to get maximum returns from ICT resources deployed in an organization (Mur-
iithi, Horner, & Pemberton, 2016). The evaluation for determining the effects of ICT projects
is a complex process due to its multidimensional measuring criteria (Irani, Sharif, & Love,
© 2017 Commonwealth Secretariat
CONTACT Farrukh Saleem fsaleem@kau.edu.sa Information Systems Department, Faculty of Computing and
Information Technology, King Abdulaziz University, P. O. Box 80221, Jeddah 21589, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Francis Andoh-Baidoo is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT
2020, VOL. 26, NO. 1, 54–88
https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2017.1335279
2007) and scattered impact on the organizational business values (Maçada, Beltrame,
Dolci, & Becker, 2012). It can measure the value provided to the customer by the invested
amount (Ray, Muhanna, & Barney, 2005). System efficiency, employee productivity, and the
performance of other organizational stakeholders are the main factors used to measure
the effects of ICT projects (Maresova & Klimova, 2015). The evaluation can also assess
the ICT adoption and usage (Kayisire & Wei, 2016) in terms of measuring the successful
implementation of ICT projects for development. An ex post-evaluation can provide a com-
parative analysis based on performance before and after project implementation. The
feedback and analysis can help decision-makers with future investment planning and
management (Al-Shehab, Hughes, & Winstanley, 2005). ICT provides a platform for increas-
ing competitive advantage (Bilgihan, Okumus, Nusair, & Joon-Wuk Kwun, 2011), achieving
higher growth and improved firm performance (Onyango & Ngugi, 2014), increase human
development (Alam & Wagner, 2016) and positively affecting organizational change
(Gregor, Martin, Fernandez, Stern, & Vitale, 2006).
ICT investment evaluation can provide better results as well as help organizations be
more optimistic about this technology and invest more in ICT resources. It requires the
appropriate management of resources, aligning ICT resources with business strategy
(Al-Malaise & Saleem, 2016; Shang & Seddon, 2002). The multidimensional post-incorpor-
ation effects of ICT make it more challenging to assess those generated benefits (Irani &
Love, 2001). As Dadayan (2006) mentioned, measuring return on ICT investment is
complex and requires a thorough understanding and knowledge of both (i) processes
involved in the business and (ii) the environment in which they are running. The
context and objectives for which the projects were implemented require a thorough
understanding to properly assess their impact on business and stakeholders (Marcus,
2008). When the investment is based on certain objectives, the framework presented
(Samoilenko, 2014) for measuring ICT impact, especially in telecoms on microeconomic
outcomes, provides an example of evaluating ICT impact on organizational development.
Another investigation performed by Andoh-Baidoo, Osatuyi, and Kunene (2014) was
especially useful for examining the capacity of ICT resources using five factors. Other fra-
meworks have been proposed for measuring ICT resources based on non-financial factors
using different approaches (Saleem, Salim, Al-Ghamdi, & Ullah, 2015; Saleem, Salim,
Fayoumi, & Al-Ghamdi, 2012; Saleem, Salim, Fayoumi, Al-Ghamdi, & Ullah, 2013). Therefore,
proper development in proposing a framework for measuring the effects of ICT project on
social, economic, human, and organizational development is essential for helping ICT
decision-makers and practitioners for the successful implementation, usage, and adoption
of ICT projects.
Therefore, the main research question covered in this research is how the impact of an
ICT project on organizational development should be measured. Following the research
question in this study, we propose a framework and its processes to help ICT decision-
makers evaluate the impact of an ICT/information system (IS) project after its implemen-
tation in an organization. To answer the research question, this study conducted a
comprehensive literature review in search of common methodologies and variables that
researchers can use to measure the impact of ICT on the organization. The extracted list
was then presented to the ICT experts/consultants in order to refine the model through
their acceptance, negation, and suggestions on the findings from the literature review.
The main approach undertaken in this study was a qualitative case study; 24 interviews
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 55
were conducted with ICT experts selected from 6 case studies based on their experience
and involvement in implementing and managing ICT projects. The ICT experts’strategy
was used in this study to refine the framework and discuss ICT project measurement,
especially in a Saudi context. The interviews were further transcribed and analyzed
using a systematic grounded theory approach. The grounded theory strategy helped us
develop a text categorization and network diagram; based on the analysis of the inter-
views, the framework was refined by deleting and adding different measuring items, as
discussed in Exhibit 3. Using the findings from the interview sessions with the ICT
experts/consultants, the refined framework was then validated using a real-world case
study with a list of processes identified through experts’opinions. The current study
further contributed in the following ways:
.A discussion of the theoretical background to determine how people assess ICT
projects’post-implementation impact (Section 2).
.A gathering of opinions from several ICT experts on ICT investment and measurement
issues (Section 3).
.The integration of different dimensions used for measurement processes (Section 3).
.The development of a framework including a list of processes, criteria, and sub-criteria
to measure the ICT projects.
.A systematic guide for ICT decision-makers and organizations to improve their decision-
making processes by evaluating their current projects.
.The use of validation processes to determine the procedures and results of how to
measure the impact of ICT projects on an organization.
2. Theoretical background
A review of the literature on this topic suggests the proposal of several models with differ-
ent dimensions showing the capabilities to characterize the ICT business value in terms of
identifying and assessing them (Aral & Weill, 2007; Avison, 2007; Cao, 2010; CHA, Gregor, &
Fernandez, 2008; Gregor et al., 2006; Maçada et al., 2012; Melville, Kraemer, & Gurbaxani,
2004; Phang, Kankanhalli, & Ang, 2008; Shang & Seddon, 2002; Sobol & Klein, 2009; Turner
& Lucas, 1985; Weill & Broadbent, 1998).
2.1. Progression in measuring effects of ICT/IS projects
Several researchers have discussed that ICT generates number of business values. Melville
et al. (2004) defined the business value of ICT, which offers a wide range of possible
benefits ranging from flexibility and quality improvement to productivity enhancement
and cost reduction. Moreover, the list of benefits highlighted by Shang and Seddon
(2002) included information access, improved workflow, departmental collaboration,
and enhanced levels of customer satisfaction. ICT projects can accomplish those benefits,
but quantifying them is a difficult task (Murphy & Simon, 2002). Measuring those benefits
has still an issue for the organization due to vast and multidimensional impact of ICT over
business values.
56 F. SALEEM ET AL.
Saleem et al. (2016) presented a comparative study of methodologies and
approaches for measuring ICT impact on organizational development based on
business values. Values and benefits are synonyms (Cronk, 2005;Maçadaetal.,2012).
From a broader view, values are classified into two categories: tangible or hard benefits
(financial) and intangible or soft benefits (non-financial) (Dadayan, 2006;Harris,Grey,&
Rozwell, 2001). The value of knowledge generated from ICT can be included in an
employee’s performance, software responses, database capability, and organizational
and customer relationship status, which cannot be measured through financial and
accounting reports (Maçada et al., 2012). The business values generated from ICT
acknowledge the firm’s performance impact at every level of work, consisting of
both efficiency and competitive impacts (Melville et al., 2004). The idea for ICT value
return has been discussed for many years due to its dispersed dimensions and multi-
variate analysis for measuring value returns (Bannister & Remenyi, 1999; Devaraj &
Kohli, 2003). A general list of values can be anticipated from an ICT investment pro-
posed by Farbey, Lano, and Targett (1993), including strategic benefits (e.g. customers
with special dealing), management benefits (e.g. increase performance), operational
benefits (e.g. quality and cost reduction), and functional benefits (e.g. communication
and collaboration).
ICT projects play a significant role in a firm development (Andoh-Baidoo, 2016; Boateng,
2016; Qureshi, 2016), but differs from one organization to another due to the firm’s econ-
omic status and use of ICT resources in different circumstances (Nault & Mittal, 2009). Most
importantly, the firm has to be able to identify expected outcomes that can be generated
from ICT investments based on the objective for which a particular amount is devoted
(Ezingeard, Irani, & Race, 1998). Organizations are spending amount on ICT projects for
different objectives such as: to support their decision-making process (Saleem &
Al-Malaise, 2012), to build online portal for online services (Al-Mudimigh & Ullah, 2011;
Al-Mudimigh, Ullah, & Alsubaie, 2011), to implement enterprise resource planning for
better resource allocation and utilization (Al-Ghamdi & Saleem, 2014; Ullah, Al-Mudimigh,
Al-Ghamdi, & Saleem, 2013), and customer relationship management (Abdullah, Zahid, &
Farrukh, 2011; Al-Mudimigh, Saleem, & Ullah, 2009). To support organizational goals, these
ICT projects have many objectives such as: strategic, infrastructural, customer support, and
operational.
ICT has the capabilities to improve the performance of the firms, as required (Shang
& Seddon, 2000), but researchers have argued that, during the period of change and
innovation, the important thing is exposing the values by arranging organizational
knowledge and skill power (Gregor et al., 2006; Piccoli & Ives, 2005; Ray et al., 2005).
ICT projects include specific milestones to be achieved based on different management
objectives, such as transactional, informational, strategic, and infrastructural (Aral &
Weill, 2007), where different firms can have one or all of the objectives. IT infrastructure
hasalsoproventobeapartofassessingthe success of any system (Borena & Negash,
2016). Two different firms with the same amount of investment can also have different
achievement benefits based on the volume of money invested for a particular
objective.
In summary, Turner and Lucas (1985) presented the framework for measuring ICT
business value returns based on organizational objectives (informational, strategic, trans-
actional), which was then reworked in different studies. IT’s infrastructure dimension was
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 57
added as a fourth dimension by Weill and Broadbent (1998) in the original model, which
highlights that IT infrastructure investment is one of the major objectives of the organiz-
ation. On the other hand, Gregor et al. (2006) integrated the original model by adding a
fourth dimension, transformational ICT investment, to measure the transformational
effects and changes in the organization. Further development presented by Maçada
et al. (2012) enhanced the model by combining the framework of Weill and Broadbent
(1998) and Gregor et al. (2006). Similarly, Shang and Seddon (2002) proposed a framework
for evaluating the enterprise system, which is a kind of ICT investment using five dimen-
sions—namely strategic, IT infrastructural, managerial, operational, and organizational
types of ICT investments—based on the firm’s objectives. This step has implications for
the current study seeking to create an easy way for measuring an already-implemented
project in an organization, if its objectives have been correctly identified based on the cat-
egories mentioned in this research. The identification of the list of objectives for ICT pro-
jects is a major step for assessing the ICT investment (Sabherwal & Jeyaraj, 2015). This
phase of the literature review actually creates the basics of the ICT evaluation framework
proposed and validated in this study. The research gap highlighted in this study is that
different scholars have discussed measurement processes in multiple ways. This research
has combined several attributes to further classify them in one framework with the help of
ICT experts and consultants. Based on the findings in this section, Tables 2–9depicted the
dimensions and measurement items selected in this study to overcome the research gap
for ICT projects’evaluation process. Furthermore, each table has been categorized based
on the major dimensions, measurement items, and operationalized definition of each
item.
3. Research methodology
3.1. ICT experts’/consultants’approach
Qualitative research is basically used for descriptive studies and to find a better and deeper
understanding of phenomena, thereby leading to the interpretation and writing of reports
on the collection of documents, which actually represent personal experience and judg-
ment about the particular field (Algahtani, 2011). The purpose of qualitative research
using several case studies is to provide a solid base from which the researcher can learn
about the stability of behaviors and responses between different groups of similar kinds of
case studies (Stake, 1995). Interviews are an important instrument for qualitative research
that allows for the collection of evidence in depth from those who have been part of an
organization for a long time. Mason (2002) described the purpose of interviews as captur-
ing complexity in data through in-depth discussions with participants.
In this study, 15 organizations were contacted from different sources via telephone and
email conversations. After agreeing to certain conditions to hide their attributes and
organization names, six companies were shortlisted based on their different types of
business background, as mentioned (i.e. airlines, education, manufacturing, operation
and maintenance, bank, and telecommunications). The purpose was to ask them to par-
ticipate in this study by engaging in interviews. The participants were selected for this
study based on their experiences and involvement with the ICT/IS projects. The selected
participants were part of the ICT team, executives, managers, directors, and especially
58 F. SALEEM ET AL.
those working as consultants or decision-makers for managing and investing in ICT pro-
jects. A major focus of the data collection was to take their opinions and verify the research
questions. During the discussion, several other concepts related to ICT investment and the
measurement of its impact on business were explored. The researcher highlighted those
factors that could be measured against each ICT investment based on the objectives of the
ICT project and the company. Table 1 summarizes the list of participants selected in the
case study.
During the interview sessions, we first presented the progress and findings extracted
from the literature review, as shown in Tables 2–9. The main objective of the interviews
was to validate the framework and understand the measurement processes. Moreover,
the interview process was used to collect deep insights based on participants’experiences
and consultancy on ICT projects with their respective organizations. In this regard, the final
opinions from ICT consultants and professionals as well as experts’opinion were gathered
in this study.
3.2. Qualitative analysis and interview transcription
After successfully conducting the interview sessions, each interview recording was tran-
scribed using transcribe.wreally.com. Transcription is a challenging task that requires
the researcher’s time for the analysis. Gubrium and Holstein (2002) explained the problems
and challenges in transcribing interview recordings, beginning and ending sentences,
determining appropriate punctuation, etc. Therefore, the researcher resolved this chal-
lenge by first recording the interviews and then converting them into text. The extraction
of appropriate explanations was the main focus during the transcription and analysis
process, as described by Kvale and Brinkmann (2009). The data analysis procedure con-
ducted in this research is shown in Figure 1.
After completing the transcription of the interview sessions, the grounded theory
approach was used for the data analysis. This approach was first developed by Glaser
Table 1. List of ICT experts.
ICT consultant ICT project managers
ICT project team
members ICT project developer Industry
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 9 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 12 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 15 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 10 years
Airlines
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 18 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 14 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 16 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 9 years
Education
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 16 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 13 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 9 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 10 years
Manufacturing
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 10 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 15 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 12 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 14 years
Operation and
maintenance
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 16 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 11 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 15 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 9 years
Bank
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 15 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 10 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 17 years
Number of
participant: 1
Experience: 11 years
Telecommunication
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 59
and Strauss (1967). The ATLAS.ti tool was used for the further analysis; it is considered a
powerful tool for qualitative data analysis as it can manage multiple documents with a
high performance and support all steps of grounded theory (ATLAS.ti, 2016), as shown
in Figures 2 and 3.
3.3. Effects of ICT for development: strategic benefits
The study uses six items for strategic types of benefits for measuring business value of ICT.
The strategic benefit measurement items are shown in Table 2.
Table 3. Informational benefits—items measurement.
Construct Operational definition Measurement source Description
Fast information The extent to which firm’s enable
maximum channels for getting
information faster
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(7) Enabling faster
access to
information
Easier access The degree to which firm’s enable
maximum channels for accessing
information faster
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(8) Enabling easier
access to
information
Improve
strategic
planning
The major objective of the
organization to generate valuable
information to useful in strategic
planning
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(9) Improving
information for
strategic planning
Information
accuracy
The belief that the generated
information is accurate to improve
decision-making process
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(10) Improving
information
accuracy
Useable format To provide a standard template for
managing, sending, and receiving
information for better reporting
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(11) Providing
information in
more useable
formats
Table 2. Strategic benefit—items measurement.
Construct Operational definition Measurement source Description
Competitive
advantage
The objective to maintaining and
staying ahead of competitors by
managing competitive efficiency
and decision-making strategy
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Shang and Seddon (2002),
Turner and Lucas (1985), and Weill
and Broadbent (1998)
(1) Creating
competitive
advantage
ICT strategy
alignment
Proper connection in aligning ICT
strategy with business strategy to
accomplish the target faster and in
easy way
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Shang and Seddon (2002),
Turner and Lucas (1985), and Weill
and Broadbent (1998)
(2) Aligning ICT
strategy with
business strategy
Useful links The extent to which it help to create
efficient and useful links with other
organizations to improve business
rapidly
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Shang and Seddon (2002),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(3) Establishing useful
links with other
organizations
Quicker
response
The organization response time to
understand the situation and
develop strategy to change
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Shang and Seddon (2002),
Turner and Lucas (1985), and Weill
and Broadbent (1998)
(4) Enabling quicker
response to
change
Customer
relations
The level of providing services to
improve the customer relation in
terms of dealing with them with
more flexible behavior
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Shang and Seddon (2002),
Turner and Lucas (1985), and Weill
and Broadbent (1998)
(5) Improving
customer relations
Better
products
The firm’s capability to improvize the
product and services in an efficient
manner
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Shang and Seddon (2002),
Turner and Lucas (1985), and Weill
and Broadbent (1998)
(6) Providing better
products or
services to
customers
60 F. SALEEM ET AL.
Table 6. Organizational benefits—items measurement.
Construct Operational definition Measurement source Description
Work patterns To coordinate in different matters organize
work in standard format
Melville et al. (2004) and
Shang and Seddon
(2002)
(23) Changing work
patterns
Organizational
learning
The extent to which the individuals working in
the organization shows their enthusiasm
toward learning the environment
Melville et al. (2004) and
Shang and Seddon
(2002)
(24) Facilitating
organizational
learning
Empowerment The degree of showing involvement and
responsibilities toward handling the situation
using available resources
Melville et al. (2004) and
Shang and Seddon
(2002)
(25) User
Empowerment
Common vision The firm’s objective to work as one unit,
without any discrimination, and highlight the
common vision for improving the business
performance
Melville et al. (2004) and
Shang and Seddon
(2002)
(26) Building
common vision
Table 5. Transformational benefits—items measurement.
Construct Operational definition Measurement source Description
Skill level The belief that individuals have improved the
working behavior with professional behavior
Gregor et al. (2006) and
Maçada et al. (2012)
(18) An improved skill
level for employees
Business plans To enhance the business by employing new
business strategies based on the current
requirements of the industry
Gregor et al. (2006) and
Maçada et al. (2012)
(19) Developing new
business plans
Organization’s
capability
The firm’s capability to be scalable as per the
current circumstances which ultimately
enhance the business boundaries
Gregor et al. (2006) and
Maçada et al. (2012)
(20) Expanding
organizational
capabilities
Business models The degree to which the business architecture
launches new business models for
encouraging the faster response to the
individuals
Gregor et al. (2006) and
Maçada et al. (2012)
(21) Improving business
models
Organization’s
structure
The extent to which an enterprise restructures
the methods for implementing business
strategies
Gregor et al. (2006) and
Maçada et al. (2012)
(22) Improving
organizational
structure/processes
Table 4. Transactional benefits—items measurement.
Construct Operational definition Measurement source Description
Supply chain The degree to which an organization
can save the finances by organizing
the supply chain process in an
efficient manner
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(12) Savings in supply
chain
management
Operating cost The ability to put the efforts to avoid
excessive operations which can
reduce the operation’s cost
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(13) Reducing
operating costs
Communication
cost
The extent to which an organization
improves communication channels by
spreading out the information using
low cost
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(14) Reducing
communication
costs
Workforce The firm’s objective to make better use
of the current workforce to avoid the
unnecessary hiring of the new
employees
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(15) Avoiding the need
to increase the
workforce
Financial assets The target to collect maximum return
on firm’s investments for assets
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(16) Increasing return
on financial assets
Employee
productivity
The employee’s capability to recognize
the information and resources
provided to them use for enhance
their learning ability
Gregor et al. (2006), Maçada et al.
(2012), Turner and Lucas (1985),
and Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(17) Enhancing
employee
productivity
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 61
3.4. Effects of ICT for development: informational benefits
The study uses five items for measuring informational type of benefits for measuring
business value of ICT. The informational benefits measurement items are shown in
Table 3.
Table 7. Operational benefits—items measurement.
Construct Operational definition Measurement source Description
Cost
reduction
The extent to which the cost reduction can be
measured, in terms of administrative, human
resources, customer services and so on
Irani and Love (2001) and
Shang and Seddon
(2000)
(27) Cost reduction
Cycle time The allocated cyclic time for processes decrease in
efficient and measurable way while dealing with
different individuals
Irani and Love (2001) and
Shang and Seddon
(2000)
(28) Cycle time
reduction
Productivity The degree of improving in productivity per
employee, per labor hours, by reducing time as
compared with the past
Irani and Love (2001) and
Shang and Seddon
(2000)
(29) Productivity
improvement
Quality The objectives to enhance quality of data and
products, reduced error rate, observe positively
Irani and Love (2001) and
Shang and Seddon
(2000)
(30) Quality
improvement
Customer
service
The extent to which customer get responses in
given period of time with ease to improve
customer services
Irani and Love (2001) and
Shang and Seddon
(2000)
(31) Customer
service
improvement
Table 8. IT infrastructure benefits—items measurement.
Construct Operational definition Measurement source Description
Business
integration
The degree of integrating business
strategies with using all available IT
resources
Maçada et al. (2012), Shang
and Seddon (2002), and
Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(32) Improving business
integration
Business
flexibility
The extent to which firms build business
flexible but fast response to changes
at lower cost
Maçada et al. (2012), Shang
and Seddon (2002), and
Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(33) Improving business
flexibility
IT marginal cost The firm’s policy to manage and involve
IT business units for aligning business
strategies with IT as per the approval
and guidance of IT business unit
Maçada et al. (2012), Shang
and Seddon (2002), and
Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(34) Reducing the
marginal cost of a
business unit’sIT
IT costs Objectively reduce the total cost of
maintaining and integrating systems
and by reducing IT staff
Maçada et al. (2012), Shang
and Seddon (2002), and
Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(35) Reducing IT costs
Organization’s
standards
The extent to which organizations
improve their standards by allocating
all available IT resources in sufficient
manner
Maçada et al. (2012), Shang
and Seddon (2002), and
Weill and Broadbent (1998)
(36) Improving
organizational
standardization
Table 9. Managerial benefits—items measurement.
Construct Operational definition Measurement source Description
Resource
management
The degree to which an organization
allocates resources properly as per the
requirements
Irani and Love (2001) and
Shang and Seddon (2002)
(37) Better resource
management
Decision-making One of the major objectives of an enterprise
to improve decision-making process to
meet the goals
Irani and Love (2001) and
Shang and Seddon (2002)
(38) Improved decision-
making and
planning
Performance Overall performance of business by lines of
business, by product, by customers, and
so on
Irani and Love (2001) and
Shang and Seddon (2002)
(39) Performance
improvement
62 F. SALEEM ET AL.
3.5. Effects of ICT for development: transactional benefits
The study uses six items for measuring transactional type of benefits for measuring
business value of ICT. The transactional benefits measurement items are shown in Table 4.
3.6. Effects of ICT for development: transformational benefits
The study uses five items for measuring transformational type of benefits for measuring
business value of ICT. The transformational benefits measurement items are shown in
Table 5.
3.7. Effects of ICT for development: organizational benefits
The study uses four items for measuring the organizational type of benefits for measuring
business value of ICT. The organizational benefits measurement items are shown in Table 6.
Figure 1. Interviews transcription and analysis.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 63
3.8. Effects of ICT for development: operational benefits
The study uses five items for measuring an operational type of benefits for measuring
business value of ICT. The operational benefits measurement items are shown in Table 7.
3.9. Effects of ICT for development: IT infrastructure benefits
The study uses five items for measuring IT infrastructure type of benefits for measuring
business value of ICT. The IT infrastructure benefits measurement items are shown in
Table 8.
Figure 2. Selection of quotation.
Figure 3. Categorization of text coding.
64 F. SALEEM ET AL.
3.10. Effects of ICT for development: managerial benefits
The study uses five items for measuring managerial type of benefits for measuring
business value of ICT. The managerial benefits measurement items are shown in
Table 9. Finally, the research model of eight dimensions and measuring items used in
this research for measuring ICT effect for development are shown in Figure 4.
4. Findings of discussion with ICT experts/consultants
Twenty-four interview sessions were conducted to validate the questions and findings
extracted from the literature review to refine and integrate the research idea based on
experts’opinions. To identify the objectives and list of benefits that can be achieved
from ICT investment and measurement approach, discussion sessions were arranged
with ICT experts from different organizations working at different levels who had a
minimum of eight years of experience in the same field, as depicted in Table 1.Thisdis-
cussion was important and actually helped us improve the framework. Participants’pro-
fessional experience at different levels in the planning and implementation of ICT/IS
projects improved the model significantly. This section discusses the descriptive
summary of interviews. The structured interview covered (i) the impact of ICT/IS pro-
jects on the organization; (ii) the objective of these projects; (iii) the planning, uses,
Figure 4. Extracted dimensions for measuring ICT project’s impact.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 65
and implementation of ICT/IS projects; (iv) the results achieved based on the objective
of the projects; and (v) the measurement of dimensions and items extracted from the
literature review as mentioned in Tables 2–9. For a clear summary of the interviews
described in the topic format, participants’responses were summarized as presented
in Exhibits 1 and 2. In addition, Exhibit 3 summarized the discussion with ICT experts
to get a deeper knowledge about each measurement item depicted in Tables 2–9.Fur-
thermore, with the help of experts, the detailed steps of the measurement process dis-
cussed criteria, sub-criteria, and the output of each measurement items, leading to the
major findings from the interview sessions, as described in Table 10.Thesemajorfind-
ings of the interview sessions strengthened the framework and provided us with a
number of processes to validate the framework using the real case study presented
in Section 5. The framework was further refined by adding and deleting some criteria
in different dimensions, while the organizational dimension was removed because
most experts did not support it as a distinct dimension, as discussed in the following
section.
Exhibit 1: General view about ICT/IS projects
“Nowadays, modern technology is more affordable and cheaper compared to in the previous decade. Productivity,
growth, and competition in the business market are more dependent on ICT applications to integrate with business
processes and models,”the participant from the bank said to start the conversation. The discussion was continued by a
respondent from the airline industry, who said “the revolution in the ICT industry keeps stressing the organizations for
continuous IS projects’investments to generate more business value and reducing the complexities in running
business processes.”
The manager of IT services and support in the airline industry said that, “as an IT here, we have to face different
types of users, such as internal employees and external business users (customers, suppliers, cargo, etc.). To help them,
ICT investments are essential in order to overcome issues proactively. Strategic business units are the key players in this
environment; with their support, actually, we tried to align IT strategies with business strategies. Therefore, the main
purpose of the strategic and IT unit is to help stakeholders with the provided systems, to launch new systems, or to
enhance existing systems in achieving organizational objectives and mission.”
The IT project manager at a bank explained that, “as an IT project manager, the main responsibility is to keep the IT
architecture up to date, so it is capable of learning and acknowledging the workload. IT architecture is the combination
of software and hardware fitting within three categories: cost, manpower, and technology. In my opinion, the basic
purpose of ICT/IS projects is to provide a list of standards to comply with vendors and customers. From the business
strategies’point of view, IT always goes with strategy, as we are part of a multinational bank, and all branches work as
one unit. We need to cascade our main business strategy, which can apply with compatibility with all branches in our
network. Each strategy is actually a projection of services we want to provide, consisting of different IT/IS applications
and hardware platform layers. So we go with industrial trends and try to align ourselves with the industrial trends while
also cascading our strategies, projects, and initiatives based on the current ICT requirements.”
Exhibit 2: Planning, uses, and implementation of ICT/IS projects
According to the SAP administrator in operation and maintenance, “Planning is an essential phase, where we actually
visualized the future ease and other benefits in implementing and use of ICT/IS projects. From the beginning, it was in
the vision to work for a system that relieves our employees as well customers from the burdens of managing
paperwork and filling out forms; we were more about providing online services, where customers don’t need to come
to us physically and rather send us their requests and feedback via an online portal.”
The director of the assessment unit in education stated that “we developed a system to maintain the
standardization and get accreditation based on the policy and regulation of our education system. These systems are
important as you can measure the performance of the staff members and students as well. So all these standard
systems are a kind of complete package. So we work for the betterment of the institution and the students also. The
system was not for commercial use; rather, it was an in-house development, and it served its purpose.”
66 F. SALEEM ET AL.
The head of a developer team in education explained that, “as far as its implementation is concerned, we
experienced some resistance from users. This is one of the classical problems—not just change, but also academic
resistance—because people have their own ways of doing things, which is not necessarily bad or wrong; they are just
sometimes not in sync with each other. Accreditation does two things: forces us to start communicating and
cooperating toward common goals and sometimes asks us to set standards to give concessions. Sometimes I have to
adopt standards not in my way, so yes resistance—academic resistance, human resistance to change—we overcame it
by trying to involve people and make them part of the changes as much as possible. We had strong leadership, which
made the goals clear, and a lot of cooperation—much better than what we were expecting.”
A senior application specialist in the airline industry said that, “once the project is implemented, there is a phase
called adaptation; the post implementation phase is another project. You have to make sure that the system in usable
by users, because it’s not only for the sake of using because sometimes you have a system and there is no value in it, so
there are multiple criteria to make sure that users are using the system in the correct ways, and multiple key
performance indicators (KPIs) depend on the department and the user. These KPIs are set by user management
themselves. Sometimes we help them define the KPIs; sometimes there are tangible KPIs from the event logs of, for
example, the application, user satisfaction, and notifications or emails. Feedback surveys—these are an IT, and we can
help them get the results and publish them so they can make their decisions about how they can reengineer their
processes.”
Exhibit 3: ICT/IS projects’measurement process
This session collected deep insights based on participants’experiences with and consultancy on ICT/IS projects with
their respective organizations. During this session of interviews, the researcher first presented the progress and
findings achieved during the literature review study. The purpose was to get expert opinions on approving or
disapproving the mentioned progress, as follows.
At first glance, all participants showed their interest and level of agreement toward the positivity and positive
applicability of the presented framework. The first positive amendment suggested by different experts was to improve
the managerial dimension by adding other measurement items. The purpose of this framework is to measure the
impact of ICT/IS projects on business values. The positive managerial capabilities create more business innovation with
the support of ICT resources. They proposed two new measurement items to be added in managerial dimensions: (a)
improved overall operational efficiency and (b) improved overall effectiveness of decisions (called Item 33 and Item 34,
respectively, as depicted in Table 10). ICT/IS projects such as decision support and enterprise resource planning systems
help decision-makers improve the overall operational efficiency and eventually enhance the effectiveness of their
decisions. These ISs have the capability to provide comprehensive integrated reports through data collected from
different sources both inside and outside the organization. The information collected from these sources assists
decision-makers and gives them the confidence to apply new strategies, products, or services. Therefore, all
participants agreed to include these two items in managerial dimensions, which can enhance the framework in an
efficient way.
In addition, the organizational dimension was the most disputed dimension during the discussion. This dimension
has some general specifications and commonalities in nature in this framework. As far as other dimensions covering
the aspects of organizational capabilities and enhancement in organizational models, there is no need to use it as a
distinct dimension. Experts suggested eliminating this dimension by merging or moving its items into other
dimensions. For example, Item 23 (changing work patterns) has similarities with Item 20 and Item 22, expanding
organizational capabilities and improving organizational structure and processes, respectively. Expanding and
improving organizational structure can also cover changing work patterns; therefore, merging Item 23 with said items
will not create a deficiency in the framework, and the same benefits can be measured using the transformational
dimension. In addition, two more items in the organizational dimension were discussed in detail: Item 25 (user
empowerment) and Item 26 (building common vision). These items are irrelevant in this framework as they do not fully
support the flavor of this framework, which is about the ICT impact on business values. Although opinions varied
(support and against) for deleting these items from the framework, based on the collected evidence, these two items
were ultimately eliminated from the framework. Finally, regarding the last item in this dimension, Item 24 (facilitating
organizational learning), respondents highlighted the association of this item with the transformational dimension.
Positive transformation in the learning environment is one of the major benefits that can be achieved through ICT
resources. Therefore, these items were eliminated as well due to similarity with the items of the transformational
dimension. Eventually, the organizational dimension was removed as a distinct dimension for assessing the impact of
ICT on business values. Previous research by Shang and Seddon (2002) found less support for the organizational
dimension while investigating different case studies.
Some other changes occurred in the framework based on the comments and suggestions from the ICT expert
panel. Experts’main concern was about rearranging, merging, and/or eliminating some items with duplicate meanings
or covered by other items. Therefore, further enhancement was noted in the model, such as strategic dimension Item 6
(providing better products or services to customers) having the same meaning and being covered through other items
in the same dimension. The strategic benefits of using Item 5 (improving customer relations) and Item 1 (creating a
competitive advantage) indirectly measure Item 6 as well. Therefore, the experts suggested removing this item to
ensure appropriate impact without any duplication. Otherwise, at the time of validation, the respondents might have
been disguised in the same meanings of the measurement items.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 67
Finally, the last amendment recorded during the interview sessions with ICT experts/consultants was to improve
the IT infrastructure dimension. The IT infrastructure dimension consists of measurement items that can be measured
by getting improvization in business flexibility and integration. Two items—Item 34 (reducing the marginal cost of a
business unit’s IT) and Item 34 (reducing IT costs)—shared some repetition with other items, such as Item 27 (cost
reduction), Item 13 (reducing operating costs), and Item 16 (increasing return on financial assets). IT cost reduction and
the marginal cost of IT and its business unit can be measured by the overall increase of financial assets. In
organizations, the IT infrastructure plays a significant role; in general, it helps the organization improve business
models and create scalable and flexible environments for business activities. The main purpose of the proposed
framework was designed based on the impact of overall ICT resources on business values; therefore, almost every item
is indirectly associated with the IT infrastructure. In support of this statement, Maçada et al. (2012) also proposed a
framework by eliminating some items from the IT infrastructure dimensions because the framework’s other processes
also measured the impact of ICT resources that cover the IT infrastructure as well.
Ultimately, the framework was significantly improved based on experts’opinions and discussions. As per the
reference for Tables 2–9, overall, six measurement items were eliminated from the framework as follows:
•Item 6 from strategic factors
•Items 23, 24, 25, and 26 from organizational factors
•Items 34 and 35 from IT infrastructure factors
•Overall, organizational dimensions was removed
Finally, two measurement items (Items 33 and 34) were added to the managerial dimension, as shown in Table 10.
The new sequence numbering of dimensions and measuring items is listed in Table 10, which also includes the refined
framework, processes, criteria, and sub-criteria. These are considered the major findings from the discussion with ICT
experts/consultants.
In addition to the general discussion with the ICT experts summarized in Exhibits 1
and 2, further discussion lead to identify the acceptance and negation for each measure-
ment factor and the corresponding items for construct validity. The purpose was to refine
the framework before its validation. The discussion also explored the steps of the pro-
cesses to be applied for validating the framework using real-world ICT projects. Experts’
extensive experience in planning and implementing ICT/IS projects really helped us
refine the model and identify the steps for measuring ICT projects’post-implementation.
Exhibit 3 highlights the main points during the refinement of the model while Table 10
depicts the steps to be used for assessment purposes.
4.1. Development of ICT measurement framework with the help of ICT experts/
consultants
Table 10 illustrates the major findings extracted from discussions with ICT experts. The
main purpose of this table is to provide comprehensive and detailed steps to the ICT
decision-makers to assess the post-implementation impact of ICT projects on business
values.
5. Model validation using a case study
The study focuses on measuring the effects of ICT on organizational development. To vali-
date the proposed framework including a number of processes, criteria, and sub-criteria of
the proposed model presented in Table 10, a case study of an ICT project in higher edu-
cation was undertaken in this research. The main purpose of this validation step was to
determine how ICT resources affect social, economic, human, and other organizational
development as discussed in this study. The project selected for validation is Accreditation
Integration System (AIS), which is specifically designed to help an organization get accred-
itation from an international body of accreditation. The evaluation of the system was quite
challenging and required the involvement of different types of participants at the case
68 F. SALEEM ET AL.
Table 10. The process of measuring effects of ICT for development (based on expert judgment).
Input (from ICT
experts)
Main objective (from literature
review) How to measure Main respondents (from
ICT experts)
Output/reports (from ICT
experts)
Criteria (from literature review) Sub-criteria (from ICT experts)
Context of
investment
Study the system
Stakeholder
analysis
Effects of ICT for development:
strategic benefits
(1) Creating competitive
advantage
•Benchmarking
•Business performance indicators
•Coordination activities
•Speed in product delivery
Top management
Middle management
•Strategic value
•Summary of each
measure item
•Graphical report for each
measure item
•Future aspects
(2) Aligning ICT strategy with
business strategy
•Integrated online process
•Business and applications association
with IT infrastructure
•Centralized database
•Tools for analytical approach
(3) Establishing useful links
with other organizations
•Organizational structure
•Renting/selling business/IT
applications/models with sister
companies
•Available online resources for alliances
and other organization
(4) Enabling quicker response
to change
•System efficiency
•Structural improvement
•Improved services
(5) Improving customer
relations
•Support to customer relationship
management
•Provided/improved online services
•Automation in query feedback
Context of
investment
Study the system
Stakeholder
analysis
Effects of ICT for development:
informational benefits
(6) Enabling faster access to
information
•Extensive integrated data repositories
•Shared and accessible database
•Online data availability
Top management
Middle management
Other management staff
IT users
•Informational value
•Summary of each
measure item
•Graphical report for each
measure item
•Future aspects
(7) Enabling easier access to
information
•Online portal
•Data on clouds
•Response of on-field workers
(Continued)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 69
Table 10. Continued.
Input (from ICT
experts)
Main objective (from literature
review)
How to measure Main respondents (from
ICT experts)
Output/reports (from ICT
experts)
Criteria (from literature review) Sub-criteria (from ICT experts)
(8) Improving information for
strategic planning
•Tools/methods the availability in
system
•Ability of knowledge management
system
•Performance comparison between
different sessions for new planning
(9) Improving information
accuracy
•Data validation rules
•Authentication/authorization of
system/data
•Data approval procedure
(10) Providing information in
more useable formats
•Online/offline data collection forms
•System friendly interaction with users
•Allowing editing, confirmation and
reports generation
Context of
investment
Study the system
Stakeholder
analysis
Effects of ICT for development:
transactional benefits
(11) Savings in supply chain
management
•Auto scheduling
•Information flows throughout the
system/department
•Managing warehouse/inventory
control
Top management
Middle management
Other management staff
IT users
•Transactional value
•Summary of each
measure item
•Graphical report for each
measure item
•Future aspects
(12) Reducing operating costs •Networked and well managed
•Proper coordination between
departments
•Managing sales, supply and other
operations
(13) Reducing communication
costs
•Communication channels
•Timely and speedy communication
•Reaching to customer clusters
(14) Avoiding the need to
increase the workforce
•Better management of ICT resources
•Human efforts in performing tasks
•The system’s ability and flexibility
(15) Increasing return on
financial assets
•System’s return
•Effects on existing financial assets
•Coordination with other
(16) Enhancing employee
productivity
•Employees training sessions
•Change management
•Learning environment with new
system
70 F. SALEEM ET AL.
Context of
investment
Study the system
Stakeholder
analysis
Effects of ICT for Development:
IT INFRASTRUCTURE BENEFITS
(17) Improving business
integration
•System’s support to existing
infrastructure
•System’s support to business
processes
•Business collaboration and integration
Top management
Middle management
Other management staff
IT users
•IT Infrastructure value
•Summary of each
measure item
•Graphical report for each
measure item
•Future aspects
(18) Improving business
flexibility
•Shared resources
•Scalability and reusability
•Online portal for stakeholders
(19) Improving organizational
standardization
•Controlled and collaborative with
existing infrastructure
•Follow the organization standards/
rules
•Operational and other activities
Context of
investment
Study the system
Stakeholder
analysis
Effects of ICT for development:
transformational benefits
(20) An improved skill level for
employees
•Work efficiency
•System training
•Productivity status
Top management
Middle management
Other management staff
IT users
•Transformational value
•Summary of each
measure item
•Graphical report for each
measure item
•Future aspects
(21) Developing new business
plans
•Decision-making process
•Analytical/statistical reports
•Help in future plan
(22) Expanding organizational
capabilities
•Working capability
•Time and work ratio
•Business process association with ICT
(23) Improving business
models
•Process improvement
•Existing business model
•Business process reengineering
(24) Improving organizational
structure/processes
•New business models
•Enhance IT infrastructure
•Integrated systems
•Online data portals
Context of
investment
Effects of ICT for development:
operational benefits
(25) Cost reduction •Labor/production/sales and supply
cost
Top management
Middle management
•Operational value
•Summary of each
(Continued)
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 71
Table 10. Continued.
Input (from ICT
experts)
Main objective (from literature
review)
How to measure Main respondents (from
ICT experts)
Output/reports (from ICT
experts)
Criteria (from literature review) Sub-criteria (from ICT experts)
Study the system
Stakeholder
analysis
•Inventory/warehouse cost
•Marketing and advertisement cost
Other management staff
IT users
measure item
•Graphical report for each
measure item
•Future aspects
(26) Cycle time reduction •Customer/employee activities
•Parallel processing
•Reliable database
(27) Productivity improvement •Production per employee
•Automated processing
•Synchronization in tasks
(28) Quality improvement •Structured processes
•Organizational standards
•Data quality, error rate
(29) Customer service
improvement
•Feedback and follow up
•Customer’s loyalty
•Customer satisfaction
Context of
investment
Study the system
Stakeholder
analysis
Effects of ICT for development:
managerial benefits
(30) Better resource
management
•Integrated application system
•Human and IT resources
•Utilization of resources
Top management
Middle management
Other management staff
•Managerial value
•Summary of each
measure item
•Graphical report for each
measure item
•Future aspects
(31) Improved decision-making
and planning
•System decision-making ability
•Reports and future plans
•Incorporated with analytical
techniques
(32) Performance
improvement
•Productivity per employee
•New business models
•Managerial skill
•Roles and responsibilities
(33) Improved overall
operational efficiency
•Resource management
•IT and business infrastructure
•Process automation
(34) Improved overall
effectiveness of decisions
•Decision-making process
•Advance analytics
•Performance/quality improvement
72 F. SALEEM ET AL.
study site, performing their tasks at different departments and locations. Due to the appli-
cability of the framework, as discussed earlier, the evidence collected was qualitative in
nature and was to be understood in terms of an informative approach. The framework,
as shown in Table 10, was applied to assess the benefits achieved through this project,
and the lack of benefits can further help ICT decision-makers in future projects.
5.1. AIS description
A university in Jeddah district intends to build an in-house system that can provide a
mechanism to integrate data from different sources. The purpose is to analyze the
various direct and indirect assessment data affecting the program’s objective to get inter-
national accreditation. Regarding the question about the purpose, context, and objective
of the ICT project, the detailed description by the project director is presented as follows:
AIS is an ICT system that can create a positive impact to achieve different kinds of objectives of
building and implementation of that system. It was a built-in vision to work for a system that
relieves our faculty and staff from the burdens of managing limitless paperwork and filling out
forms. We have been teaching and learning, and getting accreditation should be a crowning
achievement for us. The positive side of this system was to integrate academic information
and other stuff, but most importantly managing reports and datasets and paperwork flow
was the major purpose. So AIS was meant to be an aid that would do all of the (mandate)
work for us so that we can focus on academics, and it helped us. It was a quick development
system integrated with all of our management information systems, such as Blackboard,
course registration, and faculty management systems, and considered an in-house system,
and it served its purpose. It still helps the college by maintaining our academic data, assess-
ment data, faculty data, and all our syllabi in one electronic place—an online place where I can
review or have anybody in the world electronically review it for us. We are no longer required
to be physically present since everything is available electronically anywhere, and that’s
another benefit. So that was the vision. It’s a use of ICT to help us to achieve our goals; it’s
not a goal in itself.
Based on the discussion with the head of the AIS project, the project was initiated to
create an integrated environment in connection with the previous faculty management
system. It aimed to develop an integrated system that can help faculty members avoid
long procedural manual work. For a better understanding, the working environment of
AIS is depicted in Figure 5.
5.2. Team members of AIS
The AIS system relies on teamwork, and we really work hard to implement this ICT project
to achieve the expected benefits we planned for, as stated by the AIS project director. One
of the key issues that was clear from the beginning is that the implementation of AIS
requires structural execution by the faculty. Through analysis and interview discussions
at the project office, it was found that the system implementation required extensive
support from different member groups assigned to specific tasks. Therefore, the project
manager explained that a combination of groups worked together to strive for targeted
goals. First, we have a managerial team to manage the resources and implementation
of the project. The managerial work has been improved with the help of AIS. The
reports illustrate the use of AIS to support managerial and strategic decisions as well.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 73
A developer team was utilized to code the system and enhance the updates received
through feedback. Further discussion led to exploring another team, known as the tech-
nical and support team. The technical and supporting staff solved hardware and software
issues at the location site. Another team was devoted to working for archiving purposes;
the team was responsible for electronic scanning and uploading the assessment sheets
based on the course’s learning objectives. Finally, the assessment team was responsible
for analyzing and suggesting future planning for the betterment of the system. They per-
formed direct and indirect assessment as well as the validation of all data collected and
reports generated through AIS. In the end, the director of the project emphasized that
our team was targeting approximately 25% of direct involvement. But we are proud of
the fact that it was collaborative work. Everybody contributed something within their
roles. Practically everyone was engaged, 80–85% at some level and directly spending
10–15% of the sufficient time in the units. Thus, the team was not a specific number,
but targeted coverage achieved 20–25% of direct involvement.
5.3. Input resources
Categorically, this investment was a combination of different types of input resources:
human, technology, and their positive association. From a technological perspective,
they built an IT environment to support all electronic and automated facilities provided
by AIS. It was completely an IT project that needed to install different types of software,
hardware, network support web server, data server, and different online services. In
addition, the project director added that the IT resources needed human support at
some level. Thus, the project hired some part-time programers for development unit
support. During the project lifecycle, an outside consultant was provided to support
and make suggestions about the working procedures.
Figure 5. Working environment of AIS.
74 F. SALEEM ET AL.
5.4. AIS offered services
The discussion with the AIS project director regarding the major services the system pro-
vided concluded the following:
.AIS provided a shared location to save confidential documents and information consist-
ing of details about course and degree programs.
.AIS provided the service to generate documents automatically based on the given
query and format.
.Reports were generated for course catalogs, course syllabi, assessment records, and
analysis reports.
.A comprehensive course binder was created to integrate different management
systems with teaching documents, course assessment components, and their
relationships.
.Dynamic operational reports were provided, such as outcome coverage tables and
faculty summary reports.
.The AIS system allowed users to follow the simplest steps to upload different
documents.
.An electronic interface was created to enable the heads of departments and higher
management to observe the work.
.The AIS enabled validation of all uploaded documents, using the articulation matrix of
the course that consists of different attributes such as exposure hours, contact hours,
activity hours for each activity, and finally assessment criteria and marks coverage of
each activity.
.Proper suggestions and guidance were provided at every level using an automated
process that highlighted a list of shortfalls occurring in any activity. The system vali-
dated several processes, using automation processes as an extra service provided
to users.
5.5. Motivation and management of AIS
The project implementation requires several prior steps to be followed for procedural
implementation of the new system. It was not a system that could be suddenly
implemented. An appropriate awareness and motivation campaign can be conducted
to reduce human resistance to using the new system. Initially, it was somewhat difficult,
as people were used to work in their existing scenario with ease and ability.
According to the project director when asked whether people demonstrated some
resistance when implementing the new system
obviously, this is one of the classical problems, not just changing academic resistance and
human resistance, because people have their own ways of doing things that are not necess-
arily bad or wrong. They are just sometimes not in sync with each other.
He further added that we overcame the resistance with time, trying to involve people and
make them part of the changes as much as possible. The strong leadership made the goals
clear and ensured that a lot of cooperation was generated—better than what the director
was expecting.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 75
The ICT project with AIS provided a roadmap where all stakeholders start communicat-
ing and cooperating toward common goals with the help of set standards, procedures,
and rules. It was explored during the discussion whether multiple beneficiaries were
directly involved with the project (i.e. faculty members, administrative staff, higher man-
agement, consultants, and accreditation body). On the other side, students were the indir-
ect stakeholders and one of the major beneficiaries to the completion of this ICT project. In
reply to a question about students’involvement with this system, the director explained
that students were definitely the main beneficiaries and, to some extent, those who will
employ them in the next four to five years. The system is not involved with students’activi-
ties directly, but it was integrated with other systems to extract university data in the gen-
eration of comprehensive reports.
Seminars, trainings, and workshops were conducted for awareness, learning, and
motivation purposes for employees who will use the system. They called in different
experts in this field to educate the people about the importance and benefits they will
achieve through this system. These types of activities further involved the employee,
and meeting with market experts definitely improved their capabilities and knowledge.
Special sessions were conducted for end-users and project team member training pur-
poses. The purpose was to transfer knowledge to the users regarding uploading docu-
ments and viewing and generating reports from the system. Their regular involvement
helped make the project successful and achieve the objectives of the system. The
whole scenario of the AIS system and measurement of this system is presented in
Figure 6.
5.6. Effects of ICT for development in case study
Based on the validation process done using different types of questions (Table 10) with
the head of the project, team members, users, and technical and supporting staff,
Tables 11–17 represent the ICT impact on organizational development based on achieved
business values. Furthermore, for a clearer understanding, we collected rankings for each
dimension and its criteria from the three major stakeholders—(i) project head, (ii) IT
manager, and (iii) program in charge—as presented in Figures 7–13.
5.7. Discussion
The evaluation of an ICT project is based on the list of multidimensional effects that ICT
brings in terms of social, human, and organizational development. In performing these ser-
vices, a combination of input resources involved working, communicating, and coordinat-
ing in the same direction to attain the already defined objectives.
The evaluation of extracted literature was followed by preliminary work conducted with
ICT experts to build a deeper background about the research idea. The research further
confirmed and refined the research instrument through discussions with ICT experts/con-
sultants. This study proposed a framework to measure the ICT project post-evaluation and
analyze the multidimensional benefits achieved though the ICT project. The major com-
ponents of the framework were the discussion of commonly practiced ICT evaluation
factors and benefits, which can be applicable to all types of organizations. The list of com-
monly used benefits items can cover the maximum values generated though an ICT
76 F. SALEEM ET AL.
project. A systematic approach to validating the list of items corresponding to each type of
benefits using case study data was presented in this research.
In order to be useful, the validation process of the proposed framework took enough
time to be applied to the AIS project. Several discussion sessions were held with the
project head, the IT manager, program in charge, project team members, and some
system users. Based on the observations, by linking objectives of the system with services
provided by the system, the benefits (summarized in tables herein) provided the gained
benefits in detail. In addition, the project director, IT manager, and program in charge
showed their support using numerical scores for each benefit item, as depicted in
Figures 7–13.
Using the eight dimensions proposed, this study covered many benefit items related to
different sections and service performance factors. The useful framework can be com-
monly applied in any organization, where the selection of benefits depends on the objec-
tives of the project. Therefore, in this study, some items such as supply chain management,
customer relations, and other cost-related items were not among the benefits identified,
although most of the benefits associated with the project objectives and services were
measured accordingly.
The ICT project did not impact the establishment of a useful link with other organiz-
ations, referring to the possible strategic benefit that can be achieved from ICT projects.
Another item under informational benefits, providing information in a useful format,
Figure 6. Overview of AIS and measurement benefits.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 77
scored low as well. A more useful format can help with data gathering, thereby generating
good knowledge for strategic planning.
The AIS provided a shared location for collected data with fast and easier accessibility,
integrated with several existing management ISs for detailed reporting. The system was
managed with existing IT infrastructure that showed an extra advantage in enhancing
Table 11. Effects of ICT for development—strategic benefits from AIS.
Strategic
benefits Items Achieved benefits
(1) Creating competitive
advantage
•The AIS project has the potential to give a competitive advantage.
The system worked as a tool to help in getting accredited. It
provided the extra advantage and smooth processes to get this
strategy successfully accomplished
•The AIS system makes it possible to achieve goals in a record
period of time as mentioned by accreditation unit visit. They
further added that the development of the tool was one of the
rare examples they found of developing a tool especially for this
purpose
•Improvement in coordination activities and clear separation of
concerns between different stakeholders
•It already gives us extra competitive advantage over other
universities still attempting to get accredited
(2) Aligning ICT strategy with
business strategy
•The system has shown a better example of how ICT resources can
be aligned with the business strategy
•Several strategies behind this project as mentioned above:
accreditation, improve international ranking, faculty productivity
and professional learning
•Improved automated or integrated processes
(3) Establishing useful links with
other organizations
•The system created a positive impact toward creating links with
other organization. Currently, we are providing consultation to
other educational institutions
•We created a benchmark by virtualization of resources for others,
which needs to be maintained per future requirements
•The system and programer teams were invited to other institutes,
providing facilitation sessions to improve their attitudes toward
using that system
•We are at a stage of outsourcing the system soon
(4) Enabling quicker response to
change
•It was little bit difficult in the beginning; there was a resistance to
changing the processes, human, academic and technological
resistance
•Initially, we had little support from employees and technological
problems related to the Oracle platform compatibility issues. We
overcame those issues in a timely manner, but it took time
•Structural improvement in services with involvement of
stakeholders makes the working environment easier
•Currently things are smooth; already we have launched third
versions of AIS based on the feedback and bugs found during
working on it
(5) Improving customer relations •Initially the system was not for commercial purposes; it was an in-
house development for our own purposes. The objectives of the
projects were not related to student registration or any other
business improvement purposes
•We may achieve this benefit while currently trying to outsource
our AIS, including our development team
•For the time being we have no customers outside connected with
this system, so there is no question about customer relationship
management
•As far as faculty members, administrative staff and higher
management concerns, they felt good about having a system like
AIS for the development of the whole faculty as well as for
improving the university’s rank and profile
78 F. SALEEM ET AL.
the business capability in a flexible format. The ICT project helped the organization achieve
the strategic objective of accreditation. It built a competitive advantage by aligning ICT
with business strategies. The system successfully achieved several business values, as cur-
rently the third version has been implemented with multiple updates and enhancement.
The system has continued its performance by facilitating the faculty in preparation of their
next challenge of acquiring another accreditation. AIS has also increased the name of
faculty in the university; AIS project team members provide consultation with other
faculty members using their expertise and experiences to manage the business goals
using ICT resources.
The project director acknowledged the capability of the proposed framework—namely
its implication, generality, and multidimensional ability to measure the effects of ICT on
organizational development based on achieved business values. Using the proposed fra-
mework, the benefit items measured the value generated from the AIS project. The
selected case was applied in a government institute, and the project director added
that, as per the government institute, they were not concerned with the cost benefits.
The framework helped them analyze the non-financial business values generated by the
organization from its ICT project. Depending on the measurement results, the ICT
decision-makers can plan for future developments. The results can help analyze the
Table 12. Effects of ICT for development—informational benefits from AIS.
Informational
benefits Items Achieved benefits
(6) Enabling faster access to
information
•The AIS is an extensive data store that has enabled significant
improvement in achieving informational benefits for the faculty
as well as the university
•It allows the users, heads of departments and higher
management to access information in the fastest way
•Availability of repositories and data clouds, while other
analytical techniques were applied to create some useful
information, enables faster access to the information for users
(7) Enabling easier access to
information
•An online portal that enables faster access at case sites or from
remote locations
•The use of packages and application in the developed system
allows easier access to the information
•Data is shared and accessible with platform-independent
solutions
(8) Improving information for
strategic planning
•Yes, the system was developed to provide new information that
can be used in future strategic planning, incorporation of
learning and feedback assists in strategic planning
•Data validation rules help users avoid any kind of mistake,
which ultimately can generate pure information
(9) Improving information
accuracy
•The project has a positive impact in improving the accuracy of
information
•Data validation rules were applied for accurate information and
reporting purposes
•The AIS is a password protected system, where updating of
information required proper approval from users and heads of
departments
(10) Providing information in
more useable formats
•The project itself offers different types of formats and templates
to be filled for submission of any documents
•The system also provides automation in submission, where
validation checks can cancel the requests if not in proper format
•This is another benefit of ICT impacting our organizational
values to improve data collection
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 79
Table 13. Effects of ICT for development—transactional benefits from AIS.
Transactional
benefits Items Achieved benefits
(11) Savings in supply chain
management
•The purpose of AIS was not exactly to manage the supply chain
of resources and items
•As far as information is concerned, information flows
throughout the entire chain and is managed with the help of
the AIS project
(12) Reducing operating costs •AIS provides simple and limited steps to perform any task using
the system. It reduces a sufficient amount of operational costs
•It is efficient in usability, flexibility, scalability, and
interoperability
(13) Reducing communication
costs
•The use of online communication systems is the real objective
of AIS
•It works under a fully networked environment with data server
and web server availability
•Therefore, it reduces communication cost through many online
channels of communication without extra efforts
(14) Avoiding the need to
increase the workforce
•The AIS project avoids increasing the workforce for different
tasks. It provides a better way of managing, operating and
communication in performing different tasks that reduce the
need to hire extra workforce
(15) Increasing return on
financial assets
•Although AIS project implementation and upgrade of different
resources cost us around 1 million SAR, due to government
funding, we are not worried about its financial return
•But it has provided us several non-financial benefits, as
questioned during the validation phase. It is more important to
us
(16) Enhancing employee
productivity
•The system helped to improve employee’s productivity in order
to extend their learning and working capabilities as well as
working on advanced IT application enhance their professional
skills
Table 14. Effects of ICT for development—IT infrastructure benefits from AIS.
IT infrastructure
benefits Items Achieved benefits
(17) Improving business
integration
•AIS provided integration with all online supporting applications
such as Blackboard (learning management system), ODUS
(student registration system), and the faculty schedule and
management system
•It improved and maintained the collaboration between business
processes and all other activities
•It has a positive impact on integrating business by automating
extraction of data from all management systems previously
working at the location
(18) Improving business
flexibility
•AIS offers several online services as discussed above to facilitate
all stakeholders
•This ICT benefits have been achieved successfully by improving
business process flexibility
•Standards processes and standards have the capabilities of
reuse, flexibility, and scalability
(19) Improving
organizational
standardization
•The AIS has managed the implementation with already installed
IT infrastructure
•It has further improved organizational standards by providing
different benefits and achievements in regard to saving their
cost and time for different tasks
•Standard template and format implementation to enhance the
semester reports and assessment reports
80 F. SALEEM ET AL.
weaknesses in approaching some benefits as well as strengthen upcoming investments in
ICT projects to further improve the impact of ICT resources on organizational
development.
Table 15. Effects of ICT for development—transformational benefits from AIS.
Transformational
benefits Items Achieved benefits
(20) An improved skill level
for employees
•Implementing new AIS system definitely improved the skills
of our employees. This ICT has great impact on employee’s
productivity by using new interfaces for continuous learning
•During the implementation phase, meeting with outside
consultants, workshops, and seminars organized by the
international accreditation body gave our employees a
chance to improve their skills
(21) Developing new business
plans
•AIS encouraged us to apply for accreditation from another
local body, which is already in process and will increase the
credibility and ranking of our faculty
(22) Expanding organizational
capabilities
•Another benefit achieved by implementing this ICT project is
enhancement of organizational capability. Other different
educational institutions are calling us to consult on their
programs and help in building such a system
•Positively extended the capability of the organization as a
whole as well as for working individuals
(23) Improving business
models
•AIS actually helped to improve the existing business model
related to student registration and faculty management
processes
(24) Improving organizational
structure/processes
•Its report formation and analytical graphs have further
improvize the new business models related to archiving and
advising processes
•The process and structure of student’advising, course binders
(summary of courses semester wise), and electronic archiving
of students assessment copies was remarkably improved
through AIS
Table 16. Effects of ICT for development—operational benefits from AIS.
Operational
benefits Items Achieved benefits
(25) Cost reduction •As far as government organization, this factor was not included in the
investigation. They do not have any kind of financial report which can
guide the cost reduction or not
(26) Cycle time reduction •From the time management point of view, it resolved several issues
and provided the easiest way to perform tasks for documentation, end
of semester reports, archiving and others
(27) Productivity
improvement
•At university students are the major production, so ultimately the
accreditation and other benefits are associated with student credibility
•Faculty development is another kind of production an educational
institution cares about, which has been improved as discussed above
(28) Quality
improvement
•AIS is not completely associated with student’s quality, but it improved
the quality of data and information
(29) Customer service
improvement
•The system was not designed for an outsider customer’s perspective
•It was in-house production to facilitate in-house faculty and
administrative staff. It improved the service by providing automation in
the tasks; otherwise they were dependent on clerical and supporting
staff
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 81
6. Conclusion
Previous research investigated ICT investment evaluation based on the objectives of an ICT
project and their associated beneficial factors (Gregor et al., 2006; Maçada et al., 2012;
Shang & Seddon, 2002). The research in this field needs to be tested empirically; therefore,
the researcher investigated the common practice for evaluating ICT resources’impact on
organizational development based on achieved business values. A proper evaluation
Table 17. Effects of ICT for development—managerial benefits from AIS.
Managerial
benefits Items Achieved benefits
(30) Better resource
management
•ICT project has a good effect on a variety of managerial aspects. In
the same way, AIS resolves many issues with resources allocation
•The team members were allocated for different tasks such as direct
and indirect assessment, the archiving process, survey procedures,
and others
•AIS also managed already-implemented projects at the location,
and it has managed other ICT resources efficiently
(31) Improved decision-
making and planning
•AIS significantly enhanced the decision-making and planning
procedures. The reports generated from AIS illustrate suggested
decisions and plans for future work
•The assessment records maintained the grading criteria, in
particular course learning objectives, which can provide analysis
on decision-making and planning for next semester. This
procedure was very complex before and has been simplified with
the help of AIS
(32) Performance
improvement
•The AIS provided the benefits of improving managerial skill by
making decisions on time. It has helped in improving the
performance of different tasks by making decisions on time
(33) Improved overall
operational efficiency
•The overall efficiency has remarkably improved. Every worker
knows his task as assigned by his manager
•The system automation, defined responsibilities, and teaching and
learning activities improved through AIS
(34) Improved overall
effectiveness of decisions
•ICT benefits in improving overall effectiveness of decisions as
managed though AIS
•The AIS helped in making the accreditation process very fast and
has been successfully achieved
•The next target has already been set within the same architecture
of the system, as we are in the process of another local
accreditation process
Figure 7. Scores of strategic benefits from AIS.
82 F. SALEEM ET AL.
process can help ICT decision-makers increase the project success rate in order to ensure a
more positive impact on organizational development. Therefore, this research investigates
the extent to which organizations initiate ICT projects and measure their benefits. The list
Figure 10. Scores of IT infrastructure benefits from AIS.
Figure 8. Scores of informational benefits from AIS.
Figure 9. Scores of transactional benefits from AIS.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 83
Figure 11. Scores of transformational benefits from AIS.
Figure 13. Scores of managerial benefits from AIS.
Figure 12. Scores of operational benefits from AIS.
84 F. SALEEM ET AL.
of benefits achieved can provide direction for analysis and help plan the decision-making
process for future investment. Therefore, the use of a framework for measuring ICT effects
on business values, using large empirical data sets collected from different types of
business organization as conducted in this study, is much-needed research. More case
studies to measure multidimensional benefits associated with ICT business value can
provide better results in the future.
Future research can address expanding the viewpoint by having more case studies
while meeting with different ICT experts practicing in other countries. This can explore
more benefit dimensions and measurement items related with ICT’s effect on organiz-
ations. The framework can be further enhanced by improving the process of measuring
each dimension and the items used in this study. More work on the method of measuring
each item through a quantitative or qualitative approach can be another approach for
improving the model. Furthermore, the comparison of framework implementation on
different sectors or countries can further improve the capability of the framework.
Another idea for future research is the same sector in different countries to examine
the system and implementation of the framework.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Farrukh Saleem received his PhD degree from University Teknology Malaysia in Computer Science.
He is currently working as a Lecturer, Information Systems Department, Faculty of Computing and
Information Technology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. His research areas
include ICT evaluation, ICT development, ICT business alignment, data mining, ERP, and CRM. He
has worked as a researcher in King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. He has overall 10 years of experi-
ence in education field, mainly in research, teaching, and different management work.
Naomie Salim is a Professor of Information System at Faculty of Computing at Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia. She has obtained her PhD in Computational Informatics from University of Sheffield. She
has been heading University Global Plan Blue Ocean Task Force on Postgraduate Education and
Management Transformation. She has performed her duties as Deputy Dean of Research and Post
Graduate Studies from 2005 to 2011, and also worked as a head of Information Systems Department,
FSKSM, UTM from 2004 to 2005.
Abdulrahman H. Altalhi is an Associate Professor of Information Technology at the Faculty of Com-
puting and Information Technology at King Abdulaziz University. He has obtained his PhD in Engin-
eering and Applied Sciences (Computer Science) from the University of New Orleans on May 2004.
He served as the chairman of the IT department for two years (2007–2008), the Vice Dean of the
College for five years (2008–2014). Currently, he is serving as the dean of the Faculty of Computing
and Information Technology. His research interest includes wireless networks, software engineering,
and computing education.
Zahid Ullah is a Lecturer at Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Computing and Infor-
mation Technology (FCIT), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He got his Master in Com-
puter Science from University of Peshawar, Pakistan. His research interests are business-IT alignment,
IT business values, customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise resource planning
(ERP). He has worked as a researcher in King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for five years
and published many paper in his research areas.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FOR DEVELOPMENT 85
Abdullah Saad AL-Malaise AL-Ghamdi received his PhD from George Washington University of USA.
He is an Associate Professor of IS and CS, Information Systems Department, Faculty of Computing
and Information Technology, King Abdulaziz University. He has worked as a Chairman of IS
Department. Currently he is the Vice Dean for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research. He has
overall 20 years of experience in education field, mainly in teaching and curriculum building of
several courses.
Zahid Mahmood Khan is a Lecturer at Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Computing and
Information Technology (FCIT), King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He got his Master in
Computer Science from Karachi University, Pakistan. His research interests are big data and enter-
prise architecture. He has almost 15 years of experience working in higher education.
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