Analysis of Communication Sector in Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example

The role of information systems (IS) in achieving competitive advantage: a study case of Communication Sector in Saudi Arabia Table of Contents Abstract 3 1. Background 3 2. Research questions 5 3. Literature Review 6 4. Research Methodology 7 4.1 Literature Review 8 4.2 Empirical research – Survey 9 5. Detailed project plan 10 References 11 Appendix 12 Abstract One of the key priorities of managers internationally is to ensure that they will be able to develop the necessary mechanisms for the increase of their firms’ competitiveness in the international community. In this case, the increase of competitiveness is related with the improvement of the firm’s position in the global market but also with the ability of the firm to survive under severe pressures – like in the case of current financial crisis. Information systems are commonly used as a tool for the achievement of the above targets (Yolles, 2009, p.81); current study focuses on the potential role of information systems in achieving competitive advantage; reference is made to the communication sector of Saudi Arabia. The research conducted for this study will have two forms: qualitative and quantitative – including the review of the relevant literature but also a survey; in this way, it is expected that the findings will reflect – as possible – the actual value of IT in increasing a country’s competitiveness. The paper aims to analyze the value of information systems as a competitive advantage based on the study of Blake Ives and Gerard Learmonth published in 1984 in the Journal Communications of the ACM. The study has the title ‘The information system as a competitive weapon’ and highlights the most important elements of competitiveness derived from appropriately customized information systems. 1. Background The continuous increase of competition in all industrial sectors has led to the differentiation of strategic plans related with the development of organizational performance; indeed, managers in most organizations have realized the need for continuous update of organizational policies in order to respond to the changing customer preferences and the market trends. Information systems is an important element of success in all organizations worldwide; in fact, information systems have been found to play a crucial role in the development of activities in the context of both the private and the public sector. The main aspects of this role have been identified in the literature; in accordance with Service et al. (1999) information systems can effectively support the organizational performance by ‘increasing the ability to compete, and maintaining sustainable competitive advantage’ (Service et al., 1999, p.51). From another point of view, Rocheleau et al. (2002) noted that the development of information systems in modern organizations is differentiated in accordance with the organizational needs and structure (Stair et al. 2009, p.14); the resources available for the realization of the relevant projects are also expected to be taken into consideration when having to design and establish a specific information technology system (Shah et al., 2009, p.144). In this context, it is assumed that differences are likely to appear between the information systems used in the private sector and those involved in activities of the public sector. Regarding this issue, Rocheleau et al. (2002) state that ‘there are important differences between public and private information systems; competition forces businesses to use information technology (IT) as a weapon to gain competitive advantage’ (Rocheleau et al., 2002, p.379); on the other hand, the empirical research developed by Rocheleau et al. (2002) led to the conclusion that organizations in the public sector are likely to appreciate the value of IT systems as much as the private organizations do (Lytras et al., 2009, p.31); however, the latter have been found to be willing to invest significant amount of money on the training of the staff on the IT systems. The examination of the role of information systems in the development of firms operating in the Communication sector of Saudi Arabia has led to the conclusion that the investments of these firms on Information systems is extremely high; however, issues like the training of employees on these systems should be addressed in order for the performance of information systems to reach a high level. In any case, the use of information systems in the communications sector of Saudi Arabia is satisfactory – taken into consideration the structure of this sector but also the needs of the public in regard to the specific sector. At the next level, it could be noted that the further development of information systems in Saudi Arabia’s communication sector could offer to the specific country a competitive advantage, as proved through the research developed on the specific issue – referring to the literature review and the empirical research conducted in order to identify the various aspects of this study’s main issue. 2. Research questions Current study focus on the examination of the following issues: a) which is the role of information systems in the public sector? b) Can information systems offer a competitive advantage to an organization operating modern market? Which would be the form/ characteristics of this advantage? c) Which is the current role of information systems in Saudi Arabia’s communication sector? and d) would the update of information systems in firms operating in the Communication sector of Saudi Arabia increase these firms’ competitiveness? Which would be the features of this achievement? 3. Literature Review In many cases, the needs of the organization require that the Information Systems used in its various activities have specific qualities/ potentials. An indicative example is the case of the expert systems, which have been developed in order to support specific organizational operations; the examination of the characteristics and the benefits of the expert systems led to the assumption that these systems can ‘yield sustainable competitive advantage through fostering organizational knowledge development and utilization’ (Lado et al., 1998, 489). The value of the expert systems and their potential role in the achievement of competitive advantage is also highlighted in the study of Killingsworth (2001) who noted that ‘Innovative expert systems that enhance and speed up the decision-making process are one avenue for improving an organization’s competitive position’ (Killingsworth, 2001, p.81); through the above study it is made clear that information systems –even if they are of advanced technology – can lead to a competitive advantage only if other elements of the internal/ external organizational environment are simultaneously supported. Human resources (HR) is an organizational sector that should be closely monitored and appropriately administered in order to avoid potential failures when attempting to update the existing information systems (Lin et al., 2008, p.853). It should be noted that the identification of the role of the information systems as a competitive advantage requires the reference to the issue of competitiveness. Competitive intelligence is an indicative aspect of competitiveness (Bexon et al., 2002, p.187). In accordance with Yolles (2009) ‘current understanding of competitive advantage arises from the strategic management paradigm’ (Yolles, 2009, p. 93); however, Yolles (2009) refers to the business environment. In business, the term competitive advantage can be considered as related with specific elements and facts, including the level of confidence of the customers to the services provided by a specific organization, the accessibility of a firm’s services, the quality of the services/ products provided to the customers, the safety regarding the personal details of customers and so on. 4. Research Methodology Two different research methods are going to be employed in this study: the literature review (qualitative research) and the survey (quantitative research); the combination of these methods has been considered as necessary for the following reasons: a) the literature available for the issue under discussion is rather limited; for this reason, additional material has to be used in the development of the study; this material will be gathered through the survey, b) doubts could possibly appear regarding the validity of the findings of the empirical research; employees in SAB Holding and Sawabeh Information Services Co (SISCOM), two of the most important firms in the Saudi Arabia Communication Sector will be asked to participate in the survey; it could be argued that the views of the employees on the issues set through the questionnaire will not be objective; however, the comparative analysis of these findings with the views of the literature will ensure that these views will reflect the common sense on the issue under discussion – the responses to the questions of the survey will be critically evaluated (Shamoo et al., 2009, p.37); their use in the study will be depended on the level of their credibility – as identified by using the literature views in the context described above, c) it is possible that the participants will not reply to specific question(s); the exclusive use of the survey as a research method – avoiding refer to the literature – could lead to the limitation of the study’s findings; by combining the literature review and the empirical research the chances for failures in the examination and the analysis of the study’s issues are minimized (Blessing et al., 2009, 12). The framework of each research method used in this study is analyzed in the sections that follow. 4.1 Literature Review The following criteria have been set regarding the literature employed in current study: a) studies published recently, i.e. from 2006 onwards, will be preferred; however, when there are no recent resources available for an issue that is important in the context of this study, then older resources can be used; the non-existence of recent studies on this issues need to be checked thoroughly in advance, b) studies that are closely related with the study’s issues will be preferred; however, studies that can be valuable as a comparative tool – offering material that can be valuable in understanding one or more issues examined in this study – could be used even if they do not refer directly to the study’s issues, c) the resources used in the literature review section need to be academic; in other words, only academic journals and books published by organizations that focus on scientific research will be used; online sources will be limited; the sources of this type will be used only in order to retrieve demographic data or statistics that are necessary in the development of the study. 4.2 Empirical research – Survey Survey has been chosen as a research tool for gathering empirical data on the issue under discussion. The survey will be conducted through a questionnaire –which is divided in two parts: in the first part of the questionnaire the participants are asked to give their personal details (name, surname, age, educational background, position in the organization, years of experience); these details will be kept safe – no-one, apart from the researcher and the participant himself, will have access to these pieces of information. The second part of the questionnaire includes 10 questions each of which is followed by a series of answers – participants are asked to state their view on the issues under discussion. The questionnaire will be distributed online – through the e-mail – and will be gathered in the same way. There will be no specific criteria in choosing the participants apart from their work in the communication sector of Saudi Arabia. About 120 questionnaires will be e-mailed; the percentage of the participants is estimated to reach a level of 35-40% (based on the level of response to similar studies). The findings of the questionnaire will be critically analyzed using the views of the literature; in other words, a critical discussion will be developed on the findings of the survey – no specific statistical methods of analysis will be used; however, the results will be graphically represented using the available tools of the Microsoft Word. 5. Detailed project plan Current study is going to be developed gradually; its phases can be identified in the Gantt chart below. It is noted that the time set for the completion of its phase is strict; however, a short extension may be required in case of difficulties in accessing the material or delivering/ receiving the questionnaire employed in the survey conducted for this study. The possible need for additional time – in case of delays, as explained above – has been taken into consideration when developing this project’s Gantt chart – as presented below. Weeks/ Tasks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Design of research Contact with participants Literature Review Gathering of questionnaire/ analysis of findings Critical discussion on literature and empirical research Conclusion/ Suggestions Check of the paper before the submission References Ali, A., 2009. Business and management environment in Saudi Arabia: challenges and opportunities for multinational corporations. Taylor & Francis Bexon, M., Stephens, D., 2002. Competitive intelligence - a career opportunity for the information professional in industry. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Vol. 34, No. 4, 187-196 Blake Ives and Gerard Learmonth, 1984. ‘The information system as a competitive weapon’. Volume 27, Issue 12 (December 1984), pp. 1193 - 1201 Blessing, L., Chakrabarti, A., 2009. DRM, a Design Research Methodology. Springer Killingsworth, B., Hayden, M., Schellenberger, R., 2001. A network expert system management system for multiple domains. Journal of Information Science, Vol. 27, No. 2, 81-92 Lado, A., Zhang, M. 1998. Expert Systems, Knowledge Development and Utilization, and Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Resource-Based Model. Journal of Management, Vol. 24, No. 4, 489-509 Lin, H., Shih, C., 2008. How Executive SHRM System Links to Firm Performance: The Perspectives of Upper Echelon and Competitive Dynamics. Journal of Management, Vol. 34, No. 5, 853-881 Lytras, M., Ordonez, P., 2009. Emerging Topics and Technologies in Information Systems. Idea Group Inc (IGI) Rocheleau, B., Wu, L. 2002. Public Versus Private Information Systems - Do they Differ in Important Ways? A Review and Empirical Test. The American Review of Public Administration, Vol. 32, No. 4, 379-397 Service, R., Maddux, H., 1999. Building competitive advantage through information systems: the organizational information quotient. Journal of Information Science, Vol. 25, No. 1, 51-65 Shah, M., Clarke, S., 2009. E-Banking Management: Issues, Solutions, and Strategies. Idea Group Inc (IGI) Shamoo, A., Resnik, D., 2009. Responsible Conduct of Research. Oxford University Press Stair, R., Reynolds, G., 2009. Principles of Information Systems. Cengage Learning World Bank. 2009. Information and Communications for Development 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact. World Bank Publications Xu, J., Quaddus, M., 2009. E-Business in the 21st Century: Realities, Challenges and Outlook. World Scientific Yolles, M., 2009. Competitive advantage and its conceptual development - An exploration. Business Information Review, Vol. 26, No. 2, 93-111 Appendix Ethical Issues The following issues need to be taken into consideration so that the study to be ethical – in accordance with the ethics held in the academic research: 1. Participants will be contacted via their professional e-mail – there will be no disturbance in the workplace 2. The personal details of the participants will be kept safe – no one will have access to these details apart from the researcher. Every participant can have access to his/ her questionnaire whenever he/she wishes. 3. Necessary explanations will be given to the participants regarding the safety of their details and their right to avoid to a specific question – in case they don’t want to state their view on the issue discussed. 4. The material taken from the study of third persons – referring to the literature review – will be appropriately referenced; the piece of text taken from the work of other author will be easy to be identified. 5. The resources used will be academic; this means that websites or articles the content of which cannot be verified as of its credibility will be avoided in the specific study. Read More