Saudi Cultural Missions Theses & Dissertations
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Item Restricted Does Information Technology Investment Impact a Firm Financial Performance? The Value of Appropriation Pathway(University of Colorado Denver, 2024) Alharbi, Abdulaziz; Gregg, DawnThe IT productivity paradox has long been a topic of considerable interest to information systems scholars. This is because, despite decades of research, the nature of the value appropriation pathway of IT investments remains elusive. In this dissertation, we seek to clarify the nature of the relationship between IT investments and firm performance using two distinct but related analytical approaches. In our first study, we draw upon the contingency model of the resource-based view of the firm to suggest that the nature of the relationship between IT investments and the firm’s financial performance depends upon the co-investment in complementary and non-complementary resources. We identified digital vulnerability as one of the key drawbacks of IT investments. Therefore, we predict that resources such as IT security, which lessen the digital vulnerability that businesses experience as a result of their technological investment, share a complementary relationship with IT investments and, as a result, positively moderate the relationship between IT investments and a firm’s financial performance. Alternatively, resources such as cloud computing, which increase the digital vulnerability that businesses experience as a result of their technological investment, share a non-complementary relationship with IT investments and, as a result, negatively moderate the relationship between IT investments and a firm’s financial performance. Overall, we observe that the performance implications of IT investments are significantly contingent upon the presence or absence of complementary and non-complementary resources. In the second paper, we focus on evaluating the performance implications of cloud computing, a type of IT investment that has been the subject of considerable scholarly and practical attention. Drawing upon the theory of dynamic capabilities, we theorize that because cloud computing is not owned or managed by the firms who subscribe to its services, it can best be categorized as an organizational capability instead of a tangible resource. According to dynamic capabilities, capabilities influence performance by increasing the efficiency of a firm’s resource management activities. Therefore, we predict that the relationship between cloud computing and a firm’s financial performance does not occur directly. Instead, it is fully mediated by increases in a firm’s resource management activities. To further establish the performance pathway of cloud computing, we identify three important contingency factors of the relationship between cloud computing and a firm’s financial performance, cloud computing service models, vertical integration, and firm size. Overall, we find that improvements in a company's resource management efficiency are what drive the performance implications of cloud computing and that the nature of the indirect relationship between cloud computing and a firm’s financial performance depends on important organizational and technological contingency factors. We observe broad support for each of our predictions across each study. Overall, our findings help to reconcile the IT productivity paradox by identifying under what circumstances (study 1) and through what pathway (study 2) IT investments impact a firm’s financial performance5 0Item Restricted Adaptive Resilience of Intelligent Distributed Applications in the Edge-Cloud Environment(Cardiff University, 2024-04) Almurshed, Osama; Rana, OmerThis thesis navigates the complexities of Internet of Things (IoT) application placement in hybrid fog-cloud environments to improve Quality of Service (QoS) in IoT applications. It investigates the optimal distribution of a Service Function Chain (SFC), the building blocks of an IoT application, across the fog-cloud infrastructure, taking into account the intricate nature of IoT and fog-cloud environments. The primary objectives are to define a platform architecture capable of operating IoT applications efficiently and to model the placement problem comprehensively. These objectives involve detailing the infrastructure's current state, execution requirements, and deployment goals to enable adaptive system management. The research proposes optimal placement methods for IoT applications, aiming to reduce execution time, enhance dependability, and minimise operation costs. It introduces an approach to effectively manage trade-offs through the measurement and analysis of QoS metrics and requires the implementation of specialised scheduling and placement strategies. These strategies employ concurrency to accelerate the planning process and reduce latency, underscoring the need for an algorithm that best corresponds to the specific requirements of the IoT application domain. The study's methodology begins with a comprehensive literature review in the area of IoT application deployment in hybrid fog-cloud environments. The insights gained inform the development of novel solutions that address the identified limitations, ensuring the proposal of robust and efficient solutions.21 0Item Restricted Analysing the Feasibility of Employing Cloud Computing Technology in Construction Industry & Providing A Guideline for Successful Implementation Within the Context of Birmingham, UK(Saudi Digital Library, 2023) Asiri, Khalid; Ugwude, UcheIt is no secret that the construction sector is considered one of the most important sectors around the world and a fundamental driver of countries' economies. Unfortunately, the sector is suffering globally in general and in the United Kingdom in particular as a result of several factors. One of the most important of these factors is the very significant delay compared to other sectors in adopting and using various advanced technologies and innovations, which many practitioners and experts see as the most important solutions to address many of the current negatives and advance the sector to high and unprecedented levels of efficiency and performance. Cloud computing technology is considered one of those important and indispensable technologies towards the transition to the digital world, as it is considered a major enabler for most modern building technologies. The study intends to prove or disprove the feasibility and importance of cloud computing for the construction industry in the United Kingdom, especially in the city of Birmingham, considering understanding and the analysis of all promoters and obstacles to achieving this, whether internal or from the surrounding external environment. Accordingly, a firm methodology can be proposed through which companies can overcome all difficulties throughout the journey of adopting and utilising cloud computing successfully.12 0