Keynote Speeches

	Robert Zmud is Professor, Michael F. Price Chair in MIS and George Lynn Cross Research Professor in the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma. He is a recipient of the AIS LEO Award and has been recognized as a fellow of DSI, of AIS and of INFORMS Information Systems Society. His teaching and research interests focus on the business value of information technology, on technology adoption and use, and on the management of information technology. He has and continues to serve in editorial roles at major scholarly journals in the information system and management areas, has served numerous leadership roles in professional societies and conferences, and has consulted for a number of corporations and government agencies. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Arizona, a M.S. in Management from MIT, and a Bachelors of Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia.
Title: The Business Value of IT Infrastructure in Enabling e-Business Capabilities Technologies
Abstract
As IT infrastructure serves as the core foundation for e-business, IT infrastructure investments represent critical business decisions. However, it is often difficult to justify significant IT infrastructure investments given their ambiguous and typically indirect relationships with firm performance measures. We begin by offering a theoretical conceptualization for understanding the value-adding role of IT infrastructure that portrays (1) IT infrastructure not as generic technology assets and capabilities but rather as instrumentally-configured operating environments and (2) specific business capabilities as mediating the ‘operating environment → organization performance’ relationship. Next, we synthesize extant research examining the value-adding role of IT infrastructure across three distinct IT-related activity domains: value innovation, solutions delivery and solutions execution. Then, we discuss the implications of our ideas for scholars and practitioners interested in better understanding the value-adding role of IT infrastructure within the e-business context.
	George F. Farris is Professor of Management and Director of the Technology Management Research Center at Rutgers University. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Engineering Manage¬ment, a Senior Member of the IEEE, and former Division Chair of the Technology and Innovation Management Division of the Academy of Management. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society. He was cited “for seminal contributions to the understanding of organizations and personnel practices in the furtherance of technological innovation and the management of technology.” His scholarly publications have appeared in journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology and IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, and his work has been cited several times in the Wall Street Journal. He received his Ph. D. at the University of Michigan and his Bachelor's at Yale University.
Title: Engineering Excellence
Abstract
When does an engineer or scientist do his or her best work? What characterizes a “productive working climate” for an engineer or scientist working in an organization? Is there anything a new person can do to ensure that he can work in a productive climate? What can he do if he is working in an unproductive climate? How does technical performance relate to age? Who are more innovative—young engineers and scientists, those in middle age, or older engineers and scientists? Research involving more than 5,000 engineers and scientists working in many organizations suggests answers to these questions. Today’s talk will describe findings from this research and their implications for managers, scientists and engineers wishing to achieve engineering excellence.

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