Modern organizations offer services through multiple channels, such as branches, ATMs, telephones, and Internet sites, and are supported by multifunctional software architectures. Different functional modules share data, which are typically stored in multiple local databases. Functional modules are usually not integrated across channels, as channels are implemented at different times within independent software projects and are subject to varying requirements of availability and performance. This lack of channel and functional integration raises data quality problems that can impact the quality of the products and services of an organization. In particular, in complex systems in which data are managed in multiple databases, timeliness is critical. This paper focuses on time-related factors of data quality and provides a model that can help companies to evaluate data currency, accuracy, and completeness in software architectures with different degrees of integration across channels and functionalities. The model is validated through simulation based on empirical data on financial information systems. Results indicate how architectural choices on the degree of data integration have a varying impact on currency, accuracy, and completeness depending on the type of financial institution and on customer profiles.
This paper investigates the impact of IT investments and worker composition on the productivity of life insurance companies. The majority of previous IT productivity studies follow a technological imperative, hypothesizing a direct relationship between higher IT investments and increased productivity. This paper shifts the focus toward the organizational imperative, which views returns on IT investments as a result of the alignment between technology and other critical management choices. Specifically, the study focuses on the alignment between IT investments and worker composition, measured in terms of relative numbers of clerical, managerial, and professional positions to the total number of employees. Hypotheses are tested using a data set compiled over a 10-year period for 52 life insurance companies. With respect to prior research, the study is novel in its adoption of a model of productivity that accounts for both separate and combined effects of IT investments and worker composition. Premium income per employee and total operating expense to premium income are used as indicators of productivity. Study findings show that increases in IT expenses are associated with productivity benefits when accompanied by changes in worker composition. Life insurance companies that have decreased their proportion of clericals and professionals while at the same time investing in IT have experienced productivity improvements. On the other hand, companies decreasing their proportion of managers while investing in IT are found to have reduced productivity.