Title: Innovating IS management by enhancing knowledge intensive service activities (KISA): the study of two cases in the banking sector

Authors: Paolo Depaoli, Alessandro D'Atri, Marco De Marco

Addresses: Universita degli Studi di Urbino, Suan, Localita Crocicchie, Campus Scientifico, 61029 Urbino (PU), Italy. ' Libera Universita Internazionale degli Studi Sociali (LUISS), Via Alberoni n. 7, 00198 Rome, Italy. ' Universita Cattolica, Largo Gemelli n. 1, 20125 Milan, Italy

Abstract: Knowledge intensive service activities (KISA) are present in all sectors and favour innovation because the exchanges and the interactions of internal or external experts and players disseminate knowledge and thus build the basis for innovation ability. |Soft| factors and KISA related to the development of organisation and human resources have to be carefully dealt with when developing IS-ICT companies. These issues are explored by presenting two cases taken from the IS banking sector. One describes how a deep change in the performance appraisal of employees helped a supplier of outsourced ICT services develop its outsourcing philosophy and market. The other case concerns the design and implementation of the Competence Centre of the Finance Division of a large Italian software company. The discussion shows how IS-ICT suppliers, sensitive to the |soft| aspects in their businesses, who choose |loosely structured| and |relation intensive| organisational solutions, seem to serve their clients more effectively.

Keywords: knowledge intensiveness; service activities; KISA; information services; outsourcing; competence; e-business; electronic business; organisational learning; participatory design; innovation; banks; banking; exchanges; interactions; internal experts; external experts; knowledge dissemination; ICT; information technology; communications technology; performance appraisal; employees; software industry; Italy; soft aspects; loose structures; relation intensive; organisational solutions; clients; human resource development; HRD; human resource management; HRM; networks; virtual organisations; web based organisations; online organisations; networking; world wide web; internet.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNVO.2011.040003

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 2011 Vol.8 No.3/4, pp.323 - 337

Published online: 21 Feb 2015 *

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