Ahmad Rabaai | American University of Kuwait (original) (raw)

Papers by Ahmad Rabaai

This paper presents a novel study that aims to contribute to understanding the phenomenon of Ente... more This paper presents a novel study that aims to contribute to understanding the phenomenon of
Enterprise Systems (ES) evaluation in Australasian universities. The proposed study addresses known
limitations of arguably the most significant dependent variable in the Information System (IS) field -
IS Success or IS-Impact. This study adopts the IS-Impact measurement model, reported by Gable et
al. (2008), as the primary commencing theory-base and applies research extension strategy described
by Berthon et al. (2002); extending both theory and the context. This study employs a longitudinal,
multi-method research design, with two interrelated phases – exploratory and confirmatory. The
exploratory phase aims to investigate the applicability and sufficiency of the IS-Impact dimensions
and measures in the new context. The confirmatory phase will gather quantitative data to statistically
validate IS-Impact model as a formative index.

The overall research aims to develop a standardised instrument to measure the impacts resulting f... more The overall research aims to develop a standardised instrument to measure the impacts resulting from contemporary Information Systems (IS). The research adopts the IS-Impact measurement model, introduced by Gable et al, (2008), as its theoretical foundation, and applies the extension strategy described by Berthon et al. (2002); extending both theory and the context, where the new context is the Human Resource (HR) system. The research will be conducted in two phases, the exploratory phase and the specification phase. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of the exploratory phase. 134 respondents from a major Australian University were involved in this phase. The findings have supported most of the existing IS-Impact model's credibility. However, some textual data may suggest new measures for the IS-Impact model, while the low response rate or the averting of some may suggest the elimination of some measures from the model.

Traditional computer programming is typically taught in class room using hypothetical examples th... more Traditional computer programming is typically taught in class room using hypothetical examples that does not go beyond the keyboard and the monitor of the machine. While this approach may be useful to some extent, it certainly does not provide the students a real world experience with real systems that demand serious responsibility, hardware intimacy, coding with physical consequences and high-impact feedback. In this paper, we are presenting the efforts of the Computer Science and Information Systems (CSIS) department at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) to adopt this philosophy in establishing a new robotics course that involves real world robotic and physical computing programming. The structure of the course, the design of the lab experiments and the hardware and software are discussed. Strategies and objectives throughout the course development process are clearly defined to maximize the effectiveness of the new learning experience and environment. This work is hoped to be a reliable example for other CSIS departments to follow and implement.

While organizations strive to leverage the vast information generated daily from social media pla... more While organizations strive to leverage the vast information generated daily from social media platforms
and both decision makers and consultants are keen to identify and exploit this information’s value, there
has been little research into social media in the business context. Social media are diverse, varying in
scope and functionality, this diversity entailing a complex of attributes and characteristics, resulting in
confusion for both researchers and organizations.
Taxonomies are important precursors in emerging fields and are foundational for rigorous theory
building. Though aspects of social media have been studied from various discipline perspectives, this
work has been largely descriptive. Thus, while the need for a rigorous taxonomy of social media is
strong, previous efforts to classify social media suffer limitations – e.g. lack of a systematic taxonomic
method, overreliance on intuition, disregard for the users’ perspective, and inadequate consideration of
purpose.
Thus, this study was mainly initiated by the overarching question “How can social media in the business
context be usefully classified?” In order to address this gap, the current paper proposes a systematic
method for developing a taxonomy appropriate to study social media in organizations context, combining
Nickerson et al,’s (2012) IS taxonomy building guidelines and a Repertory grid (RepGrid) approach.

Accreditation of educational programs is an increasingly important topic. However, educational pr... more Accreditation of educational programs is an increasingly important topic. However, educational program accreditation, in general, and ABET accreditation, in particular, could be daunting process which requires considerable time, effort and resources. This paper describes the implementation, use, and applicability of an effective, efficient and sustainable assessment method used by the Computer Science and Information Systems (CSIS) department at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) known as Course Benchmarking Technique (CBT). Other educational institutions seeking ABET program accreditation could benefit from utilizing this assessment method. .

Jordan is adopting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in both its public and private sect... more Jordan is adopting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in both its public
and private sectors. Jordan's emerging private sector has historically close ties to
the public sector; though a global market orientation requires a shift in its
organisational culture. ERPs however embed business processes which do not
necessarily fit with traditional cultural practices, and implementation success is not
assured. This study looks at the perceptions of both public and private sector ERP
implementations in Jordan and assesses these on various measures of success.
There were few differences between public and private sectors, but the benefits
actually realized in Jordanian ERPs fell short of claims made for the technology in
other cultures.

While IS function has gained widespread attention for over two decades, there is little consensus... more While IS function has gained widespread attention for over two decades, there is little consensus
among information systems (IS) researchers and practitioners on how best to evaluate IS function‟s
support performance. This paper reports on preliminary findings of a larger research effort proceeds
from a central interest in the importance of evaluating IS function‟s support in organisations. This
study is the first that attempts to re-conceptualise and conceive evaluate IS function‟s support as a
multi-dimensional formative construct. We argue that a holistic measure for evaluating evaluate IS
function‟s support should consist of dimensions that together assess the variety of the support
functions and the quality of the support services provided to end-users. Thus, the proposed model
consists of two halves, „Variety‟ and „Quality‟ within which resides seven dimensions. The Variety
half includes five dimensions: Training; Documentation; Data-related Support, Software-related
Support; and Hardware-related Support. The Quality half includes two dimensions: IS Support Staff
and Support Services Performance. The proposed model is derived using a directed content analysis
of 83 studies; from top IS outlets, employing the characteristics of the analytic theory and consistent
with formative construct development procedures.

This paper reports on a conceptual model of a larger research effort proceeding from a central in... more This paper reports on a conceptual model of a larger research effort proceeding from a central interest in the importance of assessing the IS-Support provided to key-user groups. This study conceptualised a new multidimensional IS-Support construct with four dimensions: training, documentation, assistance and authorisation, which form the overarching construct – IS-Support. We argue that a holistic measure for assessing IS-Support should consist of dimensions, and measures, that together assess the variety of the support provided to IS key-user groups. The proposed IS-Support construct is defined as the support the IS key-user groups receive to increase their capabilities in utilising information systems within the organisation. With two interrelated phases, conceptualisation phase and validation phase, to rigorously hypothesise and validate a measurement model, the IS-Support model, proposed in this study, is intended to include the characteristics of analytic theory.

This study is motivated by, and proceeds from, a central interest in the importance of evaluating... more This study is motivated by, and proceeds from, a central interest in the importance of evaluating IS
service quality and adopts the IS ZOT SERVQUAL instrument (Kettinger & Lee, 2005) as its core
theory base. This study conceptualises IS service quality as a multidimensional formative construct
and seeks to answer the main research questions: “Is the IS service quality construct valid as a 1st-
order formative, 2nd-order formative multidimensional construct?”Additionally, with the aim of
validating the IS service quality construct within its nomological net, as in prior service marketing
work, Satisfaction was hypothesised as its immediate consequence. With the goal of testing the above
research question, IS service quality and Satisfaction were operationalised in a quantitative survey
instrument. Partial least squares (PLS), employing 219 valid responses, largely evidenced the validity
of IS service quality as a multidimensional formative construct. The nomological validity of the IS
service quality construct was also evidenced by demonstrating that 55% of Satisfaction was explained
by the multidimensional formative IS service quality construct.

Social Media (SM) is increasingly being integrated with business information in decision making. ... more Social Media (SM) is increasingly being integrated with business information in decision making. Unique characteristics of social media (e.g. wide accessibility, permanence, global audience, recentness, and ease of use) raise new issues with information quality (IQ); quite different from traditional considerations of IQ in information systems (IS) evaluation. This paper presents a preliminary conceptual model of information quality in social media (IQnSM) derived through directed content analysis and employing characteristics of analytic theory in the study protocol. Based in the notion of 'fitness for use', IQnSM is highly use and user centric and is defined as " the degree to which information is suitable for doing a specified task by a specific user, in a certain context ". IQnSM is operationalised as hierarchical, formed by the three dimensions (18 measures): intrinsic quality, contextual quality and representational quality. A research plan for empirically validating the model is proposed.

The study addresses known limitations of what may be the most important dependent variable in Inf... more The study addresses known limitations of what may be the most important dependent variable in Information Systems (IS) research; IS-Success or IS-Impact. The study is expected to force a deeper understanding of the broad notions of IS success and impact. The aims of the research are to: (1) enhance the robustness and minimize limitations of the IS-Impact model, and (2) introduce and operationalise a more rigorously validated IS-Impact measurement model to Universities, as a reliable model for evaluating different Administrative Systems. In extending and further generalizing the IS-Impact model, the study will address contemporary validation issues.

In response to a range of contextual drivers, the worldwide adoption of ERP Systems in Higher Edu... more In response to a range of contextual drivers, the worldwide adoption of ERP Systems in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has increased substantially over the past decade. Though this demand continues to grow, with HEIs now a main target market for ERP vendors, little has been published on the topic. This paper reports a sub-study of a larger research effort that aims to contribute to understanding the phenomenon of ERP adoption and evaluation in HEIs in the Australasian region. It presents a descriptive case study conducted at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia, with emphasis on challenges with ERP adoption. The case study provides rich contextual details about ERP system selection, customisation, integration and evaluation, and insights into the role of consultants in the HE sector. Through this analysis, the paper (a) provides evidence of the dearth of ERP literature pertaining to the HE sector; (b) yields insights into differentiating factors in the HE sector that warrants specific research attention, and (c) offers evidence of how key ERP decisions such as systems selection, customisation, integration, evaluation, and consultant engagement are influenced by the specificities of the HE sector.

This teaching case aims to contribute to understanding the phenomenon of Enterprise Systems (ES) ... more This teaching case aims to contribute to understanding the phenomenon of Enterprise Systems (ES) implementations in universities. Through this case, students will gain understanding of the importance of ‘contextual elements’ for large scale information systems (IS) implementations, in particular ES. This teaching case illustrates how these contextual factors contribute to the success or failure of such implementations, and how they can influence the decisions that dictate the lifecycle of such systems. The case describes ES implementations at a leading Australian university, and presents a rich
account of the institutional, national and industry-sector contexts that have influenced the directions and decisions taken. The journey encountered with the main Enterprise Systems that support Financials, Human Resources and Facilities are described suggesting the lifecycle phases, critical success factors and lessons learnt.

While Information services function’s (ISF) service quality is not a new concept and has received... more While Information services function’s (ISF) service quality is not a new concept and has received
considerable attention for over two decades, cross-cultural research of ISF’s service quality is not very
mature. The author argues that the relationship between cultural dimensions and the ISF’s service
quality dimensions may provide useful insights for how organisations should deal with different cultural
groups. This paper will show that ISF’s service quality dimensions vary from one culture to another.
The study adopts Hofstede’s (1980, 1991) typology of cultures and the “zones of tolerance” (ZOT)
service quality measure reported by Kettinger & Lee (2005) as the primary commencing theory-base. In
this paper, the author hypothesised and tested the influences of culture on users’ service quality
perceptions and found strong empirical support for the study’s hypotheses. The results of this study
indicate that as a result of their cultural characteristics, users vary in both their overall service quality
perceptions and their perceptions on each of the four dimensions of ZOT service quality.

Evaluating the validity of formative variables has presented ongoing challenges for researchers. ... more Evaluating the validity of formative variables has presented ongoing challenges for researchers. In this paper we use global criterion measures to compare and critically evaluate two alternative formative measures of System Quality. One model is based on the ISO-9126 software quality standard, and the other is based on a leading information systems research model. We find that despite both models having a strong provenance, many of the items appear to be non-significant in our study. We examine the implications of this by evaluating the quality of the criterion variables we used, and the performance of PLS when evaluating formative models with a large number of items. We find that our respondents had difficulty distinguishing between global criterion variables measuring different aspects of overall System Quality. Also, because formative indicators " compete with one another " in PLS, it may be difficult to develop a set of measures which are all significant for a complex formative construct with a broad scope and a large number of items. Overall, we suggest that there is cautious evidence that both sets of measures are valid and largely equivalent, although questions still remain about the measures, the use of criterion variables, and the use of PLS for this type of model evaluation.

The authors assign to ACIS and educational and non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to... more The authors assign to ACIS and educational and non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The authors also grant a non-exclusive licence to ACIS to publish this document in full in the Conference Papers and Proceedings. Those documents may be published on the World Wide Web, CD-ROM, in printed form, and on mirror sites on the World Wide Web. Any other usage is prohibited without the express permission of the authors.

Like many other developing countries, Jordan is adopting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) syste... more Like many other developing countries, Jordan is adopting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in both its public and private sectors. Jordan's emerging private sector has historically close ties to the public sector, though a global market orientation requires a shift in its organisational culture. ERPs however embed business processes which do not necessarily fit with traditional cultural practices, and implementation success is not assured.. This study looks at the perceptions of both public and private sector ERP implementations in Jordan and assesses these on various measures of success. There were few differences between public and private sectors, but the benefits actually realized in Jordanian ERPs fell short of claims made for the technology in other cultures. Considerable customisation was required in both sectors, and the traditional style of management in Jordan did not fit well with the requirements for successful implementation. This is consistent with recent studies from various countries that show cultural fit is a particularly neglected factor in assessing ERP success.

While critical success factors (CSFs) of enterprise system (ES) implementation are mature concept... more While critical success factors (CSFs) of enterprise system (ES) implementation are mature concepts
and have received considerable attention for over a decade, researchers have very often focused on
only a specific aspect of the implementation process or a specific CSF. Resultantly, there is (1) little
research documented that encompasses all significant CSF considerations and (2) little empirical
research into the important factors of successful ES implementation. This paper is part of a larger
research effort that aims to contribute to understanding the phenomenon of ES CSFs, and reports on
preliminary findings from a case study conducted at a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in
Australia. This paper reports on an empirically derived CSFs framework using a directed content
analysis of 79 studies; from top IS outlets, employing the characteristics of the analytic theory, and
from six different projects implemented at QUT.

Although the Acceptance Technology Model (TAM) has been widely used by researchers to test user's... more Although the Acceptance Technology Model (TAM) has been widely used by researchers to test user's acceptance of technology in education and other domains, research in education have underestimated the role played by gender in determining students' acceptance of technology as part of the educational process. This research study is a unique attempt to explore possible gender differences in university students' perceived acceptance of technology in their mathematics classes. It particularly investigates genders' acceptance to use MyMathLab in university math classes. Structural equation modelling with various constructs was used. Results showed that there is no significant difference between genders on perceived usefulness, subjective norm, attitude, and behavioural intention. However, the effect of perceived ease of use on attitude is significantly higher for male students. The findings have great implications for educators and students as they shed light on the significant factors that determine genders' acceptance of technological tools or platforms used in the math classroom. __________________________________________________________________________________________