The cost of rearranging the existing coordination structure and the IOS architecture will be acceptable if performance improvement opportunities exist. Here, the business network performance concept is decomposed into three dimensions: the coordination performance, the agility performance, and the informational performance. Coordination performance is translated into effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness refers to how well a process is being performed and efficiency indicates whether a process is being performed in such a way that output is maximized relative to some input (Carley & Gasser 1999).
The capacity for fast reconfiguration in response to a highly dynamic and disruptive environment is important in the networked business environment (van Heck & Vervest 2007). Thus, agility performance is incorporated as a component to assess the performance of business networks. The agility performance construct is decomposed into: (1) the response time, as in the time needed to formulate and execute corrective actions; (2) the response cost, as in the cost to formulate and execute corrective actions; (3) the response quality/robustness, as in the ratio between the response cost and the cost of formulating and executing an action in the static scenario; and (4) the response range, as in the variety of disruptions that can be accommodated (Dove 1999).
In viewing businesses as networks of interconnected informational linkages (Bolton & Dewatripont 1994), business actors can be perceived as information processing agents who: (1) observe the environment’s condition; (2) synthesize observed information into a response; and (3) execute the response (Marschak & Reichelstein 1998). Considering the actors’ bounded
rationality, information-related activities have to be economized. The informational performance construct is then translated into information processing performance and communication performance. Information processing performance is the total time spent synthesizing information and communication performance is the total time spent exchanging messages proportional to the number of exchanged messages in finalizing a task (Marschak & Reichelstein 1998).
Following the definitions of the performance constructs, the performance-related sub-research questions are defined as follow:
RQ1b: “How will the coordination structure alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence coordination performance?”
RQ1c: “How will the coordination structure alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence agility performance?”
RQ1d: “How will the coordination structure alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence informational performance?”
As tedious communication routines and information syntheses, which often are delegated to intermediaries, can now be conducted independently using the ABIOS, the actors’ information syntheses and communication efforts can be reduced and the coordination, agility, and informational performances will improve as a result. Table 3-1 lists all propositions concerning the influence of the coordination structure alteration on the performance measures.
Table 3-1. Coordination Structure –Performance Measures Propositions
Independent Construct
Dependent
Constructs Research Questions – Propositions
Coordination Structure
Coordination Performance
RQ1b
“How will the coordination structure alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence coordination performance?”
P1b1 “The evoked coordination structure alteration will
increase the efficiency performance.”
P1b2 “The evoked coordination structure alteration will
increase the effectiveness performance.”
Agility Performance
RQ1c
“How will the coordination structure alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence agility performance?”
P1c1 “The evoked coordination structure alteration will
decrease the response time to handle disruptions.”
P1c2 “The evoked coordination structure alteration will
decrease the response cost to handle disruptions.”
P1c3 “The evoked coordination structure alteration will
increase the robustness toward disruptions.”
P1c4
“The evoked coordination structure alteration will increase the response range (alternatives) in handling disruptions.”
Informational Performance
RQ1d
“How will the coordination structure alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence informational performance?”
P1d1 “The evoked coordination structure alteration will
increase the information processing performance.”
P1d2 The evoked coordination structure alteration will
decrease the communication performance.”
With the ABIOS application’s stimulation of the coordination structure, the communication and information syntheses setup will be adjusted. The next question is whether the evoked IOS architecture alterations can stimulate better performance. The next sub-research questions are stated as follows:
RQ2b: “How will the IOS architecture alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence coordination performance?”
RQ2c: “How will the IOS architecture alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence agility performance?”
RQ2d: “How will the IOS architecture alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence informational performance?”
The conjecture is that the ABIOS will stimulate more direct collaboration among actors. As no intermediary hinders direct communication among actors, each actor will get faster information updates that enable agility performance improvements. In addition, the increasing information quality will also improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operations.
The redistribution of information concentration from intermediaries to direct communication lines among independent actors will influence informational performance. With the ABIOS, the communication and information processing intensity that each actor can handle will increase. Summarizing the discussion of the relationship between the IOS architecture alterations and the performance constructs, Table 3-2 lists the propositions.
Table 3-2. IOS Architecture – Performance Measures Propositions
Independent Construct
Dependent
Constructs Research Questions – Propositions
IOS Architecture
Coordination Performance
RQ2b
“How will the IOS architecture alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence coordination
performance?”
P2b1 “The evoked IOS architecture alteration will
increase the efficiency performance.”
P2b2 “The evoked IOS architecture alteration will
increase the effectiveness performance.”
Agility Performance
RQ2c “How will the IOS architecture alteration that the
ABIOS evokes influence agility performance?”
P2c1 “The evoked IOS architecture alteration will
decrease the response time to handle disruptions.”
P2c2 “The evoked IOS architecture alteration will
decrease the response cost to handle disruptions.”
P2c3 “The evoked IOS architecture alteration will
increase the robustness toward disruptions.”
P2c4
“The evoked IOS architecture alteration will increase the response range (alternatives) in handling disruptions.”
Informational Performance
RQ2d
“How will the IOS architecture alteration that the ABIOS evokes influence informational
performance?”
P2d1 “The evoked IOS architecture alteration will
increase the information processing performance.”
P2d2 The evoked IOS architecture alteration will
decrease the communication performance.”