Intelligent Transport System innovation and orientation

ITS innovation in an enterprise is about using technology in new ways, where the result is a more efficient organisation and an improved integration between technology initiatives and business goals. Rouse (2011). ITS innovation can take many forms, for instance, it can be used to turn business processes into automated ITS functions, develop applications that open new markets, or implement desktop virtualization to increase manageability and cut hardware costs (Rouse 2011).

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Sambamurthy et al, (2003) conceptualize ITS Innovation into two types first ITS exploration and ITS exploitation. The ITS contribute much to the efficient operation of BRT services and to the convenience and support of those who use these. ITS exploration capability is the ability of a firm to devote requisite resources and managerial time in making sense of different information technologies, experimenting with the promising ones to learn about their functionalities, and selecting the few technologies that are likely to impact the current and future operational capabilities. Moreover, in a paper on ITS, Pacione (2009) argues that compared to rail systems, the advantageous flexibility and decentralization of bus operations also result in a lack of system visibility and permanence that contributes to public perceptions of unreliability and disorganisation. Traffic congestion, urban sprawl, central city decline, and air pollution are all problems associated with excessive dependence on automobiles. Increasing recognition of the need for high-quality transit service to alleviate these conditions has fuelled the growing demand for Bus services throughout South Africa.

In most developing countries, an increase in urbanization has resulted in both environmental and social challenges. Notwithstanding a rash of recent technological innovations in areas such as web services, utility computing, and service-oriented architectures, a question remains as to whether an absence of agility or adaptiveness is primarily a technology rigidity issue or whether there are broader ITS managerial issues that allow inflexible ITS to persist and agility in turn to suffer. The ITS industry is characterized by a rapid pace of innovation, firms must manage their attention to current and emerging technologies, understand their potential value for business operations, and select promising technologies. (Sambamurthy et al, 2003). ITS exploration capability is the ability of a firm to devote requisite resources and managerial time in making sense of different information technologies, experimenting with the promising ones to learn about their functionalities, and selecting the few technologies that are likely to impact the current and future operational capabilities. ITS exploitation capability refers to the ability of a firm utilize its existing ITS resources in improving existing processes or creating new ones. ITS exploitation is associated with the ability of a firm to manage its portfolio of ITS assets, leverage them and reuse them in different business activities and integrate the technologies with the business processes. Lu & Ramamurthy (2011) defines ITS Innovation as a proactive ITS stance and supports Sambamurthy et al, (2003) definition by stating that proactive ITS stance is characterized by a firm that always searches for ways to explore or exploit its resources to create or capitalize on business opportunities. Intelligent Transport System governance has identified the risks of ineffective ITS management whether in the form of weak cost control or project oversight, ineffective strategic planning, mistrusting end-user relationships or a lack of standards – factors that can result in ITS rigidity. As such, it could be argued that agility is as much a managerial issue as a technical issue for ITS flexibility is only truly useful when firms know how and when to take advantage of the options that a flexible ITS infrastructure has to offer.

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This idea of performance is attributable to a duality of capabilities is echoed in the literature on the resource-based view where research finds that differences in performance are less a result of hardware or software resources alone – resources that are increasingly open to replication – but how well they are combined with non- ITS resources such as tacit knowledge to create distinct capabilities that can support a firm’s strategic goals. Zhang et al., (2016) argue that a firm is likely to make better sense of a major ITS innovation and fully consider its potential fit to the firm and, thus, is able to identify, select, and pursue ITS innovations. In addition, the firm is able to anticipate and sense relevant changes due to advances in Intelligent Transport System and the opportunities created by emerging technologies (Weill & Ross, 2004). ITS opportunity orientation enables the firm to quickly identify and select opportunities with ITS innovations to address changing information needs that are in line with changing business strategy (Galliers, 2007).

Intelligent Transport System Innovation also enables continual learning and renewal. Augmented learning leads to an ability to quickly reconfigure processes in response to changes (Haeckel, 1999). ITS Innovation can be a proactive partner in the innovation process and permit dynamic reconfiguring and continuous transformation in changing environments (Agarwal and Sambamurthy, 2002). An organisation that has ITS innovation can manage the adoption, assimilation, and implementation of new ITS innovation initiatives and, thus, avoid falling into lock-in technology rigidity (Swanson and Ramiller, 2004). Sambamurthy et al (2003) Argue that ITS competence – an inside-out capability signifying “a firm’s capacity for ITS-based innovation by virtue of the available ITS resources and the ability to convert ITS assets and services into strategic applications” – is a critical factor behind the range and intensity of competitive actions in a firm.

Where ITS infrastructure can flex in response to a change in the market or where technical skills can adapt to an urgent business need, a firm is more likely to realise increased agility. ITS innovation & orientation is an essential element of ITS capability as it refers to the ability to identify, select, and pursue ITS innovations. In short, ITS capability captures the cohesion shared by the three dimensions. A firm with high degrees of ITS capability should, therefore, be expected to contain each of the three ITS capability dimensions. Lu & Ramamurthy (2011) ITS exploitation capability refers to the ability of a firm utilize its existing ITS resources in improving existing processes or creating new ones. ITS exploitation is associated with the ability of a firm to manage the portfolio of ITS assets, leverage them and reuse them in different business activities, and integrate the technologies with the business processes.

Ramamurthy et al 1996, defines ITS Innovation as a proactive ITS stance and supports Sumbarthy (2003) definition by stating that proactive ITS stance is characterized by a firm that always searches for ways to explore or exploit its resources to create or capitalize on business opportunities. Swanson and Ramiller (2004) argue that a firm is likely to make better sense of a major ITS innovation and fully consider its potential fit to the firm and, thus, is able to mindfully identify, select, and pursue ITS innovations.

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Fichman (2004) firms capable of comprehending the uncertainty about the benefits of using the innovation and the irreversibility in the costs of deployment, and it prudently avoids a herd-like mentality while examining the potential of a new IT innovation. In addition, the firm is able to anticipate and sense relevant changes due to advances in Intelligent Transport System and the opportunities created by emerging technologies (Weill & Ross2004). As such, a proactive ITS stance enables the firm to quickly identify and select opportunities with ITS innovations to address changing information needs that are in line with changing business strategy (Galliers, 2007). A proactive ITS stance also enables continual learning and renewal. Augmented learning leads to an ability to quickly reconfigure processes in response to changes (Haeckel, 1999). Intelligent Transport System becomes a proactive partner in the innovation process and permits dynamic reconfiguring on the fly and continuous transformation in changing environments (Agarwal & Sambamurthy, 2002). The firm with a proactive ITS stance can mindfully manage the adoption, assimilation, and implementation of a new ITS innovation and, thus, avoid falling into lock-in technology rigidity (Swanson & Ramiller, 2004). The firm can also identify the appropriate opportunity to reconfigure and reuse its existing ITS resources.

While early studies about the business value of ITS examined the direct connections between ITS resources and firm performance, Zhang et al., (2016) proposed a theory of ITS complementarities to argue that the initial effects of ITS should occur at the level of organisational processes that use the ITS resources. Finally, perception latency is the time it takes to perceive the outcome of the actions taken. Organisations with lower levels of latency will be more agile than organisations with higher levels of latency. Time agile companies can seize opportunities and gain advantages through their ability to reconfigure processes and organisational resources faster than competitors. They can reduce the barriers to switching transport modes and provide real-time and forecast information. For example, smartphone apps are available that use GPS and 3D maps to work out how efficiently a motorist is driving and provide advice on improving that efficiency.

ITS innovation in an organisation is about using technology in new ways, where the result is a more efficient organisation and an improved integration between technology initiatives and business goals. ITS innovation can take many forms. For instance, it can be used to turn business processes into automated ITS functions, develop applications that open new markets or implement desktop virtualization to increase manageability and cut hardware costs. Since the ITS industry is characterized by a rapid pace of innovation, firms must manage their attention to current and emerging technologies, understand their potential value for business operations, and select promising technologies (Nuzzolo & Comi, 2016).

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