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Designing an information-sharing The digital

service
system to improve collaboration creation
process
culture: a soft systems
methodology approach in the
digital service creation process Received 27 August 2022
Revised 29 December 2022
6 April 2023
Ervia Tissyaraksita Devi Accepted 25 April 2023
School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung,
Bandung, Indonesia and
Group of Corporate Transformation, Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk PT,
South Jakarta, Indonesia
Dermawan Wibisono and Nur Budi Mulyono
School of Business and Management, Institut Teknologi Bandung,
Bandung, Indonesia, and
Rachma Fitriati
Faculty of Administrative Science, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia

Abstract
Purpose – This study aims to fill the gap in collaboration culture improvement by designing an
information-sharing system as an enabler to support the forming dimensions of the collaboration process in
previous studies. The authors propose the appropriate system to eliminate the collaboration culture gaps between
the related functional units based on in-process interaction learning in a business process outsourcing company.
Design/methodology/approach – This study employed action research (AR) based on soft systems
methodology (SSM) with a system thinking approach, in which the authors and process actors design the
agreed information-sharing system by involving the process actors in identifying the initial problem situation
as well as validating the conceptual model through discussions and designing the expected system.
Findings – This study discovers that SSM-based AR is a suited method for designing a system that supports
the formation of collaboration culture among actors in the digital service creation process by learning user
perceptions and expectations in order to obtain their commitment to empower the proposed system.
Originality/value – In addition to providing a system to minimize the lack of collaboration culture, this study
contributes to the academic literature by offering a new way of planning and designing in a system
development methodology using soft systems approaches to understand user perceptions, expressing user
interaction in a conceptual model and validating it and defining agreed activities to obtain the best design
according to user expectations.
Keywords Business policy, Business process outsourcing, Collaboration culture, Information-sharing system,
Organizational capability, SSM-based AR
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
Digital services from a business process outsourcing (BPO) company cover end-to-end
business processes that consist of three deliverable elements: the people who operate the

The authors also would like to express the deepest gratitude to School of Business and Management –
Journal of Enterprise Information
Institut Teknologi Bandung (SBM-ITB), Jl Ganesha 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia. Faculty of Management
Administrative Science, Universitas Indonesia, M Building 2nd Floor, Kampus UI, Depok, West Java, © Emerald Publishing Limited
1741-0398
16424, Indonesia. DOI 10.1108/JEIM-08-2022-0294
JEIM process, the process itself and the technology that supports both the people and the process.
Despite the crucial role of technology, H€aiki€o and Koivum€aki (2016) reveal that the digital
service creation process should be mainly driven by the involved actors.
Referring to the previous study, the digital service creation process of the observed company
is positively influenced by four proposed variables of organizational capabilities (agile process,
collaboration culture, digital leadership and innovation culture). A quadrant analysis of the effect
of each capability on performance and its contribution as a driver shows that “collaboration
culture” has the highest priority to be improved to increase process maturity to the optimal level
(Devi et al., 2022). The level of collaboration culture can be measured relative to the success in
creating value as a team (Bloise, 2020) and requires a further commitment to change and respect
for other participating parties to obtain the highest level (Chandler, 2019).
Several studies have been published on organizational capabilities and people
collaboration in the process of value creation, which is a system with a complex
collaborative network that involves human interaction as a crucial element to generate
value as a competitive advantage (H€aiki€o and Koivum€aki, 2016). The involvement of human
resources at every level of the organization as a set of capabilities is a foundation for a
sustainable competitive advantage (De Saa-Perez and GarcIa-FalcOn,  2002; Acar et al., 2006;
Grewal and Slotegraaf, 2007). The lack of collaboration culture among the functional units in
the process will be a barrier to the optimal value creation of the organization.
A model from Lee et al. (2020) in improving the product creation process using organizational
learning and dynamic capability approaches shows that a collaborative activity requires
knowledge sharing as an exchange of projects, products and processes. Adjusting to the nature
of digital business, several studies on dynamic capabilities find how dynamic capabilities work
in unison to enable digital business value (Riera and Iijima, 2019) and allow organizations to
drive innovation capabilities (Van de Wetering et al., 2017). Previous studies link to the
importance of collaboration culture in creating digital services and present the aspects that affect
the collaboration process, namely, the dimension of social capital (Budiarso et al., 2021), shared
leadership (Lahat and Sabah, 2021) and technology acceptance (Swanson et al., 2017). However,
further studies to ensure the success of the collaboration process involving those aspects by
managing information and sharing experience in complex and dynamic circumstances remain
necessary. Referring to this gap, the research question is “How to design an integrated
information-sharing system to support the collaboration culture improvement in the digital
service creation process by learning human perception and expectation of the process?”
The authors applied SSM-based action research (AR) by involving employees as process
actors in selecting the problem situation, defining the most impactful collaboration culture
gaps and implementing inter-function interaction learning to eliminate the gaps. The
recurring problem, namely the unavailability of information about human collaboration in
the process, is considered as an unquantified problem. A soft systems approach is suitable for
studying a system in its human context (Baskerville and Wood-Harper, 1996). In this study,
the authors develop a conceptual model of the system using a soft systems methodology
(SSM) framework and transform it into an applicable support system to facilitate the defined
actions in improving collaboration culture.
Considering the research gap stated in the research question, the authors propose a new
insight as research output, namely constructing a problem situation based on the perceptions
and expectations of the actors in the digital service creation process and converting it into the
accepted conceptual model to design an integrated information-sharing system as a needed
aspect of collaboration culture improvement.
This study contributes a new way of developing an integrated information-sharing
system. This system supports the company to eliminate the collaboration culture gaps by
learning the perceptions and expectations of the process actors. Academically, this system is
built through the integration of SSM-based AR with an information system development
methodology and enabling other aspects of collaboration culture improvement that have The digital
been conveyed in previous studies. service
This paper consists of five chapters. The first chapter describes the reason for conducting
this study and how the authors understand the business problem, identify and formulate the
creation
relevant research question for this problem and state the contribution to academic and process
business practice. The second chapter is a literature review from an academic point of view that
will enrich the practical business point of view from several books and academic paper reviews
to find the gaps in previous studies. The next chapter details the research methodology used,
consisting of the research framework, the strategy to collect data and the implementation of
SSM-based AR. The last two chapters complete the stages with discussion and conclusion.

2. Literature review
The literature review determines that previous studies mostly focus on the organizational
capabilities required to create digital services, including the capability to collaborate and the
importance of information technology (IT) to enhance this capability. Otherwise, only a few
studies have proposed integrated information-sharing system to generate more collaboration
culture using a soft systems approach as a new way to learn the digital service creation process
as a basis for designing the appropriate information-sharing system for a BPO company.

2.1 Collaboration culture as an important organizational capability

This section reviews several studies related to collaboration as an important aspect needed by
organizations to improve the process of creating digital services. Devi et al. (2022) show that
the capabilities of both the organizations and their members are also substantial to influence
work to achieve goals. The capabilities required by organizations to handle the transition from
digital technology to digital services are referred to as a set of systems involving machines and
people to utilize IT and other resources (Wulf et al., 2017; Wiesb€ock and Hess, 2018).
Hesselbein and Goldsmith (2009) disclose that strategic unity is one of the capabilities to
face future global trends. Acar et al. (2006) also express digital capability as an organizational
capability that combines talent, knowledge and experience to adapt to the changing clients
and organizational demands. Bartlett-Bragg (2017) concludes that a participatory mindset
transparently involves collaboration as a contribution to projects. Berghaus and Back (2016)
define the distinctive stages in the digital business transformation process that are influenced
by nine dimensions including collaboration. One of the characteristics of a dynamic
organization is the ability to integrate, build and reconfigure how to work together across
diverse functions to deal with changes by combining internal capabilities (Teece et al., 1997;
Zollo and Winter, 2002; Swanson et al., 2017). To win the competition, all functional units
involved are required to work as a team and constantly improve their skills in creating the
best digital services (Acar et al., 2006; Devi et al., 2022).
Collaboration is one of the keys to success in market competition which can accelerate
proper decision making to face the challenging dynamic market (Matthew and Sternberg,
2006); the main organizational culture that supports organizational learning, consisting of
advanced change management and long-term vision, two-way communication, mutual
respect and trust, team building, people empowerment, high tolerance for ambiguity and
diversity and risk mitigation (Perez Lopez et al., 2004); one of the considered aspects of
innovation that makes resources valuable when connected to others (Bettencourt et al., 2014);
a prerequisite for more significant organizational transformation and innovation when
implemented in all organizational functions and levels (Alshwayat et al., 2021); an expected
capability in an organization to bring more innovation and value to the organization and
strengthen the competitiveness of the organization continuously based on similar objectives
to provide a better service (Budiarso et al., 2021).
JEIM Those previous studies reveal how organizational capabilities can be a valuable
advantage when collaborating. The development of collaboration among actors requires
social capital consisting of mutuality and norms (Budiarso et al., 2021), a cross-functional
collaborative environment supported by IT acceptance (Swanson et al., 2017), as well as
organizational trust and shared leadership as important aspects in the collaboration process
(Lahat and Sabah, 2021).
The authors refine the previous studies by adding a new enablement aspect in the
collaboration culture improvement, which is a proper integrated information-sharing system
design in the digital service creation process. It involves the process actors to ensure the
desired and feasible implementation of the proposed system.

2.2 The implementation of soft systems methodology

The ability to meet customer expectations in service creation is one of the considerations of
clients in engaging a BPO company to support their business (Patil and Wongsurawat, 2015;
Devi et al., 2022). In terms of organizational capabilities required by a BPO company, the
expected criterion is to become a special process expert who should have a plan for the
employees implementing the process (Jeston and Nelis, 2006). Meanwhile, better process
capabilities are expected to easily define problems and requirements (Swinarski et al., 2006);
enhance organizational competitiveness at various levels (Budiarso et al., 2021); and
guarantee that the knowledge stored and distributed by IT will be understood and useful
(Davenport and Prusak, 1998).
Lasch et al. (2009) discover that the service creation process as a system should be
provided to support individuals to be able to adapt to rapid changes in business processes in
line with dynamic customer needs, which can be improved by innovation (Witell et al., 2016);
requires several elements such as IT, process and business that affect value creation as the
outcome (H€aiki€o and Koivum€aki, 2016); creates better value for customers compared to other
players (Damilano et al., 2018); responds to the market changes with a unique and inimitable
competitive advantage (Teece and Pisano, 1994); and serves as the key to strategic
management which includes not only the flow of information and supply systems but also
knowledge sharing, learning and innovation (Dominguez-Pery et al., 2013).
The above studies show that organizational capabilities in the value creation process are
influenced by the capabilities of actors within the organization and continue to grow with the
support of the ease of information flow among actors at all process stages which is part of
organizational learning in dealing with dynamic business changes. The findings show that a
process will produce better output supposing it is able to identify the requirements or problems
that must be resolved, consistently make improvements and have the required competency
standards at all stages. Support systems will facilitate information exchange in the process.
However, a support system frequently experiences problems in its implementation, as stated
by Maguire and Redman (2007) that most failures in the information system implementation
are due to the lack of attention to the importance of cultural adaptation, organizational
development and user involvement. The right method is needed to design an information-
sharing system that understands its users to avoid such failures.
A SSM is selected since a hard systems approach is too problematic to be applied
quantitatively to problems that are difficult to elaborate on. This approach attempts to
comprehend motivation, point of view and various interactions between individuals involved
in a process (Bjerke, 2008). One of the reasons for choosing a soft systems methodology is to
suggest a new way to improve a process by identifying the current process and specifying the
ideal process. Better recommendations are then proposed for current and future needs. A soft
systems methodology provides an opportunity for them to share their varied and valid
perspectives concerning their problems, challenges and opportunities in the digital service
creation process. SSM is a fit approach when studying an industry characterized by various The digital
stakeholders with multiple and frequently competing objectives (Proches and service
Bodhanya, 2015).
Action Research with a soft systems methodology approach generates an integrated
creation
system design with a structured and systemic method to understand the problem situation, process
create a conceptual model, identify the transformation required and define a new way to solve
the problem (Permatasari et al., 2020; Suryaatmaja et al., 2020; Budiarso et al., 2021;
Muhammaditya et al., 2022). SSM is specifically the apt methodology to plan a comprehensive
strategy for a company, involving participants within the company. The comprehension of
the participants concerning what is happening in the process and their perceptions and
expectations regarding other units or functions will facilitate the input of acceptable solutions
by every part of the company to encourage a more adaptive and collaborative process. SSM is
a process methodology that occurs in a dynamic organization and is a learning part of said
organization.
Most SSM studies apply the methodology for problem-solving to improve the existing
condition. Bjerke (2008) applies soft systems to improve a process by identifying the
acceptance of a proposed condition by suggesting a new way of working with financial
reporting. Maqsood et al. (2001) recommend SSM for transforming organizational culture
through a learning organization. Al-Zhrani (2010) employs SSM to define problems and
obstacles in ICT implementation. da Piedade Francisco and Azevedo (2009) utilize SSM to
support the performance management system by proposing more efficient planning,
implementation and monitoring. Suryaatmaja et al. (2020) identify the real issues in the Agile
SD implementation by implementing SSM-based AR. However, studies employing SSM to
design corrective actions as well as to incorporate these actions into an integrated support
system design through an integration of SSM-based AR stages with a best-practice
Information System methodology are scarce.
From all related papers in the literature review, the authors selected five papers discussing
collaboration culture as an important organizational capability as shown in Table 1 and six
papers explaining the SSM implementation as shown in Table 2.

3. Research methodology
3.1 Research framework
This study applied SSM-based AR, in which the authors were involved as participants in a
team that contributed to design the integrated information-sharing system. It is considered
an appropriate method to understand experience-based knowledge because it involves
situations that happened and is perceived by the actors in the system (McKay and Marshall,
2001; Cronholm and Goldkuhl, 2003; Kane and Del Mistro, 2003; Uchiyama, 2009;
Hardjosoekarto, 2012; Ulrich and Reynolds, 2020; Muhammaditya et al., 2022); it involves
unique perspectives of each person regarding a situation in the real-world that lead to the
formation of a complicated and complex system (Checkland, 2000); it is the most proper
methodology to learn the process of collaboration (Budiarso et al., 2022).
This study started with empirical evidence corroborated by our previous finding, followed
by developing a conceptual model by revealing the unstructured problem which in this
regard is the lack of collaboration culture and resolving the problem by intensively
discussing the unstructured problem with the people involved in the process. A systematic
perspective is highly important for dealing with problems and process performance which
can provide maximum value supposing the collaboration between the parties involved is
sufficient and supported by a clear transfer of information. A well-integrated support system
that focuses on sharing information is believed to provide a positive contribution to
organizational performance improvement (Mero~ no-Cerdan et al., 2008).
JEIM Author Unit of analysis Research objectives Research approaches Research findings

Wulf et al. Automotive Developing a digital Five phases of case The applicability of a
(2017) Company & service capability model studies based on capability model for the
Retail Company and studying its interview data management of digital
(Switzerland) application in consumer- collected from top- consumer services,
facing industries level executives involving 17 capabilities
including to foster cross-
functional collaboration
Swanson European Supply Leveraging the tenets of A multi-method Information technology
et al. (2017) Chain Managers socio-technical theory to approach (survey investment will have no
and Executives examine how a and interview) significant effect on
(Europe) collaboration process organization performance
design may lead to due to social barriers.
improved collaborative Dynamic organizational
performance capabilities are necessary
to understand the dual
and integrative nature of
technical and social
systems to overcome
strong limiting conditions
and change barriers
through a collaboration
process design to foster
new value-creation
processes
Budiarso Four teams in one Filling part of a SSM-based AR The social capital
et al. (2021) of the big four knowledge gap in the (mutuality and norms)
Firms (USA & collaboration process play a more significant
Indonesia) and learning the role than the structural
practical ways to dimensions (governance
establish it and administration) in
establishing the
collaboration process
Lahat and Seven groups of Offering an inside look An exploratory Revealing the importance
Sabah (2021) Personal Social (trust and leadership) at study based on a of organizational trust to
Services (Israel) a working collaboration mixed-method learning outputs and
process to define analysis suggesting the
outcomes in the field significance of “shared
leadership” as an
important aspect in the
collaboration process
Alshwayat A leading Bank Investigating the A mixed-methods Suggesting that the
et al. (2021) (Jordania) perceived importance approach case study importance and practice
and practice of of the three cultural facets
organizational culture as are shared as well as
it unfolds across differentiated across
hierarchal layers by organizational levels
Table 1. examining three based on purposiveness,
Overview of previous important facets of person/situation-
studies “Collaboration culture (trust, dependency, the nature of
Culture as an collaboration, and work, and the nature/
Important knowledge-sharing) relevance of knowledge
Organizational
Capability” (continued )
Author Unit of analysis Research objectives Research approaches Research findings
The digital
service
Proposed Business Process Proposing an SSM-based Action SSM-based AR is a suited creation
Research Outsourcing appropriate system to Research integrated method for designing an
Company eliminate the to a best-practice Information-sharing process
(Indonesia) collaboration culture Information System system that supports the
gaps between the related methodology formation of
functional units based on collaboration culture
in-process interaction among actors in the
learning digital service creation
process by learning user
perceptions and
expectations in order to
obtain their commitment
to empower the proposed
system
Source(s): Authors work Table 1.

A series of SSM activities was applied by adopting the simplified “Four Activities Model”
(Checkland, 2000) as shown in Figure 1. Regarding the aforementioned seven steps, the first
activity is finding out the initial situation from the actual scenario by structuring the
available information and expressing it in a “rich picture”; the second activity is system
thinking to formulate a model and identify the relevant systems of purposeful activity,
starting with determining “root definitions”; the third activity returns to the finding step yet
compares the model with the perceived real situation by conducting a discussion with several
experts; and the fourth activity is taking action by defining possible and feasible changes,
followed by designing an integrated information-sharing system to support the collaboration
culture improvement.
The first activity covers problem identification and illustrates it in a rich picture for ease of
understanding. The rich picture attempts to briefly describe the multiple interacting
relationships in a complex process (Checkland and Poulter, 2006, 2020), which encompasses
several functional units that are dependent on each other. The initial problem identified in this
study is the non-optimal collaboration culture, hence the need to study the obstacles to the
basic activity in collaboration, which is the lack of information-sharing among the involved
functional units. It is imperative to take into account the actors involved in the process to
comprehend the situation, considering their position as the owner of the problem (McKay and
Marshall, 2001). Furthermore, interviews and informal talks with actors who understand the
process the most were conducted to capture their views about the situation.
The gathered information and knowledge from the interviews present a good and
comprehensive view of the situation at hand (Bjerke, 2008). SSM-based AR as a qualitative
method assists in exploring and interpreting complex human activities system (Kane and Del
Mistro, 2003). It aims for data saturation, not on the number of samples, but by attaining a
comprehensive understanding through respondents until no more substantive information is
acquired (Miles and Huberman, 1994).
Afterwards, the problem is expressed in a more structured rich picture based on the
information collected from interviews and informal talks with senior leaders in the company.
The next two stages are to synergize the authors and the selected experts to build the model
and compare it with the real condition.
The model-building stage begins with determining the relevant root definitions and is
followed by formulating a conceptual model of the system mentioned in all root definitions
and built on a particular worldview (Checkland and Poulter, 2006, 2020). Bjerke (2008) states
JEIM Author Unit of analysis Research objectives
Maqsood et al. Construction Examining the benefits of
(2001) Project applying SSM to solve
Management in five knowledge management
companies problems in construction
(Australia) project management,
particularly those
situations that are
challenging to understand
and difficult to act upon
Al-Zhrani (2010) Government Identifying the problems
Organizations and obstacles faced by
(Saudi Arabia) government organizations
in tackling IT problems
Bjerke (2008) Volvo Cars Performing SSM to deal
Corporation with the task of suggesting
(Sweden) a new way to conduct
financial reporting within a
purchasing department
Proches and Sugar industry Illustrating the value of
Bodhanya (Africa) applying SSM in the
(2015) industry by bringing
together diverse
stakeholders to identify
and address the multiple
perspectives about the
overlapping problems
da Piedade Two collaborative Utilizing SSM for an
Francisco and networks in SME efficient planning,
Azevedo (2009) (Brazil) implementation, and
monitoring of a dynamic
performance management
system
Suryaatmaja Financial Reviewing and discussing
et al. (2020) Institutions the literature and empirical
(Indonesia) studies on the failure of the interviews
Agile SD implementation
by revisiting the
supporting framework
used to comprehend the
issues in the Agile SD
implementation
Proposed Business Process Proposing an appropriate Observation, secondary
Research Outsourcing system to eliminate the
Company collaboration culture gaps talks, expert discussion
Table 2. (Indonesia) between the related
Overview of previous functional units based on
studies “Soft Systems in-process interaction
Methodology learning
Implementation” Source(s): Authors work
Data gathering SSM implementation
Interviews with selected Applying SSM to solve
project teams problems in construction
project management,
particularly knowledge
management problems to
encourage group learning.
It is ideal as a group
decision-making approach
Semi-structured Applying SSM to solve
interviews with 12 IT issues and obstacles faced
managers by Saudi Arabian
government organizations
using information and
computer technology (ICT)
Interviews, Workshops, SSM in action is able to
Emails suggest a new way of
working with financial
reporting since the
suggested conceptual
system is clearly different
from the way of working of
the current financial
reporting
Interviews to identify the SSM is applied in the
goals of the various industry characterized by
stakeholders in the mill diverse stakeholders who
area, and how have multiple and
communication, trust, and frequently competing
overall efficiency are objectives
perceived by the
stakeholder groups, both
on their own and as a
whole
Involving decision-makers The use of SSM was
of the collaboration satisfactory for the
networks to review a implementation of the
sequence of CNPMS framework and also for
creating steps setting and re-setting of
performance indicators
Observations, SSM-based AR identifies
Secondary data, informal the real issues in the Agile
SD implementation
SSM-based AR is applied
data, interviews, informal as a new pathway in the
process of learning the
process actors’ perceptions
and expectations for
developing better
collaboration culture
The digital
service
creation
process

Figure 1.
SSM-based AR
framework
JEIM that the modelling process refers to Checkland and Poulter (2006, 2020), in which the root
definitions are formulated with a PQR analysis to perform an activity (P) using the (Q) method
to achieve the target (R). Root Definitions need to be tested using a CATWOE analysis
(customers, actors, transformations, weltanschauung or worldviews, owners and
environmental constraints). Customer (C) is the beneficiary of the transformation process,
actors (A) are those who are prepared to change, transformation (T) is the process of changing
input to output, weltanschauung (W) or worldview puts the transformation into meaning in a
context, the owner (O) is the actors capable of halting the transformation, while
environmental constraints (E) are the external elements of the system that can affect the
transformation process.
In addition to root definitions and CATWOE, “3E” is another tool in SSM-based AR
employed to measure the activity performance described in each model (Kotiadis et al., 2013).
The desired transformation or change shown in the conceptual model should also meet the
requirements of the 3E criteria, namely efficacy, signifying the measures taken to support the
final result; efficiency, denoting the minimal use of resources or prioritizing them based on
importance; and effectiveness, suggesting transformative processes that can assist in
sustaining long-term strategies concerning outputs.
At the next stage, the conceptual model for each root definition is compared with the real
world. The discussion material and the source of the topic between the authors and the
experts refer to the conceptual models, which are expected to result in an agreement
regarding changes that will affect the current situation to achieve a better situation.
Referring to Checkland and Poulter (2006, 2020), the discussion aims to find out the
combination of the expected structure, process and attitude; why those points have been
chosen; how the expected situation can be achieved; and what enabling actions required.
Subsequent to comparing the conceptual models and the real world, the authors defined
the actions needed to improve the process based on the agreed changes in the last stage. The
discussion in the previous stage is an attempt to accommodate a group of individuals with
similar interests. By accommodating the existing conflicts of interest, it will be easier for the
management to encourage the actors in the process to achieve the goals collectively.
Besides agreeing on the change activities carried out, it is also necessary to reach an
agreement on the criteria to determine whether the improvement process has been completed
or successful by collaborating on the solution design. As argued by McKay and Marshall
(2001) and in accordance with the dual role of AR, this one cycle of SSM-based AR does not
only aim at solving the predetermined problem but also strengthen the theory that
collaboration culture needs to be revised to improve the performance of the digital service
creation process.
Referring to the system development methodology, these stages and activities also
represent the preparation and design stages of activities in the System Development Life
Cycle (SDLC) (Everett and McLeod, 2014). The SDLC is a series of stages in the methodology
for developing or improving information systems, consisting of the stages of planning,
analysis, design and implementation. Planning consists of defining the problem and
objectives of system development. Analysis is an activity to understand the existing system
as a whole. Design defines the process and data that will be used to solve the identified
problem. Meanwhile, implementation consists of preparing software and hardware and
building a data warehouse for the new system.
Planning and analysis stages at the SSM-based AR are observed when the authors
conduct interviews and informal talks with process actors and transcribe the results into a
rich picture to comprehend the system as a whole. The SDLC design stages are illustrated by
creating a conceptual model to describe the expected process including the data sources
needed for the exchange of information that occurs to create a learning process and intense
collaboration among actors in the process.
3.2 Data gathering process The digital
The digital service creation process is expected to result in the delivery of digital services with service
maximum value for both company profits and customer experience. The response from
actors within the process regarding the unachieved company targets represents their
creation
understanding of the process completion and their perceptions and expectations regarding process
other actors. The search for data on the actual condition directed the authors to identify the
problem that has yet to be structured. SSM-based AR stages are needed to structure the
problem and find the solution by gathering all related data of the collaboration of process
actors. Figure 2 shows the research flow including data gathering activities at each stage of
the integration of SSM-based AR and a system development method.
It is essential to examine the problem situation referred to as empirical evidence in the
finding out stage. Following the comprehension of the process and supporting tools in the
existing system through observation and secondary data, the authors investigated
numerous different views to examine the lack of collaboration between functional units in
the process. The real world is perceived as a convoluted and undefined problem and solving
it requires working by constantly learning through exploration (Jackson, 2003). To gather
the data on the actual condition and obtain a better comprehension of both the process and
the concerned people, the authors conducted interviews and informal talks with the most
capable respondents in the biggest BPO company in Indonesia. The interview lasted for
approximately an hour for each interviewee and was conducted in three months period of
mid-2021.

Figure 2.
Research flow
JEIM The semi-structured interviews included open questions concerning the perceptions and
expectations of the respondents about the current issues at the functional unit they are in
charge of as well as other functional units in the process. The following two preliminary
questions are asked to identify their perceptions and expectations, followed by potential new
questions raised to obtain more in-depth information:
(1) Do you think that other units in the digital service creation process have carried out
their roles as they should?
(2) How should other units play a role to enhance collaboration culture in the process?
The people who best understand the process are those participating in the process, consisting
of the teams of Sales, Product and Services Management (PSM), Project Management Office
(PMO), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Operations and IT Development. The
seven respondents selected from the teams are the senior leaders of these teams, who are
expected to provide in-depth information and have a broad view of the process.
Subsequent to capturing and structuring the obtained interview results, the authors pour them
into a rich picture that describes the relationship between the represented functional unit and
others, complemented by expectations for others. The rich picture can conclude that the problem
situation of each unit is related to the gap in the delivery of information among units which causes
gaps in collaboration culture in the process. The authors then confirm the gap with each
interviewee to obtain feedback on whether it is in accordance with the real condition presented.
Referring to the accepted rich picture, the authors begin to select a system for the best
solution based on consensus by defining Root Definition, PQR and CATWOE to build a
conceptual model. The authors draft a conceptual model for each Root Definition and discuss
it with experts consisting of five people representing the five observed functional units with
the specific criterion of having minimal eight years of experience in the related functional unit
as explained in Table 3. The experts were selected from seven people interviewed at the initial
stage based on their understanding of the process flow and the required information
exchange. The discussion lasted for approximately three hours in the first semester of 2022,
starting by presenting the research objectives and the applied methods, followed by showing
the proposed conceptual model. Afterwards, the authors provide an activity list for each
conceptual model as shown in Table 4 and ask the following questions:
(1) Has it already happened in the real situation? How is it done in the existing system?
(2) What is your recommendation or proposed solution to create an expected system?
The suggestions offered by the experts were conveyed directly during the discussion and
several were later submitted via email. The output was brought to several iterative
discussions through online communication with the experts until obtaining consensus on the
final conceptual model and the desired and feasible activities to be carried out to build an
information-sharing system to support collaboration culture improvement. This iteration
process lasted for approximately 2 months. Afterwards, based on the said agreement, the

Participants Working experience Role Other expertise

1 12 years The VP of Sales Product and Services Management

2 10 years The VP of PSM Data Scientist
3 13 years The VP of PMO Digital CRM Operations
Table 3. 4 9 years The VP of IT Development Solution Development
The profiles of the 5 10 years The VP of CRM Operations Digital CRM Sales
participants Source(s): Authors work
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Model 5
The digital
Activities Activities Activities Activities Activities service
creation
1. The sales team 1. The PSM team 1. The PMO 1. The system relates all 1. The CRM
updates the updates the team updates information about Operations team process
opportunities information about the information demand/opportunities, updates the
obtained from market/industrial about the services profile, and information
the market/ trend from external projects to the project record from the field to
prospect sources to the system the system
customers to the system
system
2. The system 2. The system saves 2. The system 2. The IT Development 2. The system
automatically the external automatically team grabs the automatically
connects the information in the relates the information about the relates the
opportunities/ data room information ongoing and upcoming information
prospects to the from the field projects from the data from the field
related with the room and initiatives for with the
information information new services and information
from internal from the PM enhancement from the CX
sources tools tools
3. The system 3. The system 3. The system 3. The IT Development 3. The system
saves the relates the saves the linked team creates the digital saves the linked
connected information in the information in services based on the information in
information in data room the data room product/service roadmap the data room
the data room and updates the progress
4. The system 4. The PSM team 4. The system 4. The system displays 4. The system
processes and obtains other displays the the related information on displays the
analyses the information needed related the dashboard related
data from the data room information and information and
insights on the experiences on
dashboard the dashboard
5. The system 5. The system 5. PM accesses – 5. The CRM
displays the processes and the dashboard to Operations team
related analyses the data obtain accesses the
information on information for dashboard to
the dashboard reporting obtain
information for
reporting
6. The sales team 6. The PSM team 6. PM accesses – 6. The CRM
obtains the periodically the dashboard to Operations team
information processes and evaluate the accesses the
needed from the analyses the data delay, resolve dashboard to
dashboard and updates the the problem, and evaluate, resolve
insight to the system define resolution the operational
for the next problem, and
project define action for
improvement
– 7. The system – – –
displays the related
information and
insights on the Table 4.
dashboard Proposed conceptual
Source(s): Authors work model activity list
JEIM authors then conducted intensive communication with the IT Development team and
the PSM team through online meetings to jointly design the expected system for about
2 months.

3.3 SSM-based action research

The observed company started BPO by operating traditional CRM, which has been transformed
into digital CRM since 2014. The traditional CRM in the BPO market transformed beyond
standard call centre towards more digital and integrated communication with end customers.
The company provides digital CRM services to support the business processes of its clients by
utilizing technology and internet-based customer touchpoints. The process of digital service
creation in this company is conducted by interdependent functional units with specific roles,
structured in 17 divisions in Sales, PSM, PMO, IT Development and CRM Operations groups.
This study involved seven of the functional unit senior leaders as respondents to
capture their perception of the process in the real world. Based on the information collected
from the interviews and informal talks, the problem is illustrated in a rich picture for each
relationship between the focused functional unit and others, revealing several significant
issues related to the interaction among all functional units included in the process of digital
service creation. The most common capability gap is then chosen from the selected issues
based on the perceptions and expectations of the respondents about other functional units
and expressed in a rich picture shown in Figure 3 which consists of five sections,
displaying the relationships of all functional units to each other in the digital service
creation process. Each section shows the perception of others about the focused functional
unit at the centre of the section. Two focused elements at the top, namely the Sales and
CRM Operations teams, are groups that directly interact with customers. While the Sales
team maintains and seeks opportunities from prospect customers, the CRM Operations
team maintains and seeks opportunities from existing customers. Three other groups at
the bottom support the Sales and the Operations teams, namely the PSM team, the PMO
team and the IT Development team.
The white arrows in Figure 3 signify job relations in the digital service creation process.
The Sales team receives orders both from their own prospective customers and the customers
of the CRM Operations unit, while the PMO team sends the orders to the IT Development
team and all related external partners. The PSM team plays the role of a business analyst who
gathers all information from inside and outside the company to support the Sales teams. The
CRM Operations team directly interacts with the IT Development team to resolve the problem
in the technical field that they are unable to solve. Meanwhile, the grey arrows show the
expectations of other groups for the focused functional unit, concluded in one statement of the
focused improvement of each group, shown in the centre of each circle. These focused
improvements are based on the perceptions and expectations of the other functional units,
later translated as one aspect to be resolved in the conceptual model.
Furthermore, the perceptions and expectations of each respondent as the representative of
a particular functional unit are explored to identify the gaps in the information-sharing
between the related units and others that lead to a lack of collaboration culture. The activities
to be carried out are defined with a Root Definition for each functional unit based on the
perceptions and expectations of others described in the rich picture. The root definitions
captured from each functional unit and the CATWOE to detail the related elements in those
activities are shown in Table 5.
The definition of the identified root causes is the basis for the creation of the conceptual
model that will be used to stimulate discussion about the real situation and the desired
changes. The conceptual models that represent each Root Definition including the measures
of activity performance are illustrated in Figure 4–8.
 PMO’s View PSM’s View PMO’s View
IT Dev’s View
The Sales team needs to upgrade de The Operaon team is expected to o The Operaon team is
The Sales team needs a understand about ulizing digital
their knowledge to improve thee expected to involve
leadership contribuon to
quality of orders to minimize technology, data scienst skills, more in the delivery
encourage the team campaign strategy, and managingg
changee requ
requests
queesstss Focused process
capability
caapabi improvement complaints to improve customer
Improvement of
p
experience
Sales: Focused Improvement of
The Sales team needs CRM Operaons:
to improve The Operaon team needs to Exisng
Prospect consultave selling improve the management of
Clients skills and grab high- digital services and experience
Clients
quality orders ssharing
Sales’ View
The Operaon team is IT Dev
Dev’s
v’ss Vie
View
e
PSM’s View
CRM Operaons’ View expected to be more The Operaon team
The sales team needs to improvee
The sales team has a lack acve in sharing the needs to assist
consultave selling skills by
service handling customers properly,
strengthening the role of businessss of capability to capture
experience and more especially in
soluon in creang value for thee customer requirements
involved in sales troubleshoong
customers

PMO’s View IT Dev’s View PSM’s View

PSM’s View PMO’s View
The PSM role as an The IT Dev team needs to
The PSM team is The PMO team needs to have a deep IT Dev should have a
alignment funcon provide an accessible and
expected to be understanding about customer minimum competency
between Sales & monitored progress
more confident as requirements prior to execung the standard to avoid
Operaon needs to be development dashboard to
an integrator orders to ensure the scope dependency on one person
more empowered provide clear updates to all
fulfilment related unit
Focused Improvement of Focused Improvement
PSM: Focused Improvement of
of PMO:
The PSM team is expected IT Development:
The PMO team needs to The IT Development team
to become an integrator improve the competence in
between Sales, Operaon needs to be reorganized
delivering digital services to focus on digital service
and IT Development teams
CRM
RM O Operaons’
peraons’ View development
The PM
PMO
MO team
team
am lacks
laac the Sales’ View CRM
C RMM Oper
Operaons’
ra View
Sales’ View CRM Operaons’ View competency in managing The IT Dev team is expected
The PSM Team is expected The IT Dev team is
The PSM team is digital service projects to provide an integrated
to be an informaon- expected to rounely
expected to rounely accessible dashboard for all release product
sharing intermediary units to grab and share
update the business documents and product
between the sales and the informaon related to digital
trends and insights readiness updates
producon units service creaon process
External Partners

Source(s): Authors, 2023; Adopted from Checkland and Poulter, 2006, 2020
creation
process
service
The digital

The rich picture of the

Figure 3.

real interaction
JEIM Related unit Problem situation
Sales The Sales team needs to
improve consultative selling
skills and grab high-quality
orders
PSM The PSM team is expected to
become an integrator between
Sales, Operations, and IT
Development teams
PMO The PMO team needs to
improve the competence in
delivering digital services
Table 5.
Root definitions of
relevant purposeful
activities
Root definition
To provide sufficient
information about
organizational capabilities and
customer demands (P) by
constructing a supporting sales
dashboard(Q) to improve
consultative selling skills and
grab high-quality orders (R)
To maximize the information
transfer process in creating a
valuable solution (P) by
developing the best mechanism
for grabbing and delivering all
information required (Q) to
improve the role of the PSM team
as an integrator (R)
To optimize the existing PM tool
(P) by integrating it with an end-
to-end process monitoring
dashboard (Q) to improve the
involvement and competence of
the delivery team in the digital
service creation process (R)
CATWOE
Customers: Top Management,
Customers, Other Functions
Actors: All functions in the
process
Transformation: Creating a
collaborated dashboard for
sharing experiences from others to
the sales team
Worldview: An integrated
supporting sales dashboard is
expected to connect the sales unit
with others to obtain all
information needed to make the
best solution for customers
Owners: All VPs of Sales
Environment: All parties involved
do not consistently share the
information needed
Customers: Top Management,
Customers, Other Functions
Actors: IT Development, PSM
Transformation: Creating an
integrated mechanism of data
capturing and insight sharing
Worldview: An integrated
mechanism of data capturing and
insight sharing is expected to
simplify the process of grabbing
all information needed by the PSM
team as the product owner and an
integrator
Owners: the VP of PSM
Environment: The data captured
originate from various sources
with various templates
Customers: Top Management,
Customers, Other Functions
Actors: PMO, IT Development
Transformation: Enhancing the
PM tool to become an integrated
end-to-end monitoring tool for
digital service creation
Worldview: An advance PM tool is
expected to simplify the project
monitoring and to improve the
level of competence of the PMO
team because PMO has been
involved since the stage of design
solution
Owners: The VP of PMO
Environment: The digital
competence of the PMO team also
depends on the quality order from
the Sales team
(continued )
Related unit Problem situation Root definition CATWOE
The digital
service
IT The IT Development team
Development needs to be reorganized to
To maximize the progress
update of the service
Customers: Top Management,
Customers, Other Functions
creation
focus on digital service development process (P) by Actors: IT Development, PSM, process
development building the best mechanism for PMO
grabbing the requirements and Transformation: Creating an
delivering all information needed integrated mechanism for
(Q) to provide the best digital gathering the requirements and
services (R) updating service development
Worldview: An integrated
mechanism for obtaining
information about the customer
pains/objectives is expected to
simplify the product design and
validation
Owners: All VPs of IT
Development
Environment: The changes in
market demand emerge faster
than the service development
process
CRM The CRM Operations team To maximize the information Customers: Top Management,
Operations needs to improve the transfer process in managing Customers, Other Functions
management of digital digital services (P) by developing Actors: IT Development, CRM
services and experience the best mechanism for grabbing Operations
sharing and delivering all information in Transformation: Creating an
the field (Q) to provide the best integrated mechanism of reporting
value for customers (R) and experience sharing of the
running services
Worldview: An integrated
mechanism of data capturing and
insight sharing is expected to
simplify the process of grabbing
all information that the Operations
team needs as a service factory
Owners: All VPs of Operations
Environment: The data captured
come from various sources with
various templates
Source(s): Authors work Table 5.

Figure 4 illustrates a supporting tool that provides an integrated dashboard that is accessible
by the Sales team to enrich their proposed solutions for the customers. This system helps the
Sales team create a value proposition based on the information gathered from all the
functional units involved and helps others understand their role from the market-driven
perspective to allow an effective and efficient digital service creation process (Bettencourt
et al., 2014).
The Sales team inputs all grabbed opportunities in the system that connects to the related
sources of other functional units to obtain the relevant information required, while the
captured information will be saved in the data room. Finally, the processed and analysed data
related to the opportunities will be displayed in a supporting sales dashboard. The integrated
dashboard has to meet three criteria below:
(1) Efficacy: The integrated dashboard is accepted by the Sales team as an easily used
tool to grab all information required to make the best solution for customers;
 JEIM

Figure 4.
Sales supporting tool
2. Connecng to related informaon 3. Saving the
informaon in 4. Processing &
Inpung needed
the data room analysing the data
opportunies to • Market/Industrial Trends
1. The Sales team updates the
the system (Source: PSM)
opportunies from the
• Managing Service Experience & Service
market/prospect customers
Profile 5. Displaying informaon on the
(Source: CRM Operaon, Project dashboard
Management, IT Development) • Business insights & credenals
• Iniaves for new services/
enhancement
• Digital service updates
• Experience record of digital service
management

Accessing the dashboard to get needed informaon

6. The Sales team obtains the informaon

needed from the dashboard

Monitoring 1-6 Defining 3E Criteria

Taking Control Acon

Source(s): Authors, 2023; Adopted from Checkland and Poulter, 2006, 2020
 The digital
service
2. Saving the 6. Periodically
creation
1. The PSM team updates Inpung 5. Processing
the informaon about informaon to informaon in the & analysing
Accessing the
system to analysing process
the product and services the system data room the data update product product/service
use cases demand &
performance
3. Relang informaon in the 7. Displaying informaon on
data room the dashboard
• Demand/Opportunity (Source: • Product Knowledge
Sales, CRM Operaon) • Product Use Cases
• Service Profile (Source: CRM • Iniaves for new digital
Operaon, IT Development) services transformaon
• PM Record (Source: PMO) • Market Trends

Accessing the data room to obtain the informaon needed

4. The PSM team obtains

other informaon needed
from the data room

Monitoring 1-7
Defining 3E Criteria
Figure 5.
Taking Control Acon
PSM information-
sharing mechanism
Source(s): Authors, 2023; Adopted from Checkland and Poulter, 2006, 2020

(2) Efficiency: Consuming fewer resources and time to understand the customer
requirements and proposing the best solutions based on the organizational
capabilities;
(3) Effectiveness: The integrated dashboard can improve the confidence level of the Sales
team in consultative selling and grab high-quality orders.
This system has a role as a liaison between the functional unit that shares the information and
others that require the information. Figure 5 illustrates the mechanism of capturing all data
required to enrich the dashboard and sharing the insight obtained from data analysis results.
This mechanism is expected to simplify the process of capturing all information and sharing
the insight with others by the PSM team, allowing them to utilize all aspects of the process
and the potential within the company to provide valuable insights (Lee et al., 2004). It has to fit
three criteria below:
(1) Efficacy: The mechanism is accepted by the PSM team as an easy way to gather all
information about business and technology trends in a specific industry, as well as to
process and analyse the information to become insights;
(2) Efficiency: Using fewer resources and time to grab and deliver information to the
related parties;
(3) Effectiveness: The integrated mechanism of data capturing and insight sharing
supports the PSM team in data processing and analysis to provide valuable solutions
for the company and its customers.
The role of the PMO team is to ensure the delivery of digital services within the promised
scope. Figure 6 illustrates an initiative to leverage the existing PM tool as a critical data
source in the system and collaborate with dashboards to become an integrated end-to-end
monitoring tool for digital service creation. This upgrade conditions the PMO to be engaged
 JEIM

Figure 6.

monitoring tool
Integrated project
Inpung progress
updates & the obstacles
to the PM Tools 2. Relang the informaon
from the PM Tools: 3. Saving the informaon in
1. The PMO team updates • Detail of the scope the data room
the project informaon • Time compleon
from the field • Progress & Obstacle
• Reason for delay
4. Displaying informaon on the dashboard
• Digital services project update
• Project historical based on products/
services and clients

Accessing the dashboard for reporng Accessing the dashboard for problem solving

5. The PMO team accesses the 6. The PMO team accesses the
dashboard to report the project dashboard to evaluate the delay,
progress update to the clients and resolve the problem, and define
the management resoluon for the next project

Monitoring 1-6
Defining 3E Criteria

Taking Control Acon

Source(s): Authors, 2023; Adopted from Checkland and Poulter, 2006, 2020
 The digital
1. Relang informaon in the data 4. Displaying informaon on service
room
• Demand/Opportunity (Source:
the dashboard
• Digital service project update creation
• Digital service development update
Sales, CRM Operaon)
• Service Profile (Source: CRM • Experience of digital service creaon process
Operaon, IT Development)
• Project Management Record
(Source: PMO)

Accessing the data room to obtain Accessing the system to update the
the informaon needed service development progress

3.a. The IT Development team creates

2.a. The IT Development team grabs the
informaon about the ongoing and
upcoming project from the data room
2.b. The IT Development team grabs the
informaon about iniaves for new
services/enhancement (service roadmap)
digital services based on customer orders
and updates the progress
3.b. The IT Development team creates digital
services based on the product/service
roadmap and updates the progress

Monitoring 1-4
Defining 3E Criteria Figure 7.
Taking Control Acon IT development
information-sharing
mechanism
Source(s): Authors, 2023; Adopted from Checkland and Poulter, 2006, 2020

in the project from the outset with the Sales team in capturing project opportunities and
creating better information sharing between the PMs and the service developers.
The critical success factor of the project is the products, the team, the project management
and communication (Sudhakar, 2012). Besides enabling all relevant functional units to obtain
the progress update of the latest project, this engagement will increase the competence level
of the PMs in providing better digital services (Teece et al., 1997). In addition, the PMO team
can access an integrated dashboard for evaluation and reporting based on more updated
data. This tool optimization has to meet three following criteria:
(1) Efficacy: The integrated end-to-end monitoring tool for digital service creation is
accepted by the PMO team as an easy way to be involved since the orders are received
for further understanding of the requirements;
(2) Efficiency: Better allocation planning and minimum order revision can reduce
wasting resources;
(3) Effectiveness: The integrated end-to-end monitoring tool for digital service creation is
needed to improve the digital competences of the PMO team.
Figure 7 illustrates the initiative to create a mechanism for gathering all requirements from the
users, allowing the IT Development team to update the information related to service
development more easily. In the real situation, the IT Development team receives orders from
the PMO team based on the projects won by the Sales team and direct requests from the CRM
Operations team concerning the customization or enhancement of services that have been
running in the process of the existing customers. The lack of collaboration in information-
sharing among units can cause inefficiency as too many resources are used for completing
similar projects.
Service development that has been performed for one client is frequently not identified
when another client submits the same request, causing longer project completion due to
 JEIM

Figure 8.

mechanism
CRM operations
information-sharing
Inpung
opportunies &
1. The CRM Operaons team 2. Relang the informaon 3. Saving the
service
updates the informaon from from the Customer Experience informaon in the
performance
the field: Tools: data room
data to the CX
• Client needs, pains, and Tool • Service Quality, Producvity
objecves & Profitability
• Service Level Fulfilment • Digital Service Performance
• Number of Digital
4. Displaying informaon on the
Interacon
dashboard
Experience track record of digital
service management

Accessing the dashboard Accessing the dashboard for

for reporng problem solving

5. The CRM Operaons 6. The CRM Operaons team

team accesses the accesses the dashboard to
dashboard to report the evaluate, resolve the
digital service performance operaonal problem, and
define acons for improvement

Monitoring 1-6 Defining 3E Criteria

Taking Control Acon

Source(s): Authors, 2023; Adopted from Checkland and Poulter, 2006, 2020
the repetition of work from scratch. The mechanism is expected to retrieve information The digital
related to the requirements and help the IT Development team create digital services service
according to customer requirements and regularly update their version according to
market needs as an inimitable competitive advantage (Teece and Pisano, 1994; H€aiki€o and
creation
Koivum€aki, 2016). On the other hand, information from the IT Development team process
regarding digital services that already exist or are in the development stage can be
accessed by other units to be aligned with their objectives. This mechanism has to meet the
following three criteria:
(1) Efficacy: The integrated mechanism for gathering requirements and updating
development progress is accepted by the IT Development team as an easy way to
support the service development process;
(2) Efficiency: Consuming less resources and time to gather the requirements and update
the development progress;
(3) Effectiveness: The integrated mechanism for gathering requirements and updating
development progress supports the IT Development team to be more productive in
developing fit digital services or products.
Figure 8 illustrates the initiative to create a new way of reporting to the stakeholders and
sharing the experience in managing services. This mechanism is expected to simplify the
process of grabbing all information needed by the CRM Operations team as a service
factory that has responsibility for ensuring the SLA achievement. It helps the CRM
Operations team grab, monitor and evaluate all information related to the running
services for service improvement. The experience of managing the services is
automatically shared in the dashboard to encourage other functional units in creating
the best solution for the customers. Moreover, this system is expected to support the
knowledge sharing of organizational learning (Dominguez-Pery et al., 2013) that matches
the three criteria below:
(1) Efficacy: The integrated operational reporting and experience-sharing dashboard is
accepted by the CRM Operations team as an easily used tool to understand service
performance and share the experience in managing the services;
(2) Efficiency: Consuming less resources and time to report and share the experience
with related parties;
(3) Effectiveness: The integrated operational reporting and experience-sharing dashboard
is needed to support the CRM Operations team to provide a better customer experience.
Subsequent to testing the conceptual models, an open discussion is conducted by involving
experts to confirm and validate the suitability of the models to the real situation. The
discussion begins by re-explaining the sequence of activities in the conceptual models and
asking whether these activities have been implemented in the real condition and how they
work, continued by asking the respondents for recommendations and agreeing on the actions
that can be taken to minimize the identified gaps as shown in Table 6. Broadly speaking, it
can be said that the company has built several yet separate tools. The data owned by each
functional unit are also stored in a separate database, thus hindering optimal collaboration
between functional units, particularly in sharing information related to the creation of digital
services.
Finally, the study defines actions to minimize the gaps. The defined actions are selected
based on the consideration of the desirability and the feasibility as shown in Table 7 and
formulated by extracting the activities implied by the root definitions to improve the situation
JEIM Conceptual model Identified gap

Sales Supporting Tool An integrated dashboard with complete information to encourage the
consultative selling skills of the Sales team is non-existent. The
information is presented in separate dashboards, namely the dashboard
of the PSM team regarding the products and services of the company,
the dashboard for the operational reporting of the CRM Operations
team, and the dashboard for the project monitoring of the PMO team
PSM Information-Sharing An integrated system supporting the PSM team to obtain all the
Mechanism information needed, process and analyse data, and share knowledge
with other units is non-existent. Sharing is performed through a
separate web, while other activities are still conducted manually
Integrated PM Tool The project monitoring dashboard still has limited information and is
not integrated into other databases except those in the existing PMO
tool
IT Development Information- An integrated system supporting the IT Development team to obtain all
Sharing Mechanism the information needed and update product and service development
progress to other units is non-existent. Sharing is performed through
separate tools, while other activities are still conducted manually
CRM Operations Information- An integrated system supporting the CRM Operations team to share
Sharing Mechanism their experience in managing digital services and make a
comprehensive evaluation of them is non-existent. Sharing and
evaluation are performed through separate tools, while other activities
Table 6. are still conducted manually
Identified gaps Source(s): Authors work

(Attefalk and Langervik, 2001). Based on the follow-up discussions conducted to find out the
feasible and desire activities, the authors intensively coordinate with the IT Development
team and PSM team to design the integrated system to eliminate the gaps and improve
collaboration culture in the digital service creation process as illustrated in Figure 9.

Real-world activities Defined action Desirable Feasible

The system saves the information in the
data room on each tool
The system does not relate the
information in all data room
The related information and insights are
displayed on the separate dashboard
The system does not automatically
process and analyse the data
Each functional unit obtains the
information needed from the separate tool
in a one-way communication rule
The related functional unit updates the
information into the separate tool
Table 7.
Defined actions Source(s): Authors work
To build a single data warehouse by Y Y
collaborating databases from the
collaborated tools
To run an automatic mechanism of Y Y
information capturing and sharing
To build a single dashboard by Y Y
collaborating all content of the
collaborated tools
To develop an appropriate data Y Y
modelling based on fit data
restructuring to process and analyse the
data automatically
To build an interactive information Y Y
sharing tool by collaborating the PMO
tool, the digital library tool, and the CX
tool in one integrated system
To create an internal policy consisting of Y Y
data input rules and reward
management
The expected integrated information-sharing system resolves the absence of collaboration The digital
culture in the process of digital service creation in the observed company by implementing service
the defined actions as shown in Table 7.
All desirable actions above are feasible to realize by collaborating all existing dashboards,
creation
which support all related activities to monitor and accelerate the digital service creation process
process as well as the three best mechanisms for optimizing all information in the process. All
information-sharing activities in this system are using a Data Warehouse as a single data
source. In addition to the technical activities, there is a highly critical action as a key success
factor, namely the consistency of data updating. It requires internal governance rules
consisting of data input rules and reward management to ensure the best implementation
result. Furthermore, proper governance is needed to realize collaborative work between
business units, establish standard implementation procedures and optimize the existing
services creation process to fulfil the next order (Raman and Bharadwaj, 2017).

4. Discussion
This study implements SSM-based AR as a learning process in the stages of support system
development to enhance collaboration culture in the digital service creation process. Learning
activities at the planning stage were carried out by selecting people who best understand the
process of creating digital services and then studying their understanding of the process,
including identifying gaps that occur in the relationships among functional units in the
process. Subsequent to analysing the perceptions and expectations of each functional unit
representative, the authors illustrated this understanding in a relationship diagram followed

CRM Operaons PSM

Informaon about
Informaon about Service Level business &
client needs, pains, Fulfilment technology trends
and objecves

Digital Library
Content
Sales
Sales Lead Data CX Tools IT Development
Informaon about • Detail Product Material
client needs, pains, requirements Product & Services
Service Quality,
and objecves • Sales funnel Development
Producvity &
progress update Industrial Experience Roadmap
Profitability
• Project feasibility and Soluon
Sales plan
study
Service Digital Services
Performance Development
Pre-feasibility study Market Update Update

Service
Engagement

Number of Digital
Interacon Digital Library
Supporng
Features

Content
Management
System

Search Engine and

Recommendaon
PMO System

Project Charter: Advance Digital Service

• Detail of the scope resources Project Progress Info Request Form
• Time compleon planning
• Reason for delay Figure 9.
Noficaon Alert
Integrated information-
sharing system
Source(s): Authors work
JEIM by creating a conceptual model that describes the relationship that should occur between
each functional unit and its environment in an ideal system. Learning activities at the design
stage occurred during the creation of the conceptual model and validation through
discussions with experts. Discussions were carried out in several iterations to produce an
agreed-upon conceptual model.
Learning activities ended with the elaboration by the authors to the IT Development team
and the PSM team to design an integrated information-sharing system by combining all final
conceptual models that have been validated by experts to ensure it is in accordance with the
agreement, including agreeing on system development activities that are mutually desirable
and feasible for implementation. This series of activities describe the implementation of SSM-
based AR as a suitable learning process for designing an integrated system to support
collaboration culture by integrating it into a system development methodology referred from
Everett and McLeod (2014).
This study also proves the dual role of AR (McKay and Marshall, 2001) in information
systems, in which one cycle is carried out not only as a problem-solving cycle for the
collaboration culture gap in the company but also as a research cycle to answer the research
question. The collaboration culture gap in the company is suggested to be eliminated by the
implementation of an agreed information-sharing system as an enabler aspect to improve
collaboration culture obtained through the implementation of SSM-based AR.
The stages in building an integrated information-sharing system to increase collaboration
culture in the BPO company can be implemented in other companies with a similar value
delivery model which serves business-to-business clients from varied industries, hence the
need for an integrated and effective information flow to deliver services according to dynamic
customer needs.

5. Conclusion
SSM-based AR in this study suggests a new pathway in the process of learning for
developing better collaboration culture in the organization. The integrated information-
sharing system is the learning tool resulting from the contributions of all participants. All
activities that arise in the learning process require the commitment of all process actors to
achieve maximum value. The continuous flow of information-sharing leads to constant
improvement to achieve better results in the digital service creation process of the
organization.
This study contributes both to the improvement of business performance and the
completion of academic purposes. It does not only create better value through process
refinement for a BPO company but also introduces a new approach to process learning
through methodology enhancement. It introduces a new way of using SSM-based AR to
design an integrated information-sharing system in the process of creating dynamic
digital services. This proposed system supports the improvement of collaboration culture
because it is designed based on a conceptual model whose activities are agreed upon by
the actors involved in the process.
Other implications of this study are the integrated information-sharing system designed
by the agreement of the process actors is identified as an enabler for other aspects in the
collaboration culture improvement and the integration of SSM-based AR with the
preparation and design stages in the information system development methodology is
introduced as a new way of learning in designing an integrated information-sharing system
to support the collaboration culture improvement.
The related actors are willing to collaborate and share to continuously improve the
process using the proposed integrated system. They also need to be encouraged to have a
high commitment to utilize this system optimally by consistently carrying out the activities in
the conceptual model. On the other hand, the leader needs to apply the rules and guidance to The digital
realize the commitment of the team, including providing reward management policies. service
This study is limited to a specific unit analysis and the SSM-based AR scope. The study
ended by defining an improvement with an integrated system proposed by the working
creation
teams to eliminate the collaboration culture gap in the process of digital service creation in the process
biggest Indonesian BPO company. Future studies are expected to evaluate the integrated
information-sharing system by reassessing the level of collaboration culture in creating
digital services subsequent to implementing the system for a measurable period and
employing a similar soft systems approach for another process learning in other business
activities.

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Corresponding author
Rachma Fitriati can be contacted at: rachma.fitriati@ui.ac.id

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