João Álvaro Carvalho

Efficiency is often the rationale behind judicial reforms, as most courts face challenges concerning backlogs, delays, and costs. Justice was slower than other public sectors at exploiting information technology (IT). Consequently, the history of e-justice initiatives is, relatively recent. This contributes to a lack of empirical assessment studies on the impact of justice initiatives. This article addresses this gap. It describes a study that analyzes 14 years of IT use in Brazilian state courts to determine whether the actual use of IT-Court Case Management platforms-lives up to the promise of higher efficiency in courts. The study uses the rate of IT use as the independent variable and efficiency indicators (length of court cases, number of pending cases, and clearance rate) as dependent variables. Data from 2010 to 2023 was analyzed through Panel Data regression, combining time series and cross-sectional dimensions. However, the hypothesis predicting a positive impact of IT use on efficiency was rejected. After discussing possible reasons for the results obtained, the article suggests that despite undeniable gains in specific stages of court case flow, overall justice efficiency was not affected.

The implementation of government information systems has been a means to improve social, political, and economic conditions and the quality of life of its citizens. However, the systems of the governments are very different and even within a country there are distinctions between the federal, state, local and agency levels according to their specific context and capabilities. Among the governmental systems, electronic procurement is critical as they are related to a significant part of public spending. The purpose of this paper is to describe an assessment of the current state of digitization of procurement processes of innovative governments to deduce components of a common architecture from their best practices experiences that can be utilized for benchmark evaluation. This study employed an Action Design Research approach to identify, stakeholders, processes, system applications, technological components, and standards of a generic architecture for e-procurement. As a result, it was possible to deduce from countries implemented cases and validate through an organization benchmarking action case a generic architecture with four main system components: (1) e-planning of government procurement, (2) e-selection of suppliers, and (3) e-provisioning of goods and services from suppliers (4) e-services to citizens. The most developed component in government cases is e-selection, however, further developments should be carried out in e-planning and e-provisioning, mainly the integration with e-services. This work demonstrates how management research can create references for digital transformation. As a practical implication, the architectural model provides professionals with a tool for benchmark assessments, for decision-make on the evolution of functionalities and system requirements for government e-procurement.

Access to justice summarises other fundamental values and guarantees comprising different aspects. In Administration of Justice studies, access can be understood as access to judicial services and information. Judicial Desk Services (JDS) play a crucial role in helping bring justice access to citizens, a fact often overlooked. These units, among the most demanded inside judiciaries, serve not only lawyers but also the citizens they represent, directly connecting the recipients of justice with the judiciary units. This paper describes the Brazilian experience transforming the JDS into a virtual service, emphasising its effects on broadening access to justice and promoting efficiency. The approach is descriptive and exploratory, based on documental analyses of rules, meeting minutes, official reports and workers' narratives. It also aims to explore the reasons for its wide acceptance. The experience may be transposed to other government sectors or different countries' judiciaries, promoting access to justice for all.

Purpose: The paper reports a study that evaluated the effectiveness and usefulness of Business and Technology Management (BTM), a management practice for formulating business digital strategies that address organization, processes and technology in an integrative way. Design/methodology/approach: The research followed action design research guidelines that combine the methodological principles of design science research and action research. Findings: Evidence from the study confirmed the adequacy and usefulness of BTM as a solution to an old management problem of internal fit, synergies, alignment or strategic integration. It also led to an improvement in its way of working, namely, a management practice with four process stages: (1) define trade objectives, (2) design an integrated business model, (3) manage the business transformation and execution and (4) evaluate the results obtained. Research limitations/implications: The study exemplifies how practice research can be used within a long-term research pursuit to provide empirical evidence that permits evaluating and improving a research-originated management approach. Practical implications: Being a theory-for-action, BTM has direct relevance for managers engaged in defining organizational and technological strategies connected with business results. The paper discloses an improved version of BTM together with a description of its application in a medium-sized company operating in the tourism sector. Originality/value: BTM addresses a recurrent issue raised by researchers and practitioners concerning a failure to bring different management perspectives together when formulating a strategy. Therefore, its value lies in its ability to assist in the integration of management perspectives into business development initiatives.

Review of the article Adoption of Technology Acceptance and Interfaces for Academic Information System Applications The authors carried out a study about the implementation (I would call it “implantation” :-) ) of an IT application in an organizatio...

The use of data about judicial procedures is crucial to improve the overall administration of justice, define strategies for justice institutions, promote transparency, broaden access, and enhance confidence in the justice system. Nevertheless, data collected worldwide has been sparse and inconsistent as most countries have been late to start steadily adopting information technology in the Justice System. Brazil is an exception, as the country has been collecting digital judicial data systematically since 2009. Despite its enormous geographical and population dimensions and its heterogeneity of legal systems among the states, Brazil managed to develop and implement the National Database of the Brazilian Judiciary (DataJud) as a result of 15 years of studies and experience coordinated by the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and with the participation of the Brazilian Judiciary actors. The paper presents DataJud, the main previous events that favoured its creation, its characteristics, and two results and firsts benefit of the platform: Dashboard of Statistics of the Judiciary and Dashboard of Major Litigants.

One of the main problems in implanting enterprise applications in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is the lack of methodological support to guide SMEs and IT consultants in this process. Besides, there is little information about leading the implantation project, change management, leadership, and communication in an integrated way. This article's objective is to provide methodological guides that allow the implantation teams to carry out this management appropriately. This work is based on a field study and interviews with key informants who know about implanting Enterprise IT Applications (EITA) in SMEs. This research results in a descriptive framework that allows the joint management of these four transversal areas (leadership, communication, project management, and change management) and the two focus areas (processes and people).