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PurposeThe paper proposes the development of a graphical architecture description language (ADL) that allows a better understanding of software architectures for nontechnical actors and purposes and, beyond, can serve as a communication tool between domain experts and IT experts, for instance, in a software development process.Design/methodology/approachThe paper follows the methods and guidelines of design science research. By deriving characteristics and general requirements for ADLs from a research literature review and from industry standards, the paper provides a conceptual modeling approach for an ADL. The model design is based on typical requirements and suggestions derived from literature and related work. The application possibilities and advantages are then demonstrated with a usage scenario.FindingsThe paper elaborates a user-oriented ADL that makes software architecture comprehensible for stakeholders and end users. It provides a high level of abstraction and, thus, is not restricted to a particular domain. The paper also provides a corresponding modeling editor as well as an underlying catalogue with symbols and rules for the ADL.Research limitations/implicationsAs this is a conceptual study, the ADL has not been practically evaluated yet. Thus, the usefulness of this academic approach for the industry remains to be validated.Originality/valueThe elaborated ADL can serve as a language to visualize software architectures, particularly in the business domain, in a comprehensible manner. Still, it retains the structured character of ADLs to facilitate communication on an IT-near level. In including nontechnical actors, the approach broadens the overall application capabilities of ADLs.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine which factors influence the cross‐national organizational adoption of electronic human resource management (e‐HRM) in Europe.Design/methodology/approachMajor general and contextual influence factors are derived and tested based on a large‐scale survey with a sample of 2,336 organizations in 23 European countries using logistic regression.FindingsThe findings first reveal that e‐HRM is a common practice throughout Europe since two‐thirds of all organizations have already adopted e‐HRM. Major general determinants of e‐HRM adoption are size, work organization, and configuration of HRM. In addition, there are major cross‐national differences in e‐HRM adoption, unexpectedly revealing Eastern post‐communist countries to lead e‐HRM adoption.Research limitations/implicationsAbundance of general and scarcity of contextual factors imply that there should be further important factors of adoption not considered in this paper. Owing to its cross‐sectional character, the paper is not able to reveal findings of convergence or divergence of adoption over time.Practical implicationsHR professionals should be informed about the advanced state of e‐HRM adoption, while some general insights are offered which kind of organizations should take an adoption of e‐HRM into consideration.Originality/valueThis paper is a large‐scale sample‐based evaluation of cross‐national influence factors that drive organizational adoption of e‐HRM in Europe.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate types, contexts and consequences of electronic HRM (e-HRM) configurations to get a deeper understanding of the reasons, kinds and success of different e-HRM types.Design/methodology/approach– The paper uses a cross-sectional survey of senior HR persons and analyses data with exploratory methods, i.e. cluster analysis, classification tree analysis and analysis of variance.Findings– The results show that actually three configurations of e-HRM – "non users", "operational users" and "power users" – exist. These can be explained by a sparse, yet meaningful set of contextual variables. All three configurations markedly contribute to organisational success, whereas the "power user"-configuration exceeds the other configurations.Research limitations/implications– The employed e-HRM typology shows a precursory status and the empirical study is exploratory in nature. Thus, searching for a clearer theoretical foundation, improving the hypothesising of variables and undertaking further empirical studies to replicate the findings are necessary future steps.Practical implications– Not always a maximum of electronic support seems to be indicated. Depending on the respective organisational context, even no electronic support, or else, a merely operational electronic support appears to be admissible; while, however, in larger and strategic-oriented organisations full electronic support outperforms other configurations.Originality/value:–The paper focuses on different e-HRM types and gives some first insights into reasons, kinds and success of different configurations. This should lead to a refined understanding of e-HRM and evoke further research on the subject.