bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Vineyard Approach
Authors: Vivacqua Adriana S. , Souza Jana Moreirade
Published: February 2011

Recent research has noted that individuals engage in multiple collaborations simultaneously and have difficulties managing these different contexts. Studies indicate that awareness of others’ activities plays an important part in collaboration. Proximity also has a strong effect on collaboration, as maintaining awareness of peers becomes harder in distributed environments. Many awareness systems have been proposed to deliver information on peers’ activities or status, which usually either require extensive configuration by the user or disseminate information regardless of users’ interests. With the increase in information available, systems must be sensitive to users’ attention foci, minimizing interruptions, and helping focus and providing information according to current tasks. We have been investigating ways to determine awareness foci through e-mail-based user interaction analysis. Our goal is to be able to draw inferences as to whom and about what a user is collaborating, enabling a system to automatically distribute awareness information and adapt itself according to users’ needs without much configuration.
Determinants of Manufacturing Firms' Intent to Use Web Based Systems to Share Inventory Information with their Key Suppliers
Authors: Hadaya Pierre , Pellerin Robert
Published: February 2011

Based on the literature on the diffusion of innovations and on information systems, and building on emerging concepts in electronic collaboration (e-collaboration), this article measures the influence of various determinants on manufacturing firms’ intent to use Web-based inter-organizational information systems (IOISs) to share inventory information with their key suppliers. This theoretical model is tested on data collected from 498 senior managers of Canadian manufacturing firms. Our findings indicate that a manufacturing firm’s organizational readiness, its past experience with e-commerce and its business relationships all affect its future use of Web-based IOISs to share inventory information with its key suppliers. The results of Tobit regressions also provide supporting evidence that firm size moderates the impact of the present use of e-commerce with suppliers on manufacturing firms’ intent to use Web-based IOISs to share inventory information with key suppliers.
Creativity Support via Terms in Thematic Relations
Authors: Yamamoto Eiko , Isahara Hitoshi
Published: February 2011

Creativity is required in many fields of endeavor—especially industry and scientific research. Creative tasks we consider in this article include not only creative tasks by single individual or multiple individuals, but also collaborative tasks accomplished by a group of individuals with support of e-collaboration technologies. The difficulty of formulating new ideas calls for the development of an environment that supports creativity. Moreover, it is known that people tend to become more creative when they use words that are related thematically rather than taxonomically. In light of this, we sought to extract lists of words having a thematic relation. In this article, we propose a method of extracting such word lists and verify, through Web retrieval, that word lists with a thematic relation can support creativity. The verification method is based on the belief that we can acquire certain knowledge if a word list directs us to informative Web pages and the knowledge included in such pages is useful and can itself stimulate creativity. As a result of our experiment, we report that our methodology can extract word lists available to support creativity.
Advertised Waist-to-Hip Ratios of Online Female Escorts
Authors: Saad Gad
Published: February 2011

The Web’s global reach provides evolutionary behavioral scientists unique opportunities to investigate human universals steeped in a common and evolved human nature. In the current article, it is argued that many forms of online sexual communication are indicative of our evolved mating minds, including the manner by which female escorts are “advertised” online. It is demonstrated that online advertisers provide a restricted set of morphological cues whilst advertising female escorts, these being congruent with men’s evolved aesthetic preferences. Specifically, it is shown that irrespective of cultural setting, online escorts advertise waist-to-hip ratios (WHR) that are in line with the near-universal male preference for women that possess WHRs of 0.70.
Internationalization of Online Professional Communities
Authors: Yu Martin Yuecheng , Lang Karl , Kuman Nanda
Published: February 2011

We report on an empirical investigation of the internationalization of an online community of practice situated in academe and which fosters among its members communication and collaboration. Attracting additional active participants throughout the world is an important goal for many online professional communities. Based on theories and findings in the innovation diffusion and international business literature, we propose that cultural distance has significant negative effects on the activity of an online community encompassing different countries, while economic conditions will moderate this negative impact. An empirical study based on the archival data from AIS-ISWorld, an online community of information systems academics, supports our central hypotheses.
Occurrence and Effects of Leader Delegation in Virtual Software Teams
Authors: Zhang Suling , Tremaine Marilyn , Egan Rich , Milewski Allen , O'Sullivan Patrick , Fjermestad Jerry
Published: February 2011

Virtual teams are an important work structure in software development projects. However, little is known about what constitutes effective virtual software team leadership, in particular, the amount of leader delegation that is appropriate in a virtual software-development environment. This study investigates virtual software team leader delegation and explores the impact of delegation strategies on virtual team performance mediated by team motivation, team flexibility and team satisfaction with the team leader. This research is a report of a pilot study run on student teams carried out to refine and test the research constructs and research model for a larger study run in corporations. The study found that virtual team leaders delegate more to competent virtual teams and that such delegation is positively correlated with team member satisfaction with their leader and with team member motivation. Overall, the work provides important information for software-based organizations interested in developing virtual team leadership skills.
The Impacts of Electronic Collaboration and Information Exploitation Capability on Firm Performance
Authors: Ko Ilsang , Olfman Lorne , Choi Sujeong
Published: February 2011

We defined electronic collaboration as consisting of two major activities: electronic information sharing (EIS) and electronic cooperation (ECo). We evaluated the extent of EIS and ECo that suppliers contribute to their development of an information exploitation capability (IEC). This capability enables them to utilize internally both information and knowledge created from electronic collaboration. We assessed the effects of electronic collaboration activities and IEC on a firm performance. We collected surveys from 169 firms, and conducted a Structural Equation Model analysis. The results of the statistical analysis indicated that electronic information sharing exerts a clear effect on electronic cooperation. Electronic information sharing and electronic cooperation are major sources for the development of information exploitation capability. Both electronic cooperation and information exploitation capability result in improved company performance. We determined that the information exploitation capability has a partial mediating effect between electronic information sharing and electronic cooperation on firm performance.
Investigating IOS Adoption Maturity Using a Dyadic Approach
Authors: Ali Mazen , Kurnia Sherah , Johnston Robert B.
Published: February 2011

Interorganizational systems (IOS) adoption requires cooperation and collaboration between trading partners and, therefore, is reliant on the nature of their relationships. There has been some research that investigates relationships and how organizations progress from one level to the next level of adoption. However, these studies do not adequately justify the exclusion of other variables and are not theoretically based. This research extends the Kurnia and Johnston (2000) process model of IOS adoption by incorporating the notion of IOS adoption maturity and also modifies it from a supply chain to a dyadic level so better evaluations of progression can be performed. With this model, the dynamics of IOS adoption maturity can be better examined empirically.
A Framework Describing the Relationships among Social Technologies and Social Capital Formation in Electronic Entrepreneurial Networking
Authors: Burke Kelly , Calton Jerry M
Published: February 2011

E-commerce technologies—including online exchanges—focus heavily on transaction support. They are designed primarily to reduce transaction costs between suppliers, producers, distributors, and customers. Entrepreneurs however are not likely to realize the full business potential of e-commerce unless the transaction technologies are simultaneously supported by technology-enabled social learning networks used to stimulate the formation of social capital in its three primary manifestations. Toward that end this article argues that a number of Internet-based social technologies (e.g., email, chat, blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc.) can be used more effectively when it is understood that each technology offers different characteristics in support of the formation of different dimensions of social capital. This article presents a conceptual framework describing the capacities of various social technologies for supporting the formation of social capital. A primary thrust of the article is that alignment of a social technology infrastructure with the social capital requirements in entrepreneurial communities will facilitate the formation of electronic learning networks, enabling more collaborative and therefore more successful entrepreneurial communities.
A Qualitative Study of Web-Based Knowledge Communities
Authors: Lin Hui , Fan Weiguo , Zhang Zhongju
Published: February 2011

Web-based knowledge communities (WKCs) have become prevalent in recent years for individuals with similar interests to collectively engage in knowledge acquisition and exchange in a global context. The growing popularity of WKCs and their fast penetration into almost all aspects of life call for more research on this important area. In this study, we explore and examine success factors of WKCs. To accomplish this research objective, we conducted a qualitative study to uncover a list of success factors that would affect the success of WKCs. Through open and axial data coding techniques using a grounded theory approach, we identified four main success factors: information quality, system quality, community governance, and pro-sharing norms. We further categorized dimensions of information quality, system quality, and community governance. Based on the results, we proposed a conceptual framework to examine WKC success. The implications are also discussed.
Measuring Collective Cognition in Online Collaboration Venues
Authors: Dwyer Paul
Published: February 2011

By monitoring online conversations, organizations can receive value from the intellectual activity of their most interested constituents as they engage in problem solving and ideation. However, since intergroup dynamics often hinders people from optimizing collaboration, it should be measured and monitored for quality. Current metrics assess collaborative value solely from the number of collaborators, assuming that differences between individuals can be ignored. This study found that assumption to be wrong by identifying three distinct collaborator segments that strongly differ in the timing of their participation and in the variety of ideas they introduce. Therefore, a new metric is proposed that takes into account the diverse value individuals add. This new measure is correlated with existing measures only in those infrequent situations when collaboration productivity is maximized.
An Agent-Based Multi-Issue Negotiation System in E-Commerce
Authors: Shih Timothy K. , Chiu Chuan-Feng , Hsu Hui-Huang
Published: February 2011

Due to the growth of the Internet and computing power of PCs, activities in the real world have been changed with the help of computers. Internet commerce became an interesting research area along with the change of this new computing environment. In a traditional commerce environment, negotiation was an interesting topic in the past. In the new Internet commerce environment, computer-supported negotiation becomes interesting in academics. In this paper, we propose a computer-supported negotiation agent system on the Internet that helps buyers make decisions. We believe that a negotiation mechanism is based on a multi-attribute utility theory and the negotiation strategy focuses on the weighting adjustment on multiple issues. Therefore, our negotiation mechanism is based on a multi-attribute utility theory and the negotiation strategy focuses on the weighting adjustment on multiple issues. On the other hand, software agents are a useful technology in this new computing environment and the technology has several advantages in solving different computing problems. In a negotiation process, the user cannot handle the complex process individually. Also, the process is a time consuming task. Thus, we use the advantage of agent technology as the major system developed approach. With the help of the technology, the system can be more efficient in many Internet commerce applications.
An Exploratory Study of Operant Conditioning Theory as a Predictor of Online Product Selection
Authors: Perotti Victor , Sorce Patricia , Widrick Stanley
Published: February 2011

The present research applies operant conditioning theory to the question of what products and services consumers will shop for and buy online. Operant conditioning theory explains differences between products that are used to alleviate uncomfortable experiences (negative reinforcement) and those providing enjoyable experiences (positive reinforcement). The preliminary results described in this study confirmed the importance of operant conditioning as a factor in the behavior of online shoppers. For example, when asked to provide an open-ended list of products that they had shopped for, our respondents mentioned products that produce positive reinforcement 476 times versus only 4 mentions for those that create negative reinforcement. Furthermore, for a list of seventeen common product categories, the results showed that respondents were not only less likely to shop for negative reinforcement products but also even less likely to purchase negative products online than positive products. The results of this exploratory study lay the groundwork for future research by introducing negative and positive reinforcement as a predictor of Internet shopping behavior.
Implementing E-Government Strategy in Scotland
Authors: Li Feng
Published: February 2011

Using Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) to transform public services is a central element of the current UK Government’s strategy for modernising government. This paper explores the development of e-government by an in-depth study of the current position in the public sector in Scotland. The research involved an evaluation of the web sites of a wide range of public sector organisations, a survey of chief executives and interviews with five key stakeholders. The results of this research suggest that public sector organisations in Scotland recognise the importance of e-government but are currently at a very early stage in developing electronic services. There is a gap between the rhetoric about the potential of e-government and the reality on the ground. In particular, the public sector organisations involved in this research appear to be more sceptical about the ability of ICTs to break down barriers within and between organisations than those who advocate e-government as a solution to this problem. Issues on balancing conflicting objectives between implementing E-government strategy and other strategic initiatives will also be highlighted. The paper concludes by suggesting a number of key issues that will need to be addressed if e-government is to fulfil its potential and transform the way public sector organisations manage their activities and interact with customers and citizens.
E-CRM Analytics
Authors: Nemati Hamid R. , Barko Christopher D. , Moosa Ashfaaq
Published: February 2011

Electronic Customer Relationship Management (e-CRM) Analytics is the process of analyzing and reporting online customer/visitor behavior patterns with the objective of acquiring and retaining customers through stronger customer relationships. To better understand the role of data integration in achieving the goals of e-CRM, the authors conducted a study by means of a survey. The results of this study propose that although online, offline and external data integration has its complexities, the value added is significant. This survey of CRM professionals is composed of two parts. The first part investigated the nature of the data integrated and the data architecture deployed. The second part analyzed the technological and organizational value added with respect to the e-CRM initiative. The findings suggest that organizations that integrate data from various customer touch-points have significantly higher benefits, user satisfaction and return on their investment (ROI) than those that do not. Additional insights are also presented exploring the role of data integration in e-CRM projects at both business to business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) firms. For organizations implementing e-CRM, this study reveals that data integration is worth their time, money and efforts.
Building Blocks of an E-Government
Authors: Sharma Sushil K. , Gupta Jatinder N.
Published: February 2011

The movement toward electronic government (e-government) is rapidly advancing as nations exploit new electronic means of communication such as the Internet. The e-government transformation process can be and often is seriously hindered when initiatives are disjointed and uncoordinated by an overall strategy. Although many countries are creating e-government services, there is no documentation of an e-government framework to guide the process. Guidelines for implementation of e-government are also missing from the literature. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize a framework that could guide the transformation process toward an e-government model. The paper also suggests various actions needed for e-government implementation.
E-Commerce
Authors: Gunasekaran Angappa , McGaughey Ronald E. , McNeil Ronald D.
Published: February 2011

The emergence of e-commerce (EC) is changing business theory and practice. Educational institutions and companies are trying to educate and train students and employees in EC applications and technology. Because EC is evolving and changing so rapidly, organizations face numerous challenges, and there are opportunities in developing curricula for EC. Surprisingly, few good studies look closely into the development of curricula and teaching methods for EC processes, practices, and technologies. In this article, we discuss EC education with particular emphasis on potential opportunities and challenges faced in developing and implementing e-commerce curricula. The ideas and framework presented herein are based on relevant EC literature, the authors’ own experiences, curricula from universities with EC programs, and information gathered from colleagues who teach e-commerce and related courses. We highlight possible shortcomings in EC education and training and propose a framework for improving the effectiveness of an EC education.
An Online Problem-Based Model For The Learning Of Java
Authors: Tsang Andy Chak Wun , Chan Nelson
Published: February 2011

To enhance student learning effectively, problem-based learning appears to be an efficient pedagogy. This paper proposes a model for Problem-Based Learning (PBL) via a commonly used communication infrastructure, the Internet. The model is called the Online Problem-Based Model of Learning Java. There are three components, namely, Communication Module, Visual Module, and Supporting Module. All components are posted onto a departmental Web site for student access. The Communication Module consists of a class chat room, a group chat room, a discussion forum, and e-mail facilities that are used to reduce the resources required to deliver the PBL activities and to provide a convenient collaboration environment. The Supporting Module contains an Object-Oriented Concept Module and a Problem Case Module. The Object-Oriented Concept Module equips students with basic Java language concepts, while the Problem Case Module requires students to use a PBL methodology to solve a given problem case. The Visual Module is designed with both a Top-Down methodology and a Problem-Solving approach (Whitten, Bentley, & Dittman, 2001).
Sociotechnical Study of e-Business
Authors: Clegg Chris W. , Chu Catherine , Smithson Steve , Henney Alan , Willis Dianne , Jagodzinski Peter , Hopkins Brian , Icasati-Johanson Belen , Fleck Steven , Nicholls John , Bennett Stuart , Land Frank , Peltu Malcolm , Patterson Malcolm
Published: February 2011

This paper reports on a study that investigated the status and anticipated development of e-Business activity. A prime aim of the study was to increase understanding of the human and organizational issues that arise with e-Business, and the extent to which these are currently addressed. An expert panel method was used, which involved interviewing 70 leading practitioners of, and experts in, e-Business in the UK. The findings identify the distinguishing novel features of e-Business, highlight the key issues it raises, and provide evidence of current uptake and impacts. The findings include ideas on good practice. The study emphasizes the importance of taking a holistic, sociotechnical view of the complex set of interrelated changes involved in e-Business.
E-Commerce Education in China
Authors: Zhang Xianfeng , Li Qi , Lin Z.
Published: February 2011

With an explosive growth of e-businesses worldwide, e-commerce in China is booming, leading to the development of e-commerce education. This paper is intended to investigate whether the education system in China accords well with the market demand and the status of e-commerce programs in China in order to seek strategies for China to cope with the challenges of global e-commerce empowered by fast updated information technologies. First, we construct a four-layer conceptual model to describe the relevant factors influencing e-commerce and e-commerce education. We then present the status of China’s e-commerce education in different educational categories. Although we find that current problems in China’s e-commerce education can be resorted in quantity and quality aspects, it generally is on the right track. Finally, we propose several main strategies for promoting the development of e-commerce education, in which the education system reformation is top priority and in which the government will play a critical role.
Jurisdiction in B2C E-Commerce Redress in the European Community
Authors: Eang Ong Chin
Published: February 2011

E-commerce jurisdiction always has been an issue, because e-commerce exists in a borderless environment, and this e-environment diminishes the importance of physical location and locality. This imposes a great concern over which country’s jurisdiction to engage when disputes occur between business and consumer in the e-environment. This is crucial when the consumer is seeking redress, as there is always the question where a court action should be brought. The current jurisdictions by the European Commission (EC) within the European Union (EU), the E-Commerce Directive — Country of Origin and Rome II — are still in the drafting process. These legislations are not the total solution. This paper is a review of the issue of current jurisdiction, whether there is a need to call for a single jurisdiction, and what complications arise when seeking redress in this borderless e-environment. This paper also raises important issues that relate to the gaps and loopholes that exist in Country of Origin and Rome II.
Online Consumers' Switching Behavior
Authors: Li Dahui , Browne Glenn J. , Wetherbe James C.
Published: February 2011

Limited studies have investigated online consumer loyalty and retention from a relationship orientation in electronic commerce research. It is important to understand the differences in relationship orientations between people who have the propensity to stick to particular Web sites (“stayers”) and people who have the propensity to switch to alternative Web sites (“switchers”). This study proposes a relationship-based classification schema consisting of five dimensions: that is, commitment, trust, satisfaction, comparison level of the alternatives, and nonretrievable investment. Data were collected from 299 college students who had experience with e-commerce Web sites. Using discriminating analysis, we found that stayers and switchers were significantly different along the five research dimensions. Satisfaction with the current Web site was the most important discriminant factor, followed by trust, commitment, comparison level of alternative Web sites, and nonretrievable investment in the current Web site. Implications of the findings for researchers and practitioners are discussed.
Offshoring
Authors: Gupta Amar , Seshasai Satwik , Mukherji Sourav , Ganguly Auroop
Published: February 2011

The changing economic and labor conditions have motivated firms to outsource professional services activities to skilled personnel in less expensive labor markets. This offshoring phenomenon is studied from a political, economic, technological and strategic perspective. Next, an analytical model is developed for achieving strategic advantage from offshoring based on global partnerships. The model studies the impact of offshoring with respect to the complexity and strategic nature of the tasks and presents a decision strategy for obtaining value through offshoring of increasingly complex tasks. The result is an integrated “24-hour knowledge factory” that is based on a sustainable global model rather than a short term fiscal model. This 24-hour paradigm embodies the shift-style workforce that evolved for the manufacturing sector during the Industrial Revolution and relies on a set of critical success factors in the current environment. A case example is provided from IBM to illustrate these underlying critical success factors.
Innovative Technological Paradigms for Corporate Offshoring
Authors: Patki Tapasya , Patki A. B.
Published: February 2011

Internet technology has impelled us to develop faith in the modern practices of business, commerce, and trade. Offshoring has been viewed as a global phenomenon on the economic frontier. While new technologies need to be framed, stopgap arrangements in the form of transient solutions to upgrade the current systems are also desired. Newer regulations and multi-jurisdictional compliance have profound impacts on the growth of outsourcing projects. The development of new technological solutions must challenge the myth that legislation and statutory practices are the only possible mechanisms to counter the unscrupulous activities in the context of outsourcing. A change in the outlook toward such methodologies is essential to shed away the technological inertia and latency. This article opens up discussion issues in the perspective of hardware and software requirements for efficient offshoring. The aim is to achieve higher precision, protection, and throughput by applying core-computing techniques to the existing practices of outsourcing.
A Movie E-shop Recommendation Model Based on Web Usage and Ontological Data
Authors: Aresti Andreas , Markellou Penelope , Mousourouli Ioanna , Sirmakessis Spiros , Tsakalidis Athanasios
Published: February 2011

Recommendation systems are special personalization tools that help users to find interesting information and services in complex online shops. Even though today’s e-commerce environments have drastically evolved and now incorporate techniques from other domains and application areas such as Web mining, semantics, arti- ficial intelligence, user modeling, and profiling setting up a successful recommendation system is not a trivial or straightforward task. This paper argues that by monitoring, analyzing, and understanding the behavior of customers, their demographics, opinions, preferences, and history, as well as taking into consideration the specific e-shop ontology and by applying Web mining techniques, the effectiveness of produced recommendations can be significantly improved. In this way, the e-shop may upgrade users’ interaction, increase its usability, convert users to buyers, retain current customers, and establish long-term and loyal one-to-one relationships.
Developing Mobile Commerce Applications
Authors: Folinas Nikolaos , Vassiliadis Panos , Pitoura Evaggelia , Papapetrou Evangelos , Zarras Apostolos
Published: February 2011

In this article, we deal with context-aware query processing in ad-hoc peer-to-peer networks. Each peer in such an environment has a database over which users execute queries. This database involves (a) relations which are locally stored and (b) virtual relations, all the tuples of which are collected from peers that are present in the network at the time when a query is posed. The objective of our work is to perform query processing in such an environment and, to this end, we start with a formal definition of the system model. Next, we formally define SQLP, an extension of SQL that covers the termination of queries, the failure of individual peers and the semantic characteristics of the peers of such a network. Moreover, we present a query execution algorithm as well as the formal definition of all the operators that take place in a query execution plan.
Designing Reputation and Trust Management Systems
Authors: Beck Roman
Published: February 2011

This article analyzes the handling of customer complaints after shipping ordered goods by applying automated reputation and trust accounts as decision support. Customer complaints are cost intensive and difficult to standardize. A game theory based analysis of the process yields insights into unfavorable interactions between both business partners. Trust and reputation mechanisms have been found useful in addressing these types of interactions. A reputation and trust management system (RTMS) is proposed based on design theory guidelines as an IS artifact to prevent customers from issuing false complaints. A generic simulation setting for analysis of the mechanism is presented to evaluate the applicability of the RTMS. The findings suggest that the RTMS performs best in market environments where transaction frequency is high, individual complaint-handling costs are high compared to product revenues, and the market has a high fraction of potentially cheating customers.
Adding Value to SMEs in the Courier Industry by Adopting a Web-Based Service Delivery Model
Authors: Darbyshire Paul
Published: February 2011

The aim of this research is to design a framework for a Web system that is intended for linking small and medium transport companies with their customers. The unique aspects of the framework are two-fold. The framework utilizes Web services, which means that it can be applied to existing software and hardware environments. This reduces the need for specialized integration and development, the cost of which becomes a further barrier to SMEs in adding value to customers through existing systems. The framework is additionally designed to link both communities of SMEs and customers in a fledgling digital ecosystem arrangement. Such arrangements offer inherent added value to both types of participants.
"Intelligent Collaboration" the Paradox of "Ethical Agency" and "Corporate Governance"
Authors: Gasmelseid Tagelsir Mohamed
Published: February 2011

The complexities associated with the growing deployment of network technologies and wide area shared processing have increased the importance of “information ethics” and appreciating their impacts on global transactions. The measures used to approach the resulting or potential “ethical dilemma” continued to be oriented towards the minimization of threats and improving privacy through technological and legal measures. However, the use of advanced intelligent technologies such as software agents’ technology brings the issue of “ethical agency” to the surface and calls for a “redefinition” and paradigm shift with regard to the way “information ethics” are being conceptualized.
Organisational Barriers in Offering E-Banking
Authors: Shah Mahmood H. , Mohsin Mohammad , Mohmood Zaigham , Aziz Romana
Published: February 2011

This article examines and discusses the issues identified as organisational barriers to e-banking by examining the e-banking implementation strategies of two well established UK banks. The purpose of the study is to develop a deeper understanding of the organisational issues that have come across while implementing e-banking strategies. This research employs a case study research strategy. The organisational barriers that emerged from the study are contrasted against those identified in the literature. The measures and strategies adopted by the two banks to mitigate the relevant issues are also discussed. Our study reveals the presence of the following barriers : lack of integration of related systems, a culture of achieving only the short-term targets, lack of understanding and knowledge about e-commerce, lack of product differentiation and categorisation, lack of understanding of customers, difficulties in personalisation of products, limited research and development, lack of e-commerce promotion within the organisation, technology taking precedence over business process change, and website design and operational functionality.
Professional Adhocracy, an Appropriate Design for Knowledge Economy in the Light of Mintzberg's Perspective
Authors: Pourezzat Ali Asghar , Taheri Attar Ghazaleh
Published: February 2011

Success in the economy of digital age requires special capabilities. These capacities would be able to make the limited economical resources into valuable products. Among future limitations, limitation of super-specialized and expert human resources is very important and determining. Super-specialized human resources are considered as strategic factors and the structure of future organizations should be designed in a way to best utilize the capability of these resources. Therefore, the main problem of future organizations is exploiting and utilizing the knowledge of super-specialized human resources. In this regard, combining the flexibility of adhocratic organizations and expertise-oriented credit of professional bureaucratic tried to design a relatively appropriate structure in the light of Mintzberg’s perspective in order to succeed in future age or the knowledge-oriented age of digital economy.
Integration between Regression Model and Fuzzy Logic Approach for Analyzing Various Electronic Commerce Effects on Economic Growth in Organizations
Authors: Fazlollahtabar Hamed , Ehsani Mohammad Ali
Published: February 2011

Information technology (IT) has the potential to transform the means by which society learns and accesses information. Electronic commerce is a rapidly growing area enjoying considerable attention in conjunction with the emergence of the Information Superhighway or the building of the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Numerous firms are beginning to position themselves on this superhighway in terms of providing hardware, software, information content or services. Economic growth is a significant point for profit making organization, and many organizations need multi-aspect in-depth analysis for finding the effective criteria to grow economically. This paper introduces integration between regression methodology and the fuzzy logic approach to analyze the effects of e-commerce on economic growth in an organization. The numerical results in the Iranian economy reveal that the proposed methodology is efficient in terms of accuracy and policymaking.
Advancing E-Commerce Beyond Readiness in a Developing Country
Authors: Boateng Richard , Heeks Richard , Molla Alemayehu , Hinson Robert
Published: February 2011

This paper identifies factors affecting the assimilation of electronic commerce in Ghana and the solutions that Ghanaian firms have developed. Drawing from the elements of two electronic commerce readiness frameworks, the study analyzes the readiness of Ghana to support the conduct of electronic commerce at the firm-level. The study covers the government, technology, market and culture readiness factors. Findings suggest that social networks, managerial capabilities and government commitment have an attendant effect on adoption and use of tangible resources like electronic commerce applications. The findings imply that future research and practitioner efforts should focus on developing a broader perspective to address electronic commerce challenges encompassing issues like how firms can advance to more complex forms of e-commerce after initial e-commerce adoption.
An Integrated Business Model Innovation Approach
Authors: Boutellier Roman , Eurich Markus , Hurschler Patricia
Published: February 2011

This chapter will foster the understanding of business model innovation with a focus on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry and e-entrepreneurship. A general overview of business models and their elements as well as an introduction to innovation alternatives will provide the necessary background for business model innovation. On the basis of Schumpeterian innovation, this chapter will pioneer in describing business model innovation as addendum to Abernathy’s and Utterback’s dynamic model of process and product innovation. Thereby an integrated business model innovation approach will be initiated overcoming the drawbacks of unilateral innovation. The integrated business model innovation approach proposes a framework for long-term differentiation and competitive advantages. Different examples, in particular ICTventures, will clarify the effect of integrated business model innovation.
Advancing the Potential of Diversity for Innovation
Authors: Erbe Nancy D.
Published: February 2011

This chapter introduces a collaborative conflict resolution model with a focus on cultural diversity and innovation. Its practices are research based, presented with explanatory theories, and uniquely suited to the multicultural teams of the global market. The chapter presents the optimal criteria for multicultural process identified in evaluative research conducted in four parts of the world: the Balkans, Cameroon, Nepal and Ukraine. It aims to demonstrate the correlations between collaborative conflict process at its best and innovation within diverse teams and organizations.
Breaking Out from Lock-In
Authors: Hospers Gert-Jan
Published: February 2011

This chapter discusses strategies aimed at regional-economic structural change in the German Ruhrgebiet. The Ruhrgebiet used to be the largest industrial area in Western-Europe. After the crisis in the coal and steel industry the region pursued re-industrialisation policies in the 1960s and 1970s. These attempts were largely unsuccesful. Therefore, since the 1980s the involved actors gradually adopted regional innovation strategies. Thus, they were able to break out from the region’s lock-in situation. The re-orientation of the Ruhrgebiet towards innovation based on the industries’ expertise and past (e.g. environmental technology, energy and industrial tourism) is more successful than its earlier re-industrialisation attempts. Also for other old industrial areas in Europe this kind of place-based renewal might be the future.
Transnational Information Sharing, Event Notification, Rule Enforcement and Process Coordination
Authors: Su S. , Fortes J. , Kasad T.R. , Patil M. , Matsunaga A. , Tsugawa M. , Cavalli-Sforza V. , Carbonell J. , Jansen P. , Ward W. , Cole R. , Towsley D. , Chen W. , Antón A.I. , He Q. , McSweeney C. , de Brens L. , Ventura J. , Taveras P. , Connolly R. , Ortega C. , Piñeres B. , Brooks O. , Murillo G.A. , Herrera M.
Published: February 2011

Solutions to global problems such as disease detection and control, terrorism, immigration and border control, and illicit drug trafficking require sharing and coordinating information and collaboration among government agencies within a country and across national boundaries. This paper presents an approach to achieve information sharing, event notification, enforcement of policies, constraints, regulations, security and privacy rules, and process coordination. The proposed system, designed in collaboration with stakeholders and end users in two Latin American countries, achieves the desired capabilities by integrating a distributed query processor (DQP) that provides form-based and conversational user interfaces, a language translation system, an event server for event filtering and notification, and an event-trigger-rule server. The Web-services infrastructure is used to achieve the interoperation of these heterogeneous component systems. A prototype of the integrated transnational information system is described.
Generational Differences in Information Technology Use and Political Involvement
Authors: Shelley Mack C. , Thrane Lisa E. , Shulman Stuart W
Published: February 2011

A structural equation model analysis of data from a 2003 national random sample survey (n = 478) on informational technology (IT) reveals important direct and indirect effects of generational demographic and attitudinal differences on electronic forms of political participation. Younger respondents reported more support for IT and fewer technological disadvantages compared to older respondents. Younger respondents showed more desire for public IT availability and e-political participation, whereas older respondents preferred traditional electoral involvement. The more educated held more favorable views of IT generally and of public IT access more specifically. Better-educated respondents were more active civically in both traditional and electronic forms of participation. Supportive technological views led to greater e-political participation and stronger interest in e-elections. Respondents with less concern and fear about IT were more likely to act as digital citizens and were more involved in e-politics and e-elections. Proponents of public IT access were more supportive of e-elections. Our model suggests that e-citizenry will compound existing societal divisions, as non-electronic voices are marginalized and electronic voices are amplified.
Public Administrators' Acceptance of the Practice of Digital Democracy
Authors: Kim Chan-Gon  , Holzer Marc
Published: February 2011

The Internet provides a new digital opportunity for realizing democracy in public administration, and this study raises a central question: What factors determine public officials’ acceptance of the practice of digital democracy on government Web sites? We focused on online policy forums among many practices of digital democracy. To gauge public officials’ behavioral intentions to use online policy forums on government Web sites, we examined individual and organizational factors, as well as system characteristics. We administered a survey questionnaire to Korean public officials and analyzed a total of 895 responses. Path analysis indicates that three causal variables are important in predicting public officials’ intentions to use online policy forums: perceived usefulness, attitudes toward citizen participation, and information quality. We discuss implications of this study for practices and theories of digital democracy.
Digital Governance Worldwide
Authors: Carrizales Tony , Holzer Marc , Kim Seang-Tae , Kim Chan-Gon
Published: February 2011

This article highlights the research findings of a digital governance survey conducted in the fall of 2005. The study replicates a 2003 survey of large municipalities worldwide. This longitudinal assessment, based on the Rutgers-SKKU E-Governance Performance Index, focused on the evaluation of current practices in government, with emphasis on the evaluation of each Web site in terms of digital governance. Specifically, we analyzed security, usability, content of Web sites, the type of online services currently being offered, and citizen response and participation through Web sites established by city governments. Based on the 2005 evaluation of 81 cities, Seoul, New York, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Sydney represent the highest performing cities in digital governance. There were only slight changes in the top five cities when compared to the 2003 study. Moreover, there continues to be a divide in terms of digital governance throughout the world among the 30 developed nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and non-OECD member nations.
E-Government and Multi-Level Governance
Authors: Gascó Mila , Roy Jeffrey
Published: February 2011

E-government is entering its second decade as a widely-embraced agenda for public sector reform. There are often distinctions made between e-government as administrative reform and e-governance as democratic reform, although there is invariable overlap between both spheres. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to undertake an examination of the impacts of e-government on both administration and democracy in a multi-level governance environment. In doing so, we will provide a comparative assessment of two sub-national jurisdictions known for investing aggressively in e-government in recent years: Catalonia, Spain, and Ontario, Canada. This investigation will thus seek to identify the manner by which the pursuit of e-government by a state and a province is intertwined with – or separate from federalist structures.
Pursuing Radical Transformation in Information Age Government
Authors: Kawalek Peter , Wastall David
Published: February 2011

This article is concerned with the pursuit of radical organizational transformation in information age government. It focuses on three cases, each of which used the SPRINT (Salford Process Reengineering Involving New Technology) process reengineering method. This method was designed specifically for e-government projects with the objective of inculcating radical change. Although each reported case can be described as successful in some measure, this chapter questions why none of the cases seeds a process of ongoing innovation, and why all settle on a set of changes that is less radical than the vision set out within the originating project. Each case sees the remaking of processes within an accepted set of goals, and not the remaking of these goals themselves. This restriction is reported, using the concept of organizational alignment with a declared set of goals. It is shown how in each case the organization favors the less radical amongst a set of alternative proposals. It is argued that in the end, SPRINT, which places great value on its participative ethos, is also constrained by that ethos. This paper reflects the implications for e-government projects more widely.