Editorial

Citation

Irani, Z. and Dwivedi, Y. (2011), "Editorial", Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Vol. 24 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jeim.2011.08824aaa.002

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Enterprise Information Management, Volume 24, Issue 1

It gives me great pleasure to welcome our readers to volume 24, issue 1 of Journal of Enterprise Information Management (JEIM), and thank them for their continued support during the past years. The year 2010 represented yet another period of growth for the JEIM. The continuous update of the journal’s scope to promote theory and practice has led to an increase in submissions and more importantly, quality of submissions focusing on multiplicity of angles, providing a mixture of conjectural and practical contributions. Notwithstanding, JEIM continues to identify and select “best” papers from leading conferences.

The first issue of volume 24 starts off with Dimitris Kanellopoulos proposing a telework taxonomy for poor and research questions that trigger future empirical research on poor teleworkers. His research examines evidence in order to discover if teleworking has a pro-poor growth impact – reducing inequality. The work presented in this paper illustrates a literature analysis. However, Dimitris focused on reviewing articles that analyse telework issues with a potential for poor. Such issues are mainly workforce and organisational issues. He claims that there is some evidence that provision of teleworking infrastructure has a dramatic effect on the income and quality of life of the rural poor. Special knowledge management tasks and types of telework can be proper for poor people. Moreover, he also asserts that economic and organisational aspects of telecentres for poor workers must be analysed in depth. On the whole, the paper provides a foundation for future research directions in the teleworking domain for poor. For instance, the discussed implementation aspects of teleworking and the proposed telework taxonomy for poor as well as the proposed research questions could be used to explore effective penetration of teleworking in poor countries. New conceptual frameworks for implementing telework for poor can be generated. From practical implications viewpoint, the author reports that an overview of which issues/prerequisites are being considered most broadly and might provide the most potential for policy makers/managers fighting poverty by using telework. Dimitris proclaims that his research presented herein contributes to the teleworking literature by analysing how telework can be pro-poor. This paper provides a useful overview of the topic. It proposes a telework taxonomy for poor and three research questions that trigger future empirical research on poor teleworkers.

Then, Muhammad Sharif Abbasi, Fida Hussain Chandio, Abdul Fatah Soomro, and Farwa Shah argue that behavioural models of technology acceptance do not serve equally across the cultures. In doing so, Abbasi et al., aim to extend Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to suit in developing country’s context. The model attempts to identify relationship between social norms (i.e. peer influence and superior influence), management support (i.e. local at institutional-level and top at government-level) and moderating factors voluntariness and experience. To validate their conceptual findings and investigate the correlational paths, Abbasi et al., employed quantitative methodology. Abbasi et al. conducted their cross-sectional survey in the context of higher educational institutes in Pakistan. The survey was completed by 504 academics working in these educational institutes. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM) based on partial least squares (PLS) methods. Their empirical findings illustrate that the extended model achieved acceptable fit and most of the hypothesised paths were significant. The moderating affect of voluntariness and experience was measured on mean differences, which only represent sample of moderate experience users and compliance usage conditions. Therefore, overlooked categorical representation of sample may produce chances of observed heterogeneity in the results. Their study has proven to be useful in non-Western cultural contexts. Specifically, in contrast to the previous studies, diversity of individuals’ acceptance behaviour is examined within single south-Asian country’s context.

Following the previous research, this study is presented by Wadie Nasri, who investigates the degree of knowledge of competitive intelligence in Tunisian companies. This exploratory study was conducted using semi-in-depth interviews and focus group with six executives in six companies in Tunisia. Three sectors were chosen for this study: communication technologies, manufacturing and commercial retailing. These companies are prevalent in Tunisia and are very different, enabling us to explore this practice. The results from this research illustrate that Tunisian managers are conscious of the importance of the competitive intelligence in the management of their companies. Second, managers believe that internal sources of information are more valuable than external sources information and personal source information is deemed most valuable. Thirdly, the results of the process and structure questions indicate that companies may not yet be investing appropriately in building the internal infrastructure required for fully effective intelligence efficacy. Finally, this practice is not organised in a separate department and, if it is, mostly done in the marketing department. To know and develop this practice, a company must, on the one hand build internal competitive intelligence process. On the other hand, develop a sensitisation programme that is continuous and that should focus on telling employees what competitive intelligence is, what they can and should contribute, and demonstrate the value in sharing information. The author claims that this study is the first effort to investigate competitive intelligence in Tunisia. The results lead to a number of recommendations to develop competitive intelligence in Tunisian companies. Various methods are proposed including awareness and training program, recognising by managers the value of competitive intelligence as an important tool to develop competitive intelligence.

Thereafter, we have Bartholomew Aleke, Udechukwu Ojiako and David Wainwright critically examining how social augmented parameters impact on the effective adoption of information and communication technology (ICT) by small-scale agribusinesses operating in Southeast Nigeria. The relevance of incorporating social imperatives in scholarship focused on technology adoption is due to its role in sustaining the process of adoption and diffusion. The authors gathered data from a focus group made up of 27 Agribusiness proprietors affiliated with a state cooperative based in the southeastern Nigerian state of Ebonyi. The authors in this paper argue that to ensure successful diffusion of innovation, a balance must be maintained between the amount of effort expended in the design of ICT and social factors such as language and traditional life. We find that a willingness of indigenous ICT users is particularly influenced by the recognition and incorporation of visible social imperatives during the adoption process. The outcome of this study highlights important issues for ICT adoption. One particular area that must be taken into consideration is the adoption channel. Perceptions of ICT adoption will differ significantly among adopters. For this reason, the need for developing an appropriate adoption channel that ensures successful diffusion of the innovation should be recognised. The authors claim that this study contributes to ongoing research in ICT innovation adoption in small agribusinesses operating in indigenous societies. The theoretical implications of this paper are the development of a conceptual ICT adoption framework that emphasises social imperatives. The authors also demonstrate that agricultural enterprises should be treated as “normal” firms in their own right.

The last paper by Talal Al-maghrabi, Charles Dennis, and Sue Vaux Halliday focuses on clarifying the theoretical problem and identify factors that could explain the level of continuance intentions towards e-shopping. The study proposes a revised technology acceptance model that integrates expectation confirmation theory to measure age differences with regard to continuance intentions towards e-shopping in Saudi Arabia. Their sample consists of 68.8 per cent women and 31.4 per cent men, 348 younger than 35 years old and 117 older than 35. A structural equation model confirms model fit. The model explains 65 per cent of the intention to continue shopping online. From their empirical findings, perceived usefulness, enjoyment, and subjective norms are determinants of online shopping continuance. The structural weights are mostly equivalent between the young and old groups, but the regression path from subjective norms to perceived usefulness is not invariant, with that relationship being stronger for the younger respondents. The authors claim that their work adds to the understudied area of online shopping continuance intentions in the Arab World in general, and Saudi Arabia in particular, by examining the effects of usefulness, enjoyment, and subjective norms on continuance intentions. Despite, the research findings imply that usefulness and subjective norm contribute to continuance intentions to some extent, but it is enjoyment that leads to a higher level of continuance intentions. Online strategies cannot ignore either the direct or the indirect effects on continuance intentions in Saudi Arabia.

We hope you will find this issue interesting and though provoking, and hope to receive your valuable contributions for the forthcoming issue.

Zahir Irani, Yogesh Dwivedi