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The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing the choice of entry mode of computer-related (CR) service firms which are in a process of internationalization. The authors will focus on the characteristics of service defining its tradability.

The objectives are achieved by first exploring the general drivers and the drivers specific to service firms via qualitative interviews and a literature review. Then, the model is tested empirically on CR service firms using structural equation modeling using partial least squares.

Results show that the degree of tradability of the service influences the choice of entry mode. The higher the degree of tailor-made offer and face-to-face contact with the client, the more firms opt for an entry mode with high control, such as establishment abroad and/or joint-venture. Finally, firm size and international experience are also significant drivers behind the selection of entry mode.

As firms often choose several entry modes simultaneously, it is difficult to lead the research.

In exports of digitalized and standardized services with little face-to-face contact, physical presence abroad is less important for success. It is more difficult to successfully market tailor-made services at the international level. Therefore, firms with limited capabilities should start exporting standardized services requiring limited face-to-face contact. Small firms wishing to become global players should preferably focus on exports of digitalized services and use internet, which is an attractive distribution channel. Moreover, when the confidentiality required for the service is an issue for the company, it is better to start with geographically near markets.

In this research, service tradability came out as an original concept including service-specific characteristics leading to the selection of entry mode(s). The authors focussed on four characteristics of services which are on-line transmissibility, degree of confidentiality required, face-to-face contact, and finally the degree of customizability.

Criminals have always exploited technological advances and therefore the advent of the gun, the telephone and the car created new opportunities for crime. Similarly, the increasingly widespread use of computers in society has led to computer‐related crime.

As the information society further develops, electronic services are created and physical distribution networks become sparse, it is important to analyse the determinants that inhibit or facilitate the ability to use these services. By focusing on the perceived behavioural control of computers, the purpose of this paper is to analyse how perceived physical restrictions, computer anxiety and ease of use influence the perceptions of control.

The authors examined older consumers (aged 60-79) in two cross-sectional studies conducted through mail surveys in 2004 and 2012. Randomized samples (n=1,000 in 2004 and n=3,000 in 2012) were drawn from the Finnish Population Register. The empirical research utilized structural equation modelling through multi-group analysis to explore the differences in the interrelationships between physical restrictions, computer anxiety, perceived ease of use and perceived behavioural control.

The results indicate that perceived behavioural control is directly influenced by ease of use and indirectly influenced by physical restrictions and computer anxiety. The eight-year time gap moderated only the relationship between physical restrictions and ease of use. Development seems to have been favourable, and device-related restrictions do not decrease ease of use as much as previously reported.

The present study starts a new discussion on how time moderates the relationship of technology perceptions in behavioural models that have been used to predict behavioural intent.

When Peter Steiner published his famous cartoon in The New Yorker in July 1993 with the renowned caption ‘On the Internet, nobody knows you are a dog’, he succeeded in coining within a single cartoon strip the core cause of a multitude of problems that e‐businesses face today. The new communications technologies allow almost anyone to have the ability to deceitfully pass oneself off as someone worthy of trust and reliability for the purpose of personal gain. Conversely, proving or disproving one's trustworthiness to strangers online without specific technologies like public key infrastructure and digital signatures is a near fruitless exercise. While such security technologies are able to resolve identity issues, it has proven to be both difficult and expensive to implement them successfully.

Building on the socio-cultural theory and the climate literature, the purpose of this paper is to examine: how to effectively manage computer-mediated platforms to improve innovation performance, and which types of computer-mediated platforms firms should be more involved with.

The multivariate mediated regression method and relative effect analysis were employed to test the model.

Analyses reveal that online creative climate mediates the effects of the perceived innovation policy on both novelty and meaningfulness of creative behaviors. In addition, online creative climate is positively related to both radical and incremental innovation performance. Further, the relative performance results of the four types of computer-mediated platforms are found to be unequal.

The results suggest to managers that establishing creative climates in computer-mediated platforms is a promising approach to improve firms’ innovation performance. The results further indicate that managers should acknowledge the advantages and limitations of each type of computer-mediated platform in order to increase innovation performance. Otherwise, firms may misallocate resources and investment efforts in computer-mediated platforms.

By categorizing computer-mediated platforms into four types, this study provides the first synthesis of personal interactions that occur in computer-mediated environments. This study presents the first empirical assessment of how creative climate can be used as a facilitator for improving innovation performance and which type of computer-mediated platforms is more appropriate for radical or incremental innovations.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

The growing availability of wireless internet services and the great popularization of smartphones and other mobile devices means a greater challenge for mobile service companies that need to identify the factors influencing the use behavior of mobile services. So considering that the level of consumer involvement can lead to differences in service outcome evaluations, this study aims to examine whether consumer involvement with information and communication technologies (ICTs) has a moderating influence on consumer behavior in mobile services

The authors propose an integrative model of the usage of mobile services to examine the moderating role of involvement with ICTs. Drawing on a sample of 493 users, two levels of involvement with ICTs were examined; and data were analyzed through multiple-group structural equation modeling.

Findings show that the level of consumer involvement with ICTs influences the behavior in the mobile services. Further, the findings support that mobile services’ perceived quality, followed by the service perceived value are the factors with a stronger influence in satisfaction with mobile services, regardless the level of consumer involvement with ICTs. However, the mobile company corporate image has a lower influence. In addition, the results support the partial moderating role of involvement with ICTs in the loyalty toward mobile service providers, suggesting that consumers lowly involved with ICTs experience a greater impact of the service quality on their loyalty.

The main contribution of this study is the examination of the influence of involvement with technologies in consumer behavior in the mobile services

La disponibilidad creciente de los servicios internet inalámbrico y la gran popularización y adopción de los smartphones y de otros dispositivos móviles supone un gran desafío para las compañías de servicios móviles que necesitan identificar aquellos factores que influyen en el comportamiento de uso de los servicios móviles. Así, considerando que el nivel de implicación del consumidor puede llevar a diferencias en las evaluaciones de los resultados de los servicios, este estudio analiza si la implicación del consumidor con las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TICs) tiene una influencia moderadora en el comportamiento del consumidor en los servicios móviles.

Se propone un modelo integrador sobre el uso de los servicios móviles para examinar el rol moderador de la implicación del consumidor con las TICs. Sobre la base de una muestra de 493 usuarios, se analizaron dos niveles de implicación con las TICs; y los datos fueron analizados mediante un modelo multigrupo de ecuaciones estructurales.

Los resultados muestran que el nivel de implicación del consumidor con las TIC influye en su comportamiento hacia los servicios móviles. Además, nuestros resultados respaldan que la calidad percibida de los servicios móviles, seguida del valor percibido de estos servicios son los factores con mayor influencia en la satisfacción con los servicios móviles, independientemente del nivel de implicación del consumidor con las TIC. Sin embargo, la imagen corporativa de la compañía de servicios móviles tiene una influencia menor. Adicionalmente, nuestros resultados muestran el rol moderador parcial de la implicación con las TIC en la lealtad hacia los proveedores de servicios móviles, sugiriendo que los consumidores poco implicados con las TIC experimentan un mayor impacto de la calidad del servicio en su lealtad.

La principal contribución de este estudio es el análisis de la influencia de la implicación del consumidor con las tecnologías, en su comportamiento hacia los servicios de comunicación móvil.

This synthesis covers academic research on the use of valuation, tax, information technology (IT), and forensic specialists on audit engagements. The importance and role of specialists on audit engagements have recently increased, and specialist use has garnered significant attention from regulators and academics. Given the PCAOB’s (2017b) recent proposal to revise auditing standards regarding specialists’ involvement, it is important to review the specialist literature as a whole. By integrating research across these four domains, I identify commonalities and differences related to: (1) factors associated with the use of specialists on audit engagements (including the nature, timing, and extent of use); (2) factors impacting auditors’ interactions with specialists (including specialists contracted by the auditor or management); and (3) outcomes associated with the use of specialists. This integrated analysis of the specialist literatures shows variation in the use of specialists, and various factors affecting both if and how they are involved and whether auditors use specialists internal or external to the audit firm. Additionally, research has sometimes (but not always) linked specialist involvement to higher audit quality. The commonalities and areas of variation identified are informative to audit research and practice, particularly as regulators and audit firms look to improve the quality of audits using specialists. Throughout the synthesis, I also provide a number of directions for future research.

Developing a library while developing oneself is both an enviable and an alarming experience. This case study is valuable for two reasons: first because it is a uniquely realistic blow‐by‐blow description of the upgrading of a poorly organised, under‐resourced, industrial library. As such, it contains useful practical guidance for the many librarians who have similar problems to contend with. Second, and perhaps even more important, because so rare, is the critical and evaluative attitude taken throughout the report. The author identifies his own mistakes, as well as his successes. The report covers the adoption of new information retrieval systems; the devising of a new issue system for a split‐site library; developing periodicals circulation; evaluation of collection use and relevance; proposing the introduction of on‐line services — against a background of financial stringency and entrenched bureaucracy. The author also evaluates his own performance and the training he received, in his first year of running a one‐person library.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the constituents of cause-related marketing (CRM) capabilities in the context of an emerging market healthcare sector, by incorporating the resource-based view alongside the dynamic capability perspective. Moreover, the authors aim to illustrate how the typologies of CRM capabilities help to achieve service innovation whilst taking into consideration the role of service flexibility (SF) and service climate.

The authors develop a research framework through a representative and novel case study in the Indian healthcare market by utilizing and analyzing the subject-specific literature. Furthermore, a quantitative survey of healthcare professionals was conducted to assess the relationships utilizing PLS–SEM.

After identifying the constituents of CRM capabilities, the study confirms the mediating mechanism of SF between CRM capabilities and service innovation. Furthermore, findings from the study suggest that service climate positively moderates the relationship between CRM capability and SF.

The study was conducted in the emerging country healthcare market of India. Thus, the generalizability of the framework needs to be tested in a similar or contrasting context. Furthermore, the sample size for the study was limited to healthcare professionals, and the customer’s perspective was missing.

This paper is a first step to identify the specific dimensions of CRM capability and explain it as a higher-order factor. The study further provides an integrative framework that includes CRM capability, service innovation, SF and service climate. More specifically, it enhances the understanding of the constituents of the CRM capabilities and their influence on service innovation.