Search results

This paper aims to assess information and communication technologies (ICT) policies for digital transformation in Colombia to determine their effectiveness in technology readiness for Internet of Things (IoT) adoption in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the trading sector.

The authors conducted a longitudinal study using the ICT module of the Annual Trade Survey (2017–2018) to determine the relationship between SMEs in the trading sector adopting ICT applications and ICT policy enforcement. In this sense, this study applied a chi-square test for independence and addressed a descriptive analysis to determine SMEs’ causes for adopting or rejecting ICT applications.

This study presents the state of ICT adoption in Colombian SMEs in the trading sector between 2017 and 2018, highlighting that technology readiness is crucial for adopting technological trends.

The data source used for the study is only available for analysis one year after implementing ICT policies focused on digital transformation.

The results support the need for the National Government to formulate IoT policies that favor the adoption of e-commerce based on IoT technologies in SMEs in the trading sector.

IoT adoption can mitigate e-commerce problems strengthening SMEs’ competitiveness in the trading sector leading the digital transformation in Colombia.

This study presents the need to formulate IoT policies in Colombia focused on deploying IoT applications to strengthen e-Commerce in SMEs in the trading sector.

The emphasis on inter-organizational systems gave rise to concerns about inter-organizational relationships as trading partners became aware of the socio-political factors and trust that affect their relationships. This paper examines the importance of inter-organizational-trust in business-to-business E-commerce organizations. It examines how inter-organizational relationships impact trading partner trust, perceived benefits, perceived risks, and technology trust mechanisms in E-commerce that can in turn influence outcomes of business-to-business E-commerce. This paper develops a conceptual model and tests the model using a case study research methodology. The aim is to solicit qualitative in depth understanding of inter-organizational-trust in business-to-business E-commerce. Eight organizations from a cross section of industries that formed four bi-directional dyads participated in the third stage of this study. The first two stages include exploratory case studies in three organizations in the automotive industry that applied EDI via Value-Added-Networks in 1997, and a nationwide survey of organizations that examined the extent of E-commerce adoption in Australia and New Zealand in 1998. The findings identify the need for trustworthy business relationships in an E-commerce environment.

The paper surveys existing theory of e‐commerce business models and associated conceptual instruments. It employs three original case studies of SMEs using e‐commerce to demonstrate the dynamic nature of e‐commerce business models for networked SMEs. The idea of evolutionary business planning based upon Molina’s sociotechnical constituency approach and the diamond of alignment is introduced.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of specific supply chain information technologies (IT) for e‐commerce, e‐procurement, and enterprise resource planning (ERP), when implementing lean practices to achieve mass customization (MC) performance. The study further investigates how these technologies may be deployed differently in product and service focused contexts. “Best practices” of high performing MC firms are also explored.

Survey method was employed to collect data from 711 firms in 23 countries. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to establish simple factor structure and construct validity. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyze relationships between lean practices, IT use, and MC performance in aggregated and bifurcated samples of product and service focused manufacturers. T‐tests were used to examine differences between the practices employed by high and low MC performers.

Findings suggest that lean practices can reasonably predict MC performance. In this context, of lean practices, e‐commerce and e‐procurement reasonably predict MC performance. ERP is not shown to predict MC performance. Results suggest that e‐commerce use is a better predictor of performance than e‐procurement or ERP for service focused manufacturers. E‐commerce and e‐procurement appear to be reasonable predictors of MC performance in product manufacturers, while ERP is not. “Best practices” related to lean practices, e‐commerce, e‐procurement, and ERP emerge among high MC performers.

This paper describes what is believed to be the first study to examine these three IT approaches in the context of lean practices and supply chain MC performance. This paper also contributes to the growing interest in differences among product and service focused manufacturing firms. Finally, specific “best practices” are provided to add value for practitioners.

Most research has emphasized the interpersonal components of trust involved in establishing ecommerce relationships while limited attention has been paid on the technology and its interactions on e‐commerce relationships. This paper examines the impact of two forms of trust in e‐commerce relationships namely; technology trust relating to institutional structural assurances and security mechanisms embedded in e‐commerce technologies; and relationship trust referring to trading partners competent, predictably, reliability, and benevolence in the e‐commerce relationship. Based on the findings of a previous study that examined inter‐organizational dyads in business‐to‐business e‐commerce participation, we identify and illustrate how e‐commerce relationships evolve applying four modes in e‐commerce relationships namely; learning, monitoring, collaborating and distancing modes. We develop a number of propositions to facilitate empirical testing and indicate the framework’s key implications for future research and managerial practice.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a way of thinking about the technical and social subsystems in the context of e‐commerce adoption.

An interpretive research approach was used to investigate the employee management issues in service industries as they implemented B2C e‐commerce. Two case studies were selected, both retail banks in Australia. One case study was a major bank, the other a smaller bank in a niche market.

Employees who interact with customers using B2C technologies require different levels of skill and capability than those required in face‐to‐face interactions. This has implications for human resource management processes such as job design, recruitment and retention, performance management and training.

The study was small in scale and therefore limited in scope. Other service organisations and industries may have quite different information ecologies and business strategies.

The coactive commerce system provides a concrete way for researchers and practitioners to better align technology, customers and employees to achieve competitive advantage.

This research shows that it is important to understand B2C e‐commerce technologies in conjunction with business practices and in their broader context. It is important to understand how a service organisation's business strategy, technology strategy, business processes and employee management work together to provide an appropriate level of service to customers and achieve sustainable competitive advantage and strategic positioning. This is a complex set of factors.

The coactive commerce system extends the socio‐technical framework to provide a more explicit way to analyse both the social and technical subsystems in an organisation by integrating the human resource management aspects into the theoretical mix in the electronic commerce and information systems literature. This is important because the employee interaction with the customer is the way the customer perceives the organisation.

Examines the relationship between how people are managed, and the effectiveness of business to business (B2B) e‐commerce implementations. The human resource management practices used to test this relationship are training, employee involvement and participatory culture. A survey instrument was designed for the purpose of testing the research hypotheses based on the themes identified in the review of the literature. This survey was administered within a sample of the membership of EAN Australia. The results indicate that there is a clear link established between effective management of human resources and effective implementation of B2B e‐commerce enabling technologies. In particular, there is evidence to suggest that the development of a participative culture coupled with the involvement of employees, will be more effective than solely investing in training programs. This study has been limited to organizations operating in the Australian fast moving consumer goods sector. The results therefore need to be read in this context, and it would be useful if these hypotheses could be tested in other countries and different industry sectors. The overall impression is that the organizations that will derive the greatest benefit from the use of these technologies will be not only those that invest in training for the use of the technology. More important sources of leverage are likely to derive from involving a broad range of employees directly in implementation, while actively encouraging a culture of participation across the organization. There is a clear link established between effective management of human resources and effective implementation of B2B e‐commerce enabling technologies. In particular, there is evidence to suggest that the development of a participative culture coupled with the involvement of employees, will be more effective than solely investing in training programs.

Global e‐commerce, created by the convergence of information and communication technologies, transcends business boundaries while changing the landscape of the twenty‐first century global economy. Although still in an infancy stage its impact has already been colossal in just a few years. Various constituencies (such as individuals, institutions, governments, and nations) around the world are recognizing its benefits. Given its importance and unprecedented growth potential, there is a need for research addressing various e‐commerce issues, especially the dimensions influencing its growth and role as a new electronic distribution channel. This article provides a framework for analyzing the issues involved in leveraging the Internet as a global distribution tool. While focusing on this theme, the article also presents the discussion of the key building blocks impacting the diffusion of global e‐commerce and future research directions.

This study examines the adoption rates of web site and e‐commerce technology by all 562 Malaysian public listed companies, as of March 2004, testing the proposition that the number having web sites would approach 100 percent, and that most companies serving end customers would also have e‐commerce systems.

After identifying and testing company URLs for operability, contents of all operable sites were evaluated to determine whether they had incorporated e‐commerce systems for online transactions.

Of the 562 companies, only 62 percent (351) were found to have operable web sites; and of 351, 96 percent (336) were solely informational, leaving only 4 percent (15) that were equipped for e‐commerce transactions.

Further research is needed on reasons and consequences for not adopting web site and e‐commerce technology, and on specific business contexts surrounding adoption decisions and related managerial challenges.

Analysis of findings and research literature strongly suggest that having a web site would give any public listed company a major advantage in the marketplace. The most effective web site implementation appears to require aligning new technology with company's strategic planning, integrating it into existing operations, using it to exploit new business opportunities and considering customer behavior theory when designing and implementing the web site interface.

As the first study to examine adoption of web site and e‐commerce technology by all currently existing Malaysian public listed companies, this provides a benchmark for further research on the subject.

The previous generations of implemented B2B e‐commerce hub solutions (e‐Marketplaces) did not successfully fulfil the requirements of buyers and suppliers (“Participants”) in different business domains to carry out their daily business and online commercial transactions with one another because of their inappropriateness, and lack of flexibility. The limitations of these provided solutions came from a lot of architectural and technological challenges in the provided technical architectures that were used to build these solutions. This research aims to provide a proposed architecture to build integrated B2B e‐Commerce hub solutions. It also aims to make use of bottom‐up/top‐down approaches to building an integrated solution and to resolve the reasons for the failure of previous generations of B2B e‐commerce hubs.

The research uses the EDI reference model, which is provided by the ISO organization to survey and analyze the challenges of previous generations of B2B e‐Commerce hubs solutions and their architectures. The study develops a proposed solution architecture based on the recent approaches to building IOSs to build a B2B e‐commerce hub solution architecture that can be used to implement vertical B2B e‐commerce hubs (vertical e‐Marketplaces). The paper assesses the capabilities of the proposed solution architecture for building vertical B2B e‐Marketplaces by applying the proposed architecture to the building of a vertical B2B e‐Marketplace for the oil and gas sector in Egypt.

Previous B2B e‐Commerce hub initiatives failed to extend their products and services to their “Participants”, and required substantial investment and effort from each “Participant” to join such a B2B e‐Commerce hub. The failure of these IOS projects lies in their inability to integrate B2B e‐Commerce networks based on IOS and consequently, they supported very few partners and “Participants”. These IOS approaches did not resolve the existing challenges of B2B e‐Commerce hubs, especially in the realm of interoperability.

The main contribution of the proposed architecture comes from the creation of a clear automatic path between a business requirements layer and a technology layer by combining both Service Oriented Architecture and management requirements in a single framework to provide dynamic products and flexible services. It provides a complete Multi Channel Framework to resolve the interoperability challenges.