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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

This paper examines the role of managerial curiosity as a critical factor in determining the future impact of disruptive information technologies in a global organization. Specifically, this paper presents curiosity as a managerial characteristic that plays an important role in identifying disruptive information technologies and facilitating their early adoption. Further, it uses resource‐based theory as a theoretical lens to illustrate how managerial curiosity can be a source of sustained competitive advantage. Finally, it examines the individual decision styles that are best suited in assessing disruptive information technologies.

Increasingly, emerging information technologies such as shared software and continuous accounting are offering alternative ways to perform accounting tasks in a supposedly more efficient fashion. Yet, few studies have investigated how they affect the provision of accounting services, especially in the context of small accounting firms, which provide legal and tax services to entrepreneurs and businesses. Drawing on the service perspective, the paper critically examines how technological innovation challenges and reconfigures the co-production of accounting services in these firms.

The paper answers calls issued in prior studies to conduct empirical research on emerging information technologies for accountants. It focuses on the specific context of small accounting firms and draws on interviews with small accounting firms' managers (n = 20).

The study emphasizes five significant challenges that accounting firm managers face when using information technologies to support the provision of their services (ensuring reliability, factoring in their heterogeneous client base, repricing, training clients to use new technologies and promoting advisory services). Information technologies are shown to have a structuring role in the co-production of accounting services, as they lead to reconfigurations of the relationships between accountants and their clients. A range of four configurations is developed to highlight accountants' strategies to maintain collaborative relationships with their clients while integrating new technologies into their work practices.

By conceptualizing accounting services as a co-production process, the paper offers new insights into the implications of emerging information technologies for small accounting firms.

The main purpose of our study is to analyze the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on firm performance, notably by building on the business value of AI-based transformation projects. This study was conducted using a four-step sequential approach: (1) analysis of AI and AI concepts/technologies; (2) in-depth exploration of case studies from a great number of industrial sectors; (3) data collection from the databases (websites) of AI-based solution providers; and (4) a review of AI literature to identify their impact on the performance of organizations while highlighting the business value of AI-enabled projects transformation within organizations.

This study has called on the theory of IT capabilities to seize the influence of AI business value on firm performance (at the organizational and process levels). The research process (responding to the research question, making discussions, interpretations and comparisons, and formulating recommendations) was based on a review of 500 case studies from IBM, AWS, Cloudera, Nvidia, Conversica, Universal Robots websites, etc. Studying the influence of AI on the performance of organizations, and more specifically, of the business value of such organizations’ AI-enabled transformation projects, required us to make an archival data analysis following the three steps, namely the conceptual phase, the refinement and development phase, and the assessment phase.

AI covers a wide range of technologies, including machine translation, chatbots and self-learning algorithms, all of which can allow individuals to better understand their environment and act accordingly. Organizations have been adopting AI technological innovations with a view to adapting to or disrupting their ecosystem while developing and optimizing their strategic and competitive advantages. AI fully expresses its potential through its ability to optimize existing processes and improve automation, information and transformation effects, but also to detect, predict and interact with humans. Thus, the results of our study have highlighted such AI benefits in organizations, and more specifically, its ability to improve on performance at both the organizational (financial, marketing and administrative) and process levels. By building on these AI attributes, organizations can, therefore, enhance the business value of their transformed projects. The same results also showed that organizations achieve performance through AI capabilities only when they use their features/technologies to reconfigure their processes.

AI obviously influences the way businesses are done today. Therefore, practitioners and researchers need to consider AI as a valuable support or even a pilot for a new business model. For the purpose of our study, we adopted a research framework geared toward a more inclusive and comprehensive approach so as to better account for the intangible benefits of AI within organizations. In terms of interest, this study nurtures a scientific interest, which aims at proposing a model for analyzing the influence of AI on the performance of organizations, and at the same time, filling the associated gap in the literature. As for the managerial interest, our study aims to provide managers with elements to be reconfigured or added in order to take advantage of the full benefits of AI, and therefore improve organizations’ performance, the profitability of their investments in AI transformation projects, and some competitive advantage. This study also allows managers to consider AI not as a single technology but as a set/combination of several different configurations of IT in the various company’s business areas because multiple key elements must be brought together to ensure the success of AI: data, talent mix, domain knowledge, key decisions, external partnerships and scalable infrastructure.

This article analyses case studies on the reuse of secondary data from AI deployment reports in organizations. The transformation of projects based on the use of AI focuses mainly on business process innovations and indirectly on those occurring at the organizational level. Thus, 500 case studies are being examined to provide significant and tangible evidence about the business value of AI-based projects and the impact of AI on firm performance. More specifically, this article, through these case studies, exposes the influence of AI at both the organizational and process performance levels, while considering it not as a single technology but as a set/combination of the several different configurations of IT in various industries.

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

Introduction: Towards the end of 2019, it had been reported that a new kind of Corona virus, COVID-19, appeared in Wuhan, China, and since then the source of this virus is obscure. However, the new coronavirus is spreading rapidly and has become a worldwide pandemic. Countries round the world are implementing their own strategies in combating the epidemic.

Aim: In this chapter, the effects of information and communication technology on the management and control of businesses in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in Kosovo during the COVID-19 pandemic are investigated. Moreover, since recently the SME’s in Kosovo have shown faster development in terms of technology, thus the dimensions –the size of amount (unit) of investment is being researched as well.

Methods: In this chapter, in an online survey method, respondents were needed to answer using a Likert 5 scale has been applied. The results of online surveys are taken from 54 businesses that were found suitable for evaluation. The data are analysed using the SPSS 23 package program, and the results of frequency analysis, averages and standard deviations were examined. It has been tried to determine whether there is a difference within the approach to information technologies of SMEs operating in Kosovo, based on the year of operation, sector, number of personnel, production system type, supply market, target market, foreign capital partnership and legal structures.

Findings: According to the results of the analysis obtained, it has been determined that enterprises in Kosovo have different approaches to information technologies consistent with their years of activity, number of personnel, supply markets and target markets. In addition, according to the results obtained, enterprises made the biggest investment in information technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Conclusion: According to the data analyses and the results obtained, disclosed that the utilisation of the Internet, e-mail, capacity increase, communication and improving working conditions, to the areas where businesses make the most use of information technologies. It has been determined that the enterprises evaluate information technologies differently according to their operating time, the sector they operate in, the production tour, the supply market and the target market situation.

Originality: Information technologies and investments in this field are a very new concept for businesses in Kosovo. The results obtained from the research will offer very important information and suggestions for businesses that are new to digitalisation.

The monograph analyses (a) the potential impact of information technology (IT) on organisational issues that directly concern the personnel function; (b) the nature of personnel’s involvement in the decision making and activities surrounding the choice and implementation of advanced technologies, and (c) their own use of IT in developing and carrying out their own range of specialist activities. The monograph attempts to explain why personnel’s involvement is often late, peripheral and reactive. Finally, an analysis is made of whether personnel specialists – or the Human Resource Management function more generally – will play a more proactive role in relation to such technologies in the future.

This paper aims to acquire underlying knowledge of how IT is adopted in private sector organisations and further explore what factors impact its adoption (optimistically and pessimistically).

An interpretive and qualitative multiple case study approach was selected to test and validate the conceptual model empirically. The selection of the interpretivism viewpoint in the context of this research is to understand how government organisations adopt new technologies and support their decisions and actions. The interpretive research methodology is related to data gathering and generating solid descriptions and interpretations and further allows theory building. Through a multiple case study strategy, factors influencing EAI adoption in the government sector are investigated. In doing so, various data collection methods such as interviews, documentation, and observation are adopted.

The author identified 42 critical success factors (CSF) for IT innovation adoption. These factors provide sufficient understanding of their importance when adopting an innovation (technology). The author exploits these factors further when developing a conceptual EAI adoption model and also presents a taxonomy of the IT innovation adoption process. This taxonomy is an eight‐stage adoption process based on studying 11 IT adoption models. Simply acquiring or adopting a technology is not sufficient – in order to obtain the anticipated benefits, IT must be deployed and used appropriately by the organisation and its intended users. However, this taxonomy would further assist in identifying factors affecting IT innovation adoption at each stage of the adoption process.

The proposed conceptual IT innovation adoption model is a contribution to theory. This model presents a detailed list of factors that impact IT adoption in government sector organisations. The author conjectures that each factor within this model signifies its importance and must be considered by organisations while adopting innovation (technology). The taxonomy of the IT innovation adoption process is another contribution. This taxonomy is developed by studying 11 IT adoption models as presented in this paper. This taxonomy identifies the pre‐adoption and post‐adoption stages of an adoption process. Further in this taxonomy, the author identifies stages where the organisation is impacted, i.e. the pre‐adoption stage and post‐adoption, where individual adopters are impacted.

This study aims to ascertain the information professionals’ perceptions and attitudes towards the application of linked data (LD) technologies in libraries in the context of a developing country. It also explores the Pakistani information professionals’ level of familiarity with LD concepts, plans and efforts in its application, along with its potential benefits.

An online questionnaire survey was used to identify the information professionals’ perceived level of familiarity with LD concepts and benefits to implement LD in libraries, and their plans and efforts to adopt LD technologies. A questionnaire was developed to meet the objective of the study and collect data from the purposefully selected professionals (N = 86) working in university libraries in Pakistan. SPSS was used to analyse the data set.

Findings show that LD application in libraries is still not common among Pakistani information professionals. They have a moderate level of understanding with semantic Web (SW) and LD key concepts. The respondents were positive about the potential benefits of implementing LD technology in libraries, such as assisting patrons to discover relevant information, enriching traditional bibliographic records, enhancing the visibility and discoverability of library data and improving the users’ overall search experiences that may foster future developments. Overall, the respondents’ institutions were on different levels of planning – from working on a plan to having a finalized plan. The findings emphasized establishing the SW’s potential in library services.

There are certain limitations of this study. Firstly, the population is Pakistani information professionals who are purposefully selected. Secondly, the findings reveal that the respondents’ understanding with LD concepts, opinions about LD, plans and efforts to its application along with its potential benefits in libraries are self-perceived and not tested in any way and they were not actually implementing these technologies in their institutions because of a lack of best practices. It is a quantitative study and it will serve as a baseline study, even though there is a need to conduct more in-depth qualitative studies in the information environment to explore the phenomenon.

This study will guide information professionals and policymakers to take initiatives towards the implementation of LD technology in libraries. It may also lead to further research to understand the perceptions of information professionals so that appropriate training and advocacy programmes can be developed to promote LD initiatives in libraries.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first known empirical study in the context of a developing country. It clearly demonstrates the Pakistani information professionals’ perceptions regarding the library LD and associated plans along with potential benefits to implement it.