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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the interview findings of five large construction firms who pioneered their intranet and extranet (IE) uptake to generate a co‐operative virtual workplace and business environment with internal and external project teams. The main objective was to investigate IE implementation and evolution among the selected construction firms in order to showcase their successful ICT uptake experience in practice.

The research was conducted using case study approach using five UK construction companies, i.e. architect, developer, project management and cost consultant, and contractors. All interviewees held significant roles for IE implementation and/or development in their respective organisations. The interviews were recorded and transcript. The transcripts were analysed and sent to the companies for comments.

The findings show that the motivation among surveyed construction organisations for taking up an advanced IE was predominantly influenced by three main factors: the need for better business communications and knowledge dissemination; increased global competitiveness; and enthusiasm to be at the forefront of technology developments.

The study demonstrates real‐life ICT uptake experiences and feedback to highlight how the full benefits of ICT investment can be achieved and aligned to business needs and objectives. In addition, the findings provide a valuable business case study for construction professionals, information technology managers, and businesses when considering an ICT investment in IE as part of their overall business strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to test previously developed models to identify factors that are perceived to affect the decision to adopt corporate intranet (CI) in a developing country.

The study used survey methodology. A set of questionnaires was returned from 436 intranet users at four major companies in Tunisia.

Several factors identified as significantly affecting users' adoption of CI in Tunisian companies: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, information quality, compatibility, computer self‐efficacy, personal innovativeness, superior pressure, peer pressure, self‐image, tech support, and top management support. Practical implications –The findings of this study can benefit practitioners as it provides organizations and top managers with a short list of factors that can significantly affect the adoption and usage of CI.

The study extends previously tested theories and models to a developing country environment.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the chances of success of a virtual team.

The paper is a review of the formation, problems, and opportunities in setting up a virtual team.

The paper finds that the biggest problem concerns that of getting people to work together using a common language and having common goals. There are also issues with keeping a team on track. Key to solving many of these problems is the appropriate use of the new information and communication technologies.

In this paper, it is shown that installing groupware supplies some of the answers. Alongside this, there is a need for benchmarks, measures, and clear visions of what is expected. Continuous feedback is required, to update and keep all members within the loop.

The paper shows a fresh roundup of making the most of the intranet for successful teams who are in different locations

The borderless global economy has accentuated the importance of knowledge as the most critical source of competitive advantage. Thus, knowledge management (KM) has become a strategic mandate for most world‐class organizations. A key enabler for implementing an effective KM system is advanced information technology (IT). Strategies for developing an enterprise‐wide KM system infrastructure with embedded IT are discussed. In particular, this paper discusses the concept of a KM life cycle – knowledge capture, knowledge development, knowledge sharing, and knowledge utilization, and how applications of new IT support each step of the KM practices within and between organizations is suggested.

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the adoption and diffusion of knowledge management systems (KMSs) in Australia.

The study uses a mixed methodology approach. The research was carried out in three stages: field study, pilot survey, and national survey (top 1,500 companies). This paper reports the findings of the third phase of the study – the national survey. The data of the national survey was analyzed through structural equation modeling (LISREL).

The results indicate that individual factors and task complexity are the significant factors that influence the perceived usefulness of KMSs which, in turn, significantly influence the intention to adopt a KMS and its diffusion process. Some unexpected results were also found.

There is a scarcity of studies on the empirical perspectives of KMSs in the literature, especially in the area of adoption and diffusion. This research addresses this gap by studying the adoption and diffusion of KMSs in Australian organizations.

To date, managing intellectual capital has focussed on maximising possibilities to create knowledge, while minimising chances of losing knowledge. However, effective intellectual capital management should consider another dimension: orphan knowledge. Orphan knowledge relates to questions such as: Do organisations “unlearn” things or forget things and repeat past mistakes? Do some organisations unnecessarily duplicate equivalent activities within different areas of the organisation? If orphan knowledge exists, then organisations need to understand their potential for creating orphan knowledge. This paper defines orphan knowledge, and provides evidence of its potential by developing various scenarios and relating case‐study analysis from a sample of Australasian organisations. Indications are that even in organisations considered current “best practice” in managing intellectual capital, there is a medium to high potential for orphan knowledge to be created. Future research will determine whether different knowledge types, namely explicit versus tacit knowledge, have differing potentials for knowledge orphaning. Further research will consider the chief knowledge officer’s role in preventing and recovering organisation orphan knowledge.

The aim of this research is to understand how customers perceive their logistics service providers in terms of achieving the claimed benefits of outsourcing. This paper is based on research focusing on the state of the 3PL (Third Party Logistics) industry in Australia.

A set of typical business outcomes to which logistics outsourcing is expected to contribute were identified. Customers were asked to rate the contribution of their principal 3PL to these performance indicators. We used competitive priorities of 3PLs, the services provided by them and technologies used by them as predictors and performed regression analysis for each of these.

The results indicate that customers of 3PLs place significant value on the services they provide, technologies they use and objectives that transcend just low cost. The implication of this final finding shows that customers see a focus on service based solutions as providing a set of benefits beyond mere cost control.

The main limitation of this paper is that it is confined to Australia. So, any extensions of the findings to other regions of the world should be done with caution.

The practical implication of the study is that it provides support for the potential for an effective set of arrangements with 3PLs to help organizations to move out of the world of pure cost based competition, and into one where they could compete on multiple dimensions.

This study provides evidence from customers of logistics service providers indicating that 3PLs provide them with a means for competing through greater flexibility, at the same time as enabling better‐cost management. In this sense, customers see 3PLs as providing them with a potential pathway to more innovative business models.

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the status of systems development methodologies (SDM) usage for developing web‐based application in Malaysian organizations. In addition, it also seeks to investigate the use of techniques and tools for web‐based application development.

The study employed the use of a cross‐sectional survey method with 200 questionnaires sent to information systems managers. A total of 66 usable questionnaires were returned.

The use of SDM that are meant for web‐based applications is still very low among Malaysian organizations. The majority of respondents indicated that the SDM being used were adapted on a project basis. Malaysian systems developers were more inclined to use techniques that were much suited for traditional applications. Nevertheless, the use of systems development tools was quite overwhelming. Despite acknowledging the merits of using SDM, respondents also indicated problems associated with their usage.

The number of respondents participated in the study was low and furthermore data were collected employing a cross‐sectional design instead of longitudinal design.

The paper provides empirical evidence regarding the use of SDM, techniques and tools for developing web‐based applications.

Based on customer value theory, this paper aims to propose and test a conceptual model of the relationship between third‐party logistics (3PL) provider customer orientation and customer firm logistics improvement.

The 3PL provider customer orientation is conceptualized as a higher, second‐order construct made up of four key logistics‐driven first‐order indicators: service variety, information availability, timeliness, and continuous improvement. A survey‐based approach is utilized to collect data from managers at 124 manufacturing customer firms in the People's Republic of China; structural equation modeling is performed to assess measures and test the hypothesized relationships.

Chinese 3PL provider customer orientation significantly influences customer firm logistics improvement.

Findings are based on single source perceptual data from customer firm key respondents. Tests indicate that common method bias is not a problem.

At a time when market pressure is compelling Mainland Chinese 3PL providers to upgrade and expand service offerings, 3PLs with a strong customer orientation create significant value for customers through superior execution on key elements of logistics service.

The paper responds to calls for additional theoretically driven assessment of market orientation in logistics service provider firms by identifying explicit behavioral manifestations of 3PL customer orientation that enhance customer firm logistics performance.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on studying the impact of collaborative technologies on firm performance. The methodology used analyzes the influence of collaborative technologies not only directly but through an intermediary variable. This variable represents different intranet use orientations (e‐information, e‐communication and e‐transaction).

A structured questionnaire consisting of close‐ended questions was developed. Face‐to‐face surveys were conducted on a sample comprising 310 Spanish firms in May 2005. Research hypotheses were tested through ANOVA and hierarchical regression analyses.

Empirical results show that distinct collaborative technologies are associated with different intranet use orientations and demonstrate there is a positive relationship between e‐information and organizational performance. That is, the use of collaborative technologies with an informational orientation contributes to increased organizational performance. In addition, the existence of complementarities between e‐information and e‐communication were found. Thus, firms using collaborative technologies for e‐information in conjunction with e‐communication achieve better performance. The collaborative technology that has the greatest impact on firm performance is in fact the less employed.

This study confirms collaborative technologies are oriented to different, but compatible, uses. However, only certain uses present complementarities and have a direct impact on firm performance.