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This article presents the first stage of a design‐based research project to introduce case‐based learning using existing interactive technologies in a major Australian university. The paper initially outlines the relationship between casebased learning, student interaction and the study of interactions ‐ and includes a review of research into technologies supporting varying types of interaction. We then introduce design‐based research (DBR) as a way of improving student interaction within an undergraduate e‐business course while simultaneously adding practical and theoretical insights to the literature in the field. Applying DBR, we present the learning environment used and analyse the interactions observed. The paper concludes with a summary of our findings concerning instructional means to make online interactions more meaningful and a discussion of future research activities within the project using design‐based research.

The Internet, since its commercialisation, has expanded with tremendous rapidity. This development has been still further assisted by the creation of the World Wide Web, which has caught the imagination of users around the world. As the marketing and provision of goods and services over the Web continues to grow, the missing factor appears to be a well‐accepted and well‐trusted method of paying for these products and services. This paper discusses the problem of internet payment systems (IPS) and reports the results of a research project which attempts to identify and classify effectiveness criteria for IPS. The project was undertaken by means of a Delphi survey of experts in IPS usage and classified types of IPS providers, as well as the factors which each group considers most important. This information was used in the development of our set of IPS effectiveness criteria.

Discusses the issue of business‐to‐business e‐commerce implementation and the factors affecting it, considering the appropriateness of the various theories which underpin research into systems implementation (primarily diffusion of innovation and traditional change management theory). Describes the results of a case study of BHP Steel, the largest steel producer and one of the largest companies in Australia, which is a leader in e‐commerce implementation. The results suggest that, over time, the driving force for e‐commerce changed significantly. From an initial push to improve current business processes by adopting EDI to achieve savings and improve efficiency, the company came to be driven by a desire for greater supplier involvement and customer service in later implementations. Discusses the ways in which BHP Steel’s e‐commerce innovations have changed and suggests that, in addition to considering the characteristics of the innovation process, other more contextual aspects of implementation (such as the social system in which the innovation evolves and the timing of the innovation’s introduction) be considered in an inter‐organizational context.

Efficient consumer response (ECR) is a supply chain management strategy which attempts to address the inefficiencies that have led to excessive inventory and unnecessary costs at all levels within the grocery industry supply chain. Although originating in the USA, ECR has also attracted attention and interest in many other countries. This paper presents the results of an Australian study which was designed to assess the applicability of ECR within the Australian grocery industry. The results of the study indicate that the inefficient business practices of the US supply chain are also prevalent within the Australian grocery industry and that some Australian companies had already begun to engage in business activities related to ECR as early as 1996.

Telecommunications addresses the tyranny of distance for international and domestic trade communities by providing information linkages both internally and externally to an organization. These global networks give firms the opportunity to gain strategic advantages such as the strengthening of trading partner relationships and the redesigning of internal procedures to improve overall efficiency and cost effectiveness. The business community, however, has been slow to adopt telecommunications and its enabled technologies – electronic data interchange (EDI) in particular – owing to a general lack of understanding of the benefits available from their effective utilization. Describes an education‐oriented approach designed to encourage greater acceptance of telecommunications and EDI by educating university students – the managers of the future – about applied telecommunications in an international environment. Discusses also the cultural and cross‐cultural experiences of the students who participated in this pilot project. The results indicate that there is evidence to support the hypothesis that EDI is an appropriate exemplar technology for teaching applied telecommunications in an international environment; and that a laboratory‐based strategy is an effective way of using EDI to achieve this objective and providing students with experience of the cultural and cross‐cultural factors involved in international commerce.

Internet use among small businesses has recently become a popular topic for researchers in the fields of marketing, information systems and entrepreneurship. In view of the media hype this topic has received over recent months, it is important for small businesses to learn from the experiences of early adopters of the Internet. Presents the results of a case study research involving 23 Australian small businesses which were early adopters of the Internet ‐ and which are still users. Finds that they are predominantly using the Internet as a communications medium and, to a lesser extent, as a document transfer and advertising channel. Management enthusiasm and perceived benefits seem to be the driving force for ongoing Internet use, although little or no integration was discovered between internal applications and Internet inter‐organizational functions. Findings also point to the importance of entrepreneurship for successful Internet use.

To provide an empirically based analysis and evaluation of the existing and possible future evolution of Internet business models within the digital content market, focusing particularly on the possibilities for cooperation and coopetition within this market‐space.

The paper is based on a three‐year study of the European online news and online music sectors, comprising a set of preliminary, scene‐setting case studies of a number of major players within the European online news and music sectors; a detailed, two‐stage survey made up of online questionnaires and face‐to‐face interviews; and a small number of in‐depth case studies.

Provides a discussion of the changes taking place in the online news and music sectors, the evolution of the business models within them, the driving forces we have identified, and finally some predictions about what the future may hold for both these sectors.

The research is indicative, rather than general – being centred on European participants in two sectors of the digital content market‐space in the period between May 2003 and August 2004.

A rich evaluation of these two fast‐moving digital content sectors, providing empirically based insights into the ways in which they are evolving and changing and into parallels with other, similar sectors of the digital content market.

This paper is the first major empirical evaluation of the digital content market‐space and offers practical assistance, as well as new theoretical insights on e‐business model evolution in this area.

Explains how, with the Internet increasingly being used for the conduct of electronic commerce, organizations are now cognizant of the need to control their employees’ usage of the Internet. Little research has been conducted to date into this important concern. Suggests that an Internet acceptable usage policy is one vehicle for providing this control, containing guidelines for employees indicating both acceptable and unacceptable Internet usages. The policy aims to control those employee behaviours and actions which contribute to the incidence and severity of internal and external Internet risks, while enabling employees and the organization to gain maximum business value from the Internet connection. Explores the issues to be considered in the development of an organization’s Internet acceptable usage policy. Uses a case study of a large Australian organization to illustrate the issues. Proposes a set of criteria for an effective Internet acceptable usage policy as a result of this research.

The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of the MobiCert project, which utilises mobile commerce technology to enhance information access and provision for organic primary producers, so as to improve their integration into the grocery supply chain. This paper is a precursor to developing a mobile solution for both conventional and organic primary producers across Australia and potentially other countries.

The rapid appraisal research approach is selected for this research paper as it is particularly suited for gathering fast, rich and deep data in rural and remote areas.

This paper discusses the development of a mobile information community prototype for organic primary producers in rural South Australia which provides information access and data gathering functionalities through the use of a PDA/Smart phone. The Rural Area Technology Acceptance and Diffusion of Innovation Model is developed to investigate acceptance of mobile technology and the likely diffusion of this innovation in rural areas. It offers a theoretical underpinning for the project, and illustrates how this paper contributes to the management/marketing literature.

This research project is of considerable value for primary producers in rural and remote areas, because it enables and enhances their access to and provision of information – a critical factor for timely and effective access to the grocery supply chain.

Entering the twenty‐first century, burgeoning information management needs in both the private and public sectors are pushing adoption of automated records management systems. Electronic Document and Records Management Systems (EDRMS) are evolving as the most likely solution. Despite this trend, relatively few published accounts of e‐records implementations exist that present achieved and measurable benefits. This paper seeks to discuss these issues.

The authors highlight a set of workflow driven strategies that required considerable managerial and financial investment.

The case study shows just how crucial it is for any organisation to bring with it the people and the processes involved in the creation, management and maintenance of records and information, if a centralised approach is to work over the longer term.

The detailed nature of the investigation also serves to highlight a set of well‐documented IT strategies for records management. These strategies, carefully put in place before the project got under way, demonstrably underpin the implementation and its outcomes. Practitioners should find the opportunity to examine and select transferable practices from each stage of the implementation particularly valuable.

This review of a recent landmark EDRMS implementation in an Australian local government authority supplements the sparse literature currently available.