Search results

The purpose is to study Rogers' Diffusion of Innovations theory (2003) in a real‐life context, where it is exposed to the full range of complexities of people residing in a specific area and to briefly describe basically non‐work information needs and sources selected to access it.

The relationships between personality and communication behaviour, socio‐economic characteristics and internet adoption, based on Rogers' theory are investigated.

Results from 150 households suggest younger people and individuals with more formal education have increased information needs and are more familiar with computer and internet usage. A positive association between educational level and innovation adoption, and between the latter and attitude toward science and change, is indicated.

Research is limited to Xanthi's Old Town. The quantitative methodology utilised does not allow for in‐depth analysis of information behaviour and internet adoption patterns. Measures to assess personality and communication behaviour variables developed need to be further validated. Finally, the research does not examine other variables (e.g. perceived attributes of innovation) and the distinction between voluntary and mandatory adoption.

Results suggest benefits of information technology should be advertised through earlier adopters.

Research shows level of internet exposure and practically explores technology usage levels in relation to socio‐economic, personality and communication behaviour variables. The sample offers a detailed examination of internet usage and information needs of individuals residing in a specific area.

The purpose of the paper is to examine and analyze the alignment between (information technology) IT, strategic orientation (SO) and organizational structure (OS) and their impact on firm performance (FP).

A theoretical framework is proposed regarding the constructs of IT, SO and OS. A model incorporating these three constructs is examined and their impact on FP is assessed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The sample data from 295 firms were obtained through structured questionnaires.

The results of the SEM support the hypothesis that the alignment between IT, SO and OS significantly affects FP.

Non‐financial and intangible performance measurements are not included and the sample is not homogeneous.

This study suggests that managers should choose the appropriate level and type of IT, depending on a firm's structure and SO, in order to benefit from the advantages of IT usage and achieve higher performance levels.

This study presents an overview of the impact of SO, OS and IT on FP, and that shows that there is scope for further research into the inter‐organizational relationships that exist between them.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationships between best human resource management (HRM) practices, knowledge management (KM), organization learning and organizational capabilities (OC) and their impact on organizational performance. The proposed framework intends to add to the understanding of the specific processes that mediate between best HRM practices and organizational performance.

A range of relevant literature is explored and a conceptual model is proposed and discussed.

This paper proposes an answer to “how” best HRM practices can influence performance. It is suggested that KM and organizational learning (OL) play their own unique role in creating OC, which lead to superior performance.

The paper can help human resource managers to understand better the importance of OL and KM processes and the way best HRM practices, through the integration of these two processes, lead to superior and sustainable performance.

This paper attempts to shed some light on the processes through which HRM practices influence performance. The proposed conceptual framework is an original, complete model that will hopefully contribute towards the enrichment of the relevant literature. Moreover, it clarifies relevant terms and their relationship that seem to be surrounded by ambiguity.

The aim of this paper is to examine the productivity of the Greek banking sector for the time period 2004‐2006.

Standard ratio measures of bank financial performance have been used as output measures in a data envelopment analysis model in combination with efficiency ratios’ analysis.

The Greek banking efficiency remains relatively constant throughout the period under observation, while, on average, big banks perform better than medium and small ones.

Profit and loss accounts as well as balance sheet accounts of each bank are used for examining bank efficiency.

A positive relationship between bank size and performance is observed. More specifically, it is suggested that large total assets gives a bank the ability to achieve higher efficiency levels; thus, a merger of two small banks will probably increase their efficiency and competitiveness in the long term.

Greek banks are at a crossroad and faced with the dilemma of expanding their operations internationally or staying at home. The current financial crisis has made this dilemma stronger. The paper's findings suggest that probably the best solution for the Greek banks to overcome their current problem is to merge.

The purpose of the paper is to highlight the training factors that mostly affect trainees' perception of learning and training usefulness.

A new research model is proposed exploring the relationships between a trainer's performance, training programme components, outcomes of the learning process and training usefulness. The validity of this model is tested empirically adopting the structural equation modelling approach, using data from 126 employees who have participated in different training programmes.

All the factors that constitute a training programme (trainer performance, training environment and training goals, content, material, process) have been found to affect both learning outcomes and training usefulness.

The long‐term results of a training programme are not examined.

Although all the aspects and components of the training programmes should be carefully considered by the training programme designer, training process and trainer performance have the strongest direct and indirect effect (respectively), on both learning outcomes and training usefulness.

In this study, all the factors that constitute a training programme are incorporated in a single model using data from small and medium‐sized enterprises. Overall, the final model can explain 39 and 60 percent of the variance in learning and training usefulness, respectively.