Search results

The utilization of the Internet and Internet marketing for marketing research has received considerable attention. Although there is a growing body of research devoted to this issue little has been done to explore the impact of Internet technology, e‐mail users’ on‐line skills and experience, on their choice of the new survey medium. This study is based on a sample of 122 responses from UK marketing executives using e‐mail and mail questionnaire surveys respectively. The research instrument included measures of respondents’ extent of e‐mail use, their general knowledge of online communications and their time of using the Internet. Some significant impact of these factors has been identified. The empirical evidence supports the hypotheses that the use of e‐mail survey methods is positively connected with high technology awareness and extensive e‐mail use. The findings imply that proper survey planning and administration are important for Internet‐based marketing surveys and suggest the existence of certain user patterns among different Internet user populations.

One of the most difficult aspects of deriving an information management plan for a large knowledge‐based enterprise is to determine what information people require to do their various tasks as well as help them expand and update their existing knowledge. Achieving this goal can be time consuming. To speed up and yet effectively define information needs, an electronic survey tool was designed to survey the employees of a large government organization. This paper concentrates on the development and implementation of the electronic survey including survey preparation, distribution, data collection and processing, and data analysis and evaluation. Practical, tested, guidelines are included. In addition, alternative means, tools and techniques to conduct the electronic survey are discussed.

This research was conducted to study benefits of a concept, known as lean manufacturing, which elicits organizations to do more with less effort, time, space, and equipment by eliminating waste. Because lean implementation involves finances, dedication, and cultural change in business, there is a need to assess a company's lean initiative.

A comprehensive lean assessment tool is designed targeted for use by manufacturing companies. Research of lean principles and practices was conducted through lean organizations, trade publications, manufacturing web sites, professional articles, textbooks, lean exhibitions, and non‐profit lean organizations.

This led to the development of a lean survey questionnaire delivered to 143 lean companies and lean consultants for authentic input. Based on the response, survey participation met a goal of 95 percent accuracy with 15 percent error. Completed surveys were compiled and analyzed for fundamental practices of lean organizations. Answers to the survey were assigned numerical values based on lean significance, and a lean assessment model was developed based on Excel. The lean assessment model was fine‐tuned and programmed to output a numerical and descriptive lean assessment grade. It was tested for soundness by inputting mock lean and traditional company answers into the model. Output results from the model correlated with the input.

Lean thinking philosophy and lean manufacturing methods and principles were exhaustively researched to make a successful lean organization. The research led to the development of a visual indicator, the Lean Thinking Management Wheel. This model to assess lean thinking manufacturing initiatives unique and has a great potential to use industry wide.

This paper provides guidelines for the design and execution of survey research in operations management (OM). The specific requirements of survey research aimed at gathering and analysing data for theory testing are contrasted with other types of survey research. The focus is motivated by the need to tackle the various issues which arise in the process of survey research. The paper does not intend to be exhaustive: its aim is to guide the researcher, presenting a systematic picture which synthesises suitable survey practices for research in an OM context. The fundamental aim is to contribute to an increase in the quality of OM research and, as a consequence, to the status of the OM discipline among the scientific community.

The strategic management literature emphasizes the concept of business intelligence (BI) as an essential competitive tool. Yet the sustainability of the firms’ competitive advantage provided by BI capability is not well researched. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for successful BI deployment and empirically examines the association between BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage. Taking the telecommunications industry in Malaysia as a case example, the research particularly focuses on the influencing perceptions held by telecommunications decision makers and executives on factors that impact successful BI deployment. The research further investigates the relationship between successful BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage of the telecommunications organizations. Another important aim of this study is to determine the effect of moderating factors such as organization culture, business strategy, and use of BI tools on BI deployment and the sustainability of firm’s competitive advantage.

This research uses combination of resource-based theory and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory to examine BI success and its relationship with firm’s sustainability. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and a two-phase sequential mixed method consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches are employed. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. The chapter presents a qualitative field study to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. The study includes a survey study with sample of business analysts and decision makers in telecommunications firms and is analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that some internal resources of the organizations such as BI governance and the perceptions of BI’s characteristics influence the successful deployment of BI. Organizations that practice good BI governance with strong moral and financial support from upper management have an opportunity to realize the dream of having successful BI initiatives in place. The scope of BI governance includes providing sufficient support and commitment in BI funding and implementation, laying out proper BI infrastructure and staffing and establishing a corporate-wide policy and procedures regarding BI. The perceptions about the characteristics of BI such as its relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, and observability are also significant in ensuring BI success. The most important results of this study indicated that with BI successfully deployed, executives would use the knowledge provided for their necessary actions in sustaining the organizations’ competitive advantage in terms of economics, social, and environmental issues.

This study contributes significantly to the existing literature that will assist future BI researchers especially in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In particular, the model will help practitioners to consider the resources that they are likely to consider when deploying BI. Finally, the applications of this study can be extended through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

The first in a series of articles which further explore four training needs assessment (TNA) research and data‐gathering methods: survey questionnaires, individual interviews, focus groups, and on‐site observations which were first presented in an article entitled “Training Needs Assessment: An ‘Open‐systems’ Application” in the Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 17 No. 1. Reviews the types of survey questionnaire most commonly used in the determination of training needs. Emphasizes codes of ethics. Makes comparisons between standardized and custom‐designed questionnaires, with research indicating that the custom approach works best when attempting to identify specific training needs germane to a particular group or organization. Provides various types of question‐response sample along with recommendations for the survey administration and final report preparation. Discusses “E‐Mail” or electronic mail as a variation of the written survey questionnaire. Recommends the custom‐designed survey questionnaire for use as part of a systematic approach to determining and analysing training needs as a result of its flexibility, its yield of quantitative as well as qualitative data, and its results‐oriented format.

Survey research of top managers is critical to addressing many contemporary research questions in the field of strategic management. Yet, the threat of low response rates has discouraged many researchers from attempting this type of work, steering the field of strategic management away from issues related to strategic process. This article provides an empirical examination of factors that determine the likelihood and quality of response to top management surveys. More generally, we advance a theoretical perspective on survey response rooted in social influence theory that should help researchers make better choices about the design of their survey questionnaires.

The growth of the Internet and other digital media has opened up exciting opportunities for the provision of public services, for business and for personal transactions. Comparisons between the earliest forms of “online” research, in the form of telephone interviewing, and offline data collection via face‐to‐face interviews or self‐completion questionnaires, revealed that the modality within which research was conducted could affect research findings. In examining the evidence, this paper indicates that the use of online methodologies has important implications for sampling, response rates, quality of data produced, and operational practices in research projects. Online research is restricted to individuals with access to relevant technologies (e.g. the Internet) and where online technology penetration is limited, survey samples are unlikely to represent the general population. Online surveys, however, can produce quicker response rates than offline surveys and also richer open‐ended responses. The important point is to recognise the strengths and weaknesses are associated with different methodologies and what differences can exist between online and offline data collection procedures.

Citizens are substantial stakeholders in every e-government system, thus their willingness to use and ability to access the system are critical. Unequal access and information and communication technology usage, which is known as digital divide, however has been identified as one of the major obstacles to the implementation of e-government system. As digital divide inhibits citizen’s acceptance to e-government, it should be overcome despite the lack of deep theoretical understanding on this issue. This research aimed to investigate the digital divide and its direct impact on e-government system success of local governments in Indonesia as well as indirect impact through the mediation role of trust. In order to get a comprehensive understanding of digital divide, this study introduced a new type of digital divide, the innovativeness divide.

The research problems were approached by applying two-stage sequential mixed method research approach comprising of both qualitative and quantitative studies. In the first phase, an initial research model was proposed based on a literature review. Semi-structured interview with 12 users of e-government systems was then conducted to explore and enhance this initial research model. Data collected in this phase were analyzed with a two-stage content analysis approach and the initial model was then amended based on the findings. As a result, a comprehensive research model with 16 hypotheses was proposed for examination in the second phase.

In the second phase, quantitative method was applied. A questionnaire was developed based on findings in the first phase. A pilot study was conducted to refine the questionnaire, which was then distributed in a national survey resulting in 237 useable responses. Data collected in this phase were analyzed using Partial Least Square based Structural Equation Modeling.

The results of quantitative analysis confirmed 13 hypotheses. All direct influences of the variables of digital divide on e-government system success were supported. The mediating effects of trust in e-government in the relationship between capability divide and e-government system success as well as in the relationship between innovativeness divide and e-government system success were supported, but was rejected in the relationship between access divide and e-government system success. Furthermore, the results supported the moderating effects of demographic variables of age, residential place, and education.

This research has both theoretical and practical contributions. The study contributes to the developments of literature on digital divide and e-government by providing a more comprehensive framework, and also to the implementation of e-government by local governments and the improvement of e-government Readiness Index of Indonesia.