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Smart card-based E-payment systems are receiving increasing attention as the number of implementations is witnessed on the rise globally. Understanding of user adoption behavior of E-payment systems that employ smart card technology becomes a research area that is of particular value and interest to both IS researchers and professionals. However, research interest focuses mostly on why a smart card-based E-payment system results in a failure or how the system could have grown into a success. This signals the fact that researchers have not had much opportunity to critically review a smart card-based E-payment system that has gained wide support and overcome the hurdle of critical mass adoption. The Octopus in Hong Kong has provided a rare opportunity for investigating smart card-based E-payment system because of its unprecedented success. This research seeks to thoroughly analyze the Octopus from technology adoption behavior perspectives.

Cultural impacts on adoption behavior are one of the key areas that this research posits to investigate. Since the present research is conducted in Hong Kong where a majority of population is Chinese ethnicity and yet is westernized in a number of aspects, assuming that users in Hong Kong are characterized by eastern or western culture is less useful. Explicit cultural characteristics at individual level are tapped into here instead of applying generalization of cultural beliefs to users to more accurately reflect cultural bias. In this vein, the technology acceptance model (TAM) is adapted, extended, and tested for its applicability cross-culturally in Hong Kong on the Octopus. Four cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede are included in this study, namely uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, individualism, and Confucian Dynamism (long-term orientation), to explore their influence on usage behavior through the mediation of perceived usefulness.

TAM is also integrated with the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) to borrow two constructs in relation to innovative characteristics, namely relative advantage and compatibility, in order to enhance the explanatory power of the proposed research model. Besides, the normative accountability of the research model is strengthened by embracing two social influences, namely subjective norm and image. As the last antecedent to perceived usefulness, prior experience serves to bring in the time variation factor to allow level of prior experience to exert both direct and moderating effects on perceived usefulness.

The resulting research model is analyzed by partial least squares (PLS)-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The research findings reveal that all cultural dimensions demonstrate direct effect on perceived usefulness though the influence of uncertainty avoidance is found marginally significant. Other constructs on innovative characteristics and social influences are validated to be significant as hypothesized. Prior experience does indeed significantly moderate the two influences that perceived usefulness receives from relative advantage and compatibility, respectively. The research model has demonstrated convincing explanatory power and so may be employed for further studies in other contexts. In particular, cultural effects play a key role in contributing to the uniqueness of the model, enabling it to be an effective tool to help critically understand increasingly internationalized IS system development and implementation efforts. This research also suggests several practical implications in view of the findings that could better inform managerial decisions for designing, implementing, or promoting smart card-based E-payment system.

The continuous failure of construction projects notwithstanding appreciable increase in project management knowledge has necessitated a proactive approach of assessing early warning signs (EWS) of building projects failure. Building projects are expected to show warning signs before experiencing crises, comparable to a patient displaying symptoms of a disease. Thus, this study aims to examine the EWS that predisposed building projects to failure in Nigeria to provide empirical data for enhancing projects delivery.

Primary data were used for the study. Structured questionnaire was administered to consultants and contractors’ personnel within Lagos State, Nigeria. A total of 180 copies of questionnaire were administered and 134 copies (combined response rate of 74.44 per cent) were retrieved. Frequency distribution, percentages, mean item score and Mann–Whitney test were used to analyse the data.

Most construction professionals applied the EWS approach from project planning and early construction phase. The most significant EWS predisposing building projects to failure were “Management inability and incompetence to proactively detect and manage problems at early project stages”, “Actual expenditure is constantly shooting beyond cost estimates” and “Incurred costs already getting higher than the anticipated benefits”. Project/construction management-related symptoms are most significant to predisposing building projects to failure.

The study provided implications for effective project management of building projects through proactive approach which is very paramount to improving the delivery of building projects in Nigeria.

The study provides implications for proactive management of building projects, thereby enhancing the delivery of building projects.

This paper reports a study that incorporated a reasoning by analogy (RBA) system into a business simulation game of the microcomputer industry. The RBA system was designed to support a manager’s intuitionand judgement by facilitating the use of analogies. Users search for comparable (i.e., analogous) firms througha simple pattern‐matching routine built into the system. We argue for including RBA tools within decision support systems in order to facilitate analogical reasoning by decision makers. The study results support the conclusion that implementation of RBA systems significantly improves decision making effectiveness. The design and implementation of an RBA system, including the environmental scanning required to create the databases needed to support the system,is described and implications for practitioners and designers are discussed.

This chapter introduces an initiative of the Spectrum Doctoral Fellows to build an online resource that engages the Library and Information Studies (LIS) community in a discussion of social justice initiatives within the field. This tool further develops a social justice framework that raises awareness of and integrates social justice methodologies into LIS curricula and library practices. This framework facilitates community building and the empowerment of the populations they serve.

Using an iterative approach to user-centered design, the Social Justice Collaboratorium (SJC) development process consists of input from a community of engaged users to inform the wireframe, prototype, testing, and development phases. This includes gathering substantial qualitative and quantitative data such as surveys of LIS faculty, practitioners and students, as well as tracking web analytics once the tool is live.

The SJC allows for the confluence of research, resources, networks, best practices, and LIS school models in a centralized medium. Designed for LIS practitioners, faculty, staff, and students, as well as those interested in project management, resource development, and collaborative work, the SJC supports different approaches to social justice in LIS.

The SJC will be accessible to a distributed community of social justice LIS scholars, practitioners, students, and activists. Contributions from the community of users throughout every stage of the development process ensures participation, stewardship, and intentionality. In this way, the SJC will be a transformative tool for the LIS community as a vehicle for promoting equity and social change.

This paper presents the analysis from a study into the key lessons learned from e-procurement implementation across a range of UK public sector organisations. The literature relating to e-procurement implementation and operation is reviewed, identifying five main themes addressed by the current literature: impact on cost efficiency; the impact on the form and nature of supplier transaction; e-procurement system implementation; broader IT infrastructure issues; and the behavioural and relational impact of eprocurement. The research carried out was intended to explore the perceptions and reflections of both 'early' and 'late' adopters of e-procurement. Seven key lessons are drawn from the study and presented here. We conclude by proposing areas for further research, including the need for research into failed eprocurement projects.

The purpose of this research paper is to identify the non-financial e-procurement performance measures and find out whether these non-financial performance measures are leading indicator of impact on firm financial performance by adoption of e-procurement in terms of reduction in production cost.

The research model has been tested with the data collected from target procurement professionals in India. Structural equation modelling has been used for testing conceptual model hypotheses including mediation. The phantom model approach for testing multiple mediators has deployed.

The present empirical study found that non-financial performance measure of e-procurement, namely, transparency, coordination, efficiency and effectiveness are leading indicators of the impact of e-procurement adoption on production cost. This paper suggests that managers should try to design the e-procurement platform or opt for third party platform which reduces transaction cost to a minimum for enhanced coordination, work on transparency policy with maximum disclosure of information for enhanced transparency and ask for a fast and responsive system for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness.

This study, first time, attempted to identify non-financial performance measures of e-procurement and tried to understand how these intermediate non-financial performance measures impact the firm financial performance. The interdependence of non-financial performance measures has also been explored, and the research model has been developed to empirically examine the interdependence of these financial measures and its impact on production cost.

Volume 25 celebrates the 25th year of publication for the American Journal of Business (AJB). Launched by eight MAC schools of business in March 1986, the Journal has featured more than 700 authors who have contributed more than 330 research articles at the intersection of theory and practice. From accounting to marketing, management to finance, the Journal prominently covers the breadth of the business disciplines as a general business outlet intended for both practitioners and academics. As the Journal reaches out beyond the MAC in sponsorship, authorship, and readership, we assess the Journal’s first quarter century of impact.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an in‐depth analysis of the benefits senior management associate with business process outsourcing (BPO) and how these benefits are valued against each other.

A quantitative empirical study of the 200 largest banks in Germany was conducted: 218 senior managers from 126 different banks responded giving a response rate of 36.8 per cent. The answers were analysed using the partial least squares method (PLS).

The quantitative analysis shows surprising findings. A remarkable one is that there is a significantly higher value associated to the programmability of cost in a BPO case than to actual cost savings. This implies that the BPO market gained in maturity and that banks are much more critical to the marketing statements of outsourcing service providers than in previous years.

This paper supports the case for a more detailed analysis of the benefits associated with BPO. Although it is empirically supported that the benefit perceptions differ significantly, more questions need to be asked about the actual differences and thus what organizations learned over the last decades when IT outsourcing (ITO) was the predominant form of outsourcing. More research needs to be devoted to transforming the knowledge gained into advantages for the future. Additionally, for the research community using PLS, this paper offers a variety of successfully tested formative indicators in a BPO context.

For outsourcing service providers this paper provides a straight forward message. Potential clients of BPO are valuing other benefits than those ITO promises. Therefore, new concepts are needed to communicate the value of BPO to these customers.

This is the first quantitative research study on the perceived benefits of BPO. It provides valuable insights into management's perception and how the benefit associated with BPO are valued.

This paper aims to explore the concept of early warning signs (EWSs) in offshore-outsourced software development (OOSD) projects at the team level. It also aims to identify the EWSs of failure in the onshore-offshore project context and understand how they are perceived by responsible managers.

A grounded theory approach is followed by gathering data from 19 failed OOSD projects using project managers from client and vendor sides as the key informants.

This study identified 13 EWSs of failure in five categories of trust and team cohesion, common project execution structures, awareness of shared work context, collaboration between teams and onshore-offshore team coordination capabilities. EWSs were found to comprise two components: early warning issues and early signals of failures.

India-based vendors’ data in the study formed the primary weakness of the work regarding generalizability, even though it brought homogeneity to data. Lack of triangulation of failure data through client or vendor peers proved impossible in this research as failure remains a very sensitive topic. Dual composition of EWSs could be applied to institutionalize an early warning tool in projects.

The paper develops an exploratory model of EWSs of failure and project failure in the OOSD project context. The two-component framework of EWSs allows project managers to eliminate false positives while identifying EWSs. It contributes to the information system failure, risk management and information technology offshoring research streams.

A multitude of factors influence the information technology outsourcing (ITO) decision. Organizations must systematically evaluate these factors prior to making the ITO decision. The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis toward understanding the critical factors in affecting ITO decision in the context of e-banking services.

The effect of technological, organizational, and environmental attributes on e-banking services outsourcing decision were investigated in this paper. The study was carried out using the quantitative research methodology based on a survey of 23 banks. The partial least squares technique was utilized as the method of data analysis.

The results of the data analysis illustrated that nine out of 11 assumed factors (i.e. perceived complexity, perceived cost, service observability to the client, cultural fit between client and supplier, perceived loss of organizational knowledge, prior outsourcing experience, external pressure, market volatility, and suppliers’ power) influence the outsourcing decision of e-banking services. The findings also confirmed that the nature of the service and client IT capabilities did not exert any influence on the outsourcing decision.

The study is among the first kind of ITO decision research which empirically investigates the effect of service observability, cultural fit, perceived loss of organizational knowledge, external pressure, market volatility, and suppliers’ power amongst other factors on the ITO decision. The findings from this study provide insights for the banks and service providers to better understand the factors affecting the outsourcing decisions of e-banking services in contexts of less developed countries. Implications based on a specific situation of the Iranian banking sector is also proposed.