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This paper aims to explain how small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs) create information technology (IT) business value through blended IT outsourcing (ITO). The explanatory framework it proposes enables SMEs to replicate IT capability outcomes (i.e. enhance their economic, strategic and technological competences, namely, ITO success) by endorsing an ITO strategy catalyzed by IT vendor integration.

This study uses covariance-based structural equation modeling to test the proposed research model. Data are collected from 251 knowledge-intensive business SMEs located in Science and Technology Parks in Spain.

The results demonstrate empirically that SMEs can replicate IT capability benefits (i.e. enhance their non-IT competences) through blended ITO in which IT, conceptualized as a transversal supporting activity, is outsourced to an IT vendor while the value creation process remains with the buyer. The integration (i.e. process integration and information sharing) of an IT-proficient vendor catalyzes ITO success. More specifically, the results show that, although process integration is not directly related to competence enhancement, fosters information sharing, which directly facilitates ITO success. The results also show that IT vendor proficiency accounts for ex ante trust.

Managers should think of transformational ITO as a strategy to enhance firm competences. For blended ITO strategies to succeed, managers must have a comprehensive understanding of the business they run, as it is important to create conditions that foster inter-firm information sharing. To achieve these conditions, managers should take special care in selecting boundary spanners, who are the pivotal links in competence enhancement.

While most research focuses on ongoing trust (i.e. trust develops as ITO evolves), this study focuses on initial (i.e. ex ante) trust and analyzes IT vendor proficiency (expert, experienced and reputed) to examine trust as an antecedent of ITO. This study also draws on previous conceptualizations of vendor integration to develop and analyze a two-step integration model to explain how IT vendor integration (i.e. process integration and information sharing) catalyzes enhancement of the buyer’s non-IT competences. This study focuses on SMEs, which are often neglected in ITO studies.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

The study finds that IT capabilities acquired through an outsourced vendor can support buyers' value creation. Furthermore, the vendor's proficiency, process integration and information sharing directly and indirectly, affect IT outsourcing success.

The briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the Maya-descent souvenir vendors in sustaining the socio-cultural heritage of Chichen Itza, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site (WHS). The study aims to understand the souvenir vendors’ social and economic position within the diverse stakeholder groups involved in the tourist attraction and their impact on visitors.

The exploratory study applied a combination of unobtrusive participant observation and photography methods conducted throughout the site’s monuments. The data were complemented with an analysis of social media comments posted by the WHS visitors.

The findings revealed that the excessive retail presence throughout the site, coupled with the souvenir vendors’ continual harassment, have negatively impacted the patrons’ visiting experience. The vendors’ retail activity was not regarded as culturally authentic and did not contribute to the socio-cultural sustainability of the host community.

The findings may lack generalization, and consequently, additional research is necessary to test the propositions presented, both at Chichen Itza and other WHS.

The paper recommends adopting new reforms that will benefit all stakeholders involved with the site’s operation, including negotiating culture, identities and “being Maya” within the contemporary Mexican society. Re-evaluating all stakeholders’ socio-economic benefits and securing the government’s control of the site were also recommended.

This study presents a unique case study approach that reports the tactics adopted by the souvenir vendors at the WHS site. The conversion of culture and heritage into purely economic values coupled with political power might impact the long-term sustainability of the site.

The purpose of this paper is to provide selected Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulatory notices and disciplinary actions issued in July and August 2011.

The paper provides Regulatory Notice 11‐31, July 2011, Credit Default Swaps: Interim Pilot Program on Margin Requirements for Credit Default Swaps; Notice 11‐37, July 2011, Trading Halts Due To Extraordinary Market Volatility: Trading Pause Rule Expanded to All NMS Stocks; Notice 11‐38, August 2011, Application of the SEC's Financial Responsibility Rules in Response to the Downgrade of US Long‐term Credit Rating by Standard & Poor's; Notice 11‐39, August 2011, Social Media Websites and the Use of Personal Devices for Business Communications: Guidance on Social Networking Websites and Business Communications; and selected FINRA disciplinary actions in July and August 2011.

Notice 11‐31: FINRA has extended the implementation of Rule 4240 so that it will expire on January 17, 2012; the Rule established an interim pilot program with respect to margin requirements for certain transactions in credit default swaps. Notice 11‐37: Beginning August 8, 2011, the trading pause pilot rule – currently applicable only to securities included in the S&P 500® Index, the Russell 1000® Index and a list of selected exchange‐traded products (ETPs) – will be expanded to include all National Market System (NMS) stocks. Notice 11‐38: FINRA staff has confirmed with the staff of the SEC that this ratings action by Standard & Poor's does not alter the net capital treatment of these government securities under SEA Rule 15c3‐1(c)(2)(vi)(A) and does not affect the definition of “qualified security” under SEA Rule 15c3‐3(a)(6). Notice 11‐39: Responds to questions regarding the application of Regulatory Notice 10‐06, January 2010, providing guidance on the application of FINRA rules governing communications with the public to social media sites and reminding firms of the recordkeeping, suitability, supervision and content requirements for such communications.

These are direct excerpts designed to provide a useful digest for the reader and an indication of regulatory trends.

Three decades of academic and professional discourse on HR technologies (HRTs) have produced continued disagreement over construct definitions and research streams that are highly fragmented. These realities suggest that greater consistency in meanings is sorely needed if we are to integrate and upgrade knowledge in this area. This chapter draws on the findings of a systematic research review to properly define the content domains of human resource information systems (HRIS), virtual human resources (virtual HR), electronic human resource management (e-HRM), and business-to-employee (B2E) systems. An integrative synthesis was performed on 242 system-level writings that appeared in the literature from 1983 to 2017. The weight of the evidence strongly supports treating HRIS, virtual HR, e-HRM, and B2E systems as independent, complimentary constructs. While the first three comprise a firm’s HRT system, the fourth construct is more appropriately positioned in the business-collaborative system. The sample was further evaluated with an analytic framework to detect patterns of practice in research designs. This revealed that much more attention has been focused on system actions and outcomes than on attitudes and system characteristics. Different units of analysis were well represented aside from trans-organizational studies. Finally, a case is made for better contextualizing HRT research by recognizing differences in assimilation stage, functional penetration, and collective proficiency. These factors are rarely mentioned, let alone studied, raising additional concerns about measurement error. Detailed suggestions are offered on ways to incorporate them. Together, these materials should promote more sophisticated and generalizable assessments of technology, improving our ability to understand its impacts.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the resources and capabilities required by manufacturers to develop and deliver multi-vendor solutions.

A multi-case design comprising six UK-based manufacturers: two from each of the aerospace/defence, information technology and telecommunications sectors.

Manufacturers can be characterized by their propensity to include products from other vendors in their solutions; single vendor solution providers (SVSPs) focus on solutions comprising their own products, while multi-vendor solution providers (MVSPs) fully embrace products from other manufacturers. Three capabilities were identified which distinguish MVSPs from SVSPs given the complexity of multi-vendor solutions (expertise specifying the solution, engineers trained in implementing/supporting the solution, partnerships with component suppliers of the solution). These capabilities are underpinned by both technical capability and impartiality in solution specification.

MVSPs need to be impartial when specifying customer solutions. They should be guided by the best interests of the customer rather than the interests of the product-based SBUs. Achieving impartiality can conflict with some manufacturers' product heritage. The research has focused on three sectors; further research is needed to test whether the findings are applicable beyond these sectors.

Solutions are a valuable approach in creating market differentiation, although not all manufacturers will possess the resources/capabilities to be successful.

A continuum of solution providers is proposed; SVSPs at one extreme and MVSPs at the other. The operant resource-based capability “impartiality” was identified as being particularly important to MVSPs in creating value for customers.

Supply chain management (SCM) proficiency is generally associated with superior business performance. Yet, SCM research continues to focus predominantly on the performance of individual firms, rather than on the collective performance of multiple supply chain participants as espoused by the extended enterprise (EE) concept. In response to calls for quantitative studies that examine the collective performance of multiple supply chain participants, this research study compares the combined performance of triads comprising focal firms recognized for their relative SCM proficiency and their upstream (supplier) and downstream (customer) supply chain partners with that of their close industry competitors' triads.

The triadic, longitudinal examination of multiple supply chain participants' collective performance utilized archival financial data of the period 2007–2017 from the Compustat database and the supply chain (SPLC) function of Bloomberg.

Findings of this study indicated that supply chain triads that included focal firms recognized for their relative SCM proficiency experienced significantly lower sales and general administrative expenses and significantly higher productivity, return on assets and profitability over time than their close industry competitors' triads. However, contrary to expectations, the performance advantages identified did not extend to revenue growth.

Supply chain triads cannot fully represent entire supply chains or EEs. However, this study’s triadic analysis can be viewed as a practically achievable proxy for further validating the EE concept. Moreover, based on assertions that triadic studies are suitable for SCM research and on empirical studies that consistently show individual firms recognized for their relative SCM proficiency outperform competitors, the authors contend that the study’s findings appropriately corroborate the value of the EE concept.

Because such empirical evidence is so rare, the consistent, collective performance advantages identified in this study should be highly significant to managers.

Robust, longitudinal evidence that supply chain triads which include focal firms recognized for relative SCM proficiency collectively outperform their close industry competitors' triads extends generally accepted associations between SCM proficiency and business performance, suggesting that the application of extended resource-based view (ERBV) in supply chain contexts warrants further examination and further substantiates the efficacy of the EE concept.

This paper aims to deal with optimal pricing and production tactics for a bi-echelon green supply chain, including a producer and a vendor in presence of three various scenarios. Demand depends on a price, refund and quality where the producer controls quality and the vendor proposes a refund policy to purchasers to encourage them to order more.

In the first scenario, the members seek to optimize their optimum decision variables under a centralized decision-making method while in the second scenario, a decentralized system is assumed where the members make a decision about variables and profits under a non-cooperative game. In the third scenario, a cost-sharing agreement is concluded between the members to provide a high-quality item to the purchasers.

The performance of the proposed model is investigated by illustrating a numerical example. A sensitivity analysis of some key parameters has been done to study the effect of the changes on the optimal values of the decision variables and profits. From sensitivity analysis, the real features are observed and mentioned in this section.

This research examines the behavior of partners in a green supply chain facing with a group of purchasers whose demand is the function of a price, greenery degree and refund rate. This proposed mathematical model is developed and analyzed which has an implication in supply chain model.

Information technology service management (ITSM) has become a major IT department management system in organizations. Successful implementation of ITSM depends on select adequate ITSM software. Evaluation and selection of the ITSM solution or software packages is complicated and time-consuming decision-making problem. This paper aims to present an approach for dealing with such a problem.

This approach introduces functional, non-functional requirements and novel fuzzy out-ranking evaluation method for ITSM software selection. The presented approach breaks down ITSM software selection criteria into two broad categories, namely, functional (service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, continual service improvement according to Information Technology Infrastructure Library V3) and non-functional requirements (quality, technical, vendor, implementation) including totally 46 selection criteria. A novel fuzzy superiority and inferiority ranking (FSIR) was developed and made applicable for ITSM software selection based on identified criteria.

The proposed approach is applied to IT services company to select and acquire ITSM software, and the provided numerical example illustrates the applicability of the approach for this choice. The approach can facilitate firms to achieve suitable ITSM software and have a precise acquisition decision; however, the limitation of dependency on experts’ competence and proficiency in the both ITSM field and IT technical issues exists.

The approach can facilitate firms to achieve suitable ITSM software and have a precise acquisition decision; however, the limitation of dependency on experts’ competence and proficiency in the both ITSM field and IT technical issues exists.

Facilitating of ITSM implementation through its handy software selection is the major impact of current research.

A facile FSIR-based approach for software selection has been customized to contribute to the current literature in the ITSM field. Facilitating of ITSM implementation through its handy software selection is the major impact of current research.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of perceived value of recommended product on consumer’s e-loyalty, based on the proposition of expectation confirmation theory. Vendors’ reputation is tested as the mediator in the perceived value of recommended product and e-loyalty relationship, whereas shopping enjoyment is predicted as the moderator that conditions the perceived value of recommended product and e-loyalty relationship through vendors reputation.

Data were collected via an online survey platform and through a QR code. Partial least squares analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to verify the research proposed model.

The findings revealed that the perceived value of recommended product had a significant positive effect on E-loyalty; in addition, the perceived value of the recommended product and e-loyalty link was partly explained by e-shopper’s confidence in vendor reputation. Therefore, the study established that the direct and indirect relationship between the perceived value of the recommended product and e-loyalty was sensitive and profound to shopping enjoyment.

This study has established that the perceived value of a recommended product can result in consumer loyalty. This has successively provided the e-shop manager and other stakeholders with novel perspectives about why it is necessary to understand consumers’ pre- and postacquisition behavior before recommending certain products to the consumer.