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Although governments are hugely investing in information technology (IT) infrastructure, eGovernment performance has reported variations in performance. The relationship between IT infrastructure investments and eGovernment performance remains unexplored in academic research. This study aims to explain how investments in IT assets lead to infrastructure capability and eGovernment system performance. The work conceptualizes technical performance of IT infrastructure as a consequent of thoughtful investments in IT assets, which help generate IT infrastructure capability. The findings have important implications for eGovernment theory and practice in developing understanding about eGovernment IT infrastructure and supporting decision-making on the choice of infrastructure components.

This study showcases quantitative analysis based on survey method-based research using a questionnaire for testing the hypotheses formulated.

The analysis of the work showed that IT infrastructure performance is a significant mediator between investments in IT assets and IT infrastructure capability.

Owing to constraints of data collection, probability sampling was not followed, which is a prerequisite for statistical generalization.

The study provides insights for governments on investing in technologies that meet requisite performance standards. IT infrastructure performance is an antecedent of IT infrastructure capability, which directly determines how an eGovernment system performs.

The study shows that delay in implementing new service models such as cloud potentially result in relatively lower performance of the IT infrastructure for the investments made in the given assets.

This paper builds on the existing literature on IT assets, IT infrastructure performance and IT infrastructure capability and applies it to the eGovernment domain.

In the present age of globalization, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are consistently causative to productivity growth and, consequently, competitiveness and aggregate economic growth by providing the training opportunities, basic services and are believed to be especially effective job creators and enjoy the reputation of being sources of income. But technological progressions have increased greatly, the competition impelled by the globalization of the world economies and even MSMEs are no more protected to the challenges that the globalization brings about. It is a remarkable, and in certain instances, a worrying situation because MSMEs play an important role in most economies, including in India, in that they comprise the largest business block and offer the bulk of employment. The purpose of this paper is to assess the status of problems faced by MSMEs and study the technology innovation implementation (TII) dimensions in the selected small firms in the Northern region in India.

The methodology used for this study is a combination of literature review, expert opinion, comparative case study and a flexible systems methodology, SWOT and situation-actor-process-learning-action-performance analysis. Longitudinal studies of technology innovation at the two small firms have been conducted, and the case analysis and synthesis have been developed based on important inputs and insights shared by key personnel in the select firms.

The study finds that two different firms have faced similar kind of challenges in this competitive environment. Also the findings suggest that an effective TII can contribute to enhance manufacturing performance in MSMEs in India.

The research presents a better understanding of the problems that are preventing the successful implementation of technology innovation in small firms. Further, the two cases provide valuable insights into TII dimensions in two firms and highlight the methodology to be adopted by the companies toward their manufacturing performance enhancement.

Developments in the world of distributed computing have made possible the successful integration of diverse information systems working in different environments. Electronic government (eGovernment) provides governmental stakeholders with a wealth of information stored at the various entities in the organisation. Decision makers are often overloaded with the amount of information that they receive. Notwithstanding the logistics of information flows from government bodies to citizens, the flow of information between various entities with national and local government organisations has become a critical issue. As a result, this paper seeks to analyse the logistics of information decision‐making flows, within an eGovernment implementation, by modelling and extrapolating those key decision factors via a cognitive mapping approach.

The paper adopts a multi‐method approach in terms of combining an empirical qualitative case study with a quantitative analytical simulation technique for analyzing decision‐making behaviour relating to policy considerations within the eGovernment realm in a Gulf municipality, through the use of a Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) approach.

By using the FCM approach, the paper was able to highlight the unique interplay between eGovernment stakeholders in the case context, whereby inherent relationships were shown to exist between decision‐making eGovernment stakeholders and the consumers of eGovernment information. Thus, project management information, relationships and deployment; evaluation of information systems, relationships and policy, change management policy and processes, system validation, processes and deployment; and alignment with strategic eGovernment drivers, deployment with policy are identified.

This realisation of the demand and supply of the underlying logistics information management needs, within an eGovernment context, provides an understanding of the principal factors which drive and define those technological and organisational challenges experienced by the eGovernment municipality. By exploring these factors through a combination of qualitative discourse and quantitative simulation, it is subsequently shown that an abundance of information exists within a seemingly placid organisational system, the basis for which resides in the constant flow of information between and among stakeholders, processes, and systems.

The paper uses a combination of a qualitative case research with quantitative analysis/simulation technique in order to identify inter‐relationships in the decision‐making criteria of a Gulf‐based municipality in order to shed light on the key components of their policy control.

The study adopted a conceptualized technological, organizational and environmental (TOE) model to empirically investigate the factors affecting hotel managers’ attitudes toward intelligent agent technology (IAT) adoption in the hotel food supply chain management (HFSCM) and their intentions for future adoption.

In-person survey was carried out in luxury hotels in Florida.

The findings indicated that merely 5.7 per cent of hotels are fully implementing IAT. Perceived benefits, reliability, quality of human resources, information intensity and market capabilities had a statistically significant positive impact on hotel managers’ attitudes. However, complexity and cost had a negative influence on hotel managers’ attitudes toward IAT adoption in the HFSCM. Managers’ attitude further positively influences their intention to adopt.

The validated model helps guide hotel decision makers who are considering IAT adoption in the HFSCM. Hotels that are seeking sources for competitive advantages would better consider the TOE factors in IAT adoption prior to making a decision.

This is the first study that examined IAT adoption in the hotel industry from a theoretical and empirical perspective. The validated model proposed for the adoption of IAT in HFSCM enriched the TOE model and the diffusion of innovations theory.

本论文借用科技、组织、环境（TOE）模型, 实践检验了其酒店经理在HFSCM中对智能代理科技（IAT）的使用和未来使用意向。

采样地点在佛罗里达州的高级酒店, 采用面对面问卷的方式取样。

研究结果表明, 只有百分之 5.7 的酒店全面采用 IAT。感知好处 可依赖性 人力资源的质量 信息密度 市场能力等对酒店经理的态度有积极显著效果。然而, 复杂性和成本对酒店经理在HFSCM上采用IAT有负面影响。经理态度对使用意图有进一步积极影响。

本论文验证的模型对酒店决策者评估 IAT 在 HFSCM 方面的使用有着参考作用, 为了竞争优势, 酒店决策者应该考虑在决策前先考虑IAT使用的 TOE 因素。

本论文是首篇结合理论与实践, 在酒店行业检验对 IAT 使用的文章。在 HFSCM 中IAT使用的验证模型对 TOE 模型和 DOI 理论有显著意义。

酒店食品供应链管理 智能代理科技 IAT 使用 TOE 模型 酒店科技

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a layered, comprehensive model of quality of service (QoS) for local eGovernment, and discuss its feasibility on a regional eGovernment case study. The eGovernment online services are becoming a key infrastructure for advanced countries. They allow significant efficiency gains in different sectors of society, offering benefits for individual citizens and for the community as a whole. The deployment of online services alone is not sufficient in order to qualify an eGovernment strategy. The intrinsic and perceived quality of services offered, as well as the actual impact of new functionalities, should be properly measured and taken into account.

This paper presents an applied research study for a quality‐focused evolution of a service‐oriented architecture for local eGovernment portals. This investigation was based on three main layers: the perceived quality and effective impact of services (G2C layer), the effectiveness of the deployed processes (WFM layer) and finally, the system‐level efficiency (G2G layer).

The measurement of quality with respect to eGovernment services is a complex task which requires appropriate tools to tackle the different aspects of the problem. Specifically, active and passive tools (respectively surveys and usage analysis) should be used to evaluate the quality perceived by the users as well as the utility of the service itself. The efficiency of the back office workflow must be estimated measuring statistical and dynamical indicators. Finally, technical measures should be used to monitor the responsiveness and scalability of software implementations and deployment systems.

A better knowledge regarding (e‐)Government service delivery processes, their QoS and their impact on the society can empower both citizens and local administrators, and can help them to better improve the effectiveness of local government.

The multi‐layered quality measurement architecture proposed in this paper offers local governments the capability to systematically monitor and analyse the quality of their online services. The business process management technologies allow citizens to get a better knowledge of the service delivery processes; the QoS measurements allow to improve control on them; and the eGovernment Intelligence model allows to better quantify their actual social impact.

The idea of “best practice” is very much built into information systems and the ways in which they organise and structure work. The purpose of this paper is to examine how “best practice” may be identified (produced) through a community-based evaluation process as opposed to traditional expert-based evaluation frameworks. The paper poses the following research questions: how does “best practice” (e)valuation in online communities differ depending on whether they are produced by community members or experts? And what role play these two practices of valuation for online community performance?

The paper is based on a three-year ethnographic study of a large-scale online community initiative run by the European Commission. Participant observation of online and offline activities (23 events) was complemented with 73 semi-structured interviews with 58 interviewees. The paper draws on Science and Technology Studies, and in particular actor-network theory.

Promoting the idea of “best practice” is not just an exercise about determining what “best” is but rather supposes that best is something that can travel across sites and be replicated. The paper argues that it is crucial to understand the work performed to coordinate multiple practices of producing “best practice” as apparatuses of valuation. Hence if practices are shared or circulate within an online community, this is possible because of material-discursive practices of dissociation and association, through agential cuts. These cuts demarcate what is important – and foregrounded – and what is backgrounded. In so doing new “practice objects” are produced.

The research was conducted in the European public sector where participants are not associated through shared organisational membership (e.g. as employees of the same organisation). An environment for determining “best practice” that is limited to an organisation’s employees and more homogeneous may reveal further dynamics for “best practice” production.

This paper sheds light on why it is so difficult to reach commensuration in crowd-sourced environments.

The paper provides an analysis of how online community members collaborate in order to identify relevant and meaningful user-generated content. It argues that “best practice” is produced through a process of commensuration.

The concept of eGovernment has received much focus and emphasis across the public administrative sector, with interest centred on its public performance in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. Accordingly, this paper aims to consider those factors affecting the continuous adoption of eGovernment websites by citizens in the context of Jordan, through the design and development of a conceptual model, five factors included, notably digital literacy, e-service marketing efficiency, e-service quality, compulsory e-service utilisation and public staff assistance in regards the transformation of e-service.

To conduct this paper, a quantitative approach was used, after operationalising variables into indicators; data were gathered through the application and completion of a questionnaire survey, by public-sector subjects making up a sample of 237 individuals purposively sampled, wit structural equation modelling was applied to analyse data.

The results garnered emphasise digital literacy and e-service quality as important factors amongst citizens in Jordan in regards their intention to use, on a continuous basis, eGovernment websites, providing an explanation across 42 per cent of the variance in this regard. On the other hand, the other three factors of e-service marketing efficiency, compulsory e-service use and public staff assistance in regards the transformation of e-service were not identified as significant in terms of their influence on the intention to adopt the ongoing use of eGovernment websites among citizens in the Jordanian context indicating some issues that challenge the eGovernment success.

This work’s findings are survey-based, subsequent studies could make use of qualitative methods in mind of achieving more detailed and comprehensive understanding of the links between the factors outlined in this study, further, there is the suggestion that other longitudinal and experimental works be completed to establish the links outlined in this study.

For eGovernment websites continued usage to be efficacious, several facilitating and supporting conditions are vital, including technical and managerial sustenance, as well as supporting policies and regulations that put eGovernment websites into the compulsory utilisation, which requires all the other affecting factors to be in line with facilitating such compulsory orientation.

Many studies have been done on exploring the factors that affect the initial adoption of eGovernment websites; however –and up to the author knowledge – this is the first study that explore the second stage of the adoption process, namely, continued use in the context of a developing country such as Jordan. This work will therefore provide a contribution to the eGovernment literature in specific relation to continued use. This will be done through taking into account all five of these factors.

The purpose of this paper is to assist in understanding that eGovernment is more than the implementation of IT. There are changes to the fundamental mechanisms of public governance including roles of citizens, organisations and government. This study explores the views, roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in promoting eGovernance, with a focus on countries that are in the early stages of developing their ICT strategies.

An exploratory case study approach is used based on the Malaysian experience. A combination of interviews and comments from questionnaires are used to examine government and citizens' viewpoints concerning eGovernment development.

While these are preliminary, the qualitative findings are intended for reflection, as well as, suggestions for action. They include: creating eCitizen partnerships; narrowing the digital divide; finding consensus on structures and roles in an eGovernment strategy. The discussion calls for collective stakeholder involvement of government and citizens as partners in order to promote social inclusion.

The study is exploratory and the findings cannot be considered as representative. However, they indicate areas for improvement. A second more robust empirical study is envisaged with more emphasis on application of stakeholder theory and techniques.

The debate is about collective social responsibility, arguing for social inclusion through the development of eGovernance for the national good which promotes concepts such as eDemocracy and eCommunity through stakeholder participation and partnership.

The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory research project to determine the needs for future eGovernment research. The project aimed particularly at getting relevant stakeholder views as a contrast to the received academic wisdom or political rhetoric.

The Virtual Institute for Electronic Government Research used a series of five consultation workshops spread around the UK, to acquire data which were subsequently analysed using a grounded theory approach.

The paper finds that full achievements of eGovernment have yet to been determined. Stakeholders are not eager to develop more novel IT but among their primary concerns are the need to understand how to manage constant change, the need for flexibility and the need to coordinate and integrate policy and practice.

There are still many unanswered questions and the future research agenda will require a multi‐disciplinary approach involving a combination of social, technological and organisational issues.

Lack of an agreed concept of social value and poor co‐ordination is holding back progress.

This paper outlines the need for such fieldwork and discusses the methodology adopted to elicit the stakeholders' views without influencing the debate. It also presents schemas showing the interaction of research issues around the main findings.

In this research, the initial list of internal capabilities in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) leading to success in international markets has been extracted. Then, the most relevant capabilities to international SMEs under servitisation and hybrid offerings have been screened. Next, the selected capabilities have been classified, and ultimately the relationship amongst the capabilities has been analysed. The conceptual model for SMEs participating in international markets with hybrid offerings has been illustrated.

A literature review has been employed to extract the initial list of internal capabilities to address the research objectives. Then, a novel hesitant fuzzy Delphi (HFD) method has been developed to select the most relevant capabilities for SMEs for hybrid offerings in international markets by using the experts opinions. Subsequently, a novel hesitant fuzzy interpretive structural modelling (HFISM) has been developed to classify the capabilities, design a level-based conceptual model and present the relationship amongst the prominent capabilities.

After the literature review, sixteen internal capabilities leading to success in the international market via hybrid offerings have been extracted. Then, eight selected capabilities were chosen for further investigation by applying 15 expert opinions and via the HFD approach. According to HFISM results, a level-based conceptual model was emanated, and “ability to take advantage of international opportunities”, “financial strength”, “technology level” and “efficient innovation management” were considered as the most fundamental capabilities resulting in successful hybrid offerings in international markets.

Alongside the multi-layer decision-making approach developed in this manuscript to analyse the internal capabilities roles in hybrid offering success towards international markets, to the best knowledge of the authors, the hesitant fuzzy approaches developed in this article have not been previously presented by any other scholar. A novel HFD approach has been designed for consensus amongst the experts under uncertain circumstances. Furthermore, a novel HFISM has been suggested and employed in this research to comprehend the relationship amongst the internal capabilities.