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E-Business Deployment in Developing Countries: An Empirical Research of Recommendations
Abstract
he present study is the first attempt to make recommendations that
enhance e-business deployment in Iran. In this paper, studying 19 countries and
four regions, 339 recommendations for e-business development are extracted.
Then, using content analysis, 32 recommendations are selected and categorised
into four groups of ‘e-infrastructure’, ‘human resource’, ‘security’ and ‘policies
and plans’. Countries selected for extracting their recommendations are those
whose circumstances resemble Iran’s. Therefore, these recommendations seem
to be able to be exploited by developing countries, in particular, by Middle East
countries. Finally, a survey is conducted and using statistical tests, the
recommendations that are compatible with Iran’s internal circumstances are
proposed. These recommendations are prioritised and categorised in three
groups based on the criteria of the degree of importance in experts’ opinions,
50 P. Hanafizadeh et al.
country’s experience and whether or not the recommendations have been
implemented in Iran. The proposed recommendations are also ranked according
to experts’ opinions.
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Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is increasingly recognised as an essential tool of development a tool which empowers the poor by enhancing skills, increasing productivity and improving governance. The success of ICTenabled development (or e-Development) is measured not only by the diffusion of technology, but also by advances in development itself. The contribution of ICT can be viewed at two different but interrelated levels : ICT growth and ICT diffusion. The former refers to the contribution in output, employment, export earnings, etc., resulting from production of ICT related goods and services that are limited to just one segment of the economy. The latter refers to IT-induced development through enhanced productivity, competitiveness, growth and human welfare resulting from the use of this technology by differentsectors of the economy and society. International research findings in the context of developing and developed countries reveal that unlike old technologies (radio, television, etc.) which are more demand driven, ICT is more supply driven and leaves greater scope for diffusion agents (Non-Government Organisations or NGOs, Government, private sector and other actors) to influence the diffusion process. Firstly, unlike earlier technologies, investment in the Internet, personal computers, etc. essentially complements investments already made in communications technologies like satellites, telephone and cable TV networks. Secondly, newly developed software technology in India has replaced the requirement of broadband and thus provides full connectivity in rural areas. Thirdly, ICT is multi-user by nature, which, in turn, leaves scope for Internet kiosks, Internet cafes and Community Information Centres (CICs), providing access to many. In India, the IT sector has not only grown in size but also complexity. Indian States resemble little nations. So, it is important to take regular stock of e-Readiness at the Country and State/ Union Territory levels to ascertain the status of underlying infrastructure, human resources, policy regime, environment climate, etc. and arrive at the steps needed to be taken to optimise the potential. Before we introduce our e-Readiness methodology, it would be instructive to look at the various e-Readiness assessment models used elsewhere.
Technology and societal changes are moving the global market rapidly towards a new economic order rooted in e-commerce. Hence, assessing and monitoring the e-readiness of a nation has become an increasing challenge. This paper proposes a framework to evaluate the e-readiness of a nation based on eight factors: digital infrastructure, macro economy, ability to invest, knowledgeable citizens, competitiveness, access to skilled workforce, culture, and cost of living and pricing. We identify 52 surrogate measures that can be used to quantify these factors and describe an algorithm to calculate an overall e-readiness index for a country. Using data published by different world organisations on these measures for ten East Asian, USA and G7 countries, we illustrate how the proposed framework can be used in providing e-readiness assessments and in making national strategic decisions on infrastructure that is conducive to the new economy.
While e-business is often mixed with electronic commerce (e-commerce), they are completely different concepts. E-business encompasses e-commerce as well as many other applications. There are more benefits to be derived from e-business than from e-commerce. Electronic business (e-business) is revolutionizing the way of communication between internal and external stakeholders within an organization. Connecting numerous information systems and integrating data streams can significantly increase the operational efficiency of the firm. E-business can lead to competitive advantage as well as profitability.
Globalization of production and increasing competition spurs greater business use of innovative information systems. As globalization extends its reach over cities and regions, the positions of those places within the emerging global paradigms of regional economies is changing. Only those regions and cities that can mobilize assets for local advantage would succeed. This research examines the implications of location for electronic commerce (EC) role in firm operations through the lens of managerial perceptions of EC systems, EC activities, agglomeration economies, firm-specific features and outputs relative to industry. The input-based view and industrial development frameworks provide the theoretical underpinning for this research. Fully completed instruments from 106 firms in Singapore and Lagos financial services sector, respectively, are the basis of our analysis. Our findings reveal varying results between industries across the two cities, supporting our propositions. Firms with well-configured EC systems are more likely to experience efficiency in EC activities and outputs, given conducive operational conditions. However, firm-specific features were not linked to output, a finding inconsistent with prior studies. Finally, EC business models that focus on operational efficiency strongly complement the historically relevant location variable in industrial operations. These findings provide basis for recommendations to policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.
Information Literacy is a concept that does not just apply to individuals. It has considerable significance and relevance to institutions, and to all sectors of society. There is a general presumption, a fair one I believe, that if all sectors of a nation's society become more information literate, then the economy of the country, the quality of public policy decisions, and the quality of life of all individuals will improve concomitantly. This paper addresses information literacy as the author understands its applicability and relevance to the business and industry sector. Hence the paper's title "Information Industry Literacy," which can be translated as "the significance and importance of the information literacy concept to business and industry." That does not necessarily infer that commercial or for-profit firms, alone, should be the only component targets of information industry literacy improvements. Other "players" that are involved in the classic production-consumption economic model must also be involved, including the information literacy of consumers, the information literacy of raw material suppliers, of intermediary distributors, of government regulators, and so on. In short, not just the information literacy of the manufacturer. This paper's perspective is that of a businessman who has been intimately involved in information literacy improvements in one developing country, his native land, Egypt. The particular significance of the reopening in 2002, after centuries of dormancy, of the Library of Alexandria (Bibliotheca Alexandrina) in a worldwide information literacy context is also addressed. The working definition of information literacy provided by the Information Literacy Meeting of Experts convenors has been accepted by this author and the term is used in the paper with the meaning ascribed by that definition. From time to time suggestions for strengthening that working definition are made.
A previous paper by the authors drew on existing research on e-business and the smaller firm, developed a conceptual model and a set of research propositions. This paper analyses a series of qualitative, in-depth interviews of owner/managers of smaller firms in central Scotland in order to test the research propositions. Results indicate that industry and sectoral factors play an important role in the level of e-business development achieved. In many cases the customer determines the need for e-business adoption, rather than any internally planned programme of adoption. Other important factors include the degree of entrepreneurial orientation of the key decision maker and the ability to exploit appropriate competencies. Recommendations for encouragement of e-business development are made and suggestions for future research are included.
This paper is an offshoot of the findings of a doctoral thesis carried out at the University of Johannesburg (formerly Rand Afrikaans University) in South Africa on the assessment of e-readiness tools with respect to information access. The paper argues that information is a key component in the e-readiness equation and yet it is not given much emphasis in the e-readiness extant tools, but is instead subsumed under Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The paper notes that the various major segments of e-readiness as synthesised from existing tools are scattered in different tools making their use painstakingly cumbersome. The paper proposes a new e-readiness integrated tool that emphasises information access and also collocates the various segments of organizational, ICT, human resources, and external readiness into one single tool.
An exploratory study was conducted to investigate the barriers to implementing E-commerce as considered by the travel agencies in Hong Kong. A mail survey was used and to collect the relevant data and the results were based on 103 travel agencies. The findings indicate that Hong Kong travel agencies are mostly concerned about the “Management support” and “Partner’s participation” when they decided to implement E-commerce in the marketplace. Implications of the findings were discussed and recommendations for future studies were included.
Providing various e-services on the Internet by enterprises is an important trend in e-business. Composite e-services, which consist of various e-services provided by different e-service providers, are complex processes that require the cooperation among cross-organizational e-service providers. The flexibility and success of e-business depend on effective knowledge support to access related information resources of composite e-services. Thus, providing effective knowledge support for accessing composite e-services is a challenging task. This work proposes a knowledge map platform to provide an effective knowledge support for utilizing composite e-services. A data mining approach is applied to extract knowledge patterns from the usage records of composite e-services. Based on the mining result, topic maps are employed to construct the knowledge map. Meanwhile, the proposed knowledge map is integrated with recommendation capability to generate recommendations for composite e-services via data mining and collaborative filtering techniques. A prototype system is implemented to demonstrate the proposed platform. The proposed knowledge map enhanced with recommendation capability can provide users customized decision support to effectively utilize composite e-services.
Purpose
The primary purpose was to learn about different variables of an integrated strategy associated with choosing to supply through business‐to‐business (B2B) intermediaries and apply the variables to a series of cases.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review served as a basis to develop an integrated model. A combination of primary and secondary research was conducted to apply the concepts of the model to different internet trading exchanges.
Findings
Each trade exchange offers a different set of customers and suppliers vying for business opportunities. There are no common platforms for software and hardware. If a small company is interested in trading through an internet exchange, they want to select based on the variables identified that best meet their needs and integrate with their business strategy.
Research limitations/implications
The focus was on industrial products and may not be applicable to consumer products.
Practical implications
Suppliers must carefully operate in the future by evaluating each customer and determining which trade exchanges will provide them with the greatest benefit at the lowest cost. The infrastructure investment is an unavoidable cost that cannot be forgone unless the supplier wants to discontinue providing to most of its customers. The supplier needs to look at all aspects identified in the integrated business model and the foundation and facilitation for success lie in the information management of the entire entity.
Originality/value
This paper takes the existing body of knowledge and applies it to the development of an integrated e‐business model for industrial suppliers used to compare different internet trading exchanges.
Government initiatives are continuously being designed to create stable and supportive environments for developing new industries. Presents a conceptual model for use by governments in creating and sustaining an appropriate climate that facilitates the national adoption of e-business. It focuses specifically on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Also suggests six categories of e-business readiness metrics and measures to be used for assessing how a country is performing in terms of providing a positive e-business readiness climate. Examples of innovative initiatives are provided from Canada, The Netherlands, Norway, and Singapore. Concludes that a balance among attention to infrastructure components has not yet been achieved in these countries.
Innovation in information technology is well established in developed nations; newly industrializing and developing nations have been creating governmental interventions to accelerate IT innovation within their borders. The lack of coherent policy advice for creating government policy for IT innovation signals a shortfall in research understanding of the role of government institutions, and institutions more broadly, in IT innovation. This paper makes three points. First, long-established intellectual perspectives on innovation from neoclassical economics and organization theory are inadequate to explain the dynamics of actual innovative change in the IT domain. A broader view adopted from economic history and the new institutionalism in sociology provides a stronger base for understanding the role of institutions in IT innovation. Second, institutional intervention in IT innovation can be constructed at the intersection of the influence and regulatory powers of institutions and the ideologies of supply-push and demand-pull models of innovation. Examples of such analysis are provided. Third, institutional policy formation regarding IT innovation is facilitated by an understanding of the multifaceted role of institutions in the innovative process, and on the contingencies governing any given institution/innovation mix.
The main policy directions derived from the analysis are to foster appropriate business environments for e-business and ICT uptake, and target programmes to overcome market failures to the extent that they are needed in particular areas.
In its first generation, electronic commerce has been a landgrab. Space on the Internet was claimed by whoever got there first with enough resources to create a credible business. It took speed, a willingness to experiment, and a lot of cybersavvy. Companies that had performed brilliantly in traditional settings seemed hopelessly flat-footed on the Web. And despite their astronomical valuations, the new e-commerce stars have appeared to be just as confused. Many have yet to make a profit, and no one has any idea when they will. Now, the authors contend, we are entering the second generation of e-commerce, and it will be shaped more by strategy than by experimentation. The key players--branded-goods suppliers, physical retailers, electronic retailers, and pure navigators--will shift their attention from claiming territory to defending or capturing it. They will be forced to focus on strategies to achieve competitive advantage. Success will go to the businesses that get closest to consumers, the ones that help customers navigate their way through the Web. Indeed, the authors argue, navigation is the battlefield on which competitive advantage will be won or lost. There are three dimensions of navigation: Reach is about access and connection. Affiliation is about whose interests the business represents. And richness is the depth of the information that a business gives to or collects about its customers. Navigators and e-retailers have the natural advantage in reach and affiliation, while traditional product suppliers and retailers have the edge in richness. The authors offer practical advice to each player on competing in the second generation of e-commerce.
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