Korea and the global software industry

노트 : Final Report to the Korea IT Industry Promotion Agenc

Circular economy and digitalisation as enablers of combined transport

Globalisation, escalating competitiveness, depleting resources, shifting demographics, regulatory changes, and environmental issues have prompted businesses to create sustainable business strategies in the past few years. This thesis examines the current state of circular economy and supply chain digitalisation in Southern Ostrobothnia small and medium-sized companies. The objective is to identify the business opportunities, level of exploitation and foresight brought by the circular economy and digitalisation. As a result, this thesis forms an understanding of the requirements of circular economy and digitalisation in supply chains and combined transport. In the empirical section of the thesis, companies in the South Ostrobothnia region are interviewed using a semi-structured interview methodology to determine the current status of the circular economy, digitalisation and combined transportation. As a result, fifteen themes are identified, which are further categorised into four main categories. The final section of the thesis compares the results of the literature review and the results from the interviews. It turns out that CE and digitalisation are in symbiosis since most of the CE initiatives are aided or enabled through digitalisation. Digitalisation can be seen as a key enabler of CE since technologies lower operating costs, develops collaboration through the supply chain, aid in closing the material loops, helps construct a regenerative economy and harmonises the objectives of environmental, economic, and social benefits. Digitalisation forces businesses to transform fundamentally. Furthermore, CT itself aligns with the CE objectives through TBL sustainability. CT combines elements of both CE and digitalisation in many respects. When the emphasis on mere economic benefit shifts to ecological and social sustainability principles, CT becomes an even more appealing option. Identifying internal and external factors that align with CE and digitalisation will help businesses to make the shift towards new smart, and more sustainable business models. Therefore, both CE and digitalisation should be comprehensive throughout the entire strategy, not merely technology adoption and operation. Thus, seven requirements were identified from the literature and interviews in regard to CT; 1) networking and collaboration, 2) planning, 3) ITS and digital technologies, 4) infrastructure, 5) awareness and paradigm shift, 6) regulation, policies and political frameworks and 7) service and price ratio. These seven requirements ultimately form a strategic framework for CT enabled by CE and digitalisation

Enhancing competitive advantage through successful lean realisation within the Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) industry

Purpose: Lean is increasingly being applied within the aviation Maintenance and Repair (MRO) Industry to mitigate industry challenges. This Lean application is premised on its success within other industrial contexts particularly the automotive industry. Furthermore, many organisations within automotive industry have attributed their enhanced competitive positioning to the Lean application. Indeed, Toyota (a pioneer of Lean) present Lean as a key proponent to its global success. However, with literature suggesting that there cannot be a direct transference of Lean from one industry to another and with the MRO having distinct characteristics different from the automotive industry, this research seeks to present how competitive advantage can be achieved through successful Lean realisation. Design/Methodology/Approach: The status of MRO Lean engagements presented is first presented based on the syntheses of literature review and empirical study (facilitate by an industry-wide survey). The means through which the MRO realises its value proposition is established and the structural assessment of the MRO industry as it pertains to competitiveness is also defined. The role of Lean in enhancing the value delivery system to enhance competitive positioning is operationalised through a case study. Findings: Using Porter’s forces of competition, this research establishes the competitive MRO landscape revealing the distinct characteristics of the MRO industry and how Lean can be accurately appropriated to enhance competitive advantage. The MRO Value Delivery System (VDS) is also delineated providing the complete system within which Lean is to be deployed (as opposed to the prevalent limited application of Lean in operational context alone). The case exemplar successfully validates and operationalises the approach to Lean application within MRO to enhance competitive advantage. Research Limitations: A case study example was used for this research, and whilst the outcomes were consistent with the research proposal, it still requires wider validation. Practical and Social Implications: This research demystifies and helps MRO organisations in assessing their Lean engagements but also in provide a roadmap and informs their strategy in improving their competitive status through Lean realisation

Reefer logistics and cool chain transport

Reefer logistics is an important part of the cool chain in which reefer containers are involved as the packaging for transporting perishable goods. Reefer logistics is challenging, as it deals with cost and time constraints as well as the product quality and sustainability requirements. In many situations, there is a trade-off between these factors (e.g., between transportation time and the quality of fresh products). Furthermore, considering the high value of reefers, the efficient logistics of is as important as the efficient cargo flows. This causes technical complications and the conflict of interests between actors, especially, between cargo owners (or shippers) and the asset owners (or transport/terminal operators). Improving the efficiency of reefer logistics calls for a thorough understanding of the trade-offs and complexities. This paper aims to help develop such an understanding using a systematic literature review and a socio-technical system analysis. The results can be used to provide managerial insights for actors involved in a cool chain to design tailored solutions for reefer

Absorptive, adopted and agile: A study of the digital transformation of Africa carriers

My thesis explores the cultural, social and management context of digital transformation for African carriers, and discusses the elements of social-cultural barriers, obstacles of digital adoption, innovation, organisation change, ecosystem and their influences. Existing studies are mainly based on the presumed conditions in developed markets, including the free market, rule by law, human capital without considering the social and historical obstacles, absorptive capacities of organisations and the influences of foreign ICT enablers. Using a qualitative research paradigm privileges the insiders’ perspective. I have examined the different backgrounds of digital transformation in Africa. Path dependence is a significant negative consequence of post-colonial social net and western knowledge dominant environment. Vested interest plus corruption slowed down the process of digital adoption while arbitrary administration causes unnecessary concerns for participants. Traditionalism of Africa is a trade-off between customs of tribes and influence of colonial power. The priority for carriers is reshaping the organisation to take advantage of existing strategic assets, while the improvement of value creation efficiency is carried out by activating the ability of individuals. The new value net breaks the previous development model of low interdependence, maximising the use of external resources based on complementary advantages and sharing. The value net inherits the advantages of flexibility, innovation, quick response, and risk reduction advantages of organisations. Meanwhile, it has 4 following unique characteristics in Africa: Extremely Various Needs of Customers, Cross-industry, Locally Adopted Business Model and High Sensitivity in Costs. Four aspects are examined in value proposition, core competence, incubation and co-value creation to enable value net synergies. My research contributes to the theory of the digital transformation in undeveloped countries, in particular how social relationships and cultural norms are inextricably linked with insiders’ understandings of digital transformation. It also contributes to emerging debate about digital maturity research paradigms and methodologies

Smartphone Apps on the Mobile Web: An Exploratory Case Study of Business Models

The purpose of this research is to explore the business strategies of a firm seeking to develop and profitably market a mobile smartphone application to understand how small, digital entrepreneurships may build sustainable business models given substantial market barriers. Through a detailed examination of one firm’s process to try to commercialize their mobile app, we identify various business model decisions and marketing strategy approaches that hindered the company’s efforts. The case study describes two distinctly different business models adopted in succession, as well as the various adjustments the firm makes to its target market, distribution and pricing approach that led to their current strategy. This research looks closely at business-to-business-to-consumer distribution arrangement for mobile apps and in doing so challenges the rising positive bias that exists for the app store as the dominant actor in the mobile value chain. For practice, this paper suggests unanticipated hurdles small digital entrepreneurs may face if they rely heavily on mobile advertising and the app store to launch and sustain their business

The design and engineering of innovative mobile data services: An ontological framework founded on business model thinking

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This research investigates mobile service design and engineering in the mobile telecommunications industry. The mobile telecommunication business is shifting from one that was voice-centric to one that is almost all data-centric; thanks to recent rapid advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The underlying reasons behind this shift can be traced back to two main issues that are interlinked. The first and major reason is that telecoms (telecommunication companies) are trying to generate new revenue streams based on data and information transmissions, given the saturation of the voice market. This is rational given the market opportunities in one direction and the pressures being generated by the current economic downturn from the other direction. The second reason relates to the flexibility of data, compared to voice. Indeed, the number of services that can be developed on the basis of data are much greater than those that can be developed on the basis of voice. However, the design and engineering of successful and innovative mobile data services has proven to be a complex undertaking. The number of effective mobile data services is relatively small and the revenue generated from such offerings has generally been below expectations. This research develops an ontological framework to help in changing this situation, and making mobile services engineering more effective and successful, following the design-science research paradigm. Design-science research, in general, aims to solve unstructured but relevant organizational or social problems through the development of novel and useful artefacts. As the current research aims to help in solving the mobile data services engineering dilemma by developing a purposeful ontological framework, the design-science research paradigm is deemed fitting. Within this paradigm, the author develops a novel design approach specified for ontology engineering, termed “OntoEng”. This design approach is used in this research for developing the ontological framework. The developed ontological framework is founded on business model thinking. The idea is that creating innovative mobile data services requires developing innovative business models. Indeed, innovative business models can help translate technological potential into economic value and allow telecoms to achieve their strategic objectives. The ontological framework includes the development of an ontology, termed “V4 Mobile Service BM Ontology” as well as “Mobile Key Value Drivers” for designing and engineering innovative mobile data services. The V4 Mobile Service BM Ontology incorporates four design dimensions: (1) value proposition including targeting; (2) value architecture including technological and organizational infrastructure; (3) value network dealing with aspects relating to partnerships and co-operations; and finally (4) value finance relating to costs, pricing, and revenue structures. Within these four dimensions, sixteen design concepts are identified along with their constituent elements. Relationships and interdependencies amongst the identified design constructs are established and clear semantics are produced. The research then derives six key value drivers for mobile service engineering as follows: (a) Market Alignment; (b) Cohesion; (c) Dynamicity; (d) Uniqueness; (e) Fitting Network-Mode; and (f) Explicitness. The developed ontological framework in this research is evaluated to ensure that it can be successfully implemented and performs correctly in the real world. The research mainly utilizes case analysis methods to ensure the semantic correctness of the ontological framework. Indeed, the developed ontological framework is employed as an analytical lens to examine the design and engineering of three key real-life cases in the mobile telecommunications industry. These cases are: (1) Apple’s iPhone Services and Applications; (2) NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode Services; and (3) Orange Business Services. For further validation, the developed ontological framework is evaluated against a set of criteria synthesized from ontology engineering and evaluation literature. These criteria are: Clarity; Coherence; Conciseness; Preciseness; Completeness; and Customizability. The developed ontological framework is argued to make significant contributions for theory, practice, and methodology. For theory, this research provides (1) a novel ontological framework for designing and engineering mobile data services; (2) a unified framework of the business model concept; and (3) a new design approach for ontology engineering in information systems. For practice, the current research provides practitioners in the telecommunications industry with systematic and customizable means to design, implement, analyze, evaluate, and change new and existing mobile data services to make them more manageable, effective, and creative. For methodology, the use of the design- science research paradigm for ontology engineering signifies the focal methodological contribution in this research given its novelty. This research also contributes to the understanding of the design-science research paradigm in information systems as it is relatively new. It provides a working example in which the author illustrates how recognizing design-science research as a paradigm is essential and useful to the research in information systems discipline

Trust in Sharing Resources in Logistics Collaboration

Collaboration on resource sharing advocates a joint usage of resources by multiple parties (actors) to attain mutual benefits. Resource sharing becomes vital when resources under consideration are scarce, challenging, and expensive to attain; as well when they are idle or underutilized. In collaborative logistics, resource sharing entails the joint usage of the physical and non-physical assets. Shared assets include the transportation vehicles (trucks), warehouses, distribution centers, information, on-demand staffing, and logistics services offered under cloud computing. Through sharing, collaborating partners in logistics can reduce costs and harms to the environment, but also improve the efficiency of logistical functions. Although collaborative sharing is beneficial, still many difficulties impede its uptake. The difficulties include how to choose partners, establish and maintain trust among partners involved. Indeed, in both academia and industry, low-level trust inhibits the collaboration critically on sharing logistics resources. To this end, the present dissertation addresses the trust problem encountered by collaborating partners when they are sharing logistics resources. It deals with the trust problem by developing the Trust Mechanism (TrustMech) concept. The primary role of the TrustMech is to help logistics stakeholders acquire the far-reaching understanding about the trustworthiness of prospective networks of sharing they configure, before advancing them to an implementation stage. The TrustMech stands on a mitigation approach that focuses on estimating outcomes of trust uncertainties a rather than a their sources. Henceforth, this dissertation advances on estimating outcomes of trust uncertainties to answer the following central Research Question (RQ): how can collaborating partners acquire the far-reaching understanding about the trustworthiness of prospective networks of sharing they configure? An approach to the research problem, which as well answers the RQ proceeds as follows. The first steps involve establishing behavioral factors and parameters, which influence trust in collaborative sharing of logistics resources. The second stage entails establishing a conceptual framework that depicts and guides trust-based interaction of collaborating partners. The third step comprises developing the TrustMech concept, validating it in both the conceptual and operational aspects, and demonstrating its application by carrying out controlled (simulation) experiments in Multi-Agent Systems. In particular, the proposed TrustMech concept characterizes fundamental logical processes that account for trusting decisions, actions, and reactions of collaborating partners to reinforce emergent trusting outcomes The core contributions of this dissertation are the general-purpose TrustMech and the operational TrustMech. The operational TrustMech is customary for collaborative sharing of logistics resources. Regarding its application, the operational TrustMech provides logistics managers and stakeholders the ability to forecast how a configured network of sharing may, in respect of trustworthiness, function upon its implementation. To clarify further, the operational TrustMech scrutinizes many issues. For example, it scrutinizes trustworthiness of the configured network regarding possible strengths and pitfalls and provides pathway explanations underlying such foreseen strengths and pitfalls. Secondly, the operational TrustMech scrutinizes effects which such strengths and pitfalls can generate. Moreover, the operational TrustMech estimates an extent to which behavioral factors influence the trustworthiness of the individual partner and entire resource sharing network. Future research works include extending the TrustMech and replicating the study using system data. Additional future work consists of adjusting the design and settings used, as well as incorporating additional predictor and response variables into the operational TrustMech

\u3ci\u3eThe Conference Proceedings of the 2001 Air Transport Research Society (ATRS) of the WCTR Society, Volume 3\u3c/i\u3e

UNOAI Report 01-8https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/facultybooks/1146/thumbnail.jp