The effectiveness of internal communications as part of the eGovernment transformation plan in the Ministry of Information in Oman

The Sultanate of Oman's eGovernment Transformation Plan is a national project that aims to fully transform government transactions to ensure a sustainable, well-informed society. More governments around the globe are embracing the phenomenon of the eGovernment Transformation Plan, hoping to reduce costs, enhance services for civilians, and improve impact and productivity in the public sector. The eGovernment Transformation Plan involves an essential shift both within a government and in the relationship between a government and its workers. Since the plan's adoption in 2012, no prior study (to the best of the author's knowledge) has examined the impact of the internal communication system in any Omani government entity. This research analyses qualitative information gathered from interviewing 20 employees of the Ministry of Information (MOI) and reviewing the eGovernment Transformation Plan of the MOI’s official statement. An interpretivist philosophy is employed to deepen the understanding of communication and how interactions influence the organisational culture of the MOI. An analysis of interviews reveals a positive effect, as work in the MOI has become faster and more comfortable, with overall work routines becoming more transparent through the move towards eGovernment. The employees were satisfied by the system in regard to crediting and recognising employee contributions, although face-to-face communication remains an essential tool. Moreover, the electronic system has been affected negatively by the MOI's hierarchical structure, which also impacted employee satisfaction depending on their positions and task. The findings showed that the electronic communication system did not improve the work environment in terms of employee feedback, whether it included performance evaluation feedback or employee operational feedback. Regarding the organisational culture within the MOI, some senior employees have shown resistance to the electronic system as they fear losing their authority and power in the organisation. However, a gender-based analysis revealed the positive impact of eGovernment on workplace gender relations at the MOI. The results illustrate a general appreciation of women’s roles and support in the MOI workplace

Towards an eGovernment: the case of the Emirate of Dubai

This thesis examines and assesses the transformation and implementation of the Dubai Government’s operation, governance and delivery of public services through its use of ICT. The research design includes a critical examination of the evolution of ICT and its role in changing public services and government operations worldwide as an early move towards E-Government. Three recognised theories are used to examine the E-Government transformation and its effects of on governments, namely: the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI) and the Lens of Max Weber’s Theory of Bureaucracy. Generally, the study seeks to determine what were the important factors for Dubai to achieve its strategic plan. Six questions were addressed by the research, stating the scope of work undertaken. First, to measure the status of eGovernment initiatives in terms of usefulness and ease of use. Second, to assess the extent of eGovernment application in terms of Government-to-Customer, Government-to-Business, Government-to-Government, and Government-to-Employees. Third, to determine the level of acceptance of eGovernment initiatives. Fourth, to explore the factors/challenges in a successful eTransformation of Dubai. Fifth, to assess the impacts/opportunities of eGovernment initiatives in the development of Dubai. Sixth, to formulate the model to achieve a successful implementation of eGovernment. A purposive sampling method was used for selecting citizens/customers, business employees and government employees, totalling 1500 equally distributed respondents. The researcher has prepared, administered and empirically tested three questionnaires, and also prepared and administered structured interviews with some officials of eGovernment. Data obtained are presented and analysed. Also, the study examines the catalytic role of eGovernment in the development of society, commerce and government, and shows fundamental changes from traditional systems or from bureaucratic paradigms to eGovernment paradigms. Comparisons are made with eGovernment applications in other countries as per rankings made by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The researcher has selected top ranked states to examine best practices in e-Government. Most importantly, this research presents a unique and original contribution to knowledge of the subject treated in its programme for achieving successful eGovernment through the proposed rocket ship model Al Bakr eGovernment Model of implementation, adoption, conclusions and findings of the study

Analyzing Citizen Participation and Engagement in European Smart Cities

With the advent of smart cities (SCs), governance has been placed at the core of the debate on how to create public value and achieve a high quality of life in urban environments. In particular, given that public value is rooted in democratic theory and new technologies that promote networking spaces have emerged, citizen participation represents one of the principal instruments to make government open and close to the citizenry needs. Participation in urban governance has undergone a great development: from the first postmodernist ideals of countering expert dominance to today’s focus on learning and social innovation, where citizen participation is conceptualized as co-creation and co-production. Despite this development, there is a lack of research to know how this new governance context is taking place in the SC arena. Addressing this situation, in this article, we present an exhaustive survey of the research literature and a deep study of the experience in participative initiatives followed by SCs in Europe. Through an analysis of 149 SC initiatives from 76 European cities, we provide interesting insights about how participatory models have been introduced in the different areas and dimensions of the cities, how citizen engagement is promoted in SC initiatives, and whether the so-called creative SCs are those with a higher number of projects governed in a participatory wayThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (TIN2016-80630-P), and the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport (CAS18/00035

A Framework for Business Models in Business Value Networks

Business models are oftentimes considered as the most discussed and least understood aspect of the web (Rappa 2001). Despite a rough understanding that seems to be widespread namely an aggregation of essential, relevant aspects from economic branches providing a compressed overview on business activities dimensions, components, perspectives and core issues are depicted non-uniformly and confusing [PeKT01; Wirt01]. In particular, literature lacks contributions that particularly consider business model frameworks for networked economies, especially newly emerging loosely-coupled configurations as assumed in the business web theory. In order to address these shortcomings, we introduce a business model framework for business value networks as a result from an extensive literature review comprising two areas. Firstly, I conduct a state-of-the-art analysis of existent definitions of the term business model with emphasize on the elements that should be included, i.e. the relevant aspects of business activity. The study confirms the statements made by several authors: Some elements are broadly accepted a description of created and offered value, revenue models, and business actors was included in more than 75% of the literature contributions. However, there are substantial differences in other components, e.g. market consideration, cost structure, or technology. In this connection, I also present a segregation of the concept business model from related concepts. Secondly, I outline the characteristics of business value networks as a newly emerging organizational form of loosely-coupled business networks. As a result, the partner network and the roles of these actors, their core competencies, and the role of the customer are identified as crucial elements that are to be considered in business models of companies acting in business value networks. Resulting from the literature analysis and a brief outlook how the customers are likely to be integrated in value creation processes in future, I propose a business model framework for business value networks comprising the five basic pillars value creation model, partner model, value offering model, customer model, and profit model. These pillars are decomposed into eleven business model components value configuration, core competencies, position in value system, partners and their roles, service/product portfolio, target customer, distribution channel, customer integration, revenue, pricing, and cost structure. Thus, the contribution of this article is twofold. On the one hand an updated understanding of the concept of business models within business value networks shall be established. On the other hand, I provide a framework which shall serve as a basis for further research, be it for the creation of a business model taxonomy in networked economies, the analysis of existent networked business models, or the development of concrete business models in the business value network context

Analysis of determinant factors of a convention and visitors bureau website service quality: Perspectives of meeting planners

Website service quality is widely accepted as one of the key determinants of online business success. Several studies identified key factors that determine the website service quality factors appropriate for online business environments (Kaynama & Black, 2000; Van Riel, Liljander, & Jurriens, 2001). A convention and visitors bureau (CVB) website is a service portal that delivers information online about a destination so users can develop an overall image of the location; CVBs struggle to deliver positive destination images because the competition among destinations to host conventions is intense. In spite of the important role of CVBs and the beneficial spillover effect of CVBs, there are few studies available reporting on the unique service qualities of a CVB website; The primary purpose of this study was to examine the determining factors that are appropriate for CVB websites from the meeting planners\u27 perspective. The research questions are: What are the determining factors of service quality of a CVB website? Do the determining factors of CBV website service quality positively influence meeting planners\u27 satisfaction? The new conceptual framework was developed from a variety of destination marketing and Internet marketing concepts: e-servicescape management, web community network, Internet service encounter management, and online system quality; Empirical results indicate that three of the four factors, that is, e-servicescape, web community network, and online system quality are important determinants in evaluating CVB website service quality. The findings also show that three determinants have significant and positive influence on meeting planners\u27 satisfaction. The findings from this study will provide meaningful advice for CVB website quality management. To enhance the CVB website service quality and satisfaction level of meeting planners, these three determinants should be considered of the utmost strategic importance and priority

Operators' value creation models in electronic invoicing - User company perspective

Electronic Invoicing (E-invoicing) has been going through fast development during recent years. It is believed to bring great savings for companies. There has been a lot of research and studies on E-invoicing. This study is going to study on how E-invoicing operators could create value but from users' perspective. The study is going to build its own value creation framework based on Amit and Zott's value creation model in E-business, which defines four value creation dimensions, i.e., efficiency, complementarity, lock-in and novelty. First, extensive literature reviews on value creation theories, including value chain, transaction cost economy, resource-based view of firms and network economy, were conducted. Besides, enterprise application integration and expert opinion were also taken into consideration. As a result, the new value creation framework came out with four modified value drivers, namely efficiency, complementary services, integration and network effects. The changes were made because it is more suitable in the context of E-invoicing. Furthermore, for each of the value drivers, a set of measurement items were identified to evaluate how an E-invoicing operator performed in providing the service. In the empirical part, two case studies are completed. Interviews were prepared and done with E-invoicing managers inside the company. It turns out that all the four value creation sources, efficiency, complementary services, integration and network effects, are observed in the company. As users of E-invoicing, the companies thought E-invoicing improves efficiency by reducing the invoice cycle time, saving costs, and eliminating human touch in the process. Supplier activation is seen as an important area where operators could improve their services. Integration of systems especially automatic accounting is regarded as the future development of E-invoicing but not yet under development in practice. Standardization is needed to enable E-invoice usage between different operators and networks. This study is important in providing a new perspective on E-invoicing research and development. It not only contributes to the E-invoicing literature but also could act as guidance for E-invoicing operators on how to improve their services. It has limitations such as on the resources of information and future research areas are identified. For example, quantified research methods could be used to measure how important each value drive is

Value creation in Kenyan e-businesses

A Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Business Administration at United States International UniversityE-businesses promise new avenues for creation of wealth. According to Amit and Zott (200 1), this value creation potential arises from the combination and exchange of resources . While research on value creation in e-businesses has been carried out elsewhere, the author is not aware of any such research on Kenyan e-businesses.Therefore, the study sought to examine sources of value creation for Kenyan e-businesses based on Amit and Zott's (2001) model. Amit and Zott claim that organisations can create value in e-businesses by leveraging on complementarities, novelty, efficiency and lock-in. The study was guided by two research questions. What are the sources of value creation for Kenyan e-businesses? Secondly, are the measures of value creation formulated by Amit and Zott, relevant to Kenya? The research methodology adopted was case study. This is a research strategy that attempts to examine contemporary phenomenon in real-life contexts. Listed companies with e-business implementations from the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) formed the population. Companies examined include; Kenya Airways, TPS Serena and Nation Media Group chosen due to the richness of their e-business implementations. Data was collected from company annual reports, investor communiques, questionnaires, organization techniques were used for data analysis; the within case analysis technique which involved generating detailed case study write-ups based on questionnaires. The cross case analysis technique involved looking at the data in many divergent ways. The study findings showed that complementarities, lock-in, novelty and efficiency as identified by Amit and Zott (2001) were sources of value creation for all three Kenyan companies above. However, there were differences in the way the companies leveraged on these sources. Kenya Airways leveraged on efficiency, TPS Serena on complementarities, Nation Media Group leveraged on all the four sources; complementarities, novelty, efficiency and lock-in. The study also revealed that Amit and Zott's' (2001) model was relevant in the Kenyan context. The Kenyan companies studied created value in their business implementations by focussing on the different sources of value creation in their e-business. Kenya Airways in its e-business deployments was driven by the need to make its processes more efficient. Similarly, TPS Serena was driven by complementarities. Nation Media Group was the only company to have focussed on all four sources of value creation complementarities, novelty, efficiency and lock-in in its ebusiness implementations. The study findings revealed that the three Kenyan companies studied created value by leveraging on complementarities, efficiency , novelty and lock-in their business implementations. Kenyan companies should therefore make use of Amit and Zott's (2001) model in the design and implementation of e-businesses. The findings also showed that the importance of a source was determined by the industry a company operated in. It is therefore necessary for Kenyan companies to be informed of the critical value creation sources in their industries to adequately leverage on them.However, further research is needed to determine whether the difference in leverage of the value creation sources across industries is due to characteristics specific to the industry or due to chance. A research that includes value creation practices of more Kenyan e-businesses across different time frames and stages of maturity is therefore encouraged

The global Information technology report 2015: ICTs for inclusive growth

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are transforming our economies and societies. Since 2001, The Global Information and Technology Report series and the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) have been taking the pulse of the ICT revolution worldwide. The NRI identifies the capacity of countries to leveraging ICT, by assessing the overall political and business environment, the level of ICT readiness and usage of ICT among the population, businesses and government, as well as the overall impacts of ICTs on the economy and society at large. The 2015 results, which covers 143 economies, confirms the dominance of advanced economies and the persistence of the multiple-faceted digital divides not only across but also within economies. They reveal the pervasive digital poverty that deprives the neediest from the opportunities offered by ICTs. Beyond this diagnosis, under the theme “ICTs for Inclusive Growth”, the 2015 edition of the report provides solutions from leading experts and practitioners to alleviate digital poverty and make the ICT revolution a global reality.&nbsp

Social media business model analysis - Case Tencent, Facebook, and Myspace

The term of social media is becoming increasingly popular presently, the amount of social media users is growing dramatically, and the monetization of social media has been discussed in publications but not in details. Nowadays, the most frequently used approach to make money for social media is online advertising. However, the successful company like Tencent proves other potentials of monetization. Because the business model is critical to make profit for a company, a company’s financial performance could be better achieved when it has a good business model. This study will focus on business models analysis of social media companies. The study is conducted based on three case companies, Tencent, Facebook, and Myspace. The objectives are to build the business model framework for social media services analysis, apply this framework into case companies to examine their business models and find out the best performed one, and finally to improve other two less well-performed companies’ business models. Case study, observations, focus group are main methods for collecting data and empirical analysis. Based on literature reviews of social media and business models, this paper formulates a new business model framework, it provides a structure for empirical case analysis. The framework is modified mainly based on Osterwalder’s (2002) e-business model ontology, and other three attributes have also been added into. New framework components include customer relationship, infrastructure management, product innovation, market considerations, technologies, regulations, and financial aspects. Through empirical studies on business models, Tencent emphasizes to focus on users’ personalization and provides integrated solutions, it achieves high financial return mostly through virtual goods channel. Facebook offers young people a specific social networking platform, enable the communication and maintain people’s relationships in a way of content sharing, it collects revenues mainly from online ads. Myspace gives users high personalized experiences through social entertaining platform, and also generate revenues from online ads. Tencent has been found to be the most successful in its business model and financial performance among three companies. To achieve better performance for other two companies, Facebook is suggested to improve its value proposition and provide more social media services based on young people’s needs, to include new mechanisms that can maintain customer relationship, to have new revenue channels like increase virtual item sales and bind with telecommunication services. For Myspace, it is critical to enhance main music solution service in order to keep its competitive advantage. Real name registration policy should be applied to enhance users’ strength of ties and environment safety. Customer relationship is the most important issue due to significant amount of lost users. The study recommends it to develop more features that keep users active on the site, to give them caring service, and to listen to their voices. Finally, Myspace can also try to add new revenue streams besides traditional ads approach