Towards Seamless Product Structure Information Integration

Although B2B integration is nothing new, interoperability is still a big issue in product data communication. However new technologies are introduced and existing standards evolve to better support all operations to improve the situation. In this paper we introduce a product structure information exchange case from automotive supply chain. Current integration has proprietary XML interface between partners and the integration has constantly errors requiring manual checks for the incoming information and interface have been inflexible to changes in the systems. We review relevant technical and content standards to solve this case. The traditionally used message validation technologies such as DTD or XML Schema lack the expressive power to solve some problems and thus we present a practical case for new semantic web service technologies

Building a Taxonomy for Cybercrimes

Cybercrime incurs an estimate of $110 billion per annum globally (Norton Cybercrime Report 2012). This excludes the non-financial impact. The combined impact presents an enormous problem worldwide, from the point of view of overall management (detection, monitoring and prevention). While there are lists/categories of cybercrimes published in books, government websites, security and crime-related websites, these categories were constructed for different purposes. Moreover, they are not comprehensive, nor are they rigorously developed using empirical data. Their similarities and differences have not been elucidated, accounted for, and reconciled, and we are not confident that all cybercrimes can be classified using existing taxonomies. Creating a single comprehensive taxonomy on cybercrimes has a number of benefits. This paper first summarises the background on “taxonomies”, existing taxonomies that have been constructed in Information Systems, and potential benefits of such a taxonomy. It then proposes a methodology for developing and validating a cybercrime taxonomy, and discusses the next steps for this project

Exploring customer trust and relationships in the online environment

This thesis presents eleven selected publications concerning trust and relationships in the online environment. The evolution of the research over ten years showcases the author’s dedication to the practical application of marketing for the benefit of organisations and individuals alongside contribution to academic knowledge. The advent of new technology by way of the internet has added a new dimension to the complexity of marketing strategy and, from a practical point of view, marketers need to incorporate cutting edge technology into their strategic thinking. Existing literature at the time that the author started this research was at the nascent stage and over the period of the research, it became obvious that technology could be used as a tool to help build relationships. Conversely, customers demonstrated varying degrees of trust in both the technologies and the organisations using online-based tools. It became essential, therefore, for organisations to appear trustworthy in order for customers to engage with online marketing platforms and subsequently entrust their purchasing activities to the online environment. The research appraised in this thesis makes a significant contribution to knowledge about marketing in the online environment and the implications of engendering consumer trust. Six key contributions to knowledge are claimed as a result of this work. Firstly, a framework for using online marketing strategically has been developed. Secondly, an analysis of how online marketing fits into the traditional marketing framework is provided. Thirdly, the author introduces the notion that trust in a brand influences online behaviour by reducing perceived risk, leading to consumers committing to online purchasing. Fourthly, online brand elements used to create credibility of a B2B brand are identified. Fifthly, the author presents an identification of how structural elements of websites can be utilized to differentiate online brands from competitors’ offerings. Finally, the author puts forward the proposition that marketers can learn from relatiaonships between contributors to online social networks. The researcher has utilised a variety of deliberately chosen methodologies, most of which are qualitative. The thesis also contains three secondary contributions related to research design. These are the use of a bought-in, permission-based email list, the innovative use of netnography to elicit rich data from online discussion forums and, finally, content analysis of websites. The work concludes by offering eight recommendations for future research directions

Internal service quality in the Malaysian telecommunication industries

Internal service quality reflects the service quality of an organization. The telecommunications industry, facing rapid technological changes and varied customer demands, nonetheless, would find this approach useful in attaining the service quality improvements. The Service Profit Chain concept was adapted to show the relationship between internal customer service quality and internal customer satisfaction (employee satisfaction). Thirty branches or service centres of telecommunications companies participated in the survey, of which 182 of 399 (45.61%) respondents returned the questionnaires. The survey questionnaire was constructed, based on the SERVPERF. The range of scale from one to eight was selected to give the respondents a greater differentiation in the responses, as well as to avoid potential problems in interpreting purely verbal answers. The resultant dimensions from this study were interpersonal relationship, internal customer orientation, internal support systems, work climate, adequate tools, and rewards and recognitions. The results of the study provided the basics of the internal service quality requirements for the telecommunications industry in Malaysia. Interpersonal relationship was found to be the most important dimension, proving that the Malaysian telecommunications companies need to look into this aspect for internal service quality improvements. The significance of using the mean was to show the degree of importance of the dimensions, as well as the level of internal customer satisfaction. The overall internal customer service quality and employee satisfaction for the industry were average. The study carried out could provide a benchmark for service quality improvements in the telecommunications companies, so that eventually customer satisfaction and the resultant profitability could be attained