Environment determinants in business adoption of Cloud Computing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of Technology Providers, Public Administrations and R&D Institutions on Cloud Computing adoption. This research also considers Killer Applications and Success Cases as other environmental factors. Design/methodology/approach – Factorial analyses and structural equation models were used on a sample of high-technology firms located in technological parks in Southern Europe, with more than ten employees and sustained investments in R&D. Findings – Results show that Technology Providers and Success Cases are determinant in Cloud Computing adoption. Moreover, Killer Applications are a forerunner for Success Cases. Practical implications – An appropriate fit between the tools and resources provided by suppliers and the internal resources of the company is needed to create competitive advantages. Firms should evaluate Technology Providers, identify Success Cases to Cloud Computing adoption and implement technological benchmarking. Originality/value – This study contributes to Cloud Computing adoption literature because it includes Technology Providers, Public Administrations and R&D Institutions simultaneously as well as other variables as Killer Applications and Success Cases. The importance of the external agents on information technology (IT) adoption, especially when the technologies to be adopted are new and in an emergent stage, together with the lack of prior investigations focusing on specific environmental factors affecting the adoption of these new, emerging IT, justify the value of this research

ICE-B 2010:proceedings of the International Conference on e-Business

The International Conference on e-Business, ICE-B 2010, aims at bringing together researchers and practitioners who are interested in e-Business technology and its current applications. The mentioned technology relates not only to more low-level technological issues, such as technology platforms and web services, but also to some higher-level issues, such as context awareness and enterprise models, and also the peculiarities of different possible applications of such technology. These are all areas of theoretical and practical importance within the broad scope of e-Business, whose growing importance can be seen from the increasing interest of the IT research community. The areas of the current conference are: (i) e-Business applications; (ii) Enterprise engineering; (iii) Mobility; (iv) Business collaboration and e-Services; (v) Technology platforms. Contributions vary from research-driven to being more practical oriented, reflecting innovative results in the mentioned areas. ICE-B 2010 received 66 submissions, of which 9% were accepted as full papers. Additionally, 27% were presented as short papers and 17% as posters. All papers presented at the conference venue were included in the SciTePress Digital Library. Revised best papers are published by Springer-Verlag in a CCIS Series book

Financial inclusion

Financial inclusion has been noted as a key driver of poverty alleviation and growth. Yet, most of the scholarly work that exists lacks a comprehensive discussion of how the poor interact with financial services and the channels through which such services can affect their livelihoods. This book offers researchers who focus on financial inclusion and African economies a one stop resource for understanding the channels of transmission for financial inclusion as well as an application of these channels through original country specific empirical papers. The book provides a back-to-basics presentation of the transmission of financial services to growth and poverty. This theoretical discussion is complemented by an empirical presentation of the various services used by the poor, with a focus on Africa. Case studies of financial inclusion in six African countries cover a broad range of topics most important to African countries and highlight the unique African setting. These empirical papers provide important learning points. Firstly, hybrid financial institutions such as cooperative financial institutions and financial social entrepreneurs are the best way to increase financial inclusion in Africa. They provide important vehicles to circumventing the restrictive and exclusive bank-based financial markets typical of African economies. Secondly, digital finance is a potent tool in improving financial access and usage in Africa, and its impact on poverty operates through both traditional and nontraditional financial instruments. Thirdly, investment in infrastructure which supports complementary markets is critical and is likely to have a greater effect on credit rationing than direct provision of credit to small businesses

Financial inclusion

Financial inclusion has been noted as a key driver of poverty alleviation and growth. Yet, most of the scholarly work that exists lacks a comprehensive discussion of how the poor interact with financial services and the channels through which such services can affect their livelihoods. This book offers researchers who focus on financial inclusion and African economies a one stop resource for understanding the channels of transmission for financial inclusion as well as an application of these channels through original country specific empirical papers. The book provides a back-to-basics presentation of the transmission of financial services to growth and poverty. This theoretical discussion is complemented by an empirical presentation of the various services used by the poor, with a focus on Africa. Case studies of financial inclusion in six African countries cover a broad range of topics most important to African countries and highlight the unique African setting. These empirical papers provide important learning points. Firstly, hybrid financial institutions such as cooperative financial institutions and financial social entrepreneurs are the best way to increase financial inclusion in Africa. They provide important vehicles to circumventing the restrictive and exclusive bank-based financial markets typical of African economies. Secondly, digital finance is a potent tool in improving financial access and usage in Africa, and its impact on poverty operates through both traditional and nontraditional financial instruments. Thirdly, investment in infrastructure which supports complementary markets is critical and is likely to have a greater effect on credit rationing than direct provision of credit to small businesses

Promoting women and youth financial inclusion for entrepreneurship and job creation : comparative study of selected sub-saharan african countries

Following the Alliance for Financial Inclusion framework, the project assessed women and youth financial inclusion through four lenses: access, usage, quality and welfare. Conducted by the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) the study identifies and evaluates the effectiveness of existing financial inclusion initiatives in achieving desired goals. It compares approaches, gauges impact, tracks progress and draws lessons for policy makers, regulators and service providers. The report reviews regulatory, policy and institutional frameworks that influence inclusion or exclusion of women and youth and assesses the nature and scope of public policy initiatives in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Zambia

The role of Islamic finance in enhancing financial inclusion in organization of Islamic cooperation (OIC) countries

The core principles of Islam lay great emphasis on social justice, inclusion, and sharing of resources between the haves and the have nots. Islamic finance addresses the issue of"financial inclusion"or"access to finance"from two directions -- one through promoting risk-sharing contracts that provide a viable alternative to conventional debt-based financing, and the other through specific instruments of redistribution of the wealth among the society. Use of risk-sharing financing instruments can offer Shariah-compliant microfinance, financing for small and medium enterprises, and micro-insurance to enhance access to finance. And redistributive instruments such as Zakah, Sadaqat, Waqf, and Qard-al-hassan complement risk-sharing instruments to target the poor sector of society to offer a comprehensive approach to eradicating poverty and to build a healthy and vibrant economy. Instruments offered by Islam have strong historical roots and have been applied throughout history in various Muslim communities. The paper identifies gaps currently existing in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries on each front, that is, Shariah-compliant micro-finance and financing for small and medium enterprises and the state of traditional redistributive instruments. The paper concludes that Islam offers a rich set of instruments and unconventional approaches, which, if implemented in true spirit, can lead to reduced poverty and inequality in Muslim countries plagued by massive poverty. Therefore, policy makers in Muslim countries who are serious about enhancing access to finance or"financial inclusion"should exploit the potential of Islamic instruments to achieve this goal and focus on improving the regulatory and financial infrastructure to promote an enabling environment.Access to Finance,Debt Markets,Banks&Banking Reform,Emerging Markets,Islamic Finance

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

Transformative Technology in Microfinance: Delivering Hope Electronically?

Considered a lifeline, and a convenience, a mobile phone has now acquired another transformative dimension within the microfinance context.  As a result of the proliferation of mobile banking in emerging markets and developing countries, microfinance institutions (“MFIs”) have adopted similar technological enhancements to deliver microfinance products.  This paper will explore how emerging technology advances has altered the contours of microfinance, specifically mobile banking (also known as “m-banking”) which is utilized to facilitate efficient financial services to a vast number of people without access to the formal banking  system and financial services, otherwise known as the “unbanked”.  This discussion offers a snapshot of the current state of mobile banking, and examines the kaleidoscopic approach used by microfinance institutions through several auxiliary considerations.  Part I examines the underlying rationale in employing a cashless banking paradigm and illustrates how mobile banking is administered institutionally.  Part II seeks to highlight the regulatory considerations intractable within the mobile banking discourse, and is intended to provide a survey of the current regulatory landscape, and finally, Part III focuses on uncovering the consumer perspective, and calls for a conceptual refinement in the interconnection of the social context within mobile banking. This paper is not intended to be categorized as a comparative law piece; rather its primary objective is to provide a snapshot of how certain jurisdictions have embraced mobile banking platforms and their legislative response thereto.  This discussion is merely offered as part of a functionalist approach discourse currently adopted by regulators; as such this paper only offers a cursory perspective of emerging legal considerations within the mobile banking context as it relates to MFIs