Disintermediation and re-intermediation in the music business: the effect of multimedia technologies and E-commerce

Advances in e-commerce and multimedia technologies are becoming inextricably more closer related to society and business. Theoretical insight into these new areas is scarce and that is the gap that this thesis aims to cover. The study uses the music industry as a test-bed for the propositions developed. The literature review summarises and criticises the theories on E-commerce which centre around the "transaction cost economics" branch of management literature. Other theories used to develop the frameworks include "network externalities" and "increasing returns" from economics, "value chain" from industrial organisation and theories on "search costs" and "quality uncertainty" from the economics of information. Special mention is given to the literature on the music industry dealing with the production and commercialisation of music, the resulting and changing structure of the industry, as well as various research approaches to understanding consumer involvement in the industry (cultural/subcultural analyses of user behaviour). The methodology followed is qualitative in nature and concentrates on the case study method. Besides the secondary data, primary data is collected via interviews with key informants in the music industry. Executives in other relevant to e-commerce/multimedia industry firms such as telcos and software firms are also interviewed to give a broader perspective to the study. The data are analysed using the pattern matching method. The data analysis process can be summarised as follows: A primer is offered on the recording and music industry which serves to develop the research questions and propositions. This stemmed from the pilot research and coupled with the theory allows the formation of patterns that are expected to match the data if the theory stands. Three patterns emerged from the literature review: Pattern 1: Labels sell music content directly to the consumer Pattern 2: Artists sell content directly to the consumer. Pattern 3: E-commerce between content owners and consumers will be facilitated by intermediaries. A case study is then built detailing the events in the music industry concerning Music on Demand during the period 1995-1998. The case study is "partitioned" in chapters detailing each of the technological players examined. Other significant events relevant to the study, are included in vignettes in the main body of the analysis. The analysis matches the data in the case studies with the relevant patterns and incorporates interview quotes. Concluding the thesis offers some explanations for the failure of matching theory with data. It also goes one step further by developing a new value system and patterns that can be used to guide further academic research on the subject. The chapter ends with the development and analysis of four scenarios, proposing their value for practitioners such as managers and investors seeking insight into the future of the music industry in a multimedia environment, as well as policy makers interested in the relationship between creativity and economic technological factors. The main conclusion is that concentration of copyright in the hands of the few is hindering rather than promoting new multimedia and e-commerce industries

Offshore Business Processing Outsourcing by Australian Enterprises to Service Providers Located in India

The primary research question for this PhD was: “What are the key factors that contribute to the success of offshore business process outsourcing (OBPO) by Australian and international organisations to service providers located in India and the Philippines?” A qualitative research design in the positivist paradigm was adopted, involving longitudinal case studies of five client companies. A primary contribution was identification of critical success factors for management of OBPO at the individual company level

Constitutionality and legality of telecoms forced access mechanisms : a comparative study of the EU and Taiwan

Telecoms industry is a highly specialised industry and there is a general consensus that it requires a specially designed regulatory system. Besides the many technology-oriented regulations, this regulatory system not only integrates many economic theories and concepts taken from competition law, but also features several measures designed ad hoc to deal with the character of the industry, such as a natural monopoly, bottlenecks and a public service. A major category of these regulatory measures is forced access mechanisms. "Forced access" in this thesis refers to the forcing open of certain property – mostly telecoms networks and relevant facilities – to be accessed by others, especially other competitors in the market. While these mechanisms do indeed promote competition in the telecoms market and benefit the public, they also limit the fundamental rights of telecoms companies – mostly incumbents – as legal persons, especially concerning their property rights and freedom to conduct a business, and it does not need emphasising further that the protection of fundamental rights is a general principle in the European Union and a constitutional value in modern democratic states. This thesis aims to take three distinct telecoms forced access mechanisms (interconnection, local loop unbundling and separation), with different regulatory intensities, as examples to discuss the possible fundamental rights derogation issues of two targeted jurisdictions – the European Union and Taiwan. There are some substantial reasons for this comparative study. On the one hand, many of the regulatory concepts of the telecoms regulatory framework in the European Union, together with those in the United States, have been adopted by Taiwan; on the other hand, the protection of fundamental rights in the European Union is inspired by the constitutional traditions common to Member States, and the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz) plays an important role, while the Taiwanese Constitution and the constitutionality reviews system derive from Germany (continental law) and the United States (common law). The reasoning of Taiwanese constitutional review does not therefore just reflect the fundamental rights protection system but also introduces the constitutionality review system of the United States as a reference. This thesis starts with an introduction to telecoms forced access mechanisms in the European Union and Taiwan, with a special focus on three selected forced access mechanisms. Then, fundamental rights protection system under the two jurisdictions will be discussed, followed by an in-depth discussion of the concepts of property rights and freedom to conduct a business. This thesis goes on to analyse how to appraise the three telecoms forced access mechanisms in relation to the fundamental rights protection system and to discuss the reasonableness of such an analysis. The final part of the thesis will, by reviewing the legal frameworks of the two jurisdictions, offer answers to the questions raised in the analysis

Benefits and Risks Measurement Model : In different managerial positions during RPA implementation

The emergent technologies have always been used for ameliorating business processes. Automation solutions and use of AI tools have increased the creation of more efficient and reliable processes. One of these automation solutions is robotic process automation that is used to automate software-based processes. Use of software systems have previously required human attention to work on different graphic user interfaces to read, fill, and combine data among the systems. Robotic process automation solutions offer a new way of working by automating repetitive manual tasks and creating more time for human work force to be creative. Implementation of modern technologies has its benefits and risks on various levels of the organisation. Change and adoption management is crucial to be up to date so the value from the implementation process can be captured and risks avoided in every position. Various measurement metrics and tools can help the management to monitor the ongoing process and to evaluate the outcome of the implementation. The aim of this thesis is to categorise the perceived benefits and risks of robotic process automation and the measurement metrics and tools to monitor them in different managerial positions during the implementation. The methods used for creating this categorised model are literature review as secondary data to create a theoretical model and a survey to industry experts to gather primary data to agree or disagree with the created model. The secondary data was researched to gather knowledge about different known benefits and risks models while trying to position their categorisation into project manager, developer, and customer service agent positions. The primary data gathered from the experts on the same managerial positions was used to strengthen the theoretical model. As conclusion, the final model represents the perceived benefits and risks under the managerial positions and measurement metrics and tools in general. The results show that the benefits and risks of robotic automation process implementation can be categorised under managerial positions to help the management to ensure the full value capture while ameliorating the business processes with the automation. Taking the categorised benefit dimensions and risk concerns into account during the implementation’s change management can help the organisations to be ready for the more advanced artificial intelligence solutions as the robotic process automation is referred as a steppingstone towards the forthcoming technological revolution

Telecommunication Economics

This book constitutes a collaborative and selected documentation of the scientific outcome of the European COST Action IS0605 Econ@Tel "A Telecommunications Economics COST Network" which run from October 2007 to October 2011. Involving experts from around 20 European countries, the goal of Econ@Tel was to develop a strategic research and training network among key people and organizations in order to enhance Europe's competence in the field of telecommunications economics. Reflecting the organization of the COST Action IS0605 Econ@Tel in working groups the following four major research areas are addressed: - evolution and regulation of communication ecosystems; - social and policy implications of communication technologies; - economics and governance of future networks; - future networks management architectures and mechanisms

Telecommunication Economics

This book constitutes a collaborative and selected documentation of the scientific outcome of the European COST Action IS0605 Econ@Tel "A Telecommunications Economics COST Network" which run from October 2007 to October 2011. Involving experts from around 20 European countries, the goal of Econ@Tel was to develop a strategic research and training network among key people and organizations in order to enhance Europe's competence in the field of telecommunications economics. Reflecting the organization of the COST Action IS0605 Econ@Tel in working groups the following four major research areas are addressed: - evolution and regulation of communication ecosystems; - social and policy implications of communication technologies; - economics and governance of future networks; - future networks management architectures and mechanisms

Frameworks and models to identify and increase the success potential of e-services

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The drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in the supply chain. A case study.

Purpose: The paper studies the way in which a SME integrates CSR into its corporate strategy, the practices it puts in place and how its CSR strategies reflect on its suppliers and customers relations. Methodology/Research limitations: A qualitative case study methodology is used. The use of a single case study limits the generalizing capacity of these findings. Findings: The entrepreneur’s ethical beliefs and value system play a fundamental role in shaping sustainable corporate strategy. Furthermore, the type of competitive strategy selected based on innovation, quality and responsibility clearly emerges both in terms of well defined management procedures and supply chain relations as a whole aimed at involving partners in the process of sustainable innovation. Originality/value: The paper presents a SME that has devised an original innovative business model. The study pivots on the issues of innovation and eco-sustainability in a context of drivers for CRS and business ethics. These values are considered fundamental at International level; the United Nations has declared 2011 the “International Year of Forestry”

Australia adjusting: optimising national prosperity

The recommendations form the basis of a National Productivity Policy (NPP) to drive a sustained improvement to Australia’s productivity so that the nation can realise ongoing economic growth. Reform agenda for an open economy To remain competitive and economically strong, Australia will need to adjust to economic changes taking place now – and in the future – to ensure we have a knowledgeable, productive workforce and strong, innovative industries. CEDA’s research outlines a reform agenda that will address these concerns, and sustain Australia’s international competitiveness and productivity into the future. That reform agenda embraces economic flexibility, incentivising innovation and developing the nation’s human capital. Economic flexibility The flexibility of Australia’s economy underpins the nation’s ability to respond to changing domestic and/or international circumstances. To improve its economic flexibility, Australia needs to initiate a series of microeconomic reforms to remove rigidities in the economy, address inefficiencies and uncompetitive elements of the tax system, reform the Federation, and adopt processes to deliver suitable levels of infrastructure. Incentivising innovation Along with a competitive environment that in itself provides incentives to become more productive, the capacity to innovate and to adopt innovations quickly is essential to raising productivity. Australia has tended to derive its comparative advantage from other sources in the past, so it will be a challenge for the nation to develop vibrant hubs of innovation. There is also evidence of a lack of management innovation in Australian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), relative to those in northern hemisphere advanced economies. Capability and workforce development A nation’s most valuable resource is its people – its human capital – and how well it performs in productivity and raising living standards depends critically on ensuring that their capabilities and agility are developed to their full potential, and that we have adaptive and consultative workplaces. While Australia has had relatively high levels of participation and employment in recent times, there are segments of the community where skill development and participation are poor. Related identifier: 0 85801 290