Smart Technology Adoption’s Impact on the Value of Logistics Service Providers’ Firms

Although it took a pandemic to raise awareness about supply chain issues in the minds of the public at large, industry players have long understood supply chain complexities—particularly in the face of continually evolving technologies and ever-more interconnected global enterprises. With Logistics 4.0 and the rapid developments in smart technologies, these complexities make the ongoing need for technology adoption even more complicated for logistics providers. While the literature regularly reports on the adoption of specific technologies, there is little research on the adoption process and even less that might guide providers in prioritizing their technology targets. This research examined the literature for drivers and consequences of technology adoption among providers, then tested those concepts through in-depth interviews with 40 senior-level executives at global logistics provider firms. Among the study’s findings are that the drivers and consequences of smart technology adoption are similar among logistics providers. However, firm size, business tenure, and client relationships moderate the adoption of these innovations. The study identifies incumbent people, processes, and systems as “excess baggage” that slows adoption because of adjustments needed to accommodate new technologies and creates bottlenecks for these firms. However, when combined with new competencies, streamlined processes, and proper change management, this baggage may improve firm performance because of the legacy processes integrated with customers’ supply chains. The study also developed a framework to inform practitioners’ adoption efforts. The framework addresses the research questions. It also recommends that to realize quicker revenue gains when adopting smart technology. Providers focus on two key drivers: customer relationships and market demands. This research also suggests that providers adopting smart technology leverage their incumbent human resources, processes, and technologies to deliver customer value and improve firm performance

Destination 2010: the achievements so far

This reports sets out progress against the targets contained in the Destination 2010 Regional Economic Strategy. It provides a snapshot of progress made in delivering the strategy using data from 2004, the latest available at that time

Leveraging Smart Technology for User Experience Personalization – A Comparative Case Study of Innovative Payment Systems

Background: This study seeks to understand how the attributes of smart technology (SMT) can be leveraged to enable personalized services and optimize unique user experiences to attract and retain customers. Based on Kang et al.’s (2020) study of SMT attributes and quality effects and Liang et al.’s (2006) study on personalized recommendation and user satisfaction, we constructed a SMT personalization model to analyze how the SMT attributes of smart functionality and smart content enable personalization in different ways and create unique customer experiences throughout the user journey. Method: Two representative payment systems were selected to depict how they integrated the strengths of personalized smart functionalities and contents to innovate their business models, optimize user experiences, and sustain business growth. Results: Based on the comparative analysis of the two payment cases, the functionality and content attributes of smart chips and omni-channel platforms were explored, and the tailored advisory and responsive support for customers both offline and online were validated. Conclusion: The life-enriching service innovations provide valuable insights for leveraging SMT for personalization. It is hoped that the SMT personalization model can be extended to other types of SMT applications and can be used as a framework for designing innovative services