Alter ego, state of the art on user profiling: an overview of the most relevant organisational and behavioural aspects regarding User Profiling.

This report gives an overview of the most relevant organisational and\ud behavioural aspects regarding user profiling. It discusses not only the\ud most important aims of user profiling from both an organisation’s as\ud well as a user’s perspective, it will also discuss organisational motives\ud and barriers for user profiling and the most important conditions for\ud the success of user profiling. Finally recommendations are made and\ud suggestions for further research are given

Social Media Adoption Among University Instructors In Saudi Arabia

There is an orientation from the government of Saudi Arabia toward social media in general. The government of Saudi Arabia considers the significance of social media in educating the Saudi community. The Saudi Ministry of Education founded the National Center for E- Learning and Distance Learning (NCeL) because it considered the importance of e-learning and distance learning for higher education (he.moe.gov.sa). NCeL supports and rewards university instructors to integrate social media in the learning process (award.elc.edu.sa). Several studies proved the significance of social media with Saudi higher education students (Alkhalifa, 2008; Salem and Alghamdi, 2011; Almadhouni, 2011). Moreover, Saudi students indicated positive attitudes toward social media in their learning and would prefer attending classes that university instructors use social media (Aifan, 2015). However, the adoption of social media for teaching students by university instructors in Saudi Arabia is unclear. A questionnaire was built based on Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory for the study purpose. 387 university instructors from all of the 28 Saudi public universities responded to the questionnaire. 47.5% of the participants were male university instructors, while 51.7% were female university instructors. .8% of the participants preferred not to disclose their gender. 130 47.8% of the participants were 35 years old or below, 29.2% were between 36-45 years old, and 17.8% were 46years old and more. The results of this cross-sectional descriptive study that the Knowledge stage was the highest stage that university instructors have identified themselves with the stages of the innovation-decision, followed by Decision stage, Persuasion stage, Confirmation stage, and Implementation stage. The findings of this study imply that the perceived relative advantage and compatibility of using social media in teaching students may increase university instructors (in general and for all ages) future adoption decision of using social media in teaching students. Moreover, the findings of this study imply that the perceived relative advantage of using social media in teaching students may increase female university instructors’ future adoption decision of using social media in teaching students, whereas the perceived compatibility of using social media in teaching students may increase male university instructors’ future adoption decision of using social media in teaching students. Finally, the findings of this study imply that the perceived complexity, trialability, and observability of using social media in teaching students may have no influence on increasing university instructors’ future adoption decision of using social media in teaching students

The influence of incentives and survey design on mail survey response rates for mature consumers

The mail survey is still the preferred research tool for the mature consumer population and questions remain about ways of boosting survey response rates. The influence of two incentives were explored, a foil-wrapped tea bag and a $1 donation for each returned questionnaire in the study design. A significant higher response rate was only achieved for the first incentive. The effectiveness of a range of incentives and survey design features were investigated. Respondents indicated that their preferred incentive was a$500 donation to a charity. With the ongoing use of mail surveys almost mandatory for populations like this one, this study shows that incentives and design features such as CEO endorsement are important elements in improving response rates

Three Studies of B2B Salespeople as Collectors of Competitive Intelligence

PhD thesis in Social SciencesB2B salespeople’s ability to collect competitive intelligence from the marketplace affects organizational and individual competitive advantage and, in turn, firm and salesperson performance. The collection, sharing and use of this information are of potential strategic interest, and individual information collection is an important part of market orientation. The complexity and rate of change of industrial markets are increasing due to factors such as rapid technological development, and firms need to adapt to shifting market conditions faster than ever before, heightening the need for CI collection. Boundary spanners like salespeople spend a large part of their time outside their organizations meeting customers and competitors and thus are in a unique position to collect information from the market. The overall objective of this thesis is to increase the understanding of different aspects of salesperson information collection. This is addressed through three subobjectives: one, investigating what motivates salespeople to collect information beyond factors with a direct effect; two, determining how information collection leads to salesperson learning in a digital setting; and three, identifying the types of information collected by salespeople and strategies for motivating salespeople to collect information needed by the organization. The main contribution of subobjective one is the finding that the effects of known drivers of motivation for collecting information may vary with the salesperson’s personality characteristics, which are represented here by the personality trait locus of control. This variation might explain, at least in part, why only a few salespeople consistently collect information, despite attempts to include all salespeople. The main contribution of subobjective two is the development of a theoretical framework for listening in a digital setting before meeting customers physically. A model of how social media affects salesperson learning and knowledge building is presented, thus adding to the growing effort to understand how salespeople can use social media to increase their knowledge from the information they collect. The main contribution of subobjective three is the finding that the information salespeople collect is tactical, for their own interest, and of little value to customers and the sales organization. To increase the value of the type of information salespeople collect, this thesis argues for a stronger focus on the relationship between sales managers and their salespeople. The use of sales managers as a motivational factor for collecting more specific information through the sales force has received scarce treatment in the literature on the motivation of salespeople to collect information

The doctoral research abstracts. Vol:10 2016 / Institute of Graduate Studies, UiTM

Foreword: Congratulations to Institute of Graduate Studies on the continuous efforts to publish the 10th issue of the Doctoral Research Abstracts which showcases the research carried out in the various disciplines range from science and technology, business and administration to social science and humanities. This issue captures the novelty of research contributed by seventy (70) PhD graduands receiving their scrolls in the UiTM’s 85th Convocation. As of October 2016, this year UiTM has produced 138 PhD graduates soaring from125 in the previous year (2015). It shows that UiTM is in the positive direction to achive the total of 1200 PhD graduates in 2020. To the 70 doctorates, I would like it to be known that you have most certainly done UiTM proud by journeying through the scholarly world with its endless challenges and obstacles, and by persevering right till the very end. This convocation should not be regarded as the end of your highest scholarly achievement and contribution to the body of knowledge but rather as the beginning of embarking into more innovative research from knowledge gained during this academic journey, for the community and country. This year marks UiTM’s 60th Anniversary and we have been producing many good quality graduates that have a major impact on the socio-economic development of the country and the bumiputeras. As alumni of UiTM, we hold you dear to our hearts. We sincerely wish you all the best and may the Almighty guide you to a path of excellence and success. As you leave the university as alumni we hope a new relationship will be fostered between you and the faculty in soaring UiTM to greater heights. “UiTM Sentiasa di Hati Ku” / Prof Emeritus Dato’ Dr Hassan Said Vice Chancellor Universiti Teknologi MAR

ASSESSMENT OF COMPUTER MEDIATED COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE: THEORY AND APPLICATION IN AN ONLINE ENVIRONMENT

Theoretically based factors of computer mediated communication (CMC) competence are analyzed in the context of education for effective use of internet technology in online interpersonal communication and group interaction. An empirical analysis was performed of two versions of a newly developed CMC competence self-assessment measure. The first version of this measure was applied in a paper-and-pencil form and the second version was administered online. A critique and suggestions for the improvement of the CMC competence self-assessment measure are provided alongside an elaboration of the empirically uncovered factors of CMC competence that closely correspond to some dimensions of face-to-face/off-line interpersonal communication competence. Finally, some remarks are made concerning the online testing procedures for web-based assessment systems related to CMC competence, and also about education for CMC competence as a part of education for participation in the information society

Ethics and taxation : a cross-national comparison of UK and Turkish firms

This paper investigates responses to tax related ethical issues facing busines

The Conceptual Foundations of Relationship Marketing: Review and Synthesis

The present review is devoted to a rapidly developing area of marketing — relationship marketing. The authors suggest that the conceptual foundations of it are not currently well developed but forecast that it will transform into a discipline in the near future. They outline two approaches to the definition of relationship marketing and provide their own definition, emphasizing such aspects as collaboration, creation and enhancement of value for those who are involved in relationships. The authors trace the origins of relationship marketing, describing the importance of a range of factors that contribute to the increasing importance of relationship marketing today, such as the development of services, communication with the end consumer, etc. A section of this work examines the development of theoretical approaches: the authors argue that marketing originated in economics, which tended to ignore issues related to distribution systems. They also show that questions concerning relationship marketing were considered even before the term itself was introduced. In the final section, the authors touch upon the models that describe processes in relational marketing and analyze its components step-by-step. The authors highlight three core aspects of relational marketing: setting a purpose, choosing parties and program formation. In the conclusion the authors describe three possible levels of future studies in this area — the concept level, model level and process level — and specifics of each level are characterized

The Export Performance of European Small and Medium Businesses

Diplomová práca popisuje exportnú konkurencieschopnosť malých a stredných podnikov v Európskej Únii, faktory ovplyvňujúce ich výkonnosť a rozhodovanie ohľadne exportných aktivít. Použitie relevantnej literatúry a štúdií umožnuje poskytnúť kritický pohľad na danú problematiku. Na konci práce sú navhrnuté odporúčania na zlepšenie a záver.This master’s thesis describes export competitiveness of small and medium enterprises in European Union, factors influencing their performance and decision making regarding export activities. By the support of relevant literature and studies, critical view is given on this issue. At the end of the paper the conclusions and further recommendations are proposed.