Empirical investigation on satisfaction and service quality level of radical process change implementation

The paper reviews the literature related to the implementation of radical process changes in higher education (HE) environment. Several issues and implementation results related to radical process change in HEIs, particularly business process reengineering (BPR), are being investigated. Furthermore, as the implementation of process change would have an impact in HEIs,specifically on service quality and customer satisfaction, this paper discusses both concepts. A survey has been developed to assess the students’ satisfaction of the radical process change implemented in one of the HEIs, namely HEI-A which was selected as a case study. The results indicate some significant differences among groups for both satisfaction and service quality measured.The paper provides a framework for future research to develop a metric for measuring satisfaction and service quality level in HEIs. This research contributes to studies of BPR in HE context, by focusing on the key processes performance

Reengineering knowledge for e-tourism and hospitality curricula

E-tourism and hospitality represents the development of tourism and hospitality to integrate ICT tools and has significantly changed the industry over the last decade. In order to meet the new needs, knowledge service suppliers (i.e. the university) must meet the requirements and social developments of the tourism industry. The quality of e-tourism and hospitality curriculum depends largely on the education quality and its subsequent implementation. The research reveals that higher education is not currently meeting the needs of the industry, especially in the Greater Mekong Sub-region countries. This article focuses on two major problems, which represent a disparity between the knowledge needs of the tourism and hospitality industry and the knowledge provided by curricula in higher education. The authors leverage a knowledge engineering perspective so as to bridge the gap between knowledge demand and supply as related to e-tourism and hospitality curriculum design

Putting our money where their mouth is: alignment of charitable aims with charity investments - tensions in policy and practice

Given the values-driven nature of the mission of most charities, it might be expected that investment behaviour would be similarly values-driven. This paper documents the ethical investment policies and practices of the largest UK charities and explores how these are aligned with the charitable aims, drawing upon accountability, behavioural and managerial perspectives as theoretical lenses. The study employs two distinct research methods: responses to a postal questionnaire and follow-up semi-structured interviews with selected charities. The evidence indicates that a significant minority of large charities do not have a written ethical investment policy. Charities with larger investments, fundraising charities and religious charities were more likely to have a written ethical policy. We suggest that there is a pressing need for improved alignment between charities' aims and their investment practices and better monitoring of investment policies

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Research: An Annotated Bibliography

Despite growing interest, publications on ERP systems within the academic Information Systems community, as reflected by contributions to journals and international conferences, is only now emerging. This article provides an annotated bibliography of the ERP publications published in the main Information Systems journals and conferences and reviews the state of the ERP art. The publications surveyed are categorized through a framework that is structured in phases that correspond to the different stages of an ERP system lifecycle within an organization. We also present topics for further research in each phase

Effects of strategic leadership, organizational innovativeness, information technology capability on effective strategy implementation

This study investigated the determinants of perceived organizational strategy implementation among public tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Primarily, the study explored the effects of Strategic Leadership (SL), Organizational Innovativeness (OI) and Information Technology Capability (ITC) on Effective Strategy Implementation (ESI). More precisely the direct effect of SL, OI and ITC on ESI were assessed. The study also examines the moderating effect of ITC on SL and OI on ESI. Thirteen (13) public tertiary institutions were considered by the research. One hundred and four (104) deans who serves as the research respondents were sampled out of the population total of 143 deans from the institutions. Hand delivery of questionnaires was used to solicit information from the respondents. Partial Least Squares Method (PLS 2) algorithm and bootstrap techniques were used to test the study hypotheses. The results provided support for most of the hypothesized relationship for the study. Specifically, SL, OI and ITC are found to be significant and positively affect organizational ESI. Additionally, ITC has been found to significantly moderate the relationship between SI and perceive ESI. While negative moderating effect of ITC was found between OI and perceive ESI. PIIT theory as well as Diffusion of Innovation Theory were partly considered as probable reasons for the negative finding. Therefore, significant positive effects of SL, OI and ITC suggest that the variables are important in facilitating ESI. As such, public tertiary institutions should be encouraged to demonstrate these behaviours for enhanced success of organizational strategy implementation. Enhanced success of effective strategy implementation could improve the overall effective function of the organizations. Contributions, limitations, and implications of the study were also discussed

Entrepreneurial learning in practice: The impact of knowledge transfer

The aim of this research is to provide perspectives on how entrepreneurial practitioners, specifically owners of high-tech small firms (HTSFs), engage with knowledge transfer and learn. The authors draw on extant research and report on the views and observations of the principals in two case study companies in the HTSF sector with regard to growing their ventures and developing learning while part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme. Entrepreneurial learning is an area of significant interest due to the growth of entrepreneurship and the varied ways in which learning can take place. There are many different interventions that can be used to transfer knowledge and develop learning, but there is limited, if any, consensus on their respective effectiveness. The researchers used an ethnographic approach in two companies over an 18-month period. The study concludes that the KTP intervention facilitates an opportunity for learning through disruption, with the key barrier to any new learning being established practice. Interestingly, the findings suggest that entrepreneurial learning is greatly facilitated by ‘on-the-job’ learning

The North-South Digital Divide in Information and Communication Technologies Development: the Case for Spanish Regions

The "New Economy" is a concept that is associated with the growth of the US economy in the second half of the nineties, which were characterised by high growth in GDP. In attempt to find an explanation for these events, research to date cites the main determinant to be the marked rise in labour productivity that came about as a result of the impact of Information and Communication Technologies, particularly the Internet. The purpose of the present study is to examine the phenomenon that has arisen around this "new or digital economy" and the development of the Internet from the macro and microeconomic viewpoint and then show how the Spanish regions lag behind the rest of Europe in this respect. Firstly, we present international evidences of the positive impact of ICT in terms of labour and multifactorial productivity in national economies, industrial sectors and firms. These evidences are contrasted with some spanish studies. Secondly, we measure the importance of ICT in Europe. We base our method on a set of indicators, classified into three areas: infrastructure and size of sector, use of Internet and electronic commerce, and social and economic effects. We then examine the Spanish situation electronic commerce, and social and economic effects. We then examine the Spanish situation within the context of the rest of Europe, and discover a major north-south digital divide affecting certain areas, along with major interregional disparities. As far as Internet development is concerned, there are major regional differences. The paper points out the fact that Spain registers the highest standard deviation, in other words, the greatest regional differences, which, reflected in terms of different synthetic/composite indicators. This lag in progress contrasts with Spain's public policies aimed at promoting the Internet. Nevertheless, Internet development can provide the opportunity to close this gap within the EU. It may, however, increase discrepancies between the regions, by giving regions with higher per capita income an advantage in terms of productivity and competitiveness, unless a determined effort is made to implement actions aimed at developing the information society.