Organizational factors for successful entering to e-marketplace: Case of large organizations in Slovenia

The appeal of doing business on the Web is clear. By bringing together large numbers of buyers and sellers and by automating transactions, e-marketplaces expand the choices available to buyers, give sellers access to new customers (buyers), and reduce transaction costs for all participants. Entering the e-marketplace is related to the business process of reengineering, connecting of information systems, gaining new knowledge with training and learning, and making investments in new information technologies and software. Such organization must take very careful steps to prepare itself for a successful entrance on the e-marketplace. Only this kind of approach will enable the organization the full use of the available opportunities and will bring expected business results. The paper presents the different types of e-marketplaces and the use of e-marketplaces for business. Furthermore, the results of the research that was done among 250 large organizations in Slovenia are presented. The current status of the use e-commerce and e-marketplaces in large organizations in Slovenia is introduced. In addition, organizational factors found by large organizations to be important for a successful entrance to the e-marketplaces are presented. We conclude the paper with recommendations for the organizations that intend to enter e-marketplace

Vpliv uvedbe informacijskega sistema za večprojektno vodenje

Background: The problems of resources management (human, financial, time) in multi-project companies are inherently complex and need to be addressed systematically, in both small and large organizations. Furthermore, there is a need for transparent communication and collaboration within the organization as well as with partnering organizations. There are many methodologies and tools supporting project management, which are themselves complex and are therefore not widely adopted, especially among small companies. Objectives: The aim of this paper is to analyse impact of the implementation of a flexible cloud-based project management information system (PMIS) from the human resources, financial management, and collaboration points of view. Method: We have conducted a case study in a small Slovenian research and development company, that has implemented the 4PM PMIS. Results: The findings imply the importance of keeping the balance of the creative processes that are unstructured, rule free and even chaotic, with structured processes monitor and control. Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that the use of “4PM” in support of multi-project management improves human resources and financial management in a collaborative and transparent way when implemented in an open and highly motivated environmentOzadje: Problemi upravljanja virov kadrov, financ in časa v večprojektni organizaciji so po naravi kompleksni, zato jih moramo obravnavati celovito tako v velikih, kot manjših organizacijah. Pri tem je potrebno zagotoviti odprto komunikacijo med zaposlenimi in med partnerskimi organizacijami. Obstaja več metodologij in orodij za podporo projektnemu delu, vendar so slabo sprejete, predvsem v manjših organizacijah. Razlogi ležijo v prekompleksnosti metod in njihovi naravnanosti na vidik enega projekta. Cilji: Cilj tega prispevka je analizirati vpliv uvedbe prilagodljivega spletnega informacijskega sistema za projektni management z vidika kadrovskega in finančnega managementa ter sodelovanja. Metode: V ta namen smo izvedli študijo primera v manjšem slovenskem raziskovalno-razvojnem podjetju, ki je uvedlo spletno rešitev za večprojektno vodenje 4PM. Rezultati: Rezultati poudarjajo pomembnost ohranjanja ravnovesja med nestrukturiranim kreativnim procesom, ki poteka brez pravil in celo kaotično, in potrebo po strukturiranemu spremljanju in kontroli projektov.Zaključki: Rezultati študije nakazujejo, da uporaba rešitve 4PM učinkovito podpira upravljanje več-projektne organizacije, pozitivno vpliva na zadovoljstvo in sodelovanje zaposlenih ter omogoča preglednejše vodenje financ

Gap Analysis Methodology for Identifying Future Ict Related eGovernment Research Topics – Case of “Ontology and Semantic Web” in the Context of eGovernment

Modern ICT enables governments all over the world to improve their operation in order to become more efficient and effective. Despite of all possible benefits of using modern ICT, governments still struggle with the problems of inefficiency of their operation. eGovernment is being discussed in many contexts. Expectations of research and implementation in this field were high. However, many investments have not met the visions and reached the maturity aimed at. What are the deficiencies of current developments in eGovernment? What is the role of research in advancing the field? In an European Commission - funded project, eGovRTD2020, eGovernment research is being investigated in terms of current state of play and future needs of eGovernment research based on visionary scenarios of governments using modern ICT in 2020 for their service provision and interaction with their constituency (citizens, companies, other governments, etc.). To understand the future needs of eGovernment research, a structured methodology of analyzing the gaps of current research in respect to the future needs has been developed. This paper presents the gap analysis methodology with the example of identified gap and future research theme “semantic web and ontology in the context of eGovernment”

Active Learning Model for Teaching B2B e-Marketplaces

In this paper, we describe experience with teaching e-Commerce courses at the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Maribor that focus on e-marketplace adoption. E-marketplaces are new business models using recent e-commerce technologies. Our teaching model presents several approaches. Some examples are: European Commission sponsored research projects like eMarketServices, eBusiness and W@tch reports. Also use of e-marketplace technology platforms (Oracle Exchange) for hands-on experiences and prototype development for company-sponsored student projects. This model demonstrates an example of knowledge transfer from research and technology providers to companies and other organizations using student-led projects

IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVED INNOVATION CAPABILITIES AS AN ERP SYSTEM SELECTION CRITERION: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SLOVAKIA AND SLOVENIA

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have become the de facto standard for large and medium companies to run all their major functional and process operations. Some even describe ERP systems as the price of entry for running a business. ERP system per se cannot be perceived as a source of competitive advantage anymore, since a significant percentage of companies already implemented them. On the other hand, innovation plays an increasingly important role in sustaining competitiveness. Although ERP systems could be perceive as constraining and inflexible, i.e. ERP systems may seem incommensurate with the notion of innovation, this is not the case in real life. It may be argued that innovation capabilities can be improved by ERP systems because of improved transparency and better information flow. The paper addresses two research questions: 1) What does academic literature says about the combination of ERP systems and innovations? 2) How important are improved innovation capabilities in the ERP system selection process? The first research question is answered based on literature review of relevant articles from Web of Science journals. The main findings are that the articles discuss (1) ERP system (implementation) as innovation (implementation), (2) ERP system driven innovation (impact of ERP systems in the postimplementation phase on innovation), and (3) ERP system innovation (i.e. innovation of ERP system). A large part of (2) perceives ERP system also as innovation. The second research question is rather practical and it cannot be approached from a strictly theoretical point of view. We try to answer this question using the results of the questionnaire research conducted in Slovak and Slovenian companies in May and June 2007. The main finding is that the importance of improved innovation capabilities is significantly higher in Slovakia than in Slovenia

Impact Of Business And Information Strategies Alignment On Business Performance

Alignment between business strategy and information strategy has been in focus for several years. It can be stated that the research suggests different explanations and differs in how alignment influences firms’ performance. In this paper, we present results from an investigation among firms in Slovenia in which we asked about how they perceive that their business strategy and information strategy were aligned to each other. Respondents’ statements about alignment were then checked against the firms’ turnover growth. One conclusion, which is possible to draw from the analysis, is that there is a significant relationship between alignment and turnover growt

European criteria for assessing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems: Preliminary Results from Multiple Empirical Studies

This research report provides preliminary results in terms of ERP system selection criteria across five European Union countries based on empirical studies. The paper provides a structured list of decision making criteria considered in ERP decisions and contrasts weights as well as achievement levels across countries. Research was guided by the Delone & McLean Information Systems (D&M IS) success model supported with views on project and vendor related aspects needed to capture the whole scope of the decision problem. The main considered dimensions were: quality; net benefits; project costs and time; and a vendor dimension. Especially the considered dimensions from the D&M IS success model, namely quality and net benefits varied across countries in terms of their initial weighting and satisfaction levels achieved after ERP implementation. However, a common global notion seems to be that quality and project related criteria are more important to the decision maker than potential benefits on the organisational or individual level