New directions for research on SME-eBusiness: insights from an analysis of journal articles from 2003 to 2006

Previous research which consolidates the growing body of academic literature on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and electronic business (eBusiness) has taken the form of meta-analyses which focus on analysing adoption factors, pre-2000 articles and a small number of journals. This paper makes a valuable contribution to the analysis of SME-eBusiness research by addressing the limitations of past literature analyses because it presents an extensive literature review of 120 SME-eBusiness journal articles published between 2003 and 2006 in 53 journals. This paper is unique, when compared to meta-analyses of adoption factors, because it analyses the SME-eBusiness literature broadly on the basis of the data collection approaches used, countries and eBusiness technologies studied, and the primary research objective of each article. This approach to the analysis revealed a number of limitations in the existing research such as the tendency: to treat SMEs and eBusiness applications homogeneously rather than as highly diverse, complex entities; to repeat adoption factor studies which have now reached saturation point; and to focus on SMEs themselves without considering the complexity of relationships which many SMEs have with family, friends, other businesses and eBusiness solution providers. These limitations highlight the need for new research directions which move beyond identifying and evaluating adoption factors. The paper concludes by outlining a number of broad research directions which might help overcome the limitations with the existing body of SME-eBusiness research

Linking eCommerce and human resource strategies: a case study in a large Australian retail bank

The implementation of eCommerce technologies has considerably changed how employees in the banking industry interact with customers. For example, some customers use electronic banking applications to such an extent that they find little or no need to go into a branch. This change has had a significant impact on the way that jobs are designed and the way that employees are being managed. The preliminary findings from the case study of a large bank in Australia indicate that moving customers out of the branch to an online environment has created unforeseen issues for the way employees interact with customers and this in turn has changed the way that they do their jobs. The key challenge for banks in the future is how to form effective relationships with customers without some kind of face-to-face interaction. This impacts how organisations recruit and retain their staff as well as the level and type of skills required for jobs redesigned after the implementation of eCommerce applications. It is also an important factor in employee satisfaction.<br /

Small firm e-business adoption : a critical analysis of theory

Purpose &ndash; The paper critiques a range of theories and evaluates their ability to provide a lens for explaining the idiosyncratic nature of small firms and their e-business adoption decisions.Design/methodology/approach &ndash; This literature review firstly summarises the existing research evidence that shows that small firms are idiosyncratic when it comes to e-business adoption. It then critiques theories commonly used in the literature in this field to examine the extent to which they take this small firm idiosyncrasy into account when explaining e-business adoption decisions.Findings &ndash; The critical analysis shows that no commonly-used theory adequately explains small firm adoption of e-business because each omits important aspects of small firm idiosyncrasy. The analysis suggests that an integrated theoretical framework is needed. Preliminary ideas on this framework are provided.Originality/value &ndash; Existing research generally applies a small number of selected theories and formulates research models of adoption factors. However, there is no systematic analysis of theories in this field and no consensus about theoretical frameworks. This paper addresses this limitation of the literature by critically evaluating the commonly used theories in terms of their individual suitability as lenses for explaining small firm e-business adoption. <br /

Use of extended and prepared reference objects in experimental Fourier transform X-ray holography

The use of one or more gold nanoballs as reference objects for Fourier Transform holography (FTH) is analysed using experimental soft X-ray diffraction from objects consisting of separated clusters of these balls. The holograms are deconvoluted against ball reference objects to invert to images, in combination with a Wiener filter to control noise. A resolution of ~30nm, smaller than one ball, is obtained even if a large cluster of balls is used as the reference, giving the best resolution yet obtained by X-ray FTH. Methods of dealing with missing data due to a beamstop are discussed. Practical prepared objects which satisfy the FTH condition are suggested, and methods of forming them described.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Applied Physics Letter

Halothane hepatitis with renal failure treated with hemodialysis and exchange transfusion

A 38-year-old white female, hepatitis B antigen negative, developed fluminating hepatic failure associated with oliguria and severe azotemia after two halothane anesthesia and without exposure to other hepatotoxic drugs or blood transfusions. She was treated with multiple hemodialysis and exchange blood transfusion. The combined treatment corrected the uremic abnormalities and improved her level of consciousness. The liver and kidney function gradually improved, and she made a complete recovery, the first recorded with hepatic and renal failure under these post-anesthetic conditions. Further evaluation of this combined treatment used for this patient is warranted. © 1974 The Japan Surgical Society

Nudges and other moral technologies in the context of power: Assigning and accepting responsibility

Strawson argues that we should understand moral responsibility in terms of our practices of holding responsible and taking responsibility. The former covers what is commonly referred to as backward-looking responsibility , while the latter covers what is commonly referred to as forward-looking responsibility . We consider new technologies and interventions that facilitate assignment of responsibility. Assigning responsibility is best understood as the second- or third-personal analogue of taking responsibility. It establishes forward-looking responsibility. But unlike taking responsibility, it establishes forward-looking responsibility in someone else. When such assignments are accepted, they function in such a way that those to whom responsibility has been assigned face the same obligations and are susceptible to the same reactive attitudes as someone who takes responsibility. One family of interventions interests us in particular: nudges. We contend that many instances of nudging tacitly assign responsibility to nudgees for actions, values, and relationships that they might not otherwise have taken responsibility for. To the extent that nudgees tacitly accept such assignments, they become responsible for upholding norms that would otherwise have fallen under the purview of other actors. While this may be empowering in some cases, it can also function in such a way that it burdens people with more responsibility that they can (reasonably be expected to) manage

Photoelectron imaging and theoretical investigation of bimetallic Bi1–2Ga−0–2 and Pb−1–4 cluster anions

We present the results of photoelectron velocity-map imaging experiments for the photodetachment of small negatively charged BimGan (m=1–2, n=0–2), and Pbn (n=1–4) clusters at 527 nm. The photoelectron images reveal new features along with their angular distributions in the photoelectron spectra of these clusters. We report the vertical detachment energies of the observed multiple electronic bands and their respective anisotropy parameters for the BimGan and Pbn clusters derived from the photoelectron images. Experiments on the BiGan clusters reveal that the electron affinity increases with the number of Ga atoms from n=0 to 2. The BiGa−2 cluster is found to be stable, both because of its even electron number and the high electron affinity of BiGa2. The measured photoelectron angular distributions of the BimGan and Pbn clusters are dependent on both the orbital symmetry and electron kinetic energies. Density-functional theory calculations employing the generalized gradient approximation for the exchange-correlation potential were performed on these clusters to determine their atomic and electronic structures. From the theoretical calculations, we find that the BiGa−2, Bi2Ga−3 and Bi2Ga−5 (anionic), and BiGa3, BiGa5, Bi2Ga4 and Bi2Ga6(neutral) clusters are unusually stable. The stability of the anionic and neutral Bi2Gan clusters is attributed to an even-odd effect, with clusters having an even number of electrons presenting a larger gain in energy through the addition of a Ga atom to the preceding size compared to odd electron systems. The stability of the neutral BiGa3 cluster is rationalized as being similar to BiAl3, an all-metal aromatic cluster