A sad story: The case of constrained infrastructures caused by IT

Customs is one domain which has faced the need for information systems in a globalizing world. In customs there is a need for close collaboration between business and government in order to build robust technological infrastructures supporting processes related to export and import of goods. This has led to a move towards eCustoms. This case study reports from a longitudinal study of a Danish exporter which has faced the challenges of implementing eCustoms in its daily operations. The introduction of eCustoms to replace the existing customs infrastructure based on the Single Administrative Document (SAD) has led to new challenges for the Danish exporter such as destandardized procedures and increased reporting. The particular contribution of the study is the observed longing to the “good old paper-based days” where things were more standardized than after the digitalization of the processes. The study is interpreted through the lens of “double infrastructures”. The underlying assumption guiding the study is that eCustoms represents one infrastructure on top of another well established infrastructure of global trade

Value positions viewed through the lens of automated decision-making : The case of social services

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An analysis of IFIP TC 8 WG 8.6 : In search for a common theoretical denominator

The IFIP TC 8 WG 8.6 focuses on the transfer and diffusion of information technology. Since the working group was established in 1993 there have been a number of events where members of the group have produced contributions analyzing transfer and diffusion of IT in different settings and from different perspectives. In this paper we report the result of an analysis of the theoretical perspectives the contributors have applied in the studies. Our analysis suggests that even though there is an even distribution of factor and process oriented studies reported in proceedings the theoretical denominator for the long standing members of WG 8.6 is the process oriented approach to the study of transfer and diffusion of IT.The past and the future of information systems: 1976-2006 and beyondRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

The MTO-Framework for Implementation of E-Business Models

Venture capitalists typically require that you can explain the business model in the time it takes the lift to get to the tenth floor. Implementation typically takes years. There is a disproportionate large amount of focus on what constitutes an innovative new business model compared to implementation since most e-business failures are attributed to failures in implementation. Obviously, there is a significant lack of knowledge of factors leading to successful implementation among those responsible for practical implementation of e-business models. E-business models or IT-systems for inter-organizational purposes cannot be implemented exclusively following the traditional guidelines in the IS/IT literature. Development methods are very different from earlier, there are many more stakeholders, and the environment is much more dynamic. The paper suggests a framework highlighting important implementation factors derived from four different disciplines; venture capitalist experiences, business process reengineering, diffusion theory and system development. The contribution of the paper is a classification of implementation factors in a framework that identifies the technological, the organizational, and the market related factors relevant for implementation of e-business models

the efficacy of institutional discourse

During the mid to late 1990s, shaping diffusion of B2B e-commerce was a key priority for governments and business associations. Viewing e-commerce as the key to continuous economic growth and a vehicle for transformation to the digital economy, national action plans were formulated to accelerate the standard development and adoption of e-commerce. This chapter argues that the Danish EDI Action Plan from 1996 cemented structural problems for the ongoing adoption and diffusion of newer B2B technologies due to a discrepancy between goals and actions, imbalanced partner allocation in standard development and an overwhelming focus on the public sector despite ambitions to fuel the overall business adoption of B2B e-commerce

Globalization and E-Commerce VI: Environment and Policy in Denmark

The diffusion of e-commerce in Denmark is mainly a result of a partnership between government and industry initiatives, rather than being purely market- or government-led. While environmental factors are important enablers of e-commerce diffusion, government policy aims to be a key driving force. Although the size of government is substantial and the list of policy instruments is extensive, there is a serious question about whether the governments\u27 efforts to stimulate use within the society (business, consumers, and government itself) are sufficient to stimulate diffusion of e-commerce adequately. Our analysis questions the effectiveness of the government-led approach because of its timing, its lack of coordinated actions, and the mixed motives of government actions, in particular at the European Community level. Our analysis also found serious structural barriers such as high marginal income taxation and a limited supply of qualified labor. Contributing to the limited labor supply are strict immigration policies and late entry into the labor market (college graduates enter the job market at the mean age of 29). Adding to the structural problems is the lack of large high-tech manufacturing companies that can function as locomotives, as well as an insufficient equity and venture funding market. The Danish national e-commerce strategy is focused on rapid adoption, implementation, and exploitation of e-commerce in all sectors of the economy, rather than a production-led strategy. The official goals of the Danish government are to make IT available to all citizens and to be among the top five IT-using nations in the world. Although our analysis points to a high level of diffusion of the technologies that, in principle could enable e-commerce, actual exploitation is lagging behind the lavish display of technology

Impact analysis of e-tourism in Bhutan

Bhutan is in economic terms highly dependent of tourism. E-tourism is in this report assessed as a mean to maintain the current positive development in tourism and as a driver for extending tourism to new markets. Effective use of information, communication, distribution and transactions through the new media, such as the Internet, can lead to an increased level of economic activity in the tourism sector in Bhutan. Also, the indirect economic impacts on transportation, accommodation and the retail/ handicraft industry can be substantial. The macro-economic impacts of e-tourism in terms GDP growth, improvement of the foreign exchange balance, and increased employment are in this report described in three scenarios based on a forecasted annual increase in tourism by 15%. In the event driven scenario where the Bhutanese tourism industry manages to increase the number of bed nights per tourist and their consumption by 15% and to increase the number of international arrivals by 5%, there is a short term increase in the GDP output from the tourism sector and the dependent sectors by 22.4%, an improvement of the foreign exchange balance by 1.2 million USD, and an increase in the employment in the tourism sector and the dependent sectors by 5.1%. In the transition driven scenario the Bhutanese tourism sector manages to use the internet and other technologies to increase the number of international arrivals by 15% but the number of bed nights increases by only 5% and the consumption by 5%. In this scenario, the GDP output increases by 8.7% and employment by only 2.3%, whereas the foreign exchange balance increases by 623,000 USD. In the tourism consumption spending driven scenario, there is an increase in the number of international arrivals and bed nights by 5% only, but the consumption by tourists increases by 15%. Thus, the GDP contribution from the tourism sector and the dependent sectors increases by 15.5% and employment by 6.7%, whereas the foreign exchange balance increases by 873,000 USD. There are several challenges to be met in order for the full scale benefits of e-tourism to materialize. Effective online visa procedures and marketing training of tour operators are being implemented as part of the E-Bhutis project. Economic incentives for the tour operators and the scale of economics benefits are less visible in the current business structure. The relative limited international orientation of the tour market and the lack of international players at the Bhutan market are other inhibiting factors for e-tourism to materialize in the Bhutanese economy. This report also highlights several facilitating factors for e-tourism to flourish: the commitment by the Association of Bhutanese Tour Operators (ABTO) and the willingness of the various institutional players to facilitate a smoother visa application process

Stray Dogs and Wild Cats Tracking Down Information Systems in Government

This paper explores the body of e-government research surfaced during 1998-2003 in Web of Science and ProQuest. The search identified 158 scholarly papers. Using a classification model developed by Andersen and Danziger (1995), the predominately part of the research addresses improvements of services and products (72%), better data access (67%) and public-Government interaction (64%). Less frequent are studies on values. Comparing data with literature review on the Golden Age of transformation of the public sector (1988-2000), the authors suggest that e-government so far has not altered the balance between existing domains of applications or introduced new areas