Lessons learnt from the broadband diffusion in South Korea and the UK: Implications for future government intervention in technology diffusion

Governments around the globe are rapidly introducing e-government initiatives with the role of the internet being regarded as pertinent. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) offer the capacity to an improved internet. Broadband technology is a form of ICT that is currently being adopted and diffused in many countries. In this paper, we outline how the role of the government can sustain broadband adoption. We use a framework developed by King et al. regarding institutional actions related to IT diffusion and examine the institutional actions taken by the South Korean government (hereafter referred as Korea) and we compare them with relevant policies pursued in Britain (hereafter referred as UK). We demonstrate that a comparison between the IT policies of the two countries allows research to extract the 'success factors' in government intervention in supporting technology diffusion, in order to render favourable results if applied elsewhere

Evaluating global e-government sites: A view using web diagnostics tools

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2004 The AuthorsSeveral governments across the world have embraced the digital revolution and continue to take advantage of the information and communication facilities offered by the Internet to offer public services. Conversely, citizens’ awareness and expectations of Internet based online-public-services have also increased in recent times. Although the numbers of the different national e-Government web portals have rapidly increased in the last three years, the success of these portals will largely depend on their accessibility, quality and privacy. This paper reports the results of an evaluative study of a cross-section of e-Government portals from these three perspectives, using a common set of performance metrics and Web diagnostic engines. Results show that not only are there wide variations in the spectrum of information and services provided by these portals, but that significant work still needs to be undertaken in order to make the portals examples of ‘best practice’ e-Government services

Business process re-engineering (BPR): The REBUS approach

Many organisations undertake business process re-engineering (BPR) projects in order to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Although this approach can result in significant improvements and benefits, there are high risks associated with radical changes of business processes and the failure rate of BPR projects is reported to be as high as 70%. The Centre for Re-engineering Business Processes (REBUS) was established at Brunel University to provide a multidisciplinary environment for research into BPR and its success factors. This paper describes the REBUS approach to research concerning the success of BPR projects and presents examples of some of the projects carried out

Uncertainty Avoidance and Technology Acceptance in Emerging Economies: A Comparative Study

Technology adoption is affected by many factors, including culture. The aim of this research in progress paper is to further clarify and explain the role of culture when considering the acceptance of Information and Communication Technologies in emerging economies. A particular cultural dimension–Uncertainty Avoidance–has been identified as a key element moderating technology adoption. Our results indicate that emerging economies generally have a higher level of uncertainty avoidance. Focusing on this angle, we review relevant information communication technology literature, and provide guidelines for emerging economies to accelerate adoption of new information and communication technologies

Assessing the UK policies for broadband adoption

Broadband technology has been introduced to the business community and the public as a rapid way of exploiting the Internet. The benefits of its use (fast reliable connections, and always on) have been widely realised and broadband diffusion is one of the items at the top of the agenda for technology related polices of governments worldwide. In this paper an examination of the impact of the UK government’s polices upon broadband adoption is undertaken. Based on institutional theory a consideration of the manipulation of supply push and demand pull forces in the diffusion of broadband is offered. Using primary and secondary data sources, an analysis of the specific institutional actions related to IT diffusion as pursued by the UK government in the case of broadband is provided. Bringing the time dimension into consideration it is revealed that the UK government has shifted its attention from supply push-only strategies to more interventional ones where the demand pull forces are also mobilised. It is believed that this research will assist in the extraction of the “success factors” in government intervention that support the diffusion of technology with a view to render favourable results if applied to other national settings

Exploring the Issues of Security, Privacy and Trust in eGovernment: UK Citizens\u27 Perspective

Recognising the potential that Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs)2 offer for competitiveness and the effectiveness of communities, Governments across the globe are striving to provide online products and services3 to all user groups. There are various definitions of e-government within the literature, and the one being applied in this research is: Egovernment is the application of technology to enable, enhance and improve access to the delivery of government services for the benefit of citizens, employees and enterprise (Silcock, 2001) Whilst there are diverse definitions of e-government, there are also variations in the classification of e-government, each dependent upon the relation between the various stakeholders. Bélanger and Hiller (2005) classified e-government into six categories: Government Delivering Services to Individuals (G2IS), Government to Individuals as a Part of the Political Process (G2IP), Government to Business as a Citizen (G2BC), Government to Business in the Marketplace (G2BMKT), Government to Employees (G2E) and Government to Government (G2G). G2IS involves communication and services between government and citizens (G2C); G2IP involves the relationship that the government has with citizens as a part of the democratic process, such as e-voting. G2BC involves organizations paying taxes or filing reports, and G2BMKT focuses on business transactions between government and businesses, such as e-procurement. Electronic interactions between Government and Citizen can also be classified as a ‘Government to Citizen’ (G2C) model of eGovernment (Beynon-Davies: 2007). This is also referred to as the ‘Transactional’ stage of eGovernment, where the interaction can occur with an agency (NAO, 2007). This interaction involves the receipt or dissemination of information, the completion or submission of a form, the sending of payments, the inspection of an account, or more complicated sets of dealings. It is such transactions that can be perceived to be of sensitive nature for citizens and users are reluctant to conduct transactions, with concerns ranging from: payment security, not understanding how to integrate information and customization impacting their privacy (Belanger & Hiller; 2005). This leads onto security and privacy and their possible effects on transactional stage adoption. In this research paper the aim is to explore how UK is dealing with the issues of security, privacy and trust when adopting and using online government products or services. This is pertinent at this time as the government is taking large steps to increase adoption and usage amongst citizens. By undertaking this research, several contributions are made: Governments around the globe, including, UK are increasingly seeking success at e-Government adoption and usage and such research assists policymakers in obtaining a better understanding. For industry, private sector organizations are partners in the provision of the infrastructure and involved in many other implementation and adoption e-Government projects and research such as this allows them to consider these factors in more depth. For academics, security, privacy and trust are issues of immense importance and research such as this allows academics to become more aware of these topics

Living lab methodology as an assessment tool for mass customization

Mass customization has been regularly used as a growth strategy during the last decades. The strength of this approach stems from offering products adjusted to customers' individual needs, resulting in added value. The latter resides in the word 'custom,' implying unique and utilitarian products allowing for self-expression of the consumer. Researchers and practitioners however predominantly focused on the company's internal processes to optimize mass customization, often resulting in market failure. As a response, a framework with five factors determining the success of mass customization was developed. Additionally, Living Lab methodologies have been used to improve innovation contexts that were too closed. This paper will fill a gap in the literature by demonstrating that the integration of the five-factor framework in the Living Lab methodology is well suited to determine the possible success or failure of a mass-customized product in the market by means of a single case study

The Interrelationship and Effect of Trust and Strong Cultures in Setting information Systems Security Goals

This paper investigates the interrelationship and effect of trust and culture on the level of goal setting within the context of information systems security. In doing so, it explores and discusses the concepts of trust and strong culture and seeks to demonstrate their importance in setting efficiently information systems security goals. The paper contributes to interpretive information systems research with the study of goal setting in a security management context and its grounding within an interpretive epistemology

Developing e-Services for Lagos State: Understanding the impact of Cultural Perceptions and Working Practices

The development of e-services is not only a technological phenomenon, but involves organizational and social complexities. In this paper, we build upon an interpretive case study, and examine Lagos State\u27s initiative, in order to showcase how the implementation of public sector e-services have been affected by organizational and cultural perceptions and the working practices of individuals in a developing country. This research provides insights for international organizations that determine the status of countries by providing online access, products and services to their citizens, and to Internet Service Providers who pursue new territories for the provision of new products and services. It also informs governments around the globe about cultural perceptions and working practices, thereby helping them determine their developmental progress and decide their future endeavors