Determinants of Satisfaction of Electronic Commerce Implementation: Some Evidence from the Small and Medium Sized Enteprizes

This study surveys the perceptions and experiences of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the implementation of Internet-based Electronic Commerce (EC). This paper proposes a framework of EC implementation success for SMEs. Results of preliminary interviews of small businesses in Australia and Singapore show that respondents’ perceptions of Internet-based EC are pre-dominantly positive. However, a further analysis was carried out regressing overall satisfaction on the 19 influencing factors of EC. It was found that 5 factors – observability, communication channel, customer pressure, supplier pressure, and perceived governmental support make a significant contribution to the adoption of Internet-based EC in Australia; and only 3 factors – firm size, perceived readiness, observability in Singapore

Business process management for SMEs: an exploratory study of implementation factors for the Australian wine industry

Gartner EXPPremier (2005) identified Business Process Management (BPM) as the number one business priority and building Business Process Capability as a major challenge for senior executives within the comingyears. The focus of BPM in practice and related research has been its application in large organisations. The general value proposition of BPM, however, is also of significance for small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs). SMEs within the wine industry have only recently begun to apply BPM principles to their business. The main motivating factors for this business improvement effort is a need to cope with consolidation trends and the global grape glut, which are forcing wine businesses to increase operational efficiency. The wine industry has been selected as a case study for this research not only due to its local significance, its growth driven byglobalisation and its contribution to the economy, but also the relative immaturity in terms of establishing concepts of a process-oriented organisation. This study aims to explore and structure the major issues of BPM adoption and implementation as the first such research initiative for SMEs in the wine industry. The research was conducted in Western Australia and involved qualitative data collection including interviews and contentanalysis of existing documentation. The study shows that the lack of financial resources, time, and knowledge of BPM are the major factors inhibiting BPM implementation for SMEs in the Australian wine industry

An Empirical Study of Factors that Influence the Extent of Deployment of Electronic Commerce for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises in Australia

This study surveys the perceptions and experiences of Australian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the adoption and implementation of Internet-based Electronic Commerce (EC) as seen from the perspective of the extent of deployment. The extent of deployment is one of the major component of implementation success and one of the most important dimensions. With a sample of 115 small businesses in Australia, this paper uses regression modelling to explore and establish the factors that are related to the extent of deployment. The analysis was carried out on the 19 influencing factors of EC and 7 factors – perceived relative advantage, trialability, observability, variety of information sources, communication amount, competitive pressure, and non-trading institutional influences, were found to make a significant contribution to the extent of deployment of Internet-based EC

Business Process Management for SMEs: An Exploratory Study of Implementation Issues in the Western Australian Wine Industry

Business Process Management (BPM) has been identified as the number one business priority and building Business Process Capability is seen as a major challenge for senior executives within the coming years (Gartner, 2005). The focus of BPM in practice and related research has been its application in large organisation. The general value proposition of BPM, however, is also of significance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs within the wine industry have only recently begun to apply BPM principles to their business. The main motivating factor for this business improvement effort is a need to cope with consolidation trends and the global grape glut, which is forcing wine businesses to increase operational efficiency. The wine industry has been selected as a case study for this research not only due to its local significance, its growth driven by globalisation and its contribution to the economy, but also the relative immaturity in terms of establishing concepts of a process-oriented organisation. This study aims to explore and structure the major issues of BPM adoption and implementation as the first research initiative for SMEs in the wine industry

Antecedents of the Intention to Disclose Personal Information on the Internet: A Review and Model Extension

In order to reap the benefits which the Internet offers, users often have to provide personal information over the Web. Data types that are frequently required by online vendors include names, mailing and e-mail addresses, telephone numbers or credit card numbers. Previous research has identified several antecedents which influence users‟ decisions on providing personal details over the Web. This paper adds to the existing research by scrutinizing the concept of personal information and positing an individual\u27s perceived risk of personal information as an antecedent of information disclosure. The results of an empirical survey show that users differentiate between various types of personal data according to the risk of privacy intrusion. Perceived risk of personal information turns out to be a stronger predictor for the intention to provide personal information online than trust in the Internet or in the online vendor

Major Issues in Business Process Management: An Expert Perspective

The results presented in this report form a part of a larger global study on the major issues in BPM. Only one part of the larger study is reported here, viz. interviews with BPM experts. Interviews of BPM tool vendors together with focus groups involving user organizations, are continuing in parallel and will set the groundwork for the identification of BPM issues on a global scale via a survey (including a Delphi study). Through this multi-method approach, we identify four distinct sets of outcomes. First, as is the focus of this report, we identify the BPM issues as perceived by BPM experts. Second, the research design allows us to gain insight into the opinions of organisations deploying BPM solutions. Third, an understanding of organizations’ misconceptions of BPM technologies, as confronted by BPM tool vendors is obtained. Last, we seek to gain an understanding of BPM issues on a global scale, together with knowledge of matters of concern. This final outcome is aimed to produce an industry driven research agenda which will inform practitioners and in particular, the research community world-wide on issues and challenges that are prevalent or emerging in BPM and related areas

Essays on brain drain and tax evasion in a growth context

Tuzharova IK. Essays on brain drain and tax evasion in a growth context. Bielefeld, Germany: University of Bielefeld; 2013.This dissertation expands the discussion about the brain gain theory in two ways (according to the brain gain theory a higher skilled migration rate may lead to a rise in human capital accumulation of the domestic country because agents have ex-ante a larger incentive to invest in education in order to be eligible to migrate). First, we introduce occupational choice in a brain drain setting letting agents be able to become (risk-bearing) entrepreneurs in the domestic country. In this way we want to test whether the brain gain theory holds for the case where a higher (skilled) migration probability leads to a lower entrepreneurship rate. A lower entrepreneurship rate, on the other hand, may erode economic development according to earlier studies. Second, we include the possibility of agents to invest in physical capital in a brain drain setting. If economic individuals are subject to (relaxed) borrowing constraints with respect to consumption, we test whether they have still an incentive to invest more in education when the brain drain rate rises (as the brain gain theory predicts). We manage to expand the tax evasion theory in two respects as well. First, we suggest that the existence of a shadow economy sector (evading taxation) can be put down to the risk (in terms of ex-ante unknown abilities) which (skilled) agents have to bear with respect to their earnings in the formal sector. In this setting we examine how sensitive are the share of the informal sector, the growth rate and the social welfare of the economy to changes in the risk measure and changes in the usually quoted policy measures (the tax rate, the penalty rate, the audit rate). Second, we explain the relatively high pollution level in less developed countries with the existence of environmental tax evasion, which complements corruption. In this model we test the influence of the environmental tax rate, the penalty rate, the audit rate and the corruption costs on the level of pollution, the growth rate and the welfare of the economy

Centre-level variation in dental treatment and oral health and individual- and area-level predictors of oral health in 5-year-old children with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate:The Cleft Care UK study. Part 3

Objectives: To explore centre-level variation in fluoride treatment and oral health outcomes and to examine the association of individual- and area-level risk factors with dental decay in Cleft Care UK (CCUK). Setting: Two hundred and sixty-eight 5-year-old British children with non-syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). Materials and Methods: Data on caries and developmental defects of enamel (DDE) were collected. The child's history of fluoride ingestion and postcode was used to assess exposure to fluoridated water. Centre-level variation in fluoride exposure and caries was examined using hierarchical regression. Poisson regression was used to estimate the association between individual- and area-level fluoride exposures and outcome. Results: Children had high levels of caries, rampant caries and DDE. There was no evidence of variation between centres in the number of children with caries or rampant decay. There was evidence of variation in prescription of fluoride tablets and varnish and the type of toothpaste used. Area level of deprivation was associated with a higher risk of dental caries—risk ratio (RR) in the lowest quartile versus the rest was 1.43 (95% CI 1.13 to 1.81). Use of fluoride tablets and varnish was associated with higher risk of caries—RR 1.73 (95% CI 1.29 to 2.32) and RR 1.33 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.70), respectively, adjusted for age, sex and deprivation. Conclusion: The association with use of fluoride tablets and varnish probably reflects reverse causality but indicates the need for early preventative interventions in children with UCLP

Multimodal integrated sensor platform for rapid biomarker detection

Precision metabolomics and quantification for cost-effective, rapid diagnosis of disease are key goals in personalized medicine and point-of-care testing. Presently, patients are subjected to multiple test procedures requiring large laboratory equipment. Microelectronics has already made modern computing and communications possible by integration of complex functions within a single chip. As More than Moore technology increases in importance, integrated circuits for densely patterned sensor chips have grown in significance. Here, we present a versatile single CMOS chip forming a platform to address personalized needs through on-chip multimodal optical and electrochemical detection that will reduce the number of tests that patients must take. The chip integrates interleaved sensing subsystems for quadruple-mode colorimetric, chemiluminescent, surface plasmon resonance and hydrogen ion measurements. These subsystems include a photodiode array and a single photon avalanche diode array, with some elements functionalized to introduce a surface plasmon resonance mode. The chip also includes an array of ion sensitive field effect transistors. The sensor arrays are distributed uniformly over an active area on the chip surface in a scalable and modular design. Bio-functionalization of the physical sensors yields a highly selective simultaneous multiple-assay platform in a disposable format. We demonstrate its versatile capabilities through quantified bioassays performed on-chip for glucose, cholesterol, urea and urate, each within their naturally occurring physiological range