Factors Inhibiting the Adoption of RFID Technology: Results and Implications from an Empirical Study of SMEs in Spain

This study investigates factors inhibiting the adoption of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) by SMEs in the retail,transport and logistical (RTL) sector. A predictive model for the adoption of RFID is also proposed for SMEs in Spain. Datafrom the e-Business Watch was used with a sample of 252 Spanish SMEs. Five of the seven hypotheses were significantlysupported: Perceived benefits, Suppliers’ non-compatibility, Perceived Security risks, Process/Performance Improvements(internal processes innovation activity), and firm size. It is anticipated that the findings will provide useful guidelines forpromoting the adoption of new identification technologies by SMEs

Effects of resource orchestration, strategic information exchange capabilities, and digital orientation on innovation and performance of hotel supply chains

Supply chain (SC) innovation has become a competitive source for hotels to enhance performance in the turbulent business environment. Drawing on the resource orchestration (RO) and information sharing (IS) theories, we propose an integrated theoretical framework delineating how strategic information exchange (SIE) and RO capabilities and digital orientation of a hotel foster innovation and enhance the performance of its SC. Based on PLS-SEM analysis of data collected from 281 hotels in the United Arab Emirates, our findings indicate that RO and SIE capabilities of hotels influence the performance of SCs, whereas SC innovation mediates the said relationships. However, contrary to the expectations, digital orientation did not moderate the relationships between RO and SIE capabilities and SC innovation of hotels

Effects of customer incivility on frontline employees and the moderating role of supervisor leadership style

Customer incivility toward frontline employees (FLEs) is a widespread phenomenon within tourism and hospitality industries, severely depleting the psychological resources of FLEs and delivered customer service. Drawing on the job demands-resources and conservation of resources frameworks, the current research compares the effects of the two most common forms of customer incivility on FLEs’ psychological responses and behavioral intentions (study 1). Moreover, this work explores the degree to which supervisor leadership style can mitigate the depleting effects of these two forms of customer incivility on FLEs (study 2). Findings demonstrate that FLEs’ responses to customer incivility episodes remain contingent upon supervisor’s leadership style and acknowledge that an empowering (vs. laissez-faire) leadership style can better mitigate the depleting effects of both customer incivility forms on FLEs’ role stress, rumination, retaliation and withdrawal intentions. The implications of these findings for tourism and hospitality theory and practicing managers are discussed

Creativity in the era of social networking: A case study in Tertiary Education in the Greek context.

This paper investigates the utilization of a social network tool in order to promote creativity in higher education. Buddypress was selected as a social network tool and de Bono’s “6 thinking hats” as a creativity strategy. The participants were 17 undergraduate students from a case study in a Univer-sity in Greece in the field of social sciences. Creativity was defined by Tor-rance & Ball’s [25] factors and the results were analyzed using authentic assessment and a questionnaire. The findings show that the research pro-cess was beneficial to students’ creativity and that social network tools can be utilized successfully with such a focus. These findings should be treated carefully in terms of generalizing them, as they were derived from a case study. This research could be useful to educators and researchers as a pio-neering approach in all levels of education

Strategic management of new technologies in small and medium-sized enterprises

The present doctoral thesis deals with the subject of Strategic Management of Technologies of Information technology and Communications (ICT) in Small to medium-sized Enterprises (SME), as well as the way in which the ICT influence actually the growth and the competitiveness of SME. The reason, we turned our inquiring interest in the SME lies in the common admission that small and medium sized enterprises decisively contribute to economic development, production, competitiveness, employment, as well as decentralization and social coherence. They also function as the seedbed of new enterprises, innovative products and applications, flexible business forms, servicing of local needs and a zoning plan for the distribution of employment and income. On the other hand, the existence necessity of a modern technological infrastructure is considered as an obvious value in the enterprising environment, as contributes to the increase of productivity and the competitiveness of enterprise. At the same time, new technological inventions give the necessary flexibility to SME for adapting themselves rapidly to the altering conditions of markets. PhD combines a significant literature review of relevant journal publications with primary data collected from the various SMEs. A joint methodology of fully-structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews was selected as the primary research instrument in order to gain as broad a view as possible of the issues surrounding application of ICT. A total of 100 companies was selected and letters were sent out requesting an interview, while follow-up telephone calls by the researchers negotiated access to each business. Fifty-four SMEs were positive responded. A stratified random sample of SMEs was drawn among a spectrum of SMEs in the Prefectures of Attica, Thessaloniki, Achaia and Heraclion. The empirical analysis brought out important statistical elements in the use of ICT for the various categories of SME in the four sectors of economic activity. Also, important statistical hypotheses were tested for the verification of the relationship-dependence between the ICTs and SMEs. The classification of ICT and the creation of new organizational forms (ICT-organizational forms, which have been come from the type of ICT that have been adopted by the SME) offered us the opportunity for further statistical tests as well as the capability for the creation of three models. The first model examines the probability of small firm’s development through the effective-efficient use of ICT (The potential for development of the SMEs was evaluated through a model of binomial logistic regression). The second model examines the influence of ICT-Organizational Forms and Industry Sectors on ICT-Investments, and, the third model tests the influence of ICT-Organizational Forms & ICT-Strategy (SMEs, which have set up a specific strategy for the adoption and use of ICTs) on ICT-Investments in SME sector. (The influence of ICT-Organizational Forms was evaluated through a model of a two-way Analysis of Variance-ANOVA).Η παρούσα διδακτορική διατριβή πραγματεύεται το θέμα της επιχειρησιακής στρατηγικής των Τεχνολογιών Πληροφορικής και Επικοινωνιών (ΤΠΕ) στις Μικρομεσαίες Επιχειρήσεις (ΜΜΕ), καθώς επίσης και τον τρόπο με τον οποίο οι ΤΠΕ επηρεάζουν στην πραγματικότητα την ανάπτυξη και την ανταγωνιστικότητα των ΜΜΕ. Ο λόγος που στρέψαμε το ερευνητικό ενδιαφέρον μας στις ΜΜΕ έγκειται στη κοινή παραδοχή ότι συμβάλλουν αποφασιστικά στην οικονομική ανάπτυξη, την παραγωγή, την ανταγωνιστικότητα, την απασχόληση καθώς επίσης στην αποκέντρωση και την κοινωνική συνοχή. Επίσης, λειτουργούν ως φυτώρια νέων επιχειρήσεων, καινοτόμων ειδών και εφαρμογών, ευέλικτων επιχειρηματικών σχημάτων, εξυπηρέτησης τοπικών αναγκών καθώς και χωροταξικής κατανομής θέσεων απασχόλησης και εισοδήματος. Από την άλλη, η αναγκαιότητα ύπαρξης μιας σύγχρονης τεχνολογικής υποδομής στο επιχειρηματικό περιβάλλον θεωρείται πλέον μία αυτονόητη αξία, καθώς συμβάλλει στην αύξηση της παραγωγικότητας και της ανταγωνιστικότητας μιας επιχείρησης, ενώ, ταυτοχρόνως της παρέχει την απαιτούμενη ευελιξία για να προσαρμόζεται στις ταχέως μεταβαλλόμενες συνθήκες της αγοράς. Για την βιβλιογραφική ανασκόπηση του θέματος βασιστήκαμε σε μεγάλο αριθμό επιστημονικών μελετών καθώς και στη μελέτη σχετικών ερευνών με το αντικείμενο της έρευνάς μας. Η συλλογή των πρωτογενών στοιχείων πραγματοποιήθηκε με τη μέθοδο των προσωπικών συνεντεύξεων και με τη χρήση δομημένου ερωτηματολόγιου στο χώρο εργασίας των ερωτώμενων. Από τις εκατό ΜΜΕ που προσεγγίσαμε, αποκρίθηκαν θετικά για συμμετοχή στην έρευνας μας οι πενήντα τέσσερις (54). Η επιλογή του δείγματος έγινε με τυχαία στρωματοποιημένη δειγματοληψία στους Νομούς Αττικής, Θεσσαλονίκης, Αχαΐας και Ηρακλείου. Η εμπειρική ανάλυση ανέδειξε σημαντικά στατιστικά στοιχεία για την χρήση των ΤΠΕ στις διάφορες κατηγορίες των ΜΜΕ και στους τέσσερις κλάδους οικονομικής δραστηριότητας που έλαβαν μέρος στην έρευνα μας. Επίσης, σημαντικές στατιστικές υποθέσεις ελέγχτηκαν για την εξακρίβωση της σχέσης-εξάρτησης μεταξύ των ΤΠΕ και των διαφορετικών κατηγοριών και των κλάδων των ΜΜΕ. Εν συνεχεία, η ταξινόμηση των ΤΠΕ καθώς και η δημιουργία των νέων οργανωτικών δομών (ΤΠΕ-Οργανωτικές δομές – οργανωτικές δομές που προέκυψαν ανάλογα με το είδος των ΤΠΕ που έχουν υιοθετηθεί από τις ΜΜΕ) μας έδωσαν την ευκαιρία για περαιτέρω στατιστικούς ελέγχους καθώς και την δυνατότητα δημιουργίας τριών υποδειγμάτων, εκ των οποίων, το πρώτο εξετάζει την πιθανότητα ανάπτυξη των ΜΜΕ μέσω των ΤΠΕ, το δεύτερο υπόδειγμα εξετάζει την επίδραση των ΤΠΕ-οργανωτικών δομών και των κλάδων οικονομικής δραστηριότητας στις επενδύσεις σε ΤΠΕ από τις ΜΜΕ και το τρίτο υπόδειγμα εξετάζει την επίδραση από την ύπαρξη συγκεκριμένης στρατηγικής υιοθέτησης και χρήσης των ΤΠΕ και των νέων ΤΠΕ-οργανωτικών δομών στις επενδύσεις σε ΤΠΕ από τις ΜΜΕ