Evaluating eREVERSE auctions (EeRA): A research note

This eGISE network paper seeks to evaluate issues relating to the implementation of electronic reverse auctions (eRA) within local government procurement processes. The adoption of an eRA invites pre-qualified suppliers to compete with each other for a specified good or service. Consequently, there is a unique opportunity for the buyer to receive a reduced cost through the successful bidder. However, the literature identifies a number of adverse effects within these arrangements depending upon the nature of the buyer/supplier relationship. The objectives of the research involves identifying a set of business scenarios to demonstrate the impact of different eRA strategies in this respect. This will be achieved through a structured case analysis approach to enable qualitative data to be modelled through a visual toolset simulation. It is believed the outcome of the investigation will provide valuable insights into the complexities associated with the eProcurement process

Extent of e-procurement use in SMEs: A descriptive study

Although e-procurement is a complex practice, a number of existing studies, however, simplified the representation of the state of e-procurement in an organization to a binary measure. Although this is helpful to understand adoption decisions, it does not completely capture the reach and richness of the use of information technology (IT) innovations. Hence, this study explores the extent of e-procurement use in New Zealand, focusing specifically on the range of e-procurement functionalities used in the manufacturing SMEs. The e-procurement functionalities are seen from the information and transaction perspectives. A cross-sectional survey is used as a methodology for data collection. The SPSS software is used to analyse the data gathered from the 151 senior managers. Our results demonstrate that all of the functionalities, especially those that rely on commonly available technologies, are in use. Nonetheless, complex e-procurement technologies, such as e-auctions, are not common

Extent of E-Procurement Usage: An Empirical Study of Small and Medium Sized New Zealand Manufacturing Businesses

This paper describes a project which aims to investigate the extent of e-procurement usage at the organizational level and to examine the key factors that influence the extent of e-procurement usage in New Zealand (NZ) small and medium enterprises (SMEs). An integrated model is developed based on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory. It is hypothesized that the extent of e-procurement usage is influenced by the technological (i.e. relative advantage, compatibility, and complexity), organizational (i.e. top management support and employees’ knowledge), and environmental (i.e. external pressure) contexts. This study employs a quantitative research methodology using a cross-sectional survey approach and a qualitative analysis of respondents’ free comments incorporated at the end of each construct of the survey. The model is tested using data from 120 senior managers. Our results demonstrate that relative advantage, employees’ knowledge, and external pressure have a significant influence on the extent of e-procurement usage

Analysing B2B electronic procurement benefits – Information systems perspective

This paper presents electronic procurement benefits identified in four case companies. The benefits achieved in the case companies were classified according to taxonomies from the Information Systems discipline. Existing taxonomies were combined into a new taxonomy which allows evaluation of the complex e-procurement impact. Traditional financial-based methods failed to capture the nature of e-procurement benefits. In the new taxonomy, eprocurement benefits are classified using scorecard dimensions (strategic, tactical and operational), which allows the identification of areas of e-procurement impact, in addition the benefits characteristic is captured (tangible, intangible, financial and non-financial)

Think Local-Act Local: Is It Time to Slow Down the Accelerated Move to Global Marketing?

In view of the accelerated move of great corporations towards global marketing, the strategic changes of such companies raise interesting questions. Is marketing globalization reaching its limits after years of implementation? Is it time for companies to rethink their strategies and move back, like Coca-Cola, to a multi-domestic marketing approach?Global Marketing, Multi-Domestic Marketing Approach, Brand Equity, Drawbacks of Marketing Globalization, Coca-Cola

Assessing Government to Business Services Performance: The Role of Human and Organizational Factors

In an attempt to deliver better service performance to businesses and improve the interactions, many public organizations have transformed their business activities by adopting information systems. The reformations of the government-to-business have led to the evaluation of the system service performance and investigation of the factors that shape the success of the IS implementation. Hence, the purpose of the study is to assess the government-to-business service performance and explore the human and organizational factors that influence the success. The findings indicate top management support, facilitating condition, user skills and attitude play a major role in influencing the government-to-business system usage among government agencies. In addition, use of IS in the interaction between government and business has significant influence on the service performance, measured as transparency, service quality and information quality. The findings provide a new perspective for public agencies in their future e-government implementation

The use of grounded theory in educational research: exploring the application of the methodology in an investigation on e-Learning in Maltese SMEs

Emergent researchers are faced with a plethora of research methodologies to choose from for their investigations. Deciding on which approach best fits their ontological and epistemological beliefs and requirements can be a daunting task. Many, indeed, shy away from the Grounded Theory (GT) method which is often considered to be much more labour intensive than other approaches. This paper attempts to make a case for this methodology, in its constructivist form, and as it is being applied in a current case study in Maltese SMEs.peer-reviewe