ICE-B 2009 Abstracts

Area 1 - Communication and Software Technologies and Architectures
Full Papers Short Papers
Area 2 - Web and Mobile Business Systems and Services
Full Papers Short Papers
Area 3 - Business and Social Applications
Full Papers Short Papers

Area 1 - Communication and Software Technologies and Architectures

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 80
Title:

GIS Model for Effective Police Department's Performance
Authors:

Balqies Sadoun
Abstract: Police department's (PD's) performance has become more and more important due to the increase in crimes and their fast spreading. In order to allow improved police services, modern technologies need to be utilized to serve this goal. In this work we are employing a Geographic Information System (GIS) to permit efficient planning, informed decision making and optimal performance, especially in emergencies. GIS creates an efficient database system that is easy to manage, manipulate, analyze, present and update for in action policeman as well as for a planner. All information is provided accurately and it is organized and located geographically in a timely manner. GIS provides a number of specialized tools to help dispatchers collect and relay all kind of information to the officers on the scene of crime, or in a natural disaster when help is needed desperately. The locations of schools, hospitals, gas stations or neighborhoods with different socioeconomic status influences the patterns and rate of incidents (road accident, fire, crime, burglar…etc). Hence, using GIS technology is a must if we need to save time and life. Maps and analysis results provided by GIS can play a major role in reducing crime and improving the effectiveness of the Police activities. In this work, we built a GIS Model for the police stations in the city of Amman, Jordan, as an application to improve their efficiency, especially in emergencies. GIS allows informed decision making and better planning in different ways: relocation, redistribution, initiation of PD's etc. Multiple data sources were used to enrich the built GIS including available and field collected data (remotely sensed data with medium and high resolutions, LandSat ETM+ IKONOS images, and ground control points measured using global positioning systems etc.). A transportation network model was included to help in promoting the efficiency and to employ the state of the arts technologies and local based services in the PD’s work. We analyzed the current locations of PD stations (we call them here PDs) and proposed better locations as well as proposed new ones [1-4].
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 44
Title:

ELMO: AN INTEROPERABILITY ONTOLOGY FOR THE ELECTRICITY MARKET
Authors:

Panos Alexopoulos, Kostas Kafentzis and Christoforos Zoumas
Abstract: The liberalization of the electricity market in the European Union is a process of significant importance that aims at creating an efficient deregulated internal electricity market within the Union. An important challenge towards that end is definitely the development of effective market mechanisms and regulations that will comprise the operational framework of the market. Equally important, however, we consider the development of an interoperability framework that will enable the effective and unproblematic interaction between the market participants at both human and system level. Towards that direction we propose in this paper the Electricity Market Ontology (ELMO), an ontological model that provides a shared, common understanding of concepts and procedures regarding the electricity market operation. ELMO has been developed for the Hellenic Transmission System Operator (HTSO) and it is currently used by the organization for providing intelligent information access services to people interested in the market.
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Paper Nr: 54
Title:

Privacy-Preserving Computation of Distributed Association Rules Using Mobile Agents
Authors:

Gongzhu Hu and Shaozhen Ding
Abstract: In this paper, we propose an agent-based approach to mine association rules from data sets that are distributed across multiple locations while preserving the privacy of local data. This approach does not require access to the actual data local to each individual site; rather, it relies on the local systems to find association rules and carries the partial results from site to site. In this way, the privacy of local data is preserved. We present a structural model that includes several types of mobile agents with specific functionalities and communication scheme to accomplish the task. These agents implement the privacy-preserving algorithms for distributed association rule mining.
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Paper Nr: 76
Title:

ON PRIVACY IN BUSINESS PROCESSES Observing Delegation of Personal Data by Using Digital Watermarking

Authors:

Sven Wohlgemuth, Isao Echizen, Noboru Sonehara and Günter Müller
Abstract: Privacy in business processes for personalized services is currently amatter of trust. Business processes require the delegation of personal data and users are not able to control their delegation and so their usage. Existing privacy-enhancing technologies consider access control but not usage control of personal data. Current work on usage control considers especially formalization of usage rules, so called obligations, and their enforcement by using mechanisms of Digital Rights Management, secure logging of access requests for an ex post enforcement, and the non-linkable delegation of access rights to personal data. However, either these enforcement mechanisms do not consider a delegation of personal data or they assume trustworthy data consumers or data providers respectively. We investigate on digital watermarking in order to observe the enforcement of obligations for a delegation of personal data without mandatory trusting in service providers.
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Area 2 - Web and Mobile Business Systems and Services

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 23
Title:

OPTIMIZING PRICE LEVELS IN E-COMMERCE APPLICATIONS – AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
Authors:

Burkhardt Funk
Abstract: Price dispersion in the Internet is a well studied phenomenon. It enables companies to adjust prices to a level appropriate to their strategy. This paper deals with question how Internet retailers should do so. The discussed method optimizes short- and long-term profitability by determining the exact demand curve. The method involves the application of empirical price tests. For this purpose visitors of an Internet retailer are divided in statistically identical subgroups. Using the A-B testing method different prices are shown to each subgroup and the conversion rate as a function of price is calculated. We describe the organizational requirements, the technical approach, and the statistical analysis applied to determine the price optimizing the per-order profit and the average customer lifetime value. A field study carried out with a large Internet retailer is presented and shows that the company was able to optimize a specific price component and thus increase the contribution margin per order by about 7% while at the same time the customer lifetime value could be enhanced by 13%. We conclude that the discussed method could be applied to answer further research questions such as the temporal variation of demand curves.
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Paper Nr: 35
Title:

APPLICATION OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS USING KNOWLEDGE HUB AND RFID TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTHCARE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE UK AND CHINA
Authors:

Anthony Atkins, Lizong Zhang, Hongnian Yu and Weiya Miao
Abstract: The paper describes an intelligent system using knowledge hub integrated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and digital imagery in the management of healthcare wastes. The paper outlines the definition of healthcare waste both in the United Kingdom and China together with recent changes in the classification of this waste in the last few years with regard to clinical, laboratory testing, biological waste etc. Statistical information regarding the quantity of healthcare wastes are outlines indicating with predicted interpretation of future of waste production and the issues involved in traditional incineration and land fill operations. The paper describes a knowledge hub to provide monitoring, tracking and verification systems to assist government agents in providing audited records for anticipated legislation and public scrutiny. The system using rule based intelligence systems linked to developed simulation software also provides logistical support via what- if scenarios.
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Paper Nr: 40
Title:

A REFERENCE MODEL FOR ANALYZING MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS’ STRATEGIC POSITIONING
Authors:

Antonio Ghezzi and Andrea Rangone
Abstract: The revolutionary changes the Mobile Telecommunications Industries is going through are forcing the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to radically reshape their strategies, according to the newly emerged market’s value drivers. The purpose of this study is to provide an original reference model for supporting the analysis of MNOs’ strategic positioning. Employing the multiple exploratory case studies research methodology, the study identifies five dimensions or classification variables - Content creation & innovation management, Mobile Advertising integration, Communities and Social Networking focus, Charging & billing systems leverage and Network infrastructure management – through which describing and assessing an MNO’s strategic positioning; consequently the model is applied to the four Italian operators, so to obtain a validation as well as a picture of the adopted strategic positioning. The findings show two alternative and quite contradictory “strategic extremes” the operators are swinging between seem to be emerging: the Pure Carrier positioning, and the Media Company positioning. In between, the Smart Pipe positioning sees the operator making the most out of its assets, gaining the role of the third parties’ offer enabler.
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Paper Nr: 41
Title:

THE PROCESS OF BUSINESS MODEL DESIGN IN A DYNAMIC CONTEXT: THE CASE OF MOBILE MIDDLEWARE TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS
Authors:

Antonio Ghezzi and Filippo Renga
Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to explore the evolution of a company’s business model, analyzing how external changes due to the market turbulence can determine the reshaping of the previously adopted model. Considering the case of a Mobile Middleware Technology Provider (MMTP), the study assesses how the market fluidity impacts on a firm’s approach towards business modeling, by comparing the business model designed right before the company’s market entry, to the one present after two years of activity within the industry. Employing the longitudinal single case study methodology, the research identifies which are the most critical choices to be made at a business modeling level for a MMTP, and shows how these parameters can be combined to constitute a thorough configuration; afterwards, a comparison is carried out between the initial and the current business models adopted, so to identify any change in the parameters prioritization and in the approach towards business modeling as a whole. The research findings allow to provide a business model parameters reference model for MMTPs. Moreover, the longitudinal comparison makes evident that not only the market’s characteristics, but also the initial strategic approach towards the new business, strongly affect the firm’s business model definition process.
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Paper Nr: 60
Title:

A taxonomy schema for Web 2.0 and Mobile 2.0 applications
Authors:

Marcelo Cortimiglia, Filippo Renga and Andrea Rangone
Abstract: In recent times, much attention has been given to the Web 2.0 phenomenon and related notions such as Social Computing, Social Media and User-Generated Media. However, whenever Web 2.0 is mentioned, it is usually surrounded by vague and ambiguous concepts and definitions, mostly a complex mixture of technical and business aspects. This paper proposes to shed a light in such a fuzzy environment by proposing a taxonomy schema for Web 2.0 applications using as main categorizing criteria the type and characteristics of interaction permitted or facilitated by the applications. The proposed taxonomy schema is then extended to the Mobile 2.0 scenario by discussing the possible implications of mobility attributes.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 24
Title:

TOWARDS DEPENDENCY MANAGEMENT IN SERVICE COMPOSITIONS
Authors:

Matthias Winkler and Alexander Schill
Abstract: Business services are a valuable asset to be traded on internet service marketplaces. While they are offered via the internet their execution often involves manual steps. The provisioning of services is regulated by service level agreements (SLA). The composition of business services enables the creation of innovative business processes which can be offered as services again. Selling these service compositions brings along challenges for handling two important tasks, namely the monitoring of SLA violations and SLA renegotiation. Both tasks are challenging because they affect not only a single service but multiple stakeholders of the composition. In this paper we discuss the problem of dependencies between services in compositions based on a scenario from the logistics domain. Dependencies between services are problematic because they lead to situations where the SLA violation of one service affects the provisioning of other services. Similarly, the renegotiation of the SLA of one service has effects on the SLAs of other services. We present a conceptual architecture and an approach towards a solution for handling service dependencies.
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Paper Nr: 25
Title:

AN EXPLORATORY INVESTIGATION OF E-BUSINESS CONSTRAINTS AMONG LARGE ORGANIZATIONS IN PORTUGAL
Authors:

Elisabete Morais, José Pires and Ramiro Gonçalves
Abstract: It is well recognized that e-business supports all parts of an organization’s value chain, and offer valuable competitive advantages to firms. It is imperative for an organization to identify potential constraints to e-business in order to minimize the risk derived from its e-business initiative. Hence, in this paper, we explore a range of constraints that the literature suggests influences e-business evolution, so that organizations could be better equipped in anticipating any difficulties while in progress through their e-business initiatives. Thirteen hypotheses were formulated and tested. Questionnaires were applied to investigate the research problem. It was administered to 1000 managing directors of the biggest (according to the amount of business) Portuguese enterprises. Results suggest that organizational constraints are more critical, such as, conflict with traditional trading partners, conflict with traditional business and e-business initiatives, reengineering business processes and resistance to change, among other.
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Paper Nr: 27
Title:

USING MOBILE AGENTS TO SUPPORT M-COMMERCE
Authors:

Xining Li
Abstract: Mobile agents are self-contained processes, dispatched by their principal, roaming the Internet to access data and services, and carrying out their decision-making and problem-solving tasks remotely. Mobile commerce (M-commerce), the traditional E-commerce combined with mobile devices and wireless networks, is likely to become a major business model in the near future. Due to the flexibility and mobility, mobile agent based M-commerce can complement the existing client/server based E-commerce model to enable consumers to conduct business without time and space restrictions. For the purpose of applying mobile agents to various internet applications, we have implemented an experimental mobile agent system infrastructure that provides programming languages and virtual machines, and also integrates security, service discovery and database access functionalities. The goal of this research is to deploy the existing system infrastructure for M-commerce applications. We hope that the proposed research will benefit mobile consumers who wish to access a wide choice of products and services on an anywhere and anytime basis.
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Paper Nr: 29
Title:

CREATING VALUE USING MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IN BRAZIL
Authors:

Kelly Alvarenga, Claudio Luis D. Oliveira and Fernando B. Laurindo
Abstract: The growth of the mobile telephony in Brazil have been enabled the development of mobile business applications. These solutions create some strategic opportunities for Brazilian companies to mitigate structural gaps using a new platform to connect an expressive reach of customers. The aim of this research is to verify: (a) the possibility of achieve a competitive advantage developing an innovative mobile application (b) the opportunity to create sustainable strategic value with this solution. If the issues “a” and “b” were truth, the mobile is contributing to an unique strategic positioning for airline company analysed on case study.
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Paper Nr: 46
Title:

OPTIMIZATION OF DATAFLOW ON MOBILE DEVICES IN INFORMATION SYSTEM OF HOME CARE AGENCIES
Authors:

Ondrej Krejcar, Dalibor Janckulik and Leona Motalova
Abstract: The paper deals with a problem of inefficient internal hardware like bus, memory or CPU of wireless connected portable mobile devices and a possibility to solve this problem by a prebuffering of selected artifacts. The basics are in a model of data prebuffering based system enhancement for locating and tracking users inside the buildings. User location is used for data prebuffering and pushing information from server to user’s PDA. All server data is saved as artifacts (together) with its position information in building. On mobile device the SQL Server CE database is used as a cache. Finally the new way to manage the artifacts throw the framework is described and tested. The prebuffering method is described in context of use on real case of information system of home care agencies.
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Paper Nr: 56
Title:

Prevention of Location-Spoofing - A Survey on Different Methods to Prevent the Manipulation of Locating-Technologies
Authors:

Michael Decker
Abstract: There are many different locating technologies to determine a mobile device's current position. Examples for such technologies are the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS), the cell-ID method in mobile phone networks or WLAN-based approaches. These technologies are the enabler of so called Location-based Services (LBS): LBS are services to be used with mobile handheld-computers like PDAs or smartphones that evaluate a mobile user's position. When locating-technologies are discussed in the LBS community, the focus is often on the accuracy of the calculated location whereas the resistance to manipulation attempts by the possessor of the mobile device or by third-parties is almost never considered. But there are examples of LBS where users or external attackers might have an incentive to manipulate the locating system. This is termed as location spoofing. This article presents a survey of different technical approaches to prevent or at least to detect location spoofing.
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Paper Nr: 70
Title:

ETRANSFORMATION JOURNEY FOR SMES

Authors:

Ana Hol and Athula Ginige
Abstract: To survive in a globally competitive environment business need to change their process and make use of information systems to make processes more effective and well integrated. A change in the globally competitive environment requires businesses to modify and electronically transform. This process, eTransformation, requires businesses to change along a number of dimensions mainly Strategy, Structure, Tasks and Processes and IT Tools and Systems. Our study indicates that successful eTransformation requires incremental progression within dimensions across stages. First SMEs require changes in organisational Strategy – company environment, their goals and objectives as well as their products, services and operations; then Structure – company departments and divisions followed by Business Tasks and Processes – automation, streamlining and integration. Only after the above three dimensions have been achieved, companies can change along IT Tools and Systems Dimension which involves selecting appropriate tools and system as well as assuring web presence, Internet use and security. To identify how SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) are planning to eTransform we interviewed 17 SMEs. Our study indicates that businesses foremost identify that they should invest into IT (Information Technology) and related tools and systems and do not perceive other factors such as company Strategy, Structure or Business Processes to be determinants or predecessors of a successful eTransformation journey.
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Paper Nr: 71
Title:

SEARCH TREE GENERATION FOR BUSINESS PROCESS REPOSITORY MANAGEMENT IN THE EXCEPTION HANDLING OF THE E-COMMERCE DELIVERY PROCESS
Authors:

Doug W. Choi and Jin G. Shin
Abstract: BPMS(business process management system) offers the facility to define new processes or update the existing processes. However, exceptional or non-routine tasks require the intervention of domain experts or generation of the situation specific resolution process. This paper assumes that sufficient amount of business process exception handling cases are stored in the process repository. Since the retrieval of the best exception handling process requires good understanding about the exceptional situation, context awareness is an important issue. To facilitate the representation of the exceptional situation and to enable the selection of the best exception handling process, we adopted the 'situation variable' and 'decision variable' construct. A case example for exception handling in the e-commerce delivery process is provided to illustrate how the proposed construct works. We applied the C5.0 algorithm to build the optimum search tree.
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Paper Nr: 33
Title:

RSS Conversion Service for Integrating Web Information Resources and Home Network System
Authors:

Hiroshi Igaki, Hiroyuki Sakamoto and Masahide Nakamura
Abstract: Home Network System(HNS), which connects home appliances and sensors to networks, has been researched actively. HNS makes it possible to remote-control and monitor home appliances. However, use of these services has been limited to home appliances and sensors in HNS. Therefore development of more sophisticated HNS services combining with not only home appliances but the information resources on WWW provides a user with high added value. In this paper, we present integrated services combining RSS documents and HNS with our RSS conversion service. In our service, the hyperlink in each item on an RSS document is replaced to a WebAPI of home appliance control. This converted RSS(integrated RSS) can control home appliances by clicking items in an RSS reader. We then constructed integrated services that employed this conversion service to confirm their effectiveness.
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Paper Nr: 45
Title:

MULTILAYER SOLUTION USING MULTIMAP FOR DEVELOPE A MOBILE APPLICATION

Authors:

Lucia Rusu, Marius Sarbu and Marius I. Podean
Abstract: For developing mobile application virtual globes software products offer several features and capacities. The paper presents the system objective, function, component modules and key techniques in the procedure of system development. The system, based on the spatial information and attribute information of vehicle and road, was developed and applied in MCLocator. The manager of company, using the system, can visually inquire all vehicles and roads information based on regional road network or on the monitoring network. The system, based on platform independent solution and virtual globe software integrate sensors’ information of vehicle parameters and geo position dates obtained from MultiMap, based on the GIS’s strongpoint on spatial analyzing and use of location and communication equipment based on GPS and GPRS. With mathematical optimization models can assess and predict optimal movement and developing procedure according to the vehicle monitoring data. It can efficiently assists the detailed roadmap reports or management units in making decision to control the vehicles and to reduce human error or vulnerability an important aspect in distributed teams and organization is their ability to manage documents.
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Area 3 - Business and Social Applications

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 11
Title:

THE IMPACT OF ONLINE WORD-OF-MOUSE: Sales of New Products at Amazon.Com
Authors:

Geng Cui and Xiaoning Guo
Abstract: Online word-of-mouth (WOM) has become a major information source for consumers planning to purchase new products. This study examines the effect of online consumer reviews on the sales of new products. Using the data collected from Amazon.com over a period of nine months, we find that while the effect of valence of online reviews is greater than that of volume, negative consumer reviews affect new product sales more than positive reviews, but not in a negative way. Volume and valence of online reviews have greater impact on experience products than on search products. Moreover, the volume of consumer reviews has a greater effect on new product sales in the later stage of product life cycle (PLC). Thus, online WOM gains momentum over time and significantly affects the sales of new products beyond the initial period. Marketers need to pay greater attention to online WOM and promote consumer reviews when launching new products.
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Paper Nr: 32
Title:

CAUTIOUS AND SKEPTICAL SHOPPERS: Exploring Special Particpant Behvior in China’s C2C Market
Authors:

Yifan Li, Ling Zhu and Yuning Zu
Abstract: Despite the growing body of literature on consumer behavior in electronic markets, previous research has focused on western customers and cultures rather than upon China, the world’s largest netizen community. In this paper we conduct structure in-depth interviews with 15 experienced buyers and sellers in China’s consumer-to-consumer electronic market. Based on the interview results, we characterize the special behavior of sellers and buyers in China, specifically focusing on the level of market maturity and economic status. We further analyze the economic foundation of their behavior and use the eBay and Taobao case to illustrate the importance of understanding the behavior.
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Paper Nr: 37
Title:

DIGITAL MARKETPLACE FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Authors:

Valentina Ndou, Pasquale D. Vecchio and Laura Schina

Abstract: In the networked economy firms are recognizing the power of the Internet as a platform for creating different forms of relationships and collaborations aimed to enhance value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Digital Marketplaces represent one of the most powerful solutions adopted by firms to support the networking practices among firms, especially among SMEs. However in developing countries the potentialities of digital marketplaces remains largely unexploited. Different human, organizational and technological factors, issues and problems pertain in these countries, requiring focused studies and appropriate approaches. This article argues that in order for firms in developing countries to benefit from digital marketplace platforms it is necessary to root them in an assessment study which permits to understand the firms preparedness to use the digital marketplace in terms of technological infrastructure, human resources’ capabilities and skills, integration and innovation level among firms. Based on the outcomes of this assessment it is then possible to find out a viable digital marketplace model that fits with actual readiness status of firms and helps them to develop progressively the necessary resources and capabilities to enhance their competitiveness in the current digital economic landscape.
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Paper Nr: 57
Title:

IMPACT OF PROCESS INNOVATION ON ENTERPRISE NETWORKS FOR COMPETENCES EXCHANGE: E³, a Multi Agent Based Model
Authors:

Marco Remondino, Marco Pironti and Paola Pisano
Abstract: A business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business and related to improving organizational processes. A process innovation can happen at various levels: incremental way, redesign of existing processes, totally new processes. The knowledge behind a process innovation can be shared, acquired, changed and increased by the enterprises inside a network. An enterprise can decide to exploit the innovative process it owns, thus potentially gaining competitive advantage, but risking, in turn, that other players could reach the same technological level. Or it could decide to share it, in exchange for other competencies or money. These activities could be the basis for a network formation and/or impact the topology of an existing network, by changing the number and topology of ties and links. In the present work an agent based model is introduced (E³), that aims to explore how a process innovation can facilitate network formation of existing enterprises, affect the network topology (e.g.: an enterprise owning an innovative process could become a focal point), induce new players to enter the market and spread onto the network by being shared or internally acquired by new players.
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Paper Nr: 61
Title:

AN AGENT-BASED APPROACH TO TRANSPORT CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Authors:

Paul Davidsson, Jan Persson and Andreas Jacobsson
Abstract: A novel application of agent-mediated electronic commerce is presented. It concerns developing and maintaining efficient and effective transport solutions. The suggested approach is inspired by the concepts of virtual enterprises and breeding environments, as well as peer-to-peer technology. We discuss the requirements of such an approach and outline a software architecture meeting these requirements.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 9
Title:

Quality of Life of Call Center Employees in India: Changes via Education
Authors:

Ananda Mitra
Abstract: This paper reports on a qualitative study conducted in the summer of 2007 in Delhi, India where nearly 60 call center employees were interviewed in focus group settings to evaluate issues related to the quality of life of the workers. The findings suggest that a this scenario presents an opportunity to develop Web-based training tools for process and culture training of the workers to ensure that they remain with their job and improve the quality of the work experience. Based on the data collected, one of the key opportunities is to develop Web-based training tools that will allow for better acculturation of the employees.
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Paper Nr: 10
Title:

Consumer Resale Satisfaction and Global Consumer Satisfaction Model
Authors:

Hsunchi Chu
Abstract: Consumer online resale is soaring and becoming a major venue for transactions related to second-hand goods. Previous studies on consumer satisfaction have focused on perceived product performance or quality, but in the extension of consumer behavior from purchase to resale, consumer satisfaction and repurchase intentions may also be determined by the resale outcome, rather than being limited to product performance. Through consumer interviews conducted in Taiwan and China, the current exploratory study aims to build a model of “Global Consumer Satisfaction” consisting of consumer satisfaction from both product performance and resale results. The model illustrates the antecedents of consumer resale satisfaction, and relationships between consumer resale satisfaction, consumer satisfaction with product performance and global consumer satisfaction. Propositions related to these concepts are also developed for discussion and further study.
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Paper Nr: 16
Title:

E-PROCUREMENT ADOPTION BY SUPPLIERS IN PORTUGAL-Enablers, Barriers and Critical Sucess Factors
Authors:

Paulo Andrade and Bráulio Alturas
Abstract: This paper presents a current research with the aim to identify the enablers, barriers and critical success factors for e-procurement adoption by suppliers. Any successful e-procurement system needs suppliers disposed to trade electronically. We present a review of the actual literature about e-Procurement, with focus on the barriers, enabler´s and CSF´s already identified. A research methodology is proposed to study the problem, and this work will contribute to better address the issues faced by suppliers on e-procurement implementations.
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Paper Nr: 22
Title:

The influence of the number of opinions on the attractiveness of retailers offer in online shopping
Authors:

Tomasz Wanat and Aleksandra Grzesiuk
Abstract: The research investigates consumers’ online shopping behaviour. The Authors suggest that due to high perceived risk of online shopping consumers are prompted to use cues of shoppers’ reputation. One of such cues can be a number of opinions expressed by the previous customers. In the series of two experiments a number of other consumers’ opinions has been manipulated to influence choice of product supplier. The results suggest that other consumers’ opinions could be used as a shoppers’ quality cue. The subjects didn’t choose the cheapest version of product but they made a trade-off between price and number of opinions.
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Paper Nr: 30
Title:

“THE RIGHT TIME” - SOCIAL TIME PERSPECTIVE FOR DEVELOPING RETAIL BANKING SERVICES ONLINE
Authors:

Helena Ahola and Johanna Ahola
Abstract: The anytime, ubiquitous, and interactive Internet creates customer value, and makes market offerings as services. Service is a logic or a perspective to co-produce and co-create value with the customers. But if the Internet promise is “anytime”, what is “the right time” for the customer and the service provider? Time is usually understood as clock time, although it could be understood also from social and other perspectives. In that way even more customer value and better service quality and productivity could be achieved. To explore the idea of looking at time from other than only from resource perspective in service co-production and value co-creation, an illustrative case study is provided within retail banking contexts. For banks the Internet is one of the major marketing channels of their services. We propose that developing the retail banking service concept from service logic and social time perspectives could add marketing effectiveness, and provide a value-adding solution also to the “timing” problem.
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Paper Nr: 31
Title:

Developing an e-Business Strategy For Less-Mature Organizations: A Design Research Approach
Authors:

Tanai Charinsarn
Abstract: E-Business is a business transformation using Internet technology. Theoretically, by being an e-Business, any organization will be at an advantage compared with peers in a traditional business model. However, e-Business is still an evolving discipline with no standard process to formulate an e-Business strategy. While mature organizations can become an e-Business through their own experiences or by working with costly consultants, less mature organizations find it hard to start developing the e-Business Strategy for the first time. This research applies a Design Research lens in developing a generic, yet customizable, set of tools to guide less-mature organizations to start their transformation into e-Business: so called e-Business Strategic Planning System (EBSPS). The EBSPS was developed through an extensive review of the e-Business and strategic planning literature that established the parameters for the design of the system specifically for less-mature organizations. The paper describes the use of the EBSPS in developing an e-Business strategy for a large Thai commercial printer. The result was successful, with some improvements suggested for the next round of EBSPS.
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Paper Nr: 34
Title:

EVALUATION OF GREEK PUBLIC HOSPITAL WEBSITES
Authors:

Fotini Patsioura, Spyros K. Kitsiou and Angelos Markos
Abstract: Hospital web sites need to operate as effective web resources of information and interactive communication mediums to address the multifaceted requirements of their main stakeholders, (i.e. patients, healthy citizens, healthcare professionals and local communities). In case of public hospitals, web sites should also be considered as a mean to provide governmental electronic services. The main objective of this study is to provide an evaluation framework for hospital web sites. The proposed framework focuses on three main criteria: information, communication and electronic services. A total of 53 Greek hospital web sites within the Public Sector were evaluated based on a 67-item scale. The main findings of the study were the following: (a) the majority of the web sites in the analysis failed to support necessary web-based transactions between the institutions and their stakeholders (b) web sites are lacking important features regarding provision of information and communication practices. Improvements on interaction and information quality are necessary in order for the institutions to provide a viable and useful online environment for patients and citizens
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Paper Nr: 36
Title:

TOWARDS A FRAMEWORK FOR E-LEARNING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: AN ANALYSIS OF GREEK STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS

Authors:

Eleonora-Ioulia Malama, Maro Vlachopoulou, Fotini Patsioura and Vicky Manthou
Abstract: In the changeable educational market, e-learning is becoming a new emerging educational trend. Currently, e-learning projects exploit innovative Information and Communication Technology (ICT) methods and practices to offer new means in the design, development and delivery of education. It is characterized by speed, flexibility and convenience helping to develop knowledge workers, in order to support a global education community and sustain the growth of the new e-economy. Globally, successful e-learning applications are based upon integrated marketing strategy, which involves thorough market and target group analysis. As a result e-learning providers need to position themselves in the marketplace based upon their missions and abilities in order to respond to e- learning challenges in a strategic manner. Greek educational institutions reveal increased interest, but also hesitance in developing and administrating e-learning applications. This paper aims to provide Greek prospective e-learning providers with all the necessary information regarding prospective target market segments in order to specify perceptions about e-learning concept. Specifically, a primary research was conducted in order to examine and analyze samples’ aspects, demands and needs towards the adoption of e-learning programs on specific thematic areas such as e-business, e-marketing, e-commerce. Descriptive statistics as well as Multiple Correspondence Analysis are used to present comparative statistical data
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Paper Nr: 53
Title:

Leveraging digitally enabled supply chain integration capabilities to enhance organisational performance and competitive advantage: development of a conceptual model
Authors:

Faraz Bidar and Antonio Lobo
Abstract: There has been considerable research investigating the impact of IT on supply chain management of organizations. The obvious reason for this research is for organizations to improve their supply chain network, thus enhancing overall productivity, performance and competitive advantage. This research is being undertaken in various discipline areas of marketing, supply chain information systems and business strategy. However, empirical evidence in this regard is still fragmented and a comprehensive conceptual framework to integrate different theoretical perspectives is lacking. We have attempted to use the Resource Based View (RBV) to develop a conceptual model aimed at investigating the effectiveness of supply chain integration capability of organizations. In this model the IT infrastructure capability for supply chain integration is dependent on data consistency, B2B digital platform and cross functional IT applications. The human IT capabilities are dependent on strategic planning, knowledge and skills and top management support. Both the IT infrastructure and human IT capabilities are drivers of the total supply chain integration capabilities of firms, which in turn impact on their organizational performance and competitive advantage.
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Paper Nr: 58
Title:

ICT Use in SMEs. A Comparison Between The North West Of England And The Province Of Genoa.
Authors:

Riccardo Spinelli, Romano Dyerson, G "Hari" Harindranath and David Barnes
Abstract: This paper explores patterns of adoption and use of information and communications technology (ICT) by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in both the North West region of England and the Genoa region of Italy. Here we present the results of this two region survey drawn from two economically significant sectors: high technology manufacturing and food processing. Our main objectives were to explore and compare ICT adoption and use patterns by SMEs in the two regions to identify factors enabling or inhibiting the successful adoption and use of ICT, and to explore the impact of ecommerce on the SMEs. While our main result indicates a generally favourable attitude to ICT amongst the SMEs surveyed, it also suggests a number of differences between the two regions. English SMEs report greater uses of sophisticated ICT applications but Italian SMEs make more use of basic ICT functionality. English SMEs also report more focus on operational matters and often ignore strategic considerations, unlike their Italian counterparts. Having said that, the English SMEs pay less attention to applying ecommerce but appear to make more effective use of the Internet than the Italian SMEs.
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Paper Nr: 63
Title:

An XML-Based Approach for Content Management in Virtual Organisations
Authors:

Marius I. Podean and Lucia Rusu
Abstract: An important factor in the efficiency of distributed and virtual organisations is the ability to manage the content involved in every day activities, content that most often resides in documents. A collaborative document editing system that can automate and coordinate content production processes and provide flexible content manipulation, like combining data from multiple sources, can increase team efficiency and allow users to concentrate their efforts on content development. This paper presents a model implementing this approach in order to provide an efficient e-workspace that can be customized for wide variety of virtual organisations. The use of XML proves to be an efficient solution to provide a single source and multi publishing channels approach.
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Paper Nr: 67
Title:

Semantic Profile Based Service Discovery for Abstract Process Composition
Authors:

Shuying Wang, Miriam Capretz and Hany El Yamany
Abstract: WSBPEL (Web Services for Business Process Execution Language) is a process modelling language for composing Web Services. Abstract processes can be used in WSBPEL as process templates, which describe abstract activities without specifying the execution details and the service bindings. However, it is a challenge to refine an abstract process into a concrete executable process for the purpose of adapting to different business requirements. In order to discover the potential business partners and Web Services, we propose a profile-based service matching and discovery approach for semi-automatic semantic process representation that occurs during design time. Specifically, our approach utilizes semantic profiles supported by domain ontology to specify the semantic descriptions of process activities. Consequently, our methodology provides substantial flexibility for abstract process composition while reusing existing processes and services.
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Paper Nr: 77
Title:

DETERMINANTS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION IN PORTUGAL

Authors:

Tiago Oliveira and Maria O. Martins
Abstract: There is an absence of empirical studies on information technology (IT) adoption decision in Portugal. This paper is based on a representative sample of 2626 Portuguese firms and it analyzes the determinants of web site and e-commerce adoption decisions using a technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework. The proposed statistical methodology advocates that the IT adoption decisions are taken sequentially, stage by stage. Findings also suggest that the relevant drivers of web site and e-commerce adoption are not necessarily the same. For web site adoption we found 8 drivers. For e-commerce we found 5 drivers. Explanations and implications are offered.
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Paper Nr: 79
Title:

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AND MOBILE DEVICES A Surevy of Customer Relationship Management Projects in German-speaking Europe
Authors:

Rebecca Bulander
Abstract: This paper focuses on the implementation of IT applications for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) using mobile devices. In literature we can find evidence about a high number of failed CRM implementation projects. A CRM implementation project in this paper is defined as an implementation of a CRM system together with mobile devices. However concerning CRM projects in combination with the implementation of mobile devices for field staff in sales and services there haven’t yet been many results published. This article summarises challenges, success factors and achieved objectives of CRM implementation projects. The basis of the research was a telephone survey of 102 respondents in German-speaking Europe.
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Paper Nr: 26
Title:

The Impact of Customer Value and Internet Shopping Mall on Customer Loyalty and Customer Satisfaction
Authors:

Hangil Sun
Abstract: With the development of the internet, internet shopping is taking its place as one of digitalization’s industries which transcends time and space beyond the scope of commercial activities as the means of goods sales and purchase. We studied the relations of customer value, the environment of internet shopping mall, customer satisfaction and loyalty. Customer value is customers’ subjective evaluation, which is formed after their purchasing and consuming. Customer satisfaction can be characterized as post-purchase evaluation of product quality given pre-purchase expectations. Customer loyalty is a potentiality or ensure of a durative relationship between customer and enterprises. Customer satisfaction functions as an antecedent of customer loyalty, while customer value does customer satisfaction. It prevents customer churn and consolidates retention, thereby constituting an important cause of customer loyalty. This study shows that customer value, the environment of internet shopping mall and customer satisfaction are each found to have a direct effect on customer loyalty. The results provide empirical support for a relation between customer satisfaction and loyalty. The primary purpose of this study is to increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in internet shopping malls. We believe that only high quality based customer programs accompanied by well designed loyalty programs can be effective in increasing customer retention.
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Paper Nr: 48
Title:

PERSONALIZED DATA SERVICE FOR MASTER DATA MANAGEMENT

Authors:

Jinchul Han, Min-goo Lee and Jonghoon Chun
Abstract: Recently, the needs for enterprise-wide Master Data Management(MDM) have been increased drastically. MDM is the framework of processes and technologies aimed at integrating and managing the quality of disparate enterprise master data to provide consistent information across diverse users and application systems. Integrated master data environment may provide consistent, reliable, and accurate master data, yet it may not be suitable for individual data needs. Utilizing view definition of commercial DBMSs is one way to provide personalized data service, but it lacks flexibility in interoperability with other services provided by MDM systems. In this paper, we propose a new model to make the data service personalized, flexible, and efficient enough to use by physically combining underlying master data in order to meet individual data requirements.
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Paper Nr: 50
Title:

Factors Influencing Customer Retention and Switching in the Korean Broadband Internet Service Market
Authors:

MoonKoo Kim, JongHyun Park and JongHyun Paik
Abstract: Korea’s high-speed Internet markets have all these characteristics, which is why the providers are doing their utmost to retain their current subscribers and attract other companies’ subscribers. Therefore, the starting point of a basic customer strategy involves 1) the identification of the characteristics of those subscribers who maintain their membership or who have switched to another provider in Korea’s high-speed Internet market, where switching between providers is becoming increasingly frequent among subscribers, and 2) analysis of the factors affecting their behavior. One of the common findings of most telecommunication service sectors including Korea’s high-speed Internet market is that customer satisfaction does not always match customer behavior. In general, customers maintain their subscription to a specific provider when they are satisfied, and drop their subscription otherwise. However, even satisfied subscribers often switch to another provider and vice versa. This happens when factors other than customer satisfaction affect customer behavior. In this regard, we examine the factors which affect customer behavior in Korea’s high-speed Internet market in terms of service differentiation, facilitating conditions, the cost of switching, and the attractiveness of the alternatives.
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