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The Web has been a growing topic of interest since its introduction into the popular culture. This study examines the use of the Web by the Fortune Global 100 firms relative to the Fortune 100. It examines the firms’ desire and ability to communicate to and with individuals and organizations interested in the firm. Each firm’s site was reviewed for accessibility, content, and inquiry potential. The Fortune 100 seems to be slightly ahead of the Fortune Global 100 in terms of information content and interactivity but trail in the area of multiple language availability. All of the other criteria that were examined did not clearly favor either group.

We utilize cross-sectional regression analysis to identify key variables affecting the initial three-year holding period returns of foreign equities traded as American Depository Receipts (ADRs) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Our results suggest that U.S. market index movements and foreign exchange rates are the main determinants of the initial three-year holding period returns for 285 ADRs listed from January 1990 through December 2002. The determinants vary once the sample is broken into subsets comparing ADRs issued before 1998 to those issued afterwards, ADRs issued as IPOs versus SEOs, and Asia Pacific ADRs versus European and Latin American ADRs. We also find that U.S. interest rate movements and type of ADR issue (IPO versus SEO) provide little explanatory power for ADR returns overall.

Hotels, the second largest component of online travel, have traditionally collected customer data through loyalty or customer relationship management programmes, compiling data about customers and using it to improve customer service and marketing efforts (Piccoli & O’Connor, 2003). Recent growth in online sales has given them access to even more granular and topical data. In particular technologies such as cookies, web bugs and beacons allow data on an individual’s browsing (e.g. the pages they have visited or the searches they have conducted) to be collected, consolidated and analysed to reveal detailed insights about customers which can subsequently be used for marketing purposes (Gilbert, 2008). While previous studies have investigated data collection by hotels, for the most part these have focussed on data surrendered voluntarily, with none addressing data collection through automated means. This chapter therefore attempts to fill this research gap, investigating whether and how hotel companies use such techniques, and whether consumers are adequately informed about this data collection process. Using the top 50 global hotel brands as a population, it explores both cookie disclosure and cookie practice by global hotel brands. The findings demonstrate that hotel brands, particularly those with their headquarters in the USA, are making extensive use of online monitoring technologies, typically for marketing purposes. In most cases, this data collection is happening surreptitiously, with the data protection notices that exist overtly long as well as crouched in highly technical language. Despite legislative changes that amplify the need to inform consumers about data collection, few hotel chains currently comply with the principles of informed consent, leaving many open to potential sanction.

Covers such techniques as action learning, open learning, computer‐based training, mentoring and group facilitation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which New Zealand business web sites conform to the provisions of the New Zealand Privacy Act, 1993 as an articulation of the national values on the rights of individuals to information privacy. The secondary aim is to assess whether adherence to these values might be used as criteria that can reflect on the business integrity of the web site sponsor.

The privacy notices and information‐handling practices of New Zealand business web sites were analysed using a content analysis methodology. The analysis was carried out on a sample of 200 companies, selected at random from a published list of the top 800 companies in New Zealand in 2005. Government web sites were excluded.

The first research hypothesis – that New Zealand business web sites demonstrate awareness of the privacy concerns of customers by posting a privacy notice – was not supported. Similarly, the privacy notices on New Zealand business web sites did not reflect the principles of the New Zealand Privacy Act, 1993 as a basis for establishing “value congruence” with customers. Consequently the use of the principles of the Privacy Act to assess business integrity was not demonstrated sufficiently by the investigation.

The lack of a usable convention for evaluating privacy notices on New Zealand business web sites may lead to a loss of value congruence between businesses and their customers, leading to less‐than‐optimal commercial transactions. The principles of the New Zealand Privacy Act 1993 define the national values and privacy rights of online customers. The use of the Privacy Act to assess the information handling practices of New Zealand businesses online could ensure more ethical business practice, demonstrate business integrity and promote customer confidence.

The use of legislated privacy principles as a reflection of established national values on the rights of citizens could provide a useful measure of value congruence and possibly business integrity. The variety of privacy legislation worldwide reflects a global lack of agreement on acceptable principles. Nevertheless, businesses wishing to establish their integrity and value congruence would be advised to ensure that their web sites provide for the growing sensitivity to privacy issues and the way that personal information is gathered and used online.