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1 – 10 of 107David Barnes and C. Matthew Hinton
Previous empirical research into the performance measurement of exemplary e‐businesses has pointed to a lack of progress in developing distinctive performance metrics for…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous empirical research into the performance measurement of exemplary e‐businesses has pointed to a lack of progress in developing distinctive performance metrics for e‐business and a failure to adopt best practice in performance management. The objective of this paper is to reconsider the evidence from that study by drawing on innovation adoption theories.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper re‐examines the findings from case study‐based research that investigated leading e‐business performance measurement practices. The study suggests that there are limitations in analysing the findings using normative best practice, the dominant paradigm within performance management. Given that e‐business innovation relies on the adoption of multiple technologies this paper reconsiders the findings using the conceptual perspective of the innovation adoption literature.
Findings
The study highlights the importance of individual, cognitive, social and cultural influences in an organisation's operating environment on its willingness to adapt performance measurement metrics for online business activities. The findings point to the benefits available from incorporating new theoretic perspectives in performance measurement research.
Research limitations/implications
The work points to a need to adopt a more context‐specific approach to the development of e‐business performance measurement. Furthermore, it indicates ways in which both the understanding and practice of performance measurement in e‐business can be advanced.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the limitations of current performance management literature as monopolised by normative best practice thinking, and argues for the need to incorporate other theoretical perspectives into performance management research.
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To investigate the key sources of competitive advantage gained from e‐business applications by Chinese real estate developers and whether the value chain theory and its related…
Abstract
Purpose
To investigate the key sources of competitive advantage gained from e‐business applications by Chinese real estate developers and whether the value chain theory and its related theories can explain this phenomenon.
Design/methodology/approach
A key issue in e‐business is how established companies can gain competitive advantage. Despite the interest in e‐business applications, few empirical studies have been carried out to look at how “clicks‐and‐mortar” approaches offer competitive advantages, especially from specific industry perspectives. By using a qualitative case study approach this study addresses this.
Findings
The study shows that the value chain framework is useful to identify and categorize possible e‐business application areas. Moreover, this categorization makes identification of key sources of competitive advantage explicit. However, this framework cannot fully explain the success of e‐business applications nor the realization of intended motivations.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is needed to make the value chain model become an easily‐used, practical guideline for e‐business implementation. This study has focussed on one specific industry within China (centre on real estate) so generalisation to other industries is limited at this stage. Similar research in other sectors will go a long way to addressing this.
Practical implications
Offers organizations a theoretical framework which helps to support the identification of appropriate e‐business applications. Furthermore, it closes the gap between strategic direction and subsequent system implementation.
Originality/value
This paper provides empirical evidence of how established organizations gain competitive advantage through their e‐business applications. Furthermore, it offers insight into how value chain theory helps to explain this phenomenon within the context of ongoing changes within the Chinese economy.
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Gamal Mohamed Shehata and Mohammed A. Montash
The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically examine a comprehensive model that attempts to identify the factors that explain competitive advantage of implementing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically examine a comprehensive model that attempts to identify the factors that explain competitive advantage of implementing electronic business (e-business) in an emerging market. It seeks to fulfill an inevitable lack of conducting rigorous and intensive empirical studies on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in which the internet use and e-business applications are on the rise.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is descriptive in nature where a quantitative research methodology is deployed. Data are collected using both interviews and e-survey for a sample of 302 Egyptian companies serving in diverse industries. A multivariate partial least squares technique is employed to analyze the collected data.
Findings
This study explores various e-business modes and applications widely employed in the MENA region. It also addresses a set of e-business-driven competitive advantages that are mainly generated from supportive ICT environment, major market forces and strategic opportunities, and at last, from electronically driven customers’ relationship initiatives. A number of e-business barriers are claimed to moderate the relationship between those forces and the resulting competitive advantages.
Research limitations/implications
Although this research main framework incorporates important variables based on theoretical and empirical foundations, integrating other factors may extend understanding of how these factors, independently and/or interactively, explain the adoption of e-business and its merit to create distinctive competitive advantage.
Practical implications
This work helps managers and e-business experts alike to comprehend the ways through which firms target the applications of e-business technologies to realize a competitive edge in MENA region. It also helps practitioners and professionals comprehend the interrelationship between the type of forces drive e-business based competitive position and key barriers that deteriorate such a connection in emerging markets.
Originality/value
A model that enables scholars to better understanding the e-business phenomenon in MENA market is developed and validated. This model rests on e-business experts’ perspectives, reflections and it is evidently substantiated by past works in the areas.
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Deneise Dadd and Matthew Hinton
This study aims to investigate the growing use of financial metrics (such as return on investment [ROI]) to measure performance and evaluate human capital (HC) investments.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the growing use of financial metrics (such as return on investment [ROI]) to measure performance and evaluate human capital (HC) investments.
Design/methodology/approach
The research employed an embedded case study approach, examining how one ROI approach was applied to evaluating HC investments, across three sectors (corporate, public health and international development).
Findings
Three major findings emerged in this study: First, interpretations of ROI can lead to ambiguity during implementation. ROI is interpreted trichotomously – metaphorically, as a desire for value; literally, as a metric; and procedurally, as a method for planning and evaluating HC investments. Second, understanding, measuring and tracking the domains of people performance (cognitive, affective and psychomotor) is vital to evaluating the impact of HC investments because this is where the change in behavior occurs. Third, although the logic model measures the change in process following an intervention (input-activity-output-outcome-impact), other approaches measure the change in behavior of people in the intervention (people performance).
Practical implications
These findings provide clarity for practitioners about challenges when applying ROI.
Originality/value
This is the first study to explore how the ROI financial metric is applied in a new domain by first examining its interpretation. It elucidates the use of ROI in practice, as well as the different purposes of key ROI approaches.
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Matthew Hinton and David Barnes
The objective of this paper is to identify the features of an effective e‐business performance measurement system, as well as the practices in organisations with distinctive…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to identify the features of an effective e‐business performance measurement system, as well as the practices in organisations with distinctive e‐business performance metrics. From this it was hoped to identify a set of best practice recommendations.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study methodology is used to examine the performance measurement practices of 12 potentially exemplar organisations that have made efforts to develop distinctive performance metrics for e‐business. Qualitative data are collected from interviews with key informants from each organisation, with supporting data generate from company documents.
Findings
The study has uncovered a variety of approaches to e‐business performance measurement, with no common framework apparent. Whilst the case organisations show significant differences in the level of success achieved in developing suitable measures, there is evidence of a common concern to link e‐business performance to organisational objectives. However, there is a general unwillingness to embark on major overhauls of existing performance measurement systems.
Research limitations/implications
The acknowledged weakness of case study research is that it can only investigate a limited number of situations. This raises the issue of the generalisability of the findings to a wider population. However, in the absence of empirical work in this area, the case organisations provided examples of superior practice in e‐business performance measurement when compared to organisations more generally.
Practical implications
This study identifies several gaps between the academic literature and current management practice, suggesting that researchers should consider the impact of theory on the process of organisational performance management. It also offers advice for organisations with respect to absorbing e‐business measures into their current performance measurement systems.
Originality/value
This paper offers empirical understanding of the application of performance metrics to e‐business and identifies several inconsistencies between academic theory and real‐world practice.
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Addresses variables in the implementation of software applications for aspects of customer relationship management (CRM) systems in medium‐sized organisations. The objective is to…
Abstract
Addresses variables in the implementation of software applications for aspects of customer relationship management (CRM) systems in medium‐sized organisations. The objective is to identify those variables that present the greatest risks to effective and successful implementation in the light of the operating relationships between the main “actors” in multi‐channel CRM implementation projects. Bases theoretical development on two central themes. The first theme is that any implementation has risks that need to be managed and the second is that the dynamics of the relationships of the main actors are more complex where a system is acquired from external developers than with an internally developed system. Explores these assumptions using qualitative linear case studies, where success or failure has not been established at the start. Derives a model which represents a typical relationship dynamic for a CRM implementation. By establishing the nature of the risks involved within the context of a monitored relationship dynamic offers a framework for guidance in the implementation process.
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Alice F. Stuhlmacher, Treena L. Gillespie and Matthew V. Champagne
In negotiation, pressures to reach an agreement are assumed to influence both the processes and the outcomes of the discussions. This paper metaanalytically combined different…
Abstract
In negotiation, pressures to reach an agreement are assumed to influence both the processes and the outcomes of the discussions. This paper metaanalytically combined different forms of time pressure to examine its effects on negotiator strategy and impasse rate. High time pressure was more likely to increase negotiator concessions and cooperation than low pressure as well as make agreements more likely. The effect on negotiator strategy, however, was stronger when the deadline was near or when negotiations were simple rather than complex. The effects were weaker when the opponent was inflexible and using a tough negotiation strategy. The effects on cooperative strategies were weaker when incentives for good performance were available than when they were not. Although time pressure in negotiation has significant effects, situational factors play a major role on its impact.
Daniella Bendo, Christine Goodwin-De Faria and Stefania Maggi
In 2020, UNICEF Canada released Report Card 16 revealing that Canada ranks in the bottom tier compared to other wealthy countries in terms of child and youth well-being. The…
Abstract
In 2020, UNICEF Canada released Report Card 16 revealing that Canada ranks in the bottom tier compared to other wealthy countries in terms of child and youth well-being. The Report Card highlights that promoting participation is required to improve this ranking. Recognising the connection between child well-being and participation, this chapter explores youth-serving institutions in Canada to understand how participation materialises in these settings. Through interviews with provincial and territorial Canadian child and youth advocates, this chapter first explores advocate offices that serve young people facing challenges. These are the only group of child and youth advocates in Canada that have formal legal mandates to implement children's rights at the provincial and territorial level. Comparatively, through interviews with justice-involved youth we analyse the youth justice system. By adjusting the setup of the court space and attempting to minimise power imbalances, we discuss how Canada's first and only Aboriginal Youth Court (AYC), promotes participation and engagement. Through a comparative case analysis, this chapter explores where barriers exist in terms of conceptualising and implementing participation rights, and where opportunities and best practices may be leveraged across child and youth serving institutions in Canada.