Vasja Vehovar and Dušan Lesjak
The purpose of this paper is to study the characteristics and impacts of information‐communication technology (ICT) investments as perceived by ICT managers.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the characteristics and impacts of information‐communication technology (ICT) investments as perceived by ICT managers.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper starts with an overview and a conceptualisation. The empirical part is based on a national RIS 2005 representative telephone survey (n=727) of companies in Slovenia. With respect to ICT developments the Republic of Slovenia, situated between Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia, is a typical (median) country of the European Union.
Findings
The size of ICT investments strongly determined the perception of ICT investments, but it had surprisingly little impact on its structure (i.e. hardware, software, education …). Satisfaction with ICT investments was relatively low, particular in small companies. One reason for this was the suboptimal implementation, particularly the lack of accompanying measures (e.g. education, organisational changes). The ICT investments brought considerable changes for the internal organisation and communication, but much less for the management. The clearest effect of ICT investments was the greater need to educate the employees.
Practical implications
More attention is needed to the accompanying managerial, communication, education and organisational measures of ICT investments, particularly in small companies.
Originality/value
The paper sheds light on the structure of seven components (hardware, software, telecommunications, education …) of an ICT investment (as perceived by ICT managers). Hardware is diminishing as a stand‐alone ICT component. The paper also exposes the problem of a relatively low level of satisfaction with ICT investments. It analysed the link between the size of ICT investments and the evaluation rating given by ICT managers.
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Katarina Rojko, Dušan Lesjak and Vasja Vehovar
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the recent (2008‐) economic crisis on information communication technology (ICT) spending. The empirical findings are…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the recent (2008‐) economic crisis on information communication technology (ICT) spending. The empirical findings are discussed within a broader theoretical framework of technological trends/diffusion and economic cycles.
Design/methodology/approach
First, the paper introduces the innovation diffusion theory and theories of economic cycles. Next, it presents the analyses of the data from official statistics, international agencies and research companies. Finally, it summarizes the empirical findings within theoretical contexts.
Findings
In general, crises always reduce spending and therefore also ICT spending. However, focusing on the recent crisis, it affected the ICT market selectively and also much less than other sectors. In addition, the empirical findings indicate that after decades of fast ICT expansion (1971‐2000) we are now in the period of slower sectoral growth, which is in line with theories of super cycles, although, the authors also propose alternative explanations.
Research limitations/implications
The impact of the economic crisis on the ICT market strongly depends on countries' economic situation and development stage. Nonetheless some ICT segments that allow cost savings, greater productivity and efficiency, have been strengthened during the latest (2008‐) economic crisis, which also pinpoints the directions for further transformation of ICT.
Practical implications
Despite usually reduced budgets during the crisis, managers should put increased attention to new/alternative ICT solutions (e.g. virtualization, outsourcing, cloud computing) and lowered prices of ICT products/services to increase competitiveness. The crisis can be thus an opportunity to re‐examine the contribution of ICT to productivity, workflow efficiency and introduce new methods for better exploitation of ICT capital.
Social implications
The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding about the transformation of ICT in economic crises. It also demonstrates that recent crises caused another microwave within the last super cycle.
Originality/value
The paper provides empirical insight into the link between economic situation and ICT spending in past 15 years, with special attention to the changes observed during the latest (2008‐) crisis. The analysis is also put into a broader theoretical framework, where it proposes alternative explanations supported by empirical evidences.
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Dušan Lesjak and Vasja Vehovar
Despite rapid expansion of e‐business, the research on corresponding evaluation is relatively rare. This paper studies the factors that impact how companies evaluate their…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite rapid expansion of e‐business, the research on corresponding evaluation is relatively rare. This paper studies the factors that impact how companies evaluate their e‐business projects.
Design/methodology/approach
Paper starts with conceptualization of factors that affect the usage of e‐business evaluation. The empirical part is based on representative telephone survey (n=755) among Slovenian companies in 2003. The causal model (LISREL) was applied on this data.
Findings
Only about one tenth of the companies with sizeable e‐business projects employs some type of formal e‐business evaluation. One reason for that might be high satisfaction with e‐business. Among formal methods return on investments and cost benefit analysis dominate. However, once a company decides to apply evaluation approach it will use more methods, usually three or four. The attitudes towards e‐business are the most important factors affecting the implementation of e‐business evaluation methods. Surprisingly little differences were noticed in respect to the size of the company, its IT infrastructure, as well as the number and variety of e‐business projects.
Practical implications
The attitudes of the IT management are crucial for employing evaluation of e‐business projects.
Originality/value
The paper revealed that the perceptions of e‐business most strongly affect the corresponding e‐business evaluation practice. On the other hand, the high occurrence of problems related to e‐business implementation has a negative impact on the introduction of evaluation methods.
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Tina Tomažic, Damir Boras, Jelena Jurišic and Dušan Lesjak
The purpose of this paper is to identify and redefine the categories of covert advertising, to demonstrate the covert aspects of advertising in the press, to provide a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and redefine the categories of covert advertising, to demonstrate the covert aspects of advertising in the press, to provide a high-quality comparison of three leading Slovenian newspapers and to prepare a model for future researchers.
Design/methodology/approach
In this article, the authors defined, analyzed, and explored covert advertising. In the first part, the authors used descriptive approach and method of compilation. In the empirical part, the authors used content analysis to research texts of covert advertising; the authors used analytical approach. Data were analyzed with the help of the computer programme SPSS.
Findings
The results of the research indicate that covert advertising appears on a daily basis in daily newspapers and these articles are visually more attractive to garner greater attention from readers and offer numerous visual presentations.
Research limitations/implications
The first limitation is presenting a lack of literature in this area, especially very poor knowledge of covert advertising in English, American and German literature. There is not a single word that around the world marked the same phenomenon. This research is limited to print media; it cannot be generalized to all media. This is a survey of ads where the authors cannot rule out subjective assessments.
Originality/value
The significance of this research is that texts with covert advertising in Slovenia were for the first time scientifically investigated. The research approach and methodological instruments could be used as a model, a simplified representation of reality for future researches.