The information and communication technology evolution is aggressively affecting the business world in the twenty‐first century. The magnitude of change in business development…
Abstract
The information and communication technology evolution is aggressively affecting the business world in the twenty‐first century. The magnitude of change in business development from a global perspective, unconstrained by time or distance barriers, has reached both developed and developing nations. E‐commerce currently represents 2 per cent of the global business transactions but promises to dominate the business environment during the course of the twenty‐first century. The successful presence of e‐commerce through the Internet has helped create low cost and high efficiency for product and service sales through a more dynamic and interactive venue of opportunities where the world becomes the marketplace.
Details
Keywords
The information and communication technology evolution is affecting many nations around the world and forcing changes to business and socio‐economic development plans, and…
Abstract
The information and communication technology evolution is affecting many nations around the world and forcing changes to business and socio‐economic development plans, and reflecting major implications on the realization of the concept of globalization. Egypt, as a developing country with an economy in transition, started to invest in building its communication and information technology infrastructure since 1985 as a vital tool for development. This paper describes the emergence of e‐commerce in Egypt with a focus on the challenges faced that relate to a number of social, technological, financial and legal issues, and the road map formulated in collaboration between the government and the private sector to diffuse e‐commerce in Egypt.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a special issue on entrepreneurship and service innovation, and to conceptualize the link between entrepreneurial orientation, innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce a special issue on entrepreneurship and service innovation, and to conceptualize the link between entrepreneurial orientation, innovation and entrepreneurship or new entry.
Design/methodology/approach
Analysis of secondary data.
Findings
Entrepreneurial orientation (EO), innovation (IN) and entrepreneurship are in a vital “triadic connect”, where EO supports innovation in organizations and innovation promotes new entry or new venture creation – a vehicle for commercialization of innovations.
Research limitations/implications
There is a need for empirical validation of the linkages proposed in this conceptual paper.
Practical implications
This “triadic connect” between EO, IN and entrepreneurship or new entry is a source of or key driver of organizational performance (OP) and competitive advantage (CA).
Originality/value
The theorization and schematization of the “triadic connect” (i.e. EO–IN–NE link) and outcomes (namely, OP and CA) is presented.
Details
Keywords
Rania Albsoul, Muhammad Ahmed Alshyyab, Baraa Ayed Al Odat, Nermeen Borhan Al Dwekat, Batool Emad Al-masri, Fatima Abdulsattar Alkubaisi, Salsabil Awni Flefil, Majd Hussein Al-Khawaldeh, Ragad Ayman Sa'ed, Maha Waleed Abu Ajamieh and Gerard Fitzgerald
The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of operating room staff towards the use of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist in a tertiary hospital…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of operating room staff towards the use of the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist in a tertiary hospital in Jordan.
Design/methodology/approach
This was a qualitative descriptive study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 21 healthcare staff employed in the operating room (nurses, residents, surgeons and anaesthesiologists). The interviews were conducted in the period from October to December 2021. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.
Findings
Three main themes emerged from data analysis namely compliance with the surgical safety checklist, the impact of surgical safety checklist, and barriers and facilitators to the use of the surgical safety checklist. The use of the checklist was seen as enabling staff to communicate effectively and thus to accomplish patient safety and positive outcomes. The perceived barriers to compliance included excessive workload, congestion and lack of training and awareness. Enhanced training and education were thought to improve the utilization of the surgical safety checklist, and help enhance awareness about its importance.
Originality/value
While steps to utilize the surgical safety checklist by the operation room personnel may seem simple, the quality of its administration is not necessarily robust. There are several challenges for consistent, complete and effective administration of the surgical safety checklist by the surgical team members. Healthcare managers must employ interventions to eliminate barriers to and offer facilitators of adherence to the application of the surgical safety checklist, therefore promoting quality healthcare and patient safety.
Details
Keywords
Younis Al-Shwabkah, Faten Hamad, Nashrawan Taha and Maha Al-Fadel
This study aims to explore undergraduate students’ perceptions of teaching information and communication technology (ICT) courses in the library and information science (LIS…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore undergraduate students’ perceptions of teaching information and communication technology (ICT) courses in the library and information science (LIS) program in Jordanian universities. It also aims at investigating the correlation between the impact of some variables, namely, gender, the type of university, academic year and student GPA on and their students’ views.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative methods were adopted. A questionnaire with 40 items was distributed on a stratified random sample of 220 students from four LIS departments in Jordan and, of whom, 203 responded with a response rate of 92.3 per cent.
Findings
Research findings indicated that teaching ICT courses was considered highly important. Students stressed on the importance of incorporating ICT courses in LIS programs. They also pointed out the competence of the teaching staff and the efficacy of their teaching methods. On the other hand, student assessments of the curriculum content, the teaching pedagogy and methods of assessment were on an average level. In addition, the findings indicated that resources and facilities necessary to teach ICT courses were available and adequate. It was noted that the “university” was the only factor that affected results; the University of Jordan students showed a higher satisfaction. The other factors (gender, academic year and GPA) did not appear to affect student perceptions.
Originality/value
Previous studies investigated the importance of teaching ICT courses in general but did not consider students’ perceptions. Only a few studies discussed students’ perceptions of studying ICT courses but in a different context, i.e. Kuwait. This research focused on students’ perceptions of studying ICT in Jordan as a new geographic region. This would be beneficial for other developing countries to learn from this experience and refine their ICT curricula and LIS programs accordingly.
Details
Keywords
Natheer Abu-Obeid and Maha Maher Al Taki
The aim of this study is to investigate the collective memory of urban cultural heritage sites for selected traditional markets in Down town Amman city – Jordan. The study also…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to investigate the collective memory of urban cultural heritage sites for selected traditional markets in Down town Amman city – Jordan. The study also introduces the concepts urban artifacts and architectural archetypes as an urban/architectural framework for investigating the collective memory of traditional markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The study followed a qualitative research methodology with a (bottom-up) approach focusing on narrative and structured interviews. The interviews were conducted with 20 participants in each market. This was in addition to archival data collection and site observations.
Findings
The study revealed that the users of the two markets do have a shared collective memory manifested in multiple forms of cultural expressions. It also revealed the significant role of collective memory in fostering recognition of the urban and cultural significance of the two markets in the form of architectural archetypes and urban artifacts.
Research limitations/implications
The study contributes in further developing the understanding of architectural heritage in the context of collective memory, and understanding architectural heritage in the context of the city through the concept of urban artifacts.
Practical implications
The study demonstrates that preservation of collective memory can influence people’s attitudes and behaviors as they develop a collective responsibility toward the cultural heritage site.
Originality/value
This is the first focused study to introduce the traditional markets of Downtown Amman within the theoretical framework of collective memory. The study also introduces a new scientific investigation of urban cultural heritage in the context of urban artifacts.
Details
Keywords
Rania Mohamed Samir Hussein and Maha Mourad
This paper aims to examine the factors that affect the adoption of technological innovations in a service industry, like the higher education industry. Specifically, the use of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the factors that affect the adoption of technological innovations in a service industry, like the higher education industry. Specifically, the use of Web-based technology (WEBCT/blackboard) by faculty and administrators in universities in Egypt in the delivery of educational material and communication with students and peers is the focus of this study.
Design/methodology/approach
A distinctive business-to-business (B2B) model is developed drawing on Rogers’ innovation adoption model, the resource-based view of the firm, as well as theoretical and empirical foundations in previous innovation adoption literature. The model is testified drawing on the results of empirical work in the form of a large survey conducted on 200 faculty and administrators in two different universities in Egypt. Structural equation modeling is used to test the research model.
Findings
In addition to the attributes of the innovation, all university-based factors as well as one service provider factor, namely, need for interaction, were identified to have a significant influence on the adoption of technological innovations in the higher education industry.
Originality/value
This paper attempts to enhance current understanding of the adoption of innovations in an important industry like the higher education industry. Empirical results shed light on influential factors when adopting technological innovations by faculty and administrators in the higher education industry. This is the first empirical study of this type to be conducted in the Middle East.
Details
Keywords
Western business-to-business firms are under increasing competition from firms in emerging nations. As examples, Mindray in medical devices, LiuGong in earth moving equipment…
Abstract
Purpose
Western business-to-business firms are under increasing competition from firms in emerging nations. As examples, Mindray in medical devices, LiuGong in earth moving equipment, Tata motors in Buses and Suzlon in Wind turbines are emerging as strong competitors in their industries. Yet despite increased competition from emerging nation firms, insufficient research has examined the growth of these firms, specifically in the areas of technology and innovation development processes. The purpose of this study is to examine how emerging nation business-to-business firms that have global ambitions achieve technology competence.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examined several case studies on emerging market business-to-business firms that have moved to global markets and highlight the following five: LiuGong China (excavating products), Mindray China (medical equipment), Suzlon Energy India (wind generators), Tata Motors Buses India and BYD Auto China (batteries to electric cars). The firms are in business-to-business markets, except for BYD China that emerged as a business-to-business battery supplier but is currently in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets.
Findings
The authors find that firms in emerging markets that have global ambitions follow different approaches to innovation development processes from conventional theories and assumptions held by scholars and practitioners in Western developed countries. Our cases suggest that firms follow the proposed progression: domestic markets – internally developed technology; domestic markets –acquired technology; and finally to, global markets – acquired technology.
Researchlimitations/implications
The authors contribute to research in three areas. First, they suggest that the innovation development process for emerging market firms is different from the Western world. Second, they provide a framework of innovation development process that can be tested in multiple environments. Third, this study suggests a deeper examination of the longitudinal development of business-to-business firms, an area that has received less attention.
Practicalimplications
The authors suggest that firms need to better track their competition from emerging nations because emerging nation firms can quickly acquire technology to become strong competitors.
Originality/value
Extant research has not examined these issues.
Details
Keywords
This study draws on recent actor-network theory (ANT) literature to provide a nuanced understanding of the effect of time on activity networks in urban spaces. It investigates the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study draws on recent actor-network theory (ANT) literature to provide a nuanced understanding of the effect of time on activity networks in urban spaces. It investigates the role of time in multiplying these networks and producing urban change, which is limited in similar ANT-related research.
Design/methodology/approach
This ethnographic study of a cul-de-sac square within a housing project in the suburb of Dahiyat Al-Hussein in Amman, Jordan, documents the changes in its activity networks when comparing the 1990s with 2019. Data were collected through interviews and site observations covering the two time periods to investigate the different activities that occurred constantly over time, which reflect the temporal network stabilisation within the square.
Findings
The findings demonstrate the profound effect time has on the stability of activity networks related to playing, observing, walking, vending and their interrelations. Their overlaps and conflicts with each other and with other networks in the space were observed. Unpacking the stability of activity networks and their interrelations demonstrates the change in their actor relations and temporalities over time. This is significant in understanding urban change.
Originality/value
The study investigates the importance of time in recognising and extending the multiplicity of urban activities, which suggests new ways of understanding urban change. This exploration highlights new possibilities for creating more adaptable spaces according to residents' long-term needs.
Details
Keywords
The Suez Irrigation Canal is the source of drinking water to a large community. Complaints have been raised regarding the odor and unpleasant taste of drinking water. The problems…
Abstract
Purpose
The Suez Irrigation Canal is the source of drinking water to a large community. Complaints have been raised regarding the odor and unpleasant taste of drinking water. The problems encountered reveled enrichment of the Canal with nutrients, degraded water quality and nuisance caused by algal growth. This paper aims to investigate these claims by evaluating the interaction between water and sediment with ecological indicators.
Design/methodology/approach
Bioassessments were used as a primary tool to evaluate the biological conditions and identify the degree of water quality degradation in the Suez Irrigation Canal. The monitoring program integrates biological, chemical, and physical data assessment. Several field surveys were carried out to these areas during the period between March 2003 and February 2005 (over 23 months) for acquiring all possible information about the current situation and to explore the impact of human activities along the canal banks on the canal ecosystem. Seasonal variations of phytoplankton and zooplankton standing crop, species diversity as well as physico‐chemical characteristics of water, sediment, fish and aquatic weeds at the intakes of drinking plants and from the discharge of agricultural and domestic drains into the Canal were investigated.
Findings
Preliminary field investigations showed great amounts of discharged wastes at several locations to the canal water creating unique conditions, which vary with changes of volume and properties of the discharged wastes. Rotifer and green algae for example demonstrated seasonal variable response to the ecological variations. Myriophyllum spicatum, Potamageton nodsus and Polygonum Salicfolium were the most common types of recorded weed. The Myriophyllum spicatum is the dominant submerged plant. The canal was characterized by high concentrations of HCO3‐ as well as high pH >8.2 which provides a favorable habitat for the growth of Myriophyllum spicatum. The results illustrated the ability of using the aquatic weed as biomarkers for monitoring heavy metals contaminates in the canal. The evidence suggests that there is a degree of selectivity in metals uptake and partitioning within the plant compartments.
Originality/value
The current paper adopts the idea of utilizing multiple organism groups in the bioassessment to effectively detect ecological change when they occur in one of the most important waterways in Egypt. These different organism groups are suited for detection various stressors, providing warnings and detection of stress impacts at different scales. The study presented provides decision makers with important information that can assist them in making objective decisions related to the design of monitoring programs based on scientific research.