Mobile Phone Communication Innovation in Multiple Time and Space Zones

In most parts of the world, it is generally considered impolite or even rude to pick up an incoming mobile phone call and to have a longer (and loud) conversation in public places. Yet this type of interruption is generally acceptable in Hong Kong. This inspired the authors to ask: How does Hong Kong culture impact the perception of mobile phone interruption? This research note is about an ethnographical study on the culture in Hong Kong indicating a more positive perception towards mobile phone interruption. Their research results show that the cultural characteristics of fast pace, deal-making and sense of urgency explain why Hong Kong people are receptive towards such interruption and have the habit of participating in both the physical and mobile spaces at the same time. Their findings also challenge the engaging-disengaging paradox theory - that is, mobile phone users find it difficult to simultaneously engage in parallel activities

Misaligned Market

This article examines e-marketplace adoption difficulties from a contextualist perspective. The analysis of industrial characteristics will unearth the adopter’s supply chain practices and the contextual features which are unfavorable for e-marketplace deployment. To gain a deeper understanding, this research examines an unsuccessful e-marketplace adoption for agricultural industry in China. The tension created by the these two incongruent contexts results in a misaligned market, as a free-market principle (assumed to be an integral part of the e-marketplace) is imposed on an agricultural market exchange which is characterized by a regulated business environment and a monopolistic market, and which emphasizes variances in product quality, tacit product specification, exclusive suppliers, and spotty purchasing. Practical and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed with reference to technology adoption and technology-organization alignment literature.

Web-Based Surveys in China

In the last few years, Web-based surveys have received increased attention given their potential to cut the costs and time associated with paper-based surveys. In this chapter, we consider the feasibility of using the Web as a data collection medium in China, with a current Internet population of 253 million. Following a review of the literature regarding the design, implementation and application of Web surveys, and the current state of data collection in developing countries in general and China in particular, we describe how we have developed and implemented two Web-based survey instruments in the Chinese context. The survey data, both qualitative and quantitative, is analysed and discussed with a view to drawing up instructive guidance for researchers interested to use the Web as a data collection tool in China, as well as developing countries more generally. The Web-based survey has great potential in these contexts, if sensitively designed and implemented. We consider the implications of this research and identify areas where future research is necessary.

Internet Users' Privacy Concerns and Beliefs About Government Surveillance

The study examines differences in individual’s privacy concerns and beliefs about government surveillance in Italy and the United States. By incorporating aspects of multiple cultural theories, we argue that for both countries, the user’s decision to conduct e-commerce transactions on the Internet is influenced by privacy concerns, perceived need for government surveillance that would secure the Internet environment from fraud, crime and terrorism, and balancing concerns about government intrusion. An empirical model was tested using LISREL structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis. The results support the hypotheses with regard to direction and relative magnitude of the relationships. Italians exhibit lower Internet privacy concerns than individuals in the U.S., lower perceived need for government surveillance, and higher concerns about government intrusion. The relationships among the model constructs are also different across the two countries. Implications of the findings and directions for future work are discussed.

IT Implementation in a Developing Country Municipality

This article presents an interpretive analysis of the key problems and challenges to technology implementation in developing countries, based on a three-year case analysis of an IT project in a city government in Ukraine. We employ the concept of technological frames of reference as an analytical tool for articulating the group-level structures related to the implementation context from the perspectives of key stakeholders and examine the degree of conflict between these frames using a Fishbone diagram. We report that conflict between technological frames held by key stakeholders in large-scale system implementation projects often create an unexpected, dysfunctional, and politically charged implementation environment, ultimately leading to project failures, even if the project enjoys a high level of financial and management support. This, in turn, creates unique challenges for technology implementation projects in developing countries that are often overlooked in the traditional academic and practitioner literatures based on experiences from developed countries.

Cultural Effects on Technology Performance and Utilization

Research to date on information technology (IT) adoption has focused primarily on homogeneous single country samples. This study integrates the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with Hofstede’s (1980, 1983) Masculinity/Femininity (MAS-FEM) work value dimension to focus instead on post adoption attitudes and behaviors among a mixed gender sample of 366 United States and Canadian users of a specialized supply chain IT. We test 11 hypotheses about attitudes towards IT within and between subgroups of users classified by nationality and gender. Consistent with the national MAS-FEM scores and contrary to the conventional consideration of the U.S. and Canada as a unitary homogenous cultural unit, we found significant differences between U.S. men and women, but not between Canadian men and women. These results support the importance of the MAS-FEM dimension—independent of gender—on user attitudes and help to clarify the relationship between culture and gender effects. Implications for managers responsible for technology implementation and management are discussed and directions for future research are offered.

A Study in the East Asian Context on Computer Support of Pre-Negotiation and Negotiation Stages

Two seemingly disparate phenomena, advancement in computing technologies and rise in complexity of business negotiations owing to globalization, have fostered and made appealing computer-supported negotiations. Whereas past studies of Negotiation Support Systems (NSS) have examined the potential benefits of supporting negotiations, computer support for pre-negotiation activities has been largely ignored in so far as empirical work is concerned. This chapter addresses this gap by categorizing negotiation activities into the pre-negotiation phase and the negotiation phase, and reports on an experimental study of the impact of NSS on the different phases of negotiation. Results show that both pre-negotiation and negotiation support improved gains in outcome with increased time in reaching agreement. Further, pre-negotiation support led to more equal outcomes for negotiating dyads. The findings show the usefulness of NSS in enhancing the quality of differing stages of negotiation. Notably, this chapter recognizes the important role of culture in the negotiation setting, and discusses its pertinence with respect to the context of the current study. The corresponding implications and conclusions are highlighted.

Mobile Number Portability in an Asymmetric Telecommunications Market

This study relies on a customer demand-based view to examine how mobile number portability affects competition in the Korean mobile telecommunications market. Using a contingent valuation method, we investigate 1,161 subscribers’ willingness to pay for mobile number portability. The findings show that there is a difference in demand for number portability among the subscribers to service providers. Unlike previous studies on number portability, the introduction of number portability to the market in which the brand effect of a dominant player exists would have an adverse effect on competition in the mobile telecommunications market. The study also shows that if the market structure is asymmetric with a strong, dominant player, some additional regulatory mechanisms are needed for the facilitation and the implementation of number portability in order to reduce the side effect of it. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed in the conclusion section of the chapter.

Information Systems Research in China

The purpose of this study is to review current research activities concerning information systems (IS) in mainland China. We thus examined Chinese IS research with reference to discipline, research topic, research method, and units of analysis, identifying and reviewing a total of 604 research papers, published in 18 leading Chinese academic journals from 1999 to 2003. The results show that: (1) IS itself represents the major theoretical reference of the studies; (2) the IS research in China has clearly focused on organizational and system/software issues; (3) non-empirical studies were dominant in the field of IS research in China; and (4) the majority of studies were conducted at an organizational or systemic level.

On the Need to Include National Culture as a Central Issue in E-Commerce Trust Beliefs

Deliberate exploitation of natural resources and excessive use of environmentally abhorrent materials have resulted in environmental disruptions threatening the life support systems. A human centric approach of development has already damaged nature to a large extent. This has attracted the attention of environmental specialists and policy makers. It has also led to discussions at various national and international conventions. The objective of protecting natural resources cannot be achieved without the involvement of professionals from multidisciplinary areas. This chapter recommends a model for the creation of knowledge-based systems for natural resources management. Further, it describes making use of unique capabilities of remote sensing satellites for conserving natural resources and managing natural disasters. It is exclusively for the people who are not familiar with the technology and who are given the task of framing policies.