E-Services for Managing and Orchestrating Organizational Networks

Organizations increasingly cooperate in organizational networks to remain competitive. Electronic intermediaries can provide all kinds of e-services to support the creation and management of such networks. While there has been substantial discussion on intermediaries matching demand and supply, there has been little analysis in relation to the management and orchestration of organizational networks. In this chapter, we analyze an intermediary that uses e-services for orchestrating a network in the consumer electronics industry. The empirical results show that the coordination and management of networks requires specific expertise and skills which could be provided by specialized intermediaries. The primary value creation activity of the intermediary is leveraging the products, activities, and knowledge of the specialized companies and providing e-services for orchestrating the organizational network to create short lead times, improve customer responsiveness, and ensure adaptability.

The Adoption of “E-Banking” by Lebanese Banks

This article examines the organizational, structural, and strategic factors that can speed up or slow down the adoption of E-banking innovations by financial institutions in the Lebanese market. A conceptual model is developed based on a review of the major innovation adoption theories and other research findings, and tested with a survey administered through a census of the population of Lebanese banks. Findings revealed that the organizational variables of bank size, presence of functional divisions, technical staff and infrastructure, as well as the degree of international experience and tolerance of risk of the decision makers exert a significant impact on the adoption of E-banking. Two structural characteristics, the internal technological environment, and relative advantage of the innovations were also found to impact adoption. The two strategic factors related to the banks’ degree of international operations were also found to positively influence the adoption of E-banking. Recommendations were provided on ways of accelerating the rate of adoption of E-banking in an important developing Middle Eastern country.

The Impact of Online Product Presentation on Consumers’ Perceptions

The website design and specifically the visual aspects have been revealed as key factors for achieving a successfully e-service website. This research examines the effects of the visual product presentation on online users’ perceptions. We carried out an experiment to analyze the impact of the size, the quality and the movement of the product picture on the perceived usability, satisfaction and purchase intention of users. We also analyzed the moderating role of user experience and product familiarity. The results suggest the importance of visual aspects, emphasizing the quality of the picture as the most salient factor. This study also indicates that users’ satisfaction is influenced to a great extent by these attributes.

Sponsored Search as a Strategic E-service

In addition to helping consumers navigate the web search engines offer a new kind of e-service known as sponsored search. A search engine provides an auction interface to advertisers that allows them to be included in a list of sponsored links. Consumers then search the list to find the best deal. This paper uses a version of traditional consumer price search models from economic theory to evaluate the extent to which consumers and advertisers can rely on sponsored search as an effective strategic infomediary. The article also describes steps that the manager of the search engine can take to improve the sponsored search service. The findings are relevant to web advertising as well as to mobile advertising.

Online Self-Services

The introduction of self-service applications by online service providers provided an effective solution to the lack of direct personal contact over the Internet, and offered a quick way to expand business operations. However, the success of this customer empowerment method is influenced by the capacity of various clients to use and adopt self service technology. Despite the interest raised by this topic within academic and practitioners communities, the factors that determine the adoption of online self-service applications are still a matter of debate. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, this study attempts to identify the main phases of customer-system interaction, as well as the quality dimensions perceived as important by SST users in each particular phase. The findings reinforce the interpretation of SST adoption as a gradual process of learning that presents different challenges for various types of customers depending on their level of online experience.

E-Services and the Codification of Informational Services

The concept of e-services has gained increasing use during the past decade. There is, however, no general agreement as to the precise meaning and scope of the term. The research purpose of the present chapter is, therefore, to discuss the e-service concept, its strengths and scope, and thereby contribute to the general understanding and definition of the term. More specifically, the chapter aims at examining one of the primary conditions for the development of e-services, namely the codification of knowledge in connection with knowledge intensive services. The e-service concept is used in relation to private as well as public e-services. The present chapter examines the e-service concept at a generic level and does not differentiate between private and public e-services.

Understanding Telehealth

During the past few decades, many healthcare authorities sought to integrate new methods of delivering care to patients. Among the priorities faced by these organizations, a major issue arose of how to provide healthcare to patients who live in rural or remote regions suffering from a lack of accessible professional resources and services that comply with WHO’s call for providing fair access to healthcare. Many attempts were made to integrate new technologies such as telehealth into the healthcare system, but in many cases, telehealth was not successful due in part to limited assimilation into healthcare organizations and work practices. Telehealth addresses operational issues such as a shortage of professionals in rural or underserved geographical regions. Using a breadth of reference theories such as institutional theory, structuration theory, and organizational learning theory, we propose a conceptual model that integrates the determinants of telehealth assimilation and identifies factors that impinge upon the process of assimilation. We posit that telehealth assimilation can only be understood by taking a multilevel approach to the phenomenon, whereby assimilation starts at the individual level, permeates through other organizational levels such as groups, and finally ends at the organizational and inter-organizational level. Further, assimilation of technological innovations must be considered within their institutional context. Derived from our conceptual model, we make several propositions and hope that our work will significantly guide future research and managerial actions geared toward integrating healthcare in the workplace.

Location-Based Services (LBS) in Micro-Scale Navigation

Pedestrians LBS are accessible by hand-held devices and become a large field of energetic research since the recent developments in wireless communication, mobile technologies and positioning techniques. LBS applications provide services like finding the neighboring facility within a certain area such as the closest restaurants, hospital, or public telephone. With the increased demand for richer mobile services, LBS propose a promising add-on to the current services offered by network operators and third-party service providers such as multimedia contents. The performance of LBS systems is directly affected by each component forming its architecture. Firstly, the end-user mobile device is still experiencing a lack of enough storage, limitations in CPU capabilities and short battery lifetime. Secondly, the mobile wireless network is still having problems with the size of bandwidth, packet loss, congestions and delay. Additionally, in spite of the fact that GPS is the most accurate navigation system, there are still some issues in micro scale navigation, mainly availability and accuracy. Finally, LBS server which hosts geographical and users information is experiencing difficulties in managing the huge size of data which causes a long query processing time. This paper presents a technical investigation and analysis of the performance of each component of LBS system for pedestrian navigation, through conducting several experimental tests in different locations. The results of this investigation have pinpointed the weaknesses of the system in micro-scale environments. In addition, this paper proposes a group of solutions and recommendations for most of these shortcomings.

The Influence of Content and Trust on Consumers’ Intention to Accept Mobile Advertisements

A new model for investigating consumers’ behavioral intention in mobile advertising is developed and related to mobile marketing theory and practice. Hypotheses are tested about the hierarchical structure and the effects of the factors that precede consumers’ acceptance of mobile advertisement. The results suggest that attractive content and trust in advertisers are key predictors of mobile device users’ behavioral intention towards mobile advertising. The findings lead to a modification and extension of Fishbein’s behavioral intention model and its application in the research on advertising effectiveness.

Key Challenges for Delivering Web-Based IT Support Services

This chapter explores the key challenges faced by IT service providers offering after-sales support services to enterprise customers via the Web. The chapter is based on insights provided by representatives of six multi-national IT service organizations. It considers how IT service providers use knowledge-based approaches to offer such services. The chapter highlights the trend towards the employment of networks of business partners to assist with the processes of support delivery. By exploring the perceived needs of the different stakeholders involved in IT support provision, and the transfer of knowledge across these organizations and individuals, the key challenges in IT support provision are identified. The chapter proposes a range of solutions to address the key challenges.