E-Business and Security

This chapter is concerned with a major problem for any e-business organization, the security of its Information Systems. A review of information security characteristics and components is presented, followed by a detailed discussion of e-business security issues. Based on a structured approach for describing e-business functionality, e-business characteristics relevant to information security are identified. The major e-business security challenges are considered and e-business security issues are discussed and requirements are identified in different aspects of the realm. The current perimeter security approach appears to be inadequate to the modern business environment. Hence, a different approach is needed. A few alternative approaches are discussed and a review of previous and future research on e-business security is presented. Hence, the chapter aims to contribute both to academics and to e-business executives by providing the information security insight and awareness to the e-business unique security issues and challenges.

The Agri-Food Industry and the E-Landscape

This chapter provides a brief introduction to the agri-food industry sector and the role that electronic technologies are increasingly playing in ensuring a highly competitive business environment from production through to the final consumer. Key issues such as the dynamics of sustainable production, the drivers of supply and demand and globalised markets, as well as food safety and food security, are discussed within a “Food for Thought” section which provides the context for a more detailed look at a series of technologies used in various agri-food industry chains. Included for special discussion are those ‘e’ technologies associated with precision farming, electronic animal identification, robotic weed and pest control, cold chain RFID logistics tracking and e-commerce. The chapter concludes with a look at emerging issues for businesses within the agri-food industry going forward within the global electronic landscape, their significance, and some potential solutions.

Diversity and Design

Higher Education Institutions have worked to make equality of access to electronic curriculum resources the ‘status quo’. However, there is evidence that simply providing e-learning – no matter how well intentioned – is insufficient to address the problems that students are experiencing. A three stage model has been developed through analysis of students’ learning experiences at an inner-city, post-1992 University to illustrate how students have to negotiate their engagement with Higher Education. The model provides a way of mapping aspects of course design to different portraits of students, enabling students to be considered as high, medium and low risk in terms of retention. The value of this model for design and analysis of courses is located within the debate of how inclusive business schools curricula are for a diverse student body.

Technology, Trust and B2B Relationships

Technology has altered business processes, and the use of self-service technologies changes the nature of service delivery. The importance of developing and fostering relationships with customers has long been regarded as important within services marketing (Berry, 1983) and also within B2B relationships (Ford, 1990). In the 1980s and 90s, a shift in marketing focus has seen an increased emphasis on relationship marketing (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). This chapter reviews the results and implications of recent exploratory research conducted with a small sample of Australian business bank customers (n=20). This research makes a contribution toward answering the research question “what impact does the use of self service technologies have on relationships within a business-to-business context?” Utilising a banking context, this research explores how the use of Internet banking impacts on relationships between the bank and its business customer. In exploring this research area, a greater understanding of banking relationships and business banking customers has been identified.

ICT Use in Universities

This chapter analyzes the adequacy of two university education models according to their Information Communications Technology (ICT) usage: One model is based on the use of ICT as a cornerstone and a cohesive element of the teaching-learning process, whereas the other considers ICT a mere teaching support tool. The preliminary results obtained from a review of case studies reveal that ICT use is not only a means for improving the teaching–learning process but also an emerging prerequisite, demanded by digital natives in their choice of a university. Furthermore, it represents an additional valued outcome of the teaching–learning process.

Web Services and E-Business Technologies

The large scale deployment of Web services and e-business technologies in general – is affected by numerous implementation (for example, interoperability and integration) and security issues. The focus of this chapter is mainly on exploring the latter from the perspective of initiatives for mitigating security risks in Web services (for example, WS-S specifications) and e-business technologies (for example, security standards, business continuity planning, and cyber legislation). Best practices and recommendations for addressing security risks in the rapidly evolving Web environment are presented. Future research trends associated with the topic of security in Web services and e-business technology applications are also discussed.

The End of the Job Title

The staffing industry, despite being a global, multi-billion dollar business, has not yet widely exploited the use of business intelligence to make companies more competitive. Staffing companies are far removed from developing enterprise wide analytics and their analytical capabilities are either impaired or localized in their approach. Business intelligence commonly used in many other industries to optimize processes, reduce costs, or develop new services is dormant in staffing. This chapter analyses some of the root causes that impair the industry’s ability to develop analytics. While some originate in specific market conditions that are reflected in the design of IT systems, it is the absence of a common nomenclature to classify job categories that prevents consistent data management and the ability to integrate data across divisions and geographies. The chapter introduces the application of information extraction and expert system to generate artificial job classifications that could replace existing ones, which are largely based on conventional semantic notions. Under the assumption that companies in the staffing industry can deploy shared and common job classifications across their IT systems this chapter presents a range of service improvements, new services and data driven insights that are presently unrealized.

ICTs and Social Inclusion

Microfinance, defined as the provision of small-scale financial services for low-income populations, has widely been regarded in alleviating poverty and facilitating social inclusion. While much has been debated on the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on social inclusion, paucity remains on how ICTs contribute to microfinance in developing countries. Social inclusion, particularly in the sense of increasing access to microfinance, is important to entrepreneurs in developing countries, especially among women entrepreneurs in rural areas. A major challenge is to understand how ICTs contribute to microfinance, both in terms of reaching to a large population, and in providing efficient and effective services. This chapter investigates the role ICTs play in facilitating microfinance in developing countries. To do so, the current literature on ICTs and social inclusion and the literature on microfinance are reviewed in order to provide an integrated conceptual framework on how ICTs contribute to microfinance in enhancing social inclusion in developing countries.

Investigating the Effect of Color on Memorization and Trust in E-Learning

The objective of this chapter is to study the effect of the color of e-learning platforms as an atmospheric variable of the interface on the learning process. It focuses on two important variables: memorization and trust. First, it aims to explore the effect of color on the memorization of the educational content available in an e-learning platform. It investigates if the colored appearance of an e-learning system reinforces readability, suitability, and above all the memorizing process leading to learning. Second, it investigates the effect of color on trust in an e-learning platform and in the e-learning content. The chapter offers an examination of the role of the interface and the color in e-learning and memorization and presents trust in e-learning based on an exploratory qualitative study on how trust is developed in a website, as a result of the colors of the online interface. A case of an e-learning platform has been investigated to understand how the colors of the interface can enhance student memorization of the content as well as trust.

E-Business Efficacious Consequences The Etiquettes and the Business Decision Making

It stands with no contention that a society without virtues and values would be a muddled one, and etiquette is a systemic rectitude that helps shape society. The once eccentric Internet now epitomises regularized modern society and has paved way for new diverse business processes and operations that necessitate critical decision making. These proliferating business processes have been termed e-business or e-commerce, both of which have been used interchangeably in the literature. We consider two groups in the United States of America – business organisations and Higher Education Institutions; specifically the different higher education systems in the United States. Traditionally white institutions are of choice, as members of the Internet society in this chapter. A reconnoitring of the etiquettes of the Internet and e-business vis-à-vis decision making is presented and readers are driven through the elements of etiquettes that govern e-business and how these impact businesses as a whole. It would not be over-amplified to state that this component of e-business is important in ways that translate into institutions’ and organisations’ efficacies. The Higher Education Institutions and organisations vary in size and ownership, each institution or organisation deals with the essence of e-etiquette and the data show direct relationships between e-etiquette, decision making and the success of organisations and institutions and e-societal members.