Managing Corporate E-Mail Systems

As the criticality of e-mail for electronic business activity increases, adhoc e-mail implementation, prolonged management neglect and user abuse of e-mail systems have generated negative effects. However, management’s ability to rectify problems with e-mail systems is hindered by our understanding of its organisational use. Research on e-mail systems is often dated and based on quantitative methodologies that cannot explain the interaction between various controls in organisational settings. Updating our understanding of the organisational aspects of e-mail systems utilizing qualitative methods is necessary. This chapter presents a multiple case study investigation of e-mail system monitoring and control. The study examines the interaction between key elements of e-mail control identified by previous researchers and considers the role of such controls at various implementation phases. The findings reveal eight major elements to be particularly important in monitoring and controlling e-mail systems within the organisations studied. These are: (1) form a cross-functional e-mail system management team; (2) implement and regularly update e-mail management software; (3) formulate a detailed and legally sound e-mail policy; (4) engage in structured e-mail system training; (5) create and maintain ongoing awareness of e-mail policy; (6) engage in a process of hybrid feedback and control-based e-mail monitoring; (7) firmly enforce discipline in accordance with the e-mail policy; and (8) conduct regular reviews and updates of the e-mail management programme.

Content is King? Interdependencies in Value Networks for Mobile Services

The advent of new electronic platforms is forcing firms from a range of industries to come together in so-called “value networks” for the provision of innovative mobile services. Firms from different industries have widely varying resources, among which content is often praised as being “king.” We are particularly interested in the role of content and of the content providers, respectively, in the process of value creation to bring these services about. Therefore, our analysis is aimed at specific types of interdependencies, relating the actors’ own and others’ resource contributions. To better understand these interdependencies, we draw on theories about firm resources and inter-organisational relations. We analyse the importance and relevance of different resources in a number of case studies of “mobile information and entertainment services,” in terms of the actors’ resources and contributions to value in the provision of such mobile services. In the cross-case comparison, we contrast the power structures in the different value networks and identify similarities and differences in terms of the types of industrial players that assume positions of greater or lesser importance. This enables us to assess the position of content providers in these mobile services, which turns out to be surprisingly weak. In contrast, intermediaries (service providers) claim a strong position by contributing the service conception and design. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for value network research.

Computer Self-Efficacy and the Acceptance of Instant Messenger Technology

AOL instant messenger (IM) is a widely used Internet chat technology. There are indications that users do not find it easy to use initially, and this concerns AOL management; they think that if popular applications are not easy to use, the ability of AOL to attract and hold loyal customers will be impeded. In this chapter, the acceptance of IM technology is investigated within the familiar framework of the technology acceptance model (TAM), in which ease of use plays a pivotal role in promoting acceptance and subsequent use of a given technology. Computer self efficacy (CSE) is examined for possible antecedent roles in structural models of acceptance processes. It is determined that CSE does operate in a mediating relationship between some of the critical subcomponents of the TAM model but that it does not operate within the strictly defined theoretical boundaries established for general antecedents to the overall TAM process.

Consumer Factors Affecting Adoption of Internet Banking Services

Banking is often regarded as an information-intensive industry. From the information process point of view, banking services primarily involve creation, processing, storage, and distribution of financial information. Although most of these services can be conveniently handled via Internet-based information technologies, adoption of Internet banking has been less than optimal. Existing research has revealed that this convenience may be offset, to varying degrees, by customer-perceived risk associated with transacting in the wide-open cyberworld. A key challenge for online bankers is to maintain a secure information infrastructure that effectively manages the perceived risk factors. This research examines usages of Internet banking services, investigates the nature and sources of customers’ perceived risks, and tests hypotheses with regard to impacts of perceived risks on Internet banking adoption. Using primary data collected in Taiwan, the study finds significant relationships among involvement, familiarity, perceived risks, perception of measures for reducing perceived risks, and customer willingness to adopt Internet banking services. The findings have significant implications for practice and research in Internet banking.

Different Types of Business-to-Business Integration

In this chapter we argue that there exist two basic forms of business-to-business integration (B2Bi), namely extended enterprise integration and market B2Bi. This chapter clarifies the meaning of both concepts, shows that the difference between both is fundamental, and discusses the consequences of the difference in the realm of Web services development. The importance of coordination and the role of standards are studied for both types of e-business. The authors hope this chapter clearly shows the foundations of B2Bi and that the chapter as such brings clarity into B2Bi practices.

How E-Services Satisfy Customer Needs

We outline a rigorous approach that models how companies can electronically offer packages of independent services (service bundles). Its objective is to support prospective Web site visitors in defining and buying service bundles that fit their specific needs and demands. The various services in the bundle may be offered by different suppliers. To enable this scenario, it is necessary that software can reason about customer needs and available service offerings. Our approach for tackling this issue is based on recent advances in computer and information science, where information about a domain at hand is conceptualized and formalized using ontologies and subsequently represented in machine-interpretable form. The substantive part from our ontology derives from broadly accepted service management and marketing concepts from business studies literature. In earlier work, we concentrated on the service bundling process itself. In the present chapter, we discuss how to ensure that the created bundles indeed meet customer demands. Experience of Norwegian energy utilities shows that severe financial losses can be caused when companies offer service bundles without a solid foundation for the bundle-creation process and without an in-depth understanding of customer needs and demands. We use a running case example from the Norwegian energy sector to demonstrate how we put theory into practice.

Drivers of Adoption and Implementation of Internet-Based Marketing Channels

This chapter analyses factors influencing manufacturers’ adoption and implementation of Internet-based marketing channels, using models based on marketing channel and organizational innovation theory. Survey data from 1,163 Danish, Finnish, and Swedish manufacturers form the empirical basis for testing the models using LISREL analysis. The results stress that adoption of Internet-based marketing is influenced by willingness to cannibalize, management support, market pressure, and a firm’s knowledge of information technology. Willingness to cannibalize mediates the effects of future market orientation, ownership, specialised investments, and management support. This is mainly the case in small firms, as the importance of the various drivers and the adoption pattern vary between size categories. Market-pull factors have relatively more explanatory power in medium-sized and large companies.