This thesis investigates whether information technology [IT] ameliorates or exacerbates the information asymmetry between management and external users of financial information, and ascertains whether and under what circumstances IT has an impact on external reporting. These two issues are investigated under the proposed contingency perspective. The main aims of this thesis are to provide a policy-making basis for regulators of corporate financial reporting [CFR], and to formulate a theoretical framework which can be used for research in this area. A survey design has been adopted. Mail questionnaires have been used to collect data from a sample of UK public companies, supplemented by personal interviews. Statistical procedures have been applied to analyse the data. The results demonstrate that, while contributing to some improvements in CFR, the use of IT has played a role in the aggravation of the information asymmetry between management and external users, and in this sense it has counteracted the social benefits of financial reporting. A major implication of this is that the use of IT in accounting requires monitoring and control at a societal level. However, UK regulators have done little in this respect and thus this thesis proposes several courses of action for them. Moreover, although IT plays a role in improving external reporting, the impact of IT varies depending on factors such as company size and leverage. These results are useful for regulators since they enhance the understanding of and, the ability to predict, the impact of IT. This thesis is the first study which has empirically evaluated the influence of IT on external reporting and has put the impact of IT into the context of information asymmetry. Moreover, although it should be subject to further empirical test, the proposed contingency framework proves general, flexible, analytical and operational, and appears to be widely applicable.

The main motivation for this thesis is to introduce some new methodologies for the prediction of the directional movement of financial assets with an application to the ASE20 Greek stock index. Specifically, we use some alternative computational methodologies named Evolutionary Support Vector Machine (ESVM), Gene Expression programming, Genetic Programming Algorithms and 2 hybrid combinations of linear and no linear models for modeling and trading the ASE20 Greek stock index using as inputs previous values of the ASE20 index and of four other financial indices. For comparison purposes, the trading performance of the ESVM stock predictor, Gene Expression Programming, Genetic Programming Algorithms and the 2 Hybrid combination methodologies have been benchmarked with four traditional strategies (a nave strategy, a Buy and Hold strategy, a MACD and an ARMA models), and a Multilayer Pereceptron (MLP) neural network model. As it turns out, the proposed methodologies produced a higher trading performance in terms of annualized return and information ratio, while providing information about the relationship between the ASE20 index and other foreign indices.

E-CRM emerges from the Internet and web technology to facilitate the implementation of CRM; it focuses on Internet or web-based interaction between banks and their customers. In particular, E-CRM enables banks to provide appropriate service and products to satisfy the customer and enhance customer loyalty, Furthermore, E-CRM features are vital for managing customer relationships online. They are generally referred to as concrete website functionality or tools and they are required for customizing, personalizing and interacting with the customer. Without E-CRM features, CRM could not be realized on the Internet. In fact, in the literature, there appears to be an absence of theoretical model for effects of E CRM features on customer satisfaction in general, and E-CRM features affect service quality, which in turn leads to customer satisfaction in particular. Consequently, this research attempts to fill the information gap. The aim of this thesis was to examine the effect of various E-CRM features at the different stages of transaction cycle (pre-transaction, during-transaction, and post-transaction) on customer satisfaction on banks websites in Saudi Arabia. Six basic hypotheses were tested, as parts of a theoretical model of these E-CRM features against seven service quality dimensions selected from the SERVQUAL instrument and discussed in detail in Chapter (3). Data was collected through a questionnaire which was administered in the Western Region (Jeddah) of Saudi Arabia in April/May 2010. The empirical analysis was carried out using a structural equation model. The results form of this research indicate that the use of E-CRM in building customer relationships effects online customer satisfaction and service quality. The efficiency of E-CRM program determine the level of which online features, such as site customization, membership, site information, privacy, security, product or service customization, alternative payment and frequently asked questions would be implemented on banks’ websites. This research contributes to knowledge in several ways. Most importantly, it illustrates the roles of E-CRM features in enhancing service quality and customer satisfaction at different stage of transaction cycle. In particular, this research highlight the critical dimensions of service quality, which managers in the banking sector should invest in their customer satisfaction strategies.

The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) has been widely adopted in many financial institutions in their daily transactions; this adoption was due to the flexible nature of XML providing a common syntax for systems messaging in general and in financial messaging in specific. Excessive use of XML in financial transactions messaging created an aligned interest in security protocols integrated into XML solutions in order to protect exchanged XML messages in an efficient yet powerful mechanism. However, financial institutions (i.e. banks) perform large volume of transactions on daily basis which require securing XML messages on large scale. Securing large volume of messages will result performance and resource issues. Therefore, an approach is needed to secure specified portions of an XML document, syntax and processing rules for representing secured parts. In this research we have developed a smart approach for securing financial XML transactions using effective and intelligent fuzzy classification techniques. Our approach defines the process of classifying XML content using a set of fuzzy variables. Upon fuzzy classification phase, a unique value is assigned to a defined attribute named "Importance Level". Assigned value indicates the data sensitivity for each XML tag. This thesis also defines the process of securing classified financial XML message content by performing element-wise XML encryption on selected parts defined in fuzzy classification phase. Element-wise encryption is performed using symmetric encryption using AES algorithm with different key sizes. Key size of 128-bit is being used on tags classified with "Medium" importance level; a key size of 256-bit is being used on tags classified with "High" importance level. An implementation has been performed on a real life environment using online banking system in Jordan Ahli Bank one of the leading banks in Jordan to demonstrate its flexibility, feasibility, and efficiency. Our experimental results of the system verified tangible enhancements in encryption efficiency, processing time reduction, and resulting XML message sizes. Finally, our proposed system was designed, developed, and evaluated using a live data extracted from an internet banking service in one of the leading banks in Jordan. The results obtained from our experiments are promising, showing that our model can provide an effective yet resilient support for financial systems to secure exchanged financial XML messages.

This thesis demonstrates the signal function and diagnostic value of user resistance in a software development project. Its starting point is the critical analysis of managerial common sense which negates resistance, or sees resistance to change as a 'nuisance' and as the manifestation of an individual or structural 'deficiency'; these notions prohibit change agents from appreciating the signal function of resistance to change in organisational processes. The first source of evidence is the literature on impacts, attitudes, and acceptance of information technology internationally and in particular in Switzerland. The second source is the tradition of psychological field theory which I reconstruct as the 'feeding the reluctant eater' paradigm, a form of social engineering. The third source is an empirical study of the semantics (semantic differential and free associations) of 'resistance to change' among management trainees in the UK, Switzerland and the USA (N=388). The thesis develops and investigates a concept of resistance that is based a pain analogy, and on the notions of self-monitoring and self-active systems. An organization which is implementing new technology is a self-active system that directs and energetizes its activities with the help of internal and external communication. The functional analogy of the organismic pain system and resistance to change is explored. The analogy consists of parallel information processing, filtering and recoding of information, a bimodal pattern of attention over time, and the functions of attention allocation, evaluation, alteration and learning. With this analogy I am able to generate over 50 hypotheses on resistance to change and its effects on organisational processes. The evidence for some of these hypotheses is explored in an empirical study of a Swiss banking group. The implemention of computer services between 1983 and 1991 is reconstructed in the central bank and 24 branches. Data includes the analysis of two opinion surveys (1985 n=305; 1991 n=326), documents (n=134), narrative interviews (n=34), job analyses (n=34), field observations and performance data (n=24). A method is developed to describe the varying structure of organisational information processing through time. The content analysis allows me to describe when in relation to the action, how intense, and in what manner 'resistance' becomes an issue between 1983 and 1991. The fruitfulness of the pain analogy is demonstrated (a) by shifting the analysis of resistance from structure to process and to that of an independent rather than to that of a dependent variable; (b) by shifting the focus from from motivation to communication; (c) by eroding the a priori assumption that resistance is a nuisance; and (d) by indicating the diagnostic value of "bad news" in organisational communication; resistance is diagnostic information; it shows us when, where and why things go wrong.