Yes / It is against the background of low engagement by SMEs in e-business that this paper seeks to highlight the potential importance of aggregation and of the role of trusted third parties in facilitating higher levels of involvement. The paper is based on an ongoing SME e-business research programme and reports on some recent research on SMEs that were using high complexity e-business applications and explores the extent to which the research findings could address the core concern of low engagement. This qualitative case study based research includes analysis of data collected from 13 community intermediaries, acting as trusted third parties. It concludes that the role of community intermediaries appears to be central to the adoption of critical e-aggregation applications provided by service providers. For policymakers, this important role of critical e-aggregation applications in facilitating e-business engagement by SMEs has emerged as part of this research but there is limited evidence of policy initiatives that reflect this.

In recent years there has been an increase in the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in organisations, as the use of ICT causes some form of revolution in business practices. All over the world, ICT has greatly transformed the manner in which companies conduct business. However, there is considerable evidence to show that Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), are yet to reap the full benefits offered by ICT as compared to their counterparts in the developed countries. Although the contribution of SMEs’ is of notable importance to many countries’ economy, yet those in developing countries lag far behind. For SMEs to survive and remain competitive in the current highly competitive business environment there is a need to adopt and use ICT effectively, in order to attain some level of competitive advantage. This research investigates factors affecting the adoption and effective utilisation of ICT, with particular emphasis on SMEs in Nigeria. It is presumed that SMEs’ adoption of ICT in Nigeria will provide opportunities to accelerate the country’s socio-economic growth as it will offer Nigeria the chance to ‘leapfrog’ some stages of development. The methodology adopted in undertaking this study is the qualitative research approach although a survey was used at the initial stage, to provide an exploratory snapshot of the SMEs in context. This research has empirically identified key factors motivating ICT adoption in Nigerian SMEs, and benefits resulting from the use of ICT in their organisational performance. Factors affecting the adoption and effective utilisation of ICT in Nigerian SMEs were also identified. Following this, strategies were proposed which led to the development of a framework that will assist to increase the adoption and effective use of ICT amongst SMEs in Nigeria and also, aid the further deployment of more sophisticated ICT solutions by these SMEs. The framework was validated via a survey and analysed with the aid of SPSS software. The findings obtained from the validation procedure indicated that the framework is valuable and suitable for use in practice since the research shows that the majority of respondents accepted the research findings and recommendations for success. This research offers recommendations that will assist the Nigerian government, stakeholders such as ISPs, as well as owners/managers of SMEs, in resolving the problems confronting SMEs in Nigeria.

Background Every company nowadays needs to use ICT artifacts to cope with the business development. The adoption and use of ICT involves different actors who make sense of ICT in relation to their work environment. This thesis focuses on the relationships between the actors involved in SME’s ICT adoption and their influence upon the process. Purpose          The purpose of this thesis is to explore the interactions between different actors in the SME’s network and analyze how they influence the SMEs ICT adoption process. Method          An embedded single case study strategy was chosen as research strategy, in line with the explorative nature of the purpose. A conceptual framework was created giving structure to the entire research. The empirical data was gathered through observations, one in-depth interview and ten semi-structured interviews. The method used for data analysis had the same qualitative and deductive nature following the areas highlighted by the conceptual framework; the data was summarized condensing meanings around the relationships between actors and the evolution of the sense-making process of ICT adoption, in order to provide answers to the two research questions. Conclusion    The research has shown that the customer and the strategic suppliers as human actors have an important influence on the sense-making process of ICT adoption as well as the non-human actor - the ICT artifact. The actors are influencing the ICT adoption process through series of adaptive processes generated by an inter-organizational sense-making process shaped by the design of the ICT artifact. The study contributes to the body of knowledge through a new construct that enriches the conceptual framework with the findings of the research.

The challenge for educators is to prepare students for life in a technological advanced society that will continue to change exponentially. Work requirements have changed and computer skills have become a basic requirement for a majority of jobs. As computers have become more prevalent in everyday life and in the work place, their use has gained in importance around the world. Kuwait, like other countries, has recognised the need to increase the technological background of its students to compete better in world markets. This research recognises the importance of ICT in Education and realises the difficulties involved in its effective adoption. For that reason, it presents an empirical study of the ICT adoption process by examining perceived innovation attributes, and the relationship of individual characteristics in this process. The theory that supports the research effort is Rogers' theory of Diffusion of Innovation, which was used as the theoretical framework to hypothesise a model of ICT adoption. This model is called the ICT ARABIA Model (ICT Adoption using Rogers' model, and Bringing In Addition), and was designed to elicit the relative importance of the perceived innovation attributes in influencing ICT adoption in Mathematics education. The empirical context of the research is 259 participants in mathematics departments, which are analysed using quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Results indicated that the ICT ARABIA Model was most useful in explaining ICT adoption by mathematics departments. The relative importance of each factor of the ICT ARABIA Model was determined by rank ordering the mean importance scores for each factor. However, an additional factor emerged, and this was leadership. Also, demographic characteristics were found non-significant predictors of ICT adoption. These findings highlighted many issues for further study. The main concern was regarding the importance of the perceptions of innovation attributes in influencing the ICT adoption in mathematics education; however, leadership was also an influential factor, which resulted from interviews. Those interested in programme innovation and change in educational departments may need to focus on finding a strong leader to help in the process.

Yes / Against a background of the low engagement of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in e-business this paper investigates the significance of hosted services and firm aggregations. Based on qualitative case studies of aggregations of SMEs the research shows how e-business based innovation can occur, and identifies the extent to which the aggregation factor contributes to this innovation. The research confirms existing understanding of the importance of network based aggregations but adds to this with further detail and examples, including the `outsourcing¿ of innovation to the application service providers (ASPs).

Currently, there are 49 indigenous oil companies (INOCs) and 28 marginal fields operators as well as 24 multi-national oil companies (MNOCs) operating in Nigeria. This study on Nigerian INOCs has found them to have inadequate state-of-the-art upstream information systems (IS) for their operations. Prior literature also indicates inadequate research on IS with respect to the INOCs. The sector has been essential to Nigeria due to its contribution of approximately 90% of the export revenues. In addition, at least 89% of the country’s oil is produced by MNOCs while indigenous ones produce a maximum of 11%. This is as a result of many factors, including the upstream IS used by the INOCs. The main objective of the study investigated the significant barriers that limit the adoption of the state-of-the-art upstream IS by the Nigerian INOCs. Furthermore, the relevant literature reveals that the MNOCs have developed and sustained their technological expertise in using the state-of-the-art IS for all of their activities. The developed research questions of the study have been answered by the suitable parts of the research. Data were collected through the interviewing of 6 chosen stakeholders as well as the administration of 200 questionnaires to the relevant stakeholders, and finally, 140 valid questionnaires were retrieved. As a result of the significant differences which existed between the chosen groups of the stakeholders, follow-up interviews were conducted in which 12 stakeholders participated. 6 of them were the same stakeholders interviewed during the first interviews conducted prior to questionnaire-survey. A mixed-method approach was selected and was also triangulated. The study has also used objective statistical tools based on SPSS to critically discover the major obstacles that limit the adoption of the state-of-the-art IS. The study also discovered that the opinions which emerged from the research participants indicated that, cost of some state-of-the-art ICT resources, technical skill, managerial attitude, government policies, government incentives, corruption and insecurity were significant barriers that limit the adoption of state-of-the-art IS by Nigerian INOCs. The study concludes by suggesting the need to invest in sufficient resources, hold meetings between various stakeholders, develop skills in terms of quality and quantity, provide sufficient technical training, reformulate government policy towards the adoption of state-of-the-art IS, provide government incentives to adopt state-of-the-art IS, establish anti-corruption units and improve the safety of the oil workers.

The evolution of mobile-phone technologies such as Smartphones Applications and Services enabled the emergence of digital and smart economies, governments and nations. Many developed and developing countries, like Oman, have considerably invested in the area of Smart Technologies, and initiated countless number of projects such as Smart Governments, also known as Mobile or M-Government, to provide timely, secure, satisfactory and high quality of services for the citizens, businesses and other governmental agencies. Although many scholars have investigated this area of interest with huge amount of efforts, the adoption and actual use of M-Government applications and services, remain problematic and face many challenges. In this area of interest, two major themes of research were reported in the literature: User-centred (i.e., Human-Computer Interaction perspective) and System-centred (i.e., Software Engineering perspective). The first theme remains a hot area of interest mainly due to the importance of the role of end-users in the adoption and success of the new technologies like M-Government. Therefore, this study attempted to develop and empirically validate a novel Mobile Government Adoption Model (titled: MGAM) within the culture of Oman. The MGAM model integrates a well-known theory in this domain, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), with other theories including Psychometric Paradigm Theory (PPT), Customer Culture Theory (CCT) and Personality Trait Theory (PTT) to identify key factors related to the end-users or citizens; those included their Perception of Risk, Culture and Personality Trait. The study adopted quantitative research with Survey method as a research strategy for data collection and quantitative methodology for data analysis. A new data collection instrument was developed for the purpose of this study and distributed through online facilities to collect data about the variables of the MGAM Model from Users in Oman using the M-Government applications and services. Around 450 samples (302 males and 148 females) were collected and considered for the purpose of data analysis in this study. Several statistical tools and means have been used to analyse the data and valuate the MGAM model including Descriptive and Inferential Statistic, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), Comparative Fit Index Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) with Statistical Software Applications, SPSS and AMOS Applications. The study revealed that most of the users in Oman using M-Government applications and services were very positive about the Perceived Ease of Use and the Perceived Usefulness of the technology with very positive Attitude and Behavioural Intention towards this technology. The findings also showed that the research participants have a slightly negative Perception of Risk when using the M-Government applications and services in Oman, and positive perception of Culture in this domain. With reference to the MGAM Model, the model was tested and validated, and the findings indicated that the Personality Trait moderator can strengthen the link between Behavioural Intention and Actual Use of the technology. Based on the findings, the study provided key recommendations for the governmental personnel dealing with the development of M-Government applications and services in Oman, and for public users in Oman. Among those, the study recommends for considering this initiative in Oman as a real and strategic shift in public administration, and to make easy, flexible and dynamic M-Government applications and services through taking into account cultural issues and user-related preferences. The study also recommended offering more than a service in one visit by the users, providing information prior to services and training governmental employees on this technology. The main contribution of this work is the development and validation of a new adoption model in the area of M-Government, the MGAM model. Theoretically, the MGAM Model extends the TAM Model through the integration process with with other theories including PPT, CCT and PTT to identify new key factors with impact on the adoption of M-Government infrastructure. This work also makes a novel contribution in terms of research methodology by developing and applying a new data collection tool, i.e., Mobile Government Adoption Questionnaire. This tool can be used by other researchers to collect data on the same research problem from contexts similar to the Omani one. Practically, this work attempted to identify the key prerequisites for the adoption and actual use of technology in the area of public services administration, and then making contribution towards the success of M-Government initiatives. The use of different tests and methods to statistically understand how the Omani end-users make decisions on the use of M-Government is also a novel practical contribution of this work.

Mobile information and communication technologies (ICT) promise to significantly transform enterprises, their business processes and services, improve employee productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency, and create new competitive advantages and business agility. Despite the plethora of potential benefits, however, widespread enterprise adoption of mobile ICT has not been as extensive as initially anticipated. Drawing on the extant information systems, technology management, and organizational innovation literature, this dissertation investigates the salient drivers and inhibitors of emerging ICT adoption, in general, and mobile ICT in particular, and develops an integrative ICT adoption decision framework. From this synthesis we identify four broad elements that influence an enterprise s decision to adopt mobile ICT: (1) business value, (2) costs and economics, (3) strategic alignment, and (4) enterprise readiness. The latter decision element has received only little theoretical and practical attention. In order to fill this gap, this dissertation explored the concept of enterprise readiness in further detail and identified eight key dimensions and their associated assessment indicators. Using a two-stage expert study and experimental design approach, we empirically validated these dimensions and determined their relative importance. Results indicated that leadership readiness followed by technology, data and information, and resource readiness, contributed the most to enterprise readiness for mobile ICT. The results are implemented into a web-based readiness diagnostic tool (RDT) that enables decision makers to assess an enterprise s readiness for mobile ICT. The benefits of the RDT are multifold: first, it navigates the decision maker through the complex readiness assessment space; second, it identifies potential organizational deficiencies and provides a means to assess potential sources of risks associated with the adoption and implementation of mobile ICT; and third, it enables decision makers to benchmark their level of readiness against other organizations. The dissertation concludes by highlighting both theoretical and practical implications for emerging and mobile ICT adoption management and suggesting directions for future research.

Although literature reveals that significant efforts have been made to study ICT adoption and diffusion, the diversity of research in terms of theory and methodology is very low. Most studies have relied on traditional adoption theories (e.g., TAM and DOI) and these theories are not capable of providing rich explanantion on how the adoption and post-adoption develop over time. It is argued here that ICT adoption involves multi-dimensional and complex issues. These issues range from how various roles played by actors in emerging ICT are accounted for to ensuring successful adoption. Therefore, this research aims to advance our understanding of emerging ICT adoptions in SMEs from a dynamic process perspective. The specific objectives of this research are to: establish the stages of the dynamic process, identify the key actors and their roles, explore the critical factors affecting the emerging ICT adoption process, identify the challenges and provide recommendations and implications for stakeholders in promoting future adoption and diffusion in UK SMEs. The research adopts a social-technical approach that challenges the ideas of the mainstream thinkers. More specifically, it adopts Actor Network Theory (ANT). The key ANT concepts that influenced the empirical investigation are inscription, translation, framing and stabilisation. The research adopted a qualitative method using face to face interviews. Two rounds of data collection were undertaken. The first round started with a theoretical review, the analysis of relevant literature, and unstructured interviews mainly with small business managers. Eleven interviews were carried out. The second round of interviews was semi-structured with key human actors identified in the first round of interviews. A total of fifteen interviews were conducted. They included the small business manager; SMEs service sector customers, government agencies, SMEs consultants, and IT vendors. The aim was to further explore the dynamic adoption process, the roles and challenges of actors and to validate the outcomes of the findings. The analysis was guided by a hybrid approach of thematic analysis using NVivo software. The study proposed and validated a conceptual framework that illustrates the dynamic process of emerging ICT adoption in SMEs from the Actor Network Theory perspective. This framework helps to understand the adoption process, actors involved, actors’ roles and interactions, and the critical factors. Using the key concepts of ANT as the basis of the investigation, the findings identify a number of key activities associated with the adoption process. These activities include: problem assessment and evaluation, concept generation and evaluation, concept specification, product outsourcing /role delegation, misalignment and alignment of interests, product trial, product modification, adaptation, and impact and problem redefinition. These activities reveal that adoption of emerging ICT in a small business context is not constant, straightforward and certain; instead it is unpredictable, dynamic, and an on-going and reiterative process. ANT concepts were further used to analyse and categorise 20 roles that different actors play, 15 critical factors influencing emerging ICT adoption in SMEs, and the challenges facing actors. While all of these roles, factors, and challenges are critical, in this study, the findings reveal that monitoring and legislation are the most recurring roles at each stage. Furthermore, ease of use, managerial time, shared support, customer focus and adoption costs are the factors affecting the success of multiple stages (three stages). Finally, the thesis presents the contributions and implications for both research and practice in future adoption and diffusion.

Le développement des TIC et les innovations numériques qui en découlent ont radicalement changé le comportement des consommateurs. Les organisations s’adaptent à ces changements en transformant leurs pratiques. L’objet de cette recherche est l’innovativité Web comprise comme la capacité des organisations à adopter les innovations Web. La recherche interroge les pratiques d’adaptation des organisations en faveur du numérique : Comment piloter le changement numérique dans les organisations ? Le champ de recherche porte sur les Organismes de Gestion de Destination Touristique (OGD) qui ont la responsabilité du management du tourisme sur leur territoire de compétence. Cette thèse s’articule en deux parties. La première partie se focalise sur la mesure de l’innovativité des sites Web des OGD. Une grille d’analyse de l’innovativité est proposée et les méthodes de l’Aide Multi-Critères à la Décision (AMCD) sont employées afin d’évaluer la performance relative des sites Web de 30 OGD français. La logique du benchmarking est adoptée. Les résultats hétérogènes de cette approche quantitative nous poussent à chercher dans un second temps les facteurs explicatifs de l’innovativité. Pourquoi certains OGD sont-ils plus innovants que d’autres ? Quels sont les facteurs qui facilitent l’adoption des innovations Web par les OGD ? A cet égard, notre seconde partie traite des facteurs d’adoption des innovations Web dans les organisations. Une analogie entre PME et OGD est proposé afin d’identifier théoriquement les facteurs d’adoption des innovations Web. La méthodologie de recherche retenue pour cette seconde partie est de nature exploratoire et qualitative et correspond à un positionnement épistémologique de type interprétativiste. Des entretiens semi-directifs sont menés auprès d’experts en Management du Tourisme et l’étude du cas d’un OGD particulier permet de comprendre en profondeur le pilotage du changement numérique dans les organisations. Cette thèse en sciences de gestion s’inscrit en Management du Tourisme et présente des apports théoriques, méthodologiques et managériaux. Nous proposons un cadre théorique d’analyse de l’innovation Web et nous proposons une méthodologie robuste pour l’opérationnaliser. Cette méthodologie utilise les nombres flous, encore peu employés dans les sciences de gestion et pourtant porteurs de sens lors d’évaluations utilisant des échelles linguistiques. Les résultats de cette approche quantitative sont autant de perspectives d’amélioration des pratiques par les responsables d’OGD. Enfin, nous étudions le pilotage du changement dans les OGD en identifiant les facteurs d’adoption des innovations Web. / The development of ICT has radically changed the customer behaviour and their decision making process. Therefore, the organisations/companies should adapt themselves to these changes by transforming their practices. This thesis has two parts. In the first part, we explore the website-service innovativeness of 30 French DMO websites. An empirical approach is used to establish a structured framework of six evaluation criteria for website’s innovativeness. Fuzzy logic is employed in order to objectively evaluate the service-innovativeness and overall e-service quality of the DMO websites by using the linguistic variables. The TOPSIS method enables a comparison of the relative rankings of DMO websites, and also facilitates an objective metric as a benchmark to compare innovativeness overtime. The heterogeneous results oblige us to conduct an exploratory study in order to understand the reason behind this ranking. In this regard, in the 2nd part, we have focused on the factors of ICT adoption. Semi-structured interviews have been done with the tourism experts in order to understand the factors that facilitate the ICT adoption by the French DMO. Finally, we present the case of one of our benchmarks (Bordeaux Tourist Office) in order to illustrate the ICT adoption process.