This thesis is motivated by the need to establish a model covering innovative information systems (IS) adoption behaviours within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Studies on adoption behaviour related to innovative IS are devoting increasing attention to SMEs. Most prior studies, however, have still relied on models developed from studies of large firms. The applicability to SMEs of findings and models developed from large firm studies is not without question as SMEs are not miniature versions of large firms. SMEs face different challenges and opportunities from large firms. This thesis empirically examined issues on the adoption behaviours of innovative IS by SMEs. In line with this objective, two research questions were established. First, what are the critical determinants that allow SMEs to overcome inhibiting factors and adopt an innovative IS? Second, what are the critical determinants that ultimately activate and stimulate them to become enabled and actively utilise an innovative IS? The conceptualisation of enacted capabilities, adapted from the resource-based view of the firm is introduced. This thesis postulates that appropriate enacted capabilities facilitate SMEs to become enabled and actively utilise an innovative IS. These enacted capabilities include the level of IT skills and knowledge of the enterprises’ members, trust in technology, trust in trading partners, external experts’ support, and organisational culture Models incorporating aspects of the theory underlying the technology acceptance model (Davis, 1989), the diffusion of innovation theory (Rogers, 1995), and the resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991) were developed to describe the causal linkages between the determinants that activate and stimulate innovative IS adoption behaviour (i.e., from adopting to enabling to utilising innovative IS). One model was developed for the adoption stage and a second for the enablement and utilisation stages. The adoption stage model contains three main hypotheses. The first two hypotheses propose that enacted capabilities have a positive direct effect on both perceived net benefits and attitude towards adoption from a competitive advantage perspective. The third hypothesis proposes that perceived net benefits have a positive effect on attitude towards adoption form a competitive advantage perspective. The enablement and utilisation stages model contains four main hypotheses. The first two hypotheses propose that enacted capabilities and attitude have positive effects on perceived net benefits. The last two hypotheses propose that perceived net benefits and attitude towards adoption from a competitive advantage perspective have positive effects on the extent of enablement and usage of innovative IS. The hypotheses are tested using data obtained via a survey and follow-up interview. Responses were received from 206 SMEs of varying industries and sizes from the survey. Out of these 206 SMEs, follow-up interviews were conducted with twenty-one SMEs. The interviews utilise a combination of both open and closed questions. The questions for the follow-up interviews were based on findings derived from the survey. The innovative IS examined was the Malaysian government’s electronic procurement system, known as ePerolehan. All government suppliers must register for the system and become enabled for use before they can start utilising the system. The results indicate that enacted capabilities possessed by SMEs affect perceived net benefits at all stages of adoption behaviours of SMEs (i.e., adoption, enablement and utilisation). More significantly, two aspects of enacted capabilities, top management IS skills and knowledge and trust in trading partners dominate the effect on perceived net benefits. Support from external experts dominates the effect on attitude at the adoption stage. Top management IS skills and knowledge and trust in technology have a negative effect on attitude at the time of adoption. Enacted capabilities also contribute to the extent of enablement and usage within SMEs. Furthermore, different categories of adopters differ in the set of enacted capabilities underlying their innovative IS adoption behaviour. Results also indicate that when SMEs perceived higher net benefits in adopting innovative IS, they have a positive attitude. The positive attitude generated at the time of adoption has a direct effect on the extent of enablement and usage. The influence of perceived net benefits differs at the different stages of adoption behaviour. At the utilisation stage, usage is affected by perceived net benefits, however, perceived net benefits do not affect the extent of enablement at the enablement stage. In conclusion, this thesis found that enacted capabilities display important roles as antecedents to perceived net benefits, and that perceived net benefits act as a mediator from enacted capabilities to attitude at the adoption stage. Enacted capabilities also display important roles as stimulators of the extent of enablement and usage. Thus, apart from requiring good ideas and financial resources, SMEs also require appropriate enacted capabilities when adopting, enabling and utilising innovative IS.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Lund University, 2001. / Title from title screen of PDF file (viewed 9 Dec. 2003). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.B.A. (Rhodes Investec Business School)) - Rhodes University, 2008. / Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Business Administration in the Rhodes Investec Business School (RIBS)

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1998. / Running title: CHD Web site. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1998. / Running title: CHD Web site. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Åbo Akademi, 2003. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on January 5, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 186-205). Also available in print.

In this study, Turkey&rsquo / s Internet visibility will be analyzed based on data to be collected from multiple different resources (such as / Google, Yahoo, Altavista, Bing and AOL). Analysis work will involve inspection of DNS queries, Web crawling and some other similar techniques. Our goal is to investigate global Internet and find webs that has common pattern of representing Internet visibility of Turkey and compare their characteristics with other webs&#039 / on the world and discover their similarities and differences.

Conselho Nacional do Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A sociedade atual se mantém e se organiza em formato de rede, interconectando pessoas e organizações ao redor do mundo. Nestas novas formas de organização social, as empresas passaram a manter relações de cooperação em rede para otimizar a utilização de seu potencial e compartilhar riscos, recursos físicos e financeiros e, mais recentemente, compartilhar recursos de informação e de conhecimento. Um dos públicos com os quais as empresas passaram a realizar este tipo de atividade é composto pelas universidades, tradicionais polos do Conhecimento, e pelos grupos de pesquisa e seus respectivos pesquisadores. Neste contexto, surgiram as redes de conhecimento, vistas como conjuntos de atores heterogêneos que se unem para criar e compartilhar conhecimentos sobre temas e áreas variadas, que podem ser encontradas nos mais diversos setores da sociedade e também nas relações entre universidades e empresas. A partir destas delimitações, este estudo tem o objetivo de analisar o surgimento de Redes de Conhecimento no cenário brasileiro atual de relações de interação universidade-empresa sob a ótica de grupos de pesquisa selecionados no Diretório Geral dos Grupos de Pesquisa no Brasil - DGP, com vistas a proposição de uma estrutura referencial de ações para fomentar o surgimento dessas redes. A pesquisa pode ser caracterizada como de natureza aplicada e de abordagem fundamentalmente qualitativa. Quanto aos objetivos-macro, esta é uma pesquisa exploratória e descritiva, utilizando-se de métodos qualitativos e quantitativos para a coleta e para a análise dos dados, que foi baseada na metodologia de análise de conteúdo e utiliza-se também de estatística descritiva e inferencial. Os resultados do estudo indicam que as relações de cooperação entre universidades e empresas ocorrem no cenário nacional, embora em pequena proporção. Por outro lado, a questão das Redes de Conhecimento formadas nas relações universidadeempresa ainda é incipiente, de forma que foram encontrados, após pesquisa bibliométrica, poucos trabalhos científicos abordando a temática. Ainda, como características principais do processo, verificou-se que as interações partem, em geral, das universidades ou dos grupos de pesquisa, que desenvolvem projetos voltados para pesquisas aplicadas com as empresas com as quais cooperam. Verificou-se ainda um caráter bastante pessoal nessas relações, embora os participantes da pesquisa tenham apontado que a institucionalização destas redes legitimaria suas ações frente à sociedade. De outra parte, considerando os dados analisados, percebe-se que a formação e a manutenção de redes de conhecimento nas relações entre universidades e empresas têm o potencial de contribuir para o desenvolvimento pessoal dos indivíduos envolvidos no processo de cooperação, para o aprimoramento administrativo e organizacional das instituições participantes da rede e desenvolvimento econômico e social das regiões onde as redes se inserem. / The present society is maintained and organized in a network format, interconnecting people and organizations around the world. In these new forms of social organization, companies began to maintain cooperative relationships in order to optimize the use of their potential and to share risks, physical and financial resources, and, more recently, to share information and knowledge resources. One of the publics which the companies started to carry out this type of activity is composed by the universities, traditional knowledge centers, and by the research groups and their respective researchers. In this context, knowledge networks has emerged, seen as groups of heterogeneous actors that unite themselves to create and share knowledge about themes and distinct areas, that can be found in the most diverse sectors of society and also in the relations between universities and industries. Based on these delimitations, this study aims to analyze the emergence of Knowledge Networks in the current Brazilian scenario of university-industry interaction relations from the perspective of research groups selected in the General Directory of Research Groups in Brazil, in order to proposing a referential structure of actions to promote the emergence of these networks. This research can be characterized as an applied nature and a fundamentally qualitative approach. Regarding the macro-objectives, this is an exploratory and descriptive research, using qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection and analysis, which is based on the methodology of content analysis and also uses descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of the study indicate that cooperative relations between universities and companies occur on the national scene, however in to a small percentage. On the other hand, the Knowledge Networks formed in the university-business relationship is still incipient, so that few scientific studies were found addressing this subject. Also, as main characteristics of the process, it was verified that the interactions begin usually from universities or research groups, which develop projects focused on applied research with the companies with which they cooperate. There was also a very personal character in these relations, although the participants of the research pointed out that the institutionalization of these networks would legitimize their actions against society. On the other hand, considering the analyzed data, it is perceived that the formation and maintenance of knowledge networks in the relations between universities and companies have the potential to contribute to the personal development of the individuals involved in the cooperation process, for the administrative and organization of the participating institutions of the network and economic and social development of the regions where the networks are inserted.

GOIS, Maria Josineide Silva. Mensuração de Desempenho nas Organizações: a Gestão de Indicadores na Biblioteca de Ciências Humanas da UFC. 2009. 136 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Políticas Públicas e Gestão da Educação Superior) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Políticas Públicas e Gestão da Educação Superior, Fortaleza-CE, 2009. / Submitted by moises gomes (celtinha_malvado@hotmail.com) on 2012-06-22T12:02:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_MJSGois.pdf: 3457088 bytes, checksum: 45c8dffbe7e8bc09847370b2100f8943 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Josineide Góis(josineide@ufc.br) on 2012-06-25T11:10:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_MJSGois.pdf: 3457088 bytes, checksum: 45c8dffbe7e8bc09847370b2100f8943 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-06-25T11:10:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_MJSGois.pdf: 3457088 bytes, checksum: 45c8dffbe7e8bc09847370b2100f8943 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / The aim of this study is to present the subject “organizational performance mensuration” through strategic management of indicators as instruments to control management information. It has as a purpose to develop and to apply performance mensuration taxonomy for the library. The research uses the functionalist approach and it is characterized for being descriptive and at the same time of practical aim. The guide basis for such investigation is the Sistema Nacional de Avaliação do Ensino Superior – SINAES, which institutes evaluation in higher education public institutions and the ISO standard 11620/2004 which spread knowledge on how performance measurement can be accomplished in the library. The Investigation was carried out at the Biblioteca de Ciências Humanas of the Universidade Federal do Ceará and aspects concerning the analysis of the product, the delivery systems as well as of the processes were approached. The instrument developed was showed to be efficient and of easy application, whereas the necessary information sources seem to be accessible and available in the routine of the library and resulted in consistent and precious information for managers. As a conclusion we can say that the performance systematic mensuration use is an efficient tool of control and accompaniment of management information, supporting the safe decision taking and the organizational planning, therefore, its dissemination must be encouraged / Este estudo apresenta o tema mensuração de desempenho organizacional por meio da gestão estratégica de indicadores como instrumento de controle da informação gerencial. Tem por objetivo desenvolver e aplicar uma sistemática de mensuração de desempenho para a biblioteca. A pesquisa utiliza-se do método funcionalista e caracteriza-se por ser ao mesmo tempo descritiva e de finalidade prática. Os fundamentos orientadores desta busca são documentos do Sistema Nacional de Avaliação do Ensino Superior – SINAES, que institui a avaliação nas instituições de ensino superior públicas, e a norma ISO 11.620/2004, que difunde o conhecimento sobre como a medição de desempenho pode ser efetivada na biblioteca. A investigação foi realizada na Biblioteca de Ciências Humanas da Universidade Federal do Ceará, tendo sido abordados os aspectos relativos à análise do produto, do sistema de entrega e dos processos. O instrumento desenvolvido mostrou-se eficiente e de fácil aplicação, pois as fontes de informação necessárias encontram-se disponíveis e acessíveis no cotidiano da biblioteca e resultou em informações consistentes e preciosas para os gestores. Conclui-se que o uso da sistemática de mensuração de desempenho é um instrumento eficaz de controle e acompanhamento da informação gerencial, respaldando a tomada de decisão segura e o planejamento organizacional, portanto, a sua disseminação deve ser estimulada

nÃo hà / Com a contÃnua transformaÃÃo e uso crescente das tecnologias na sociedade, hà uma necessidade de melhor nomeÃ-las. A expressÃo âTecnologias EletrÃnicas e Digitais de InformaÃÃo e de ComunicaÃÃoâ faz uma representaÃÃo mais adequada destas tecnologias modernas. As bibliotecas universitÃrias tambÃm fazem uso dessas tecnologias, porÃm para melhor atender seus usuÃrios, à necessÃrio que essas tecnologias sejam avaliadas adequadamente. O governo brasileiro, atravÃs da ComissÃo Nacional de AvaliaÃÃo da EducaÃÃo Superior (CONAES) em uma das suas atribuiÃÃes, orienta os critÃrios avaliativos para a educaÃÃo superior, na qual as bibliotecas universitÃrias estÃo inseridas. O objetivo desta pesquisa à avaliar o uso das Tecnologias EletrÃnicas e Digitais de InformaÃÃo e de ComunicaÃÃo na oferta de produtos e serviÃos à comunidade acadÃmica da Universidade Federal do CearÃ, fazendo um paralelo com os critÃrios avaliativos da CONAES no Ãmbito das bibliotecas universitÃrias. O estudo empÃrico foi realizado por meio de um questionÃrio eletrÃnico aplicado junto à amostra de 380 sujeitos pertencentes à comunidade acadÃmica da UFC. Na avaliaÃÃo, com base na metodologia Servqual, foram observadas as percepÃÃes e expectativas da comunidade acadÃmica sobre o uso dessas tecnologias para acessar os produtos e serviÃos oferecidos pelas bibliotecas da universidade. Os resultados obtidos na anÃlise de dados indicam que treinamentos de forma contÃnua e frequente poderÃo trazer melhorias na avaliaÃÃo dos usuÃrios sobre os produtos e serviÃos no uso das Tecnologias EletrÃnicas e Digitais de InformaÃÃo e de ComunicaÃÃo ofertados nas bibliotecas da UFC. Fundamentado nos resultados foram feitas recomendaÃÃes e sugestÃes para pesquisas futuras. / With the continuous transformation and increasing use of technology in society, there is a need for better name them. The term "Digital Technologies and Electronic Information and Communication" makes a better representation of these modern technologies. The university libraries also make use of these technologies, but to serve its users in a better way it is necessary to evaluate these technologies. The Brazilian government, through the National Commission for Higher Education Evaluation (CONAES), in one of his assignments, guides evaluative criteria for higher education, in which university libraries are located. The objective of this research is to evaluate the use of Electronic Technologies and Digital Information and Communication in the supply of products and services to the academic community of Universidade Federal do CearÃ, drawing a parallel with the assessment criteria of CONAES within the university libraries. The empirical study was conducted via an online questionnaire applied by the sample of 380 subjects belonging to the academic community of UFC. The evaluation based on the SERVQUAL methodology showed the perceptions and expectations of the academic community about the use of these technologies to access the products and services offered by the university libraries. The results of the data analysis indicate that training often and continuously can deal to a bring improvements in users' evaluation of the products and services in the use of Electronic Technologies and Digital Information and Communication offered in the libraries of UFC. Relying on the results recommendations and suggestions were made for future research.