Electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM) emerges from the Internet and web technology to facilitate the CRM implementation. It focuses on internet- or web-based interaction between companies and their customers. Especially, e-CRM enables service sectors to provide appropriate services and products to satisfy the customers so as to retain customer royalty and enhance customer profitability. This research is to explore the key research issues of e-CRM performance influence. A research model is proposed based on the widely applied technology- organization-environment (TOE) framework. Survey data from the questionnaire are collected to empirically assess our research model. With the structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, the results show that e-CRM technology and organizational support are positively related to the e-CRM performance, while environmental pressure, though a drive to e-CRM adoption, does not impact the performance. More interestingly, it is observed that organizational support has a greater impact than e-CRM technology adoption. It is always a good principle to care customers¡¦ relationship more from human nature perspectives than from technology-oriented considerations. Also, in the aspect of organizational support, skilled and knowledgeable e-CRM personnel are the most important impacting factor among others. Finally, the contributions of our research lie in that not only the results can provide researchers a good starting point for e-CRM studies, but also can they provide practitioners of service sectors in Taiwan a good reference.

Financial industry in Taiwan is facing the challenge of over-banking. When more and more banks are established and offering a variety of financial goods or services to their customers, the competition continues to heighten. Banks are increasingly taking the advantages of electronic commerce to provide e-banking services, intending to maximize their business profits. In this study, we use a technology-organization-environment framework to propose an e-banking adoption model. Seven factors, including perceived direct and indirect benefits of the e-banking adoption, financial readiness, technical readiness, mimetic pressures, coercive pressure, and normative pressures, are tested from 255 firms. Statistical analysis and the implications of findings are discussed in the following sections.

Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce adoption has become a necessity for most small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), allowing them to gain and sustain competitive advantage in a dynamic competitive environment. Accepting the fact that B2B is adopted at different levels based on different resources leads to the acceptance that competitive advantage is gained and sustained on a level consistent with the level of adoption. This study employs quantitative method based on the positivism philosophy and deductive approach. A questionnaire survey technique was used to collect the data from the American and Egyptian manufacturing SMEs. Moreover, it used structural equation modelling with a sample of 320 and 260 manufacturing SMEs in the United States of America and Egypt respectively. The structural equation modelling (SEM) findings revealed that each level of B2B e-commerce adoption was affected by different factors from another level of adoption. Besides, there was a significant difference between the issues which faced manufacturing SMEs in USA and Egypt. Furthermore, in Egyptian manufacturing SMEs, relative advantage and competitive pressure have a significant effect on adoption behaviour. On the other hand, when American manufacturing SMEs made their decisions to adopt B2B e-commerce, they considered the main factors to be relative advantage, top management support, firm size and government support. In addition, the findings revealed that the higher the level of B2B e-commerce, which an SME adopted, the higher the level of competitive advantage it gained. However, in developing countries such as Egypt, SMEs remained far behind their peers in developed countries. In terms of theoretical implications, the study could be considered to be a unique study in the field of B2B e-commerce generally and B2B e-commerce in Egyptian manufacturing SMEs in particular. This is because, by looking back at the literature review, is clear that empirical studies into B2B e-commerce issues, including manufacturing SMEs, remained embryonic in developed countries and rare in the developing countries. This is especially so in the Arabic countries. In addition, most previous studies focused on a broad and generic view of the SMEs’ adoption of B2B e-commerce or on the relationship between adoption of IT and competitive advantage. This study was conducted in a cross-country context; it considered the manufacturing SMEs’ adoption of B2B e-commerce from the perspective of the level of adoption. Therefore, it made an original empirical contribution towards the current body of knowledge on the adoption of B2B e-commerce through the identification of manufacturing SMEs adoption levels of B2B e-commerce; their impacts on competitive advantage; and the significant factors which influenced each adoption level of B2B e-commerce in USA and Egypt. In addition, this study used TOE as the theoretical framework in investigating the factors affecting B2B e-commerce in SMEs and focused largely on the factors affecting each level; this is a new contribution to the extant literature. Turning to the study’s practical implications, important implications for the manufacturing SMEs’ owner/managers can be drawn from the findings to help them to understand their environments as, in a cross-country business context, they move through the different stages of adopting B2B e-commerce. In addition to the implication for manufacturing SMEs’ owners/managers, this study presents important implications for governmental, nongovernmental organisations and other institutions linked to manufacturing SMEs. Similar to other studies, this study has a number of limitations. The main one is that it lacks the use of qualitative analysis to depict how SMEs understand the concept of competitive advantages and how this helps them to survive and grow.

Although Operational Research (OR) has successfully provided many methodologies to address complex decision problems, in particular based on the rationality principle, there has been too little discussion regarding their limited consideration in IT evaluation practice and associated decision making satisfaction levels in an organisational context. The aim of this paper is to address these issues through providing a current account of diffusion and infusion of OR methodologies in IT decision making practice, and by analysing factors affecting decision making satisfaction from a Technological, Organisational, and Environmental (TOE) framework in the context of IT induced business transformations. We developed a structural equation model and conducted an empirical survey, which supported four out of five developed research hypotheses. Our results show that while Decision Support Systems (DSS), holistic IT evaluation methods, and management support seem to positively affect individual satisfaction, legislative regulation has an adverse effect. Results also revealed a persistent methodology diffusion and infusion gap. The paper discusses implications in each of these aspects and presents opportunities for future work. (authors' abstract)

This study aims to explore Swedish organizations within the accounting industry that have adapted their operations to the recent introduction of cloud services. Fortnox, a cloud service provider, has transformed the working methods of organizations, changed the relationship with customers and contributed to creating new rules for the market within accounting. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with employees using Fortnox in their work in areas relevant to accounting. The theoretical framework in this study combines the TOE-framework with theories such as sociomateriality, IT-strategy and technology acceptance. The study goes one step further and investigates how individuals perceive organizational change in the accounting industry as a result of cloud services. The results show that cloud services have enabled major organizational changes where accounting firms have made the strategic choice to diversify and move towards counseling. The speed with which the individual perceives that the business is adapting depends on both the individual and structural conditions that exist. / Denna studie syftar till att undersöka svenska organisationer inom redovisningsbranschen som anpassat sin verksamhet till följd av införandet av molntjänster. Inom ramen för molntjänster menas här hur användandet av Fortnox har förändrat organisationens arbetssätt och relation till kunden samt bidragit till att skapa nya spelregler för marknaden. Datainsamling har skett genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer från organisationer med anställda med relevant koppling till redovisning och som använder sig av molntjänsten Fortnox i sitt arbete. Det teoretiska ramverket för denna studie applicerar TOE-ramverket på en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och kombinerar ramverket med teorier kring sociomaterialitet, IT-strategi och teknologiacceptans av teknologi. Kombinationen leder studien djupare in på hur individer uppfattar att organisationer inom redovisningsbranschen förändrar sitt arbete med löpande redovisning till följd av molntjänster. Resultatet visar att molntjänster har möjliggjort större organisatoriska förändringar där redovisningsbyråer gjort det strategiska valet att diversifiera sig och övergå mer mot rådgivning. Hur snabbt individen uppfattar att verksamheten anpassar sig beror på vilka individuella förutsättningar samt strukturella förutsättningar som finns.

Outsourcing, consolidation and cost savings of IT services, are increasingly becoming an imperative source of competitive advantage and a great challenge for most local and global businesses. These challenges not only affect consumers, but also the service providers’ community. As IT is slowly becoming commoditised, consumers, such as business organisations, are increasingly expecting IT services that will mimic other utility services such as water, electricity, and telecommunications.To this end, no one model has been able to emulate these utilities in the computing arena.Cloud Computing is the recent computing phenomenon that attempts to be the answer to most business IT requirements. This phenomenon is gaining traction in the IT industry, with a promise of advantages such as cost reduction, elimination of upfront capital outlay, pay per use models, shared infrastructure, and high flexibility allowing users and providers to handle high elasticity of demand. The critical success factor that remains unanswered for most IT organisations and its management is: What is the effect of the communication network factors on Internet based technology such as Cloud Computing, given the emerging market context.This study therefore, investigates the effect of four communication network factors (price, availability, reliability and security) in the adoption of Cloud Computing by IT managers in a South African context, including their propensity to adopt the technology. The study investigates numerous technology adoption theories, in which Technology, Organisation and Environment (TOE) framework is selected due to it having an organisational focus as opposed to an individual focus.Based on the results, this study proposes that Bandwidth (Pricing and Security) should be included into any adoption model that involves services running on the Internet. The study makes an attempt to contribute to the emerging literature of Cloud Computing, Internet in South Africa, in addition to offering organisations considering adoption and Cloud Providers’ significant ideas to consider for Cloud Computing adoption. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Headline reports on data breaches worldwide have resulted in heightened concerns about information security vulnerability. In Africa, South Africa is ranked among the top ‘at-risk’ countries with information security vulnerabilities and is the most the most cybercrime-targeted country. Globally, such cyber vulnerability incidents greatly affect the education sector, due, in part, to the fact that it holds more Personal Identifiable Information (PII) than other sectors. PII refers to (but is not limited to) ID numbers, financial account numbers, and biomedical research data. In response to rising threats, South Africa has implemented a regulation called the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), similar to the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which seeks to mitigate cybercrime and information security vulnerabilities. The extent to which African institutions, especially in South Africa, have embraced and responded to these two information security regulations remains vague, making it a crucial matter for biomedical researchers. This study aimed to assess whether the participating universities have proper and reliable information security practices, measures and management in place and whether they fall in line with both national (POPIA) and international (GDPR) regulations. In order to achieve this aim, the study undertook a qualitative exploratory analysis of information security management across three universities in South Africa. A Technology, Organizational, and Environmental (TOE) model was employed to investigate factors that may influence effective information security measures. A Purposeful sampling method was employed to interview participants from each university. From the technological standpoint, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy, whereby on average, a student owns and connects between three to four internet-enabled devices to the network, has created difficulties for IT teams, particularly in the areas of authentication, explosive growth in bandwidth, and access control to security university servers. In order to develop robust solutions to mitigate these concerns, and which are not perceived by users as overly prohibitive, executive management should acknowledge that security and privacy issues are a universal problem and not solely an IT problem and equip the IT teams with the necessary tools and mechanisms to allow them to overcome commonplace challenges. At an organisational level, information security awareness training of all users within the university setting was identified as a key factor in protecting the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information in highly networked environments. Furthermore, the University’s information security mission must not simply be a link on a website, it should be constantly re-enforced by informing users during, and after, the awareness training. In terms of environmental factors, specifically the GDPR and POPIA legislations, one of the most practical and cost-effective ways universities can achieve data compliance requirements is to help staff (both teaching and non-teaching), students, and other employees understand the business value of all information. Users which are more aware of sensitivity of data, risks to the data, and their responsibilities when handling, storing, processing, and distributing data during their day to day activities will behave in a manner that would makes compliance easier at the institutional level. Results obtained in this study helped to elucidate the current status, issues, and challenges which universities are facing in the area of information security management and compliance, particularly in the South African context. Findings from this study point to organizational factors being the most critical when compared to the technological and environmental contexts examined. Furthermore, several proposed information security policies were developed with a view to assist biomedical practitioners within the institutional setting in protecting sensitive biomedical data.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Headline reports on data breaches worldwide have resulted in heightened concerns about information security vulnerability. In Africa, South Africa is ranked among the top ‘at-risk’ countries with information security vulnerabilities and is the most cybercrime-targeted country. Globally, such cyber vulnerability incidents greatly affect the education sector, due, in part, to the fact that it holds more Personal Identifiable Information (PII) than other sectors. PII refers to (but is not limited to) ID numbers, financial account numbers, and biomedical research data.

Cloud computing has gained popularity due to its ability to simplify IT infrastructure, reduce costs, and provide remote access. Among EU countries and company sizes, Sweden stands out with the highest rate of cloud computing adoption. However, there is a lack of concrete research in the literature focusing on the determinants of cloud computing adoption specifically by large companies in Sweden. Previous studies have examined cloud adoption from various perspectives, with a particular emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rather than large companies. Additionally, technology-related determinants have received more attention compared to those related to business, conceptualization, and application domains. To address this knowledge gap, this research aims to investigate the determinants of CC adoption in large companies in Sweden. The research question was formulated as follows: What are the determinants of cloud computing adoption in large companies in Sweden? Case study was selected as the research strategy, and the data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through thematic analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees working at a large company in Sweden, who have experience in the IT and cloud computing field. The TOE framework was used to categorize the determinants as sub-themes into three themes: technology context, organization context, and environment context. In Company X, 30 determinants were found, with 20 aligning with previous literature. These included factors such as security, compatibility, scalability, top management support, and competitive pressure. Additionally, 10 new determinants were identified, including robustness, perceived usefulness, innovativeness, knowledge and training, and geographical locations/data centers. The experience and lessons learned from Company X could assist other companies to have better preparation for cloud adoption by understanding the significance of various potential determinants and underlying problems.

Yes / This study aims to identify how environmental, technological, and social factors influence the adoption of Industry 4.0 in the context of digital manufacturing. The Industry 4.0 era has brought a breakthrough in advanced technologies in fields such as nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, fifth-generation wireless technology, fully autonomous vehicles, 3D printing and so on. In this study, we attempted to identify the socioenvironmental and technological factors that influence the adoption of artificial intelligence embedded technology by digital manufacturing and production organizations. In doing so, the extended technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework is used to explore the applicability of Industry 4.0. A conceptual model was proposed that used an integrated technology acceptance model (TAM)-TOE model and was tested using survey-based data collected from 340 employees of small, medium and large organizations. The results highlight that all the relationships, except organizational readiness, organizational compatibility and partner support on perceived ease of use, were found to be significant in the context of digital manufacturing and production organizations. The results further indicated that leadership support acts as a countable factor to moderate such an adoption.