ALBERT

Notizen: Purpose - This UK-based research aims to build on the US-based work of Keller and Aaker, which found a significant association between "company credibility" (via a brand's "expertise" and "trustworthiness") and brand extension acceptance, hypothesising that brand trust, measured via two correlate dimensions, is significantly related to brand extension acceptance. Design/methodology/approach - Discusses brand extension and various prior, validated influences on its success. Focuses on the construct of trust and develops hypotheses about the relationship of brand trust with brand extension acceptance. The hypotheses are then tested on data collected from consumers in the UK. Findings - This paper, using 368 consumer responses to nine, real, low involvement UK product and service brands, finds support for a significant association between the variables, comparable in strength with that between media weight and brand share, and greater than that delivered by the perceived quality level of the parent brand. Originality/value - The research findings, which develop a sparse literature in this linkage area, are of significance to marketing practitioners, since brand trust, already associated with brand equity and brand loyalty, and now with brand extension, needs to be managed and monitored with care. The paper prompts further investigation of the relationship between brand trust and brand extension acceptance in other geographic markets and with other higher involvement categories.

Notizen: Purpose - Aims to explore the factorial structure of automobile brand image in the context of a cross-national study. More specifically, we intend to answer two questions: whether the factor structure of brand image perception differ across countries, and whether these differences are owing to nation's culture and level of economic development. Design/methodology/approach - An existing data set, which consists of data collected from survey research, was employed. Data covering the top 20 automobile markets consisting of 4,320 eligible new car owners. Perception of and attitude towards automobile brand associations were measured using nominal scales. Findings - Provides empirical evidence that supports the applicability of multiple brand image dimensions corresponding to the consumer's sensory, utilitarian, symbolic and economic needs at the global level. The study also suggested that factor structure of brand image differs across nations and these differences might be reflective to a nation's culture and its level of economic development. Research limitations/implications - As with any empirical study, this research inevitably has its limitations, which presents opportunities for further research: extensions of the present framework to other product categories; extensions of the national factors; extensions of the brand associations; and measurement improvement. Practical implications - Understanding the similarities or differences of the factor structure of brand image across the globe facilitates the formation of a successful global image strategy. First of all, by exploring brand image structure at the global level; and the specific interrelationships among the corresponding associations Originality/value - The results derived from the 20 diverse nations in the present study not only enhance our understanding of brand image structure but also provide a strong test of the empirical generalizability of automobile brand image dimensionality and factor structure in a global context.

Notizen: Purpose - Innovation launch strategies are usually critical for innovation success. The main objective of this work consists of analysing the influence of the tactical launch decisions on new product performance Design/methodology/approach - Starts with a brief literature review. Then the results obtained in our study are compared with those obtained in other research. The data used in our research describes a new product launch in the Spanish agro-food sector. The method for collecting the information was through a mailed questionnaire. Because most of response variables were categorical, and in order to verify the proposed hypotheses, cross tabulation was used. We used Pearson's chi-squared (?2), likelihood ratio (H2) and the adjusted residuals too. Findings - The results propose a series of recommendations for the executives in charge of marketing new products. Specifically, suggests that it will be more likely to achieve success if, when launching a new product, skimming strategies are used, if intensive distribution is used for selling an innovation and the investment in the communication media is greater than that made by competitors. However, it is more possible to fail if the new product is marketed using an individual brand, penetration prices, push communication strategies and less expenditure on this concept than the competitors. Research limitations/implications - The literature review suggests that some of these tactical decisions seem to be related with other launch decisions (strategic launch decisions). As a result of this, it will be interesting to perform these similar analyses for those as well as to analyse the possible links that may exist between both and their influence on the results. Future research could explore these relationships in other industrial sector or countries. Perhaps, it would be possible provide a common perspective. Originality/value - In spite of the importance of the last phase of new product, there are few empirical works about it. This work tries to explain the transcendence of the tactical launch decisions and the influence of it on the success/failure of an innovation

Notizen: Purpose - The paper attempts to answer "Will the shift from the locus of self to locus of others impact the magnitude of loss aversion?" and "Will different prices affect the self-other asymmetry in choice?". Design/methodology/approach - The design is a two (locus: self vs others) by two (anchoring price: $30 vs $90) between-subjects' factorial with both the locus of evaluation and the monthly service plan charges (anchoring prices) as the between-subjects' factors. Findings - The author finds that inertia equity is smaller when consumers evaluate peer customers than when they evaluate themselves to switch brands. It is also found that the locus effect is applicable to brands at various prices. Research limitations/implications - Further research should focus on the validations of the assumptions to support the empirical finding from the theoretical perspective. Practical implications - Price reductions should be made personally relevant to the consumer and price increases should be made relevant to other things. Originality/value - The locus effect expands the assessment of loss aversion from one (self or other) to two dimensions jointly (self and other). It demonstrates the impact of the locus of evaluation on the magnitude of loss aversion.

Notizen: Purpose - The paper proposes investigating the timing of consumer requests for price-matching refunds, the relationship between the refund timing and consumer repeat store purchase and the reasons for buying from the price-matching store when a lower competitive price is found before purchase. Design/methodology/approach - In Study 1, qualitative research (consumer interviews) was conducted; Study 2 uses a shopping simulation in which the timing of consumer refund-seeking behavior is observed, and Study 3 involves a consumer survey in which information on consumer refund-seeking behavior at real stores is gathered. Findings - The paper finds that consumers request price-matching refunds more frequently at the time of purchase than after the purchase. Seeking (and receiving) the price-matching refund is associated with higher repeat store purchase behavior than not having had a refund-seeking experience. Key reasons for buying from the price-matching retailer when a lower competitive price is found before purchase include convenience, tangible extras, and store reputation/service quality. Research limitations/implications - A student convenience sample was used. In Study 2, fictitious stores were used. In Study 3, the timing of refund seeking may have been different on other (not reported) occasions. Ability to seek the refund was not accounted for. Practical implications - The majority of the retailer's price-matching cost will come from issuing at-the-time-of-purchase refunds, when consumers possess more bargaining power. A positive refund-seeking experience may create a more loyal customer. In addition to being a low-price signal, price-matching policies can serve as signs of retailers' customer orientation. Originality/value - This research fills the gap in understanding the consumer price-match refund-seeking behavior and offers practical implications for retailers employing price-matching guarantees.

Notizen: Purpose - The paper aims to report the findings of research into perceptions of what makes the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) attractive or unattractive as a procurement system for projects in the UK. Design/methodology/approach - The research uses a postal survey questionnaire technique for primary data collection. Literature review is used to identify relevant factors, which are then incorporated into the design of the survey instrument. Survey response data is subjected to descriptive statistical analysis and subsequently to rotated factor analysis. Findings - Public/private partnerships (PPP)/PFI project procurement is perceived as most attractive in terms of positive factors relating to better project technology and economy, greater public benefit, public sector avoidance of regulatory and financial constraints, and public sector saving in transaction costs. Negative aspects, relating to factors such as the inexperience of the participants, the over-commercialisation of projects, and high participation cost and time, make PPP/PFI procurement less attractive. Originality/value - The procurement of public facilities and services under arrangements involving partnerships between the public and private sectors is claimed to provide a wide variety of net benefits to the public sector and to the private sector participants. In the project development process, the parties have to make decisions based on suitable evaluation criteria. At the early stage of preparing a business case, a clear and common understanding of the positive and negative factors surrounding PPP/PFI procurement will provide a more informed basis for decision making.

Notizen: Purpose - Housing Associations in the UK are being encouraged to change the way in which they procure their building projects. This work aims to provide a snapshot of current practice in relation to the use of partnering as a procurement approach. Design/methodology/approach - Accordingly a quantitative research design was used to capture data from a sample of 100 of the largest Housing Associations involved in the commissioning of new house building projects in 2003. Two administrations of the survey generated a 43 per cent response rate. Findings - The findings of the study revealed that two differing types of partnering alliance could be identified. The types of partnering alliance identified were considered to have either a "supply side" or "demand side" focus. The results show that partnering practice, open-book cost management, risk analysis and the use of standardised and pre-fabricated components are now widespread and believed to deliver benefits in project costs, delivery times and quality levels. Research limitations/implications - The work is limited due to the size of the sample frame and the measuring instrument used which could not uncover reasons for the current practices that were revealed. Practical implications - The outcomes of the work provide practice with benchmarks that can be used to evaluate organisational approach and if necessary develop alternative approaches to the delivery of partnered projects. Originality/value - The paper contributes to the body of knowledge available on partnering practice in a client group that has been identified as being key in driving forward the post-Egan agenda in the construction industry.

Notizen: Purpose - The selection and use of the most appropriate building project contract price forecasting model contribute to the provision of strategic advice that clients can use to make value-for-money business decisions. This work seeks to provide a snapshot of current practice in model selection by practitioners based in large-sized quantity surveying, project management and multi-disciplinary practices based in the UK. Design/methodology/approach - A quantitative research design was used to capture data from a sample of 300 such organisations in 2004. An initial and follow-up administration of the postal survey generated an overall response of 54 per cent. Findings - The findings of the study revealed that the traditional types of forecasting model continue to be in widespread use irrespective of organisational type. Lifecycle cost models and in-house knowledge-based systems were also found to be in use, but not on such a widespread scale. Newly developed models such as artificial neural nets, fuzzy logic nets, as well as environmental and sustainability cost models were found, as yet, to have only very limited application in practice. Practitioner assessment of model accuracy and value in-use provided statistically insignificant levels of variance between the organisational types and the models found to be in use. Research limitations/implications - The work is limited due to the size of the sample frame and the measuring instrument used which could not uncover reasons for the selection of particular types of models. Originality/value - The outcomes of the work provide benchmarks that can be used to evaluate organisational approach and future research. The paper contributes to the body of knowledge available on the process of building project contract price forecasting that is fundamental to the assessment of project value.

Notizen: Purpose - The research presented in this paper aims to investigate highway construction/maintenance professionals' perceptions of the effects of night-time construction conditions on worker visibility and of issues associated with safety vests in night-time activities. Design/methodology/approach - The research was conducted by administering a questionnaire survey to Illinois Department of Transportation operations personnel, resident engineers, contractors, and construction/maintenance professionals involved in night-time construction in the Departments of Transportation of states other than Illinois. Findings - It was found that most accidents in night-time construction work areas are caused by the condition of the vehicle operator, that accidents are caused by through-traffic and construction equipment operating inside the work area, and that the poor visibility of the workers plays an important role in accidents. Research limitations/implications - A national survey (rather than mostly Illinois personnel) would certainly increase the sample size and therefore allow researchers to validate the findings of this study and to conduct extensive statistical analyses. Practical implications - Night-time construction/maintenance operations on highways may be hazardous for both drivers and construction personnel because of poor visibility at night. It is recommended that the design of safety vests adhere to existing standards issued by the American National Standards Institute and the International Safety Equipment Association. It is particularly important to ensure adequate performance in wet weather conditions. Originality/value - If safety vests are perceived by workers to be effective, the frequency and severity of night-time accidents can be reduced and labor productivity can be enhanced.

Notizen: Purpose - Process mapping can lead to a more holistic understanding of how an organisation works. This paper seeks to discuss how an engineering design consultancy, which had developed a series of process maps on the design of steel frame buildings, developed a powerful management tool, the Management Briefing Sheet which has yielded numerous additional benefits enabling practice to be improved and quality procedures more easily accessed. Design/methodology/approach - To maximise the knowledge and expertise of its supply chain partners and to better understand how it designed steel-framed buildings, the engineering design consultancy undertook a process-mapping exercise. Various techniques for documenting the process were considered, but a modified IDEF notation was chosen for its ability to capture the iterative nature of the design process and its methodical approach for deconstructing complicated activities. Findings - Process-mapping exercises can change the way organisations work and make them more efficient, but to do this the changes that would lead to improvements need to be implemented successfully. Carrying out a process-mapping exercise in isolation from the end-user can lead to complications. Research limitations/implications - The key obstacle to implementing change identified by the engineering design consultancy, with whom the MBS was developed, was delivering the knowledge acquired from the process analysis in a format that end-users could understand easily and adopt effectively. Originality/value - This article will be of significant use to any organisation wishing to maximise the knowledge and expertise of its supply chain partners and identify inefficient working practices.

Notizen: Purpose - Different process models have been developed by academia and industry to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the design and construction activity in response to the need for improving performance. However, the effective and widespread adoption and use of process models have been limited, and the benefits resulting from these endeavours have been ambiguous at best and non-existent at worst. This paper synthesises the key general and construction-specific literature related to process model implementation around a generic model, providing a systematic picture on the current knowledge on implementation. Design/methodology/approach - Secondary data sources were reviewed, criticised and synthesised. The books and academic papers identified focused on the areas of process management in construction and manufacturing, change management and knowledge/technology transfer. Findings - The paper concludes that the body of literature related to process model implementation lacks an integrated focus and cohesion, and the need to appropriately locate and operate the implementation strategy within a visible organisational context is not adequately addressed. Research limitations/implications - The paper review and synthesis are limited to relevant literature within the context of implementation of process models. Practical implications - Gaps in the literature are identified and discussed, and a set of questions proposed to stipulate future research. Originality/value - The paper originality relates to providing a broad, systemic perspective on the complexity of process models implementation, analysing it from different but interrelated conceptual lenses.

Notizen: Purpose - Popularity in knowledge management has, unfortunately, not been matched by parallel empirical research on the processes, challenges and benefits of knowledge capture in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the construction industry, given the fact that 99 per cent of firms in the UK construction industry can be classified as SMEs. This paper aims to discuss the output of a research study, which is focused on knowledge capture in SMEs in construction industry. The paper also aims to present and discuss a computer-based awareness tool on knowledge capture underpinned by Kolb's experiential learning theory. Design/methodology/approach - The empirical study involved a total of 51 professionals from 26 SMEs in the construction industry. Grounded theory approach was adopted. Also, a content analysis was considered. Findings - The results show that there is lack of awareness of complex issues associated with an effective knowledge capture process as well as ensuing benefits for SMEs in the construction industry. The effective implementation of knowledge capture in SMEs is partly dependent on the vision and flair of the owner/partners of the organisation. It is also determined by culture, structure, people, finance and technology, which warrants a coherent and structured approach. Originality/value - A computer-based awareness tool which is underpinned by Kolb's experiential learning theory.

Notizen: Purpose - The main objective of this study is to develop a framework for: identifying the reasons for using e-commerce; understanding the implications of e-commerce in companies; and implementing and applying e-commerce successfully for improved organizational competitiveness and success. Design/methodology/approach - A structured questionnaire was designed, pre-tested, modified, and used to capture data on e-commerce in Hong Kong. Based on the feedback from the pilot-test, the questionnaire was modified and a final questionnaire was developed and mailed to companies in Hong Kong. In the survey, conducted with Hong Kong companies, the perceived benefits and perceived barriers of e-commerce implementation are discussed. Findings - The conceptual model based on the analysis of literature and some reported case experiences is developed using the current issues that have been highlighted as important e-commerce success factors of implementation. The major factors that influence the application and implementation of e-commerce are: perceived usefulness of web; perceived barriers of the internet for e-commerce; usage of the internet; and perceived benefits of the internet for e-commerce. In addition to this, country-specific factors such as culture, technology competency, government policy, educational level, influence the level of application of e-commerce. Practical implications - The framework is the result of the validation of the theoretical model, together with the conclusions of the empirical analysis conducted in Hong Kong. The empirical analysis supported some of the assumptions of the theoretical model, whereas others were not supported. Based on the feedback received from respondents, the model has been revised to reflect these practical considerations. Originality/value - Little research has been done to address the perceived benefits and potential barriers to e-commerce implementation in Hong Kong. This study is a timely and important one in that examines the current status of e-commerce implementation in Hong Kong. A generic framework is presented with the objective of supporting the application and implementation of the internet for e-commerce.

Notizen: Purpose - Although the wireless internet attracts more and more interest from marketers and researchers, there is little empirical evidence of multinational corporations' (MNCs) adoption of push-type mobile advertising in global markets. The aim of this study is to fill this research gap, by conducting an empirical survey of the perceptions of MNCs operating in Europe regarding SMS-based mobile advertising adoption. Design/methodology/approach - The study proposes six basic constructs which are thought to influence MNCs' decision-making process on mobile advertising adoption. On this base, a structured questionnaire is developed. The data are obtained by telephone interviews from 53 senior executives of MNCs' subsidiaries in Spain. Findings - Hierarchical regression analysis reveals that branding strategy, facilitating conditions, and security and costs are the strongest determinants of MNCs' mobile advertising adoption. Furthermore, discriminant analysis indicates that Japanese, American, and European firms are statistically classifiable according to their cultural affiliation in terms of their perceptions of mobile advertising adoption. Japanese firms are the least willing to use mobile advertising, while their American counterparts are the most motivated in this regard. Originality/value - While SMS-based mobile marketing has been receiving an increasing attention from both academics and practitioners, there exists little empirical research on this area. In this vein, this study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, the study proposes a conceptual research model based on six basic constructs, which incorporate both theoretical and practical perspectives. Second, the model is tested by empirical data obtained from top managers of MNCs' subsidiaries operating in a European market. The findings of this study thus offer useful insights based on their "hands-on" experience.

Notizen: Purpose - To describe consumers' heuristic and analytical searches for a pre-purchase information acquisition, and to assess the correspondence of flexibility of information task and the information found with a search. Design/methodology/approach - Propositions based on current research in web use and consumer studies. Tracked records of searches are used for descriptive analysis of transitional patterns in the data. Regression is used for statistical verification of the information provided by searches. Findings - Consumer searches center on chaining events, indicating heavy reliance on hyperlink navigation between web sites. Formal searches are seldom used, although when employed, tend to have a high level of diagnosticity. The emphasis on heuristic behavior is logical, as the way consumer information is currently presented on the internet rewards for this type of behavior. Use of heuristic search increases the likelihood of access to flexibly presented information. Research limitations/implications - Consumers favor heuristic trial-and-error searches even in focused fact-finding search tasks, which are typically considered the domain of analytical seeking. Consumers seem to benefit most from apparently inefficient, reactive and heuristic searches, because these are more likely to provide information in a format that the consumer can adapt. Convenience sample limits generalizability of findings. Originality/value - While there is an increasing body of knowledge concerning internet use for finding information, fewer studies have focused on consumer uses of the web in search. This paper provides new information of online consumers, an increasingly important topic.

Notizen: Purpose - To provide a thorough analysis of the role of the internet in survey research and to discuss the implications of online surveys becoming such a major force in research. Design/methodology/approach - The paper is divided into four major sections: an analysis of the strengths and potential weaknesses of online surveys; a comparison of online surveys with other survey formats; a discussion on the best uses for online surveys and how their potential weaknesses may be moderated; and an overview of the online survey services being offered by the world's largest research firms. Findings - If conducted properly, online surveys have significant advantages over other formats. However, it is imperative that the potential weaknesses of online surveys be mitigated and that online surveys only be used when appropriate. Outsourcing of online survey functions is growing in popularity. Practical implications - The paper provides a very useful source of information and impartial advice for any professional who is considering the use of online surveys. Originality/value - The paper synthesizes the vast literature related to online surveys, presents original material related to survey methodology, and offers a number of recommendations.

Notizen: Purpose - To arouse the public awareness of online gaming-related crimes and other societal influences so that these problems can be solved through education, laws and appropriate technologies. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 613 criminal cases of online gaming crimes that happened in Taiwan during 2002 were gathered and analyzed. They were analyzed for special features then focusing on the tendency for online gaming crime. Related prosecutions, offenders, victims, criminal methods, and so on, were analyzed. Findings - According to our analysis of online gaming characteristics in Taiwan, the majority of online gaming crime is theft (73.7 percent) and fraud (20.2 percent). The crime scene is mainly in internet cafés (54.8 percent). Most crimes are committed within the 12:00 to 14:00 time period (11.9 percent). Identity theft (43.4 percent) and social engineering (43.9 percent) are the major criminal means. The offenders (95.8 percent) and victims (87.8 percent) are mainly male and offenders always proceed alone (88.3 percent). The age of offenders is quite low (63.3 percent in the age range of 15-20), and 8.3 percent of offenders are under 15 years old. The offenders are mostly students (46.7 percent) and the unemployed (24 percent), most of them (81.9 percent) not having criminal records. The type of game giving rise to most of the criminal cases is Lineage Online (93.3 percent). The average value of the online gaming loss is about US$459 and 34.3 percent of criminal loss is between $100 and $300. Research limitations/implications - These criminal cases were retrieved from Taiwan in 2002. Some criminal behavior may have been limited to a certain area or a certain period. Practical implications - Provides a useful source of information and constructive advice for the public who will sense the seriousness and influence of online gaming crimes. Further, this topic may have implications on e-commence, e-services, or web-based activities beyond gaming. Originality/value - Since there is little published research in this area, this paper provides the public with a good and original introduction to a topic of growing importance.

Notizen: Purpose - This work aims to probe how interface designers concerned with human-computer interaction of community networks might use the theoretical constructs of social capital and activity awareness. Design/methodology/approach - A design model for community network interfaces is introduced that reconciles various computer-mediated communication research contributions with support for typical community network scenarios of use. Using this model, an inspection is performed on existing community network implementations (available December 2002) and then the adequacy of the model for informing the design process is examined. Findings - Based on the insight gained through this analysis, a generic prototype and new user evaluation method are introduced that allow survey of user reaction to community network design elements under differing conditions. It is shown how results obtained through this method frame a value-chain understanding of conceptual tradeoffs. Research limitations/implications - To demonstrate the new user evaluation method in an analysis of critical design tradeoffs, the issues of persistent virtual identity implementation and usage motivation are probed. However, the evaluation method must be validated with other issues and tested by researchers that were not part of its creation process. Practical implications - Contributions from this paper include tools (a design model, a generic prototype, and an evaluation method) linking theory with community design artifacts, building on previous work. Evaluators now have indicators for assessing community informatics. Originality/value - Interface designers of community networks and those interested in social capital theory will appreciate the link between practice and theory provided by this approach.

Notizen: Purpose - E-consumers consistently complain that the internet is frustratingly slow. Most existing research on this phenomenon is based on the concept of "download delay", that is, the time required for a web page to fully download to the e-consumer's computer screen. This paper reports on an exploratory study of the phenomenon of waiting for service on the internet with the intention of extending the narrow conceptualisation of the phenomenon of "download delay" to a more user-based perspective of waiting on the internet. Design/methodology/approach - The study is based on a qualitative research methodology. The research methods are seven asynchronous virtual focus groups involving 126 intensive internet users over 17 days and 92 participants who maintained personal diaries of waiting on the internet over a nine-week period. Findings - A new definition of waiting on the internet is proposed based on extensive virtual focus group research. Subsequently, 14 distinct types of internet waiting situations are identified based on the analysis of a total of 1,041 waiting situations as reported by the participants in the study. Practical implications - A number of practical implications for various functional areas of the business are outlined. Conceptual and methodological contributions are also made. Originality/value - The study is the first to present a broader conceptualisation of waiting on the internet from an e-consumer perspective and based on empirical research. All previous research has been based on just one type of online waiting, i.e. waiting for web pages to download to the user's screen. This paper presents 13 "new" types of waiting situations on the internet.

Notizen: Purpose - Using Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, higher education web sites were retrospectively analyzed to study the effects that technological advances in web design have had on accessibility for persons with disabilities. Design/methodology/approach - A convenience sample of higher education web sites was studied for years 1997-2002. The homepage and pages 1-level down were evaluated. Web accessibility barrier (WAB) and complexity scores were calculated. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine trends in the data and Pearson's correlation (r) was computed to evaluate the relationship between accessibility and complexity. Findings - Higher education web sites become progressively inaccessible as complexity increases. Research limitations/implications - The WAB score is a proxy of web accessibility. While the WAB score can give an indication of the accessibility of a web site, it cannot differentiate between barriers posing minimal limitations and those posing absolute inaccessibility. A future study is planned to have users with disabilities examine web sites with differing WAB scores to correlate how well the WAB score is gauging accessibility of web sites from the perspective of the user. Practical implications - Findings from studies such as this can lead to improved guidelines, policies, and overall awareness of web accessibility for persons with disabilities. Originality/value - There are limited studies that have taken a longitudinal look at the accessibility of web sites and explored the reasons for the trend of decreasing accessibility.

Notizen: Purpose - The objective of the paper is to identify the factors that encourage consumers to adopt internet banking services in Thailand and to use the study's findings to develop strategies for banks on how to maximize the rate of adoption. Design/methodology/approach - Quantitative research with a sample size of 600 achieved by sending questionnaires to 15 people in each of 40 large companies in Bangkok. The study is based on the Decomposed Planned Behaviour. Findings - The attitudinal factors that appear to encourage the adoption of internet banking in Thailand most are "Features of the web site" and "Perceived usefulness", while the most significant impediment to adoption is a perceived behavioural control, namely "External environment". The significant moderating factors are gender, educational level, income, internet experience and internet banking experience, but not age. Research limitations/implications - In this study, encouragement factors are those that are able to be controlled by banks, while impediment factors are those that are not able to be controlled. Practical implications - It is essential for banks to facilitate encouragement and restrict impediment factors. In addition to the direct "push" from internet banks (in respect of the encouragement factors), indirect persuasion should be carried out as a "pull" mechanism (in respect of the impediment factors). Originality/value - The study identified a number of specific strategies that Thai banks could follow to maximize the adoption of internet banking.

Notizen: Purpose - The purposes of this study are to examine internet users' perception of potential harm among a list of products available on internet auction sites, to discuss the influence of the third-person effect on internet users' pro-regulatory attitudes, and to investigate the effects of users' characteristics and perceived harm on their attitudes toward regulation of online auction industry. Design/methodology/approach - An online questionnaire survey was designed and employed to collect information about internet users' third-person effect perception, pro-regulatory attitudes toward internet auction sites, and control variables such as demographics, internet usage, and innovative characteristics. A convenience sample of 592 internet users was recruited to take part in this study. Findings - Internet users' perceptual differences are statistically significant between the estimated influence on self, teenagers, and other adults for each product. Perceived harm to self consistently predicts internet users' pro-regulatory attitudes, but not for teenagers and other adults. Perceived harm to self also predicts pro-regulatory attitudes toward these web sites, even after controlling for potential confounding variables. Research limitations/implications - The study is limited by its convenient sampling method and measurement of internet users' actual and intended behavior. Nevertheless, because internet users play a complex role of buyers, sellers, and possible victims on auction sites, it is important to examine perceptions and motivations underlying their support for regulating online auction industry. Originality/value - The integrated approach of mass communication, electronic commerce activities, and public policy-making perspectives ensures that future regulatory proposal of online auction industry will be comprehensive.

Notizen: Purpose - First, to theoretically justify and empirically test the sequence of effects based on the standard learning hierarchy to explain consumers' online buying-related responses. Second, to analyse the moderating role that consumers' internet expertise can play on the formation of both their affective and buying-related responses towards this medium. Design/methodology/approach - This study poses a conceptual model which is tested by means of LISREL. The data used come from a questionnaire applied to American and Spanish internet users. These two countries have been selected taking into account their differences regarding their degree of internet expertise. Findings - The modelling approach appears to be adequate to explain online consumer behaviour. Moreover, different levels of consumers' internet expertise determines, in general, the predominance of the central or the peripheral route within the formation of their affective and behavioural responses to this medium. Research limitations/implications - This study provides a relevant contribution to the field of consumer behaviour on the internet. It presents an extensive literature review; it introduces new concepts and new relations among them; it successfully adapts classic consumer theories, i.e. the CAB paradigm and the Elaboration Likelihood Model - to the electronic market context; and it has a cross-national vision. Practical implications - It shows how any virtual firm which endeavours to understand consumers' shopping behaviour in its web site should consider these general issues in conjunction with the rest of the specific factors and variables related to it. Originality/value - This is one of the first studies which, on the one hand, theoretically integrates in a model the following concepts: beliefs and attitude towards the internet, trust in internet shopping and online shopping, and on the other, demonstrates that the degree of internet expertise plays an essential role in determining how consumers process and form their affective and buying-related responses on the internet.

Notizen: Purpose - To propose a model of a privacy-enhanced catalogue search system (PECSS) in an attempt to address privacy threats to consumers, who search for products and services on the world wide web. Design/methodology/approach - The model extends an agent-based architecture for electronic catalogue mediation by supplementing it with a privacy enhancement mechanism. This mechanism introduces fake queries into the original stream of user queries, in an attempt to reduce the similarity between the actual interests of users ("internal user profile") and the interests as observed by potential eavesdroppers on the web ("external user profile"). A prototype was constructed to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the model. Findings - The evaluation of the model indicates that, by generating five fake queries per each original user query, the user's profile is hidden most effectively from any potential eavesdropper. Future research is needed to identify the optimal glossary of fake queries for various clients. The model also should be tested against various attacks perpetrated against the mixed stream of original and fake queries (i.e. statistical clustering). Research limitations/implications - The model's feasibility was evaluated through a prototype. It was not empirically tested against various statistical methods used by intruders to reveal the original queries. Practical implications - A useful architecture for electronic commerce providers, internet service providers (ISP) and individual clients who are concerned with their privacy and wish to minimize their dependencies on third-party security providers. Originality/value - The contribution of the PECSS model stems from the fact that, as the internet gradually transforms into a non-free service, anonymous browsing cannot be employed any more to protect consumers' privacy, and therefore other approaches should be explored. Moreover, unlike other approaches, our model does not rely on the honesty of any third mediators and proxies that are also exposed to the interests of the client. In addition, the proposed model is scalable as it is installed on the user's computer.

Notizen: Purpose - To use the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a theoretical framework to explore in depth the range of beliefs held by consumers about internet shopping in general and internet grocery shopping in particular. Design/methodology/approach - Seven focus group interviews, four in the United Kingdom and three in Denmark, were conducted among consumers with different degrees of experience with internet grocery shopping. This diversification of respondents was chosen to capture a broad range of the consumer beliefs that predict intentions to buy groceries online or not. The TPB framework was used to construct the interview guide that was followed in all focus groups. Findings - An unexpected result of the explorative study was that the seven groups consisting of more or less experienced internet shoppers differed only little in their pool of beliefs (outcome and control beliefs). Beliefs about internet grocery shopping, positive as well as negative, were remarkably congruent across groups. In the minds of consumers, internet grocery shopping is an advantage compared with conventional grocery shopping in terms of convenience, product range and price. Disadvantages, which could act as mental barriers, are, for instance, the risk of receiving inferior quality groceries and the loss of the recreational aspect of grocery shopping. Research limitations/implications - An important potential limitation of this research is the choice of focus groups as research methodology, which can prevent the elicitation of certain types of beliefs. If important beliefs concern issues of a more sensitive, personal character they are not likely to be mentioned in a focus group. Another limitation is the explorative nature of the research, which makes it impossible to attach weights to the importance of the elicited beliefs in predicting internet shopping behavior. Practical implications - The findings could be used to direct attention to consumer beliefs about internet grocery shopping which have the potential of acting as barriers to this line of e-commerce. Originality/value - To shed some light on the role of consumers in an underperforming and understudied branch of internet retailing. Barriers in the consumers' minds to shop for groceries online are identified using an established theoretical framework.

Notizen: Purpose - The objective of this paper is to investigate the legal and technical reasons why a declaration of will, denoted by a digital signature, can be cancelled and how this cancellation can be technically achieved. Design/methodology/approach - Proposes a technical framework for establishing a signature revocation mechanism based on special data structures, the signature revocation tokens (SRT), and investigates the alternatives for disseminating the signature status information (SSI) to the relying parties. Findings - A relying party has to take into consideration the possible existence of a signature revocation, in order to decide on the validity of a digital signature. A scheme based on a central public repository for the archival and distribution of signature revocation tokens exhibits significant advantages against other alternatives. Originality/value - Identifies various intrinsic problems of the digital signature creation process that raise several questions on whether the signer performs a conscious and wilful act, although he/she is held liable for this action. The law faces the eventual right of the signer to claim a revocation of a previously made declaration of will, especially in cases of an error, fraud or duress.

Notizen: Purpose - To analyze the relationship between corporate image and consumer trust in the context of financial services distribution. Design/methodology/approach - This paper analyzes the causal relationship that exists between corporate image and consumer trust in the financial services distribution through traditional channels, as well as over the internet. This paper also analyzes the moderating effect of relationship duration on the influence of the corporate image on trust. Findings - The results obtained show that in distribution through traditional channels no significant differences exist in the intensity of the effect of the image on trust in terms of the relationship duration. Nevertheless, significant differences in the financial services distribution over the internet have been observed. Practical implications - The significant influence that image exerts on consumer trust shows us that corporate image becomes a key tool for the management of trust in financial services distribution. Originality/value - Despite the importance that researchers have assigned to the variables of corporate image and trust, much of the work so far is in the initial phase of development. Thus, the majority of the works have been approached from a fundamentally theoretical perspective, or else the empirical testing has been carried out in an indirect way, based on factors that form part of the image or are related to it. Because of this, today there is no research that has empirically evaluated the role played by corporate image in the levels of trust of the consumer of financial services.

Notizen: Purpose - To analyze empirically the transaction profitability derived from sporadic and frequent customers in the e-retailing sector of minor home appliances in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach - A company's database was analyzed quantitatively to assess the transaction profitability derived from sporadic and frequent customers purchasing via the firm's digital channel, namely its web site. Besides, qualitative evidence was also collected from interviews with the main professionals involved in marketing and e-commerce in the firm and through analysis of the company's web site and e-mail communications with customers. Findings - The commercial transaction profitability associated with sporadic customers can be higher than that derived from frequent purchasers. Research limitations/implications - The study concentrated on a single company within a specific industry (minor home appliance e-retailing) based in a specific country, namely Brazil. Practical implications - The benefits of web consumer retention would only seem to be advantageous for digital companies that are client-centric, which can interact with these consumers. Furthermore, the mere fact of using transactional practices, low differentiation between products and the emphasis on promotion of price on the web would seem to increase sensitivity to price on the part of the consumers, particularly those who make purchases more frequently. Originality/value - To enable practitioners and academics to grasp fully the real value of frequent and sporadic clients, in order to allow digital companies to develop coherent strategies for them.

Notizen: Purpose - The web is now a significant component of the recruitment and job search process. However, very little is known about how companies and job seekers use the web, and the ultimate effectiveness of this process. The specific research questions guiding this study are: how do people search for job-related information on the web? How effective are these searches? And how likely are job seekers to find an appropriate job posting or application? Design/methodology/approach - The data used to examine these questions come from job seekers submitting job-related queries to a major web search engine at three points in time over a five-year period. Findings - Results indicate that individuals seeking job information generally submit only one query with several terms and over 45 percent of job-seeking queries contain a specific location reference. Of the documents retrieved, findings suggest that only 52 percent are relevant and only 40 percent of job-specific searches retrieve job postings. Research limitations/implications - This study provides an important contribution to web research and online recruiting literature. The data come from actual web searches, providing a realistic glimpse into how job seekers are actually using the web. Practical implications - The results of this research can assist organizations in seeking to use the web as part of their recruiting efforts, in designing corporate recruiting web sites, and in developing web systems to support job seeking and recruiting. Originality/value - This research is one of the first studies to investigate job searching on the web using longitudinal real world data.

Notizen: Purpose - To analyse the web acceptance and usage between goal-directed users and experiential users, incorporating intrinsic motives to improve the particular and explanatory TAM (technology acceptance model) value - traditionally related to extrinsic motives. Design/methodology/approach - A survey instrument was used to gather data to test the relationships shown in the research model. Data were collected from a sample of online questionnaires filled out by subscribers located in three discussion-mailing lists - administered by RedIris - about different topics (e.g. experimental sciences, social sciences and humanities). A structural equation modeling (SEM), specifically partial least squares (PLS), is proposed to assess the relationships between the constructs together with the predictive power of the research model. Findings - The empirical development suggests that there is scope for further extension of TAM to adapt to the web-based usage and its profitable consequences. The article may help to further the empirical research and to clarify and examine a web acceptance and usage model. In general, experiential and goal-directed behaviours moderate the key relationships in the model. Experiential and goal-directed users do not weigh extrinsic and intrinsic motives in the same way when on the web. Goal-directed users are more driven by instrumental factors and focused on their decision-making process while experiential users are more motivated by process.. Research limitations/implications - First, constructs of enjoyment and concentration are used to define flow. However, because of the flow definition's conceptual-vagueness, operationalising the flow construct has been questioned in the previous empirical works. Second, the cross-sectional study is also an important limitation. Since the users' perception and intention can change over time, it is important to measure these quantities at several points of time. Third, the sample sizes are relatively small. Fourth, the model needs to be tested with more objective measures to compare possible divergences. Finally, the model clearly does not include all the relevant variables. Practical implications - The results could be used to explain and to improve the experiential and goal-directed users' experience of being and to return to the web. Originality/value - The value of this study is to reveal the moderating influences of browsing-modes on relationship between flow and TAM-beliefs on the web, and, also, how the flow impacts the attitude and intention to use web between experiential and goal-directed users.

Notizen: Purpose - To contribute to the development of a theoretically grounded measure of organizational internet use (OIU) by conceptualizing and operationalizing it as a theoretical construct, and by empirically assessing its reliability and validity Design/methodology/approach - The focal construct OIU was conceptualized as an abstract collective object with three components, forming an index with formative, causal indicators. A multi-method research design - including a cross-sectional drop-and-collect survey among small technology-based firms (STBFs) in Germany and an observational study of web sites - was applied to assess empirically the theoretically developed construct OIU. This was achieved by using the component-based partial least squares (PLS) structural modeling technique using PLS-Graph. Findings - The empirical assessment of the scale, applied to the international business domain, proved to be reliable and valid in the structural model and across assessment methods. Research limitations/implications - The focal construct was assessed among a very specific population. This limits the claims that can be made with regard to applying it in other industries, countries, and firms. Future research should address this by applying OIU in maximally different research contexts. Practical implications - The developed construct has important implications for both managers and researchers. It should help in assessing levels of organizational internet use in a consistent fashion across populations and studies. It can be used for benchmarking purposes - of specific interest to managers - and it can be used to explore antecedents and consequences of organizational internet use - of specific interest to researchers. Originality/value - Internet research is moving from anecdotal and exuberant internet euphoria to internet pessimism to internet realism. Only theoretically grounded, reliable and valid measures can support such a required transition. With this paper we have made an initial contribution for such a development to occur.

Notizen: Purpose - To identify controls that can harness the power and capabilities of instant messengers (IM) while minimizing potential security risks. Design/methodology/approach - A risk analysis method and (CIS)2 model are used. Findings - IM is a great tool for enterprise productivity. However, it has so many risks, but one could identify and control these risks with technical and managerial countermeasures. Research limitations/implications - This paper fails to provide detailed and specific risks of commercial IMs, and the case study provided in this paper focuses on the technical rather than managerial issues. Practical implications - A very helpful case study which provides general risks and controls of recent IMs for the security officers of various organizations. Originality/value - This paper outlined the risks of IM and potential controls for securing public IM in the workplace.

Notizen: Purpose - Provide a secure solution for web services (WS). A new interoperable and distributed access control for WS is presented. Design/methodology/approach - Based on the separation of the access control (AC) and authorization function. Findings - Mechanisms presented allow seamless integration of external authorization entities in the AC system. The Semantic Policy Language (SPL) developed facilitates specification of policies and semantic policy validation. SPL specifications are modular and can be composed without ambiguity. Also addressed was the problem of the association of policies to resources (WS or their operations) in a dynamic, flexible and automated way. Research limitations/implications - The ACProxy component is currently under development. Ongoing work is focused on achieving a richer "use control" for some types of WS. Practical implications - Administrators of WS can specify AC policies and validate them to find syntactic and semantic errors. Components for automated validation of policies at different levels are included. This ensures that the AC policies produce the desired effects, facilitating the creation and maintenance of policies. It also provides mechanisms for the use of interoperable authorizations. Originality/value - A practical system that provides a secure solution to AC for WS. To the best of one's knowledge, no other system provides mechanisms for semantic validation of policies based on external authorization entities. Likewise, the mechanisms for interoperability of external authorization entities are also novel. The system provides content-based access control and a secure, decentralized and dynamic solution for authorization that facilitates the management of complex systems and enhances the overall security of the AC.

Notizen: Purpose - The increasing number of M-internet subscribers and the fast growing revenue proves the great potential of M-internet as well as the enormous business opportunity in Korea. The success in this business is dependent on understanding the concerns of customers and identifying the factors that promote the use of M-internet. Thus, this paper aims to examine the human motivations underlying individual behavioral intention to use M-internet in Korea. Design/methodology/approach - Employs TAM (technology acceptance model) as the base model and develops a more comprehensive version of TAM to better reflect M-internet context. The model employs perceived playfulness, contents quality, system quality, internet experience and perceived price level, in addition to perceived usefulness and ease of use. Investigates the causal relationships among the constructs used in this revised TAM and identifies the direct and indirect causal role of the constructs in developing the intention to use M-internet. Findings - Finds that attitude toward M-internet is the most significant factor in predicting the behavioral intention to use M-internet. Also identifies the positive role of the perceived playfulness and the negative role of perceived price level in developing the attitude as well as the intention. The positive causal relationships of "perceived contents quality - perceived usefulness", "perceived system quality– perceived usefulness" and "internet experience–perceived ease of use" were also witnessed. Practical implications - Considering the explosive growth of the M-internet market, well-established business strategy in M-internet will deliver great success to the mobile operators. Thus, understanding comprehensive causal relationship among the constructs used in this revised TAM would help managers to better implement the strategic ramifications in promoting M-internet. Originality/value - Develops a more comprehensive version of TAM to better reflect M-internet context in Korea, adding five new constructs and identifies the role of the construct in promoting the use of M-internet.

Notizen: Purpose - This study aims to present a new web page recommendation system that can help users to reduce navigational time on the internet. Design/methodology/approach - The proposed design is based on the primacy effect of browsing behavior, that users prefer top ranking items in search results. This approach is intuitive and requires no training data at all. Findings - A user study showed that users are more satisfied with the proposed search methods than with general search engines using hot keywords. Moreover, two performance measures confirmed that the proposed search methods out-perform other metasearch and search engines. Research limitations/implications - The research has limitations and future work is planned along several directions. First, the search methods implemented are primarily based on the keyword match between the contents of web pages and the user query items. Using the semantic web to recommend concepts and items relevant to the user query might be very helpful in finding the exact contents that users want, particularly when the users do not have enough knowledge about the domains in which they are searching. Second, offering a mechanism that groups search results to improve the way search results are segmented and displayed also assists users to locate the contents they need. Finally, more user feedback is needed to fine-tune the search parameters including a and ß to improve the performance. Practical implications - The proposed model can be used to improve the search performance of any search engine. Originality/value - First, compared with the democratic voting procedure used by metasearch engines, search engine vector voting (SVV) enables a specific combination of search parameters, denoted as a and ß, to be applied to a voted search engine, so that users can either narrow or expand their search results to meet their search preferences. Second, unlike page quality analysis, the hyperlink prediction (HLP) determines qualified pages by simply measuring their user behavior function (UBF) values, and thus takes less computing power. Finally, the advantages of HLP over statistical analysis are that it does not need training data, and it can target both multi-site and site-specific analysis.

Notizen: Purpose - This paper aims to show that information and evidence found in the XML-based environment of web services can allow web services providers to gain a sense of the trustworthiness of web services requestors over time. Design/methodology/approach - A literature review on trust in web services environment is provided. Trust management models, and an existing trust specification for web services are discussed. Next, a conceptual framework for web services trust formation is presented. Findings - The paper makes explicit types of information that can be used for trust formation. Web services providers are given the ability to trust requestors autonomously by making use of information that is published through web services standards, defined over and above a web services interface. The approach incorporates elements of social trust as it is concerned with more than cryptographic controls. It has mechanisms that allow a web services provider to manage trust autonomously, enabling different types of trust for different situations. Research limitations/implications - A conceptual framework for trust formation has been defined that identifies a proposal for trust calculation. The paper does not address the implementation of the framework, and calculation of trust over information categories. Practical implications - The paper identifies a practical approach to autonomous web services trust by making use of web services standards such as WS-Policy and WSMetadataExchange. Originality/value - This paper identifies a taxonomy of trust information that can be used to make explicit the requirements for web services trust.

Notizen: Purpose - The primary purpose was to learn about different variables of an integrated strategy associated with choosing to supply through business-to-business (B2B) intermediaries and apply the variables to a series of cases. Design/methodology/approach - A literature review served as a basis to develop an integrated model. A combination of primary and secondary research was conducted to apply the concepts of the model to different internet trading exchanges. Findings - Each trade exchange offers a different set of customers and suppliers vying for business opportunities. There are no common platforms for software and hardware. If a small company is interested in trading through an internet exchange, they want to select based on the variables identified that best meet their needs and integrate with their business strategy. Research limitations/implications - The focus was on industrial products and may not be applicable to consumer products. Practical implications - Suppliers must carefully operate in the future by evaluating each customer and determining which trade exchanges will provide them with the greatest benefit at the lowest cost. The infrastructure investment is an unavoidable cost that cannot be forgone unless the supplier wants to discontinue providing to most of its customers. The supplier needs to look at all aspects identified in the integrated business model and the foundation and facilitation for success lie in the information management of the entire entity. Originality/value - This paper takes the existing body of knowledge and applies it to the development of an integrated e-business model for industrial suppliers used to compare different internet trading exchanges.

Notizen: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for enhancing security policy management in the Grid. Design/methodology/approach - The Grid security policy reconciliation problem is presented. A generic view on the security policy notion is adopted and the security policy ontology notion is introduced and used. Findings - In the course of this work it was found that, in order to enhance security policy management in the Grid, Grid entities should have the ability to negotiate their security policies. It was also found that, in order to achieve security policy negotiation, effective security policy semantics manipulation towards security policy reconciliation is needed. Finally, it was established, through the use of an example, that if appropriate means are used for security policy reconciliation then incompatible security policy representations can be transformed into compatible ones. Research limitations/implications - Research limitations stem from the adoption of a generic view on the security policy notion and the selection of identification and authentication security policies as the focal point of the proposed framework. Research implications include the possibility of examining how existing security policy reconciliation models can be incorporated in this generic framework. The possibility of investigating how such a framework can lead to a security policy knowledge management tool for Grid administrators is also demonstrated. Practical implications - Practical implications of this work include the establishment of a common framework for security information exchange between Grid entities. Originality/value - This paper proposes a framework for enhancing security policy management in the Grid. The proposed framework can be used by researchers as a reference and by security experts in order to reduce ambiguity concerning the interpretation of security policies expressed in different forms, by negotiating Grid entities.

Notizen: Purpose - To carry out a practical experiment into the feasibility of service orientation to achieve a dynamic, late-binding service architecture. Design/methodology/approach - Literature view to provide a foundation in standards and measure anecdotal opinion regarding service orientation. The review informed an architectural design based on real world requirements from a multinational mobile telecommunications organisation moving toward portal-based services. The architectural implementation took place in a lab-based setting and tested with third-party services that were integrated into the architecture dynamically to test the late bound requirements of the infrastructure. The experimental approach also enabled the testing of the opinions formed regarding service orientation. Findings - The main outcome of the study related to the open, standards-based nature purported to be possible with service orientation. The findings on the study highlighted some major problems in interoperability and operational efficiency of service-oriented technologies when applied to a complex architecture framework. Research limitations/implications - Currently this represents the findings of a single study based on a specific set of requirements. In order to generalise, further study is needed and currently ongoing. Practical implications - The study has high implications for people wishing to approach service orientation as a means to integrate both new and legacy systems. The work raises a lot of questions about the supposed ease of integration. Originality/value - The work contributes to a growing body of work examining and evaluating the usefulness of service orientation.

Notizen: Purpose - The construction industry is one of the largest employment providers in the developing world. It is also one of the least safe industries, with a high frequency of accidents resulting in financial losses, injuries, disabilities and deaths. Decent working conditions and resulting improved worker satisfaction are key to sustainable productivity in the industry. International standards safeguarding construction workers are abundant and ratified by most low-income countries. This paper aims to examine if these standards are adequately reflected in contracts for construction works; and if they not, how contract clauses can be improved and put into operation. Design/methodology/approach - Based on research undertaken in Ghana, India and Zambia from 2000 to 2003, this paper explores the aforementioned points. The paper comprises analysis of contract clauses from the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) and developing country contracts, along with case study findings. Findings - This paper finds that more legislation is not the urgent issue; incorporating existing legislation into construction contracts and making clauses operational is a priority. This paper identifies practical and cost-effective procedures for bringing stakeholders together to implement and monitor labour standards, with the aim of contributing to the overall goal of providing "decent work" for all workers in the construction industry. Originality/value - This paper explores issues around implementing labour standards in construction of minor infrastructure works in low income countries and concludes with suggestions on how best to put contract clauses into operation through a process approach.

Notizen: Purpose - To present a model of innovative change in higher education based on research into the factors behind the performance of highly creative historical communities. Design/methodology/approach - The article diagnoses current pressures under which academia is laboring, explains the hothouse effect, and proposes solutions based on the hothouse effect model. Findings - The article proposes restructuring of discipline-based learning, developing new methods of strategic planning, adopting new assumptions about the social role of higher education, exploring modes of perception and cognition that are critical to education, and using digital technology to create learning communities and facilitate accelerated learning models. The model of organizational change emphasizes modest and numerous grass-roots initiatives as the most efficient generator of broad cultural change. Research limitations/implications - The aim is to stimulate pilot initiatives and broad dialog on the issues raised. The research points the way to further work in the dynamics of creativity, the nature of pedagogy, and the future role of the university. Practical implications - Numerous methods are presented for strengthening the relationship of faculty and administration, utilizing technology to create learning communities and transform pedagogy, stimulating faculty collaboration, and planning for the future. Originality/value - This paper provides many fresh and practical ideas useful at an individual, department, or institutional level. The goal is not a specific type of institution or mode of operation. Instead, it the model is flexible and adaptable to creative initiatives of any scope. Ultimately, this article can contribute to revitalizing the ongoing dialog about higher education's future.

Notizen: Purpose - To ascertain how scholarship will be impacted by digital media. Design/methodology/approach - This paper breaks down the vocation of scholarship into subsidiary tasks. It examines how their relative importance has changed in the modern era. Finally, it looks at which tasks will be facilitated or complicated by digital media, particularly by the internet. Findings - The tasks of collecting and storing information have been made far faster and easier by digital media. Other tasks such as sorting, evaluating and assessing the implications of information have, however, become more difficult. In consequence, theory has become far more important. Research limitations/implications - The extrapolations in this paper are about broad trends, which may manifest themselves in a variety of ways. Practical implications - In the future, one can expect scholarship to deal less with uncovering new information. Instead, scholars will have to devote more time and effort to ascertaining why information is important. Scholars will be expected to articulate not only their methods but also their purposes. Originality/value - This paper provides useful information on how scholarship will be impacted by digital media.

Notizen: Purpose - To provide a past, current and future perspective of transnational higher education for academics and managers engaged in this area of education provision, to heighten awareness of the current trends and issues involved. Design/methodology/approach - An Australian/Hong Kong case study and reference to current literature are used to highlight the main issues concerning this rapidly expanding phenomenon in the provision of higher education. Findings - Identifies and discusses the main issues for consideration when planning new transnational activities, including the need for strategic approaches and risk management. Research limitations/implications - The paper focuses on Australia and the Asian region, although material related to the UK and the USA is included in some sections. Whether a country is the provider or the receiver of transnational education, the issues raised will be relevant. Practical implications - This paper provides a very useful source of information for those currently involved in or planning to become involved in a transnational higher education activity. Originality/value - This paper is timely in that it addresses the recent proliferation of transnational higher education activities by considering the past and present, as well as providing discussion of potential future directions.

Notizen: Purpose - To analyze the extent of, and the reasons for, institutional change in the private corporation. Design/methodology/approach - The paper identifies seven "new rules of corporate conduct" which, in total, represent a radical change in the social contract between society and the corporation. It then speculates about future changes in corporate purpose and governance. Findings - A central feature of the new corporate charter is that it is likely to entail a redefinition of the relationship between profit and corporate purpose. The purpose is service to society (i.e. serving social needs), while profit provides the means, motive and measure. Originality/value - This paper provides the basis and rationale for moving the corporation from "profit-as-purpose" to "service-as-purpose" as the organizing principle for its strategies, values and actions.

Notizen: Purpose - To examine and discuss the central features of institutional change and to compare it with organizational change. Design/methodology/approach - Use interviews with managers to highlight key issues. Findings - Results are presented of interviews with managers exploring changes that have for decades been transforming business, government, and other institutions into "organic" systems for the knowledge age. Institutional change differs from organizational change by focusing on the higher-order unspoken social rules that govern the structure of institutions in common. The study evaluated trends driving this transformation, the obstacles blocking it, and the likely timetable of implementation. Originality/value - Concludes that three central features mark the general direction of institutional evolution: "e-organizations" operating in real time, "self-organizing systems" of self-managed teams, and "stakeholder collaboration" to unify diverse interests into a more powerful enterprise.

Notizen: Purpose - Highlight the management dilemma disruptive innovation poses and examine what the leading management theorists have to offer as a solution. Design/methodology/approach - The author examines six leading theories of innovation and three alternatives to disruptive innovation. Findings - The leading theories that try to solve the paradox of innovation don't work and the alternatives to disruptive innovation merely delay having to deal with the dilemma. Research limitations/implications - The author reviewed many theoretical approaches to innovation management and selected six for commentary. Practical implications - The author argues that the theorists are looking at innovation in the wrong way. Because innovation is a paradox, the solution lies in rethinking the fundamental assumptions. Originality/value - First article that examines the logic behind the leading disruptive innovation theories and refutes their advice.

Notizen: Purpose - To encourage top management to recognize the need for adding new value to their organizations and commit to the creation of new internal capabilities for growth via the exploration of their company's strategic frontier. Design/methodology/approach - Explains how the CEO can select a team and initiate a project to identify strategy frontier options. Findings - The authors' experience suggests that the team should first explore all areas of future growth potential in and adjacent to their industry, creating a long list of potential options. Identifying a breadth of strategic frontier options is more important than a depth of information on any one option. Research limitations/implications - More case studies of strategy frontier projects in action, with quantitative results, would be valuable. Practical implications - The goal of this frontier team is to identify a portfolio of innovative new business opportunities that exist on the strategic frontier. It will be the responsibility of another, more qualified group with quantitative skills (strategic planners, business development) to develop a detailed business design and determine its profitability and attractiveness to the company. Originality/value - The article offers top management an innovative how-to approach to finding truly new growth opportunities.

Notizen: Purpose - Managers need research-based guidance on how to find sources of new growth when their core business is maturing. Design/methodology/approach - Authors shadowed managers responsible for finding and entering new businesses, interviewing them every three or four months for an average of two years. They surveyed over 100 corporate venturing units and corporate incubators and assembled a database of over 50 stories of companies that had successfully developed or acquired a significant new business. We interviewed managers in about half of these companies that had successfully diversified and we tested our emerging hypotheses against this database. Findings - All research indicated that managers need to assess opportunities more strategically and be less activity driven. The authors concluded that managers were investing in too many projects, most of which had little chance of success. Research limitations/implications - If research is reported on in the paper this section must be completed and should include suggestions for future research and any identified limitations in the research process. Practical implications - Ashridge Strategic Management Centre has developed a screening tool - The New Businesses Traffic Lights to test opportunities before a business plan has been developed, alongside a business plan to assess the strategic logic for the proposal, or to an existing investment that is failing to meet its short-term targets. Originality/value - Applying the screen to the portfolio of new business investments in most companies will result in red lights for many projects. Not only can significant money be saved from the "new businesses" budget, but also extra resources can be focused on improving the core businesses.

Notizen: Purpose - During the past year, the authors have built a framework for a suite of metrics that senior managers can customize to track and promote innovation success in their companies. Design/methodology/approach - Senior executives can use the suite of metrics to assess their company's innovativeness over time and hence combat the insidious strategy decay that often afflicts a company's business. Findings - The framework combines three views on innovation - resource, capability, and leadership - providing the perspective to develop a suite of metrics for assessing and developing a company's capacity for innovation. Research limitations/implications - The optimal selection of metrics and the optimal value or "sweet spot" of any particular metric will vary from company to company. Practical implications - As more firms develop strategic innovation metrics and a database that validates their relevance, top managers will learn to assess and guide a company's innovation capability more effectively. Originality/value - This is the first strategic guideline for building a customizable system of innovation metrics.

Notizen: Purpose - This study proposes investigating the branding of small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) wineries in an Australian context. By taking a qualitative approach, the theory building research seeks further to understand branding from the perspective of the SME winery, and in doing so, go some way in addressing the current deficit in the literature. Design/methodology/approach - Bhat and Reddy's conceptualisation of brand functionality and symbolism is used as a branding framework to underlie the research. A multiple case study design was adopted as a research method to provide case data on eight SME wineries. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with the owner/manager of each winery, direct observation and document analysis. Findings - The findings are presented in the form a model of SME winery branding, which, in addition to distinguishing two approaches to branding, highlights the functional and symbolic values inherent in the brand. The findings endorse the notion that brands can simultaneously have both functional and symbolic appeal. More radically, the emergent model suggests interdependence between the functional and symbolic properties of branding. Practical implications - Practically, the findings highlight the importance of developing the symbolic values associated with the brand, which represent a more sustainable competitive advantage. Originality/value - By establishing a tentative theory on SME winery branding, this study has begun to address the current deficit in wine marketing literature and has set a foundation for further research.

Notizen: Purpose - Brand management in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is an area of study in its infancy. Although considerable literature has been published about brand management in general, all theory and case studies are based only on multinationals. This article proposes providing the results and conclusions of exploratory research into this subject, and into SMEs in particular. Design/methodology/approach - To understand the precise role of the entrepreneur and to provide answers to five research questions, a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with mainly middle-sized companies was undertaken. Striking results were obtained from this exploratory research. Findings - The paper shows the reader what the role of brand management in SMEs is and all the variables that influence it. It also presents a new model for brand development in SMEs, one that highlights the importance of the internal role of brand management in such an organization. An important finding is that passion for the brand throughout the company is a very important factor, initiated by an active role of the entrepreneur him/herself to achieving brand recognition. It does not cost anything and the impact appeared to be significant. Of course creativity is indispensable in this process. Practical implications - The change that directors of a relatively small company should make is to place brand management in a top position in their daily mind set. Achieving brand recognition starts inside the organization itself. Originality/value - For the first time in history extensive research in brand management in SMEs has been combined with the creation of various new theories, resulting in many practical recommendations. These are recommendations that can be used by the reader in his or her own organization.

Notizen: Purpose - The aim of this research is to examine the effects of congruent and incongruent brand concept extensions on consumer attitudes towards the extended product and feedback effects on the parent brand. Moreover, brand familiarity is proposed as an important moderator variable in determining feedback effects on attitude to the parent brand. Design/methodology/approach - An experimental research design was applied for testing the set of hypotheses put forth. The product category of wrist-watches was utilized as setting. A total of 205 respondents participated in the study. Findings - The study finds general support for the importance of brand concept congruency when it comes to feedback-effects, whereas no significant differences between congruent and incongruent extensions are found for attitudes to the extension itself. Brand familiarity is found to be an important moderator on parent brand feedback effects. Research limitations/implications - Before concluding on the moderating role of brand familiarity in this context, one needs to build a stronger nomological network around this variable. Moreover, the effects observed in this study should be extended and tested for other product categories and preferably also with other methodological approaches. Originality/value - The study results reemphasize the importance of investigating brand feedback effects when launching category extensions. Also, the research provides new insight into the role of parent brand familiarity when evaluating the potential risks and rewards of conducting brand concept extensions.

Notizen: Purpose - Proposes exploring a unique approach to the new product development process and its implications for new product developers Design/methodology/approach - The case was written after in depth interviews with company managers and customers. Findings - Provides information and a description of an innovative guiding philosophy applied to new product development. Research limitations/implications - As with most case studies the situation, industry response and results are pertinent to this particular company. There may be limitations in generalizing to other industries or other companies. Practical implications - Demonstrates a reactive approach to new product development. Also illustrates a successful means of interacting with government markets. Originality/value - The case reflects a successful strategy based on establishing a trusted expert position in an environmental protection industry. That position allowed the company to act as a pollution avoidance advocate and to gain effective access to decision makers within their customer companies. Within this industry, the strategy is effective and may be emulated.

Notizen: Purpose - Despite the increasing sophistication of new product development (NPD) research, the reliance on traditional approaches to studying NPD has left several areas in need of further research. The authors propose addressing some of these gaps, especially the limited focus on consumer brands, evaluation criteria used across different project-review points in the NPD process, and the distinction between "kills", "successes", and "failures". Moreover, they propose investigating how screening criteria change across project-review points, using real-time NPD projects. Design/methodology/approach - A postal survey generated 172 usable questionnaires from a sample of European, North American, Far Eastern and Australian consumer packaged-goods firms, providing data on 314 new product projects covering different development and post-commercialization review points. Findings - The results confirm that acceptance-rejection criteria vary through the NPD process. However, financial criteria dominate across all the project-review points. Initial screening is coarse, focusing predominantly on financial criteria. Fit with organizational, product, brand, promotional, and market requirements dominate in the detailed screen and pre-development evaluation points. At pre-launch, decision-makers focus on product, brand, and promotional criteria. Commercial fit, production synergies, and reliability of the firm's market intelligence are significant discriminators in the post-launch review. Moreover, the importance of marketing and channel issues makes the criteria for screening brands different from those of industrial markets. Originality/value - The study, although largely descriptive and involves a relatively small sample of consumer goods firms, offers new insights into NPD project evaluation behavior. Future, larger-scale investigations covering a broader spectrum of consumer product sectors are needed to validate our results and to explain the reasons behind managers' decisions.

Notizen: Purpose - The paper proposes enhancing the understanding of the complex challenges inherent in the development of tourism destination brand slogans. Design/methodology/approach - Prior to completing a tourism marketing PhD, the author spent almost two decades working in the tourism industry, mostly in destination marketing organisations (DMOs). In this paper he laments a significant gap in the literature in the area of tourism destination branding, a field that has only attracted academic attention since the late 1990s. Findings - While interest in applications of brand theory to practise in tourism is increasing, there is a paucity of published research with which to guide DMOs. There has been relatively little discussion on the complexity involved in capturing the essence of a multi-attributed destination with a succinct and focused brand position, in a way that is both meaningful to the multiplicity of target audiences of interest to stakeholders and effectively differentiates the destination from competitors. Practical implications - The paper will be of interest to tourism practitioners with a vested interest in the marketing of their destination, as well as research students and supervising academics interested in destination marketing. Originality/value - The paper summarises six issues that make the application of branding theory to destinations a complex undertaking, and which are worthy of increased research attention.

Notizen: Purpose - Studies on optimal discount levels have sometimes yielded contradictory results, leaving practitioners with unclear direction. This paper proposes clarifying the optimum discount levels. Design/methodology/approach - This study asked 453 consumers to choose their own optimal discount levels (from 0-80 percent) for eight product categories across two distribution channels (physical store and online merchant). Then they were asked if the reason if they did not always select the deepest discount. Findings - Only 13 percent selected the 80 percent discount level for each product and each channel, despite seeing the exact price they would pay at each level. In support of attribution theory, 88 percent of the consumers attributed at least one cause for the deepest discounts. Most frequently cited were concerns about quality problems, damaged goods, or stolen goods. Consumers also opted for lower discount levels from the online merchant than from the physical store. There was a wide divergence by product category, with consumers selecting smaller discounts on tires and cereal and the deepest discounts on shirts. Research limitations/implications - Given the divergence across product categories, it is unknown how consumers would respond to categories not studied. Practical implications - This paper has revealed strong consumer perceptions about discount risks and the tradeoffs consumer make between risk and financial benefit across different product categories, both online and off - which can help marketing practitioners in setting discount levels. Originality/value - By allowing consumers to select their own preferred discount levels, it is shown that most customers attribute some risk to them.

Notizen: Purpose - To explore an emerging area in internet practice that has implications for new product developers. Design/methodology/approach - The paper integrates concepts including a range of recently published (1993-2004) theoretical works and ongoing case developments in internet practice. Findings - Provides information and action approaches to new product developers that may increase the success and accuracy of resulting new products. Outlines the benefits of monitoring and participating in online consumer communities and offers practical suggestions for maximizing their value in the product development process. Research limitations/implications - The theoretical concepts that form the foundation of the paper appear to have a significant application to the product development process but have not been tested empirically. Practical implications - Uncovers a previously unrecognized source of direct consumer input and cooperation in the design and valuation of new products. Originality/value - This paper describes the nature and application of online consumer communities to an important marketing process. It offers the potential of improving the success of new products in the marketplace reducing significant waste.

Notizen: Purpose - This paper aims to explain the structure of the market from the perspective of small brands and to discuss marketing strategy implications. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses revealed preference data of the Australian wine market, comprising 4,000 wine shoppers' purchases over a 12-month period. Standard brand performance measures such as penetration and purchase frequency are applied to the data to define niche and change-of-pace brands. Using the same data, price tier loyalty is measured using polarisation, and discussed in relation to the attribute offering required and the direct marketing approach required for true niche positions. Findings - The empirical results show that both niche and change-of-pace positions are prevalent in the wine market and small wineries, within a direct marketing channel approach, should target higher price points with branded wines but also lower price point products as well. The results suggest that attribute levels that are change-of-pace are unsustainable for small brands and can only be undertaken by large brands with the appropriate marketing resources. Research limitations/implications - The authors conceptualise that small brands should focus on attribute levels that have excess loyalty. Large brands can absorb attribute levels that are change-of-pace. This conceptualisation requires further discussion, particularly from the strategy literature, as well as further empirical testing. Practical implications - Whilst "niche" positions are the holy grail of some teaching and much practitioner endeavour, this paper has presented data that demonstrate the need for managers to ascertain if the position they occupy is in fact a niche or a change-of-pace position. Originality/value - This paper fulfils a need by using revealed preference behavioural data to highlight different strategies for small and large brands. Behavioural analysis and papers in the past have emphasised the strength and tendency towards large brands without offering insight into small brand strategies.

Notizen: Purpose - This research proposes studying how consumers' familiarity with products impacts the degree to which consumers are sensitive to a seller's violation of procedural fairness norms in pricing. Past research has either studied the role of familiarity or the role of fairness in influencing consumer behavior. However, it is unclear how familiarity and fairness combine to influence consumer behavior. The present research proposes filling this gap. Design/methodology/approach - An experiment is designed to manipulate consumers' perceptions of procedural fairness of a seller's pricing tactic, and consumers' levels of familiarity with a product. Each variable is manipulated to be either high or low. Thus, outcomes are observed for four purchase conditions. Findings - Results indicate that the degree to which consumers rely on procedural fairness to evaluate a product is related to consumers' level of familiarity with a product. Consumers who are less familiar with a product are more likely to rely on procedural fairness to form purchase intentions. Also, unlike their more knowledgeable counterparts, consumers who are less familiar with a product are more likely to equate procedural fairness with perceived quality. Research limitations/implications - The research stresses the need to differentiate between the roles played by procedural and distributive fairness in shaping consumer behavior. The authors study only procedural fairness, but a natural next step for future research is to study simultaneously the role of both facets of fairness. Practical implications - The results of our study underscore the importance of following procedural fairness norms especially for retailers who deal in product categories where the pace of innovation is so rapid that it creates a large dispersion in knowledge of product attributes among consumers. The study' findings suggest that in such situations, consumers may rely excessively on cues that signal a seller's adherence to or violation of social norms relevant to business practices. Thus, the authors encourage sellers to monitor keenly levels of product knowledge among their customer base. This would enable sellers to identify situations that merit an enhanced sensitivity to upholding social norms such as procedural fairness. Originality/value - The paper brings to attention the interaction between consumers' familiarity with a product and procedural fairness in pricing. Although an expectation of procedural fairness underlies all exchanges this research identifies consumers' familiarity as a variable that influences the degree to which procedural fairness is relied on in shaping consumer behavior.

Notizen: Purpose - To provide a conceptual framework to help researchers and managers understand the complex factors affecting the associations between brands. Design/methodology/approach - Brand extension, co-branding and other associative techniques together with an increasingly communicative environment are resulting in an increasingly complex set of networks and relationships between brands, with singular and multiple relationship forms. There are two key perspectives on these complex relationships, that of the customer and that of the brand owner, i.e. what is seen at the point of transaction and what is expressed by the various brand constructors. Two key perspectives on brand relationships are used that of the customer and that of the brand owner, to describe and discuss an analytical classification of these relationships. Findings - A conceptual synthesis of the dynamics of brand networks and business relationships is presented and a 2?×?2 matrix is developed to classify and describe the four categories that emerge. Practical implications - Different management strategies for different types of business-brand relationships are suggested. Originality/value - The conceptual synthesis is new and some uses of the classification for researchers and brand managers are suggested.

Notizen: Purpose - The mandatory withdrawal of almost 2,000 complementary and alternative medicines, manufactured under contract on behalf of multiple brand names, primarily in the Australian and New Zealand markets, provides an opportunity to examine the impact on sales levels and both brand and category loyalty of a major product confidence crisis. Sets out to deal with this issue Design/methodology/approach - Focuses on the impact of the events surrounding the recall within both the Australian and New Zealand markets and links the events surrounding the recall with the scant international literature relating to brand management during crisis situations. Then reports on findings from an investigation of New Zealand consumer perceptions of the sector after the recall event. Findings - The substantial impact on both category and brand loyalty in the face of prolonged non-availability of some products is revealed, as is the lack of contingency planning across product supply and marketing communications dimensions. Concludes with recommendations for the future management of brands during such events. Practical implications - Lessons that may be learned in relation to brand management during crisis situations are stressed, along with implications for cross-border brand management. Originality/value - The dynamics of the complementary and alternative medicines market have not been comprehensively researched. In addition, the extant literature regarding brand management during crisis situations is not extensive. This paper therefore makes a contribution towards the understanding of an under-researched market sector and also the impact on brand management of major disruption to consumer confidence and product availability.

Notizen: Purpose - Seeks to effect a comparison of the pricing strategies followed by hypermarkets, compared with those that discount stores carry out. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from the direct observation of the supermarket shelves of nine frequent purchase product categories in several hypermarkets and discount stores. Diverse statistical analyses were applied to these picked up data, such as mean comparisons, ANOVA and correspondence analysis. Findings - The article concludes that the hypermarkets tend to have higher mean prices, and use promotional tools more profusely than the discount stores. Research limitations/implications - For future research, it would be very important to examine consumer price evaluations based on a theoretical approach in the same formats, and in this way consumer reactions to price changes could be understood. Also, examining the cross-country differences in retail stores may be quite interesting. Practical implications - Relationships between hypermarkets and hi-lo pricing, plus discount stores and EDLP pricing, have been found. Therefore, retail managers of both formats have to know all about these pricing strategies. In this way, the managers of these firms would know the kind of customers that can be attracted and the signals and image that can be projected in the market. Originality/value - This paper directly compares the pricing and promotional activities of hypermarkets versus discount stores. Researching into whether price and promotional differences exist between the two format retailers will help consumers and managers to know the true price level of each format.

Notizen: Purpose - This paper seeks to present a cultural approach to co-branding. The purpose here is to discuss issues concerning the phenomena of brand and branding with particular focus on the mythological narratives that are at stake in a brand. Design/methodology/approach - This paper conducts a case analysis of a co-branded product. Provides both a managerial and a cultural reading of the co-brand in question, before proceeding to make a "neo-Freudian" analysis of the potentially transgressive meanings involved in the co-branding in question. This is done not so much to produce an authoritative reading of the cultural and commercial sign of the co-brand as to make a bold leap and provide a daring reading of a seemingly innocent co-branded product. Findings - Through the case study of the co-branded product, the vast amount of cultural meanings that goes beyond the sets of brand identities proposed by the brand managers is explored. Discusses the limitations of traditional strategic branding models and suggests a certain degree of humility towards the mysterious and spiritual forces when trying to exploit mythological levels of social meanings and narratives in the branding process. Practical implications - For brand managers who seek to co-operate with other brands in the marketplace, this paper offers an argument for the almost limitless potential of symbolic dimensions that are inextricably linked to combining brand universes. By doing so, a more comprehensive understanding of the meaning management for co-branded products and potentially a more successful outcome of the branding process may be achieved. Originality/value - In addition to existing research, this paper illustrates that the practice of co-branding involves a play with symbolic forces that can be unpredictable and difficult to control for a brand manager. This finding has implications for the degree to which one can expect to be able to manage the social communication processes generated from a co-branded product.

Notizen: Purpose - To show how a combination of hard and soft project and change management methodologies guided successful in-house development of a campus-wide information system. Design/methodology/approach - A case study of the methodologies and management structures that guided the development is presented. Findings - Applying a combination of the dynamic systems development method, rapid prototyping, PRINCE 2, Checkland's soft systems methodologies and change management helped to develop a product that met user needs, offered value for money and was delivered on time. Practical implications - The case study shows that the advantages of formal governance brought by PRINCE 2 can be retained in a softer environment where user needs generate work packages and stage gates. Originality/value - There is widespread evidence that more than half of all IT projects fail and that the softer people issues are essential for success. The paper presents an example of fusing softer approaches with formal governance. It should interest programme and project managers, senior sponsors, software developers and usability specialists.

Notizen: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of a web-based constructivist learning environment, which was developed based on a course given to students in the Faculty of Creative Multimedia (FCM) on student learning. Design/methodology/approach - In this paper, a web-based multimedia-mediated project was developed based on an Internet Applications course where students were taught to use specific web authoring tools to solve a web-related problem. The mode of learning was geared towards a student-centred, constructivist learning perspective where students were active learners, worked in a group environment and constructed knowledge and understanding in their learning process. An online survey was given to the students to assess their reactions towards this learning environment. Findings - The results obtained were positive and satisfactory. In this learning process, students were able to understand the problem, work collaboratively, construct their own solutions, and determine their own learning outcomes. Feedback on the online survey provided further support of the students' positive attitudes towards this learning environment. Research limitations/implications - The implications of this research study are that students found that the web-based learning environment allowed them to be more active participants in their learning process, increasing their critical and creative thinking skills as well as improving their problem-solving skills. They learned "how to learn" and developed several learning skills such as communication, teamwork, collaboration and presentation, as well as achieving ownership of these learning outcomes. The use of multimedia- and web-based tools for their project allowed them to be innovative in their presentations, making the project more fun for them. Practical implications - This research provides educators with an innovative approach to teaching with technology, and students with a more effective learning environment. Originality/value - This paper fulfils Malaysia's MSC initiative to include ICT in the classroom teaching environment and to focus on learner-centred teaching and learning strategies. This constructivist-based learning environment also enabled students to build their problem-solving and collaborative skills as well as their creative and critical thinking abilities in order to meet the rising demands of twenty-first century organisations.

Notizen: Purpose - This paper reports a study conducted longitudinally to investigate group communication media choice and the use of a web-based learning tool, as well as other types of communication media, such as e-mail, telephone, and face-to-face, for communication and collaboration to complete given tasks. Design/methodology/approach - This study was designed following the case study research methodology and design of Yin. Longitudinal observation was made on groups in their naturalistic research setting. Twenty-three groups of four or five students working on five similar tasks were selected as the unit of analysis. Findings - The findings showed that groups' choice-making process of communication media evolved over a period of time. A pattern of group communication emerged, namely face-to-face, virtual, and mixed (the use of both face-to-face and virtual communication). The three group communication categories were significantly different in performance, with the mixed category performing the highest in terms of grade. Research limitations/implications - The limitations of this study are related to the case study methodology and the subjectivity of some interpretations. Practical implications - The findings should assist in the design of both on-campus and distance learning course modules to facilitate learning through group project or assignment. The findings should also assist the design and implementation of the e-learning systems and tools that are acceptable to users. Originality/value - The study provides insight into how such ICT applications can be made useful and effective, and why, when given the freedom to choose, the use of a web-based tool is the least attempted for communication.

Notizen: Purpose - To discuss how Hong Kong university libraries can help young professors and PhD students publish their articles in SCI (Science Citation Index) and SSCI (Social Science Citation Index) journals. Design/methodology/approach - With reference to the opinions of experts on how to publish work successfully, this paper provides practical advice for university libraries in Hong Kong. Findings - After collecting the opinions of experts and browsing the web sites of many university libraries throughout the world, suggests that Hong Kong universities can offer a variety of services in supporting research. The university libraries may build up electronic resources to gather more research information and journals information for helping young professors and PhD students publish their works. Practical implications - To provide very useful and practical advice for Hong Kong university libraries when facing the new challenge in support of research. Originality/value - During recent years, the Hong Kong universities have been facing budget cuts from the government, and have been placed under the pressure of transforming into centers of excellence and establishing themselves among the best in the world. This paper offers practical help to Hong Kong university libraries such as how to play an active and important role in providing a greater support service for young professors and PhD students that will help in the development of their academic careers.

Notizen: Purpose - Seeks to show that the software development process is based on the premise to provide an enhanced e-learning environment by supporting individual learning styles and preferences through the use of emerging adaptive technologies that also enable performance evaluation in the context of meeting agreed learning outcomes. Design/methodology/approach - The design methodology adopts a case study approach that follows the design and implementation of a learner management system. Findings - Web-based intelligent tutoring systems, aimed at compensating for the absence of a real world tutor have to date mostly concentrated on providing assistance in a particular subject domain and not focused on the problem of utilising content represented as learning objects across multi-subject domains. This paper describes the creation of a non-dictatorial tutoring system that has been developed at NTP Information Solutions Ltd. A visualisation tool has bee4n created called "learning navigator" to help learners to visualise the best path through assignable units extracted from a learning repository. Practical implications - The system is currently able to suggest new paths that take into account learning styles through learner performance, learner previous experience and learning objectives. Future work will include extending this criterion to take into account further individual learning preferences. Originality/value - The sharable content objects (SCOs) approach to the software solution extends the internationally recognised SCORM development standards. As a consequence the paper contributes to international e-learning standards development but also extends current knowledge of the role of adaptive technologies in supporting learning styles and preferences.

Notizen: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a management tool that helps to achieve the objectives of the plan for info-tech systems and communications of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the 2003-2006 period. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology used in this case is nothing if not practical. The chosen tool involved university members who put it into practice and the results were observed. Findings - Finds that a practical instrument, which appeals to the users' real needs, can overcome their objections to change and their apprehension of technological innovation. Research limitations/implications - As in all individual case studies - and this is no exception - the methodology chosen circumscribes to some extent the research and its results, which therefore cannot be automatically applied generally elsewhere. Practical implications - Users' interests are paramount and preparation of the technology involved must be given the utmost attention over a considerable period of time. Originality/value - University members have here a user-friendly means of effecting e-administration simply and easily.

Notizen: Purpose - To examine whether students have higher retention rates of material when they participate in online quizzes or online alternative student-centered assignments on the material presented in the F2F class. Design/methodology/approach - Reviews the literature; and analyzes data from the implementation of both types of assessment for the online sessions of the course (student-centered and faculty-centered) as correlated with mid-term and final examination scores. Findings - A significant difference was found on both mid-term and final examination scores by participants and non-participants in the assessments. A significant difference was not found in the participation levels in the various assessment types. In addition, a minimal relationship was found between the assessment type and the act of participating in the assessment. The assessment type was not found to have a significant effect, though the participation in the assessment type did have an effect. Research limitations/implications - Only two terms' worth of students, in one course, were examined. The assessments were not analyzed for equivalence in their coverage of the materials. Further research is needed on types of activities and level of participation, types of participation and level of learning, and participation scale grade rather than a yes/no method, are correlated. Practical implications - Provides a very useful source of information, guidance, and support for instructors considering the use of online assessments in their hybrid courses. Originality/value - This paper fulfils an identified need in the usage of alternative assessments and offers practical help to faculty teaching a theatre arts hybrid class.

Notizen: Purpose - Investigating the social structure in online courses helps in designing for and facilitating student support and retention. Aims to provide data showing how course design and use of social software technologies provided social and collaborative learning opportunities for online students. Design/methodology/approach - A study of computer-mediated groups that utilized social media technologies and a web-based collaborative model in an online program. Participants were put into groups and observed as they constructed knowledge using both online dialogue (synchronous and asynchronous) and social media technologies as tools to support their learning. Findings - The integration of web-based learning communities and collaborative group assignments into the course design has a positive influence on student retention in online courses. Research limitations/implications - The research was limited to the online student population at Pepperdine University, and did not include data or research from similar online programs at other universities. Future research should include data collected from students outside the USA to find out what role cultural mores, attitudes, and gender play. Practical implications - Provides curriculum design strategies that foster community, utilize social/ participatory media, and support online student learning and retention through effective course design. Originality/value - Current research on distance learning curriculum has focused on the instructor's perspective. It is felt that research from the student's perspective can also yield some valuable insights for online course design.

Notizen: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present an e-learning content adaptation toolkit - ELCAT - that helps to achieve the objectives of the KTP project No. 3509. Design/methodology/approach - The chosen methodology is absolutely practical. The tool was put into motion and results were observed as university and the collaborating company members started using it and getting results out of it. Findings - The methodology and the practical approach developed in the research facilitate e-learning practices and the developed software enables the utilisation of legacy e-learning material on the internet and world wide web. It also helps to break the resistance to change and the fears stemming from new technologies when a useful tool taught with the idea of what users really need is given to users. Research limitations/implications - As usual in all case studies, the results of this research are limited by the methodology, since results have to be reviewed carefully before applying them to other tools or universities. Practical implications - It is absolutely fundamental to take users' needs into account and implementation of technology tools should be properly planned across time. Originality/value - The paper presents an easy-to-use tool that allows university community members to carry out e-administration processes in a very simple and easy manner.

Notizen: Purpose - To address the critical issue of how best to adopt and diffuse information and communication technology (ICT) into organisations. Design/methodology/approach - During April and May 2002, a survey of ICT diffusion of ICT users from three construction organisations was conducted. Findings - Results from an earlier phase of this study indicated that 11 factors influence ICT diffusion. The aim of this paper is to report on phase 2 study results within three construction organisations based on the 11 factors found to influence ICT diffusion. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with five to six ICT users and an implementer for each of the case study companies. Originality/value - Three factors were found to have a weak influence on ICT diffusion, while eight have a strong influence. These influencing factors may be grouped into four interrelated categories: management, individual, technology, and work environment. Their inter-relationship should be coherently and comprehensively addressed.

Notizen: Purpose - Ratios were constructed using bidding data for highway construction projects in Texas to study whether there are useful patterns in project bids that are indicators of the project completion cost. The use of the ratios to improve predictions of completed project cost was studied. Design/methodology/approach - Ratios were calculated relating the second lowest bid, mean bid, and maximum bid to the low bid for the highway construction projects. Regression and neural network models were developed to predict the completed cost of the highway projects using bidding data. Models including the bidding ratios, low bid, second lowest bid, mean bid and maximum bid were developed. Natural log transformations were applied to the data to improve model performance. Findings - Analysis of the bidding ratios indicates some relationship between high values of the bidding ratios and final project costs that deviate significantly from the low bid amount. Addition of the ratios to neural network and regression models to predict the completed project cost were not found to enhance the predictions. The best performing regression model used only the low bid as input. The best performing neural network model used the low bid and second lowest bid as inputs. Originality/value - The nature of bid ratios that can describe the pattern of bids submitted for a project and the relationship of the ratios to project outcomes were studied. The ratio values may be useful indicators of project outcome that can be used by construction managers.

Notizen: Purpose - The aim of this paper is to examine and compare the performance of architects with respect to clients' rating of importance over a set of performance criteria in Nigerian public and private sector building projects. Design/methodology/approach - A survey involving clients from both public and private sectors of recently completed building projects in Nigeria was undertaken. Data analysis includes comparing similarities and differences using standardised ratio, Mann Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests. Findings - The results show that private sector clients are likely to be more concerned with cost, while public sector clients are more concerned with buildability of design. A total of 79 per cent of the criteria were similarly selected by both sectors with respect to importance of the criteria. Architects need to improve their performance significantly in about 82 per cent of the whole set of 28 criteria. The architects performed better in the public sector than the private sector and 14 per cent of the criteria were indicated as being statistically different in terms of architects' performance. Originality/value - The results provide feedback which can be incorporated in architects' future projects so as to ensure successful project implementation in the building delivery process.

Notizen: Purpose - The objectives of this paper are to: find out whether design-bid-build (DBB) or design-build (DB) procurement method gives better quality building; identify variables that significantly affect quality scores of DBB and DB projects; and construct models to predict quality scores of DB and DBB projects. Design/methodology/approach - The research design was based on a structured questionnaire and data on quality performance and factors that may affect quality of a building project were collected by postal survey and face-to-face interviews. Findings - There was no significant difference between the quality scores of DB and DBB projects. To ensure that buildings procured through DBB have high quality, owners should adopt the following practices: engage experienced consultants; short-list bidders and select contractors based on a combination of price and ability. To obtain high quality DB buildings, owners should engage architects to prepare the scheme design and not to set the budget too early. For both types of projects, owners should allow contractors to propose changes to the contract with a view to improving its quality. Research limitations/implications - As there is no significant difference in quality of DBB and DB projects, the argument that DB projects produce lower quality buildings is demolished. Practical implications - The practical implication is that owners play an important part in ensuring that they obtain buildings of high quality. Originality/value - Building owners and consultants can use the two models to predict quality scores of DBB and DB projects and take specific actions to improve the quality of their projects if necessary.

Notizen: Purpose - To assist contractors in Hong Kong to review their past financial performance and to formulate new strategies for their business survival in the coming years. Design/methodology/approach - The financial accounting ratios and distress scoring are very useful tools to measure the financial performance. These tools are also useful to compare the performance among themselves and over the years. The mathematical analysis together with a review of the current business environment and the characteristics of construction industry will assist contractors in Hong Kong to formulate new strategies for their own business survival in the coming years. Findings - The results have shown that the financial performance of most contractors in Hong Kong have been deteriorating very fast in the past few years. The results of all financial ratios, together with the prevailing situation of over competition, inelasticity of construction costs and reduced aggregate demand in Hong Kong, has revealed the extreme difficulty of reversing the financial performance in the coming years. Originality/value - Contractors in Hong Kong now understand that their own financial performance have been deteriorating to an alarming limit. There is an urgent need to review their business environment and to formulate new corporate strategies.

Notizen: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyse the factors that drive changes to the construction project brief and the background to those factors. The founding argument, that incorporating these changes is paramount for achieving client satisfaction, introduces the concept of dynamic brief development (DBP), which permits changes throughout the project life cycle. The understanding and attitude of the major construction project stakeholders towards DBP are investigated along with identifying the originators of brief development and the value and risk sources. Design/methodology/approach - A threefold method was used comprising a comprehensive questionnaire survey followed by structured interviews. The results of these were further investigated though a brainstorming session with major construction project stakeholders. A total population of 266,434 units for the survey was identified, reduced to a random stratified sample of 530. The response rate was 49.2 per cent and the responses were analysed using a weighted relative importance index. A total of 88 interviews were carried out and 12 client organisations participated in the brainstorming session. Findings - The findings lead to the conclusion that there is a need to set out a detailed brief development management system that incorporates both value management and risk management. This system should enable the appropriate project participant to make informed decisions at the right time for the benefit of the client. The system must facilitate feedback to both client organisations and construction professionals to enable lessons to be learned. Understanding the relationship between the factors that drive brief development and the various project team members will facilitate managing brief development in a way that increases client satisfaction and enhances the performance of the project. Originality/value - The paper identifies deficiencies in current practices and techniques and presents a system which overcomes them.

Notizen: Purpose - In this paper the predictive capabilities of the full job strain model (JSM) for construction project managers is examined. The principal aim of the work is to determine whether employees' psychological wellbeing in terms of worker health and job satisfaction can be reliably predicted. Design/methodology/approach - The full JSM is tested by investigating perceived work demands, job control and social support. The predictive capability of the full JSM (which encompasses job demands, job control and social support) is applied to a sample of construction project managers from the UK. Findings - The analysis of the results indicates that the JSM can significantly predict employees' psychological wellbeing in terms of worker health and job satisfaction among the construction project managers sampled. A key finding was that social support had significant (p〈0.0001) main effects on psychological wellbeing. Contrary to previous research, however, non-work-related support was found to be more significant than work support in alleviating psychological strain. Research limitations/implications - A model that incorporates a wider range of variables should be developed to account for the variance in strain between different roles that construction project managers adopt within an organisation and projects so they can be useful for job design. Originality/value - For the specific sample, the JSM captured the key characteristics that contributed to the job strain that they experienced. With the exception of non-work-related social support, the results support previous studies that examined the predictive capacity of the JSM.

Notizen: Purpose - The attention on sustainability issues within value management (VM) practices is uncertain due to the scarcity of information on this subject in the available literature. As a value enhancement technique, VM should incorporate sustainability issues as they would affect the quality of the outcome. By exploring VM as a means to uplift sustainability issues at the early construction stages, it shall shed light to its potential and current practices and thus stimulating wider attention to this field in the future. Design/methodology/approach - This paper begins by presenting the underlying concept of integrating sustainability within VM. The potential of VM to uplift sustainability issues is highlighted and the relationships between these two are discussed. Field studies were conducted to investigate the existing practices of VM and its practitioners' attitudes towards sustainability. Findings - It is confirmed that sustainability consideration is already inherent in the VM workshops but the level of attention varies between workshops. There are gaps in current practices, indicating rooms for improvement. The identified barriers to integration are believed responsible for these gaps. Research implications - Any strategy to promote sustainability consideration in VM in the future must address the impediments to integration. Originality/value - The attention on sustainability issues in VM remains an untapped area due to scarcity of information. Theoretically, the intrinsic capabilities and the positive relationships between these two heighten VM position as an effective means for sustainability improvement. However, in practices, sustainability attention requires improvement to bridge the gaps and overcome the existing barriers that impede current integration.

Notizen: Purpose - This paper aims at proposing a process of requirements engineering for the human centred, adaptive computer integrated construction systems development through industry wide information sharing. Design/methodology/approach - The research strategy is based on case study research methodology. The EU-funded DIVERCITY project was analysed. This project was undertaken by a European consortium of researchers and practitioners from the construction industry. They developed a virtual environment that enables the industry to undertake collaboratively the client briefing and design reviews and the construction stages. Findings - DIVERCITY's requirements engineering approach has the potential to provide opportunities for research to determine the appropriate requirements engineering techniques for the development of the systems and their effective implementation in the construction industry. Originality/value - The main contribution of the research is the construction of the requirements engineering process for the development of the computer integrated construction systems.

Notizen: Purpose - Construction conflict should not be simply defined as a functional or dysfunctional element in the management process. The second generation conflict management investigates the effect of various conflict types and conflict resolution strategies to project outcomes in detail. The paper aims at investigating the complicated construction conflict management within the goal setting process in construction projects. Design/methodology/approach - In order to collect the generalized data from the construction professionals in the industry, a questionnaire survey was considered suitable for establishing the component elements of research variables. Samples were randomly selected from membership records of various professional institutions in Hong Kong with direct experience in the project management processes involving the client, project manager and other project team members, and they must have experience in a (perceived) successful project. A total of 75 questionnaires were fully completed and returned finally. Findings - The findings in the questionnaire survey indicate that moderate level of conflict can improve satisfaction until a certain point whereby the satisfaction diminishes as conflict escalates. To yield an optimum level of satisfaction, conflicts have to be stimulated in the goal setting process and solved among the project participants by adopting the integrated style, neutral attitudes towards emotional-rational dimension and task-relationship dimension of conflict. Research limitations - This study cannot definitively state the causal direction of the hypothesized relationships. Further research such as case studies and qualitative data analyses are recommended in order to investigate these causal relationships as is relevant to construction projects. Practical implications - Integration is the most appropriate method for solving construction problems, as it concerns both self and others in the management process. Project participants have to balance their conflict resolution approach between the task and relationship and their subjective emotion with objective rational system for solving conflicts when using integration style. Originality/value - The study shows that both conflict and conflict resolution in the goal setting process are essential components influencing the final outcome (satisfaction) and that solving conflict using the integration style would mean arriving at the best value (goal) in the decision process as well as improving the level of participant satisfaction

Notizen: Purpose - This paper aims to investigate how Canadian engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) companies address lessons learned (LL) on their construction projects. Design/methodology/approach - This paper adopts a case study methodology. Findings - The exploitation of LL to improve performance on future projects is highly desirable for many construction organisations. The vision of an organisation that can readily recall what went well on a project and attempt to recreate those successes, as well as avoiding the repetition of past mistakes offers commercial sense. Originality/value - The paper provides a number of recommendations for UK companies regarding how the process may be improved in terms of encouraging LL to occur, the timing of LL sessions, identifying participants, the format for documenting LL and how these should be disseminated.

Notizen: Purpose - Web-based technologies such as project extranets have introduced a new concept for communication and collaboration during construction projects. Project extranets have been used in the industry for some time now to manage information and document flows throughout the lifecycle of construction projects. Very few end-user companies already using project extranets have documented and disseminated information about the implications of using this technology in terms of the impact on their businesses, benefits incurred and possible drawbacks. This paper aims to present findings from the UK. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology is case studies conducted with end-users of a leading project extranet application in the UK. Findings - Findings suggest that some of the perceived drawbacks of using project extranets are in fact not viewed as drawbacks by end-user companies. Also, the benefits incurred appear to outweigh some of the issues. The end-user organisations believe that an increasing number of organisations will be encouraged to use project extranets when they see "visionaries" and "market leaders" such as themselves, benefiting from the technology and leading the way to its wider adoption. Originality/value - Wider dissemination of this knowledge will encourage more construction companies to adopt the technology which has a proven record of success on projects for which it has been used. The paper highlights the drivers for the adoption of this technology and its impact on end-user business processes. It also documents the end-user viewpoint on the benefits and drawbacks of using project extranets.

Notizen: Purpose - The purpose is to report the results of research on ascertaining whether the various stakeholders in construction projects can adequately cope with the stresses they are confronting. Design/methodology/approach - Thirty-three stressors covering various aspects of project implementation, such as organisation policies, working relationships, communication and personal factors, are identified and the manageability of the common stressors faced by management of construction projects in Hong Kong is assessed by means of a questionnaire survey. The relationships among individual stressors are similarly examined. The extent to which stress effects combine and accumulate when related stressors coexist is also considered. Findings - It is shown that the most difficult stressors to manage are "bureaucracy", "lack of opportunity to learn new skills", "work-family conflicts" and "different view from superiors". The results also revealed that the patterns of stress manageability differ between clients, consultants and contractors. The relationships among individual stressors are similarly examined. The extent to which stress effects combine and accumulate when related stressors coexist is also considered. Originality/value - The research reported constitutes a significant step towards the understanding and management of potentially stressful situations and their influence on the efficiency and effectiveness of construction industry participants.

Notizen: Purpose - The objectives of this paper are to discuss the constraints stemming from the unstructured nature of the cost estimation practice in Turkey and introduce a generic computer aided building cost estimation model based on a cost significant technique for Turkish construction sector public projects in its detailed design phase. Design/methodology/approach - The research design was based on the simplified version of the bill of quantities method and a cost significant estimating model works on a cost database was suggested to overcome the problems. Underlying principles and basic steps of cost estimation based on cost significant work packages was explained by means of manual calculations. Findings - In order to automate the manual building cost estimation process, the software based on cost significant work packages was developed. Research limitations/implications - The software is currently in the testing phase and is being used for educational purposes. Making use of both public sector and current market prices in the cost estimation process, increasing number of projects stored in the database for more accurate results, estimating costs of different types of projects and calculating the cost significant value factor more precisely by using statistical techniques, those being employed by global cost models are suggested for future research. Practical implications - As the number of the similar projects in database is increased, the accuracy of the cost estimation is also increased. Originality/value - Estimators and graduate students can use the software to estimate building cost of public housing projects in its detailed design phase.

Notizen: Purpose - This paper proposes assessing the context within which integrated logistic support (ILS) can be implemented for whole life performance of building services systems. Design/methodology/approach - The use of ILS within a through-life business model (TLBM) is a better framework to achieve a well-designed, constructed and managed product. However, for ILS to be implemented in a TLBM for building services systems, the practices, tools and techniques need certain contextual prerequisites tailored to suit the construction industry. These contextual prerequisites are discussed. Findings - The case studies conducted reinforced the contextual importance of prime contracting, partnering and team collaboration for the application of ILS techniques. The lack of data was a major hindrance to the full realisation of ILS techniques within the case studies. Originality/value - The paper concludes with the recognition of the value of these contextual prerequisites for the use of ILS techniques within the building industry.

Notizen: Purpose - The purpose is to introduce a safety planning and control (SPC) model that has been integrated into the production planning and control process. The paper is concerned with the impact of this model on human error control, since both workers' and managers' errors are major contributing factors in accident causation. Design/methodology/approach - The analysis of this impact was based on two stages: the analysis of the main types of human errors detected in five sites in which the model has been implemented and a discussion on how the model contributes to the design of safe work systems from a cognitive engineering perspective. Findings - The main conclusion is that six elements of the model (safety planning, near miss reporting, training, percentage of safe work packages indicator, participatory cycle, and planning and control diffusion) contribute to make both the boundaries of safe work visible and respected. Safety planning also helps to make the production system error-tolerant to some extent. However, the analysis of causes of safety failures in the empirical studies pointed out a high incidence of violations of the boundaries (on average, 43.5 percent of the total safety failures), mostly by workers. Research limitations/implications - Although improvement in the existing mechanisms might make the model more behavior-oriented, a broader set of measures is necessary to achieve excellence in dealing with human errors. Also, additional empirical data are necessary to clarify the nature and frequency of the human errors that have impact in construction safety. Originality/value - The model may help in devising more effective tools to reduce errors in construction.

Notizen: Purpose - The successful implementation of an optimal online system for specification and procurement has been impeded by the existence of semi-structured or non-structured product information held in catalogues in various formats. Consequently, a significant amount of time is spent in gathering relevant information. Proposes introducing a successful optimal online specification and procurement system for construction products. Design/methodology/approach - The design and specification of the prototype were based on the analysis of closely related agent-based implementations in various domains. Findings - In the development phase it emerged that agent infrastructure is still maturing, even when a stable development environment is finally available. This is consistent with the latest research in this area which places the highest value on internet agents within the context of the semantic web. Originality/value - This research demonstrated how agent technology can be used alongside other paradigms such as web services and XML to make the specification and procurement of construction products more effective and more efficient.

Notizen: Purpose - It is a well-known fact that the construction industry always passes through two distinctive problems during the construction stage: slippages of project-schedules, i.e. time-frame, and overruns of project-costs, i.e. budget. However, limited literature is available to solve or dilute these two problems before they even occur. It is strongly believed that the bulk of the two mentioned problems can be mitigated to a great extent, if not eliminated, provided that proper attention is paid to the pre-construction phases of projects. Normally projects are implemented through traditionally old techniques which generally emphasize only solving "construction problems during the construction phase". The aim of this article is therefore to unveil a professional methodology known as Project Control System (PCS) focusing on pre-construction phases of construction projects. Design/methodology/approach - In this article, the authors share the lessons learned during implementation of Kuwait University projects worth approximately $400 million in a span of ten years. The task of the project management/construction management (PM/CM) is being provided to the university by a joint venture team of international and local specialists. Findings - The pre-construction methodology ensures smooth and successful implementation during construction phases of the projects as they are generally executed in a fast-pace, deadline-driven and cost-conscious environment. The intuitive proactive methods, if implemented during pre-construction stage, automatically answer the questions that are encountered during the execution periods of projects. Originality/value - In this article, the authors share the lessons learned during PM/CM during projects over a span of ten years, which could be of use to others.

Notizen: Purpose - This paper proposes introducing how to consider the break which cyclically happens and has nothing to do with resource availabilities in modeling of a construction process through an activity-based simulation. Design/methodology/approach - In consideration of the variable break-frequency and break-duration for different activities, concepts of time-cycle and time-window are discussed. Then an algorithm to determine the execution of the activities facing the cyclical break is proposed, in which pre-emption or non-pre-emption cases and overtime are taken into account together. This algorithm is incorporated into an activity-based simulation so that the improved construction simulation is able to consider the cyclical break and model the construction process more reasonably. Computational analyses are presented to address the effectiveness of the improved activity-based simulation. Findings - The computational analyses demonstrate that the improved activity-based simulation can consider the cyclical break in modeling a construction process, which cannot be achieved by the traditional simulation tools, especially when non-pre-emptive activities are concerned. It is also shown that the overtime use for the non-pre-emptive activities can lead to reduction of the project duration when the cyclical break is considered. Originality/value - The proposed simulation-based methodology is an alternative means to deal with the cyclical break that is destined for some activities and irrelevant to resource availabilities in modeling of a construction process.

Notizen: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a framework to foster safe work behaviour among workers on construction sites. Design/methodology/approach - The proposed framework identifies two main reasons for unsafe behaviours: "don't know how", and "don't care". Technical and safety training is proposed to overcome the former problem, while for the latter it is proposed that organisations systematically apply operant conditioning techniques to promote safety, using organisational behaviour modification. A postal survey of contractors in Singapore was conducted to test the framework. The four tools of operant conditioning theory (positive reinforcements, negative reinforcements, extinction, and punishments) were evaluated. Findings - Close and strict supervision, sending workers for safety and health training, and imposing fines are found to be most effective methods. Positive reinforcements (both monetary and non-monetary) have also been found to be effective, while extinction did not receive much support. Other methods that may foster safe work behaviours are also discussed. Originality/value - Safety on site could be enhanced via training and application of operant conditioning theory.

Notizen: Purpose - The paper proposes addressing the design and implementation of a web-based risk assessment system that enables remote project team members to assess the risks at the conceptual design stage. Design/methodology/approach - The prototype system is based on a client/server architecture and uses fuzzy logic and web-based technology. A risk assessment scenario is used to demonstrate the operation and benefits of the prototype system. Findings - The research found that the use of a web-based risk assessment system for distributed project team members has major benefits in terms of use of linguistic terms to express risk assessment, ease of communication, ease of maintenance, and greater consistency, among others. Research limitations/implications - There is scope for enhancing the system through the development of a risk management module, improving the user interface and making specific provisions for different project types. Practical implications - The move in industry towards collaborative working practices is supported by systems such as this. Risk assessment is an important area that requires the input of all team members, if evenly distributed. Originality/value - This paper has presented an innovative approach to risk assessment for distributed project teams. It will be of interest to all parties involved in construction projects, particularly those involved in risk assessment.

Notizen: Purpose - This paper aims to investigate how large UK construction organisations manage their knowledge assets. It then proposes STEPS, a mechanism for benchmarking organisation's knowledge management maturity. Design/methodology/approach - This paper adopts a case study methodology using four large UK construction organisations. Findings - The investigation shows that the UK-based companies with international operations are ahead of their national counterparts in their KM implementation efforts. The paper concludes that construction organisations are likely to be successful in implementing KM if appropriate considerations are given to strategy formulation, implementation issues addressed and the link between KM and business strategy is strengthened. Originality/value - The paper proposes a mechanism, entitled STEPS, for benchmarking the maturity of large construction organisations' knowledge management practices. It then uses case study organisations to demonstrate how the STEPS model should be used.

Notizen: Purpose - It was the aim of the analysis to draw an overall picture of the trends towards change in the construction industry, thereby forming a foundation for further analysis and appropriate future research. Design/methodology/approach - A multi-method approach was taken to the data collection exercise comprising data collection from published sources, interviews with knowledgeable representatives of the Danish construction industry and direct observation of what was happening on construction projects in Denmark. Findings - The work reported here has shown that there is some benefit in looking at the internal changes in the construction sector from the point of view of the various actors, an approach that has provided contrasting information to the government-sponsored reports. The understanding of the industry as being backward and locked-in does not provide an accurate description of the Danish construction sector. The research has shown a dynamic industry that is changing relatively quickly as it responds to competition and new opportunities. Originality/value - The results of this research are reported and comparisons made with the less positive reports. From this a number of questions are raised about the scope of reports and the focus of future research into the Danish construction sector.

Notizen: Purpose - As many construction clients now require their consultants to seek accreditation under ISO 9000:2000, demonstrating customer satisfaction and continual improvement as required by the latest standards will become an important aspect for consultant practices. However, consultants seldom attempt to uncover the expectations of their clients, and this may hinder the improvement when their quality management systems (QMSs) are implemented and hence affect the satisfaction of their clients. The purpose of this paper is to examine the satisfaction of clients to the overall quality performance of engineering consultants in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach - To assist engineering consultants to realise the clients' expectation, the expected benefits that construction clients would like to attain through the implementation of ISO 9000-based QMSs and the perceived actual benefits the clients had received are identified through a postal survey. Findings - The results indicate that the actual benefits were generally lower than that expected by the clients. Originality/value - This paper is of value to those wishing to obtain accreditation under ISO 9000:2000 and improve their QMSs with respect to improving the satisfaction of their clients.

Notizen: Purpose - There is no automatic link between research and teaching in higher education institutions. Hence, in order to achieve a productive relationship, these two activities need to be linked through effective mechanisms. The research reported in this paper aims at identifying such strategies that are appropriate to a research-based department, in the built environment discipline. Design/methodology/approach - The paper identifies key issues related to this challenge through a literature review, and subsequently verifies those issues through an exploratory case study. Findings - The key finding from the study is that research-based departments are poor at transferring their research knowledge into teaching especially at undergraduate level. Even though there are informal strategies in existence, there is a strong need for formalising them. The paper utilises knowledge transfer and learning literature to fully understand the process. Originality/value - Drawing from the findings, the study develops a framework to enable the knowledge transfer from research into teaching. The framework provides useful guidance for research-based higher education departments in the built environment to transfer research knowledge into teaching in a formal and productive way.

Notizen: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to identify interdependent barriers to the search and selection of new technologies by design engineers at industry, organisation and individual levels. A "proof of concept" HyCon tool is presented to demonstrate the role of information technology design support tools in supporting designers to overcome these inhibitors, in this case for hybrid concrete, by providing immersive and interactive, information-rich environments to explore design solutions. Design/methodology/approach - The HyCon tool was developed through a prototyping methodology encompassing a testing, analysis, design and coding iterative cycle. This was supported by case studies and industry workshops. Findings - The results of a collaborative research project are presented, which describes the HyCon design support tool to promote the understanding and use of hybrid concrete in structural frames. This tool is built around a knowledge creation, application, storage, and retrieval cycle to envision and support the use of this new technology. Originality/value - This paper fulfils an identified need to integrate technology management and design process considerations within the context of an information technology design support tool, and offers a "proof of concept" HyCon tool to demonstrate key issues and potential utilities and applications.

Notizen: Purpose - The UK Government has now adopted Private Finance Initiative (PFI) as a major vehicle for the delivery of additional resources to the health sector in order to achieve a greater investment in healthcare facilities. The purpose of this paper is to examine the trends and risk assessment of the PFI in the healthcare sector. Design/methodology/approach - The paper employed secondary data and interviews of key participants in two hospital PFI projects to highlight developments in healthcare PFI and the risk management of hospital projects. Findings - The results show that the use of PFI in the provision of healthcare is increasing in terms of number, capital value and size of projects. What emerged in the healthcare PFI project was a usage of a plethora of risk management techniques, albeit to varying degrees. Experience appeared to be the prime risk assessment technique employed, while risk avoidance was first explored before pricing and allocating any residual risks. "Risk prompts", such as using checklists and risk registers were also useful in the identification of risks. Among all participants, insurance cover and sub-contracting appear to be the most prominent strategies employed for managing out the risks. Originality/value - The negotiations that precede the signing of a healthcare PFI project contract had an impact on the final choice of facilities or their specifications. The two contracting parties sought a balance between an optimal allocation of risks, choice of facilities and project price. Although the risk management techniques being used are generic in nature, there is still no evidence at the moment to show that these are appropriate for PFI projects. It is important that further investigation is undertaken to assess the level of current skills in risk management techniques to deal with PFI projects and the extent to which these techniques are appropriate to tackle complex healthcare PFI projects.