Adamantia G. Pateli

A research framework for analysing eBusiness models

As eBusiness is moving towards maturity, research interests shift to the investigation of opportunities for market exploitation of eBusiness technologies. As a result, the debate around business models naturally becomes more topical. However, while many researchers and practitioners are contemplating business models, there is an alarming lack of theoretical tools in the literature to structure and codify knowledge in the area. This paper draws on an extensive review of the literature to propose an analytic framework that decomposes the area of business models into eight research sub-domains. The proposed framework is then applied to organize and critically review existing research under each sub-domain as well as to define an agenda of future challenges on business model research. The framework can benefit future research by allowing researchers to better concentrate their efforts and place their contributions in an overall context, thus assisting in building a coherent body of knowledge in the challenging research domain of business models.

Technology innovation‐induced business model change: a contingency approach

Purpose – To construct and test, through its application to a real case study, a methodology that generates contingencies for the evolution of a company or an industrys reference business model (BM) under the impact of a technology innovation.Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on theoretical predicaments of organizational development and scenario planning as well as more recently published works (2001‐2004) on BM design and change in order to build the primary steps of the methodology. A contingency approach is applied for selecting among alternatives the most suitable future BM. The usefulness and applicability of the provided methodology are proved through a real case study that concerns changing the exhibitions industry reference BM under the impact of a mobile innovation.Findings – The proposed methodology is primarily useful in cases where a strategic manager wishes to draw and assess not one totally new BM but a set of scenarios that reflect alternative configurations for its current BM...

Moderating effects of online shopping experience on customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions

Purpose – Satisfaction and experience are essential ingredients for successful customer retention. This study aims to verify the moderating effect of experience on two types of relationships: the relationship of certain antecedents with satisfaction, and the relationship of satisfaction with intention to repurchase. Design/methodology/approach – This paper applies structural equation modelling (SEM) and multi-group analysis to examine the moderating role of experience in a conceptual model estimating the intention to repurchase. Responses from 393 people were used to examine the differences between high- and low-experienced users of online shopping. Findings – The research shows that experience has moderating effects on the relationships between performance expectancy and satisfaction and satisfaction and intention to repurchase. This study empirically demonstrates that prior customer experience strengthens the relationship between performance expectancy and satisfaction, while it weakens the relationship...

Shopping and word-of-mouth intentions on social media

Social Media has been gaining popularity worldwide over the last years at an increasingly growing rate. Motivated by this fact, firms are piloting different approaches of promoting their products and services to consumers in order to capitalize on the prominence of such websites. However, there is much debate in the academic and business community about the potential of social media as a platform for marketing and commerce, and the viable strategies that could constitute them as a possible solution for future ventures. Research to date has been growing, with only a limited number of studies exploring the business potential of social media. The aim of this research is to elucidate how specific aspects of social media websites foster user intention to browse products, and the effect that this has in shaping purchasing and information sharing intentions. Utilitarian and Hedonic motivation theory provides the theoretical background on which we segregate the factors that contribute to product browsing on social media websites. Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis is performed on data obtained from 165 social media users to test our research model. Outcomes indicate that specific aspects trigger Utilitarian (Convenience and Product Selection) and Hedonic (Idea and Adventure) motivations which in sequence impact user intention to browse products on such mediums. Finally, browsing intention is linked in a significantly positive manner with purchasing and word-of-mouth intention.

Decision making on governance of strategic technology alliances

– The purpose of this paper is to study the mechanism through which decisions on the preferred governance mode of strategic technology alliances are made at the firm level., – The author constructed a value‐mediated governance model that is empirically tested through a survey of 57 strategic alliances in the Greek wireless services industry and estimated through a Structural Equation Modeling technique, namely Partial Least Squares., – Quasi‐hierarchy governance modes are preferred by firms assessing their current value as high, and lacking fear of partners opportunistic behavior. Quasi‐market alliances are preferred by firms having high expectations for the future value of the alliance, and facing high endogenous uncertainty resulting from the existence of a competitive relationship with the partner., – While the resource and cost perspectives are founded on diverse assumptions on firms ability to write complete contracts, their implications for the firms decision‐making behaviour on the alliance governance issue seem to be complementary to those of the value perspective., – Transitional governance forms, quasi‐market alliances that evolve to quasi‐hierarchy alliances, seem to be preferred in emerging technology‐based environments., – The Expected Alliance Value concept is introduced to explain how exogenous uncertainty characterizing the environment of emerging technology‐based industries can influence the already investigated effects of the partner uncertainty and the firms current value on the alliance governance preferences.

Drawing Emerging Business Models for the Mobile Music Industry

The plethora of actors, the complexity of relationships and the variety of information and financial flows affecting the mobile entertainment arena today, have created a series of challenging business opportunities for entrepreneurs and key market players. The evolving and quite promising mobile music market, however, is suffering from the luck of integrated theoretical frameworks critical for the business activity acceleration and for the corresponding mobile music services diffusion. In this paper, we advocate the application of a business model change methodology for the purpose of transforming the current business models of the traditional and online music industry to a new business model appropriate for the mobile music industry. To do so, we are based on the results of a qualitative research study, which involved in-depth interviews with content providers, mobile operators and music consumers using semi-structured questionnaires. To that end, the present study applies the available business model theoretical insights to the music industry and depicts the current business practice in terms of: the content delivery channels employed (i.e. traditional, Internet, mobile), the participating actors; and the relative flows. Key business modeling issues are discussed and direct managerial implications to potential players are also provided. Finally, straightforward directions for further research are discussed.

Purchasing alignment under multiple contingencies: a configuration theory approach

Purpose – Strategic alignment is a theory-based state that is considered as crucial for organizations in order to realize performance gains from information technology (IT) investments and deployments. Within the domain of purchasing and supply chain management there has been a growing interest on how purchasing strategy can be effectively aligned with IT and what conditions facilitate this state. The purpose of this paper is to investigate complex causal relationships of contingency elements that are key in enabling the “fit” between purchasing strategy and IT. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs a configuration theory approach and propose that purchasing alignment is dependent upon patterns of multiple contingencies. In adherence with contingency theory, the authors group these elements as relating to strategic orientation, organizational factors, and purchasing decisions. On a sample of 172 international companies the authors then apply the novel methodology of fuzzy set qualitative compara...

Identifying the Direct Effect of Experience and the Moderating Effect of Satisfaction in the Greek Online Market

The scope of this paper is to examine the perceptions which induce the Greek customers to purchase over the Internet, testing the direct effect of experience and the moderating effect of satisfaction. A review of research conducted in the Greek online market demonstrates that satisfaction, self-efficacy, and trust keep a prominent role in the Greek customers’ shopping behavior. To increase understanding of this behavior, two parameters of the UTAUT model, performance expectancy and effort expectancy, are incorporated. The findings demonstrate that customers’ perceptions about all of the parameters do not remain constant, as the experience acquired from past purchases increases. Moreover, the relationship of experience with self-efficacy and intention to repurchase changes, as satisfaction gained from previous purchases increases. The implications of this study are interesting not only for the Greek but also for the Meditterranean researchers and e-retailers, since the Mediterranean ebusiness market shares several cultural similarities with the Greek market.

Trial evaluation of wireless info-communication and indoor location-based services in exhibition shows

Exhibition shows are essentially information exchange hubs. Their success relies on the quantity and quality of interaction of the involved parties: exhibitors, visitors, and organizers. The introduction of advanced wireless applications in the exhibition industry is a major opportunity for improving interaction and communications, thus leveraging the value proposition of exhibition services. This paper discusses the development and commercial trial of a Wireless Exhibition Guide that employs mobile terminals, wireless networks, and indoor location positioning technologies integrated through a set of software components, to introduce sophisticated information, communication, and navigation services for exhibition environments. Results indicate acceptance of the Wireless Exhibition Guide amongst the stakeholders of the exhibition industry, organizers, exhibitors, and visitors alike, and provide guidance towards the future of portable personalized location-sensitive information systems in information-rich environments, such as museums, conference centers, and art shows.

Applying business process change (BPC) to implement multi-agency collaboration: the case of the Greek public administration

A great number of recent studies in the e-government area focus on investigating how technology-induced changes in the public sector connect with the New Public Management (NPM) reform, envisioned by many politicians. Researchers in this field contend that e-government denotes a structural and process-oriented change of governmental organizations, with the objective of getting them to run more efficiently. Adopting this perspective, this paper revisits a well-established business process change (BPC) methodology for the public sector and applies it to analyse the Greek initiative of Citizens Service Centers (CSCs) towards a one-stop hybrid (physical and electronic) government model. Considering the particularities of public organizations, we position our research as dealing fundamentally with ex-ante planned incremental changes at the micro level, being part of either a revolutionary or evolutionary transformation program at the macro level. We argue in favor of extending the six stages of the initially prescribed BPC methodology with an additional stage, named institutionalize change. This serves the need of applying BPC to implement changes that enable multi-agency collaboration at a national level.