Ahmad Abareshi

Green IT beliefs and pro-environmental IT practices among IT professionals

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the beliefs and attitudinal factors that affect the private sphere pro-environmental behavior of information technology (IT) professionals in using personal computers. , – A research framework that draws from the belief-action-outcome (BAO) framework and that consisted of 11 hypotheses was developed. Data were collected from a sample of 322 IT professionals and analyzed using structural equation modeling. , – The results identify the pro-environmental personal computing actions that IT professionals are taking and how their Green IT beliefs, attitudes, information acquisition capability, and organizational fields influence their behavior. , – The sample was limited to Australian respondents. The measurement of IT-specific environmental practices was not exhaustive nor were the measures of macro- and micro-antecedents of Green IT belief and attitude. , – National, regional, and international professional associations such as the Association of Information Systems can influence pro-environmental behavior among IT professionals through the creation and dissemination of information that shape both general and IT-specific environmental beliefs. , – The novelty of this work lies in: first, proposing and testing a research framework that can be leveraged in future studies; second, establishing how organizational fields and availability of information contribute to the formation of IT professionals’ environmental beliefs and attitudes; third, applying and suggesting potential extension to the BAO framework to evaluate the association between IT practices and environmental sustainability among IT professionals.

The antecedents of IT-business alignment in manufacturing firms

Aligning information systems to business strategy is regarded as one of the most important issues in the MIS field. Successful IT strategic alignment means developing and sustaining a mutual relationship between IT strategy and business strategy – a relationship that benefits both parties. Aligning IT and business strategy is the key underlying determinant that must be addressed in order to guarantee high levels of return on IT investments. Focusing in the process approach toward alignment, this paper examines the underlying factors that can enhance the strategic alignment between IT strategy and business strategy. A theoretical model consisting these factors is developed. To empirically test the model, the data is collected using a sample of 1,012 CEOs of manufacturing companies in Australia. Two factors of management support and ICT capabilities were identified to have significant impact on alignment. Results also did not show a significant association between size and alignment indicating of the importance of alignment regardless of size in manufacturing sector.

Greening logistics and its impact on environmental performance: an absorptive capacity perspective

This study investigates the role of absorptive capacity in implementing green logistics practices and the impact of the implementation on green logistics performance (GLP). Data were collected from a survey of 279 Australian Logistics and Transport operators and analysed using structural equation modelling. The findings indicate that enhancing green logistics knowledge exploitation is important to improve GLP. This can be achieved through changing the logistics operations and incorporating new knowledge into green practices in a way that can reduce CO2 emission, fuel consumption, or the cost of environmental compliance. The findings also show that addressing environmental concerns requires a process in which environmental information, through a wide range of channels and practices, is acquired, assimilated, transformed, and exploited. The paper reports an original research that contributes to the understanding of the value of green practices and routines to the environmental performance of firms in the Logistics and Transport sector. The results provide practitioners with insights that facilitate the transformation towards greener logistics practices and routines.

The role of information and communication technologies in moving toward new forms of organising

Over recent decades a significant part of research in organisational sociology has focused on how new organisational forms evolve. As an influencing variable ICT has been one of the important variables in the transformation process toward new forms of organisation. However, cumulative results from the previous studies that examined the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICT) and NOFs, were plagued with ambiguities and inconsistencies. This study aims to address the existing gap in the literature by developing a theoretical model by which the relationships among specific attributes of ICT. Data were collected through a survey on 3,248 Australian medium and large organisations. In total 312 completed questionnaires were usable for the data analysis. Structural equation modelling was used to test the model. The empirical study supported all the hypotheses except the relationship between specific gesture of business strategy (proactiveness) and IT strategy to support proactiveness and the evolution of attributes of the NOFs.

Evaluating logistics capability for mitigation of supply chain uncertainty and risk in the Australian courier firms

Purpose – Logistics capability is an important ability for transport and logistics firms to deliver the value and services to the customers. In contrast, supply chain uncertainty and risk is an issue in supply chain and logistics to obstruct the delivery. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and understand the logistics capability, and to provide empirical evidence for logistics capability mitigating supply chain uncertainty and risk in the Australian courier firms. Design/methodology/approach – This study examines the relationship between logistics capability and supply chain uncertainty and risk. Partial least squares approach for structural equation modelling is applied for data analysis involving the interplay of theoretical thinking and empirical data. Empirical data are collected through a web-based survey. Total 98 Australian courier firms are identified and invited in the study. Findings – Based on the factor analysis, the authors identify the key factors of logistics capability for the Austra...

Vehicle routing and scheduling for bushfire emergency evacuation

Quick response to evacuate residents within a short-notice in bushfire situation is vital, which can save lives. This translates to make a decision on selecting shelters, assigning the vehicles, finding the optimal routes, and schedules for evacuation. This study proposes a model as a decision support system that can determine the required vehicles their schedule and routes to evacuate late evacuees within the given time windows and fire propagation scenarios. Our model also considers roads availabilities and disruptions. A heuristic solution method is developed to cope with the complex nature of the Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) based problems. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model, a real case study from Australia is presented.

Key factors in developing transit trade corridors in Northeast Asia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate key critical factors for developing transit trade corridors (TTCs) in optimizing trade and logistics performance, taking into account economic, geographic and political concerns among countries in the Northeast Asia region, which have been dynamically developing TTCs to optimize trade and logistics performance in association with development of transport infrastructure in the Greater Tumen Region located in the Northeast Asia. Design/methodology/approach This research explores key factors affecting the TTC through a comprehensive literature review in tandem with expert survey. Factor analysis, both exploratory and confirmatory, is employed to further investigate the underlying factors affecting more efficient development of a TTC. Findings This research has drawn eight underlying factors affecting the design of a TTC: development and policy implications; safety, security and political concerns; environmental protection; financing and investment; soft infrastructure; hard infrastructure; geography and landscape; and corridor performance. Research limitations/implications This paper has a limited geographical scope of the Northeast Asia. Therefore, more primary data collection would be useful in future work. Development of International trade corridor and TTC is critical in northeast Asia for moving goods through designated geographical paths. The key factors drawn in this paper contributes not only to promoting its related services and information (across borders) with the provision of policy support and related facilities for TTC but also to lowering logistics costs and improving trades in the northeast Asian region. As a result, the countries in the region will accelerate their regional economies in collaboration with international bodies and framework, such as UNDP, Greater Tumen Initiative and One Belt One Road Initiative. Practical implications The eight underlying factors the authors identified in this research will be valuable for policy-makers to design TTCs and consequently the research will contribute to regional economies in northeast Asia by establishing efficient trade and transport routes among the countries in the region. Social implications Developing TTCs is a kind of platform and infrastructure to accelerate cargo movements and people movements in the northeast Asia. Users of TTCs will benefit their businesses thanks to an efficient logistics system and lower logistics costs, which result in promoting international and regional trade in the region. Originality/value There has not been any research done on factors to consider in developing TTCs in the world, whose consequence is no readily available reference that can support a systematic assessment and decision-making in development of TTCs. The findings of this research provide a helpful reference for policy-makers, potential users and developers of TTCs to refer in planning and developing them.

An Empirical Examination of Customer Retention in Mobile Telecommunication Services in Australia

The service quality has an impact on customer satisfaction and retention. From Telecommunication annual reports it has been investigated that there are service quality issues due to high complaints in Australia and it can affect end customers and businesses (TIO, 2013, ACMA, 2013). Factors such as behavioural intention which leads to customer intention to repurchase the service are measured through the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), Marketing Mix Theory and Expectation Confirmation Theory (ECT). Similarly, researchers have studied the habit, hedonic motivation, customer satisfaction, customer experience, marketing mix factors relationship by empirical testing. There has been very little research in the area of customer retention in mobile telecommunication services. Drawing upon theories of marketing mix, ECT and UTAUT2, this study aims to determine what factors affect customer retention in mobile telecommunication services in Australia. Data gathering will be done through online surveys from Australian consumers. Quantitative data analysis techniques, structural equation modelling (SEM) will be used for data analysis. This study will contribute to the customer retention literature through a theoretical framework that shows how the customer retention can be generated in mobile telecommunication services. Additionally, this study will help businesses to have understanding of how to retain their customers which will result in higher business revenues.

A Methodological Examination of MIS Survey Research from 1992–2006

It would be useful for IS researchers to know the major methodological methods used in IS filed and the trends MIS is experiencing in this regard. For this reason, we have conducted a meta-research on three leading IS journals over a period of 15 years in an attempt to provide the MIS field with an overview of research methodologies used and help researchers in choosing appropriate research method. 651 survey-based studies reported in three leading MIS journals between 1992 and 2006 are reviewed. The findings indicate that a considerable proportion of MIS research has been conducted using the survey method. In terms of research purpose, there has been an imbalance between the use of exploratory and explanatory surveys. Consequently, it is to be expected that in the immediate future, the trend will be much more towards the development of models and the explanation of relationships that is towards explanatory studies.

An evaluation of customer repurchase behaviour in mobile telecommunication services in Australia

This study identifies and explores key determinants of the customer repurchase behaviour of mobile telecommunication service users in Australia. Customer repurchase behaviour is the most representative form of the consumer-to-business relationship. Telecommunication Industry Ombudsman (TIO) reports, show that there are service quality issues in Australia which can affect end customers and businesses. Moreover, factors such as behavioural intention which lead to customer intention to repurchase the service are measured through the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), Marketing Mix Theory and Expectation Confirmation Theory. The research findings will highlight several implications for both research and practice in mobile service buying behaviour. In the quantitative phase, the structured online survey was conducted for data analysis. The research framework provides an extension to the UTAUT 2 model and also provides a framework for customer repurchase behaviour in mobile service business.