Bindiganavale S. Vijayaraman

An empirical study of RFID implementation in the warehousing industry

Purpose – RFID mandates by large retailers and various government agencies made it a requirement for some large organizations to implement RFID technology, while other medium to small organizations are still evaluating the potential costs and benefits of such adoption. This paper examines whether empirical data support the hype on RFID.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was sent to Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) members at manufacturing firms, third party warehousing/logistics providers, wholesaler/distributors, and retail firms to determine whether they are implementing RFID technology and what challenges they are facing.Findings – A high percentage of respondents are not currently considering RFID technology. Companies implementing or considering RFID plan to invest a significant amount of money into this technology over the next three years. But a number of concerns still exist and skepticism remains about the potential for RFID to deliver cost savings or a positive ROI in the ne...

Shaping of Moral Intensity Regarding Software Piracy: A Comparison Between Thailand and U.S. Students

Software piracy is a major global concern forbusinesses that generate their revenues throughsoftware products. Moral intensity regardingsoftware piracy has been argued to be relatedto the extent of software piracy. Anunderstanding of the development of moralintensity regarding software piracy inindividuals would aid businesses in developingand implementing policies that may help themreduce software piracy. In this research westudied the similarities and differences indevelopment of moral intensity regardingsoftware piracy among university students intwo different cultures, the U.S. and Thailand. In particular, we studied the influence of theimmediate community of individuals, such asother students, faculty, and other universityemployees, on the development of moralintensity regarding software piracy of the twogroups of students. Results indicate that, ingeneral, there are significant differences inmoral intensity regarding software piracybetween students from the US and Thailand, andthat gender differences also exist. Though theeffect of the immediate community on theself-perception of moral intensity regardingsoftware piracy of students was significant,there appears to be very little significantdifferences in this effect between the studentsin the two different countries studied. Thefindings have implications for teachingbusiness ethics, and for developing andimplementing policies to curb global softwarepiracy.

An exploratory study of moral intensity regarding software piracy of students in Thailand

In the business environment that is becoming increasingly global and digital, the need for proper safeguards for protecting digital assets is increasingly becoming critical. Specifically, software piracy is becoming economically devastating to companies that develop and market software. Some researchers have argued that the level of moral intensity regarding software piracy of individuals may be related to the extent of actual software piracy behaviour. In order to empirically study this relationship, it is important to understand the concept of moral intensity towards software piracy. In this research, we study the concept in an international setting, a university in Thailand. We report the relationship between moral intensity and some important demographic variables and also explore the relationship between moral intensity of individuals and the perceived moral intensity of their community, the students, employees, and faculty. The results have implications for developing and implementing appropriate policies to reduce software piracy.

The Status of ERP Integration in Business School Curricula: Results of a Survey of Business Schools

Although a growing number of business graduates are involved in the selection, implementation, and use of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, many schools are slow in adopting and integrating these systems into their business curricula. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many schools perceive the integration of ERP software into curricula to be too complex, and the resulting costs to outweigh the benefits derived. Other schools question the relevance of ERP skills and knowledge to students. However, an increasing number of schools are joining ERP vendor alliance programs, offering ERP tracks in various departments or even building their business programs around ERP software. The apparent divergence of opinions regarding incorporating ERP into business curricula lends itself to a fruitful area of inquiry. The current study presents the results of a survey administered to information systems faculty at 94 colleges and universities that examines the current status of ERP integration in the classroom. All but three of these schools are in the US. Topics addressed in the survey include extent of ERP use in the classroom, reasons why schools did not adopt ERP for teaching purposes, implementation issues, and pedagogical uses. In addition, based on the authors’ recent experiences in implementing ERP for classroom use, benefits and challenges of ERP integration into curricula are discussed. The study’s results are informative to those schools wanting to benchmark their efforts against other schools, as well as to non-adopting schools that are considering undertaking this initiative.

RFID adoption and implementation in warehousing

Purpose – Large retailers and various government agencies have backed off from their earlier radio frequency identification (RFID) mandates. The RFID industry has also matured. The purpose of this paper is to examine RFID implementation in warehousing, utilizing empirical data to determine how the warehousing industry is changing with respect to RFID implementation.Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was sent to Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) members at manufacturing firms, third party warehousing/logistics providers, wholesaler/distributors, and retail firms, to determine whether they are implementing RFID technology and what challenges they are facing.Findings – Compared to an earlier study, it was found that fewer organizations are considering the technology. The respondents in general were less optimistic and concerns still exist on return on investment (ROI), potential benefits, integration, and other issues. Some items are of less concern, including cost, standards, and...

A framework for determining success factors of an e-commerce initiative

Abstract Businesses and entrepreneurs are rushing to the Internet to do business and reach new markets. While the Internet is used for cutting cost and generating revenue by conducting business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce (EC) and business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce, existing businesses and entrepreneurs are finding tremendous challenges to succeed. This paper examines the factors that are critical to the success of any companys e-commerce initiative and makes recommendations to businesses and entrepreneurs so they can overcome the challenges and exploit the opportunities presented by the Internet.

INTEGRATING EXPERT SYSTEMS AND NEURAL NETS Exploring the Boundaries of AI

Expert systems and neural networks each have technical strengths and weaknesses. This article explores how the integration of these two technologies overcomes the weaknesses of both

An Exploratory Study of RFID Adoption in the Paperboard Packaging Industry

Some experts predict RFID will be the next big technology to revolutionize supply chain management. The RFID mandates by the Department of Defense (DOD), Federal Drug Administration (FDA), and retail companies have required organizations to implement RFID technology. Other companies are evaluating the potential costs and benefits of such adoption. In order to establish benchmarks on RFID adoption, this study surveyed readers of Paperboard Packaging magazine and members of the European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO) to see if they are implementing RFID technology and challenges they may face. The results indicate about 52% of responding companies are not currently considering RFID technology because of the cost concerns. Companies that are implementing or considering RFID are doing it because of their customer requirements although they are concerned about the cost of RFID tags and cost of implementation. Companies that are implementing RFID are somewhat satisfied with RFID implementation.

E-commerce content in business school curriculum: opportunities and challenges

Abstract The Internet is providing organizations with new ways of competing in their respective marketplaces. Transacting business on the Internet — now commonly referred to as e-commerce — is creating significant changes in many industries. In many ways, the Internet is considered to be similar to other inventions such as the telephone and the printing press in terms of its impact on the global economy. This explosion of e-commerce activity has created a new problem for educational institutions. More specifically, how can business schools meet the demand for Internet savvy graduates in the new economy? This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of introducing e-commerce concepts in business school curriculum.

RFID in US hospitals: an exploratory investigation of technology adoption

Purpose - Radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems are transforming hospital operations by improving care and reducing costs. However, hospital managers have some concerns about adopting RFID technologies. These are cost, return on investment, privacy and other technology issues. This study examines RFID adoption in health-care industry based on the Technology-Organization-Environment framework. This paper aims to demonstrate how US hospitals are adopting RFID technologies and make recommendations, using empirical data. Design/methodology/approach - An online survey was sent to Chief Information Officers and the top information technology (IT) executives of US acute care hospitals to determine the extent to which hospitals have implemented RFID technologies including the reasons, concerns and applications of RFID technologies, and the antecedents of RFID adoption in hospitals. Findings - The study found that a high percentage of respondents have adopted or are considering adopting RFID technology as a new management tool. Organizational and technological factors have strong positive influence on adoption, whereas environmental factors do not significantly affect the adoption decisions. The main reasons for implementing RFID technology are improved hospital operations, including inventory management, asset control, workflow and patient flow. Some of the concerns are cost of RFID tags and cost associated with implementation. Research limitations/implications - This study is limited to a small sample ( Originality/value - This study informs health-care managers on the challenges and opportunities of RFID by identifying motivations, barriers and issues related to RFID adoption. The findings of this study will expand the emerging literature and provide direction to academicians for further research in technology adoption.