Borut Werber

Key Issues in Information Technology Adoption in Small Companies

The influence of small companies in the entire economy is increasing. Small companies employ more people than ever, and many more are starting their own businesses. Small companies sometimes act as incubators for future economic giants. Realizing the importance of new information technology (IT) small companies are increasingly investing in their information systems, encouraged also by declining cost of contemporary IT. They are replacing their existing manual systems or old legacy systems with new, more flexible and reliable systems, to run their daily operations. A general belief exists that this enhances the flexibility of small companies, although some investigations (e.g. Levy and Powell, 1998) indicated that IT increases the effectively and effectiveness of the business and strengthens a creative way of thinking, but does not improve their flexibility.

Factors Affecting the Intentions to Use RFID Subcutaneous Microchip Implants for Healthcare Purposes

Abstract Background and Purpose: While there are many studies regarding the adoption of Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID), only a few of them deal with RFID subcutaneous microchip (RFID-SM) usage by individuals. After the first in vivo tests conducted on volunteers from 1998 to 2000, the use of RFID-SM in healthcare remains limited. This study examines the likelihood of adopting RFID-SM in healthcare from the end user’s point of view. Design/Methodology/Approach: The aim of this paper is to develop and evaluate the model for analysing the acceptance of RFID-SM adoption. An extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) for RFID-SM adoption is proposed and empirically tested in a cross-sectional study. Online survey was conducted using a convenience sample of 531 respondents. In addition to the three original components of TAM (Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and Behavioural Intentions to Use), three external variables (Health Concerns, Perceived Trust, and Age) were also included in the model. The model was validated with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling techniques. Results: Perceived Usefulness has a significant impact on behavioural intentions to adopt RFID-SM in the future, while the influence of Perceived Ease of Use is not significant. The most influential external variable is Perceived Trust, indicating the lack of confidence in personal data security ensured by the state and other institutions. As expected, Health Concerns factor has a negative effect on the Perceived Trust and Perceived Usefulness of RFID-SM. Conclusion: The results of the empirical study prove that all external variables considered in the model significantly influence the RFID-SM adoption. The Perceived Ease of Use is irrelevant to the attitude towards the RFID-SM adoption. In addition to the proposed model, the analysis of gathered data shows that the positive attitude toward the use of RFID-SM in healthcare is rising.

Behaviour Intentions to Use RFID Subcutaneous Microchips: A Cross-sectional Slovenian Perspective

This paper presents the second iteration results of a study investigating the possibility of radio frequency identification device subcutaneous microchip (RFID-SM) usage as a substitute for personal identification, healthcare issues, shopping or payments, and home usage. Our aim was to investigate the readiness to use SM-RFID in everyday life. In the study, we used an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to verify the main concerns regarding the use of RFID-SM among Slovenian people. The survey responses were gathered from October until December 2016. After evaluating the model, it can be concluded that the fit of the model is good and the significant path of dependence are similar as in the first study from 2014. Similar to previous results, the Health Concerns have a negative effect on the Perceived Trust and Perceived Usefulness of SM-RFID adoption. On the other hand, the Perceived Trust and Perceived Usefulness have a positive effect on the Behaviour Intention to use SM-RFID.

Introduction of a Lesson: A Guarantee of Motivation? The Significance of the Lesson Introduction for Learners’ Activation Level in Business and Economics Teaching at German Vocational Colleges

Konferenca o razvoju organizacijskih znanosti je konferenca z najdaljso tradicijo na Univerzi v Mariboru in vsako leto poveže studente, raziskovalce, gospodarstvenike in predstavnike javne uprave, ki delujejo na podrocju organizacije in managementa. Tema letosnje, že 36. mednarodne konference o razvoju organizacijskih znanosti, je Odgovorna organizacija in se nanasa na sirino organizacije v njenem notranjem in zunanjem okolju. Odgovornost do zaposlenih, poslanstva, strategije, procesov, tehnologije, razvoja so samo nekatera izmed podrocij, ki jim mora organizacija slediti. Identiteta organizacije se izkazuje z njenim vsestransko odgovornim ravnanjem in kaže vrednost navzven pri kupcih ali uporabnikih storitev. V casu, ki ga živimo, smo vpeti v preplet tehnoloskega in socialnega napredka, ki nenazadnje rezultira v posamezniku in družbi nasploh. Ravnanje organizacije se ravno tako ne veže samo na delovanje v lokalnem okolju temvec zaradi globalnih razsežnosti ucinkuje tudi v mednarodnih dimenzijah. S temo konference želimo odpreti polje vprasanj in poiskati odgovore, ki bodo doprinesli k napredku organizacijskih ved. Materialni vplivi, komuniciranje, znanje in postenje ter nenazadnje ideal odgovornega ravnanja lahko kot pomembni dejavniki obvladujejo pogosto nemirne situacije v in izven okolja nasih organizacij. Ker smo casovno in prostorsko vpeti v vzorce, ki mnogokrat ne sledijo vec nasim preteklim izkusnjam, je nasa želja, da s srecanjem na konferenci stopimo v korak s casom in prepoznamo dobre prakse, izoblikujemo nove metode in se seznanimo z aktualnimi trendi, ki jih organizacije vsakodnevno živijo.Konferenca o razvoju organizacijskih znanosti je konferenca z najdaljso tradicijo na Univerzi v Mariboru in vsako leto poveže studente, raziskovalce, gospodarstvenike in predstavnike javne uprave, ki delujejo na podrocju organizacije in managementa. Tema letosnje, že 36. mednarodne konference o razvoju organizacijskih znanosti, je Odgovorna organizacija in se nanasa na sirino organizacije v njenem notranjem in zunanjem okolju. Odgovornost do zaposlenih, poslanstva, strategije, procesov, tehnologije, razvoja so samo nekatera izmed podrocij, ki jim mora organizacija slediti. Identiteta organizacije se izkazuje z njenim vsestransko odgovornim ravnanjem in kaže vrednost navzven pri kupcih ali uporabnikih storitev. V casu, ki ga živimo, smo vpeti v preplet tehnoloskega in socialnega napredka, ki nenazadnje rezultira v posamezniku in družbi nasploh. Ravnanje organizacije se ravno tako ne veže samo na delovanje v lokalnem okolju temvec zaradi globalnih razsežnosti ucinkuje tudi v mednarodnih dimenzijah. S temo konference želimo odpreti polje vprasanj in poiskati odgovore, ki bodo doprinesli k napredku organizacijskih ved. Materialni vplivi, komuniciranje, znanje in postenje ter nenazadnje ideal odgovornega ravnanja lahko kot pomembni dejavniki obvladujejo pogosto nemirne situacije v in izven okolja nasih organizacij. Ker smo casovno in prostorsko vpeti v vzorce, ki mnogokrat ne sledijo vec nasim preteklim izkusnjam, je nasa želja, da s srecanjem na konferenci stopimo v korak s casom in prepoznamo dobre prakse, izoblikujemo nove metode in se seznanimo z aktualnimi trendi, ki jih organizacije vsakodnevno živijo.