Donyaprueth Krairit

Managing information technology infrastructure: a new flexibility framework

Purpose – The purposes of this study are to present an operational definition of information technology (IT) infrastructure flexibility and to provide a framework for assessing its components.Design/methodology/approach – A comprehensive review of the relevant literature was conducted along with expert interviews to determine what experts considered to be the characteristics of IT infrastructure flexibility. A questionnaire was then developed, and 388 IT personnel with a wide range of experience verified the proposed framework. Factor analysis was conducted to reveal the common aspects of IT infrastructure flexibility.Findings – The results expand on the four recognized components (connectivity, compatibility, modularity and IT personnel competency) from the literature by revealing five further components (scalability, continuity, rapidity, facility and modernity).Research limitations/implications – The issue of external validity should be a concern because the samples were collected only from IT personne...

The study of e-learning technology implementation: A preliminary investigation of universities in Thailand

E-learning (EL) has become an increasingly popular mode of instruction in higher education due to the continual advances in Internet and multimedia technologies. Since many universities are adopting EL, an understanding of the critical factors involved in the implementation of EL technology can help to ensure the successful integration of EL in university administration planning and operations procedures. The objectives of this paper are twofold: to examine approaches to EL usage in universities in Thailand, and to report on a preliminary investigation into factors that influence EL implementation at the Thai tertiary level. Patterns of EL implementation from four cases are presented. Results from in-depth qualitative interviews with administrators, instructors, and students showed that three main factors and one key barrier influence the degree to which EL implementation was successful. The three factors are characteristics of the organization, the instructor and the Internet environment. Of these factors, the organizational component, including both the university policy towards EL and the organization of the EL unit itself, was the most important. The instructors’ perceptions of the benefits of EL and the ease of use also contributed to implementation success, as does Internet accessibility. The key barrier was found to be student preference for instructor-led learning. Implications for both university and EL unit administrators as well as for instructors are suggested for the continued development of EL in Thai universities and similar educational contexts.

Satisfaction in e‐learning: the context of supplementary instruction

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate how to measure student satisfaction and how its elements influence on its overall perspective earned in e‐learning (EL). This study focuses on the context where EL is used as a supplementary tool to enhance instruction.Design/methodology/approach – This study focuses on undergraduate courses that offer EL as a voluntary and supplementary form of instruction in Thailand. The measurements instrument was adapted from scales widely accepted in management, information systems, and education research to fit the unique characteristics of the online education context. A few course characteristics are outlined to ensure the originality of the context. Survey is the main methodology of this study; reliability and validity of the measure are also tested and discussed in the paper.Findings – The study highlights four dimensions of satisfaction in EL: delivery method, communication facilitation, system operation, and content. It is found from the study that elemen...

Mobile marketing and consumer perceptions of brand equity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of SMS (Short Message Service) advertising on consumer perceptions of Au Bon Pains brand equity in Thailand.Design/methodology/approach – The experimental study was based on a 4×2 between‐subjects design, with four levels of message types (personalization, interactivity, general, and no message control) and two levels of permission (with and without permission). Structural equation modeling was utilized to test the hypotheses.Findings – SMS marketing is found to have a significant positive impact on brand awareness and perceived quality. Personalized, interactive, and general messages are effective for building brand awareness, and general and personalized messages positively influence perceived quality. With the right choice of message, explicit permission enhances the effects of SMS marketing on brand association.Research limitations/implications – The experiment was conducted over a period of one month, with three SMS ads sent to each su...

Technology usage, quality management system, and service quality in Thailand.

PURPOSE This article aims to explore the relationship between technology and quality management for enhancing Thai hospital service quality. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH The paper presents the findings of an exploratory study that investigates service quality from the customer and service provider perception. In-depth interviews were conducted with respondents in Thai hospitals. The interviews explored service-related factors that patients and service providers perceive to be important for hospital services. The first interview group consisted of professionals as internal customers in direct contact with external customers, while the second group consisted of external customers of the same hospitals. FINDINGS The studys outcomes clearly suggest factors that make significant contribution to service quality. These factors can be categorized according to five SERVQUAL dimensions (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibility), although some factors required slightly different interpretation. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The findings suggest that hospitals can develop an appropriate approach to their advantage, which can yield sustainable improvement in service quality as perceived by patients and professionals. Hospitals can make better quality decisions based on structured measurement and knowledge. It is recommended that managers apply this knowledge for successful implementation of activities related to service quality in their organizations.

IT outsourcing and impacts in Thailand’s financial institutions

Information technology outsourcing (ITO) studies have been the focus of researchers for decades. One topic has been the factors and impact of ITO on organizations. Inconclusive findings about relationships between the levels of ITO and ITO success demands further exploration on this issue. In Thailand, the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC) reported that the financial and banking industry has the highest spending on computer services primarily by outsourcing the core banking and service management system. Nonetheless, research on ITO in Thailand’s financial industry has been limited. This study is among the first to empirically investigate the relationship between the levels of ITO, defined as the percentage of IT activities and components selected to be outsourced, and ITO success, defined by the benefits received from outsourcing in Thailand. A three-pronged approach is used in this study. It began with a comprehensive literature review. This was followed by in-depth expert interviews with representatives from financial institutions, academia, and outsource vendors, all of who offered opinions that shaped the development of the research model. A survey was then carried out with 428 IT personnel from the Thai financial sector. The results were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Contrary to previous researches, this study found that internal uncertainty and internal IT skills were two factors that do not affect the levels of ITO, while transaction costs and specific assets do. In addition, it was found that levels of ITO have impacts on ITO success. In a real world application, this study focuses on the different levels of ITO implementation among Thailand’s top five banks and their effects on ITO success. The findings increase researchers’ understanding regarding the factors that affect the levels of ITO and suggest that practitioners must consider the levels of ITO, in addition to other factors, when making ITO decisions. The framework can help practitioners optimize ITO practice for successful ITO outcomes.

Acceptance of open source software amongst Thai users: an integrated model approach

This research is one of the first few to investigate the acceptance of open source software in the context of developing countries, in this case Thailand. It also proposes a comprehensive model that integrates individual, social, and software characteristics to measure the acceptance of open source software. Based on the three-pronged approach, the study puts forward an integrated model consisting of the extended technology model, the innovation diffusion theory and software characteristics. A full-scale field survey of 1,005 open source software users was undertaken and both convergent and discriminant validities were conducted. The results of the structural equation modeling illustrate that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, intention to use, output quality, compatibility, software functionality, and software maintainability have a statistically positive relationship with open source software acceptance. Contrary to most studies, which did not find a positive relationship between visibility and trialability towards the acceptance of open source software, it is interesting to observe that this study did find a positive relationship. Conclusions and discussions of the findings, and their academic and practical implications are also presented.

A framework to identify factors affecting the performance of third-party B2B e-marketplaces: A seller’s perspective

This study conducted exploratory research to determine factors affecting the performance of third-party B2B e-marketplaces from a seller’s perspective. Building on the relevant literature, ten factors were proposed and mapped into the domain-specific model for e-marketplaces. The performance of e-marketplaces was measured in terms of customer loyalty and trading volume. The proposed model was tested on data from 200 selling companies in Thailand participating in various third-party B2B e-marketplaces. The exploratory factor analysis generated seven factors. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed to test the research model. There were three major findings. First, the reputation of e-marketplace and trust in market makers, as well as transaction cost reduction and website usability, had significant effects on customer loyalty. Second, website reliability had a positive impact on trading volume. Finally, the relative advantage and number of buyers had significant effects on both customer loyalty and trading volume. These findings reveal factors previously unreported in the literature on e-marketplaces, and they can be used by practitioners to improve performance.

Decision making in the pre-development stage of residential development

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the rationality of the decision making of residential developers in Thailand. Exploring its implications in the residential development field, the researchers propose the famous prospect theory as the primary cause of developers’ incompetent decisions during the pre-development stage of residential development. Design/methodology/approach The methodologies used in this research include literature review, expert interview, and experimental questionnaire. Findings The results show that Thai developers exhibit all five aspects of prospect theory: loss aversion, fourfold pattern, bias from rare events, mental accounting, and preference reversals (PR); however, in contrast to previous literature, the researchers found that Thai developers always choose to receive gains, and usually make risky choices to avoid losses, even if the risk of loss is low. Moreover, status quo bias has a low influence on Thai developers: they tend to become attached to the areas they develop, but remain flexible in selecting a project type that fits the land. In addition, PR and the framing effect affect only some groups of developers. Practical implications This research provides awareness to professionals in the residential development field to make sound judgements, using Thailand as a case study. Originality/value This paper reveals the existence of the unproven prospect theory in the residential development field using an empirical study in Thailand as a case study.

Planning of efficient wireless access with IEEE 802.16 for connecting home network to the internet

The emergence of IEEE802.16 wireless standard technology (WiMAX) has significantly increased the choice to operators for the provisioning of wireless broadband access network. WiMAX is being deployed to compliment with xDSL in underserved or lack of the broadband network area, in both developed and developing countries. Many incumbent operators in developing countries are considering the deployment of WiMAX as part of their broadband access strategy. This paper presents an efficient and simple method for planning of broadband fixed wireless access (BFWA) with IEEE802.16 standard to support home connection to Internet. The study formulates the framework for planning both coverage and capacity designs. The relationship between coverage area and access rate from subscriber in each environment area is presented. The study also presents the throughput and channel capacity of IEEE802.16 in different access rates. An extensive analysis is performed and the results are applied to the real case study to demonstrate the practicality of using IEEE 802.16 for connecting home to Internet. Using empirical data and original subscriber traffic from measurement, it is shown that the BFWA with IEEE802.16 standard is a capacity limited system. The capacity of IEEE802.16 is related to different factors including frequency bandwidth, spectrum allocation, estimation of traffic per subscriber, and choice of adaptive modulation from subscriber terminal. The wireless access methods and procedures evolved in this research work and set out in this paper are shown to be well suited for planning BFWA system based on IEEE802.16 which supports broadband home to Internet connections.