Elizabeth Daniel

Provision of electronic banking in the UK and the Republic of Ireland

Electronic or online banking is the newest delivery channel to be offered by the retail banks in many developed countries and there is wide agreement that this channel will have a significant impact on the market. Aims to quantify the current provision of electronic services by major retail banking organisations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Additional insight into the banks‘ adoption of this new channel is gained by exploring two areas important in the analysis of new offerings, that is: an organisation‘s approach to innovation; and their view of the current and future markets. By use of a mailed questionnaire, it was found that 25 per cent of the banks in the UK and the Republic of Ireland which responded to this survey are already offering online transactional services to consumers in their homes. The largest group of respondents (50 per cent) are those that are currently testing or developing such services, while just 25 per cent of the respondents were in organisations not providing or developing such services. It is also found that the organisation‘s vision of the future, their prediction of customer acceptance, which tends to be very low, and their organisational culture of innovation are the most important of the suggested factors in their adoption of electronic delivery.

Adoption of E-Commerce by SMEs in the UK Towards a Stage Model

Research has shown that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are rapidly adopting the Internet and e-commerce. However, there is little systematic research into how such companies are adopting this new technology. This study addresses the research gap by seeking to understand how SMEs in the UK are adopting e-commerce, through an exploration of their level and sequence of adoption. The research, which was carried out by means of a mailed questionnaire, found four distinct clusters of adoption. These formed a set of sequential stages, through which firms appear to pass during the adoption of e-commerce. The firms in the first cluster are currently developing their first e-commerce services; the second adoption cluster are using e-mail to communicate with customers, suppliers and employees. Those at the third level of adoption have information-based websites operating and are developing on-line ordering facilities. The most advanced adopters have on-line ordering in operation and are developing online payment capabilities. The association of the adoption stage currently reached by a firm with contextual variables both at an industry and an organizational level is investigated and discussed.

Factors for success in customer relationship management (CRM) systems

The importance of effective customer relationships as a key to customer value and hence shareholder value is widely emphasised. In order to enhance these relationships, the application of IT to marketing through customer relationship management (CRM) software, e-commerce and other initiatives is growing rapidly. This study examines the factors that influence the successful deployment of CRM applications, with particular emphasis on those factors which are distinct from other areas of application. Using the analytic induction method, success factors were derived from five in-depth case studies. Resulting factors underemphasised in previous literature include: the need for project approval procedures which allow for uncertainty; the need to leverage models of best practice; the importance of prototyping new processes, not just IT; and the need to manage for the delivery of the intended benefits, rather than just implementing the original specification.

An exploratory comparison of electronic commerce adoption in large and small enterprises

This study compares the reasons why small and large companies are adopting electronic commerce (e-commerce) and compares the benefits realized from the adoption of e-commerce by these two groups of companies. Two surveys that were undertaken contemporaneously on the use of e-commerce by small and large companies in the UK were used as the empirical basis for this study. The study found that the use of e-commerce for responding to competitors, providing enhanced customer services and improving relations with suppliers was driving the uptake by smaller businesses to a greater extent than by their larger counterparts. Only in the area of improved operational efficiency did larger businesses express greater interest in adopting e-commerce. The study also found that smaller businesses believed that they had achieved greater benefits from their e-commerce services than had the larger firms in all areas explored.

The role of dynamic capabilities in e-business transformation

The domain of e-business is characterised by rapid change and in such markets managers can no longer rely on the resources that they have assembled to provide their extant competitive position. Instead they must be able to combine resources in new ways, gain additional resources and dispose of superfluous resources, and to do this repeatedly and rapidly if they are to compete successfully. The term ‘dynamic capabilities’ is emerging in the strategic management literature for these skills. This study seeks to identify the dynamic capabilities that are necessary for e-business transformation and to identify practices in developing these capabilities that are both effective and common across companies, and might therefore be considered as ‘best practice’. Eight distinct dynamic capabilities are identified, each appearing to address either innovative or integrative aspects of e-business transformation. Consistent with previous studies of dynamic markets it was found that ‘best practice’ involved simple, experiential and iterative approaches to these necessary capabilities.

The future of inter-organisational system linkages: findings of an international Delphi study

To perform effectively in markets that are becoming increasingly turbulent and volatile, organisations should form information system linkages with their business partners. This study seeks to produce a ‘vision’ for the future of such linkages. A number of recent developments in information systems and technology (IS/IT) appear to promise the ability to make improvements in this domain. These are electronic hubs, web services, widespread adoption of common enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and enterprise portals. This study, which is carried out by means of the Delphi technique, explores the expected future role and use of these information systems. The expert participants in the study believe that the focus of enterprise systems is shifting from an internal to an external orientation. They suggest that ERP systems may be reaching a structural limit concerning their capabilities and adjunct technologies will be required to integrate multiple inter-organisational operations. The participants expect that the three other systems and technologies considered can provide those necessary adjunct technologies, either used singly, or more likely in combination. Finally, we find that the transition to a greater external orientation is expected to include an extension in the types of organisations that will be integrated electronically into networks.

A Framework for addressing the organisational issues of enterprise systems implementation

Abstract Over the last 10 years many organisations have made significant investments in Enterprise-wide Systems (ES), particularly Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software packages. Whilst in most cases technical implementation is relatively successful, many of the initiatives have failed to deliver the benefits expected. Research studies have identified a wide range of factors, that can affect the success of ES implementations, and the general consensus is that organisational issues are more difficult to resolve than technical ones. This research set out to synthesise a framework, from prior research, for analysing and understanding these organisational issues and to apply and refine the framework by studying four ES initiatives in different organisational and industry contexts. The findings from the case studies suggest that the framework can help understand how different approaches to managing ES implementations both address and influence the behaviours of key interest groups and hence the achievement of the benefits expected from the investment.

On-line banking: Strategic and management challenges

On-line or electronic delivery is the newest delivery channel to be offered by the retail banks, and there is wide agreement in the industry that this channel will have a significant impact. This article identifies the approaches being adopted by UK retail banks and the strategies underlying those approaches. The management problems and concerns in implementing these services are identified and discussed.

Adoption intentions and benefits realised: a study of e‐commerce in UK SMEs

Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly making use of e‐commerce. This study seeks to identify the reasons that are causing such businesses to adopt e‐commerce (adoption intentions); the benefits they are realising from their e‐commerce developments; and, importantly, to determine if the areas identified as important are indeed those where benefits are being realised. It was found that responding to competitive pressure was the main reason leading companies to adopt e‐commerce. Information sharing and communication between employees within the firm were found to be the e‐commerce activities where firms are realising the greatest benefit. Areas where e‐commerce could be considered as “under‐performing” were found to be online recruitment and procurement. Areas that could be considered to be “over‐performing”, and hence may indicate an appropriate starting point for those firms yet to adopt e‐commerce, are in internal knowledge sharing and communication.

The adoption of consortium B2B e-marketplaces: An exploratory study

Despite the considerable number of electronic B2B marketplaces formed and the benefits cited as arising from their use, many have gone out of business. This exploratory study seeks to provide a qualitative exposition of the specific factors influencing the adoption of consortium-owned B2B e-marketplaces. The study is based upon case studies of twelve companies trading through three different consortium B2B e-marketplaces. Twenty-six specific factors are identified and their impact on adoption is discussed. The identification of a significant number of factors specific to this domain provides real meaning and depth to those interested in the future of e-marketplaces. In particular, the factors identified provide those that operate such e-marketplaces with a detailed and actionable understanding of the issues they should address in order to survive, and provide users or potential users of consortium marketplaces with a practical framework with which to assess individual marketplaces. The factors can also form the basis of future studies of other types of marketplaces and of quantitative studies of adoption.