Guendalina Capece

User satisfaction affecting the acceptance of an e-learning platform as a mean for the development of the human capital

This study aims to explore how satisfaction – from employees’ view – using e-learning technology influences organisational learning effectiveness. To this aim, the level of satisfaction using an e-learning platform as a complementary instrument of training and education is measured in a multinational company operating in the energy sector. Our case study focuses on two purely on-line courses involving 5395 employees, who responded to a questionnaire at the end of their learning activities on the basis of a Technology Acceptance Model. The major finding is that the usage of e-learning technology plays a full mediating role in the relationship between e-learning system service and measured employees satisfaction (organisational effectiveness in implementing knowledge improvement). This result has practical direct implications for companies with a distributed layout unable to implement conventional classroom learning. Furthermore, our investigation results ensure that well conducted e-learning programmes can effectively be adopted by a large amount of companies: more the users satisfied with e-learning service, the better in enhancing organisational learning.

The new neighbourhood in the internet era: network communities serving local communities

The past two decades have witnessed many attempts to transform online communities in new neighbourhoods of the Internet era. In particular, one of the most interesting applications of Internet Technologies in this field have been ‘network communities’, that differ from online communities because they refer to a specific territory and, for this reason, serve as a social catalyst for the corresponding territorial community. Network communities, as virtual neighbourhoods, have the purpose of allowing a better understanding of physical ones, contributing to the creation and the proliferation of services most suited to the needs of residents. For this reason, municipalities and local governments should consider the opportunity to exploit network communities as useful tools for local community management. Following this lead, this article analyses a real case study and highlights the existence of a positive correlation between a constructive utilisation of a network community by its members, their sense of community and the degree of their involvement in local problems.

Measuring knowledge creation in virtual teams through the social network analysis

The current literature regarding virtual teams (VTs) lacks outcomes related to intellectual capital (IC) and knowledge management (KM). Moreover, e-collaboration and VTs need the necessary metrics to assess the real benefits that KM derives from the use of new e-collaboration technologies. There is also scarce evaluation of the cause–effect linkage between a VT structural configuration and its creative performance. Following this lead, we propose an evaluation method based on social network analysis (SNA) and indexes referring to knowledge creation. The paper concludes with an application on a real case study that shows how this methodology can be used as a KM tool to increase the creative output of VTs.

A New Approach for Assessing Dealership Performance: An Application for the Automotive Industry

The competitive nature of the contemporary business scenario requires productivity-driven organizations to be aware of the efficiency level of their dealers. The recent economic and financial crisis has highlighted the need for effective evaluation methods going beyond the limits of traditional performance assessment methodologies in the retail industry. The automotive industry is no exception to this logic. In this sector, traditional methods are often based only on market share performances, ignoring the key role of input-output ratios on the overall productivity of the parent company. Following this lead, in this paper we propose a method to evaluate the performance of dealerships taking into account both their market share performances and their efficiency. In order to assess dealership efficiency we use the DEA technique, and apply the proposed methodology to a multinational automotive company considering its Italian dealer network.

Competiveness and Innovation in High-tech Companies: an Application to the Italian Biotech and Aerospace Industries

Innovation activities are a critical factor in national and regional development. The innovative behaviour of companies is one of the main sources of competitiveness, business survival, economic growth and employment in a territory. It is therefore important to identify and understand the factors that determine innovation behaviour among enterprises. In line with this, the aim of this study is to analyse the relations between innovation-related variables and the impact that they have on company performance. The research model proposed is applied to two high-tech sectors of the Italian region of Lazio to verify its validity. The examination concerns the aerospace and biotech sectors, which are characterized by strong innovative activity.

The Italian gas retail market: a cluster analysis based on performance indexes

The liberalization of the European natural gas sector radically changed the structure of the competitive environment which in turn forced companies to make changes in order to stay in the market. In Italy the liberalization process also had a strong impact on the strategies adopted by the companies involved. This situation instigated various studies of the changing nature of performance through the analysis of company profits and financial positions throughout the first three years following the market liberalization. This paper focuses on the changes in performance in the natural gas retail market by analyzing the profit and financial position of the companies concerned over the first three years following the market liberalization. The balance sheets of 105 Italian companies in this sector are analysed, after which a cluster analysis is performed employing the most significant performance indexes. The companies are then analysed within each cluster with respect to age, size, geographical location. The analysis is further developed by studying the strategies in terms of business diversification adopted by the operators in response to the radically altered competitive environment. The results of our analysis show that the majority of companies attained a high level of performance, although this positive outcome was mitigated by the gradual decrease of the average values of performance indicators during the period concerned. There appear to be several reasons for this decline: the performance observed during the three-year period was strongly influenced by regulatory factors; increased competition resulted in reduced profit margins; and exceptionally mild climatic conditions over this period significantly decreased the volume of gas sales. Finally, it should be noted that the best performance was achieved by companies based in northern Italy which were members of longstanding groups and were single rather than multi-business companies. This result contrasts with the failure of the business diversification strategy, which was widely adopted by enterprises from the utility sectors following the liberalization process.

A productivity analysis of the Italian gas retail market

Owing to the process of liberalization, the European energy markets have undergone a radical transformation over the last decade. In this paper we analyse the Italian natural gas market, focusing in particular on retail with the objective of assessing the performance of the natural gas retail operators whilst also taking into account the strategies adopted after the liberalization process. To that aim, company performance is analysed using the Edgeworth index which enables an assessment of levels of both profitability and productivity. Two types of comparisons are carried out based on the processed data. The first of which concerns the size of the company and second regards the degree of specialisation or diversification of the services offered.

Cultural adaptation of web design services as critical success factor for business excellence : A cross-cultural study of Portuguese, Brazilian, Angolan and Macanese web sites

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine whether cultural backgrounds of nations are expressed through the web design of their companies. Actually, it investigates whether, in countries characterized by the same cultural matrix and language but by different national backgrounds, the cultural specificities of a country are a critical success factor for web design and enablers of business excellence. Design/methodology/approach – Starting from a deep literature review, four research hypotheses on the relationship between cultural background and web design are formulated. By employing both the content analysis and the cross-tabulation methodology, these hypotheses are tested. Findings – Brazilian, Portuguese, Angolan and Macanese web sites show that companies operating in these countries are aware that cultural background is a necessary success factor to consider for improving cross-cultural management of computer-mediated communication. Indeed, the findings confirm that the internet is not a cultur...

Measuring and comparing the performances of energy retail companies: Firm strategies following the liberalization

Purpose – In the last decade, the Italian natural gas market has undergone profound changes. The slow ongoing process of liberalization that began in 2000 has produced many changes in the industry as companies have had to react to the new regulatory framework. Many companies have sought agreements, alliances and mergers to consolidate their position in the market, other companies have sought to diversify their product range by becoming multi-utility companies, others, unable to react to the new competitive pressures, have gone bankrupt. The aim of the work is to analyse the performance of natural gas retail companies after the liberalization of the sector. Design/methodology/approach – The authors carry out a financial statement analysis for indexes in order to evaluate business management in terms of the financial, profitability and liquidity aspects. The authors analysed a sample of 111 companies operating in Italy for a six-year period (2004-2009) following the full liberalization of the sector (Januar...

A Behavioural Model of E-Banking Usage in Italy

E-banking is defined as the automated delivery of new and traditional banking products and services directly to customers through electronic, interactive communication channels. “Pure online” banks are characterized by the absence of physical windows and front-office personnel. Traditional banks are still integrating traditional distribution channels with online ones; the scenario is therefore still evolving over time. Despite the intrinsic potentialities, Italy is far from being a leader in the usage of innovative online instruments in the banking system and will struggle with new innovation waves. In this paper, we measure the potential effective e-banking usage. Furthermore, we investigate the behaviour of users and adopters, identifying the major causes influencing satisfaction and usage and the impact of these different causes on the intensity of utilization. The analysis is based on a panel of 495 real users, thus allowing the profiling of the Italian adopter to discover the causes of usage and outline strategies for the growth of e-banking services in Italy.