Mazen Ali

Adoption of Electronic Commerce Technologies by SMEs in Malaysia

Electronic commerce (EC) offers many benefits to organizations of any size including small to medium- sized enterprises (SMEs). At this stage, there is still a need for a better understanding of the potential and relevance of EC in developing countries as well as the behaviour of SMEs towards EC adoption. Moreover, there is still a need for a holistic view of how various widely known factors at the organization, industry and national levels affect EC adoption. Therefore, this study proposes a theoretical model of EC technologies adoption by SMEs in developing countries by incorporating various readiness factors identified in the literature that may determine EC technologies adoption by SMEs in developing countries. It then explores the influence of these factors on the adoption of different EC technologies. The environmental pressure is also considered in this study. Through a survey of SMEs within the grocery industry in Malaysia as an example of a developing country, the study demonstrates how various readiness factors influence the adoption of various EC technologies differently. This study provides additional insights into EC adoption by SMEs in developing countries and has important implications for research and practice.

A Dyadic Model of Interorganizational Systems (IOS) Adoption Maturity

Interorganizational systems (IOS) adoption requires cooperation and collaboration between trading partners and, therefore, is reliant on the nature of their relationships. There has been some research that investigates relationships and how organizations progress from one level to the next level of adoption. However, these studies do not adequately justify the exclusion of other variables and are not theoretically based. This research extends the Kurnia and Johnston (2000) process model of IOS adoption by incorporating the notion of IOS adoption maturity and also modifies it from a supply chain to a dyadic level so better evaluations of progression can be performed. With this model, the dynamics of IOS adoption maturity can be better examined empirically.

Investigating IOS Adoption Maturity Using a Dyadic Approach

Interorganizational systems (IOS) adoption requires cooperation and collaboration between trading partners and, therefore, is reliant on the nature of their relationships. There has been some research that investigates relationships and how organizations progress from one level to the next level of adoption. However, these studies do not adequately justify the exclusion of other variables and are not theoretically based. This research extends the Kurnia and Johnston (2000) process model of IOS adoption by incorporating the notion of IOS adoption maturity and also modifies it from a supply chain to a dyadic level so better evaluations of progression can be performed. With this model, the dynamics of IOS adoption maturity can be better examined empirically.

B2B E-Commerce Adoption by the Grocery Industry in Developing Countries: Indonesia versus Bahrain

Developing countries have lagged behind developed countries in the adoption of B2B e-Commerce (EC). There have been limited in-depth studies to explore the adoption experience of developing countries. This study compares the experience of the grocery industry in adopting B2B e-Commerce (EC) in Indonesia and Bahrain as examples of developing countries. It shows that the differences in the social, economic, political and technological conditions of developing countries do not necessarily create barriers to the adoption. Each industry in a specific country may have a unique position that requires a thorough assessment of the relevance of B2B EC and the appropriate strategies for adoption. This study offers contribution to both theory and practice through detailed investigation of the adoption experience of the grocery industry in both countries.

Understanding the Progressive Nature of Inter-Organizational Systems (IOS) Adoption

Inter-organizational Systems (IOS) cannot be adopted by any organizations in isolation from their trading partner. Their adoption requires cooperation and collaboration between trading partners and, therefore, is reliant on the nature of relationships between the parties involved. For organizations to progress in their IOS adoption, improvement in relationships between trading partners is required before they can adopt a more sophisticated IOS. In addition, through IOS adoption, trading partners can actually improve their relationships overtime. There has been some research that investigates relationships and how organizations progress from one level to the next level of adoption. However, these studies do not clearly define the concepts of relationship, IOS adoption and IOS adoption maturity. Furthermore, they do not adequately justify the exclusion of other variables in defining the relevant concepts and are not theoretically based. This research extends the Kurnia and Johnston (2000) process model of IOS adoption by incorporating the notion of IOS adoption maturity and reducing the scope from a supply chain to a dyadic level to enable better evaluations of IOS adoption progression. We argue that with the proposed model, the dynamics of IOS adoption maturity can be better examined empirically.

ASSESSING THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR LEARNING IN EMERGING COUNTRIES

With globalization and the revolutions in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the world economy has undergone fundamental re‐structuring from an industrial economy to a one that is based on knowledge facilitated by innovative technologies. Given the capability of Information Technology to dramatically increase the amount and timeliness of information, the implication of ICT on emerging countries, as producers and users of ICT, became evident. In the education sector, the utilization of ICT in the sharing of knowledge has become an important strategic pillar for economic development in the 21st century. In this area, simulation role‐play games were developed as effective tools to enhance students’ learning process and are increasingly being used to replace traditional role‐play games. However, it is still unclear whether such imported ICT solutions can yield the same expected results in emerging countries. Based on an experimental design involving two groups of students playing the manual and computerized Beer Game, this study aims to examine how imported ICT‐based learning tools can enhance students’ learning compared to methods traditionally used in emerging countries. This study provides useful insights to both researchers and educators interested in understanding the opportunities and challenges in adopting ICT solutions to enhance education sectors in emerging countries.