Mutaz M. Al-Debei

Developing a unified framework of the business model concept

Recent rapid advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have highlighted the rising importance of the Business Model (BM) concept in the field of Information Systems (IS). Despite agreement on its importance to an organizations success, the concept is still fuzzy and vague, and there is little consensus regarding its compositional facets. Identifying the fundamental concepts, modeling principles, practical functions, and reach of the BM relevant to IS and other business concepts is by no means complete. This paper, following a comprehensive review of the literature, principally employs the content analysis method and utilizes a deductive reasoning approach to provide a hierarchical taxonomy of the BM concepts from which to develop a more comprehensive framework. This framework comprises four fundamental aspects. First, it identifies four primary BM dimensions along with their constituent elements forming a complete ontological structure of the concept. Second, it cohesively organizes the BM modeling principles, that is, guidelines and features. Third, it explains the reach of the concept showing its interactions and intersections with strategy, business processes, and IS so as to place the BM within the world of digital business. Finally, the framework explores three major functions of BMs within digital organizations to shed light on the practical significance of the concept. Hence, this paper links the BM facets in a novel manner offering an intact definition. In doing so, this paper provides a unified conceptual framework for the BM concept that we argue is comprehensive and appropriate to the complex nature of businesses today. This leads to fruitful implications for theory and practice and also enables us to suggest a research agenda using our conceptual framework.

Consumer attitudes towards online shopping

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer attitudes toward online shopping in Jordan. The paper introduces an integrated model which includes trust, perceived benefits, perceived web quality, and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) along with their relationships in order to examine their effects on consumer attitudes toward online shopping. Design/methodology/approach – A structured and self-administered online survey was employed targeting online shoppers of a reputable online retailer in Jordan; i.e. MarkaVIP. A sample of 273 online shoppers was involved in the online survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs, unidimensionality, validity, and composite reliability. Structural path model analysis was also used to test the hypothesized relationships of the research model. Findings – The empirical findings of this study indicate that consumer attitudes toward online shopping is determined by trust and perceived benefits. Trust ...

The imperative of influencing citizen attitude toward e-government adoption and use

We investigate factors that impact e-government adoption.Government officials need to pay attention to the dominant culture.Attitude is the most significant determinant of citizen intention.Citizen attitude is jointly determined by public value and ease of use.Positive relationships between trust and public value and ease of use. With the imperative of e-government for better transparency, accountability and public services, the problem of low-level citizen adoption of e-government services has been recognized in developed and developing countries. This pressing problem needs socio-technological, political, and cultural perspectives. In this study we develop an integrative research model by extending extant Technology Acceptance Model through the incorporation of a set of social, political, and cultural constructs: trust, perceived public value, and national culture. The model is then tested using a large-scale, multi-site survey research of 413 Jordanian citizens. Our results find strong evidence that citizen attitude toward using e-government services is the most significant determinant of citizen intention to adopt and use e-government services. Citizen attitude, in turn, is jointly determined by perceived public value and perceived ease of use. These results have managerial implications that the government needs to pay closer attention to influencing citizen attitude toward using e-government services.

Social acceptance of location-based mobile government services for emergency management

Location-based services deployed by governments can be used to assist people manage emergencies via their mobile handsets. Research delineating the acceptance of public services in the domain of emergency management has been scantly investigated in information systems. The main aim of this study is to assess the viability of location-based mobile emergency services by: (i) exploring the issues related to location-based services and their nationwide utilisation for emergency management; (ii) investigating the attitudinal and behavioural implications of the services; and (iii) examining the social acceptance or rejection of the services and identify the determinants of this acceptance or rejection. The results reveal that both attitude and perceived usefulness demonstrate a good prediction power of behavioural intention. Although perceived ease of use was found not to be a predictor of attitude, the results affirm its influence on perceived usefulness. The results also demonstrate the role of trust as the most influential determinant of individual perception of the usefulness of the services. Further, the results indicate that only the collection of personal location information, as a perceived privacy concern, had a significant negative impact on trust. Implications and future research are also discussed.

The Design and Engineering of Mobile Data Services: Developing an Ontology Based on Business Model Thinking

This paper addresses the design and engineering problem related to mobile data services. The aim of the research is to inform and advise mobile service design and engineering by looking at this issue from a rigorous and holistic perspective. To this aim, this paper develops an ontology based on business model thinking. The developed ontology identifies four primary dimensions in designing business models of mobile data services: value proposition, value network, value architecture, and value finance. Within these dimensions, 15 key design concepts are identified along with their interrelationships and rules in the telecommunication service business model domain and unambiguous semantics are produced. The developed ontology is of value to academics and practitioners alike, particularly those interested in strategic-oriented IS/IT and business developments in telecommunications. Employing the developed ontology would systemize mobile service engineering functions and make them more manageable, effective, and creative. The research approach to building the mobile service business model ontology essentially follows the design science paradigm. Within this paradigm, we incorporate a number of different research methods, so the employed methodology might be better characterized as a pluralist approach.

Explaining and predicting the adoption intention of mobile data services: A value-based approach

As mobile devices become more and more pervasive in our everyday life and their capabilities resemble more and more of those of desktop computers with the added advantage of mobility, examining intention for adoption seems relevant to consumers and mobile service providers alike. Existing research shows that despite this evolution on Mobile Data Services (MDS) development and use, the adoption of their full capabilities is yet to be realized. In this study we focus on the value consumers can potentially gain from using these services. We hypothesize that if we can examine the value that can be delivered to consumers through the use of MDS, then we can explain and predict consumers’ intentions to use MDS. We also postulate that perceptions of consumers regarding the value that can be captured when using MDS is directly affected by technological, social, and informational influences. However, in this research, perceived value is used as a multidimensional construct that encapsulates utilitarian, hedonic, uniqueness, epistemic, and economic value dimensions. Our results show that utilitarian value is, according to previous studies, an important adoption factor. Additionally, economic value is also important and significant. Nevertheless, it seems that in our context, hedonic, uniqueness, and epistemic value dimensions are not as important for the use of mobile data services as utilitarian and economic value dimensions. The results of this study can be used by mobile service providers to get insights about consumers’ needs and preferences in order to offer better and thus more popular services.

A business model perspective for ICTs in public engagement

Abstract Public institutions, in their efforts to promote meaningful citizen engagement, are increasingly looking at the democratic potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Previous studies suggest that such initiatives seem to be impeded by socio-technical integration barriers such as low sustainability, poor citizen acceptance, coordination difficulties, lack of understanding and failure to assess their impact. Motivated by these shortcomings, the paper develops and applies a business model perspective as an interceding framework for analysis and evaluation. The underlying principle behind this approach is that it is not technology per se which determines success, but rather the way in which the business model of the technological artifact is configured and employed to achieve the strategic goals. The business model perspective is empirically demonstrated with the case of an online petitioning system implemented by a UK local authority. The case illustrates the importance of considering ICTs in public engagement from a holistic view to make them more manageable and assessable.

The quality and acceptance of websites: an empirical investigation in the context of higher education

The aim of this study is to explain the main factors affecting behavioural intentions of students to regularly use university websites in the future. Universities are investing millions of dollars in developing high quality websites as they believe that this course of action can provide them with significant strategic benefits. Notwithstanding, little is known about what attracts students to regularly use university websites and our understanding in this context is by no means complete. Aiming to advance our knowledge in this domain, this study utilises a novel model that is developed on the basis of three well-established theories in the field of information systems: technology acceptance model, the motivational model, and Delone and Mclean information systems success model. In total, 311 survey questionnaires suitable for data analysis were collected from undergraduate students with majors in IS/IT related disciplines at a large university in Jordan and were then analysed using PLS-SEM. The results indicate that information quality is the main predictor of perceived usefulness, whereas system quality is the main predictor of perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment. Furthermore, although behavioural beliefs were all found to determine behavioural intentions, perceived usefulness exerts the strongest effect.

Engineering innovative mobile data services: Developing a model for value network analysis and design

Purpose – The aim of this study is to analytically develop a reference model for engineering (i.e. analysis, design, development, evaluation, delivery, maintenance, modification, and management) powerful value networks capable of creating innovative mobile data services.Design/methodology/approach – The paradigm followed is that of design‐science research (DSR) which incorporates two main iterative processes: build and evaluate. For building the model (i.e. the design science artifact in this research), the authors followed three iterations: literature review analysis; semi‐structured interviews analyzed through content analysis; and examination of real‐life case studies. But for evaluating the model, the authors utilized the NTT DoCoMos i‐mode case.Findings – This paper puts forward a novel model for engineering value networks of mobile innovations. This model is composed of seven design constructs and their relationships. The developed model is argued to provide significant utility for telecoms in help...

An integrated model of factors affecting consumer attitudes towards online shopping

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine an integrated model of factors affecting attitudes toward online shopping in Jordan. The paper introduces an integrated model of the roles of perceived website reputation, relative advantage, perceived website image, and trust that affect attitudes toward online shopping. Design/methodology/approach – A structured and self-administered online survey was employed targeting online shoppers of a reputable online retailer in Jordan; MarkaVIP. A sample of 273 of online shoppers was involved in the online survey. A series of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the research constructs, unidimensionality, validity, and composite reliability (CR). Structural path model analysis was also used to test the proposed research model and hypotheses. Findings – The empirical findings of this study indicate that perceived website reputation, relative advantage, perceived website image, and trust have directly and indirectly affected consumers’ a...