Yu-An Huang

Realising B2B e-commerce benefits: the link with IT maturity, evaluation practices, and B2BEC adoption readiness

Actual realisation of business-to-business electronic commerce (B2B e-commerce) benefits from IT investments has been a critical issue for large organisations. However, relatively little research has been undertaken to determine the drivers for realising B2B e-commerce benefits within these organisations. A survey research was conducted to examine the relationships between B2B e-commerce benefits, IT investment evaluation methodologies (IEM), IT benefit realisation processes (BRP), B2B e-commerce adoption readiness, and IT maturity in large Australian organisations. An IT investment management model was developed to test these relationships. The results had empirically validated the model and indicate that a higher level of BRP adoption and increased level of B2B e-commerce adoption readiness had a significant direct relationship with B2B e-commerce benefits. In addition, the level of B2B e-commerce adoption readiness, and the level of IEM and BRP adoption were significantly influenced by the level of IT maturity. However, the use of IEM alone had only an indirect positive influence on B2B e-commerce benefits through the higher level of BRP adoption and increased level of B2B e-commerce adoption readiness.

Devil continues to wear “counterfeit” Prada: a tale of two cities

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the influence of social and personality factors on attitudes towards counterfeiting of luxury brands and purchase intention between China Chinese and Taiwan Chinese consumers. Design/methodology/approach – Data collection was conducted using a mall intercept approach in downtown Shanghai and Taipei. A self-administered questionnaire was developed and back-translated from English to Chinese and distributed. Structural equation modelling in LISREL was used to analyze the data. Findings – It was found that collectivism has a positive relationship with attitudes towards counterfeiting of luxury brands for the China Chinese but not for the Taiwan Chinese. Personal gratification was found to have a negative relationship with attitudes towards counterfeiting of luxury brands for the Taiwan Chinese consumers. Integrity and status consumption were found to have a positive relationship with attitudes towards counterfeiting of luxury brands for both the China Chinese and Taiwan C...

A model of IT evaluation management: organizational characteristics, IT evaluation methodologies, and B2BEC benefits

Large organizations have invested substantial financial resources in information technology (IT) over the last few decades. However, many organizations have discovered that they have not yet fully reaped the B2BEC benefits from their IT investments. A model of IT evaluation management is proposed in this paper to examine: (1) the relationship between the adoption of ITEM and B2BEC benefits; and (2) the impact of organizational characteristics (e.g. organizational IT maturity and IT evaluation resources (ITER) allocation) on the relationship between the adoption of ITEM and B2BEC benefits. The cross-national survey results provide empirical evidence in support of our proposed model, and demonstrate that: (a) the level of organizational IT maturity has a direct and significant impact on the adoption of ITEM; (b) the adoption of ITEM has a positive relationship with the ITER allocation; and (c) the ITER allocation has a significant direct influence on B2BEC benefits.

I worship, so I download? Idol worship, music purchase and piracy by young consumers in Taiwan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of parental and peer norms on idol worship as well as the effect of idol worship on the intention to purchase and obtain the idol’s music products legally and illegally. Design/methodology/approach – A stratified, two-stage, cluster sampling procedure was applied to a list of high schools obtained from the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. A return rate of 80 per cent yielded 723 usable questionnaires, the data from which were analysed by the LISREL structural equation modelling software. Findings – The results suggest that both social worship and personal worship have a significant and positive impact on the intention to purchase music. However, personal worship has a negative impact on the intention to pirate music while social worship appears to strengthen it. Research limitations/implications – The findings suggest that idol worship is more complex than previously understood. The constructs chosen in this research should be seen only as a sna...

Idol Attachment and Human Brand Loyalty

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the importance and concept of idol attachment, model its antecedents and moderators and assess its influence on human brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach – This paper includes two studies. In Study 1, survey questionnaires were distributed by mall intercept to quasi-random samples across Australia and Taiwan for completion and return. The return yielded 1,135 and 736 usable questionnaires, respectively, from which the data were analysed using LISREL structural equation modelling software. In Study 2, an experiment was used to examine whether idol attractiveness is likely to positively moderate the relationship between vanity traits and attachment. Findings – The results suggest that achievement vanity, variety seeking and peer norms have a positive impact on the phenomenon of idol attachment, which in turn positively affects human brand loyalty. Contradicting previous studies, the physical appearance of vanity was not found to be associated with idol attachment....

Examining the Moderating Role of Rational-Versus Emotional-Focused Websites: The Case of Boutique Hotels

This article examines whether emotional or rational advertising appeals are more effective for website hospitality services. Specifically, it considers how attitudes towards websites, service expectations and attitudes towards boutique hotels may influence the two different types of advertising appeals and purchase intention. Results show that websites using emotional appeals tend to show a positive relationship between attitude towards hotels and attitude towards websites and purchase intention. It also indicates that emotional advertisements are better at gaining and retaining interest and attention, and as such can be highly beneficial for small boutique hotels. This article provides several marketing and business policy implications to aid practitioners and strategists in making better decisions.

Enhancing firm performance through internal market orientation and employee organizational commitment

Abstract Considering the importance of retaining key staff and managing the negative impact of high labor turnover on firm performance, this study investigates the notion of internal market orientation (IMO) as an employee management tool for helping companies retain employees and leverage performance via their organizational commitment. Drawing on data from three different managerial respondents in 275 companies based in China, the findings demonstrate the precedential effect of IMO on corporate performance through employees’ organizational commitment and retention. Interdepartmental relationship and interdepartmental communication, together with ownership types are identified as potential moderating variables, which may vary IMO’s effectiveness in the framework. This study provides scholars and practitioners with empirical evidence of IMO’s contribution to different industries and markets. Building on a western perspective, this study extends the literature in an emerging market context and specifically has implications for managing Chinese employees.

A Framework For Business-To-Business E-Commerce Evaluation Challenges And Critical Success Factors

AbstractBusiness-to-business e-commerce (B2BEC) which deals with Internet-supported commercial activities between two or more different companies is becoming increasingly imperative for companies aiming at improving their competitiveness and this has led to much of research and new IT investments. Its growth outpaced all of other forms of electronic commerce. However, the potential for realizing significant benefits for implementation of B2BEC does not appear to have been enough to provide impetus for extensive adoption by organizations. Although B2BEC provides the organizations a wealth of new opportunities and ways of doing business, it also presents them with a series of challenges. Therefore, the case study approach was utilized to investigate the process of B2BEC investment evaluation in nine Australian organizations within the hospitality sector. The key objectives of this exploratory research are: (1) to establish current practices and norms in managing B2BEC evaluation in Australian organizations; and (2) to development a framework of challenges and critical success factors in B2BEC evaluation. A key contribution of the book chapter is to identify and examine challenges and critical success factors faced by Australian organizations undertaking B2BEC evaluation. Moreover, a framework was proposed for Australian organizations to measure their B2BEC investments.

Animosity within borders: The mediating roles of regional identification and perceived discrimination on regional media preference

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine the antecedents and consequence of regional animosity and their impacts on regional media preference. Design/methodology/approach – Computer-assisted telephone interviews were conducted with randomly selected adult residents in Northern (206) and Southern (201) Taiwan. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in LISERAL and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Findings – The findings reveal that perceived economic threat, economic hardship and dissatisfaction with government economic policy increase home region identification and perceived discrimination, which in turn lead to heightened animosity toward the opposite foreign region. This increasing animosity then affects consumer choice over home region media compared to media originated from the other region. Research limitations/implications – The findings suggest that military and political tensions alone cannot explain why consumers would harbor animosity between on...

B2B e-commerce adoption and implementation constraints and critical success factors in the healthcare organizations

The adoption and effective utilization of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce in the healthcare industry can potentially assist in setting up an infrastructure which supports complex, multiparty Internet-based trading and transactions among medical products and services suppliers, insurers, wholesalers, and retailers in order to reduce health supply costs. This can lead to many benefits such as an increased accessibility to healthcare providers, faster sharing of information, a higher quality of healthcare services, searchable health information databases, enhanced care delivery capabilities, new product offerings, and reduction in healthcare costs and medical errors. However, despite high expectations for realizing the benefits of B2B e-commerce in healthcare, its adoption remains poorly understood and is also a relatively under-researched area. The potential for realizing significant benefits for implementation of B2B e-commerce does not appear to have been enough to provide impetus for extensive adoption by many healthcare organizations. Although B2B e-commerce provides these organizations a wealth of new opportunities and ways of doing business, it also presents them with a series of challenges. Therefore, the case study approach was utilized to investigate the constraints and critical success factors in adopting and utilizing B2B e-commerce systems in twenty-six organizations in the healthcare industry. The objectives of this research are: (1) to identify B2B e-commerce adoption and implementation constraints and critical success factors for organizations within the healthcare industry; and (2) to develop a framework for managing B2B e-commerce adoption and implementation constraints and critical success factors for healthcare organizations. A key contribution of the paper is to propose a framework in which constraints and critical success factors faced by healthcare organizations undertaking B2B e-commerce activities can be identified and examined.