Simulation for Business Engineering of Electronic Markets

Information systems that link businesses for the purpose of inter-organizational transfer of business transaction information (inter-organizational information systems, or IOIS) have been in use since the 1970s (Lankford & Riggs, 1996). Early systems relied on private networks, using electronic data interchange (EDI) or United Nations EDIFACT standards for format and content of transaction messages. Due to their cost and complexity, the use of these systems was confined primarily to large companies, but low-cost Internet commercialization has led to much more widespread adoption of IOIS. Systems using the Internet and the World Wide Web are commonly referred to as B2B (business-to-business) systems, supporting B2B electronic commerce. Technological innovations have led to several forms of B2B Internet implementations, often in the form of online exchanges. These are virtual marketplaces where buyers and sellers exchange information about prices, products, and service offerings, and negotiate business transactions. In addition to substituting proprietary lines of communication, emerging technologies and public networks have also facilitated new business models and new forms of interaction and collaboration, in areas such as collaborative product engineering or joint offerings of complex, modularized products. During the years 1999-2001 a number of online exchanges were introduced, but many of these failed (Gallaugher & Ramanathan, 2002), due mainly to an inability to attract participating business partners. Those that have survived are often owned by companies or consortia that are also exchange customers or suppliers. The objective of this overview is to describe the evolution and the characteristics of B2B Internet implementations, and to discuss management considerations, the evaluation and adoption of B2B applications, and the technical infrastructure supporting these systems. We also indicate some of the open issues that remain as the technology and its adoption continues to evolve.

Business integration is no longer optional. With the opening of local and world markets to international competition, businesses have been actively looking at managing their costs, their competition, and their customers' expectations. Integrating business processes amongst partners was deemed as an efficient way to meet these objectives. Amongst various concepts, Inter-Organizational Information System (IOIS) has seen a significant interest from organizations and researchers alike. IOIS is an inter-partners information system that enables adding seamlessness to business processes crossing these partners' systems. The component inside IOIS responsible for the bridging between different partners' systems is the Inter-Organizational Middleware System (IOMS). IOMS is both a technical tool managing communication and data exchange between heterogeneous systems and a business tool proactively participating in the business process. This duality has been a strength but also a problem for IOMS. Indeed, organizations tend to resist updating and upgrading it and in the process causing it to suffer the problem of legacy processes. When these legacy processes become unupgradable, i.e. can no longer be updated using standard methods and tools, the risk to business increases and the cost of keeping these processes functioning becomes excessive. The authors embarked on a four-year journey investigating the problem of Unupgradable Legacy Processes (ULP) in IOMS and propose numerous artifacts addressing various elements of the issue. Riding on these artifacts, this paper looks at their journey from an implementational perspective and assesses lessons learnt for organizations to both manage and avoid ULPs. First, the concept of IOMS is presented. Then the problem of ULPs in IOMS is discussed. Research findings are then presented as lessons learnt before the outcomes are analyzed and limitation of the research are debated.

Despite extensive research and practitioner literature on inter-organizational information systems (IOIS), our understanding of non-adoption still has some under-explored issues. This paper offers an explanation of non-adoption that focuses on the potential structural changes that IOIS adoption entails; in particular, we contend that the contradictions between the initial social structure and the structure enacted in the use of an IOIS can be a cause of non-adoption. This paper analyses adoption from a logic of opposition where non-adoption occurs because forces of transformation are offset by forces of persistence. Relying on the concepts of social structure, duality of structure, and structural contradiction from Structuration theory, we develop a framework that categorizes the underlying social structure where an IOIS is to be adopted, and formulate some theoretical propositions. From a practitioner perspective, this paper contends that the fact that IOIS management uncovers the contradictions in the social structure that result from IOIS adoption can help avoid dead ends. Accordingly, this framework, which can be used as a coarse-grained picture for anticipating adoption problems, can inform managers when devising an IOIS implementation strategy.

Nowadays, the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is considered an indispensable tool for interchanging data and transactions between auto parts and vehicle companies. Since the decade of 80, the EDI was adopted by automobile industry and this process was led by vehicles manufacturers that had determined the adoption of this system for their supcliers. This research carried through an exploratory survey, to analyze how the implantation and use of the EDI, in the automobile industry, has been occurred, under the point of view of small and average companies of the sector, having observed positive and negative aspects associated to the implantation through five theoretical models that deal with the EDI and the Interorganizational Systems (IOS). Regarding to the stage of implementation of the EDI (model of Lummus & Duclus) it was observed that the companies are in the period of transaction, with low level of integration with internal systems. The amplitude of partners (model of Tuunainem) with that the companies carry through EDI are small, and the type of appropriation (model of Subramani) is exploitation. The analysis of the interorganizacionais relations (model of Bensaou and Venkatraman) disclosed that much few areas use this technology, and that the vehicle manufacturer use the coercitive power in the implantation process. Although this, the interviewed ones consider that exists reliable in the relation b its companies and vehicle manufacturer. Based on this survey, we verified that the characteristics and benefits gotten with the use of systems EDI for the studied companies of auto parts are very small, compared with the models.

Digital development for a progressive networked society

Inter-organizational governance (IOG) is widely used to maintain and enhance supply chain resilience in practice. However, working with exchange partners entails significant challenges because of firms’ diverse technical knowledge. Drawing on task–technology fit theory and the knowledge-based view, we examine the associations between IOG and supply chain resilience. Moreover, we investigate the moderating effects of inter-firm knowledge sharing (IKS) enabled by information and communication technology (ICT). We adopt a multi-method approach to test the research model using field survey data on 520 industrial manufacturing firms and a secondary dataset of e-commerce development in China. The results confirm our hypotheses that IKS enabled by inter-organizational information systems and societal ICT improves the effectiveness of contractual governance. Furthermore, social media-enabled IKS enhances the positive effect of relational governance on supply chain resilience. This research adds a vital perspective of ICT and IOG and offers practical suggestions to deploy ICT in supply chain management.

Collaboration is now considered as a strategic advantage for enhancing effectiveness in Inter-Organisational Information System (IOIS) implementation, particularly in electronic government (e-government). As governments strive to improve their service delivery systems with constraint resources, IOIS was seen as the key factor for efficacy. Findings in this study revealed that the rhetoric and the reality of IOIS implementation were misaligned. Social and human factors were revealed as pertinent for this disparity and good governance was seen as the redeeming factor for IOIS implementation. Understanding these factors is critical in improving the probability of success in future IOIS implementation.

This chapter proposes an ontology using Web ontology language (OWL) for the Australian timber sector that can be used in conjunction with Semantic Web services to provide effective and cheap business-to-business (B2B) communications. From the perspective of the timber industry sector, this study is important because supply chain efficiency is a key component in an organisation’s strategy to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Strong improvement in supply chain performance is possible with improved B2B communication, which is used both for building trust and providing real-time marketing data. Traditional methods such as electronic data interchange (EDI), which are used to facilitate B2B communication, have a number of disadvantages such as high implementation and running costs and a rigid and inflexible messaging standard. Information and communications technologies (ICT) have supported the emergence of Web-based EDI which maintains the advantages of the traditional paradigm while negating the disadvantages. This has been further extended by the advent of the Semantic Web which rests on the fundamental idea that Web resources should be annotated with semantic markup that captures information about their meaning and facilitates meaningful machine-to-machine communication.

This paper uses fractal theory to analyze interorganizational information systems (IOS). Firstly, IOS’s structure has fractal characteristics of self-similarity, self-optimization and self-organization, consequently, gives the concept and definition of fractal interorganizational information systems (FIOS). Thirdly, builds IOS topological structure fits actual needs based on Diffused-Limited Aggregation (DLA) model to optimize the growth rule of IOS, then, designs six topological structures of FIOS and estimates approximatively their fractal dimension values. Finally, gives fractal interorganizational information systems application to optimize the supply chain network structure to improve operation efficiency.

A model of EDI integration and strategic business reengineering

Replacing the traditional paper mode of communication by Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) between trading partners opens up a great deal of opportunities. Similar to other information technologies, however, the mere implementation of EDI does not guarantee a windfall. A series of studies over the past six years at Carnegie Mellon University has attempted to identify the necessary conditions for realizing EDI benefits. This report will summarize two major lessons learnt from this research program. The first lesson is that the implementation of EDI does not automatically generate strategic advantage for a supplier. A closer look at the EDI system characteristics is necessary to fully understand the potential for strategic benefits of EDI. The second lesson emphasizes that EDI can lead to operational benefits through changes within the internal processes in an organization. The key to realizing these benefits lies in the specific transaction sets implemented and the level of EDI integration.

As corporations rely on collaborations with partners to enhance their competiveness, they use interorganizational information systems (IOIS) as a powerful tool to link with their partners in the supply chain. The purpose of this study is to measure IOIS performance in the supply chain. The proposed framework considers both internal and external organisational perspectives and is based on the balanced scorecard. This study also uses experts’ pairwise comparisons in the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process approach to consider the relative weight or importance of diverse indicators of the framework. Then, this study applies the proposed framework to the Taiwanese information technology industry. The results provide references for managers and future researches when assessing IOIS performance in the supply chain. The proposed model can serve as a useful instrument for helping managers to better understand the main facets of IOIS performance, to be more capable of prioritising improvement projects, and to adopt the right solutions to enhance overall performance.

In response to international competition and pressure from retailers, US apparel manufacturers and their suppliers initiated the Quick Response (QR) program. QR seeks to provide retailers with the exact stock‐keeping units (SKUs) which consumers demand and to deliver these SKUs quickly. An effective QR program requires rapid transmission of data throughout the value chain, from the retailer back to apparel manufacturers, fabric producers and fibre manufacturers. Therefore, electronic data interchange (EDI) is a key component of QR and should be tightly linked with other information systems at each level of the value chain. This research is an empirical study of the degree to which EDI has been implemented by US apparel manufacturers and the extent to which EDI is integrated with other information systems. It was found that apparel manufacturers use EDI to establish tight linkages with their customers, the retailers. Manufacturers are less likely to increase their own efficiencies by linking EDI with internal information systems or by establishing EDI linkages with suppliers. The lack of supplier linkages may reduce manufacturers' ability to replenish retail inventories quickly, which is the primary objective of QR.

Background. Life expectancy is an important health status indicator based on average number of years a person at a given age may be expected to live given current mortality rates. Given this significance, it would be necessary to probe into the factors affecting the life expectancy. Ensuring that information and communication technology (ICT) services are properly used could contribute to development and achievement, as it represents an important issue for the countries moving toward knowledge-based and information-based societies. Therefore, this study explored the impact of the information and communication technology on life expectancy. Methods. This study covers annual data from 2008 to 2018 for a group of countries in the Middle East. Data were retrieved from the Annual Reports such as World Bank and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) data sets. The effects of ICT on life expectancy are estimated with the Panel model. We also used the Hausman test to investigate fixed versus random effects. The data were analyzed by Stata 14 software. Results. The core findings of this study confirm the significant impact of ICT on life expectancy in the Middle East. The calculated Coefficient of the regression was 0.551 indicating how much life expectancy changes when ICT variable increases by one unit. Moreover, the rho (intraclass correlation) was found to be 0.975 showing that 97.5% of the variance is due to differences across panels. Conclusion. Considering the effect of ICT on life expectancy, policymakers of the Middle Eastern countries should integrate the use of ICT with the existing programs and systems. Technology is not an end in itself but merely the means to reinforce the existing system and to meet the locally determined goals. It can be used as a tool to attain broader health and development goals. Background Life expectancy is an important health status indicator based on average number of years a person at a given age may be expected to live given current mortality rates. Given this significance, it would be necessary to probe into the factors affecting the life expectancy. Ensuring that information and communication technology (ICT) services are properly used could contribute to development and achievement, as it represents an important issue for the countries moving toward knowledge-based and information-based societies. As ICT affects everyday lives, it also impacts the macroeconomic growth, which in turn further affects everyday lives by allowing improvements in infrastructures and a higher standard of living. ICTs inherently entail the economic development of countries, regions and cities, while also improving social inclusion, well-being and therefore quality of life. Therefore, this study explored the impact of the information and communication technology on life expectancy. Methods This study covers annual data from 2008 to 2018 for a group of countries of in the Middle East. Data were retrieved from the Annual Reports such as World Bank dataset and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) data set. The effects of information and communication technology on life expectancy were estimated through the Panel model. First, stationary tests were performed with the Fisher’s generalized unit root test. In the Fisher test for panel data, the null hypothesis of a unit root was rejected at the 5% level of significance. The cross-section correlation test was performed with the Freeze test. The null hypothesis of no correlation was rejected at the 5% level of significance. We also used the Hausman test to investigate fixed versus random effects. The null hypothesis of no fixed effects was accepted so the random effects model was used. The Hausman test detects endogenous regressors in a regression model. Endogenous variables have values that are determined by other variables in the system. The data were analyzed by Stata 14 software. Results The core findings of this study confirm the significant impact of information and communication technology on life expectancy in the Middle East. The Coefficient of the regression was 0.551 indicating how much life expectancy changes when information technology variable increases by one unit. The coefficient of ICT shows that 1% increase in ICT variable causes 0.551 % incline in life expectancy and this result is significant at 5% level of significance. Regarding control variables, we found that all have expected statistically significant effects on life expectancy. The intra-cluster correlation coefficient (rho) is a measure of the relatedness, or similarity, of clustered data. Values of rho range from 0 to 1 in human studies, and as the rho increases, more individuals within the clusters resemble one another. The rho (intraclass correlation) was found to be 0.975 showing that 97.5% of the variance is due to differences across panels. This research recommends that human development programs need to focus on polices which foster digital inclusion. Conclusion Considering the effect of information and communication technology on life expectancy, policymakers of the Middle Eastern countries should integrate the use of information and communication technology with the existing programs and systems. The digital citizen is happier and values living in regions with technological capacity, investing in research & development, and committed to achieving sustainable growth. ICT use leads to improved assessments of the efficiency and management of the public administration by more technological users, underlining the importance of an understanding between users and public services in the virtual sphere. Technology is not an end in itself but merely an instrument to reinforce the existing system and to meet the locally determined goals. It can be used as a tool to attain broader health and development goals. The findings from this study provide key insights that explain how life expectancy may be enhanced through ICTs. Practical Implications of Research According to the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on life expectancy, policymakers should provide ICT infrastructures and adopt strategies integrating ICT policies with human life criteria such as education, health and work to improve life expectancy. Ethical Consideration The paper reflects the author’s own research and analysis in a truthful and complete manner. Conflict of Interests This study was an independent research and the author declares no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Acknowledgement I would like to thank Dr Marzieh Ronaghi for her guidance and assistance throughout this research.

This article discusses the impact of inter-organisational information systems over inter-firm governance. Based on the transaction cost theory, a theoretical model is proposed to describe the transformation of inter-firm governance in terms of market, hierarchical and bilateral modes. Four case studies are provided to support the theoretical conclusions. This study found that traditional inter-organisation information system (IOS) such as electronic data interchange (EDI) frequently erects new hierarchical inter-firm governance or enhances existing hierarchical governance. As IOSs moving towards internet-based and being affordable, their characteristics of market mode and bilateral mode are emerging. Especially, the recent emergence of web services technology is likely to expedite the trend. Web services technology provides an ideal platform for business to forge bilateral governance without transaction risks of traditional IOSs.