Critical factors for electronic commerce success in small business : a meta study

Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to the national economies and to the employment levels of different countries and represent a viable source for inventions and innovations. The recent emergence of electronic commerce in the early nineties could provide different opportunities to the small business sector to overcome its inadequacies. However, in view of the electronic commerce/business (EC) literature in organisations in general and in SMEs specifically, it was observed that EC research is scarce. Therefore, this research attempts, by reviewing relevant EC literature, to develop deeper understanding about the factors influencing EC success in SMEs. The researcher found the following issues significantly influence EC success in SMEs: e-Value, e-Cost, e-Transformation, e-Product, e-Nvolvement, e-Nnovativeness, e-Competition, external e-Support, and e-Pressure. These factors are of importance to researchers, SMEs, professionals including educational institutions and policymakers in driving SMEs and EC forward.

Developing the A+B/online virtual gallery

The a+b/online project is an exemplar of a comprehensive online resource that includes Virtual Galleries, resources, digital case studies and an image repository (http://www.ab.deakin.edu.au/online). Throughout its development since 2001, the project has expanded to include several thousand digital objects. This paper discusses the development of the a+b/online site and outlines some of the issues associated with its development. The current state of the project is discussed in relation to the current paradigm of citizen media including blogs.

Primary teacher beliefs and practices in working and thinking scientifically and technologically

What are primary teachers' beliefs about thinking and working scientifically and technologically? How do the teachers' beliefs manifest in classroom practice? What differences do the teachers see between thinking and working scientifically and technologically? These questions were central themes of the case study research. Interviews and classroom observation were the techniques used to identify how three experienced primary teachers' beliefs about thinking and working technologically and scientifically were manifested in their classroom practice.

Empirical investigation of critical success factors for implementing business intelligence systems in multiple engineering asset management organisations

Engineering asset management organisations (EAMOs) are increasingly motivated to implement business intelligence (BI) systems in response to dispersed information environments and compliance requirements. However, the implementation of a business intelligence (BI) system is a complex undertaking requiring considerable resources. Yet, so far, there are few defined critical success factors (CSFs) to which management can refer. Drawing on the CSFs framework derived from a previous Delphi study, a multiple-case design was used to examine how these CSFs could be implemented by five EAMOs. The case studies substantiate the construct and applicability of the CSFs framework. These CSFs are: committed management support and sponsorship, a clear vision and well-established business case, business-centric championship and balanced team composition, a business-driven and iterative develop ment approach, user-oriented change management, a business-driven, scalable and flexible technical framework, and sustainable data quality and integrity. More significantly, the study further reveals that those organisations which address the CSFs from a business orientation approach will be more likely to achieve better results.