The role of trust in the transition from traditional to electronic B2B relationships in agri-food chains

E-business adoption rates in the agri-food sector are rather low, despite the fact that technical barriers have been mostly overcome during the last years and a large number of sophisticated offers are available. However, concerns about trust seem to impede the development of electronic relationships in the agri-food chains as trust is of particular importance in any exchange of agri-food products along the value chain. Drawing on existing research, characteristics and dimensions of trust are initially identified both in traditional and in electronic B2B relationships and a typology of trust is proposed. The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the implementation and use of trust elements that e-commerce offers dedicated to agri-food sector. This assessment will show the current situation and discuss gaps for further improvement with the objective to facilitate the uptake of e-commerce in agri-food chains. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Management and business issues for B2B eCommerce implementation

Until recently little research had been undertaken into the process of eCommerce implementation, especially in relation to the implementation of business-to-business (B2B) relationships. Given the complexity of this process we have, in this paper, endeavoured to contribute to what we perceive as a gap in the body of theory surrounding the implementation process in the extant business-to-business literature. We describe the findings of a series of multiple case studies comprising ten major Australian eCommerce initiators. In addition to confirming our earlier finding of the importance of nontechnical factors for the success of the implementation process we also present, through our case studies, the various management and business issues associated with the success or otherwise of B2B eCommerce implementation.

Business To Business (B2B) Service Processes: An Approach To Customer Complaint Process Evaluation Towards Service Excellence

Trabalho de Dissertação que identifica as decisões estratégicas relacionadas com a estrutura de gestão de serviços, no contexto de tratamento de reclamações. Os temas de recuperação de serviços e gestão de reclamações são discutidos e são listadas as melhores práticas com o objetivo de prover qualidade de serviço excelente. Este trabalho apresenta uma revisão da literatura sobre gestão de serviços e sua estratégia, e sobre valor aos clientes e sua satisfação. Qualidade de Serviço, Recuperação de Serviço e Gestão de Reclamações são revistos, também para contextualizar o processo de tratamento de reclamações de uma empresa do ramo industrial em ambiente de negócios entre empresas (business to business), cujos dados foram utilizados para construção do modelo de simulação de um processo de tratamento de reclamações. Os resultados desta simulação, junto com o suporte de um questionário sobre tratamento de reclamações, proveram pontos de reflexão e recomendações sobre desenho da estrutura de serviços e de seu desempenho, voltados para a satisfação dos clientes.

Utilização de soluções business-to-business (B2B) no segmento downstream da cadeia de suprimentos de uma distribuidora de combustíveis

The pursuit of competitive advantage is lobbying organizations to strategically plan the use of their material, human, technological and financial resources, so that it s possible to add value to the product, even when it is considered a commodity. The scenario for this planning should not be limited to the company in question, but cover an entire supply chain, which is composed of several organizations which have common goals of growth and sustainability of the market. They should form trade links, integrating the chains of individual values, in a perspective of value system. In this supply chain there is a flow of services, payments and information, as products well as. The training of these links can be supported by the adoption of a set of information technology, here called solutions business-to-business (B2B), which will be responsible for the production, storage and distribution of relevant information to business transactions between the companies involved. On this view, this thesis aims to describe the B2B solutions adopted in the downstream segment of the supply chain of a distributor of fuel and the nature of these technologies as well as their impact on the creation of value for business and optimization of the relationship between companies. This is a case study on a national distributor of fuels, from a model of research produced under the influence of theories of integrated logistics system and value of Michael Porter. The analyses came to the conclusion that information technology is perceived as an essential tool to the operation of all activities carried out by the company. Among them, at was also brought the key activities of integrated logistics: administration of applications, inventory management, management transport and customer services, which were highlighted in this study. It was also noticed that even these activities are, in principle, purely operational; they all had in the adoption of strategies for leadership in cost or differentiation, supported by B2B solutions identified, making it more conducive to business and direct customer, the clinic reseller of fuel, to obtain value and benefits of this market segment as competitive

Exploring trust in E-B2B relationships

The Internet’s unbounded opportunity for inter-firm exchanges is limited by concerns about trust, however, little is known about the development and formation of trust in the area of electronic business-to-business relationships. Drawing on existing research the aim of paper is to explore differences arising between trust in the traditional and in the electronic business to business relationship. In addition, an overall research framework is developed which links trust formation to three dimensions: the type of interaction, the stage of the relationship lifecycle and the type of transacting organizations. These dimensions are further examined in different relationship scenarios. Finally, implications for the agri-food industry are examined.

The role of alternative message strategies in advertising performance : challenges to the B2B marketing paradigm

In this study the impact of message strategy on advertising performance will be in examined in a business-to-business (B2B) context. From a theoretical standpoint, the study will explore differences in message type between symbolic and literal approaches in B2B advertisements. While there has been much discussion on the effect of symbolism, (eg. metaphors, abstract images and figurative language), an empirically-tested scale that measures the degree of symbolism has not been developed. This research project focuses on development of a methodological scale to accurately test the difference in the direction of message appeals. Thus, insights in the role of message strategy in the B2B adoption process are anticipated with contributions in future consumer and business advertising research.

International examples of large-scale systems-theory and practice IV: B2B e-commerce implementation in the Australian context

Two of the most commonly used classifications in IS research are the factor approach and the process approach. While many studies of IS implementation are undertaken using a factor approach, little research so far examines the process of e-commerce implementation, especially in relation to the implementation of e-commerce in business-to-business (B2B) relationships. A holistic understanding of implementation which combines both the factor and process approaches using a case study method, is suggested as particularly suitable because of its ability to capture the reality of e-commerce implementation in an organisation's natural environment and in much greater detail than is possible using one of these approaches alone. In this paper, therefore, we endeavour to contribute to what we perceive as a gap in the body of theory surrounding the implementation process in the business-to-business e-commerce literature. We describe the findings of multiple case studies involving ten major Australian e-commerce initiators. In addition to confirming our earlier finding of the importance of non-technical factors for the success of the implementation process we also present, through our case studies, the various management and business issues associated with the success or failure of B2B e-commerce implementation.

Trust and technology in modern inter-organisational relationships: a study in the petrochemical industry

 This research provided fresh insights into the role of trust and technology in modern inter-organisational relationships (IORs). The study highlighted the importance and contribution of various aspects of IORs in the petrochemical industry; however, it emphasised the role of trust and technology as pivotal to business success. The study was undertaken in Iran, where the petrochemical industry faces a great many sociopolitical and economic challenges, where the situation is volatile, and where the lack of trust and shortage of suitable technology to support global trade, accentuate the intricate web of dependencies between those aspects influencing the development and maintenance of business-to-business (B2B) relationships.

My place through my eyes : a social constructionist approach to researching the relationships between socioeconomic living contexts and physical activity

There is a growing evidence-base in the epidemiological literature that demonstrates significant associations between people’s living circumstances – including their place of residence – and their health-related practices and outcomes (Leslie, 2005; Karpati, Bassett, & McCord, 2006; Monden, Van Lenthe, & Mackenbach, 2006; Parkes & Kearns, 2006; Cummins, Curtis, Diez-Roux, & Macintyre, 2007; Turrell, Kavanagh, Draper, & Subramanian, 2007). However, these findings raise questions about the ways in which living places, such as households and neighbourhoods, figure in the pathways connecting people and health (Frolich, Potvin, Chabot, & Corin, 2002; Giles-Corti, 2006; Brown et al, 2006; Diez Roux, 2007). This thesis addressed these questions via a mixed methods investigation of the patterns and processes connecting people, place, and their propensity to be physically active. Specifically, the research in this thesis examines a group of lower-socioeconomic residents who had recently relocated from poorer suburbs to a new urban village with a range of health-related resources. Importantly, the study contrasts their historical relationship with physical activity with their reactions to, and everyday practices in, a new urban setting designed to encourage pedestrian mobility and autonomy. The study applies a phenomenological approach to understanding living contexts based on Berger and Luckman’s (1966) conceptual framework in The Social Construction of Reality. This framework enables a questioning of the concept of context itself, and a treatment of it beyond environmental factors to the processes via which experiences and interactions are made meaningful. This approach makes reference to people’s histories, habituations, and dispositions in an exploration between social contexts and human behaviour. This framework for thinking about context is used to generate an empirical focus on the ways in which this residential group interacts with various living contexts over time to create a particular construction of physical activity in their lives. A methodological approach suited to this thinking was found in Charmaz’s (1996; 2001; 2006) adoption of a social constructionist approach to grounded theory. This approach enabled a focus on people’s own constructions and versions of their experiences through a rigorous inductive method, which provided a systematic strategy for identifying patterns in the data. The findings of the study point to factors such as ‘childhood abuse and neglect’, ‘early homelessness’, ‘fear and mistrust’, ‘staying indoors and keeping to yourself’, ‘conflict and violence’, and ‘feeling fat and ugly’ as contributors to an ongoing core category of ‘identity management’, which mediates the relationship between participants’ living contexts and their physical activity levels. It identifies barriers at the individual, neighbourhood, and broader ecological levels that prevent this residential group from being more physically active, and which contribute to the ways in which they think about, or conceptualise, this health-related behaviour in relationship to their identity and sense of place – both geographic and societal. The challenges of living well and staying active in poorer neighbourhoods and in places where poverty is concentrated were highlighted in detail by participants. Participants’ reactions to the new urban neighbourhood, and the depth of their engagement with the resources present, are revealed in the context of their previous life-experiences with both living places and physical activity. Moreover, an understanding of context as participants’ psychological constructions of various social and living situations based on prior experience, attitudes, and beliefs was formulated with implications for how the relationship between socioeconomic contextual effects on health are studied in the future. More detailed findings are presented in three published papers with implications for health promotion, urban design, and health inequalities research. This thesis makes a substantive, conceptual, and methodological contribution to future research efforts interested in how physical activity is conceptualised and constructed within lower socioeconomic living contexts, and why this is. The data that was collected and analysed for this PhD generates knowledge about the psychosocial processes and mechanisms behind the patterns observed in epidemiological research regarding socioeconomic health inequalities. Further, it highlights the ways in which lower socioeconomic living contexts tend to shape dispositions, attitudes, and lifestyles, ultimately resulting in worse health and life chances for those who occupy them.

Supporting students with learning disabilities to explore linear relationships using online learning objects

The study of linear relationships is foundational for mathematics teaching and learning. However, students’ abilities connect different representations of linear relationships have proven to be challenging. In response, a computer-based instructional sequence was designed to support students’ understanding of the connections among representations. In this paper we report on the affordances of this dynamic mode of representation specifically for students with learning disabilities. We outline four results identified by teachers as they implemented the online lessons.

Harnessing naturally randomized transcription to infer regulatory relationships among genes

We develop an approach utilizing randomized genotypes to rigorously infer causal regulatory relationships among genes at the transcriptional level, based on experiments in which genotyping and expression profiling are performed. This approach can be used to build transcriptional regulatory networks and to identify putative regulators of genes. We apply the method to an experiment in yeast, in which genes known to be in the same processes and functions are recovered in the resulting transcriptional regulatory network.