Speed isn't everything: A multi-criteria analysis of the broadband consumer experience in the UK

In this paper, we demonstrate that there is more to consumer experience than just broadband access speed. We identify and describe a complex and dynamic set of interactions that occur between different factors that collectively determine consumer experience. We suggest that the relationship between broadband speed and consumer experience follows an inverted U-shape. Access speed is necessary to provide consumers with a good experience, but it is not sufficient. Based on our findings, a more nuanced understanding of the market for broadband Internet access products is outlined and a foundation for deriving valuable policy implications is developed.     

The role of government in broadband access

This paper discusses the role of governments in broadband. It is divided into five sections. Following an introduction in section one, section two discusses the diffusion of broadband Internet. Section three deals with competition-based and public-goods views on regulation and the corresponding roles and issues for governments. To gain deeper insights into the role of government in broadband, section four analyses market regulation and public activities in furthering broadband deployment in the US, Korea and Europe. These insights are evaluated in relation to the theoretical considerations established in section three. Section five closes with a discussion of our results and some conclusions. It becomes obvious that national broadband strategies benefit from considering both public good and competition-related aspects.     

National information security policy and its implementation: A case study in Taiwan

Cyberspace is no longer safe. From business organizations to countries, the requirements of information security and assurance have become one of the most important functions to ensure continued operations. The goal of this study is twofold. First, we introduce the information security policy of the Taiwanese government and its current status. Then we present a successful example of governmental institute that self-adopted the information security management system (ISMS), British Standard 7799 (ISO27001). The results of this research indicate that past successful experiences, availability of documents, cost constraints, organization learning and organizational culture are important motivations of self-implementation of ISMS. Past experience of other standards, level of documentation and standardization, degree of understanding the clauses, procedures of risk management, top management support, culture of organization, existing auditing infrastructure, awareness of information security, education and compatibility with the existing procedures are the key factors of successful self-implementation of ISMS.     

Network-centric digital development in Korea: Origins,growth and prospects

South Korea is currently the world leader in digital network infrastructure and the leading example of ICT-driven development. However, the explanation of how and why Korea accomplished these things is not clearly apparent from a review of mainstream scholarship. A deeper understanding of Korea’s “miracle on the Han” requires more historical, cultural, political and social context. This study addresses questions of how, when and why a nation whose infrastructures were utterly destroyed at the 1953 cessation of hostilities in the Korean War could emerge as the world’s digital network leader. It examines policy issues bearing on digitization of networks, network architecture and network technologies, along with broader context in which these policies were considered, drafted and implemented. Chronologically, the study explains the origins of digital development in the revolutionary decade of the 1980s, Korea’s rise to world broadband leader in the 1990s and its ambitious plans for next generation networks. The study concludes with a review of policy “lessons”, including both successes and failures, that may be drawn from the Korean experience.     

Divergent patterns of engagement in Internet standardization: Japan,Korea and China

This article analyzes the engagement of Japanese, Korean and Chinese participants in the development of Internet standards at IETF on the basis of four quantitative metrics: attendance, patenting, authorship and leadership. The results are strikingly divergent. Japanese involvement in Internet standardization began early and Japan was, for many years, second only to the U.S. in terms of IETF participation. Though Japanese participation has declined since the early 2000s, Japan remains a major contributor to IETF standardization. Korean involvement in IETF has always been significant, but below the levels of Japan and major European countries. Korean participation in IETF has also declined over the past decade, and has been dominated by one firm, Samsung. Though meaningful Chinese involvement in IETF did not begin until the mid-2000s, it has rapidly expanded in recent years. Today, China is a major player in numerous areas of Internet standardization in terms of three metrics (participation, patenting and leadership), and is rapidly gaining in terms of document authorship as well. Most of China׳s recent IETF involvement can be attributed to Huawei, though other Chinese firms have recently begun to increase their participation in the organization. Thus, contrary to some views that China׳s engagement with standardization is primarily one of indigenous innovation and “catching up”, China׳s experience with IETF demonstrates deliberate and effective engagement with a major Western standards-development organization on its own terms.     

The rise of IT services clusters in India: A case of growth by replication

The Indian IT services sector has grown from small beginnings at the bottom of value creation to a major player in the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry. It commands a 55% share in the global market for IT services. India's IT sector value proposition in terms of low cost with large supply of high quality talent is compelling. As a result, India has become the premier choice not only for outsourcing IT services by the developed-world's multinational corporations (MNCs) but also for locating their own Global In-house Centers (GICs), which simultaneously compete and partner with local firms. This gave rise to six additional clusters beyond the earliest, largest and robust cluster, Bangalore. The paper provides a review of relevant literature; develops a conceptual framework for evaluation of clusters; and presents data and analysis with respect to relative size, growth, specialization, MNC presence and connectivity to local firms through expatriates and returning Indians, ,innovation; and discusses adequacy of ICT infrastructure for future growth. Although there are clear signs that the Indian IT sector has been moving towards a regime of providing high-end value added services, the sector's value proposition – lower cost combined with a large supply of high quality talent – remains the single most compelling reason for the rise and growth of multiple export clusters. Thus the sector's growth appears to be a case of growth by replication rather than innovation. The paper concludes that the Indian IT sector's value proposition in terms of lower cost combined with large supply of high quality talent remains the single most compelling reason for the rise and growth of multiple IT services export clusters. While the old adage, “people follow jobs” still holds for large part of the labor force, there is little doubt that the sprawling IT services clusters in India - with more to come from Tier II and Tier III cities – indicate, in fact, that “jobs follow talent." Both local firms and the MNCs, through their GICs, are pushing the boundaries of location farther and farther to continue to leverage cost advantage and available pools of talent.     

Political and economic processes in the privatization of the Korea telecommunications industry: A case study of Korea Telecom, 1987–2003

The Korean government completed its privatization of Korea Telecom (KT) in May 2002. Privatization was undertaken at a gradual pace at first mainly because the Korean government did not want to hand over its managerial power to the privatized telecommunications service company, although it announced its plan in 1987. However, the inauguration of the World Trade Organization (WTO) system and the Korean economic crisis of 1997 forced the government to accelerate its full privatization plan. During this process, several main players such as the Korean government, transnational corporations, international organizations, and large domestic conglomerates played important roles. The full privatization of KT is the result of the political, social, and economic demands of these players.     

Different paths to universal access: The impact of policy and regulation on broadband diffusion in the developed and developing worlds

The authors examine the broadband digital divide by analyzing the impact of policy and regulation on broadband Internet diffusion. Their multiple regression analysis shows factors that determine broadband diffusion in technologically developed countries do not necessarily have the same impact in less developed countries. They show that in technologically developed countries, there is greater broadband diffusion in countries that make a higher financial investment in information and communication technologies (ICTs), have effective governing practices at the national level, have higher levels of education, and are more urban. In technologically developing nations, a competitive telecommunications sector and higher investment in ICTs lead to greater broadband diffusion, with investment having an even larger impact in the developing world than in the developed world. In addition, stronger democratic political institutions, higher levels of national income and lower levels of income inequality increase diffusion, but the presence of a national telecommunications regulatory authority has a negative impact. These results suggest that the path to widespread availability and use of broadband requires different strategies depending on a nation's level of technological development.     

A comparative study of the adoption and implementation of target costing in the UK, Australia and New Zealand

Most of the studies on target costing (TC) only provide insight into the adoption and perceived benefits of TC, and do not address the levels of implementation of the technique. These studies also assume that TC is only relevant to manufacturing firms and therefore do not investigate the adoption of this technique in service firms, and consequently exclude service firms from their surveys and analysis. Furthermore, most studies do not examine factors influencing the adoption of TC systems. Contributing to these gaps in the literature, this paper reports the results of a survey among CIMA-qualified management accountants working in manufacturing and service firms in the UK, Australia and New Zealand on the adoption and implementation of TC. The study examines the importance of attributes of TC (namely relative advantage, compatibility, ease of use, result demonstrability, trialability) for decision makers to adopt and implement such cost and management accounting innovation. The survey indicates that TC is equally prevalent among manufacturing and service firms while in terms of the levels of implementation there is a significant difference between manufacturing and service firms. The study shows that there is a growing interest in the examination of all cost-reducing strategies at the planning stage and adoption of value engineering to incorporate customer requirements rather than focusing on the adoption of cost-cutting strategies at the production stage.     

Combined price support and fertilizer subsidy policies for food self-sufficiency: A case study of rice in Bangladesh

Output price support and input subsidies, particularly fertilizer subsidies, are used in many developing countries as short-term policies for stimulating food production. This paper presents a method of evaluating combined price support and fertilizer subsidy policies, allowing for differences in emphasis on each. Bangladesh is taken as a case study. The paper also indicates the likely distributional consequences of the various combined policies and formulates policy suggestions based on the results. The guiding hypothesis for the study is that some combination of price support and fertilizer subsidies is preferable to a price support or fertilizer subsidy monopolicy in achieving rice self sufficiency in Bangladesh.     

Targeting agricultural research and extension for food security and poverty alleviation: A case study of fish farming in Central Cameroon

Over 5 years of participatory on-farm research, market access, profitability, farming systems productivity and economic sustainability were compared on 100 small-scale farms in Central Cameroon. Integration technology based on the use of agricultural by-products as fishpond inputs was the driver for intensification. Over all farms, fishpond productivity increased from 498 kg to 1609 kg fish/ha (2145 kg/ha/yr). During the project period, the number of active fish farmers increased from 15 to 192 (including 55 farms which participated only through information exchange). Over all farms, net returns from aquaculture increased by 5 times over pre-project levels. Productivity, intensity and profitability increased more significantly in periurban areas with good market access, compared to rural areas. Among farmers with good market access, average net income from the aquaculture enterprise rose from $118 up to $1485. Research-Extension Team (RET) support cost an average of $61,300 per year. Over 5 years, rural farmers recaptured 23% of the relevant RET investment compared to 442% by periurban farmers. Likewise, increase in production attributable to RET intervention was higher for periurban (253%) compared to rural (11.3%) fish farmers. Within 3 years of the end of extension support, rural farmers had returned to pre-project production levels, whereas periurban farms had better maintained their productivity and profitability. Findings indicate that, in areas with little or no access to markets, the number of fishponds and fish farmers can be increased and yields improved, increasing local food supplies, but sustainability in the absence of extension subsidies is questionable. To achieve either of the two principal goals for the sector, food security and/or poverty alleviation, investments need to be made in improving the availability of quality technical assistance to targeted farmers and finding means of reducing social conflict arising from perceived inequalities in the accrual of the benefits of development.     

Modeling the factors affecting rural consumers’ purchase of organic and free-range produce: A case study of consumers’ from the Island of Arran in Scotland,UK

This paper investigates the roles of personal, product related and economic factors in predicting rural consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions towards organic and free-range produce. A conceptual model is derived and tested via structural equation modeling on a sample of 222 rural consumers. The results show that attitude is explained by consumers’ food safety concern, ethical lifestyle and price perceptions. Attitude partially mediates the effects of ethical lifestyle and price on intention to purchase organic produce as well as the effect of ethical lifestyle on intention to purchase free-range produce. Attitude assumes a more central role in fully mediating the effect of food safety concern on intention to purchase organic produce, as well as the effect of price on intention to purchase free-range produce. Overall the conceptual model of consumer decision making performs well in both organic and free-range contexts yielding similar results.