Adoption of Radio Frequency Identification among Manufacturing Firms

Practitioners and academics have identified and acknowledged the presence of a gap related to actual and potential values of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the manufacturing industry. The purpose of this study is to present the RFID implementation in Swedish manufacturing firms, and if or to what extent use of this technology facilitates in increasing transparency of information throughout the supply chain for manufacturing companies. The findings show that although the great majority of firms are actively working with integrated information systems, only a small fraction has adopted RFID.     

Venture Capital Investors, Capital Markets, Valuation and Information: US, Europe and Asia

This paper uses a large multi-country sample of venture capital firms to compare the approaches to investee valuation and sources of information used by venture capital investors in English, French and German legal systems as well as geographical regions. Different legal systems are significantly associated with the valuation mechanism used. In particular, compared to English-based Common Law systems, VC firms operating in a Germanic legal system are significantly more likely to use DCF based measures and significantly less likely to use PE comparators. This latter result is also the case for VC firms operating in a French legal system who are also significantly more likely to adopt historic cost valuation methods. VC firms in Europe and Asia are significantly less likely than US VC firms to make use of liquidation value methods but significantly more likely to use PE comparators. European firms are significantly less likely to adopt DCF methods compared to US VC firms. VC firms operating under a Germanic legal system are less likely to utilise information from the financial press but significantly more likely to use interviews with entrepreneurs. VC firms operating under a French legal system are more likely to utilise interviews with company personnel as well as sales and marketing information. VC firms in Europe and Asia are significantly more likely than US VC firms to use financial press. VC firms in Asia are significantly less likely to make use of interviews with entrepreneurs or business plan data. VC firms in Europe are significantly more likely to utilise sales and marketing information.     

Technology Regulation Policy for Business Ethics: An Example of RFID in Supply Chain Management

With the increase in use of a technology, its misuse possibility also increases in general. Moreover, there are instances where new technologies are implemented without thoroughly testing for vulnerabilities. We consider RFID, a disruptive technology, and related vulnerabilities in existing supply chain applications from an ethics perspective. We develop an extended ethics model to incorporate the effects of emerging information and communication technologies, specifically that of RFID systems, including technology selection, social consequences, and practitioners’ rationality. We introduce a set of matrices for technology regulation development based on this model to serve as a communication tool for the policy maker for policy design regulation. We use the case of RFID to illustrate the model and matrices.     

AUTOMATIC REPLENISHMENT PROGRAMS: THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Many firms have shifted to response‐based supply chain systems instead of traditional push systems. Research results are presented covering a specific type of response‐based system, Automatic Replenishment Programs (ARPs), in which inventory restocking is triggered by actual sales. The paper looks at the influence of organizational structure, i.e., centralization versus decentralization, on ARP performance and information systems capabilities. Results are mixed. Decentralized firms reported higher performance relating to specific ARP‐related goals. However, no differences were found at a more global level when ARP relationship performance and profitability were examined. Even fewer differences were found between centralized and decentralized firms with respect to their information systems capabilities.     

供应链成员企业投资RFID技术的激励机制：共享收入与谈判批发价的比较

许多已有研究发现供应链成员投资RFID技术的动机是一致的，它们假定投资前后的批发价能以相同方式制定。然而，供应链成员在投资前可能已达成固定的批发价。考虑包含一个制造商(她)和一个零售商(他)的供应链系统，成员可采用如分享销售收入(RS)、重新谈判批发价格(WR)、二者并用(B)的激励机制。结果发现在WR和B下，当制造商的谈判权力中等且标签成本较小时，投资RFID能实现双赢，但两家企业的投资动机不总是完全一致；当初始批发价足够高时，若制造商的谈判权力足够强，制造商和零售商对WR的偏好都高于N，对B的偏好都高于RS；当初始批发价较低时，若制造商的谈判权力中等，双方对RS的偏好都高于WR。若制造商的谈判权力较强，供应链系统在B下的收益比WR下的高；若制造商的谈判权力中等或较弱，供应链系统在B或WR下的收益都比N和RS下的高。     

Organizational Diffusion of Information Technology

Information cxchange within U.S. and Japanese firms is explored. Usage of traditional communication forms (verbal, doc- uments, conferences), FAX, and computer based information technol- ogies (computers, electronic ordering systems, local area networks, point-of-sale systems, and value added networks) are examined. While U.S. firms are found to adopt computer based technologies more aggressively, Japanese firms utilize FAX transmission more. To explain pattern differences, two cultural theories are contrasted. E.T. Hall's communication context theory is more consistent with the findings than Geert Hofstede's work-related values dimensions.     

Do bank loans still convey information to investors? Evidence from the split share structure reform in China

Bank loans can convey information about the borrowing firms that have proper corporate governance systems. Using a sample of bank loan announcements in China, we find that the market reaction is positive after the split share structure reform in 2005, which aligns the interests of large shareholders and minority shareholders, government and public investors, and alleviates their tunneling incentives. We also find that this effect is more pronounced for private firms as the reform mainly enhances corporate governance for private firms. The signaling role of bank loans is less pronounced for firms with less severe information asymmetry after the reform, e.g. higher shareholdings of mutual funds and higher proportion of independent directors. Related party transactions decrease when they obtain bank loans after the reform, which reflects the alleviation of tunneling after the reform.     

Organizational and Interorganizational Determinants of EDI Diffusion and Organizational Performance: A Causal Model

Electronic data interchange (EDI), a specific form of interorganizational systems, has the potential to significantly influence business operations and the exchange of business documents in a number of industries and to provide substantive tangible and intangible benefits to the participating firms. However, successful implementation and diffusion of these systems innovations requires the cooperation and commitment of all participating member firms. A number of interorganizational as well as internal, organization-specific factors can influence both the extent to which EDI is diffused and used and the level of subsequent benefits that accrue to the firms.

Research from sociopolitical process framework in marketing, organizational theory, innovation theory, use of information technology for competitive advantage, and information systems (IS) implementation was used to identify 3 interorganizational variables (customer support, customer expertise, competitive pressure) and 4 organizational variables (internal support, EDI's benefits potential, EDI compatibility, resource intensity). In this study, we develop a multidimensional measure for EDI diffusion to capture both external integration and internal integration. We then examine the influence of these 7 variables on the extent to which EDI adopter firms pursue diffusion and whether more diffusion leads to superior organizational-level outcomes.

Two senior executives (the chief executive officer and a senior manager responsible for the IS function or EDI) from 83 firms in the motor carrier industry participated in a field survey. The results from a structural equation model (SEM), developed using LISREL, provide quite a strong support for the hypothesized relations. All 4 organizational variables and 2 of the 3 interorganizational variables (customer support and competitive pressure) influence EDI diffusion. The results also indicate that external integration dimension of diffusion enables adopter firms to achieve improved operational and market-oriented performance, whereas internal integration contributes only to operational performance.     

The effectiveness of reward systems on innovative output: An empirical analysis

This study investigated the relationship of patent output to the reward systems for individual R&D scientists in high technology firms. A survey of technical managers in 57 Connecticut firms collected information on firm size, R&D expenditure, and the frequency of use of eighteen different reward systems. Using a regression model, patent output was found to be dependent on firm size, R&D expenditure, and on monetary and non-monetary reward systems, informal award programs and variable bonuses based on the issue of patents. When a subset of small firms was investigated separately, non-monetary rewards were shown to be ineffective. However, variable bonuses remained important to patent output and large sum reward payments ($50,000) also demonstrated a significant effect.     

浅谈RFID技术在医院中的应用

RFID在医院的应用主要集中于门禁安全管理、贵重医疗器材追踪定位、病人流动管理、病人安全管理、工作人员定位、医院血液管理、医疗垃圾管理等方面。首先分析了RFID技术在医院管理信息化进程中的意义,重点分析RFID在医院应用中的技术实现,RFID技术在医院综合管理系统中涉及医院工作人员、医院患者、医院资产、医院药品四个方面的应用,并分析了RFID技术在医院管理应用中的优势。     

INFORMATION SUPPORT FOR REVERSE LOGISTICS: THE INFLUENCE OF RELATIONSHIP COMMITMENT

The use of reverse logistics systems is becoming more common as firms realize the value that can be reclaimed from returned goods. This study investigates the influence of information systems (IS) support activity on reverse logistics performance, as well as the moderating effects of relationship commitment within reverse logistics arrangements. In a survey of CEOs of U.S. catalog sales electronics companies, information systems support is found to moderately affect two separate performance constructs related to reverse logistics programs. The research also indicates relationship commitment is critical to more fully realizing the value of IS support in reverse logistics arrangements.     

The productivity payoff of information technology in multimarket SMEs

This paper examines the effects of information technology (IT) adoption on the productivity of multimarket small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The main hypothesis is that IT usage increases efficiency to a higher degree in diversified and internationalized firms compared with single-market SMEs. This hypothesis is tested using a large sample of more than 2,000 Spanish SMEs. Overall, intensive use of IT in operations processes is found to be associated with substantial increases in productivity of firms following both related and unrelated diversification. Also, exporting firms with more intensive use of IT have higher productivity. These results are consistent with previous theoretical arguments on the relationship between IT and efficiency of firms and open future research directions related to the role played by IT in the management control systems of both diversified and exporting firms.     

Comparing trade areas of technology centres using ‘Geographical Information Systems’

Advances in geographical information systems have contributed to location and marketing design strategies on the part of retailers. The techniques used in this field are based on delimiting trade areas and spatial analysis. The same approach is applied in this study to technology centres, which are considered as suppliers of knowledge-intensive services to their associated firms. The research objective focuses on analysing the spatial distribution of firms associated with two technology centres from different sectors. The results indicate that firms associated with a technology centre present spatial patterns that are similar to those observed in retailing, while significant differences were also found between the two technology centres used for the study.     

WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: RESOURCE COMMITMENT,CAPABILITIES, AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Modern warehousing firms and distribution centers are overwhelmed with information related to the flows and storage of goods and services. The efficient and effective utilization of logistics‐related information can enhance firms' ability to reduce costs while simultaneously improving customer satisfaction. Warehouse management systems (WMS) are frequently implemented and used with these goals in mind. The current research examines resource‐based empirical justification for the pursuit and implementation of WMS. In addition, a research agenda is offered to guide future research efforts related to WMS and the broader area of logistics information systems (LIS).     

直通放行中基于RFID的智能电子检锁监控系统设计与实现

为解决直通放行中进出境货物检验检疫过程中出现的区域分离性监管缺失问题,有效避免待检货物运输过程中逃漏检现象的发生,加强监控的有效性,本系统以主动式RFID和GPS技术搭建待检货物运输车辆及其实时位置信息采集体,借助GPRS网络实现信息的无线通讯,开发了以RFID后台软件系统和WebGIS为信息融合表达手段的智能电子检锁监控系统。其信息集成平台主要有车载电子检锁模块、固定式无线RFID阅读器模块、控制中心模块和手持智能终端PDA模块四个组成部分。监控系统信息发布采用B/S结构。系统实际运行结果表明本系统采用的解决方法正确可行,达到了预期监管效果。     

Trust,but Verify: MD&;A Language and the Role of Trust in Corporate Culture

Recent scholarship in philosophy, law, and information systems suggests that respecting privacy entails understanding the implicit privacy norms about what, why, and to whom information is shared within specific relationships. These social contracts are important to understand if firms are to adequately manage the privacy expectations of stakeholders. This paper explores a social contract approach to developing, acknowledging, and protecting privacy norms within specific contexts. While privacy as a social contract—a mutually beneficial agreement within a community about sharing and using information—has been introduced theoretically and empirically, the full impact on firms of an alternative framework to respecting the privacy expectations of stakeholders has not been examined. The goal of this paper is to examine how privacy norms develop through social contract’s narrative, to redescribe privacy violations given the social contract approach, and to critically examine the role of business as a contractor in developing privacy norms. A social contract narrative dealing specifically with issues of privacy is an important next step in exploring a social contract approach to privacy. Here, the narrative is used to explain to analyze the dynamic process of privacy norm generation within particular communities. Based on this narrative, individuals within a given community discriminately share information with a particular set of obligations in mind as to who has access to the information and how it will be used. Rather than giving away privacy, individuals discriminately share information within a particular community and with norms governing the use of their information. Similar to contractual business ethics’ impact on global commerce in explaining how and why norms vary across global contexts, the social contract approach to privacy explains how and why norms vary across communities of actors. Focusing on agreements around privacy expectations shifts the responsibility of firms from adequate notification to the responsibility of firms as contractors to maintain a mutually beneficial and sustainable solution.     

RFID Applications for Integrating and Informationalizing the Supply Chain of Foodservice Operators

Abstract

By enabling easier and real-time information sharing among supply chain partners, Internet applications foster and support new forms of collaborative supply chain management (SCM) practices within the foodservice sector. Advances in Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies extend such collaborative SCM practices by increasingly integrating and synchronizing demand and supply chains. The objective of this paper is to investigate and analyze how RFID technologies can seamlessly tie customer interactions with the food supply chain and revolutionize the accuracy, efficiency, personalization-interaction, and security of foodservice marketing, production, and distribution simultaneously. To achieve this, the paper discusses the RFID implementation issues, practices, and benefits within the foodservice sector. The food industry's perspectives on the adoption and benefits of RFID developments are reported by discussing the results of a reality-check study conducted in the Greek foodservice sector.     

The ties that bind us: examining relationship marketing orientation and its impact on firm performance in the information systems outsourcing services sector

The objective of this study is to analyze the adoption of a relationship marketing orientation (RMO) by firms in the information systems (IS) outsourcing service sector. The study frames RMO as a hierarchical, reflective construct which models seven dimensions including bonding, communication, empathy, harmonious conflict resolution, shared value, trust, and reciprocity. A sample of 114 senior executives from firms in the IS outsourcing industry in Hong Kong were obtained from a survey. Empirical analysis via structural equation modeling confirms the hierarchical, seven construct reflective structure of the RMO model, and the high levels of a firms’ RMO lead to a direct positive impact on firm performance outcomes. The findings provide valuable managerial insights for measuring and managing an RMO in the IS outsourcing sector, and professional services generally. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed along with future research directions of the study.     

A Bertrand model of pricing of complementary goods under information asymmetry

Parties in a supply chain, being independent firms, have private information about various aspects of the business not normally available to other parties. We consider a market where customers need to buy two complementary goods as mixed bundle, offered by two separate firms. The demand for each firm is dependent on the pricing strategy of both firms, which, in turn, depends on the quantities offered as per their own forecasts. We present a profit maximization model to obtain optimal strategies for a firm making decisions under information asymmetry. The model follows a simultaneously played Bertrand type game. We contrast and compare three scenarios: (1) when forecast information is asymmetric between the firms; (2) when forecast information is shared between the firms; and (3) when the firms form a strategic alliance.     

Optimal vs satisfactory transparency: The impact of global macroeconomic fluctuations on corporate competitiveness

Being able to separate temporary global macroeconomic influences – caused by fluctuations in exchange rates, interest rates and inflation – from intrinsic performance – related to a superior product, production process or management – is crucial to assessing the development of a firm’s competiveness. Against that background, this paper analyzes institutions’ role in making firms supply outside shareholders with relevant information corresponding to satisfactory transparency from the shareholder perspective. Based on a sample of the 100 largest public European firms, it is found that no firm provided information to a level deemed satisfactory by the outside shareholder. One explanation may be that optimal transparency for the firm does not equal satisfactory transparency for the outside shareholder. However, the implementation of IFRS/IAS 1 in the EU as of 2005 and a company’s international cross-listing activities exhibit associations with a better supply of information and a narrowing of the gap. Shareholders in the Anglo-Saxon corporate governance system are provided with more relevant information than those in other corporate governance systems. The paper adds to the literature on the role of institutions in international corporate governance, with a particular focus on information asymmetries in an international business context.