Computer technology and US communications law

Against a background of recent rulings by the Federal Communications Commission, the author discusses important issues in communications law currently emerging in the USA. His discussion focuses on the Second Computer Inquiry of the FCC and on the deliberations of the US Congress with respect to the Consumer Communications Reform Act. In conclusion, key questions are suggested for consideration in a proposed planning study by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment.     

Aligning technology,business and regulatory scenarios for cognitive radio

The amount of wireless and mobile applications and devices is rapidly growing. This exponential growth might be hindered by a scarcity of suitable radio spectrum, a necessary but limited natural resource required for all wireless communications. Spectrum scarcity does not only slow down data growth, but may also disrupt existing communications. Cognitive radio may provide a solution to these issues, but although the concept seems promising, few products making use of CR have been brought to the market. This is due to significant uncertainties surrounding the appropriate economic scenario for CR, the regulatory framework and the technology enablers needed for such CR scenario. As business, regulatory and technical constraints are largely co-determined by each other, this paper proposes to align them, paving the road for the implementation of specific economic scenarios with appropriate regulation. First, from the business perspective, a taxonomy of possible economic scenarios for CR is proposed. Second, for each scenario a number of regulatory requirements – based on a European context – and characteristics are given. In doing so, it is argued that the economic scenarios are inherently distinct so that CR regulation should be customized for the type of scenario envisaged. Third, from the technology perspective, this article reviews the possible CR enablers, showing that spectrum sensing, CPC and geolocation database all have their strengths and weaknesses, and receive varying support from business and regulators. Based on the analysis it can be concluded that, although the introduction of CR does not seem problematic for the unlicensed scenario and the flexible operator scenario, more complex measures are required to enable CR to contribute to the implementation of spectrum pool—and spectrum market scenarios. It can also be concluded that, out of the three proposed alternatives, the geolocation database is the most likely candidate to be used for CR purposes. However, although this database is a clear favorite for applications within the TV White Spaces, spectrum sensing should not be discarded as a potential CR enabler for highly sensitive applications in high-density radio environments.     

Assessment of information and communications technology maturity level

The use of information and communications technology (ICT) turned out to be a key factor in the process of the wider development of a country. It is therefore very useful to estimate ICT evolution by the means of an appropriate metric. Based on statistical data from 159 countries, the ICT maturity level index (IMLI) is proposed and estimated by using structural equation modelling (SEM). This index is a metric measuring the information society in a country and consists of three sub-indices which are access, use and skills. It is an improvement of the ICT development index, proposed by the ITU in 2009. The analysis divides the countries into two groups, the developed and the developing, due to major disparities in their statistical data. The criterion used to define the groups was the income, as expressed by the Gross National Income per capita. The impact of a number of influential parameters on the ICT maturity level is evaluated and it becomes obvious that there is a substantial difference in their impact between developed and developing countries. Finally, a procedure that allows the ranking of the countries, based on IMLI, is presented.     

The impact of digital technology on relationships in a business network

This paper examines the impact of digitalization - the adoption of Internet-connected digital technologies and applications by companies - on B2B exchanges. While B2C exchanges are the subject of numerous studies on the transformations brought by the digital technologies, B2B exchanges are far less analyzed. Building on a conceptualization of exchanges between companies as made of activity links, resource ties, and actor bonds, this paper offers to identify three types of “digitalization” according to the nature of the most deeply impacted link. Five cases of digitization in different industrial sectors and five companies providing digital solutions for businesses illustrate these three types. This typology provides an alternative to analyses based on the nature of digital systems used by B2B companies.     

Research notes and communications: Characteristics distinguishing funded from unfunded business plans evaluated by venture capitalists

Business plans that were funded by venture capitalists were compared to unfunded plans. Comparisons on the basis of plan structure, plan organization, and financial projections indicate that plans which deviate too far from the norm of the variables studied tend to go unfunded. Implications for plan preparation are discussed.     

Information communications technology and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: A panel data approach

This research empirically analyzed the impact of mobile phone and the Internet on per capita income of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the period of 2006–2015 using a panel data of 40 countries. We have employed the robust two-step system GMM. Results showed that growth in mobile phone penetration has contributed significantly to the GDP per capita of the region after controlling for a number of other variables. A 10% increase in mobile phone penetration results in a 1.2% change in GDP per capita. Therefore, improving access to mobile phones will play a critical role in reducing the poverty level of the region through raising the per capita income of the population.However, the Internet has not contributed to the per capita GDP during the study period. The insignificant impact of the Internet could be due to low penetration of the technology, low ICT skill of Internet users, lack of or insufficient local content on the global network, and the relatively immature state of the technology in the region. Therefore, governments and other stakeholders should design policies that encourage expansion of the Internet. In addition to improving Internet access, policies which focus on ICT skill development and local content creation should also be designed and implemented.     

The interface of the energy and forest sectors—Potential players in the bioenergy business

The upcoming bioenergy business area opens up promising opportunities for the traditional energy and forest sectors. This has motivated us to study existing and potential bioenergy actors that could take up this unique opportunity and develop new business around the “green gold” of the forest. Light is shed on the interface between the energy and forest sectors through a comparison of the most focal bioenergy actors with traditional forest and energy companies. The analytical methods used include both parametric and nonparametric analysis of variance, and cluster analysis. The result is a better understanding of the players that have the potential to capitalize on the emerging business.     

Information technology as competitive advantage: the role of human,business, and technology resources

This paper investigates linkages between information technology (IT) and firm performance. Although showing recent signs of advance, the existing IT literature still relies heavily on case studies, anecdotes, and consultants’ frameworks, with little solid empirical work or synthesis of findings. This paper examines the IT literature, develops an integrative, resource-based theoretical framework, and presents results from a new empirical study in the retail industry. The findings show that ITs alone have not produced sustainable performance advantages in the retail industry, but that some firms have gained advantages by using ITs to leverage intangible, complementary human and business resources such as flexible culture, strategic planning–IT integration, and supplier relationships. The results support the resource-based approach, and help to explain why some firms outperform others using the same ITs, and why successful IT users often fail to sustain IT-based competitive advantages. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A framework for needs assessment in communications development

One purpose of a needs assessment is to help societies identify, plan for, and be responsive to the needs of its citizens in the areas of broadcasting, telecommunications, print media, postal services, data processing, etc. Two criteria for the guidance of needs assessments are proposed: according to distributional requirements, and also according to production and consumption of information needs. This article treats needs assessment as a four-phased process that begins with a comprehensive profile of a country's needs, policy objectives and priorities, then refines this through more detailed definition in terms of development sectors, and specific programmes and projects.     

Different recipes for success in business relationships

Companies need to manage business relationships successfully in order to stay competitive. Drawing on configurational logic, this study shows that companies can improve their relationship performance through leveraging the structure of their business relationships. However, relationship structures must align with the company's business strategy. To date, research has focused on individual characteristics of business relationships, but little is known about relational configurations, namely the interplay between different business relationship characteristics on the one hand, and the firm's underlying business strategy on the other. We apply Hoffmann's (2007) strategy typology, namely shaping, adapting, and stabilization strategy types, to operationalize different business strategies. Drawing on a sample of 658 business service companies and employing fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study confirms the existence of different recipes for success, that is, multiple equifinal configurations leading to relationship performance. For each of the three business strategies, different combinations of relationship characteristics are successful, each encompassing a distinct configuration of core and periphery conditions. While firms following an adapting strategy should stress behavioral commitment above all other relationship characteristics, the two remaining business strategies instead rely predominantly on different factors such as trust and communication. This study contributes to business marketing theory and practice by highlighting different ways to develop business relationships successfully.     

Compensation strategy: does business strategy influence compensation in high‐technology firms?

Drawing on the strategic employee group concept, this study empirically examines whether a firm's innovation strategy influences compensation systems for strategic employee groups in the high‐technology industry. We focus on compensation packages for R&D employees who play a critical role in successful implementations of innovation strategy. Using compensation data for middle‐level managers and professional employees from 237 firms in the high‐technology industry, we found that a firm's strategic intention to pursue innovation has a significant influence on the relative pay level, compensation time horizon, and stock option vesting period lengths of this strategic employee group. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Technical risk and new product success: An empirical test in high technology business markets

Following a methodology similar to the one used in Cooper's NewProd studies, this study examines the impact of technical risk on the ability to predict new product success in high technology business markets. Cooper's original 48 new product characteristics along with 10 new items measuring technical risk are used in examining 406 actual industrial new product success and failures. The findings show the importance of the addition of technical risk assessment in predicting the potential success or failure of new high technology industrial products.     

When e-mail becomes junk mail: The welfare implications of the advancement of communications technology

This paper examines the negative externality imposed by a direct marketing firm on the consumers who must spend time reading and processing the advertising they receive from that firm. A model is developed to show that with low communication costs, a firm would send out more unsolicited advertising messages than would be desired by consumers and a social welfaremaximizing planner. The optimal Pigovian tax to eliminate the problem of excessive message sending is then derived. The extent of the problem in a number of media, including direct mail, telemarketing, and the Internet, is briefly examined.     

Information and communications technology infrastructure and firm growth: An empirical study of China's cities

Despite the importance of information and communications technology (ICT), previous studies of the business value of information technology have yielded mixed results. This study provides new empirical evidence that demonstrates the impact of cities' ICT on firm performance. A series of panel datasets are assembled to measure the improvement of city's ICT infrastructure and the change of firm performance during the years 2001–2016 in China. The findings demonstrate that city's ICTs positively promoted firm performance, including financial profitability, marketing performance and innovation performance. Instrumental variables are employed to verify the positive impact of city's ICTs infrastructure on firm profitability. Taking advantage of an exogenous variation of telecommunications upgrade as a natural experiment, this study uses the difference-in-difference approach to establish causality between cities' ICT infrastructure and firm profitability. Mechanisms are explored, which shows that better labour quality, lower costs and higher transparency are the three possible channels through which ICTs influence firm profitability.