1,721,075 research outputs found
Definition and utilization of a series of parameters to evaluate an e-business idea
No full textIn this paper we will present an innovative set of parameters that aim to contribute in the evaluation of the soundness and effectiveness of a new e-business idea during the selection phase. We will present a method that integrates the traditional business analysis concepts through the identification of new effectiveness measures that are specific to the e-business. The parameters identified, named "conceptual accessibility" and "technological accessibility" have been tuned through a reference panel of potential users and measured on a enterprise reference group of well known e-business ventures to assess the soundness of the identified parameters. For each of these parameters we will present a definition and a metric that will allow a quantitative evaluation of the idea with respect to each of them
E-distinctivity parameter to evaluate an e-business idea
No full textThis paper presents a new metrics that aims to quantitatively support the selection phase of a new e-business idea by performing on evaluation of its distinctivity in the actual e-business arena. The paper explains the reasons for the creation of a new parameter, called "E-distinctivity", the identification of the metrics to evaluate it and presents the results of its evaluation oil a set of successful e-business ventures and Oil interpretation of their meaning. This new parameter aims to integrate the traditional business analysis through the identification of new useful measures that are specific to the e-business field. In order to visualize the new "E-distinctivity" parameter and to execute all the needed evaluations a two dimensional radar has been created "ad hoc". The radar is built on eight crucial characteristics divided into four principal zones representing the strategic aspects of the E-ditinctivity This was made in order to represent the results towards a two dimensional drawing that will be simpler to understand. In order to assess the soundness of the identified parameter its evaluation oil a reference group of well known e-business ventures has been performed. All the components the enterprise reference group are examples of succesful implementation of e-business ideas. At the end of the paper we finally discuss the results and underline the advantages of this methodology
A measure for the competitive advantage in the internet era
No full textThe drive to introduce this new parameter arose when we asked ourselves two crucial questions about capabilities to obtain and maintain distinctivity in the Internet era. The first question is: "how can nowadays an e-business idea be inimitable, non-substitutable, non-transferable and innovative and different from the existing ones?". While the second question is: "how this can be measured?". In this paper we propose an answer to these questions by defining a metrics and a parameter, called e-distinctivity, that quantitatively measures the fundamental distinctivity aspects of an e-business idea. To evaluate the e-distinctivity of an e-business idea we used a reference user panel. The assessments and results on the parameter have been evaluated on a panel of eighteen e-business enterprises, taken as reference examples of successful implementation of e-business ideas. At the end of the paper we finally discuss the results and underline the advantages of this methodology
An Analysis of the Impact on Welfare deriving from the New European Regulation of International Roaming
No full textThe new EU regulation on international mobile
roaming, which has recently come into force, and the introduction
of the ‘Eurotariff’ have both had an impact on the welfare of
consumers as well as on producer surplus. The aim of this paper
is to analyse such effects at a national level in the 27 EU States.
In particular this study enables the variation in welfare to be
calculated according to the type of international call (Calls Home,
Local Calls, or Received Calls) and to the market segment
(Business or Residential). The paper also examines the welfare
trend over the initial three year period after the regulation is put
into force.
The analysis is carried out to identify which nations will
benefit most from the intervention of the European Community,
and also to evaluate the relationship in each individual nation
between the level of market maturity and an increase in the level
of welfare
Chinese website design: Communication as a mirror of culture
No full textCompanies now depend on the internet for internal and external communications, however the web is not necessarily neutral. The multitude of company websites within the global system present varying linguistic, cultural and communication characteristics, which determine different experiences depending on the local culture of the user. The design of culturally appropriate websites is viewed as essential to communication, mainly for marketing. This article therefore aims at analysing the impact of cultural characteristics on web design and marketing communication. China presents a vast market and internet population, with specific cultural characteristics, and for these reasons is the subject chosen for study. The study develops a methodology based on an adaptation of Hofstede’s and Hall’s cultural dimensions for purposes of analysing website content. The methodology makes it possible to measure the projection of underlying cultural characteristics in website design.The content analysis of 75 websites Chinese companies quoted on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets reveals that their design reflects local cultural characteristics. Furthermore, the analysis of the Chinese and English versions of the websites reveals that there the latter provide virtually no adaptation to an international clientele, particularly as concerns the indicators of Collectivism, Uncertainty Avoidance and Long Term Orientation
Technological and conceptual accessibility to measure the soundness of an e-business idea
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to present two new parameters that aim to support the selection phase of a new e-business idea in order to evaluate its soundness and effectiveness. The paper explains the reasons for the creation of these new parameters, the identification of the measures and the metrics to evaluate them, and presents the final results and their meaning. This new methodology should integrate the traditional business analysis concepts through the identification of new useful measures that are specific to the e-business field. The parameters identified have been called "Conceptual Accessibility" and "Technological Accessibility." In order to tune the new parameters and to execute all the needed subjective evaluations a user panel of 100 potential users was selected and utilized. In order to assess the soundness of the identified parameters and to give a definition and a metric that will allow a quantitative evaluation of the idea the reference user panel gave evaluations on an enterprise reference group of well known e-business ventures. All the components of the enterprise reference group are examples of successful implementation of e-business ideas. The users in the panel were carefully selected in order to represent the expected target of the new e-business idea to be evaluated. In the final sections of the paper we finally discuss the results and underline the advantages of this methodology
Chinese website design: Communication as a mirror of culture
No full textCompanies now depend on the internet for internal and external communications, however the web is not necessarily neutral. The multitude of company websites within the global system present varying linguistic, cultural and communication characteristics, which determine different experiences depending on the local culture of the user. The design of culturally appropriate websites is viewed as essential to communication, mainly for marketing. This article therefore aims at analysing the impact of cultural characteristics on web design and marketing communication. China presents a vast market and internet population, withspecific cultural characteristics,and for these reasons is the subject chosen for study. The study develops a methodology based on an adaptation of Hofstede’s and Hall’s cultural dimensions for purposes of analysing website content. The methodology makes it possible to measure the projection of underlyingculturalcharacteristicsinwebsitedesign.Thecontentanalysisof 75 websites Chinese companies quoted on the Hong Kong and Shanghaistockmarketsrevealsthattheirdesignreflectslocalcultural characteristics. Furthermore, the analysis of the Chinese and English versionsofthe websites reveals thatthere the latterprovide virtually no adaptation to an international clientele, particularly as concerns the indicators of Collectivism, UncertaintyAvoidance and Long Term Orientation
Mergers and Acquisitions in the Energy Industry following the Market Liberalization: the Italian Case
No full textStarting from 1996 (electricity) and 1998 (gas), the first liberalisation directives in the European energy markets have slowly opened up new competitive scenarios. In Italy, the change in the regulatory framework, transposed during the 2000s, has deeply modified the industrial organization of the energy sector. In fact, the energy companies have implemented new competitive strategies in order to exploit the potential benefits arising from the new regulatory framework. In particular, many companies have carried out mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in order to achieve the benefits related to the exploitation of several potential synergies in economic, financial and organizational aspects.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the M&As carried out in the Italian energy industry in the five years following the market liberalization (2006-2010).
Furthermore, this paper investigates how the market structure has changed following the concentration of the energy retail sector. For this purpose, we apply the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index and the Concentration Ratio to estimate the market concentration in the electricity and gas retail sector
Benchmarking the efficiency of natural gas distribution utilities in Italy considering size, ownership, and maturity
No full textIn light of the reform of the Italian natural gas distribution introduced in 2007, this work performs a benchmarking and productivity analysis of distribution utilities, identifying the characteristics allowing greater efficiency. Using a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI), we analyse the performances of utilities and compares them in terms of size, ownership (public or private), and maturity (pre or post-liberalization establishment). The results show that the more efficient utilities are mainly publicly owned and pre-liberalization established. Small and medium-sized utilities operate less efficiently than large ones, revealing the scale inefficiency of the sector
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