Mathew Shafaghi

The ongoing health crisis has impacted businesses worldwide, drastically reducing production, consumption and distribution of goods and services, leading to an economic downturn. An increasing unemployment rate has led to a surge in the sense of job insecurity among employees. Lack of job security has a direct impact on an employee’s health and work–life balance. This article focusses on the relationship between and impact of job insecurity on work–life balance, that is, to understand the impact of perceived job insecurity on working hours, employee’s health and reduced family time. Using a self-completed questionnaire, data was collected from 413 employees from different sectors like construction, banks, hospitals, hotels, schools, FMCG, telecommunication, etc., in India, which assisted in testing five hypotheses. The study found a positive relationship between job insecurity and health issues and work–life conflict. Additionally, job insecurity was negatively linked with job performance. Regression analysis showed mediating effects of work demand, work time, family time and family demand on the relationship of job insecurity with health issues, job performance and work–life conflict. However, the article also discusses various effective mechanisms to reduce job insecurity and ways to curb its negative impacts on various organizational and personal outcomes.

The tourism industry is an information-based sector and relies heavily on information and communication technologies to communicate across various players in the value chain.
However, there hasn’t been a systematic analysis and empirical research on the hotel industry in Malawi and the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) exploitation on its competitiveness, enhancing competitive advantage, and upgrading of internal business processes. This paper presents partial results of a study into PHD on the Impact of ICT exploitation in the Tourism Value Chain and focuses on the exploitation of ICT in the Malawi hotel sector. The research involved a self-administered questionnaire survey of 96 hotels in Malawi. The findings from the empirical study suggest that the majority of hotels have some form ICT strategy, are using basic ICT hardware such as personal computer and laptop as an entry point into the virtual world, and using ICT for functional areas of business including human resources management, financial management and marketing their services and products. In addition, there are a number of challenges faced by hotels in Malawi including expensive ICT infrastructure, lack of expertise and technical knowhow in ICT, limited investments in ICT applications and software, and limited telecommunications infrastructure.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to critically explore business-to-business critical success factors (B2B CSFs) for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the Chinese B2B marketplace, evaluate the findings, and use the generated CSFs to propose a framework to assist in the marketing management of B2B in China. The proposed framework provides a guideline for academics and practitioners and highlights the significant role of each factor in developing and sustaining effective B2B electronic commerce (B2B e-commerce) practice for SMEs. Design/methodology/approach - The proposed framework is constructed by combining the empirical findings and B2B literature. The quantitative (online survey) was targeted at, proprietors, chief executive officers, managing directors, general managers, sales/marketing managers and export managers in selected SMEs that participated in B2B electronic marketplace (B2B e-marketplace) in China. The data received from the recipients were processed on SPSS to conduct factor analysis to identify whether a factor structure underlies the correlations between a number of variables. Findings - The findings are indicative of two sets of internal and external critical factors, including: successful customer relationships, supply chain facilities, global competition, information system/information technology (IS/IT) infrastructure and performances, information visibility, top management support and commitment, government encouragement and commitment, security and trust, and cultural consideration. Practical implications - SME managers can derive a better understanding and measurement of marketing activities that appropriately balance between traditional and B2B e-commerce practice. At the same time, the CSF can be integrated into the companies to determine the level of marketing performance in B2B e-marketplace. Originality/value - The paper's findings provide new theoretical grounds for research into B2B relationships in the digital business environment. The paper also provides an empirical assessment of the essential components in B2B e-commerce adaptation, and implications for the means to prioritize CSF.

Business-to-business electronic marketplaces (B2B e-Marketplaces) have been in the limelight since 1999 with the commercialisation of the Internet and subsequent “dot.com” boom [1]. Literature is indicative of the growth of the B2B sectors in all industries, and B2B e-Marketplace is one of the sectors that have witnessed a rapid increase. Consequently, the importance of developing the B2B e-Commerce Model for improved value chain in B2B exchanges is extremely important for SMEs to expose to the world marketplace. There are three research objectives (ROs) in this study; first (RO1) to critical review the concepts of the B2B e-Marketplace including their technologies, operations, business relationships and functionalities; second (RO2) to design an automated mechanism of B2B e-Marketplace for Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs); and third (RO3) to propose a conceptual B2B e-Commerce model for SMEs. The proposed model is constructed by the analytical findings obtained from the contemporary B2B e-Marketplace literature.

Data integration technologies underwent a series of evolutions. The move started by earlier attempts of integration within databases management systems. The need for timely and accurate information to fuel the business needs has always been central to the objectives of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) investments. However, in recent years technological developments, the growth in the availability and use of hardware and software to meet every business need together with the emergence of new business models, global business and competitive strategies, and the need for collaboration and strategic alliances have led to the utilisation of a host of disparate information systems within organisations. It is common in today's organisation to find more than one form of data integration technology used together, sometimes with overlapping functionalities between these data integration tools and other Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) tools. Subsequently, it becomes more important to understand the differences and similarities between these data integration tools in order to help build a consolidated view of the corporate data. The paper will also address the impact of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) on the future of data integration.

Data integration technologies underwent a series of evolutions. The move started by earlier attempts of integration within databases management systems. It is common in today’s organisation to find more than one form of data integration technology used together, sometimes with overlapping functionalities between these data integration tools and other Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) tools. Subsequently, it becomes more important to understand the differences and similarities between these data integration tools in order to help build a consolidated view of the corporate data. The paper will also address the impact of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) on the future of data integration.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a clear understanding of the performance of business-to-business (B2B) e-marketplace in conducting e-marketing in the global business environment. The proposed framework is intended to be used as a guide for B2B firms especially small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who wish to adopt a proactive approach in the use of information and communication technology for business efficiency and competitive advantage, and those who wish to explore the internet technologies for marketing activities. Design/methodology/approach - Literature from the B2B e-marketplaces and operations of e-marketing fields were analysed, and the findings were synthesised to develop a preliminary conceptual model of e-marketing. The conceptual model was tested empirically through an online survey from various industries in China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Findings - With significant online and offline publications from both academia and industry, there is a growing awareness of the contribution of the e-marketing in the global environment. This new marketing paradigm is reported to reshape the business relationships between both consumer marketers and consumers, improving business processes and enhancing the business exposure in the new markets. Research limitations/implications - The major limitation of this paper is associated with the sample selection. Although the literature findings were international, the empirical study was restricted to China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Therefore, the generalizability of the results may not be applicable for other countries. Furthermore, the majority of the respondents participated were SMEs. Hence, the applicability of findings to large-scale organisations may be limited. Practical implications - The framework allows B2B firms to capitalise and understand the e-marketing opportunities provided by B2B e-marketplace. The framework also offers guidance to marketing managers a most appropriate approach to adopt B2B e-marketplace to perform their e-marketing activities. Originality/value - Based on the need for a framework for e-marketing, this study is significance to: SMEs, marketers, information technology practitioners, and all other stakeholders that adopted the internet and other electronic means for marketing purposes.

Purpose Blogs a term that is short for weblogs are one mean of getting public opinions about important topics. Several techniques could be used to reveal important views and directions from the analysis of blogs posted on the internet. The paper investigates issues concerning blogs. Designmethodologyapproach The paper applies a methodology to investigate blogs on domains of software design patterns and integration solutions within information technology community. Findings The methodology developed and implemented is an endtoend approach to the collection, cleansing and analysis of bloggers posts. Originalityvalue While the paper addresses a specific sector of bloggers, the methodology and templates used could be implemented and further improved for use with any other bloggers segment.