stages of development in e-commerce (rowley 2002:4)
TRANSCRIPT
ICT and its role in rural development
Martyn Warren
www.martynwarren.co.uk
Lecture 2
Internet and organisations:
Business, community and governance
Agenda
The internet and business
The internet and community
E-governance
E-democracy
Internet and business
E-commerce
‘The process of buying and selling or exchanging of products, services and information via computer networks, including the internet’ (Turban, 2000: 4).
Stages of development in e-commerce (Rowley 2002:4)
Stage
Characteristics Website functionality
1 Contact
(‘brochureware’)
Promote corporate image Publish corporate information Offer contact information
Content
2 Interact
Embed information exchange Targeted marketing effort
Communication
3 Transact
Online transactions Catalogue order/fulfilment Interaction with trading partners
Commerce
4 Relate
Two-way customer relationships
Full integration of internet capability into the business
Service interface integrated with delivery and other business operations
Community
B2C
Business to Consumer online trading
Most familiar form
B2BBusiness to Business online trading
Most common form
Closely linked to supply chain management
C2C
E-commerce benefits (1)
Expands the marketplace
Allows creation of specialised businesses (niche markets)
Low barriers to entry. Size does not matter.
Easy and cheap advertisement
Improved image, customer service, more flexibility – perhaps….
Helps to meet increasing customer expectations about choice (of product and of associated services)
Opportunity to remove ‘middlemen’ – ‘disintermediation’
E-commerce benefits (2)
Can stimulate rethinking of business processes and business relationships
Cuts cost of transmission and storage of information
Quicker order response – lower working capital costs for selling and purchasing businesses
Easy recording and analysis of customer profile information
‘Keeping up with the Jones’s…’
(‘normative’ or peer pressure)
Limitations of e-commerce
Technical
Security, reliability
? insufficient bandwidth (at business and/or consumer end)
integration of web commerce tools with pre-existing business software, hardware and processes
business may need a specialised server
Limitations of e-commerce (2)
Non-technical
cost (at business and consumer end)
trust – security, privacy; consumer resistance
Institutional (especially financial) development
concern of customers about after-sales support
lack of confidence, competence, access for consumers
reluctance to post prices, where discounting/negotiation of prices to customers is traditionally common.
‘You cannot send a handshake over the internet’
Concern of ‘being lost in cyberspace’ (Rusten and Ellingsen 2003:15)
E-business
‘…not just buying and selling, but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners, and conducting electronic transactions within an organisation’ Turban 2000: 5.
This term is often used interchangeably with e-commerce, but here implies a business that is built around electronic systems, rather than just incorporating them into its commercial processes.
website
e-commerce
e-business
transformedorganisations
Business benefits
Extent of organisational change & sophistication
- efficient internal and external communications
- place in worldwide market- window on worldwide suppliers
- order and pay online, reducing transaction costs- maximise accessibility and speed
- integrate supply chain so manufacture and delivery become seamless- minimise waste at every stage of the supply chain
- open systems of information for customers, suppliers and partners- new business models based on interworkingbetween organisations and individuals
Adapted from Cisco led Information Age Partnership study on e-commerce in small business
Model of e-Adoption Ladder
Willis (2000?) http://www.e-ticaret.gov.tr/KobiSunum/Ankara_slides.ppt#5
Supply Chain Management
‘…the process of planning, implementing and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods and related information from point-of-origin to point of final consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements’
(Council of Logistics Management, What is it all about?, Oak Brook, IL, 1986)
Internet-enabled supply chain
Bryceson (2006) 119
Internet in the workplace
Outsourcing
Collaboration (e.g. Facebook group, GoogleDocs
Business software and web services
Communicating within the company
Employee monitoring
Changing when and where work is done (flexible working)
Flexible working benefits
Cost-effectiveness and efficiency
Ability to attract a higher level of skills.
Job satisfaction and staff morale.
Retention of staff – better work-life balance.
Improved competitiveness, such as reaction to changing market conditions.
Benefits for environment...
Benefits for environment
Resource Consumption
Transport – energy, pollution, emissions, congestion.
Air quality – in workplace.
Use of office and home space
Design and location of offices
Occupational health and safety
2004 SUSTEL report
Rebound effects
Transport rebounds - for example, when the availability of cars at home because people are no longer commuting results in additional use.
Rebound effects
Location rebounds - when people decide to move home, or employers offices, because the need to be at a given location five days a week is less important.
Rebound effects
Space rebounds - when savings in office space from hotdesking are offset by individuals gaining more space at home through moving or extending.
Internet and community
Community
“A social network of interacting individuals, usually concentrated into a defined territory.”
Communities of:
Place
Practice
Profession
Interest
Johnson (2000) Dictionary of Human Geography
Communities and cyberspace
“…exploring the transforming qualities of the new information and communication technologies such as the internet for the development, economic regeneration and democratic stimulation of communities.”
Keeble, L and Loader, B, Eds. (2001). Community informatics: shaping computer-mediated social relations. London, Routledge. p1
Virtual communities
…rich diversity of virtual communities … are forming between normally disparate individuals as a consequence of computer-mediated communication (CMC).
Typically these are communities of shared interest rather than spatially or geographically constructed. (K&L 4)
Social media key to virtual communities, e.g.
Email, SMS, instant messaging
Blogs, Twitter
Facebook, LinkedIn, Bebo
Skype
Wikis
Flickr
7 key concepts in social media (Baym 2010)
Interactivity
Ability to facilitate social interaction
Temporal structure
Synchronous (but lags in transmission may reduce synchronicity in e.g. Instant messaging)
Asynchronous
Social cues
Body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, text substitutes, emoticons ;-) )-: ...
7 key concepts in social media (Baym 2010)
Storage
Replicability
Both features of emails, for instance – messages can be kept, forwarded, multiplied
Reach
‘one single keystroke can send a message to thousands of people’
Mobility
Portability, independence of location.
Community and ICT - possibilities
Providing support to/within existing (place-based) communities;
Extending the reach and effectiveness of existing (interest-based) communities;
Creating new, virtual communities (chat rooms, MySpace…)
Even creating imaginary virtual communities (e.g. secondlife.com)
Use of online social networking by rural youth
Study in one rural community in USA
On the one hand, social networking takes time which would otherwise be spent on ‘hands-on’ community activity.
On the other hand there are positive effects, including the strengthening of bridging social capital in some cases.
Researchers suggest that community leaders need to embrace social media to encourage youth involvement.
Chew, LaRose et al (2011) Use of online social networking by rural youth and its effects on community attachment. Information, Communication and Society, Vol 14, 5, pp726-747
Fwi forumsCase Study – online
community
What are farmers talking about online?FWi Forums (number of posts to 21 Nov 2009)
Talking Point 54600
Talking tackle 27996
Animal banter 9213
The Next Generation 3134
Chicken chat 722
Off-topic chat, jokes, etc 2182
Crop comments 6995
Crimeline 236
FWi ‘Talking Point’ forum posts, Jan-April 07
Wind Turbines 399
Wind Power 270
The Big Debate - Are Wind Turbines A Good Thing For Farming? 208
The CRoW Act 2000 - What's your opinion? 64
Farmers told to tap online market 63
The Great Global Warming Swindle,[ TV programme] 62
Coastal Footpaths 52
Best Joke 47
Working long hours... 46
Why are you farmers such moaners???? 40
FWi ‘Talking Point’ forum posts, Jan-April 07
Ways of tackling Supermarket power. 39
Favourite farming smells 39
NFU Reform 34
Supermarket abuse of power 32
pleasing to the eye 29
2006 Single Farm Payment 26
Wind farm noise 22
Land Rovers 21
Renting land to farm in saskatchewan 21
TIME FOR CHANGE AND A BRAVE LEADER 20
Milk 19
HLS, ELS, OELS: Got a query? 19
Countryside Rights of Way Act forum
The CRoW Act 2000* - What's your opinion?
… I'm a mature final year student and my dissertation is on the CRoW Act so any response is gratefully appreciated (as long as it's clean ) and will help with my research. Thank you for reading and hopefully responding.
*Countryside Right of Way Act, allowing people access to farmed land for walking.
Countryside Rights of Way Act forum
Re: The CRoW Act 2000 - What's your opinion?don20/03/2007 08:20
…. THERE ARE PLENTY OF CHURCH-GOING ROGUES WHO PRETEND .....REPEAT PRETEND.....TO BE UPSTANDING HONEST MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY!!!
WHAT A LAUGH!!!AS I SAID........CHECK OUT SOME OF THE DECISION MAKERS AND CHECK OUT
SOME OF THE DECISIONS !!!WILL THE RAMBLERS BULLY THEIR WAY ALONG THE COAST OF PRINCE
CHARLES'S TINTAGEL IN THE DUCHY HE NEVER BOUGHT???? LIKE HELL!!!WILL THEY BULLY THEIR WAY THROUGH LADY CHARLOTTE TOWNSHEND'S
COASTAL LAND AT ABBOTTSBURY , DORSET ???? LIKE HELL!!!LAW???? WHAT A FARCE!!!! SOME PEOPLE ARE ABOVE THE LAW!!HOW CAN YOU HAVE EQUITABLE LAW IN A COUNTRY WHICH ALLOWS JUDGES
AND BARRISTERS TO BE FREEMASONS??? THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY ARE BEING JUDGED BY MEMBERS OF A SECRET SOCIETY WHO HOLD GREAT POWER!!!
WHY DO YOU THINK CERTAIN PEOPLE ARE NOT BEING "TRODDEN" ON???
Countryside Rights of Way Act forum
• Re: The CRoW Act 2000 - What's your opinion?moaningfarmerpalmer22/03/2007 08:23
• Don; I am not even going to try and respond to your rant. You appear to be so far off the mark with your views and opinions it is untrue…..
Countryside Rights of Way Act forum
• Re: The CRoW Act 2000 - What's your opinion? Zippidee21/03/2007 00:35
• 12.30 am , just lambed a big single with both feet back , its blinking freezing !...would'nt swap it for the world..well..nearly! and you wonder why we get annoyed when those without any knowledge of what goes on the countryside get annoyed when dogs are let loose amongst flocks and gates are left open ….
Countryside Rights of Way Act forum
• Re: The CRoW Act 2000 - What's your opinion?Zippidee21/03/2007 01:37
• Me again , obviously still up with these sheep , now waiting for the one that had the harness on because she prolapsed 2 weeks ago has started lambing. Have taken the harness off and she has now decided that maybe taking all night could be good idea , probably to get me back for putting the harness on in the first place. Popped into house for a hot drink , Horlicks....mmm , not the kind you make with milk as that would take too long but the one that you just add water to as it is quicker and at 1 in the morning who can be bothered to boil milk. Had a couple of Ryvita with strawberry jam on to go with it as you can eat too much during the night if you aint careful and when it comes to breakfast time your appetite is shot to heck.Having said that the biscut barrel called out and the digestives took a hammering as well although I did manage to push the choclate hob nobs to the side...willpower eh! Here's a ……..
British Farming Forum http://farmingforum.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=52118
E-governance
Governance
‘Governance’ is concerned with the distribution and exercise of power as a whole – not just that vested in the state.
Involves not just central and local government, but also non-government agencies, community groups, interest and pressure groups, charities, business groupings, direct activists, and so on.
An overview of e-governance framework
(Afraa Sallowm, based on Okot-Uma 2001; Odendaal 2003; Millard 2003)
e-democracy
For example
Expressing opinion
Pressurising politicians and officials
Canvassing for conventional elections
Formal voting – elections, referendums
E-petitioning, e-panels, issues forums, politicians’ websites, blogs…
Organisation of protest by activists
Democracy – essential characteristics (Coleman and Blumler 2009)
Regular, free and fair elections, involving competition between more than one party;
The rule of law, under which all citizens are subject to a common jurisdiction;
Freedom to speak, assemble and publish, and for opposition to the government of the day to organise without fear of intimidation;
Government accountability to the public and responsiveness to public concerns;
The existence of a civil society sector which is free from control by either the state or the market.
Arguments against ‘democratic deliberation’ (Coleman and Blumler 2009)
Impossibility of vast, dispersed groups being able to participate in collective conversation.
The general public does not have the intellectual capacity to cope with complex issues and sophisticated argument.
Arriving at ‘rationally calculated’ outcomes from collective discussion too difficult.
‘Deliberative democracy’ favours the powerful and articulate.
Kleptocracy Fighters
Kleptocracy: government that uses corruption to facilitate official's power and wealth
Secretary Clinton congratulates K Fighters for Anti-Corruption App
http://www.kfighters.com/ 24 Oct 2010
Twitter-power
Wired (UK) December 2009
Syria 'bans iPhones' over protest footage
Many of the images showing anti-government protests in Syria have come from amateur footage posted on the internet.
The order also apparently prohibits the import of iPhones.
BBC News 2/12/11 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16009975
UK Parliamentary consultations
Case study: top-down e-democracy
UK Parliamentary consultations (Coleman and Blumler 2009)
Gather informed evidence from the public
Learn from citizens who might not otherwise be heard;
Enable participants to interact;
Uncover un-anticipated consequences of policy proposals;
Allow policy-makers to participate in discussion
Derive a fair, independent summary of views as evidence to Parliament.
Sample consultation topics
Domestic violence
Family taxation and benefits
Stem cell research
Constitutional reform
Hate crimes
Treatment of diabetes
Agricultural , rural and environmental policy
Etc...
Conclusions (Coleman and Blumler 2009)
Created a more inclusive environment for discussion;
Needed active promotion and encouragement
Generated and connected networks of interest or practice
High level of interactivity – ‘civilised and productive debates’
Valuable evidence to refine policy proposals.
Reactions
‘there is a potential conflict between a dialogue that involves a massive amount of views, information and data... and having that put over and recognised in a way that allows a decision to be made.’ (consultee)
(Coleman and Blumler 2009)
Reactions
‘... both sides have got themselves into a rut. The politicians... “I’ve been elected this way, I don’t see why I should change”... the activists... “well I’m an activist... you just take what I say and do it”
You’ve got to actually appreciate what the other side wants to do and achieve, and work with it.’ [participant in civic engagement scheme]
(Coleman and Blumler 2009)
MumsnetCase Study: bottom-up
democracy
Mumsnet
UK community and campaigning website founded in 2000.
The site has hosted webchats with celebrities and politicians, including former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose apparent failure to reveal his favourite biscuit was cited in some quarters as evidence of indecisiveness.
[Mumsnet] later explained that he had not actually been asked the question.
Mumsnet
In November 2009 newspaper articles spoke of the forthcoming UK general election as "the Mumsnet election”
Mothers were regarded by politicians as key floating voters and online forums were seen as arenas in which their votes could be courted.
Several leading politicians appeared on the website's webchats, and this was widely reported.
The site faced a barrage of publicity, not all of it favourable.
Wikipedia
Mumsnet ‘lads mags’ campaign
Democratic weaknesses of bottom-up e-democracy
Disconnection – ‘power continues to reside in government agencies, elected legislatures and transnational, intergovernmental bodies.’
‘elusive and ephemeral’ online civic and political networks.
‘autonomous creativity’ of guerrilla activism – can be effective but often ‘destructive and nihilistic’.
(Coleman and Blumler 2009)
A big question
Is e-democracy any more effective or fair than traditional representative democracy?
Could it be less fair?
Does our view depend on whether we are on the winning side...?
ICT and its role in rural development
Martyn Warren
www.martynwarren.co.uk