Value chain analysis of bio-coal business in Finland: Perspectives from multiple value chain members

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive outline of the Value Chain (VC)¹ of bio-coal in Finland, define the proper business models of bio-coal business, and investigate the interrelationships between VC activities. The major findings are: 1) the study found significant interrelationships between support and primary activities in the bio-coal VC which suggest that we should not emphasis only the core value/primary activities of the bio-coal business, but pay more attentions to the “side values”/support activities; 2) The study identified political and environmental factors as the effective drivers, while technology and cost-profit uncertainty as major restrictions for the Finnish bio-coal business. The authors would like to suggest that instead of purely “environmental concerns”, the term “sustainability credentials” should be emphasized, which means value creating and adding items should not limit to monetary values, but consider social and environmental value propositions. 3) The study identified “low competition” in the current bio-coal business in Finland, which implies opportunities of market entrance for Finnish and international companies; 4) The study identified that the current Finnish bio-coal model is the decentralized model at the local level. However, the future Finnish bio-coal model will be a large scaled model, with a focus on export sales.     

The atoms, molecules and fibers of organizations

The increasing demands concerning the modifiability and connectivity of business processes cannot be met adequately anymore by relying on best practices only. There is an urgent need for a reference conceptual framework for studying, modeling, analyzing and designing business processes. The Language–Action Perspective (LAP), in particular Habermas’ theory of Communicative Action offers a sound and rigid foundation for such a framework. In this paper, the DEMO (Demo Engineering Methodology for Organizations)-framework is presented. It builds on the LAP-based theoretical foundation of the DEMO methodology. Several other LAP-based frameworks have been proposed in the past years. They are evaluated in a comparative review with the DEMO-framework. Several shortcomings of these frameworks are revealed and discussed. The practical applicability of the DEMO-framework is demonstrated using a small example.     

不断进取的AXE10

有近２０年历史的爱立信ＡＸＥ１０交换机在信息时代到来之际再放异彩，目前，它作为公共平台广泛应用于ＰＳＴＮ、ＩＳＤＮ、ＩＮ，ＰＬＭＮ、信令网和商务通信等。     

Determinants of the future level of use of electronic marketplaces: The case of Canadian firms

Based on the literature dealing with the diffusion of innovation and with information systems, and building on the emerging concepts in electronic commerce (e-commerce), this paper aims at assessing the influence of various factors on firms’ future level of use of electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces). This theoretical model is tested on data collected from 1,200 senior managers in Canadian firms. Findings indicate that a firm’s past experience in e-commerce, as well as the factors relating to its business relationships ultimately affect its future use of e-marketplaces. Results of TOBIT regressions also show that the complexity of sophisticated e-commerce implementations is negatively correlated with the future level of use of e-marketplaces, and that consultants and other experts play an essential role in encouraging and facilitating the use of this new type of electronic platform. Finally, our survey data demonstrate that the relative influence of some determinants differs according to the firms’ size. Pierre Hadaya is an assistant professor of MIS at the Faculté d’administration of the Université de Sherbrooke (Canada). He holds a Ph.D. in Management of Technology from the école Polytechnique de Montréal. His research interests lie at the intersection of information technology management, business strategy and interorganizational design.     

Managing information technology in the nineties

Business, not technology leaders should manage the change of Information Technology (IT) from a self-contained business support unit of the sixties to a distributed strategic business function of the nineties. Top management should recognize that a good business plan can only be developed and executed through the partnership between the business unit managers and the managers of the financial, the personnel, and the IT resource units. The technical problems associated with the management of IT may again be the easier part of the total management challenge.     

网上查询选课系统及XML

从不同的角度来阐述新一代的Web语言－XML。     

中西方文化差异对商务谈判的影响

本文就中西方文化差异对涉外谈判中的沟通风格、谈判策略、决策方式以及对如何处理冲突等方面的影响进行了分析。