Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Co-creation could enhance service innovation (Perks, Gruber, and Edvardsson, 2012). Despite the research conducted on co-creation, the issue concerning how actors could form service system with high density still needs to be addressed... more
Co-creation could enhance service innovation (Perks, Gruber, and Edvardsson, 2012). Despite the research conducted on co-creation, the issue concerning how actors could form service system with high density still needs to be addressed (Michel, Vargo and Lusch, 2008). We conceptualized service system as an assemblage and investigated emergence and dynamic process of assemble and dissemble of service assemblages by drawing on theories of co-creation, affordance, task network and modularity and the notion of assemblage (Delanda, 2006). We developed a framework and empirically examined how to map the competences required for actors in a task network and how capacities could be optimally (re)configured as assemblages (clusters) for value co-creation. We demonstrated that the framework developed could be applied to formation, reformation of service assemblages for design of service offerings enabling optimal value co-creation.
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In recent years, there has been and continues to be an increasing number of company mergers and takeovers. When dealing with the human elements of a merger, there is often a lack of understanding of how to integrate the organizational... more
In recent years, there has been and continues to be an increasing number of company mergers and takeovers. When dealing with the human elements of a merger, there is often a lack of understanding of how to integrate the organizational cultures of the existing firms. While attempts have ...
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Research Interests:
Research Interests: Computer Science, Information Technology, Information Security, Public Key Infrastructure, E Government, and 15 moreBiometrics, Computer Security, Cryptography, Authentication, Biometrics Authentication Technologies, Public, Smart Cards, Key words, Identity Theft, PKI, Smart Card, User authentication, Online Authentication, Identity Card, and E Commerce
In this chapter we report a series of studies on the use of multimedia communication technologies. These studies in the lab and in the workplace have explored how people in distributed teams communicate and collaborate. We have identified... more
In this chapter we report a series of studies on the use of multimedia communication technologies. These studies in the lab and in the workplace have explored how people in distributed teams communicate and collaborate. We have identified several aspects of the process of communication and collaboration process which multimedia technologies can support very effectively and others that are more problematic for distributed virtual teams. The investigations we conducted explored the communication process in detail, ...
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Research Interests:
Before an organisation can develop its marketing strategy, it needs to carry out a thorough marketing analysis in order to understand the customers and trends, and evaluate external environmental forces. This paper seeks to identify and... more
Before an organisation can develop its marketing strategy, it needs to carry out a thorough marketing analysis in order to understand the customers and trends, and evaluate external environmental forces. This paper seeks to identify and discuss the external environmental forces affecting: e‐learning providers, including market demand; political and legal forces; social and ethical influences; technology; and competition. The e‐learning provider has little, or no, control over the external environmental forces affecting the market in which it operates, and so it is necessary continually to forecast, monitor and assess this environment and to adapt its e‐learning product or services accordingly.
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Research Interests:
Concurrent engineering is often seen as the main means to respond to the increased complexity of engineering systems in sectors such as automotive, ICT and defence. However, concurrent methods struggle to respond to unpredicted events... more
Concurrent engineering is often seen as the main means to respond to the increased complexity of engineering systems in sectors such as automotive, ICT and defence. However, concurrent methods struggle to respond to unpredicted events such as late ...
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This paper examines empirically the effectiveness of entropy measures derived from information theory combined with discriminant analysis in the prediction of construction business failure. Such failure in modern complex supply chains is... more
This paper examines empirically the effectiveness of entropy measures derived from information theory combined with discriminant analysis in the prediction of construction business failure. Such failure in modern complex supply chains is an extremely disruptive force, and its likelihood is a key factor in the prequalification appraisal of contractors. The work described, using financial data from the Taiwanese construction industry, extends the classical methods by applying Shannon's information theory to improve their prediction ability and provides an alternative to newer artificial-intelligence-based approaches.
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The design, manufacture and delivery of a product requires ever‐higher levels of knowledge and expertise within the supply chain. If concurrent engineering (CE) in tiered supply chains is to be fully implemented, a practical CE strategy... more
The design, manufacture and delivery of a product requires ever‐higher levels of knowledge and expertise within the supply chain. If concurrent engineering (CE) in tiered supply chains is to be fully implemented, a practical CE strategy needs to recognise that successful, concurrent designs are built on rich relationships amongst all parties. Virtual teaming is the most appropriate framework and mechanism in which to examine how such relationships can be created across a distributed supply chain, with members separated geographically. In principle, virtual teaming could allow joint commitment, feelings of mutuality, trust and creativity, and rapid decision making to operate within a supply chain. For this to be possible, a virtual team needs to be built by concentrating on process, teaming and technology factors. However, experience from other IT‐based initiatives is that technology will be concentrated on to the exclusion of other factors. Data from the two sources support this con...
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This paper aims to explore how blockchain technology can help us to achieve supply chains that are agile but also lean, which is also demanded by the modern business environment. A role playing simulation was used to evaluate the benefits... more
This paper aims to explore how blockchain technology can help us to achieve supply chains that are agile but also lean, which is also demanded by the modern business environment. A role playing simulation was used to evaluate the benefits provided by different levels of visibility in a typical supply chain. A distributed ledger enabling supply chain visibility was designed. A supply chain performance framework was developed in order to measure the supply chain performance from both lean and agile aspects. The results show a significant correlation in performance with the degree of visibility, but it is not a linear relationship. An effective LeAgile supply chain can be achieved with the enhancement of visibility. In order to implement visibility, an appropriate information sharing frequency (drumbeat) is needed. Blockchain allows users to more securely and transparently track all types of transactions, to improve Supply Chain Visibility. We also find the complex relationship between...
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The study investigated the practices of organisations in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries with regards to G2C egovernment maturity. It reveals that e-government G2C initiatives in the surveyed countries in particular, and arguably... more
The study investigated the practices of organisations in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries with regards to G2C egovernment maturity. It reveals that e-government G2C initiatives in the surveyed countries in particular, and arguably around the world in general, are progressing slowly because of the lack of a trusted and secure medium to authenticate the identities of online users. The authors conclude that national ID schemes will play a major role in helping governments reap the benefits of e-government if the three advanced technologies of smart card, biometrics and public key infrastructure (PKI) are utilised to provide a reliable and trusted authentication medium for e-government services. Keywords—e-Government, G2C, national ID, online authentication, biometrics, PKI, smart card.
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The modern complexity of engineered products has made it virtually impossible for a single company to be able to undertake all aspects of product design, marketing and delivery. Within military systems projects this is particularly true,... more
The modern complexity of engineered products has made it virtually impossible for a single company to be able to undertake all aspects of product design, marketing and delivery. Within military systems projects this is particularly true, where procurement cycles can thus stretch to several decades. To tackle this issue, this paper presents a model for a Collaborative Commerce Marketplace (CCM) using a case material from a successful CCM in the UK. The CCM model focuses on describing what SMEs (Small to Medium sized Enterprises) can do, allowing them to find partners and to respond to complex new enquiries for work. The CCM architecture incorporates a Virtual Breeding Environment encouraging the formation of Virtual Organisations driven by business opportunity. A case study is introduced which illustrates how a new Virtual Organisation was formed using a CCM to address a complex competitive MoD (Ministry of Defence, UK) tender call.
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Improving competitiveness through the support of regional clusters is a common ingredient of industrial policy in many countries. Can we get the same benefits through virtual clusters? This was a core question in this research. To answer... more
Improving competitiveness through the support of regional clusters is a common ingredient of industrial policy in many countries. Can we get the same benefits through virtual clusters? This was a core question in this research. To answer this question a literature review on the benefits of geographical clusters as well as benefits and challenges of virtual clusters was conducted. The authors operate an industrial virtual cluster in a UK using a web based portal and comment on its operation and limitations. A further question asks whether it can work to create a single cluster across national boundaries. A questionnaire was prepared and distributed to 31 firms in Pakistan to assess the barriers they face working with the UK cluster. Through analysis of the data from the questionnaire, a set of recommendations to improve business communications in virtual clusters is suggested.
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Growth in eBusiness has led to an increase in the research of online business models characterized into two broad areas: goods and services provider models and collaborative models. Collaborative commerce marketplace (CCM) is vital in... more
Growth in eBusiness has led to an increase in the research of online business models characterized into two broad areas: goods and services provider models and collaborative models. Collaborative commerce marketplace (CCM) is vital in eBusiness models however it is only discussed in relation to the management of parts of the supply chain and not the system as a whole in the academic literature (Hodge and Cagle 2004). This paper proposes a comprehensive, visual business model for CCM with an emphasis on the interactions between core business competency to attain organizational objectives. An emerging competency of CCM such as partner/supplier identification is used to illustrate the versatility of the proposed model.
This paper is a continuation of the research by Dai & Bal (2009). This paper addresses the design of two case studies to validate the hypothesis that culture could be established via individual behaviour modifications in a case... more
This paper is a continuation of the research by Dai & Bal (2009). This paper addresses the design of two case studies to validate the hypothesis that culture could be established via individual behaviour modifications in a case study of multi-party projects and a real ...
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... how ready they are to implement virtual teamworking The Readiness Assessment Tool developed by our project team assists the organization to assessing organization readiness relating to ... for using the system Redesign appropriate... more
... how ready they are to implement virtual teamworking The Readiness Assessment Tool developed by our project team assists the organization to assessing organization readiness relating to ... for using the system Redesign appropriate Business Process Re-engineering is used ...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
CCM, the pioneering, research based, collaboration space and tools portal is approaching five years of interaction with small businesses and industry groups in the UK’s West Midlands. Recently, free to access, collaboration spaces have... more
CCM, the pioneering, research based, collaboration space and tools portal is approaching five years of interaction with small businesses and industry groups in the UK’s West Midlands. Recently, free to access, collaboration spaces have been announced by Microsoft and Google within their business application collections. Microsoft’s Office Live, Small Business, MS-OLSB, sites offers free websites, 100 free email accounts, basic Customer Relationship Manager, paid-for e-mailer and collaboration spaces with 5 free users. Google have added Google Sites to their gmail, calendar, docs, talk and checkout business suite which provides private access-managed collaboration areas, and webpages for intranet or public access. CCM’s database was mined to gather anonymised evidence of multi-user collaboration, content was inspected to establish the applications of collaboration spaces, then support call records and testimonial statements were analysed to distil the strengths and weaknesses of CCM’s spaces. This paper will: 1. Analyse the data and experience distilled from 90 active private project spaces and industry collaboration clusters on CCM. 2. Discuss seven distinct applications that have been developed and evolved from the CCM tabbed portal space and its toolkit. 3. Evaluate how these applications fit into these collaborative alternatives from Microsoft and Google and their business models.
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Fulfilling needs through internal and external resources is a key business requirement. To better enable this, description of both needs and resources, using a common domain language is required. Using techniques from social network... more
Fulfilling needs through internal and external resources is a key business requirement. To better enable this, description of both needs and resources, using a common domain language is required. Using techniques from social network analysis (SNA) this paper describes a SENSUS-based methodology which generates domain ontology that can provide the breadth and depth of coverage required for automated need and resource matching systems. The mechanism described also enriches the semantic relationships in the generated ontology to form a network structure. This enables concept investigation to be undertaken from multiple perspectives, with fuzzy matching and enhanced reasoning through directional weight-specified relationships. The methodology was used to derive an ontology for engineering and tested against a traditionally derived and structured ontology. The methodology has the flexibility and utility to be of benefit in a wide range need and resource matching business applications.
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Abstract: Technology-based learning (TBL) provides a flexible learning approach to support the knowledge and skills base within an organisation. TBL also creates an interesting learning environment to motivate continuous learning.... more
Abstract: Technology-based learning (TBL) provides a flexible learning approach to support the knowledge and skills base within an organisation. TBL also creates an interesting learning environment to motivate continuous learning. Emphasis is on the engineering ...
Business process re-engineering and total quality management both emphasise the benefits that a process orientated view of company operations can bring. Acquiring a clear definition of the “as-is” business process and developing an... more
Business process re-engineering and total quality management both emphasise the benefits that a process orientated view of company operations can bring. Acquiring a clear definition of the “as-is” business process and developing an understanding about how the process may be re-engineered is a crucial stage in any business process reengineering project. This early phase normally has three objectives: to achieve a full understanding of the process to be re-engineered so as to clarify its objectives and characteristics; to create a shared vision and understanding among the re-engineering team; and to have a basis for starting the redesign. To support this phase, there is a range of tools : manual, computer supported and computer enabled which are traditionally used to help in the activities of process definition and analysis. This paper describes some of the newer approaches. The product introduction process is examined in a general sense, and specific examples from the automotive industry are taken as a basis for evaluation of the available tools and applications. A sample from the process analysis tools identified was used to model the production introduction process, and from the difficulties and successes an understanding of the attributes required in such an analysis tool was derived.
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Growth in eBusiness has led to an increase in the research of online business models characterized into two broad areas: goods and services provider models and collaborative models. Collaborative commerce marketplace (CCM) is vital in... more
Growth in eBusiness has led to an increase in the research of online business models characterized into two broad areas: goods and services provider models and collaborative models. Collaborative commerce marketplace (CCM) is vital in eBusiness ...
This paper is a continuation of the research by Dai & Bal (2009). This paper addresses the design of two case studies to validate the hypothesis that culture could be established via individual behaviour modifications in a case study of... more
This paper is a continuation of the research by Dai & Bal (2009). This paper addresses the design of two case studies to validate the hypothesis that culture could be established via individual behaviour modifications in a case study of multi-party projects and a real ...
Research Interests:
CCM, the pioneering, research based, collaboration space and tools portal is approaching five years of interaction with small businesses and industry groups in the UK’s West Midlands. Recently, free to access, collaboration spaces have... more
CCM, the pioneering, research based, collaboration space and tools portal is approaching five years of interaction with small businesses and industry groups in the UK’s West Midlands. Recently, free to access, collaboration spaces have been announced by Microsoft and Google within their business application collections. Microsoft’s Office Live, Small Business, MS-OLSB, sites offers free websites, 100 free email accounts, basic Customer Relationship Manager, paid-for e-mailer and collaboration spaces with 5 free users. Google have added Google Sites to their gmail, calendar, docs, talk and checkout business suite which provides private access-managed collaboration areas, and webpages for intranet or public access. CCM’s database was mined to gather anonymised evidence of multi-user collaboration, content was inspected to establish the applications of collaboration spaces, then support call records and testimonial statements were analysed to distil the strengths and weaknesses of CCM’...
Research Interests:
This paper is the first of a three part series in which the authors identify best practice for implementing virtual teamworking to aid concurrent engineering. Part 1 examines how five key texts on virtual teamworking contribute to an... more
This paper is the first of a three part series in which the authors identify best practice for implementing virtual teamworking to aid concurrent engineering. Part 1 examines how five key texts on virtual teamworking contribute to an understanding of how to introduce virtual working to enable concurrent engineering. It develops a structure for comparing and contrasting the texts for this purpose. In Part 2, four general areas of concern are identified from these texts. The authors suggest five other issues, derived from other texts and practical experience important to concurrent engineering involving the supply chain. Part 3 then synthesizes the key elements of a methodology for introducing virtual teaming in a design and manufacture supply chain utilising concurrent engineering.
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Abstract: For learning opportunities to exist in an organisation, adequate learning methods need to be available in the organisation. This paper looks at the various learning methods for engineers in the design environment adopted by two... more
Abstract: For learning opportunities to exist in an organisation, adequate learning methods need to be available in the organisation. This paper looks at the various learning methods for engineers in the design environment adopted by two automotive organisations. With ...
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This paper describes the information flows in the supply chain, and identifies knowledge and expertise as richer more capable entities for its management than data or information. It briefly explores how the structure of the automotive... more
This paper describes the information flows in the supply chain, and identifies knowledge and expertise as richer more capable entities for its management than data or information. It briefly explores how the structure of the automotive supply chain is changing due to the pressures of increasing complexity and urgency. Then it highlights the inevitability of instability in the supply chain, through an evaluation of turbulence. Agility is identified as a response for coping with this uncertainty. The tool identified for introducing agility in the supply chain is Virtual Teaming. It achieves this by forming collaborative supply chain partnerships, unconstrained by geography that can quickly apply knowledge and expertise as corrective and preventive mechanisms. A survey of the suppliers to a major automotive manufacturer has highlighted the need for this form of working.
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Abstract: An investigation was conducted in the design department of a medium-sized automotive company to establish engineers' preferred learning styles. This was achieved by using two proven questionnaires followed by... more
Abstract: An investigation was conducted in the design department of a medium-sized automotive company to establish engineers' preferred learning styles. This was achieved by using two proven questionnaires followed by statistical analysis methods. The evidence ...
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Business process re-engineering and total quality management both emphasise the benefits that a process orientated view of company operations can bring. Acquiring a clear definition of the “as-is” business process and developing an... more
Business process re-engineering and total quality management both emphasise the benefits that a process orientated view of company operations can bring. Acquiring a clear definition of the “as-is” business process and developing an understanding about how the process may be re-engineered is a crucial stage in any business process reengineering project. This early phase normally has three objectives: to achieve a full understanding of the process to be re-engineered so as to clarify its objectives and characteristics; to create a shared vision and understanding among the re-engineering team; and to have a basis for starting the redesign. To support this phase, there is a range of tools : manual, computer supported and computer enabled which are traditionally used to help in the activities of process definition and analysis. This paper describes some of the newer approaches. The product introduction process is examined in a general sense, and specific examples from the automotive indu...
Research Interests:
... how ready they are to implement virtual teamworking The Readiness Assessment Tool developed by our project team assists the organization to assessing organization readiness relating to ... for using the system Redesign appropriate... more
... how ready they are to implement virtual teamworking The Readiness Assessment Tool developed by our project team assists the organization to assessing organization readiness relating to ... for using the system Redesign appropriate Business Process Re-engineering is used ...
Research Interests:
Based on a successful implementation of a Collaborative Digital Network (CDN) the West Midlands Collaborative Commerce Marketplace (WMCCM, http://www.wmccm.com), this paper presents a breeding environment to enable stakeholders to... more
Based on a successful implementation of a Collaborative Digital Network (CDN) the West Midlands Collaborative Commerce Marketplace (WMCCM, http://www.wmccm.com), this paper presents a breeding environment to enable stakeholders to innovate and gain competitive advantage in the global market. Stakeholders in a CDN form Communities of Practice (CoPs) and they collectively belong to an Electronic Network of Practice (E-NoP) formed via
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Despite the claims on how stakeholders could benefit from electronic marketplaces (eMarketplaces), the actual user take-up of eMarketplaces have been modest and in many cases even failed to deliver their promises. We believe this is due... more
Despite the claims on how stakeholders could benefit from electronic marketplaces (eMarketplaces), the actual user take-up of eMarketplaces have been modest and in many cases even failed to deliver their promises. We believe this is due to the lack of preparations in dealing with values of such ventures during the strategic planning of the organisations concerned. Given that values are
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This paper briefly describes a collaborative learning environment created to improve participation in online learning. The environment, called Curatr, utilised the notion of game-like behaviours, colloquially known as ‘gamification’, to... more
This paper briefly describes a collaborative learning environment created to improve participation in online learning. The environment, called Curatr, utilised the notion of game-like behaviours, colloquially known as ‘gamification’, to shape learners behaviour towards participating in social and collaborative learning activities, such as commenting, sharing and peer-marking. In the case study described, 33 students made 6,152 contributions during a six-month part-time online continuing education course. Findings suggest that the number of ‘experience points’ a student earns on the platform is highly correlated with the average assignment mark they achieve (r = 0.499 n = 33). The results suggest that gamification can help improve the learning experience and the resulting performance for groups of students. There are limitations to this finding. Within the group there are cases where contribution and resulting performance do not correlate. Further work assessing the quality of contributions is suggested to understand this effect better.