The Office for National Statistics revealed that in 2001 Wales had the lowest number of businesses with access to the Internet compared with the rest of the UK, whilst the number of businesses in Wales using e‐commerce was well exceeded by other regions. But is it time for Aesop to take...

To stay at the forefront of new technology, small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) can be assisted through Internet and Web sites providing innovation and technology support services. The cost of the latest technology, including hardware, training and personnel, however, can be...

Advancements in information and communication technologies have created unprecedented opportunities to services providers in both developing and developed countries. The service sector represents one of the fastest growing areas of exports in the global trade. The Internet and e‐commerce make...

The rapid escalation of technology and the use of computers in business practice result in more information technology (IT) auditing and internal control standards and guidelines to assist auditors in their roles and responsibilities. Several organizations, such as the American Institute of...

Innovative technology‐based products and services are often the result of the syndication of skills and resources of more than one firm. Such inter‐firm arrangements – i.e. strategic technology alliances – need to balance innovation with sustainability, an issue requiring explicit...

Introduces the special issue entitled “The role of information and communications technology in transforming marketing theory and practice”. Outlines the themes discussed in the papers in the issue, which seek to provide insights into how information and communications technology is...

Much of strategy has been about defense, building the largest castle with the thickest walls to defend position, and tying down the customer with switching costs, standards, and transaction costs. The digital age changed that, making ineffective the usual competitive advantages of size and...

When a valuable new technology emerges, it provides forward‐looking companies with opportunities for gaining a strong and durable edge over the competition. But as the technology matures and standardizes, it loses its power to provide competitive advantage. What it doesn’t lose is its power...

The conditions of change and complexity that characterise the new environment are forcing companies to adopt more flexible organizational structures that allow a quicker adaptation to these continuous changes. States that there are very few companies with enough resources to form their own value...

The lead user concept developed by Eric von Hippel is perhaps the only formal method designed specifically for identifying innovators. This paper discusses the applicability of von Hippel's lead user concept in the architectural industry where technological innovations are necessary yet gravely...