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Overview, Issues and Problems, Conference Objectives, Areas of Research, Bibiography, Directions, Important Dates Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) represent a tremendous opportunity for the business community. With the success stories of companies capturing market share together with the rapidly increasing adoption of the Internet by consumers and buyers in the Anglo-Saxon business environment have come a fast-growing realisation that all organisations need to have an effective ICT presence to prosper, or possibly even to survive. Opportunities for ICT to support the business process are tremendous. ICT can be used for communications both within and beyond the company. As well as using the Internet to communicate with customers, companies find that internal use of an Intranet or use of an Extranet facilitate communication and coordination among staff, suppliers, and distributors. The Internet, Intranet and Extranet can be applied at different levels of management within a company. Ideally, these are integrated so as to enhance ease of use and management of information systems in business firms. According to recent studies on Internet penetration, 70% of today's Internet users are currently based in the US. As early as 2003, 46% will be based outside the US. More importantly, in the next five years, Europe's online consumers will quickly turn surfing to shopping, with sales of retail goods and services growing 140% annually (Harrison-Walker 2002). The leading firms have permitted customers to use e-commerce platform to initiate every phase of the buying process, from order to post delivery problem resolution. Some believe that the average consumer is not PC-literate and that to attract many more consumers to the world of on-line shopping, electronic familiar appliances with easy-to-use Web connections will be required. The convergence of the Internet and wireless telephony has also presented a new platform for communication and, if analysts are correct, one that is potentially much stronger than the wired Internet (Barnes 2002). An analysis of online advertising reveals that SMS usage has shown unrivalled access to age groups that have proved extremely difficult to reach with other media. Key reasons include privacy, flexibility, and easy availability of the SMS medium. The key has more to do with understanding how individual consumers will want to interact with their selected brand or content via m-marketing rather than simply using the technology. The arrival of e-commerce technology has created a technological framework in which companies can genuinely evaluate how ICT can be used to manage effectively the outsourcing of certain aspects of the value chain to lower operating costs. Alternatively, more effective ICT systems might permit delivery of increased perceived value. Whichever route is taken, the managerial resources of the company can be associated with maximising added-value activities from activities retained within the company. Such ideas lead to the emergence of a management paradigm in which the company becomes a hub containing core competencies critical to generating internal added value whilst being surrounded by a satellite of other companies performing out sourced activities. This paradigm is sometimes labelled ‘virtual organisation' (Chaston 2001). Until recently, the narrow bandwidth of the Internet meant that banner advertisements had to be restricted to very simple text and graphics. Advances are now being made in ‘rich-media technology'. This permits the advertiser to incorporate high-grade graphics with audio and interactive capabilities (example, Toyota's video clips of car models). Developments in 3 G (third generation) technology and the growth in cellular connections world wide present enormous opportunities for marketers to build new markets based on better targeting in marketing communication (Mort & Drennan 2002). According to Mort & Drennan (2002), it's certain that, in the next few years, all companies will hear customers and suppliers expressing strong preference for transacting via Web Services. Presumably, within four to five years, companies unprepared for Web Services will experience revenue loss or supplier price increases. As consumers begin to interact electronically with each other, virtual communities are formed and individuals who have experienced better or worse offers are pleased to share knowledge with each other via e-mail, chat rooms, etc. (Chaston 2001). Many companies, especially those situated in developing countries, are not using the technologies that their competitors are using. Despite a growing belief by official administration that companies should be endowed with the promising ICT, many companies are still lagging behind. Like any new technology, expectations are high and failures to fulfil them can have significant consequences on business conduct. There are some early adopters making investments or commitments to develop ICT capacity. Many are however experiencing conception and development problems. Many of the problems linked with ICT adoption hinge around web site design and implementation, web-based pricing strategies, communication, distribution and branding, organisational processes, and the internationalisation of business. The proposed conference will attempt to:
The following themes are indicative of the areas that the conference intends to cover:
Bibliography
Papers, in English or in French, should be a maximum of 15 pages, including an abstract (200 words approximately), keywords, references, exhibits, and appendices. All papers should be sent as Word documents using single spacing and 12 point Times New Roman font to. abdel.triki@isg.rnu.tn and to: istabrakkamoun@topnet.tn Relevant paper contents, including illustrations, should be included in a single document. All papers should be submitted no later than 30 September 2006 . Papers should include the abstract, keywords, references, exhibits, and appendices. The paper title and all author and co-author details shall be provided and the organising committee will only contact the lead author. To facilitate blind review of submissions, please do not include the author name(s) or any author-identifying information (including acknowledgements) either in text of the document, properties of the file or in the file name.
Important Dates:
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