Privacy issues are a top priority in web design. However, websites’ evaluation methods do not consider legal and ethical issues. This article proposes a fuzzy logic–based methodology for evaluating ...websites’ compliance with legal and ethical principles. Using fuzzy Delphi and fuzzy numbers, the methodology develops the Fuzzy Legal and Ethical Compliance Index (FLECI) that addresses the inherited vagueness of the evaluation process and calculates websites’ conformity to legal and ethical guidelines. To illustrate the proposed methodology, this research collects data and then evaluates and classifies 100 websites with respect to their privacy policies using fuzzy equivalence. This article provides a foundation for the development of comprehensive website evaluation methods that include privacy and ethical issues in their evaluations. Future research can investigate the applicability of the proposed methodology and the fuzzy numbers calculated in this article in websites across industries and cultural activities.
The development of customised services that are offered at competitive prices is among the highest priorities in the services industry. Mass customisation (MC) attempts to give customers what they ...want, when and where they want it, at a cost comparable to that of mass-produced goods. The adoption of MC in conjunction with the rapid development of the Internet applications can open up new opportunities for developing services, which are affordable and customised to customers needs. This paper reports on the results of an exploratory study of 35 IT and marketing managers of banks and insurance companies in the UK. It investigates three critical issues for the successful implementation of MC, namely, the management approaches to developing MC, the employees awareness and the potential of the Internet as a means for closer interaction and collaboration with customers for the customisation of services.
In recent years, organisations have begun to realise the importance of knowing their customers better. Customer relationship management (CRM) is an approach to managing customer related knowledge of ...increasing strategic significance. The successful adoption of IT-enabled CRM redefines the traditional models of interaction between businesses and their customers, both nationally and globally. It is regarded as a source for competitive advantage because it enables organisations to explore and use knowledge of their customers and to foster profitable and long-lasting one-to-one relationships. This paper discusses the results of an exploratory survey conducted in the UK financial services sector; it discusses CRM practice and expectations, the motives for implementing it, and evaluates post-implementation experiences. It also investigates the CRM tools functionality in the strategic, process, communication, and business-to-customer (B2C) organisational context and reports the extent of their use. The results show that despite the anticipated potential, the benefits from such tools are rather small.
Virtual communities (VCs) are formed on the Internet and are expected to evolve to a strategically important e-business model. VCs foster trust among their members and allow them to interact, ...exchange ideas and experiences, regardless of their geographical or ethnic origin. Organisations should consider VCs as a new market place since their members are current or future customers. Through the interaction with the members of a VC, companies will eventually learn more about the needs of their customers, they will strengthen their relationships and they will be able to customise their services. This exploratory study reports on a survey of 43 information systems and marketing managers of insurance companies in the UK and Greece. It investigates the potential of VCs in the services sector with respect to their contribution to consumers’ loyalty and discusses the requirements for the functionality of a VC. The results of this study are useful both for the design of VCs and the evaluation of their business value.
Banking, one of the most information intensive sectors, is an ideal domain for the successful development of e-commerce. The present exploratory study focuses on e-commerce opportunities for ...improving corporate customer services in the Greek banking sector. It reports on a survey of 11 marketing and information systems managers from five major Greek banks. The results indicate that the potential of e-commerce ranges from simple applications, such as giving information about services, to more sophisticated ones that involve customers in services design and customisation. Suitable management actions are proposed to Greek banks in order to fully benefit from the Internet.
The development of Internet applications for business use is expected to change the way organisations operate, and improve their customer services. However, the potential of the Internet to improve ...customer satisfaction has not been studied, either in countries with welldeveloped electronic markets or in countries in the early stages of ecommerce. This article reports on the results of a survey of 120 companies in Greece. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of customeroriented Internet applications and to investigate how the Internet and ecommerce can offer new opportunities for businesses to improve their customers satisfaction.
The development of Internet applications for business use is expected to change the way organisations operate, and improve their customer services. However, the potential of the Internet to improve ...customer satisfaction has not been studied, either in countries with well-developed electronic markets or in countries in the early stages of e-commerce. This article reports on the results of a survey of 120 companies in Greece. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of customer-oriented Internet applications and to investigate how the Internet and e-commerce can offer new opportunities for businesses to improve their customers' satisfaction.
Increased competition characterises the food sector worldwide, but the potential of e-commerce (eC) to improve customer satisfaction in the food industries has not been thoroughly studied. Reports on ...the results of a survey of 48 information systems and marketing managers from food companies in Greece. This paper examines the eC management context and investigates how the Internet can offer new opportunities for improving customer satisfaction. The results show that there is potential for customer-oriented eC applications across the value chain.
Increased competition characterises the food sector worldwide, but the potential of ecommerce eC to improve customer satisfaction in the food industries has not been thoroughly studied. Reports on ...the results of a survey of 48 information systems IS and marketing managers from food companies in Greece. Examines the eC management context and investigates how the Internet can offer new opportunities for improving customer satisfaction. The results show that there is potential for customeroriented eC applications across the value chain.
Increased competition characterises the food sector worldwide, but the potential of e-commerce (eC) to improve customer satisfaction in the food industries has not been thoroughly studied. Reports on ...the results of a survey of 48 information systems (IS) and marketing managers from food companies in Greece. Examines the eC management context and investigates how the Internet can offer new opportunities for improving customer satisfaction. The results show that there is potential for customer-oriented eC applications across the value chain.
