Information and communications technologies (ICTs) in human services are on the rise and raise concerns about their place and impact on the daily activities of professionals and clients. This article describes a study in which a social mobile application was developed for job coaches and employees and implemented in a pilot phase. The aim of the mobile application was to provide a better communication between employees and their job coaches and to provide more up-to-date information about the organization. The application consisted of a personal web environment and app with vacancies, personal news, events, tips, and promotions. A qualitative methodology was used in the form of focus groups and in-depth interviews. The results of this study show that the participants are partly positive about the social mobile application. It can be concluded that the use of mobile technologies can be beneficial in a range of human services practice settings for both professionals and clients and, therefore, requires more attention from the academic field to focus on this relatively new but promising theme.
Smart home technologies are a large potential market for the construction and building services industry. This chapter discusses the topics consultants, installers, and suppliers of home automation systems encounter when working in the field. Improved communication skills and more flexible approaches to the design and installing of building services leads to many new opportunities for new products and services. There are a large number of requirements from the perspective of architectural design and building services engineering, which relate to the infrastructure that is needed for smart homes. An overview of these electrical engineering and ICT requirements is discussed. When working with clients, it is important to consider the additional set of rules of working in their homes. Clients may have additional needs in the field of home modifications that can also be addressed when doing retrofitting projects. An outline of steps to get stared and essential questions for professional care organization is given.
In this article, the impact of strategic orientations on the use of digital marketing tactics and, subsequently, on the international business performance of small electronic retailers (e-retailers) in cross-border electronic commerce (e-commerce) is analysed. Furthermore, these relationships are compared between e-retailers originating in both developed and emerging e-commerce markets. Using a sample of 446 small business-to-consumer e-retailers from 20 European countries, we find that the deployment of digital marketing tactics has a positive effect on international business performance. Of the strategic orientations examined, foreign market orientation is most associated with the use of digital marketing tactics. Remarkably, growth orientation only has a positive effect on e-retailers from developed e-commerce markets, while customer orientation negatively affects e-retailers from emerging e-commerce markets. The differences between e-retailers from developed and emerging e-commerce markets are prominent and show that markets should not be considered as either uniform or generalisable.
Het Hanze Innovation Traineeship Pilot project is geïnitieerd op de Hanzehogeschool Groningen door drie onderzoeksgroepen (lectoraten) die zijn ingebed in het Marian van Os Centre of Expertise Ondernemen (CoEO). De trainees worden gecoacht in een Community of Learners en begeleid door een diverse groep van onderzoekers van de volgende onderzoeksgroepen van de Hanzehogeschool Groningen: (1) International Business, (2) Marketing/Marktgericht Ondernemen en (3) User-Centered Design. Het doel van het programma is om regionale MKBs in Noord-Nederland te ondersteunen om duurzaam te innoveren met de hulp en ondersteuning van trainees en onderzoekers van de drie onderzoeksgroepen. De trainees worden begeleid bij het ontwikkelen en implementeren van een door onderzoek ondersteunde innovatie tijdens een afstudeerproject en een 12-maanden durende traineeship bij het bedrijf. Bij de start van het programma ondergaan de MKBs een innovatie-gezondheids-check die wordt herhaald nadat de traineeship is afgerond. Over het algemeen zouden de bedrijven hun bedrijfsprestaties en innovatiecapaciteit moeten kunnen verbeteren door middel van het programma. Verder zal de onderzoekssamenwerking tussen de onderzoeksgroepen van de Hanzehogeschool en de MKBs leiden tot een beter inzicht in innovatiebarrières en succesfactoren. De opgedane kennis over regionale MKB-innovatie zal in alle sectoren en industrieën worden geprojecteerd. De uiteindelijke projectresultaten zullen dienen voor het besluitvormingsproces van toekomstige innovatie traineeship programma's