Academic literature on the topic 'Online Channel Competition'

This study aims to investigate the literature in product distribution and channel competition. In this study, past work related to the product distribution through different channels is extensively reviewed. Based on the channel differentiation, channel competition is also reviewed. Finally, the study proposes that the future research may focus on helping the producer make a decision whether to sell the product through its own direct channel (online) through a physical channel or both based on the difference between these two channels.

Internet has revolutionized distribution channels. Online orders are forwarded to the brick-and-mortar store to make the fulfillment, which is a new distribution strategy in a dual-channel supply chain. However, there is little research on the value of using such distribution strategy in dual-channel setting. To fill this gap, this article considers a manufacturer marketing a product through a dual-channel supply chain, comprised of an online channel and an offline retail channel. We develop a game theory model to investigate the pricing decisions and the distribution strategies, as well as to examine the impacts of the new distribution strategy on price competition and the dual-channel supply chain member's profits. By comparing the results of the traditional distribution strategy and the new distribution strategy, we find that the new distribution strategy can soften price competition when the proportion of the revenue generated by the direct channel is high enough, while if the proportion is low enough, it may intensify price competition. We also find that the supply chain members can achieve a win-win situation when the wholesale price is higher, and the proportion is greater under the new distribution strategy.

In a multichannel supply chain comprising of dual-channel retailers with both physical and online channels as well as single-channel e-tailers with online channels, a multichannel demand model for e-commerce is constructed based on customer channel preferences, and a Stackerberg game model with price competition dominated by dual-channel retailers and single-channel e-tailers as well as a Bertrand game model with equal rights are established to analyze the impact of different channel rights structures on the price, demand, and profit of the two retailers. The results show that the single-channel e-tailer under the dual-channel retailer-dominated game has the highest profit, and the dual-channel retailer under the single-channel e-tailer-dominated game has the highest profit; thus, both retailers should accept the other’s dominant channel rights for profit maximization.

Purpose This study aims to describe the general picture of the competition in multichannel expert services in duopoly market and discuss how the quality difference may affects the competition between service providers with different quality levels, where both providers offer face-to-face channel and one of providers offers online channel additionally and service quality that consumers have heterogeneous preferences for is vertically differentiated. These results can be used to determine which service providers should offer online expert services and understand the competition in multichannel expert services in duopoly. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the stylized vertical differentiation model to investigate the role of quality in expert services market, assuming that two services providers offer the same services with different quality levels and one of them having additional online services. Taking into account the differences of services from products and the particularity of online service, this paper extends the vertical differentiation model to expert services market. Findings The quality difference is the key factor in the competition of expert services. Service prices and the profits of providers, independent of the quality levels, are positively related to the quality difference, whereas the demand of online services is in the opposite direction regardless of which provider offers online channel. It demonstrates that provider with low-quality level should open online channel from the point of view of social welfare if it is closely related to the expert services, even though any provider can make more profits by opening online channel. Research limitations/implications This extended vertical differentiation model, taking into account the importance of vertical differentiation in expert service, ignores the horizontal differentiation. More accurate strategies for multichannel expert services providers with what level of the quality a provider should offer is needed in future work. Moreover, this paper does not consider the different waiting costs of consumers in face-to-face channel and assumes that their problem will be solved eventually. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, no study has focused on the quality difference in multichannel expert services market or discussed how to offer online expert services in the duopoly market. This study extends the vertical differentiation model to the multichannel expert service market. Therefore, it fills this research gap and extends research to expert services market in the new network environment, aiming to help understand the competition in multichannel expert services.

Facing competition from manufacturers' online direct channels, how retailers make sales channel decisions to increase consumer stickiness has become the core concern of the industry and academia. Empirical research showed that delivery lead time is a key factor that affects consumers' preference for online channels. To analyze the impact of consumer delivery time preference on channel selection and pricing strategy of retailers, consumer delivery lead time preference function was improved from a linear function to an exponential function and consumer demand under the mixed dual-channel supply chain of manufacturer and retailer was derived. Then, the Stackelberg game models under different channel strategies of retailer were established and solved. Results show that consumer preference for delivery lead time has four implications on the channel decision of retailers under manufacturer encroachment in the dual-channel supply chain. First, the dual retail channels strategy is the optimal choice for retailers, and the profit margins that a retailer obtains from dual retail channels supply chain and single online retail channel supply chain will increase as consumers' delivery lead time preference coefficient increases. Second, the optimal pricing of online retail channel and offline retail channel is positively related to consumers' delivery lead time preference coefficient. By contrast, the optimal pricing of online direct channel is negatively related to consumers' delivery lead time preference coefficient. Third, the optimal pricing of online retail channel is higher than that of offline retail and online direct channels. Fourth, a retailer and a manufacturer can adopt a compensation-based whole price contract to address the conflict brought about by the optimal channel choice of the retailer. This study introduces consumer delivery lead time preference into retailer channel decision making and provides a theoretical reference for retailer's mixed channel construction in practice.

In recent years, e-commerce has developed rapidly. Many manufacturers are beginning to integrate with the Internet and regard online platforms, such as online marketplaces and self-owned online malls, as important sale channels for their products. Considering the difference of shopping experience between the two online channels, this paper models price and service competition between the two channels. This paper discusses the decisions of supply chain participants with three power structures, that is, the manufacturer Stackelberg game, the online marketplace firm Stackelberg game, and the Nash game. The results show that the channel service level and the consumer sensitivity to channel service positively affect the channel price and demand. We characterize a threshold for the wholesale price. When the wholesale price is below the threshold, the channel prices are lowest in the Nash game, and when the wholesale price is greater than the threshold, the channel prices are lowest when the manufacture acts as the leader. Differentiated services can improve the supply chain participants’ profits and the system’s profit compared with the same service. More interestingly, this paper finds that the online marketplace firm should pay attention to improving its service level, while the manufacturer should pay attention to other work differently, such as focusing on generating promotional value and shaping corporate brand image by the self-owned online mall channel.

Channel promotions compete against brand promotions among two manufacturers and one traditional retailer in e-commerce age. Being a leader the first strong manufacturer is not only the weakest traditional retailer’s supplier but also a competitor to the second weaker manufacturer in the internet at the same time. The paper focuses on three supply chain partners’ dynamic games in dual channels and finds out their optimal promotion competition decisions. By three-dimensional simulation analysis it reveals some objective laws of management decisions, such as limits of the traditional retailer’s living space in dual markets competition, and the conditions that all of the three partners could join in the dual markets competition, especially the strong manufacturer 1 could take part in the online market competition, and the strong manufacturer 1 should control its Internet brand promotion level to keep its strong status, etc.

As consumers' green demand continues to rise, the competition between ordinary products and green products is becoming more and more intense. In order to study the impact of product competition and consumer green demand on product price and product greenness, as well as the optimal manufacturing strategy of dual-channel green supply chain, for a manufacturer and a retailer that can produce common products and green products, a set of The dual-channel supply chain composed of traditional retail channels and online direct sales channels, according to the different production modes of manufacturers, established a dual-channel supply chain game model of traditional production mode, green production mode and mixed production mode, and compared the products under the three production modes Price, greenness, and manufacturer's profit are verified with examples. The results show that: based on the consistent pricing strategy, consumer channel preference directly affects product price and greenness; product competition and consumer green demand sensitivity coefficients both promote product prices and product greenness; the manufacturer's optimal manufacturing strategy For the mixed production mode.

This study explores the pricing decisions of substitutable products for two competing supply chains in the presence of an online channel. Each supply chain consisting of a single manufacturer and an exclusive retailer and one of the manufacturers distributes products through the online channel. We examine optimal decisions under five scenarios to explore how the strategic cooperation between two manufacturers at the upstream horizontal level or with the retailer at the vertical level affects product pricing decisions and the performance of two supply chains? The results reveal that decisions for cooperation with competing manufacturers and opening an online channel are correlated. In the absence of an online channel, cooperation with their respective retailer can lead to a higher supply chain profit. However, if a manufacturer opens an online channel, then cooperation with competing manufacturers can lead to a higher supply chain profit. Under the vertical integration, total supply chain profit might be lower compared to a scenario where members in each supply chain remain independent. Consumers also need to pay more for products.

The pedagogical case study at hand pivots on Zalando SE, a German online retailer for fashion and accessories, that put innovation and user experience at the core of its business values. In pursuit of European market leadership, Zalando looks at improving the customers’ digital experience through implementing technological features of the next generation. Qualitative and quantitative analyses, which included the online fashion retail market and Zalando’s business performance, were applied in order to gain a holistic understanding of the European e-commerce industry. In a second step, industry trends and critical success factors were analysed and ranked. To answer the guiding question of this case study (How can Zalando SE leverage on its strong market position and technological progress in order to become Europe’s number one online fashion retailer?), future trends and critical success factors are paired with Zalando’s strengths, core values and business model. The case resolution shows that the online retail market is undergoing a shift from a sector where offerings are decided by its merchants to one with offerings dictated by consumers. The tech-savvy e-commerce consumers demand to play an active role in building the consumer-brand-relationship. For consumers, Zalando should become the go-to stylist offering sophisticated fashion products and services through its digital as well as physical channels. For partners and suppliers, Zalando should develop into the go-to advisor for online retail by providing a holistic spectrum of services, such as marketing, logistics and, business development. With this two-track approach, long-term sustainable competitive advantage can be achieved.
Este caso pedagógico trata a Zalando SE, um retalhista online de moda, alemão. Esta empresa tem uma visão muito aplicada na inovação e na conveniência para o utilizador, os seus principais valores de negócio. Com vista à liderança, a empresa procura melhorar a experiência digital dos seus clientes. Análises qualitativas e quantitativas foram adotadas de forma a obter uma compreensão holística da indústria Europeia de comércio de moda online, bem como do histórico de negócio e desempenho da Zalando. Numa segunda etapa, tendências do setor e fatores chave de sucesso foram analisados e classificados, sendo alinhados com os pontos fortes da empresa e respetivo modelo de negócio de modo a responder à questão principal deste caso (Como pode a Zalando SE alavancar o seu posicionamento de mercado e progresso tecnológico de forma a tornar-se o retalhista de moda online número um da Europa?). O caso demonstra que o mercado de moda online passa por uma profunda alteração, evoluindo de um setor cuja oferta é determinada pelos retalhistas, para um novo paradigma onde a oferta é ditada pelos consumidores. A Zalando precisa compreender que o futuro e-consumidor deseja desempenhar um papel ativo na relação com as marcas que segue. Para os consumidores, a Zalando deverá tornar-se um ávido consultor no que toca ao retalho online, que oferece um conjunto holístico de serviços, entre os quais o marketing, logística, desenvolvimento do negócio. Assim, e com esta abordagem de duas vias, a vantagem competitiva, sustentável, e a longo prazo poderá, efetivamente, ser alcançada.

E-commerce is being rapidly diffused geographically and is shaping all sort of industries that seek solutions to meet increasing society demands. Due to its growing importance, researchers are finding ways to track the impacts and variations of this technology all over the world. Some approaches focus on specific industries including e-grocery shopping that function as a branch for e-retail with a large number of product categories. With so many variables, there are still gaps on the research of certain product categories and countries. This research fills the gap of the online grocery retailing literature in Portugal. The research contributes to a clarification of what consumers are valuing online, for grocery shopping, in comparison to what retailers are offering. Through an extensive literature review, it was developed a tool that combines the 41 most important attributes for online consumers into 5 different dimensions: Shopping Experience, Accessibility, Security, Interactions and Customer Service. This study allows to conclude that there are three different maturity stages regarding the online supply of groceries. On a more mature phase it can be found Continente and Jumbo e-retailers that greatly exceed customer expectations. Secondly it can be found El Corte Ingles that is not as mature as the previous competitors but demonstrates a clear vision and strategy for development. Finally, with the least mature offer, it can be found Intermarché, which does not meet customer expectations. Matching Portuguese retail ebusinesses to online consumers is a starting point to understand and predict the potential of the online grocery retail market in Portugal.
O comércio eletrónico está a ser rapidamente difundido em termos geográficos e está a moldar vários tipos de indústrias que procuram soluções para fazer face às necessidades da sociedade. Devido à crescente importância, investigadores procuram formas de acompanhar os impactos desta tecnologia a nível mundial. Algumas abordagens centramse em indústrias específicas como o mercado alimentar online, que funciona como uma ramificação do retalho online mais abrangente, que engloba um número grande de categorias. Com tantas variáveis, existem ainda lacunas na pesquisa de determinadas categorias de produtos e países. Este trabalho preenche a lacuna sobre o mercado alimentar online em Portugal. Visa clarificar o que os consumidores valorizam no mercado alimentar online, por comparação com a oferta dos retalhistas online. Através de uma extensa revisão de literatura, desenvolveu-se uma ferramenta que agrega os 41 atributos mais importantes para os consumidores online em 5 dimensões: Experiência de Compra, Acessibilidade, Segurança, Interações e Apoio ao Cliente. Este estudo permite concluir que existem três diferentes estádios de maturação no mercado alimentar online. Numa fase mais madura encontram-se o Continente e o Jumbo que excedem as expectativas dos consumidores. Em seguida, o El Corte Inglês cuja oferta não se encontra tão amadurecida como a dos seus concorrentes anteriormente mencionados, mas demonstra uma visão e estratégia claras para o seu desenvolvimento. Finalmente, a oferta menos madura do mercado provém do Intermarché, que não vai ao encontro das expectativas dos consumidores. Comparar os modelos de negócio retalhistas existentes com os consumidores online é um ponto de partida para compreender e prever a potencialidade do mercado alimentar online em Portugal.

This introductory chapter examines various models for popularizing and democratizing news that have been influential in the United States over the past several decades. It argues that the U.S. news industry has undergone a philosophical paradigm shift, moving away from an ideal of professional autonomy and into a “postprofessional” period characterized by an affirmation that consumers' preferences should drive news production. The chapter also describes several attempts made by key groups of news producers to shift control over the news agenda away from professional expertise and put it in the hands of ordinary news consumers: the market-centered newspaper movement epitomized by Gannett's USA Today, the creation of a genre of news amid competition among the major U.S. cable news channels, and the growth of online social news sites tapping into collaborative filtering as a mechanism for democratizing the news agenda.

This chapter discusses the history of short fiction in Canada. The first decade of the twenty-first century witnessed several social changes that affected the publication of short stories in Canada. Electronic media began to impinge on print media, and bookstores, especially the small independents, were forced to shut down due to competition from big box stores, online companies, and electronic downloading practices. The chapter examines important developments that contributed to the growth of the Canadian short story, including the establishment in 1970-71 of the Montreal Storytellers Fiction Performance Group and the publication in 1985 of the first collection of contemporary Canadian speculative fiction, Tesseracts, edited by Judith Merril. It also considers works by late twentieth-century writers, who focused on post-nationalism, third-wave feminism, post-realism, and post-temporality.

Digital technology is changing everything about modern sports. Athletes and coaches rely on digital data to monitor and enhance performance. Officials use tracking systems to augment their judgment in what is an increasingly superhuman field of play. Spectators tune in to live sports through social media, or even through virtual reality. Audiences now act as citizen journalists whose collective shared data expands the places in which we consume sports news. Sport 2.0 examines the convergence of sports and digital cultures, examining not only how it affects our participation in sport but also how it changes our experience of life online. This convergence redefines how we think of about our bodies, the social function of sports, and it transforms the populations of people who are playing. Sport 2.0 describes a world in which the rise of competitive computer game playing—e-sports—challenges and invigorates the social mandate of both sports and digital culture. It also examines media change at the Olympic Games, as an exemplar of digital innovation in sports. Furthermore, the book offers a detailed look at the social media footprint of the 2012 London Games, discussing how organizers, sponsors, media, and activists responded to the world’s largest media event.

This handbook is currently in development, with individual articles publishing online in advance of print publication. At this time, we cannot add information about unpublished articles in this handbook, however the table of contents will continue to grow as additional articles pass through the review process and are added to the site. Please note that the online publication date for this handbook is the date that the first article in the title was published online. For more information, please read the site FAQs. In order to make quality strategic decisions, managers need a deep understanding of industry dynamics and enterprise capabilities. In this book, we present a conceptual framework that will help executives lead their organizations in highly competitive global markets. For some, it will change frames of reference and accepted priorities in terms of what’s important for the enterprise to build, own, and manage. Management theory is young and fragmented, and generally not much of a guide for executives, except around certain narrow issues. The framework presented in this volume can be helpful with the big-picture issues. To be useful, a theoretical framework must be flexible enough to provide guidance in a variety of situations. However, the theory must not be so general that it fails to speak to practical management problems. Another useful attribute is parsimony, so that an overwhelming number of variables don’t render analysis an impossible task. This book includes a number of essays about the Dynamic Capabilities Framework (Teece et al., 1990, 1997; Teece, 2007), which increasingly provides an intellectual infrastructure for both theoretical and applied analyses of strategic management and other issues facing business decision makers. Since 2006, articles concerning dynamic capabilities have been published in business and management journals at a rate of more than 100 per year (Di Stefano et al., 2010). And an increasing number of these articles contain new empirical research validating the Dynamic Capabilities approach to competitive advantage. A broad panoply of scholars and executives are contributing to the further development of this framework. This book summarizes and integrates many of these contributions, and this introduction will introduce some of the major themes of the chapters that follow.

AbstractThis qualitative study examines what factors and measures may contribute to the success of a state-owned gambling company online. As each jurisdiction restricts online gambling offer and demand according to domestic legislation, there are few tools to limit the competition of online operators.In order to understand how different stakeholders want to limit online competition and preserve the benefits guaranteed by a monopolistic gambling system, thematic interviews (N = 17) were conducted among the state-owned gambling company Veikkaus’ representatives and among public servants engaged in gambling regulation, ownership steering, the prevention of gambling harm, or the distribution and reception of gambling proceeds. Chantal Mouffe’s theorisation on ‘antagonism’ and ‘agonism’ is used to examine the impact of competition of these stakeholders.The results show that the challenges of the Finnish state-owned gambling operator were related to competition (e.g., losing customers and proceeds to international competitors) and to regulation (e.g., channelling gambling and preventing gambling harms). The results also indicated that Veikkaus’ representatives seem to have an agonistic relationship with the regulators and the public servants interested in prevention of gambling harms. The only antagonism found in this study is based on the conflicting power relations of Veikkaus and the international online gambling companies.

AbstractPeoples-uni was a volunteer led online programme to build public health capacity in low- to middle-income countries which demonstrated many of the features discussed as solutions. The term the ‘Distributed University’ is used to indicate the distribution of education to where it is needed—both reducing global inequalities in access and emphasising local relevance. It reduces impact on the environment, distributes trust in place of managerialism, and collaboration in place of competition. It distributes education online and sets up the higher education sector to adapt to the changes in the ways we work and learn today.

Social Media provides a new channel to marketers and businesses to communicate with their customers and business partners and integrate this media in their business strategy. The large scale growth of the social media and its increasing users has opened up new marketing era for the businesses. However, with enormous growth of the social media and other online channels, the competition has increased worldwide. Correspondingly, the customer retention and satisfaction has come-up as the biggest challenge. It has become necessary to gain and retain the customer trust, so that the existing customers are retained and new customers are attracted. Trust management becomes the most important issue in the online environment to work closely with the existing and potential customers along with the business partners. Present work discusses the important aspects of entrusting, managing and maintaining user trust with the social media marketing strategies. The paper highlights the various prevailing models of the trust management and comes out with the strong arguments to facilitate the user trust for businesses using social media marketing techniques.

The importance of marketplaces in e-commerce has increased. More and more merchants are trying to use e-commerce platforms as a distribution channel. With the increasing competition, merchants are faced with the challenge of continuing to sell their products to consumers through marketplaces at a profit. This is especially true if the consumer has already chosen a certain product and now only decides from which merchant to buy the product. This chapter therefore examines for different customer segments which merchant-related factors — also and in particular apart from the price — influence the purchase decision. After reviewing relevant literature, various factors are identified through structured interviews. An online survey is then used to simulate a total of 3,485 purchase decisions with different factor characteristics. In addition to the price, the ratings of a merchant and the delivery time are identified as central factors influencing the purchase decision.

Until recently, travel agents have been the principal intermediary between travel suppliers and consumers, with information as their primary trade. However, changes to information and communication technology (ICT) and the beginning of the internet have the potential to allow travel suppliers and consumers to interact directly. Today, consumer websites that integrate global distribution systems (GDSs) are no longer only an emerging threat but show fierce global competition between travel agencies and tour operators worldwide. Subsequently, one of the most pertinent questions today is how local, small-scale travel agencies respond to these market changes and what practices do they use to maintain their comparative advantage and offer competitive services? However, despite the relevancy of this issue, literature is generally scarce on travel agency strategies to confront the competition of consumer websites. Thus, in order to address this question, this article provides an analysis on the advantages and disadvantages of new technologies are available to travel agencies and strategies and practices that travel agencies can use to compete with websites.

This chapter gives insight into consumers' online and offline fashion shopping behavior, consumers' omni-channel usage during the shopping process, and consumer fashion shopper segments. Based on a literature review, omni-channel shopping behavior during the shopping process was operationalized. Subsequently, an online survey was developed to collect information of 2124 consumers living in the catchment areas of five regional Dutch shopping centers in 2013. Results of the analyses confirm previous findings and contribute additional evidence that suggests relations between consumers' omni-channel shopping behavior during the shopping process and socio-demographics and psychographics. Furthermore, results show that channel usage in the previous phase of the shopping process has a major influence on the channel usage in the following phases of the shopping process. By using the TwoStep clustering technique, six fashion shopper segments are found and described, with one of them a clear omni-channel shopper segment. The results provide information for retailers to know the type of consumers they reach through various channels to offer the right information, on the right channel, during the various phases of the shopping process.

The growing importance of online channels, social media, and mobile commerce (m-commerce) has given rise to new retail formats, that use only channel used and which have enabled many new consumers to access certain establishments despite geographical barriers. The fashion sector may be one of the most heavily affected by these developments, due to the highly seasonal nature of the products, keen competitive rivalry, widespread reliance on outsourcing, high brand power variety of pricing policies, and strong emotional implications for consumers, who identify with specific brands. This chapter aims at analyzing the main strategies that retail operators are currently following in the industry in order to differentiate from other retailers. A special interest will be placed on the role of the brand, examining how retailers in the industry use private labels as a differentiation resource. The authors also review the case of ASOS, a global retailer which has proven able to adapt to every market, with a view to determining how it has dealt with the myriad challenges involved

The growing importance of online channels, social media, and mobile commerce (m-commerce) has given rise to new retail formats, that use only channel used and which have enabled many new consumers to access certain establishments despite geographical barriers. The fashion sector may be one of the most heavily affected by these developments, due to the highly seasonal nature of the products, keen competitive rivalry, widespread reliance on outsourcing, high brand power variety of pricing policies, and strong emotional implications for consumers, who identify with specific brands. This chapter aims at analyzing the main strategies that retail operators are currently following in the industry in order to differentiate from other retailers. A special interest will be placed on the role of the brand, examining how retailers in the industry use private labels as a differentiation resource. The authors also review the case of ASOS, a global retailer which has proven able to adapt to every market, with a view to determining how it has dealt with the myriad challenges involved

The European Commission and the competition authorities of the EU member states responded to the coronavirus crisis with assurances about sufficient flexibility of their instruments. They enabled temporary cooperation between competitors to ensure the supply of essential medical products and services. At the same time, they warned against any misuse of the crisis for overpricing or other monopolistic practices. However, the crisis has also intensified long-term pressures for a fundamental adaptation of European competition rules. The first challenge is represented by Chinese state-backed enterprises as potential acquirers of weakened European competitors. The second source of pressure is the increasingly dominant role of global online platforms. Their role as an irreplaceable infrastructure for management, communication, counselling and distance learning was reinforced in the coronavirus crisis. The Commission and other experts are already discussing appropriate responses. This paper maps the discussion on possible EU responses to these challenges, and tries to show the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed solutions and on this basis to estimate the future development of EU antitrust in the post-coronavirus period.

Due to new technological developments and the ongoing digitalization, the traditional retail sector is currently exposed to major challenges. Digital Retail started with the development of e-commerce, when online companies, such as Amazon, began selling products online. These major online global players are still growing much faster than their smaller European retail competitors. As the absorption of buying power through online retailers, is dominated by global players based in Asia (Alibaba, Rakuten) and the United States (Amazon, eBay), Europe is experiencing a loss in revenue. In this highly competitive market, traditional European brick-and-mortar retailers face hard challenges. However, studies show that most customers currently do not prefer pure online retailers, but a hybrid model, since traditional stores provide them with the opportunity to experience products and to receive personal advice from experts. This paper is a contribution to on-going research on the business model transition to include digital channels in traditional retail companies and to integrate various channels that support and streamline personal customer requirements. Thus, the paper explores challenges and opportunities for omnichannel management in the digital retail industry.

Logging-while-drilling (LWD) acoustic imaging technology emerged in the past few years as a low-cost solution to detect and characterize fractures in high-angle and horizontal wells. This type of imaging tool works in either water-based or oil-based drilling fluids, making it a competitive choice for logging unconventional shale wells, which are often drilled with oil-based mud. With high-resolution acoustic amplitude and travel-time images, fractures, bedding planes and other drilling-related features can be identified, providing new insights for reservoir characterization and wellbore geomechanics. The quality of LWD acoustic images however is directly affected by drilling parameters and borehole conditions, as the received signal is sensitive to formation property and wellbore changes at the same time. As a result, interpretation can be quite challenging, and caution needs to be taken to differentiate actual formation property changes from drilling-related features or image artifacts. This paper demonstrates the complexity of interpreting LWD acoustic images through multiple case studies. The examples were collected from vertical and horizontal wells in multiple shale plays in North America, with the images logged and processed by different service companies. Depending on the geology and borehole conditions, various features and artifacts were observed from the images, which can be used as a reference for geologists and petrophysicists. Images acquired with different drilling parameters were compared to show the effect of drilling conditions on image quality. Recommendations and best practices of using this new type of image log are also shared.

To remain globally competitive, there is increasing pressure for universities to incorporate a greater use of technology and innovation into their curriculum. In response, many higher education institutions have adopted a blended learning approach, which combines traditional face-to-face delivery with online teaching resources, to deliver course content. This paper documents the implementation of online resources in a first-year accounting unit, outlines subsequent changes and monitors its impact on learning outcomes. Whilst in its early stages, this preliminary work on action research will form the basis of determining an optimal blend of traditional and online learning environments for introductory accounting students. This research will endeavour to improve the structure of the curriculum and to positively impact on student learning outcomes.

Today, manufacturing industry is characterized by globalization, unpredictability and rapid change. To be competitive, companies are globally outsourcing activities that are outside their core competencies. In this context, online marketplaces for manufacturing services have become attractive venues for developing supply chain relationships. Despite their significant growth within last few years, online markets are still in their infancy phase. One of the underdeveloped areas in such markets is supply and demand representation. This paper reflects the result of a survey on the existing online markets in the manufacturing industry. Particular focus of this survey is on identifying the major criteria used by market administrators and users for describing supply and demand. Findings of this survey can provide preliminary data for future efforts in development of standard models for conceptualization and representation of supply and demand in online markets.

There is increasing impetus for stronger cooperation between the US, EU and UK on digital technology governance. Drivers of this trend include the economic incentives arising from opportunities for digital trade; the ambition for digital technology governance to be underpinned by shared values, including support for a democratic, open and global internet; and the need to respond to geopolitical competition, especially from China. Two specific areas of governance in which there is concrete potential to collaborate, and in which policymakers have indicated significant ambitions to do so, are digital trade and digital technical standards. - To leverage strategic opportunities for digital trade, the US, EU and UK need to continue identifying and promoting principles based on shared values and agendas, and demonstrate joint leadership at the global level, including in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on e-commerce. - Policy actors in the US, EU and UK should work individually and collectively to build on the latest generation of digital trade agreements. This will help to promote closer alignment on digital rules and standards, and support the establishment of more up-to-date models for innovation and governance. - Collaborating on digital technical standards, particularly those underlying internet governance and emerging technologies, offers the US, EU and UK strategic opportunities to build a vision of digital technology governance rooted in multi-stakeholder participation and democratic values. This can provide a strong alternative to standards proposals such as China’s ‘New IP’ system. - Policy actors should seek to expand strategic cooperation on standards development among the US, EU and UK, among like-minded countries, and among states that are undecided on the direction of their technology governance, including in the Global South. They should also take practical steps to incorporate the views and expertise of the technology industry, the broader private sector, academia and civil society. By promoting best-practice governance models that are anticipatory, dynamic and flexible, transatlantic efforts for cooperation on digital regulation can better account for the rapid pace of technological change. Early evidence of this more forward-looking approach is emerging through the EU’s proposed regulation of digital services and artificial intelligence (AI), and in the UK’s proposed legislation to tackle online harms. The recently launched EU-US Trade and Technology Council is a particularly valuable platform for strengthening cooperation in this arena. But transatlantic efforts to promote a model of digital governance predicated on democratic values would stand an even greater chance of success if the council’s work were more connected to efforts by the UK and other leading democracies

This report maps the African landscape of Open Science – with a focus on Open Data as a sub-set of Open Science. Data to inform the landscape study were collected through a variety of methods, including surveys, desk research, engagement with a community of practice, networking with stakeholders, participation in conferences, case study presentations, and workshops hosted. Although the majority of African countries (35 of 54) demonstrates commitment to science through its investment in research and development (R&D), academies of science, ministries of science and technology, policies, recognition of research, and participation in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI), the following countries demonstrate the highest commitment and political willingness to invest in science: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. In addition to existing policies in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), the following countries have made progress towards Open Data policies: Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. Only two African countries (Kenya and South Africa) at this stage contribute 0.8% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to R&D (Research and Development), which is the closest to the AU’s (African Union’s) suggested 1%. Countries such as Lesotho and Madagascar ranked as 0%, while the R&D expenditure for 24 African countries is unknown. In addition to this, science globally has become fully dependent on stable ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) infrastructure, which includes connectivity/bandwidth, high performance computing facilities and data services. This is especially applicable since countries globally are finding themselves in the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), which is not only “about” data, but which “is” data. According to an article1 by Alan Marcus (2015) (Senior Director, Head of Information Technology and Telecommunications Industries, World Economic Forum), “At its core, data represents a post-industrial opportunity. Its uses have unprecedented complexity, velocity and global reach. As digital communications become ubiquitous, data will rule in a world where nearly everyone and everything is connected in real time. That will require a highly reliable, secure and available infrastructure at its core, and innovation at the edge.” Every industry is affected as part of this revolution – also science. An important component of the digital transformation is “trust” – people must be able to trust that governments and all other industries (including the science sector), adequately handle and protect their data. This requires accountability on a global level, and digital industries must embrace the change and go for a higher standard of protection. “This will reassure consumers and citizens, benefitting the whole digital economy”, says Marcus. A stable and secure information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure – currently provided by the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) – is key to advance collaboration in science. The AfricaConnect2 project (AfricaConnect (2012–2014) and AfricaConnect2 (2016–2018)) through establishing connectivity between National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), is planning to roll out AfricaConnect3 by the end of 2019. The concern however is that selected African governments (with the exception of a few countries such as South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia and others) have low awareness of the impact the Internet has today on all societal levels, how much ICT (and the 4th Industrial Revolution) have affected research, and the added value an NREN can bring to higher education and research in addressing the respective needs, which is far more complex than simply providing connectivity. Apart from more commitment and investment in R&D, African governments – to become and remain part of the 4th Industrial Revolution – have no option other than to acknowledge and commit to the role NRENs play in advancing science towards addressing the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). For successful collaboration and direction, it is fundamental that policies within one country are aligned with one another. Alignment on continental level is crucial for the future Pan-African African Open Science Platform to be successful. Both the HIPSSA ((Harmonization of ICT Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa)3 project and WATRA (the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly)4, have made progress towards the regulation of the telecom sector, and in particular of bottlenecks which curb the development of competition among ISPs. A study under HIPSSA identified potential bottlenecks in access at an affordable price to the international capacity of submarine cables and suggested means and tools used by regulators to remedy them. Work on the recommended measures and making them operational continues in collaboration with WATRA. In addition to sufficient bandwidth and connectivity, high-performance computing facilities and services in support of data sharing are also required. The South African National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System5 (NICIS) has made great progress in planning and setting up a cyberinfrastructure ecosystem in support of collaborative science and data sharing. The regional Southern African Development Community6 (SADC) Cyber-infrastructure Framework provides a valuable roadmap towards high-speed Internet, developing human capacity and skills in ICT technologies, high- performance computing and more. The following countries have been identified as having high-performance computing facilities, some as a result of the Square Kilometre Array7 (SKA) partnership: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia. More and more NRENs – especially the Level 6 NRENs 8 (Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and recently Zambia) – are exploring offering additional services; also in support of data sharing and transfer. The following NRENs already allow for running data-intensive applications and sharing of high-end computing assets, bio-modelling and computation on high-performance/ supercomputers: KENET (Kenya), TENET (South Africa), RENU (Uganda), ZAMREN (Zambia), EUN (Egypt) and ARN (Algeria). Fifteen higher education training institutions from eight African countries (Botswana, Benin, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania) have been identified as offering formal courses on data science. In addition to formal degrees, a number of international short courses have been developed and free international online courses are also available as an option to build capacity and integrate as part of curricula. The small number of higher education or research intensive institutions offering data science is however insufficient, and there is a desperate need for more training in data science. The CODATA-RDA Schools of Research Data Science aim at addressing the continental need for foundational data skills across all disciplines, along with training conducted by The Carpentries 9 programme (specifically Data Carpentry 10 ). Thus far, CODATA-RDA schools in collaboration with AOSP, integrating content from Data Carpentry, were presented in Rwanda (in 2018), and during17-29 June 2019, in Ethiopia. Awareness regarding Open Science (including Open Data) is evident through the 12 Open Science-related Open Access/Open Data/Open Science declarations and agreements endorsed or signed by African governments; 200 Open Access journals from Africa registered on the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ); 174 Open Access institutional research repositories registered on openDOAR (Directory of Open Access Repositories); 33 Open Access/Open Science policies registered on ROARMAP (Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies); 24 data repositories registered with the Registry of Data Repositories (re3data.org) (although the pilot project identified 66 research data repositories); and one data repository assigned the CoreTrustSeal. Although this is a start, far more needs to be done to align African data curation and research practices with global standards. Funding to conduct research remains a challenge. African researchers mostly fund their own research, and there are little incentives for them to make their research and accompanying data sets openly accessible. Funding and peer recognition, along with an enabling research environment conducive for research, are regarded as major incentives. The landscape report concludes with a number of concerns towards sharing research data openly, as well as challenges in terms of Open Data policy, ICT infrastructure supportive of data sharing, capacity building, lack of skills, and the need for incentives. Although great progress has been made in terms of Open Science and Open Data practices, more awareness needs to be created and further advocacy efforts are required for buy-in from African governments. A federated African Open Science Platform (AOSP) will not only encourage more collaboration among researchers in addressing the SDGs, but it will also benefit the many stakeholders identified as part of the pilot phase. The time is now, for governments in Africa, to acknowledge the important role of science in general, but specifically Open Science and Open Data, through developing and aligning the relevant policies, investing in an ICT infrastructure conducive for data sharing through committing funding to making NRENs financially sustainable, incentivising open research practices by scientists, and creating opportunities for more scientists and stakeholders across all disciplines to be trained in data management.