APPLICABILITY OF WEB-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS
FOR SMALL KNOWLEDGE-ORIENTED SERVICE COMPANIES
Case Study from Finland
Erno Salmela, Ari Happonen
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology
P.O. Box 20, 53851 Lappeenranta, Finland
Jukka Hemilä
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland
Keywords: Project management, SME, knowledge management, e-business, ERP, web.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the applicability of web-based information systems to the business
processes of small knowledge-oriented service companies from Finland. The study explains the current
status of web applications in the corporate sector researched, and discusses the future possibilities for
applying web-based information systems, taking into consideration the special features of the sector. The
applications have mainly been focused on contacts with authorities, paying invoices, marketing on public
web sites and extranet services for customers. In two of the cases, web systems were used rather extensively
in service processes. These two cases were far ahead of the others in applying web-based systems. However,
also they applied web-based solutions mainly in the company's internal processes. In the studied companies,
the application of web systems should in the future focus more on knowledge management support than on
the automation of individual transactions. In many of the studied cases, the automation of transactions is not
even sensible due to their small number. The application of web technologies to knowledge-oriented work
based on creativity and innovation seems, however, to be challenging since the related processes normally
produce unique solutions tailored to customers’ needs, which cannot easily be replicated and thus
automated. Therefore, the automation of the entire creative process is impossible, but web technologies may
produce added value to individual stages of the creative process, such as collecting and distributing data.
1 INTRODUCTION
The service sector has been growing furiously over
the past decade, and services (e.g. consultancy and
research) have become a fundamental means of
competitive advantage and profit for firms. Services
are characteristically intangible, non-storable and
customer-specific, and the service process overlaps
with production and consumption. Some service
companies provide only services, with no tangible
products attached. Information and knowledge plays
a particularly prominent role in the delivery,
coordination and quality assurance of services.
Services are dependent on the people in the service
process, but also include technology-based systems,
which require both management and integration. The
service process can be partly automated, but human
interaction is also needed (Brännback&Carsrud,
2002). There is room for improvement in the service
sector since very few service organisations manage
their processes effectively (Perkins-Munn&Chen,
2004).
Although the service sector has been growing,
there has been little research about service processes
in the service sector supply chains compared to the
manufacturing sector. However, best practices of
processes from thr manufacturing sector cannot be
directly utilised in the service business (Ellram et al.,
2004). More specifically, there is a gap in the
research of application of ICT (Information and
Communication Technology) in small knowledge-
oriented service companies.
13
Salmela E., Happonen A. and Hemilä J. (2007).
APPLICABILITY OF WEB-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR SMALL KNOWLEDGE-ORIENTED SERVICE COMPANIES - Case Study from
Finland.
In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Society, e-Business and e-Government /
e-Learning, pages 13-20
DOI: 10.5220/0001266600130020
Copyright
c
SciTePress
2 METHODS
The aim of this study was to explore the
applicability of web-based information systems to
the business processes of small knowledge-oriented
expert companies from Finland. The study explains
the current status of web applications in the cases
researched, and discusses the future possibilities for
applying web-based information systems, taking into
consideration the special features of the sector.
Data for the research was collected from 20
small or micro-sized Finnish companies. On the
Finnish scale, micro-sized enterprises have 1-9
employees and small-sized enterprises under 50
employees (Yrittäjät website, 2003). The data was
mainly gathered from projects carried out by the
studied cases, where the researcher was involved as
a project manager, steering group member or expert.
Moreover, data was collected through semi-
structured interviews. Two cases were examined in
more detail because the companies in question
clearly applied web-based systems more
comprehensively. The number of cases (20) allows
the generalisation of the results to a certain extent.
Based on the studied cases, this study answers
questions introduced in the following:
In which core processes of the service
business did the studied cases apply the
web solutions?
What added value did the studied cases
achieve from the web solutions?
At which stage were the studied cases in
internal (ERP) and external (e-business)
system integration?
Three theoretical frameworks were utilised to
help answer the questions above. These frameworks
were core processes of the service business, value
drivers in e-business and the ERP-/e-business
matrix. They are introduced in subsections 2.1, 2.2
and 2.3.
Furthermore, this study answers the questions:
What kind of web solution was the most
progressive among the studied cases?
Why did some cases utilise web
technologies considerably more
comprehensively than others?
In this study, the “service” concept means
business services that companies provide for their
customers. These services can include for example
consultancy and research services. The “knowledge-
oriented” concept means that in the service
production process, the intangible human resources
are more important than tangible resources. Web-
based applications refer to solutions built on web
and data transmission technologies (e.g. TCP/IP
protocol, HTML, Flash, web server). In addition, the
applications can be used on a web browser if the
information is meant for human access. On the other
hand, if the data is transmitted from one system to
another, it is done through the Internet. In this
context, it must be considered the fact that web
technologies can be applied both to the company’s
internal ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system
and to the e-business system for external
communication. ERP thus integrates internal
processes, functions and systems, where the users of
the system are company personnel. On the other
hand, e-business integrates processes, functions and
systems between companies. The use of e-mail is not
considered as application of a web-based system in
this study.
2.1 Core Processes in Service Business
Ellram et al. (2004) divides the core processes in the
service business into capacity, demand, relationship,
service delivery, cash flow and information flow
management. The explanations of these core
processes are introduced in Table 1.
2.2 Added Value from Web Solutions
Applying web-based systems in business can lead to
added value in the form of increased purchasing
power, improved process efficiency, shorter
turnaround times, innovations, improved market
efficiency, an expanded market, enhanced customer
responsiveness, more efficient usability of capacity
and resources, disintermediation of non-value-added
processes (Means&Schneider, 2000), more efficient
delivery and more holistic service for customers
(Nickles et al., 1998).
According to March (1991), actions in
organisations can be categorised as either
exploitation or exploration. In exploitation, the goal
is to improve operational efficiencies by
streamlining the processes. In exploration, the goal
is to learn about the environment and discover novel
ways of creating value or solving problems by
innovating. Suppliers must understand market trends
and customer preferences and use that knowledge in
various ways in exploration. Thus exploitation is
about process management, while exploration is
about knowledge management. According to
Subramani (2004), competitive performance is a
combination of operational and strategic benefits.
However, knowledge specificity is more potent than
business process specificity as a basis for deriving
strategic
advantage.
Application of e-business can be divided into
transaction and collaboration tools (Turban et al.,
2002). Transaction tools focus mainly on making the
WEBIST 2007 - International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies
14
elements involved in transactions and processes
more efficient. Information system integration is
an example of this. It transfers transactions
between two companies from one system to
another without manual work. Transaction tools
are best suited for repetitive routine transactions
that require a great deal of manual work, such as
orders and invoicing. Collaboration tools focus
more on knowledge management and improving
the performance of entire processes. Collaboration
tools include e.g. project management systems and
design and forecasting tools.
Transaction theory has established that
operative transaction costs can be reduced by
applying ICT, but the theory does not give explicit
answers regarding the benefits of ICT in
collaborative data exchange. Collaborative ICT
solutions may even increase transaction costs, but
they nevertheless help deepen the partnership,
improve the control of exchanged data and make it
unprofitable to change suppliers (Bunduchi, 2005).
2.3 Phase of Internal and External
System Integration
An ERP-/e-business matrix, introduced in Table 2,
describes how the company or company network is
positioned on an evolution map of internal and
external system integration. In the matrix, the
internal ERP evolution is located on the vertical
axis and the external e-business evolution locates
on the horizontal axis (Norris et. al, 2000).
The
matrix has been developed for large enterprises
which have numerous business units. In this study,
the matrix is adapted for small companies so that
an “Integrated company network ERP“ concept is
used instead of “Integrated enterprise ERP”
concept. Explanations of the concepts in the ERP-
/e-business matrix are introduced in Table 3.
Table 2: ERP-/e-business matrix (Norris et. al, 2000; adapted).
e-business
ERP
No e-business
capabilities
Channel
enhancement
Value chain
integration
Industry
transformation
Convergence
Greenfield
Non-integrated systems
Limited/single function ERP
Integrated company ERP
Integrated company network ERP
Table 1: The explanations of core processes in service business (Ellram et al., 2004; Turban et al., 2002).
Capacity management. Capacity allows a supply chain to increase its level of production to respond to customer
demand. Capacity management is important in the service sector because services usually cannot be inventoried.
Capacity information can include data about the availability of staff, skills and equipment needed in the service work.
Demand management. The starting point of demand management is to recognise factors that influence customer
demand. After that, different methods (e.g. campaigns) can be utilised to manage demand. Demand planning is a sub-
process of demand management. Demand can be planned for example by forecasting.
Relationship management. This can be divided into customer (CRM) and supplier relationship management (SRM).
CRM is about a good understanding of customer needs and how to meet those needs. For example, marketing, sales and
after-sales are sub-processes of CRM. SRM is about aligning the processes of the company and its suppliers to improve
the performance of the supply chain through e.g. common strategies and business plans. Operations analysis is also a
sub-process of CRM and SRM and it includes e.g. the analysis of different performance indicators.
Service delivery management. In service level agreements, a buyer clarifies the specifications and expectations for the
service provider. Sub-processes of service delivery management include e.g. order management, scheduling and
allocating of work, execution of work, reporting of working time, steering of work (e.g. working instructions), dispatch
management (e.g. notice status of work and alert exceptions), and collecting feedback about the service work.
Cash flow management is the management of revenues and expenses. Cash flow management also includes for example
the determination the invoicing practices (for example utilization of aggregation invoices and terms of payment) and
payroll management.
Information flow management is needed in the service business to better manage the core processes.
APPLICABILITY OF WEB-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR SMALL KNOWLEDGE-ORIENTED SERVICE
COMPANIES - Case Study from Finland
15
3 CHARACTERICS OF THE
CASE COMPANIES STUDIED
Each of the 20 case companies had their own unique
characteristics, but the features presented in the
following apply to all. The companies employed
3-15 employees and they mainly provided services
to corporate or public administration customers
operating locally. They provided e.g. educational,
ICT, research, communication, advertising and
consultancy services. As a result from the services,
customers received e.g. marketing material, training
packages, e-business solutions and development
solutions and plans for business processes.
Therefore, the end products were usually intangible
and knowledge-based.
The value chain of the examined cases usually
consisted of marketing and sales, project
management, design, production and post-
marketing. The services were mainly carried out
through projects, and the end products were usually
tailor-made for each customer. In the projects, the
design process was largely based on the expertise,
creativity and problem-solving skills of the
personnel. The success of the design process was
very important for the studied cases because
mistakes made then were costly to correct later. In
addition, errors in design increased the turnaround
time of the project. Both the design and the
production processes were based mainly on human
resources. Thus the most important and utilised
resource were the working hours of personnel. The
projects were usually completed by teams with
representatives from the case company as well as its
customer and/or partner. The teams were typically
composed of two to ten people. Within the
teams, the most important information was
exchanged in face-to-face meetings, whereas less
critical communication was carried out from a
distance by telephone, e-mail or extranet.
The case companies had relatively little project
work (usually several dozen per year), but they were
of great value. The projects were normally launched
through a sales process, and they often had a fixed
project price. However, the number of smaller
commissions from contract customers (the post-
marketing process) was significantly higher. The
commissions were related e.g. to subsequent updates
of end products of projects, such as updates of the
contents of company brochures. The commissions
were normally invoiced based on an hourly fee.
Very few supplies needed to be purchased in the
examined cases since hardly any material was
required and the services were often provided by the
case company personnel.
4 FINDINGS
4.1 Added Value from Web Solutions
and Web-Based Processes
In the studied corporate field, the web was mainly
utilised to support business activities, but the web-
based applications did not, as a rule, bring
significant added value to them. The researched
cases usually obtained the greatest added value from
contacts and tender requests from potential
customers attracted through public web sites.
According to the interviews, the cases had acquired
Table 3: Explanation of the ERP-/ebusiness matrix (Norris et al., 2000; adapted).
ERP Ebusiness
Greenfield. Company has no ERP
solutions.
No e-business capabilities. Company has no e-business solutions. For
example, companiest that utilise only email, are included here.
Non-integrated systems. Company has
non-integrated legacy systems and
applications.
Channel enhancement. The Internet is a business enabler and the company
has some e-business processes with its supply chain partners. However, back
end systems run independently.
Limited/single function ERP.
Company has one or more ERP modules
(e.g. financial and accounting, logistics).
Value chain integration. The company has integrated or/and automated
operational processes with its supply chain partners. Some processes or/and
back end systems of partners are integrated with the company´s own
processes or/and systems.
Integrated company ERP. Company
has ERP system that integrates different
functions.
Industry transformation. The Internet is a business driver and strategic tool.
The value chain includes fully integrated processes and back end systems of
supply chain partners.
Integrated company network ERP.
Company network has common
integrated ERP.
Convergence. Companies from different industries co-operate to provide
holistic solutions for customers (e.g. virtual market places of different
industries).
WEBIST 2007 - International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies
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contacts through their web sites that they would not
have got through traditional marketing channels.
Thus public web sites can be considered to have
expanded the market to some extent. Slight added
value was obtained also from more efficient
delivery, when material was distributed to customers
digitally through an extranet. Therefore, web-based
systems were typically applied in customer
relationship and service delivery management
processes to some extent.
In the top two cases that applied web
technologies the most extensively, considerable
added value was achieved because of the web. Both
cases applied the web to their business in a very
similar way. The added value was mainly generated
not only from a growing market and efficient
delivery, but also from improved process efficiency,
shorter delivery cycles for processes and improved
customer responsiveness. The processes, in which
these two cases applied web-based systems, are
introduced in the following.
CRM. This was the umbrella process throughout
the entire life cycle of the customer relationship.
Other main processes were situated under this one.
For instance, CRM drew benefit from deepened
customer relationships due to better information
exchange and from improved customer
responsiveness due to collected data on customer
needs. Also real-time data on customer- and project-
specific performance (e.g. profitability) could be
conveyed to management and employees.
Demand management. E.g. sales were controlled
with the offer and order database from the system.
The offer database was the most important
forecasting tool for the cases.
Service delivery management. Lower transaction
costs due to automated and integrated processes and
more efficient data retrieval. Also delivery cycles
were reduced due to the transparency of data.
Moreover, the quality of information products
created in the service process improved when the
quality of the data improved.
Cash flow management. Cash flow was better
managed with the help of reports from the system.
Payment of salaries and invoicing became more
efficient because of automated invoicing and payroll
calculation. For example, in project invoicing the
invoices were prepared automatically in the offer
stage from product modules with a fixed price
selected from the system. Also external accountants
received data on payrolls and reimbursement of
expenses directly from the system.
4.2 Phase of Internal and External
System Integration
In Table 4, the studied cases are placed in the
ERP/e-business matrix according to the degree of
internal and external integration. The figures in the
cells depict the number of cases in the integration
stage in question.
The ”non-integrated systems & channel
enhancement” stage included the smallest cases with
less than five employees. They usually had public
web sites presenting the company and its services,
i.e. supporting marketing and sales. In addition, the
cases used extranet services provided by a third
party to pay invoices and contact authorities.
The ”limited/single function ERP & channel
enhancement” stage includes cases with public web
sites as well as internal web-based applications, such
as document management, customer and product
registers. Their public-access web sites were usually
more extensive in terms of content and services than
in the previous group. Some of the cases in this
group provided their customers with project data
through an extranet, e.g. memos and
schedules.However, there was no interaction in these
extranets. They merely focused on distributing
information.
The ”integrated company ERP & value chain
integration” and the ”integrated company network
ERP & value chain integration” stages both included
one case. The principal difference between them was
that the other case was a corporate group where all
of the companies used the same application. Both
cases had web-based ERP with integrated internal
processes. Furthermore, the ERP included project-
Table 4: Phase of internal and external integration among the studied cases.
e-business
ERP
No e-business
capabilities
Channel
enhancement
Value chain
integration
Industry
transformation
Convergence
Greenfield
Non-integrated systems 5
Limited/single function ERP 13
Integrated company ERP 1
Integrated company network ERP 1
APPLICABILITY OF WEB-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR SMALL KNOWLEDGE-ORIENTED SERVICE
COMPANIES - Case Study from Finland
17
specific limited views for the main customers. Here
it must be taken into consideration the fact that the
systems of the main customers were not integrated
with the ERP, but the clients accessed the
information through the extranet.
With the exception of four companies, all of the
researched cases used content management systems
that allowed to update the contents and organisation
of their public-access web site without programming
skills. This system was in all cases purchased as an
ASP (Application Service Provider) service from a
third party, i.e. the cases themselves did not have
ownership of the system, but only paid rent for it.
In conclusion, the overall use of information
systems in the companies was minor. In enterprise
resource planning, mainly office applications were
used. To invoicing and accounts payable and
receivable, financial management software was
normally applied. The office and financial
management applications were not web-based as a
rule, but were operated on fixed work stations. The
Internet was used above all to exchange e-mails with
customers and suppliers.
4.3 Description of the Most Progressive
Web Solution found Among the
Researched Cases
Figure 1 presents the systems architecture of the
most progressive web-based solution found among
the researched cases, and the main and sub-
processes to which web-based systems are applied.
Two studied cases have very similar systems
architecture. Most of the processes of both cases
were built on one web-based ERP system. In
addition, the cases applied e.g. a web-based query
programme and content management system. The
user groups with the rights to read and/or write
information are displayed on the right side of the
figure. The groups are divided into public web site,
intranet and extranet users. The arrows point in the
direction of the information flows. The work stations
and networks used are shown next to the arrows.
In these two cases, basically the entire value
chain from marketing to post-marketing was
integrated at the level of operative transactions so
that the information was entered into the system
only once and could then be used in every process
due to continuous work flow. There was a link in the
ERP system to the query programme and the web
site management system. The query tool was used in
surveying project and customer needs as well as
personnel and customer satisfaction.
The most important difference in how the cases
applied the systems was that the group of companies
applied the system to handle working hours and
invoicing for e.g. customer projects for the group as
a whole and for each company separately.
Both cases owned the ERP system they used,
and it was operated on its own web server. However,
the query programme and the content management
programme were rented from a third party as an ASP
service, and it was accessed through the ASP service
provider’s server.
Efficient queries with a number of search
preferences which could be combined freely were an
integral part of all the systems.
5 CONCLUSIONS
In summary, it can be said that web-based solutions
are currently very seldom applied in the activity of
the studied cases. The web-based applications were
typically used in one part of the customer
relationship management process – acquiring new
customers. Thus added value was obtained by
expanding the market through contacts from
potential customers attracted by public-access web
sites. Moreover, web-based applications were used
in the service delivery management process to
deliver information to customers digitally through an
extranet, which brought added value by making the
delivery more efficient.
In many of the studied cases, the automation of
transactions (e.g. orders and invoices) was not
sensible due to their small number. On the other
hand, there were considerable discrepancies in the
number of transactions between the studied cases.
Especially advertising agencies received many
smaller commissions from their customers.
Managing them efficiently would bring savings.
The most progressive web application cases
showed that the web can be applied to business in
very many ways. In these cases, web-based systems
were used quite comprehensively in customer
relationship, demand, service delivery and cash flow
management processes. However, even in these
cases web technologies were mainly used in internal
process management. Yet there is potential for more
extensive external integration towards customers and
suppliers. Furthermore, the application of web-based
systems is focused more on improving the efficiency
of operative processes than on producing added
value e.g. in the form of new business activities.
Why, then, did two cases apply web technologies
more than the rest? The most important reason was
their culture of continuous development, which
aimed at maintaining and strengthening the
company's leading position on the market. The case
WEBIST 2007 - International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies
18
lin
k
Figure 1: Progressive web-based solution architecture.
PC
(Internet)
PC
(Internet)
Mobile phone
(GPRS) ja PC
(Internet)
PC/MAC
(
Interne
t
)
PC
(
Internet
)
User groups
A)Intranet
1)Management
2)Production staff
-limited rights to
read/write
3)Mobile personnel
(sales staff &
project managers)
-limited rights to
read/write
B)Extranet
Main customers
-direct access to
ERP
-limited rights to
read
C)Public website
Potential customers
Content management system (ASP)
Customer relationship
management
-
customer leads
-contact memos
-customer needs
-indicators (e.g. customer
satisfaction, customer and
project profitability)
Cash flow management
-cash flow management
-project invoicing
-aggregate/joint invoices for
commissions
Basic data
-contact information
-product/service structure
-product/service information
-rates
Administration
-user rights and configuration
Query tool (ASP)
Service delivery management
-order management
-project and commission
management
-project planning
(responsibilities and
schedules)
-document management
-assigning tasks, recording
working hours
-after-sales profit calculation
performance indicators
Demand management
-order and offer database
-sales budget
W
E
B
B
A
S
E
D
E
R
P
organisations had an open attitude towards
innovative business models and technologies, and
they continuously scanned the web technology
markets to find applications to improve their
business and bring added value to customers.
Another important factor was the size of the case
company. Both enterprises (one of which was a
group of companies) employed over 10 people and
could thus no longer be effectively managed with
manual processes. An essential factor was also the
geographical distribution of the organisations
(offices in different locations and the mobility of
sales personnel and project managers), which
required the distributed application of a centralised
information system. In addition, the number of
transactions was clearly above the average number
of the other cases. The two cases had also made a
strategic decision early on to concentrate their
applications on web-based technologies due to their
flexibility, cost effectiveness, scalability and
integrability.
The web-based solutions of all the cases were
quite new, which means that the application of web-
based solutions in the studied sector is still in its
early stages. quite new, which means that the
application of web-based solutions in the studied
sector is still in its early stages. All of the cases
researched showed an interest in applying the
systems more diversely in the future. Because of
higher transaction volume, small-sized companies
seem to have considerably more potential to gain
operational benefits from web applications
compared to micro-sized companies. In the future,
however, the greatest potential for both small- and
micro-sized companies come from web applications
that focus more on knowledge management support
than on the automation of individual operative
transactions. The application of fully automated web
solutions to expert work based on creativity and
innovation seems, however, to be practically
impossible since the related processes normally
produce unique solutions tailored to customers’
needs, which cannot easily be replicated and thus
automated. However, examples were found on the
standardisation and automation of parts of the
creative process with the help of web-based systems.
One example was the use of a query tool in
surveying customer needs as well as personnel and
customer satisfaction. The different surveys had
something in common: the data collection and
saving processes were standardised, but the data was
always survey-specific. In addition, the data could
be effectively printed as reports with flexible search
preferences.
APPLICABILITY OF WEB-BASED INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR SMALL KNOWLEDGE-ORIENTED SERVICE
COMPANIES - Case Study from Finland
19
6 PROPOSED MANAGERIAL
ACTIVITIES AND FUTURE
RESEARCH
In this section, areas for future application of new
web-based solutions are proposed. Development
possibilities can be divided into four main
categories: (a) improved efficiency; (b) improved
service delivery performance; (c) improved
innovativeness; and (d) analysis of performance.
(a) Efficiency can be improved most by
developing content management. Efficient content
management is essential for an expert organisation
because it needs to collect, store, retrieve and
distribute large masses of information. Streamlining
and automating these content management processes
frees time for creative work and shortens turnaround
times.
(b) The service delivery performance of the
cases researched was usually not very good. There
were two main reasons for this: (1) the sales
organisation did not know the available capacity and
promised overly optimistic delivery times; and (2)
an unmanageable project and contents extended
turnaround times. In addition, due to unmanageable
projects, the amount of work-in-progress was not
known very specifically, and consequently, neither
was the available capacity. Especially in
organisations of roughly ten employees, there could
be so many on-going projects and commissions that
new information technology tools for capacity,
project and content management would be useful. A
human being cannot manage these information flows
without such programmes or with mere basic office
applications. The tools should also be flexible
enough to deal with change (e.g. adapt project
schedules) because there are often deviations in the
activity of the case companies, such as rush orders.
(c) In addition to project efficiency, the
companies should concentrate on enhancing the
innovativeness of project results. This means
innovative customer solutions, service concepts and
operational models. A centralised web-based idea
database could be used as an aid in innovation.
Users could enter ideas and customer needs data
through a web browser in a distributed way. The
ideas and customer needs could subsequently be
developed in a face-to-face creative process. Ideas
could also be developed to a certain point in a web-
based discussion forum.
(d) Performance is rarely analysed in the studied
case companies. The calculation methods for the
performance indicator values should be included in
the system, which would allow reports to be
compiled automatically from the initial data entered
into the system.
Further studies could focus more on how web
technologies are applied in practice in the core
processes of small and micro-sized knowledge-
oriented service businesses and how they could be
applied in the future. Further research would then
present different operational models that are or could
be built on web technologies.
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