The influence of the assessment of internet websites offering tourist services on the manner of purchase of holiday packages

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to answer the following question: how does the trust of websites offering tourist services influence the manner of purchase of accommodation services and holiday packages? Data were obtained from 505 respondents via an Internet-based questionnaire between May and October 2015. All of the respondents were Polish Internet users. Individuals who both sought information on tourist services and purchased the services offline indicated that the websites of hotels, travel agencies, and tour operators are the most credible. Another group who held a high opinion of hotels and tourist intermediaries’ websites was composed of people characterised by the ‘research online, purchase offline’ (ROPO) effect or the reverse-ROPO effect. People who searched for information on holiday packages and bought them via the Internet held a lower opinion of websites of hotels, travel agents, and tour operators. Research indicates that with respect to the assessment of the credibility of websites offering tourist services, there are significant differences between individuals seeking information on tourist services online and those who purchase such services online.

Introduction
The Internet plays a major role for people seeking information regarding tourist services (Buhalis & Law, 2008;Buhalis & O'Connor, 2005;Fotis, Buhalis, & Rossides, 2011;Nalazek, 2010;Neuhofer, Buhalis, & Ladkin, 2015;Szopiński, 2009;Pawlicz, 2012). As Benkler states, we are currently experiencing a period of socio-economic transformation, which is the outcome of a technological shock that has shaken the foundations of the basic models of information, knowledge, and culture production (Benkler, 2008, p. 399). The Internet has provided both buyers and sellers with new tools that allow interplay between the two parties. Consumers have the possibility to share and seek information and opinions on goods and services via social networking websites, such as blogs, forums, services that aggregate opinions on goods and service (for example TripAdvisor.com), KEYWORDS Websites offering tourist services; travel agencies; websites of hotels; RoPo effect; holiday packages price comparison websites (for example skyscanner.net, kayak.com), and online auction websites (for example priceline.com), etc. Conversely, sellers have new means of monitoring Internet user behaviour, which, in turn, has allowed them to employ dynamic prices that differ for various clients wishing to buy the same product or service depending on, for example, previous purchases, place of residence, and level of interest displayed toward a given product related to the time spent on the website. Moreover, the situation as it relates to buyers, suppliers of goods and services and intermediaries has undergone change (Szopiński, 2012).
Along with the development of the Internet, the number of intermediaries who sell tourist services in exchange for a commission has increased as well (Gregori & Daniele, 2011). The growing number of online intermediaries gives rise to issues of trust, for example, payment for services. In the market of travel services, we notice not only global tendencies but also an array of trends typical of the Polish tourism market. Following the accession of Poland to the European Union, there has been an increase in the popularity of air travel services (Szopiński & Nowacki, 2015). Lower air travel costs have resulted in popular all-inclusive packages. Recently, however, in Poland, several tour operators have gone bankrupt. This situation in the Polish market has worsened due to a decrease in the interest exhibited in trips to resorts in countries such as Egypt, Turkey, and Tunisia. At one time, the Polish population purchased a majority of the all-inclusive trips to these countries. However, problems have had a negative influence on the trust that Polish people place in tour operators, and consumers of tourist services are particularly vulnerable to information asymmetry. The problem of information asymmetry was raised by G. A. Akerlof at the beginning of the 1970s when he investigated the used car market (Akerlof, 1970), a market where the seller is better informed than the buyer. Despite the lapse of over 40 years since the paper addressing the issue of information asymmetry was written by Akerlof, the subject is one that continues to provoke many discussions. The problem of information asymmetry is particularly acute in the hotel services market. One reason for this is that the geographical distance between the service provider and the buyer makes it difficult for the buyer to assess the quality of service before purchasing, and the buyer is often misled by dishonest sellers. In truth, buyers only learn about the actual quality of the service after they have arrived at their destination and have no opportunity to change their service provider. Numerous authors deliberate on the problem of such misinformation in tourism in their papers (Nalazek, 2010).
The author of this article examines the influence of trust placed in websites offering tourist services on the manner of purchase of holiday packages by Polish consumers. A holiday package encompasses services such as accommodation, transport from the airport to a hotel, food, insurance, residents' care, and other attractions near the place of accommodation.
The structure of the article is as follows. The paper begins with a review of the literature regarding the problem of access to information by consumers who intend to buy tourist services, and the use of the Internet when seeking information about travel services and the purchase of such services. This is followed by the presentation of the research problem. The sections that follow discuss the research sample and the results of the study. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for managers from the tourism sector are provided.

The impact of the Internet on consumer behaviour in the market of tourist services
An example of a market posing many threats to consumers is the travel market. The results of previous research conducted by Maciejewski in 2009 with the use of direct interviews indicate that nearly 60% of Polish consumers are aware of the risk involved in purchasing tourist services (Maciejewski, 2010, p. 202). The impossibility of verifying the quality of the travel product before purchase and consumption requires that the risk be reduced by obtaining the largest possible amount of information, and the more complex the travel product, the greater the amount of information needed (Nalazek, 2010, p. 51). Moreover, the demand for information grows along with the cultural distance that separates travellers from the place they intend to visit (Nalazek, 2010, p. 51). In the face of an increasing number of creators of tourist information, control over the quality and regulations regarding the amount of information is increasingly crucial. The need for assistance in finding the right information, especially on the part of individual tourists who are not fully aware of how the system works, is becoming increasingly acute. Advertising in the press, on the radio, on billboards and at tourist fairs and tourist information centres appears to be having increasingly less influence on the decisions of consumers about where to travel. At the same time, the Internet is gaining in importance as a tool for collecting and comparing information and making decisions related to the purchase of tourist services (Sotiriadis, & van Zyl, 2013). Preferences for shopping online or offline were shown to vary across products, consumers, and stages of the shopping experience (Levin, Levin, & Weller, 2005). Tourists' use of various forms of travel information that is provided by means of modern technologies is closely dependent on the stage of the journey. The level of implementation of modern technologies in the process of searching for tourist information is at its peak during the preparation for the journey, when the tourist is at their place of residence in Poland (Pawlicz, 2012, p. 112). The problem is a lack of full substitution of private and public systems. Internet-based systems of tourist information, which are created by private entities, only encompass the services rendered by the partners of the system and disregard the tourist attractions of the region (Pawlicz, 2012, p. 115). Thus, the consumer seeking information on tourist services is faced not only with the problem of comparing service prices, which vary immensely, but also with problems related to service quality and reliable service performance.
Modern information and communication technologies (ICT) have offered tourism new marketing and management tools (Buhalis & Law, 2008) and contributed to the emergence of many new types of services in the travel market (Kabassi, 2010), and accordingly, they have changed the way consumers seek information regarding tourist services and how they purchase such services (Szopiński & Nowacki, 2014). The digitalisation of distribution channels and the development of electronic and mobile trade (e-commerce and m-business) have altered the mode of market transactions, which has exerted a considerable influence on intermediary tourist services (Kachniewska, 2014). The development of modern technologies has influenced interactions between consumers of tourist services and tour operators as well as travel agencies. The term 'travel agency' denotes a business entity whose business operations mainly or solely revolve around the rendering of intermediary or organisational tourist services (Konieczna-Domańska, 2008, p. 17), whereas a tour operator is an entity acting as the link between the sphere of producers of fragmentary tourist services and the sphere of consumers of tourist services. As such, tour operators act directly when they sell tour packages by themselves, and they act indirectly when they sell such packages through an intermediary such as a travel agency. In other words, travel agencies are the intermediary link in sales between the producers of fragmentary services and tour operators on the one hand and the consumers of tourist services on the other hand (Konieczna-Domańska, 2008, p. 21).
An array of factors influences the propensity of consumers to use the Internet for the purpose of obtaining information about tourist services and purchasing such services. The fundamental factor motivating consumers to use the Internet in the course of selecting a tourist service is the financial factor (Chiam, Soutar, & Yeo, 2009;Elhaj, 2012;Jensen, 2012). Other factors that influence the propensity to purchase tourist services online include perceived usefulness (Nunkoo & Ramkissoon, 2013), trust (Amaro & Duarte, 2015;Nunkoo & Ramkissoon, 2013;Wen, 2009), and perceived risks (Amaro & Duarte, 2015;Jensen, 2012;Nunkoo & Ramkissoon, 2013). According to Ku and Fan (2009), privacy, safety, and product quality were the three most important factors influencing customer purchases of tourism services on the Internet. Travellers who expect convenience are more willing to purchase tourist services via the Internet (Jensen, 2009), whereas store-enjoyment orientation is negatively related to online purchases (Jensen, 2012).
An array of socio-economic factors also impacts the use of the Internet for the purpose of purchasing tourist services. These factors include levels of income (Card, Chen, & Cole, 2003;Toh, DeKay, & Raven, 2011), age (Kim, Xiang, & Fesenmaier, 2015;Szopiński & Staniewski, 2016;Toh et al., 2011), gender, education level, occupation, professional position, and country of origin (Szopiński & Staniewski, 2016). Furthermore, it was determined that women conduct far more research regarding potential hotels and rates than do men (Toh et al., 2011), and that different generations use slightly different channels for information and transactions (Kim et al., 2015).
The choice of Internet websites from which consumers make purchases of tourist services depends on a group of criteria that are divided into three groups, namely, appraisal (e.g., reputation, credit, privacy policy), web functionalities (personalisation, access to multimedia, ease of purchase), and products and prices (promotions, appropriate prices, client needs) (Wang, 2012).
The factors that influence the purchase of hotel services by tourists via the Internet include the quality of the website that makes it possible to buy the service (Wen, 2009;Yan & Li-Ming, 2015), earlier experiences with online purchasing (Yan & Li-Ming, 2015), and customer satisfaction (Wen, 2009). Individuals who purchase hotel services over the Internet purchase more room-nights than persons who purchase such services through the traditional channel (Toh et al., 2011). Magnini and Carande (2011) conducted an analysis of consumer behaviours regarding the purchasing of tourist services via various distribution channels. In contrast to persons who use the telephone channel to purchase hotel services and flight tickets, persons purchasing the same services via the Internet take into account a larger number of possibilities; they display less loyalty towards a brand; they are less frequent buyers; and they see a greater level of risk of unavailability regarding the service being sought.
The Internet has intensified the complexity of the travel decision-making process (Jun, Vogt, & MacKay, 2007). The findings of Wang and Law (2007) provide further evidence of the complementarity effects of ICT on travel, suggesting that the wide application of ICT probably results in more travel. Furthermore, travel experience influences travellers' intentions to shop for travel products online (Jensen, 2012). The motivations behind the online shopping for travel products of low and high complexity are distinctly different. For example, online shopping motivations vary depending on the skill levels of the users (Beldona, Morrison, & O'Leary, 2005). Furthermore, the experiences of travellers regarding the use of the Internet has a positive influence on their purchasing of tourist services via the Internet (Jensen, 2009). The need for greater diversification with respect to offers further creates a positive impact on the propensity to purchase tourist services via the Internet (Jensen, 2009).
Consumer opinions influence the manner in which the markets function. Malbon (2013) focuses on the fact that marketers and their principals are exposed to the temptation to generate false consumer opinions. In many countries, the law prohibits such practices (for example, in the USA and European Union countries). The detection of false opinions is complicated, however. Malbon believes that politicians and institutions dealing with consumer protection must take the problem of false reviews seriously, as such false opinions hamper the countering of information asymmetry between sellers and buyers (Malbon, 2013). Along with the development of ICT, new possibilities for adopting price discrimination have opened up for service providers (Baye & Morgan, 2002).
The role of social media in the process of planning and purchasing tourist services has become more important as well (Antoniadis, Zafiropoulos, & Vrana, 2015;Xiang & Gretzel, 2010;Zeng & Gerritsen, 2014). For example, comments generated on the Facebook network influence hotel-booking intentions, and the content of comments from existing customers affects the intentions of potential customers who read these comments. As such, they may either motivate or discourage the purchase of goods and services from a particular seller (Ladhari & Michaud, 2015). Moreover, the assessment of opinions regarding the goods and services that are posted by Internet users is a complex issue. The evaluations of goods and services are not solely dependent on the credibility of consumers/Internet users who write the comments, but they are also impacted by the way the readers of the opinions influence (or endorse) the credibility of the reviewers by posting their own comments below the reviews (Mackiewicz, 2010). Social media have raised new possibilities for deceivers as well (Tsikerdekis & Zeadally, 2014), and the physical distance between the seller and the potential client has introduced new threats (Tsikerdekis & Zeadally, 2014). Thus, it is more difficult to evaluate the real intentions of the seller (Szopiński, 2009). Farag, Schwanen, Dijst, and Faber (2007) claim that online searching positively affects the frequency of shopping trips, which in turn positively influences online purchasing. The process of seeking information about tourist services and the manner of engagement in the pre-journey stage are different. The method of searching for information on tourist services and the means by which those services are purchased vary depending on the category of the tourist product that is purchased as well as the buyer's travel experience (Jun et al., 2007). The Internet and the content created by the users have changed the way people plan, buy, and consume tourist services. The situation puts the major role of traditional travel agencies into question. Del Chiappa (2013) claims that there is a difference between people who purchase tourist services online occasionally, on a moderate basis, and often. Apart from that, age, gender, education, income, online buying experience, and readiness to be influenced by the content created by users and their choices also have a significant impact on purchasing tourist services online. The Internet is more often chosen for the purpose of buying hotel services by people who make hotel reservations for a short period of time and for short distances (Del Chiappa, 2013). The study by Law, Leung, and Wong indicates that both Internet-based and traditional distribution channels for tourist services have a future (Law, Leung & Wong, 2004). The implementation of the online purchase channel has drastically reduced the premium price quoted by intermediaries. It does not, however, mean that the intermediaries are necessarily worse off as a result of the implementation of the online channel (Lu, Yang, & Yuksel, 2015).

Research methodology
An analysis was conducted on data obtained from 505 respondents. The data were collected by means of an Internet-based questionnaire between May and October 2015. These questionnaires had to be fully completed. The aim of this article is to answer the following question: how does the trust towards websites offering tourist services influence the manner of purchase of holiday packages? The level of trust respondents place in the websites offering tourist services was measured on a five-point Likert scale that included the following options: absolutely not credible, somewhat not credible, difficult to say, rather credible, and absolutely credible. The manner of purchase is understood by the author of this paper to include the method of searching for information and the method of making payments for services. Consumers distinguish between the places they seek information about goods and services from the places where they conduct the sales transaction and pay for the goods and services (Balakrishnan, Sundaresan, & Zhang, 2014;Google, TNS OBOP, 2015;Heitz-Spahn, 2013;Mącik, 2015;Pookulangaraa, Hawley, & Xiao, 2011). The first tested way of purchasing holiday packages is based on searching for information about package holidays on the Internet as well as purchasing these services over the Internet. The second way concerns the search for information regarding holiday packages via the Internet but then purchasing these services through an offline channel (the 'research online, purchase offline' (ROPO) effect). The third way involves searching for information about holiday packages offline but then purchasing these services over the Internet (the reverse-ROPO). The fourth way involves seeking information with respect to holiday packages offline and then also purchasing these services offline. Finally, the fifth way applies to those people who are not looking for information about holiday packages, nor do they purchase such services. The analysed websites offering sales of travel services include the websites of hotels, the websites of travel intermediaries that offer services of various tour operators, and the websites of tour operators themselves.
Three hypotheses concerning the correlations between the perception of Internet websites that allow consumers to purchase tourist services and the manner by which they make their purchases of package services were proposed: H 1 : There is a statistically significant correlation between the consumer's evaluation of the credibility of hotels' websites and the manner by which the consumer purchases holiday packages.
H 2 : There is a statistically significant correlation between the consumer's evaluation of the credibility of travel agencies' websites and the manner by which the consumer purchases holiday packages. H 3 : There is a statistically significant correlation between evaluation of the credibility of tour operators' websites and the manner of purchasing package holidays.The analysis of the data was conducted using a nonparametric Chi-square test of independence, whereas Czuprow's coefficient was employed to measure the power of the correlations and analyse the correlations. The Chi-square test was employed to examine the dependency between trust placed in websites offering travel services and the manner of purchase of travel services.

Sample
The Surveymonkey.com tool was adopted by the author to create the questionnaires and collect data.
A link to the questionnaire along with an invitation to complete it were sent to the users of Goldenline.pl. This portal brings together people interested in pursuing a career and offers a possibility to share information and experiences, both professional in nature (obtained in various sectors) and experiences related to various hobbies. Furthermore, information about the study and a request to complete the questionnaire were posted on Facebook. com. The post initiated a snowball effect such that many people were sharing information about the study with their friends on Facebook.com. To minimise the probability that a questionnaire could be submitted twice by the same person, the possibility to do so using the same computer was blocked. Of the respondents, 66.7% were women and 33.3% were men; 28.3% were people aged between 19 and 24 years and 20.6% were between 25 and 29 years of age. The most numerous group, 32.1%, were people aged between 30 and 39, whereas 13.5% were between 40 and 49. People between 50 and 59 represented 4.6% of the respondents, and only 1.0% were 60 years old or older.
With respect to the financial circumstances of the respondents, 7.0% earned less than PLN 1000 (approximately 240 €); 22.9% earned more than PLN 1000 but less than 2000 (more than 240 € but less than 480 €); 21.8% earned between PLN 2001 and 3000 (more than 480 € but less than 720 €); 11.5% earned between PLN 3001 and 4000 (more than 720 € but less than 960 €); 5.3% earned between PLN 4001 and 5000 (more than 960 € but less than 1200 €); 6.3% earned between PLN 5001 and 6000 (more than 1200 € but less than 1440 €); 3.8% earned between PLN 6001 and 8000 (more than 1440 € but less than 1920 €); and 5.6% earned PLN 8000 or more (more than 1920 €). The net income of 2.8% of the respondents was undetermined, whereas 13.1% refused to provide information regarding their earnings. PLN 1 is equivalent to 0.24 EUR, 0.27 USD. The questionnaire was completed by people from various regions of Poland. No information about the voivodeship (administrative area) to which the respondents belonged was collected. The questionnaire only gathered data regarding the size of the place of residence. The residents of villages represented 12.9% of the respondents, the residents of towns with up to 10,000 citizens represented 5.5% of the respondents, and the residents of cities with more than 10,000 but less than 50,000 citizens comprised 11.9%. The residents of cities with more than 50,000 but less than 200,000 citizens comprised 8.1% of the respondents, and 15.0% of the respondents lived in cities with more than 200,000 but no more than 500,000 citizens. The majority of the participants in the study (46.5%) were residents of large cities (populations over 500,000).

Results
From among all of the respondents, 77.3% declared that they had sought information on holiday packages, whereas 65.7% of the respondents claimed they had purchased holiday packages. The first group of individuals are those who sought information on holiday packages on the Internet and purchased these services over the Internet as well. This is the largest group, as it includes 43.4% of the respondents. The second group, which accounts for 21.1% of the respondents, is composed of people who sought information on holiday packages on the Internet and then purchased these services via an offline channel (the ROPO effect). The third group, which encompasses 7.7% of the respondents, are people who sought information about holiday packages offline but then purchased these services over the Internet (the reverse-ROPO). The fourth group was composed of 10.1% of the respondents. These are individuals who sought information on holiday packages offline and also purchased these services offline. Finally, the fifth group, 21.6% of the respondents, comprised persons who did not search for information on holiday packages, nor did they purchase such services.
A statistically significant correlation exists between the respondents' evaluation of the credibility of hotels' websites and the manner of purchase of holiday packages (χ 2 = 40.788, df = 16, p = 0.001), although the correlation between the variables is not strong. The Czuprow's (T xy ) coefficient is 0.146, and thus, Hypothesis 1 is supported. Table 1 displays the percentage distribution of the responses regarding the evaluation of the credibility of hotels' websites in the groups whose members declared that they sought information on holiday packages but purchased such services using different methods. Hotels' websites were evaluated as the most credible by people who sought information on holiday packages offline and purchased them offline. Those who sought information on holiday packages online and then purchased them offline also held a high opinion regarding the credibility of hotels' websites. People who made use of the Internet in the course of seeking and purchasing holiday packages evaluated hotels' websites as less credible than persons who went through the entire process of seeking information and purchasing offline.
A statistically significant correlation exists between the respondents' evaluation of the credibility of intermediaries' websites displaying offers of various tour operators and the manner of purchase of holiday packages (χ 2 = 43.446, df = 16, p = 0.001). The correlation between the variables is not strong. The Czuprow's (T xy ) coefficient is 0.150, and thus, Hypothesis 2 is supported. respect to the evaluation of the credibility of intermediaries' websites displaying offers of various tour operators in the groups whose members declared that they sought information on holiday packages and purchased such services using different methods. Intermediaries' websites displaying the offers of various tour operators were evaluated as the most credible by people who searched for information on holiday packages offline but purchased such services online. These people evaluated the intermediaries' websites displaying the offers of various tour operators as credible more often than people who both sought information on holiday packages and bought the packages online. A statistically significant correlation exists between the respondents' evaluation of the credibility of tour operators' websites and the manner of purchase of holiday packages (χ 2 = 42.699, df = 16, p = 0.001). However, the correlation between the variables is not strong. The Czuprow's (T xy ) coefficient is 0.149, and thus, Hypothesis 3 is supported. Table  3 displays a percentage distribution of the evaluation responses regarding the credibility of tour operators' websites in the groups whose members declared that they sought information on holiday packages and purchased such services using different methods. Tour operators' websites were evaluated as the most credible by people who searched offline for information on holiday packages but bought such services online as well as persons who sought information offline and purchased them offline. These people evaluated tour operators' websites  that display the offers of various tour operators as credible more often than people who both sought information on holiday packages and purchased the packages online.

Conclusion and recommendation
Individuals who seek information on tourist services and purchase them offline believe that the websites of hotels, travel agencies, and tour operators are the most credible. This may be because they overestimate the advantages of such websites due to the fact that they have no experience in buying tourist services online, and thus, they may be unaware of the problems associated with the influence of the Internet regarding the dissemination of misinformation related to the tourism market.
Another group who held a high opinion of hotels and tourist intermediaries' websites was composed of people characterised by the ROPO effect. First, they searched for information online and finalised the purchase offline. However, the purchases of people who held a high opinion of tour operators' websites were accompanied by the reverse-ROPO effect, that is, they searched for offers offline and then made the purchase online. People who used the offline channel at a certain stage of the purchase process evaluated the websites of entities offering tourist services or travel intermediaries to be credible. Interestingly, people who searched for information on holiday packages and finalised purchases of such services via the Internet held a much lower opinion of the websites of hotels, travel agencies, and tour operators.
The empirical results of this research highlight several important issues. First, the findings confirm that there are significant differences between online purchasers and browsers with respect to their perceptions of certain hotel website attributes. These findings coincide with the results obtained by Rong, Li, and Law (2009). Entities that operate in the travel market must adopt various strategies with respect to clients who prefer different distribution channels for the services they offer. As Wolfe, Hsu, and Kang (2004) stated, the respondents who only used a travel agent to purchase travel arrangements rated the following selection criteria higher than did Internet purchasers: quality service, travel knowledge, friendliness, personal service, reputation, and past experience.
There remains a place in the market for various entities offering tourist services. According to Lu et al. (2015), the position of the intermediary in times dominated by modern ICT has yet to be determined. There are people who have a variety of experiences, and they need advice and help in comparing the many offers from various hotels and tour operators. As stressed by Yan and Li-Ming (2015), the price is not always the key factor in determining the purchase of a hotel service. Therefore, hotels must use various marketing strategies adjusted to different groups of clients. This is the case for travel agencies as well. Travel agencies must use different strategies to retain existing clients and to attract travellers who have used alternative means to secure travel arrangements (Wolfe et al., 2004).
Homogeneous services appear to be better adjusted to sales via the Internet than services that are very diversified (non-homogeneous). Thus, it is expected that consumers will be more willing to buy homogeneous rather than heterogeneous services via the Internet (Agudo-Peregrina, Pascual-Miguel, & Chaparro-Peláez, 2014). It is a challenge to create comparison websites that will assess not only quantitative but also qualitative data, which are difficult to measure. It is also a major challenge to create a platform that will allow for the comprehensive assessment of tourist services. As stated by Xiang, Magnini, and Fesenmaier (2015), there is currently a race between proprietary accommodation providers (e.g., Hilton hotels) and third-party providers (e.g., Expedia.com) to produce efficient and user-friendly mobile applications, hence, the question: which avenue is receiving the most traffic? There is still a place in the market for various entities to act as intermediaries in the sales of tourist services. Such entities must incorporate intermediaries to create added value for the services they offer. Their operations should be directed at advising and assisting the customer to alleviate the informational chaos. Research indicates that as far as the assessment of credibility of websites offering tourist services is concerned, there are significant differences between individuals seeking information on tourist services online and those who purchase tourist services online.
Finally, there are some limitations that should shape future research in this area. As this study was based on non-random sampling, the results must be validated and generalised using random sampling methods in future research. It was not possible to make generalisations owing to the size of the sample, and thus, it is possible that a study of different nationalities may offer dissimilar results. Therefore, it is important to conduct a cross-cultural study in the future. Further examinations may provide new insights into the influence of consumer trust on the manner of purchase of travel services.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.


Fundamental Research for Escape Guidance System Development of Passenger Ship

: Thisstudyrepresentsafundamentalresearchforapassenger-shipescapeguidancesystemthatisaship-borneagent,andit isforthesupportofescapedecision-makingbyprovidingaccuratemaritimesafetyinformationinrealtime.Weconductedapassenger escapingexperimentonatrainingship,SAEYUDAL,usingthesituation-awareescapeguidancesystem,whichhasbeendevelopedfor on-boardapplicationbasedonproductsforbuildings.Itisshownthatthesystemcontributestotheshorteningoftheescapedurationand thedispersionoftheescapingpersonsbygeneratingandguidingthesafeescaperouteswhichdangerousareasareconsidered.Fromthe experimentonship'sheelingcondition,itisrevealedthattheheelingangleislinearlyrelatedtotheescapeduration.Therefore,thisstudy showsthattheshorteningoftheescapedurationenablesasafeandrapidmusteringthatisthemostimportantprocessunderemergency andappropriateincidentresponsestominimizelossoflives.

Introduction
The number of passengers each year has increased steadily from 11.6 million in 2006 to 15.4 million in 2015. Also the average increasing rate is 1.4% for the recent 5 years (Korean Shipping Association, 2016).
With increasing passenger transportation, the number of incidents has increased as well. Incidents in passenger ship have increased three times for the recent 5 years as shown in Fig. 1 (Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal, 2015). casualties by Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal Although the proportion is low as 200 cases of total 9,226 cases for the recent 5 years, the incidents are directly connected with casualties. So, it is needed to pay attention to incident response to minimize casualties.
Under the passenger ship incidents, if some factors are not understood immediately such as cause of an incident, vessel's condition, marine weather, vessels in the vicinity, etc., it is difficult to take immediate and proper actions during golden time. The incomplete response actions make extensive loss of lives and property. Also, safe and rapid mustering is important as guiding passengers with safe and accurate escape routes under emergency situations. But it is difficult due to complicated own structure, shortage of crew members, panic for passengers and crew members, etc.
Passenger ship SEWOL is an example which sank in the coastal area around ByeongPung island, Jindo-gun, Jeollanam-do on Apr. 16th 2014. Due to delayed evacuation judgement, crew members' shortage, etc., the incident had many casualties(172 rescued passengers and 302 dead or missing passengers). To relieve the above mentioned problem, escaping guidance system for Passenger ship has been developing by Maritime Safety Research Center, Korea Institution of Ocean Science and Technology. It is the system to support decision-making as providing accurate maritime safety information in real time in order to minimize loss of human lives in disasters (IMO SSE 4/INF.2, 2017). Also the system includes situation-aware escape guidance system which can generate and guide safe escape route considering dangerous areas as on-scene guidance agent.
This study is a basic research of the above developing system in the point of shortening escape duration. In this study, one experiment was performed to define the relations between vessel's heeling and escape duration basically. Also the other experiment was performed to verify shortening effect of escape duration and dispersion effect of escaping persons with situation-aware escape guidance system which is a test product of developing escape guidance system.

Research Direction
According to SOLAS ChapterII-2 Reg 13.3.2.7 added by Res.MSC.404(96), evacuation analysis for passenger ship is used to identify and eliminate congestion which may develop during an abandonment, due to normal movement of passengers and crew along escape routes.
The application scope of the analysis becomes wider than before revision as both Ro-Ro passenger ships constructed on or after 1 Jul. 1999 and other passenger ships constructed on or after 1 Jan. 2020 carrying more than 36 passengers (SOLAS Chapter II-2 Reg. 13.3.2). It means that the importance of safety in passenger ships have been increased. Revised guidelines on passenger evacuation analysis for new and existing passenger ships was amended as well by IMO MSC.1/Circ.1533, 2016. In the revised guidelines, evacuation time is defined as shown in Fig. 2.
Maximum allowable evacuation duration is defined below 60min except for passenger ships other than Ro-Ro passenger ships which have more than three main vertical zones. The evacuation duration is divided to response duration, total travel duration, embarkation and launching duration. Response duration is the duration it takes for people to react to the situation which begins upon initial notification of an emergency and ends when the passenger Fig. 2 Calculation standard of total evacuation duration from initial notification of an emergency to abandon ship for evacuation analysis by MSC.1/ Circ.1533(2016). begins to move towards assembly station. The duration generally means 5min at daytime and 10min at night. Embarkation and launching duration is the duration required to provide for abandonment by the total number of persons on board, starting from the time the abandon ship signal is given after all persons have been assembled, with life jackets donned. And the duration is defined as below 30min in compliance with SOLAS regulation III/21.1.3 (IMO, 2016).
According to Hwang, K. I.(2015), If response duration and embarkation and launching duration take maximum as regulated in SOLAS, total travel duration is allowed only 20min which is defined as the duration it takes for all persons on board to move from where they are upon notification to the assembly station.
The vessel's condition changes every moment. That's why time is one of important factors to reduce loss of lives. Total travel duration, which is a variable, can be easily changed according to situations than other durations. So, total evacuation duration can be reduced with shortening of total travel duration. The shortening of evacuation duration extends the time to take proper actions in response to emergency situation. In this study, two experiments were performed to consider the research direction of developing system by verifying the shortening effect of escape duration with early evacuation decision-making before excessive heeling and with situation-aware escape guidance system.

Escape Experiment under
Heeling Condition shows a corridor connecting an entrance with cabin (b). This escape experiment was conducted at Korea Coast Guard Academy on Aug. 30th 2016 to assess the relation between vessel's heeling and travel duration basically with Motion-base cabin.
Motion-base cabin is a simulator which generates heeling in Vessel's Disaster Training Ground, Korea Coast Guard Academy. With this simulator, emergency situation such as excessive heeling, capsizing and sinking can be made for training of emergency response and rescue operation. Fig. 3 is pictures of Motion-base Cabin including internal structure.
Motion-base cabin which is 6m in width and 3m in length is divided into corridor and cabin including sofa, closet, bed and desk. Also mats are spread on the floor and metal poles are installed on the wall due to safety reason for training.
The experiment was performed with an experimenter (Woman, 25 years old, height in 173cm, about 2 years on-board experience). Although escape duration becomes different as per sex, age, body structure and familiarity with the ship, the travel duration becomes longer due to the difficulty of moving with the inclination of the ship. This is a basic experiment conducted to investigate the direction of research and development that the heeling angle should be considered as one of the various risk factors of vessel when developing escape guidance system.
In this experiment, an experimenter moved as following Route 1 and Route 2, as shown in Fig. 4, when the heeling changes to 0°, 10°, 15°, 20°and 25°and travel duration was recorded.
As a result of the experiment, travel duration at 0°, 10°, 15°, 20°, 25°are 4s, 4.5s, 6s, 6.5s, 8s with Route 1 and 6s, 6.56s, 7.74s, 9.82s, 13.86s with Route 2, as shown in Fig. 5. According to the results, the effect of the heeling angle on the escape duration becomes clearer as the vessel size becomes larger and the travel distance becomes longer. With marked result of Route 2, when the vessel's heeling grows from 0°to 10°, the time increases 0.56s(gradient 0.056), from 10°to 15°, the time increases 1.18s(gradient 0.236), from 15°to 20°, the time increases 2.08s(gradient 0.416), from 20°to 25°, the time increases 4.04s(gradient 0.808). When it is supposed that the above grouped results are as Group 1,2,3 and 4 from top to bottom, the gradient of Group 4 is about 14 times of Group 1, 3.5 times of Group 2 and twice of Group 3 which means change rate of travel duration by heeling. In other words, the change rate of travel duration increases rapidly with large change of heeling angle. Arranged mats and metal poles in the simulator make easy to escape under the emergency situation but it can be more difficult to escape in real vessel due to huge size and structural complexity.  2004) conducted a similar study with a manufactured corridor model(10m × 1.2m × 1.9m) which is similar to real ships to assess the relation between vessel's inclination and walking speed by changing trim and heeling. When the corridor has trim, the walking speed becomes slower although change of rates by situations(by the head or by the trim) are different, as shown in Fig. 6. And when the heeling increases, the walking speed becomes slower as same as the result in the experiment with Motion-base cabin.
As seen in this experiment and similar experiment, vessel's inclination can affect evacuation duration as well as travel duration defined by IMO(2016). The change rate of vessel's heeling becomes more, the delayed effect of evacuation duration grows exponentially. Thus, early evacuation decision-making before excessive heeling can shorten escape duration and the shortened duration enables passengers to muster safely and to take proper action to minimize casualties. Thus the heeling angle should be considered for escape guidance system to guide safe and rapid route.

Escape Experiment with Situation-aware Escape Guidance System
Situation-aware escape guidance system is a developing system with spaced based SERA(Safe Escape Routing Algorithm) mathematical theory which maximize path utilization and flow, minimize congestion including bottleneck phenomenon and escape duration to exits. The system is based on smart escape guidance system for buildings and is developing to apply on board.
Each escape guidance device realizes dangerous areas with built-in smoke and thermal sensors and transmits the information to central control system using LoRa radio communication. The central control system generates safe escape route with the received information (dangerous areas). The generated routes are re-transmitted to each device by LoRa and the each received devices guide the direction of safe route with voice, LED sign and illumination. The results of each Scenario are as below. Ÿ The result and analysis of Scenario 1 In scenario 1 which can use all exits, total escape duration was 64sec in comparison group and 40sec in experimental group as shortening 38% of escape duration.  When 25% persons completed, the difference between comparison and experiment group was 7sec with 61% shortening effect as shown in Fig. 8. It means the system has a large-effect in the early part of escape. It can be identified with Fig. 9 as comparing the number of escaped persons which are 17 persons in comparison group and 31 persons in experimental group for initial 20sec.
As well as shortening of escape duration, the system can guide the dispersive escape routes not to make stuck. The effect can be shown in Fig. 10. In case of the comparison group, the escaping persons were focused on EXIT 2 with 35 persons but the persons using EXIT 1 and EXIT 3 were a few. It is because the persons prefer to use familiar exits or educated exits before the experiment. But in case of the experimental group, the escaping persons were distributed uniformly, especially EXIT 1 which no one used in the comparison group was used with 16 persons.
In conclusion, the escape duration can be shortened with the system by guiding safe and dispersive escape route, especially in the early part, which is the most important. Scenario 2 is the situation which can use only 1 exit (EXIT 3) due to fire out of the unserviceable exits. This scenario has meaning from the point of view that situation-aware escape guidance system can automatically generate safe escape route in real time considering vessel's circumstance at the beginning of emergency situation.
For the reason when 25% persons completed, the difference between 30sec in comparison group and 20sec in experiment group becomes definite as 10sec with 33% shortening effect as shown in Fig. 11. Also the escaped persons for initial 20sec are 4 persons in comparison group and 11 persons in experimental group with three times the difference although the number is smaller than scenario 1. Total escape completion duration is 89sec in comparison group and 69sec in experimental group with 22% shortening effect. The effect looks like not so definite because limited experimental area and only 1 exit makes it easy to see the other escaping persons using safe exit. The area becomes bigger, the effect would be more definite.

Ÿ The result and analysis of Scenario 3
Scenario 3 is the situation which changes the number of serviceable exits from 2(EXIT 3 and EXIT 4) to 1(EXIT 3) at 40sec from start. At the time EXIT 4 shut down at 40sec, the persons in comparison group consumed times to find serviceable exits but the persons in experimental group escaped safely and rapidly following the guided route by situation-aware escape guiding system. It can be identified with average escape duration of escaped persons after 41sec, which is 64sec in comparison group and 54sec in experimental group with 16% shortening effect. In other words, it has meaning when situation changes such as spread of fire, the system generates new safe escape routes in real time considering the situation. According to Hwang, K. I.(2014), safety consciousness of passengers was changed after SEWOL's sinking according to survey by people using passenger ship. The survey respondents answered that they feel insecure when using passenger ships because they can be the parties to similar incidents. Also most of them tended to distrust crews because of the belief that the incident made enormous casualties with crew's incomplete incident response.
Developing situation-aware escape guidance system is not depending on human factor mentioned above such as crew's decision or guidance of safe route but it can generate and guide safe and rapid escape route in real time with objective information as on-scene escape assistants. shortening effect of escape duration and dispersion effect of escaping persons were verified according to the experiment.

Conclusion
It is important to take effective action in disaster because the incidents are directly connected casualties. Thus, there is the need for technical development to minimize loss of lives as appropriate actions when the disaster occurs in passenger ship. In this situation, it is the best part to muster rapidly at assembly station and count head of all crews and passengers. Escape guidance system is the system developing under the purpose of incident response in passenger ship to minimize loss of lives and damage of ships. In this study, we conducted 2 evacuation experiments to approach the system from the point of shortening of travel duration which is changeable according to situations.
From the first experiment, we defined that the larger vessel's heeling, the more increasing the escape duration's changing rate rapidly. Thus, evacuation decision-making has to be made to enable all persons to escape and evacuate safely before the vessel has unfavorable heeling. With the early decision, evacuation duration as well as travel duration will be shortened and the time for appropriate incident response will be extended.
From the second experiment, we defined shortening effect up to 38% and dispersion effect when the situation-aware escape guidance system applies on board.
The shortening of the duration is more effective at the early part of emergency situation up to 61% when crews and passengers are possible in panic. Also the time to find safe route can be shortened markedly as considering dangerous areas in real time.
With this basic research, we reviewed the direction of developing escape guidance system and the system has meaning in the point of shortening of escape duration, especially travel duration, with safety for all persons on board.


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Computer Science

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Business
Computer Science

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Changing Information Management in Product-Service System PLM: Customer-Oriented Strategy

Increasing competition and appearance of new information and communication technologies makes companies to introduce new production and marketing models. The paper shares the experiences of improving PLM information management at an automation equipment manufacturer caused by implementation of product-service systems and their customer-driven configuration. Though the research results are based on the analysis of one company, the presented work can give significant input to achieve benefits for component manufacturers that tend to become system vendors in general.

Introduction
Saturation and globalization of modern commoditized markets requires companies to apply new models for production and marketing [1,2]. The markets are shrinking and companies see service provision as a new path towards profits and growth. Automation equipment production is not an exception. The carried out analysis of the business and information management processes at different PLM stages related to an automation equipment producer shows that instead of offering separate products, the company now tends to offer complex products (which may consist of several other products), whole integrated systems and also software units using different services. Product-Service Systems (PSS) assume orientation on combination of products and services (often supporting the products) instead of focusing only on products. This paradigm fits well automation equipment producers, for which tight relationships with customers are of high importance. These tight relationships enable the possibility to get valuable equipment usage statistics at the PLM stages beyond the production and sales, i.e., analyse use cases and get direct user feedback.
Achievements in the area of artificial intelligence (AI) open new possibilities for increasing customer satisfaction from customer-driven design to reduced lead-time. The current wave of progress and enthusiasm for AI began around 2010, driven by three mutually reinforcing factors: (1) the availability of big data from sources including ecommerce, businesses, social media, science, and government, which provided raw material for (2) dramatically improved machine learning approaches and algorithms, which, in turn, relied on (3) the capabilities of more powerful computers [3]. Therefore, adaptation of information management in companies to the new trends is mandatory to succeed in the current situation.
This trend opens a whole new world of business models allowing companies to transform from product suppliers to service providers or even to virtual companies acting as brokers. For example, Rolls-Royce instead of selling aircraft engines now charges companies for hours that engines run and takes care of servicing the engines [4]. Another famous example is Uber, that does not only provides taxi services, but it does this without actually owning cars and acts just as a connecting link between the taxi drivers and passengers. Timely changed business model can provide for a significant competitive advantage (e.g., the capitalisation of Uber in 2015 was between $60 and $70 billion, which was higher than that of GM ($55 billion) [5]).
Automation equipment production is not an exception. The carried out analysis of the business and information management processes related to an automation equipment producer shows that instead of offering separate products, the company now tends to offer complex products (which may consist of several other products), whole integrated systems and also software units using different software services [6,7]. Product-Service Systems (PSS) assume orientation on combination of products and services (often supporting the products) instead of focusing only on products. This paradigm fits well automation equipment producers, for which tight relationships with customers are of high importance. These tight relationships enable the possibility to get valuable equipment usage statistics, analyse use cases and get direct user feedback [8][9][10].
However, implementation of this paradigm requires significant changes in information management at nearly all stages of the lifecycle [11]. The paper investigates the problem of PSS information management at different PLM stages in a customer-oriented way and presents the way it has been solved.

Proposed Approach
The paper is based on the analysis and modification of the business and information management processes related to PSS configuration and engineering at the automation equipment producer Festo AG & Co KG. It produces pneumatic and electronic automation equipment and products for various process industries and has more than 300 000 customers in 176 countries supported by more than 52 companies worldwide with more than 250 branch offices and authorized agencies in further 36 countries. For companies with wide assortments of products (more than 30 000 -40 000 products of approx. 700 types, with various configuration possibilities), it is very important to ensure that customers can easily navigate among them to define needed services.
The used "gap analysis"-driven methodology was implemented through the following steps. First, the analysis of the current organisation of the product information management was carried out. Then, the expert estimation of the company benchmark was done. Based on this, the comparison of the present and desirable business process and information management organisation was done resulting in creating corresponding process matrixes. This has made it possible to identify major gaps between the present and the desirable business organization, analyse these and define strategies to overcome these gaps.
Research efforts in the area of information management show that information and knowledge needs of a particular employee depend on his/her tasks and responsibilities [12,13]. Different stages of PLM processes in the company are associated with different roles like product managers, sales personnel, and other including customers. The representatives of different roles have different needs when interacting with an application like a PSS configurator [e.g., 14]. A product manager, for example, knows about the products and is able to configure by deciding on technical facts. A customer, on the other hand, may not know about the technical details of the company's products or even what kind of product he/she may use to solve his/her application problem. This is the reason why technical product details should be hidden from the customer under the application layer. As a result, the overall concept of customer-centric view on the PSS has been formulated. It includes a new role of "system architect" responsible for the holistic view to PSS and its configuration, description of its functionality and applications, and designing a customer view to it.

Product Lifecycle Support for PSS
PLM encompasses the processes needed to launch new products, manage changes to existing products and retire products at the end of their life. In this sense, typical product life cycle stages are development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline [11]. The development stage is when new products are conceived and prepared for manufacturing. For variant-rich products, the stages introduction and growth as well as the maturity are typically supported with product configurators. The decline stage, in contrast to previous ones, is the latest stage at which either a considered product is completely phased out or well-suited successor products are sought. The development stage is distinguished from the introduction and following stages in the sense that development deals with setting up product master data, structures and configuration rules. The stages from introduction to maturity use this data for effective sales supported by product configuration.
Product lifecycle support for PSS differs from that for products. Major differences arise from the point of view to the products.
The PSS view comes from the application side (table 1). After defining of the application area, configuration rules and constraints to the system are defined. They are followed by characteristics and system structure definition. Finally, the apps (software applications and services) enriching the system functionality or improving its reliability and maintenance are defined. The same applies to the sales stage. As a result, implementing application-constraints-system mentioned above view addresses the problem of designing the customer view on system selection, configuration and processing (defining user experience, "talking in a customer-understandable language") [15].

Identified Goals and Related Strategies
The result of the carried out "gap analysis" has made it possible to identify two major gaps and strategies aimed at overcoming these: 1. Designing customer view on PSS selection, configuration and processing.
There are different types of information users at different PLM stages, like product managers, sales personnel, or customers. These users have different needs when interacting with an application like a PSS configurator. The "customer view" and the "company's internal view" describe two contrary views addressing the intersection between the company's product diversity and the customer's individuality with a common goal: being able to guide a customer in selecting and configuring the right system for his/her application problem. At first sight, diversity and individuality seem to have a lot in common, but the goal behind each is rather distinct. It is important to analyze the customer's context (especially for offering services): system usage, customer's industry, who does the maintenance, country-specific regulations, etc.
2. Increasing PSS modularity / reusability in the context of product combinations and systems.
The structure of product combinations and systems needs to modularized. "Comparable" modules have the key ability to be used in multiple configuration contexts. This concerns not only products and components, but also product combinations and whole PSSs assuming building a multilevel PSS engineering model. Thus, a general PSS model architecture needs to be set up.
Below, these issues are considered in detail.

Designing customer view on PSS selection, configuration and processing
The complex PSS view comes from the application side. After defining the application area, configuration rules and constraints to the system are defined. They are followed by characteristics and system structure definition. Finally, the apps (software applications) enriching the system functionality or improving its reliability and maintenance are defined. The same applies to the sales stage of the lifecycle. As it was mentioned, different information needs of different roles (product managers, sales personnel, customers, etc.) are the reason to hide the technical product and service details under the application layer. In addition, the selection of the right system for solving the application problem can be based on a mapping between the application layer and a (hidden) technical layer. In the optimal case, a customer does not notice whether he/she is selecting a product or configuring a complex system.
As a result, the overall concept of customer-centric view on the products has been formulated as shown in fig. 1. It includes the introduced above new role of "System architect" responsible for the development of the holistic view to the system, its configuration, description of its functionality and applications, and designing a customercentric view to it.

Increasing system modularity / reusability in the context of product combinations and systems
The changing requirements on business processes also induce changing requirements on information systems. In today's world, most companies still do product specification with Microsoft Word documents or similar approaches. These documents are handed over to construction. Construction hands over other data, e.g. technical characteristics via PDM systems or CAD files, to manufacturing, and so on. At the time a sales channel is set up for the new product, the initial data from product specification is lost. Thus, a new requirement Fig. 1. Customer-centric application view for effectively setting up sales configurators and after-sales support is a continuous database. Knowledge about the product's application domain should be formally acquired already in the early phases of new product development. In this case, the data is available whenever needed in later steps of the product lifecycle process.
Typically, the new product development process is structured in several milestones, such as design approval, technical approval or sales approval. During the entire life cycle, different roles work on product-centred data: product managers, engineers, controllers, marketing, sales personnel, and so on. Thus, either the relevant product data needs to be handed overand potentially transformedfrom a phase of the life cycle to later phases, or there is a single information system with which all the different roles carry out their daily work; every role on their specific view on a portion of the product data. In both cases, one of the major benefits for all concerned roles would be a seamless integration of all product life cycle phases within a comprehensive workflow.
A system modelling environment must be capable of designing modular system architecture. This means that using such an environment, it must be possible to reuse single product models in the scope of system configurations and assign product or system models to application knowledge. This requires the definition of well-formed system and product model interfaces to allow for modularity. Such interfaces enable a black-box approach, in which all products and software modules implementing this interface can be chosen for the complex product / system; i.e. they become interchangeable. For the user, the complex details of product models on lower levels of the system architecture remain invisible. The user decides based on the visible characteristics of the "black box".
Finally yet importantly, it is also necessary to support multi-user activities on the different parts of product, system and application models without losing track of changes and implication that such changes have.

Pilot Case Study
The developed approach has been verified on a pilot case for the Control cabinet system. This is a complex system consisting of a large number of different control elements, some of which are also complex systems. Due to variety of components, its functionality is significantly defined by the software control subsystem. Control cabinets are usually configured individually based on the customer requirements since their configurations are tightly related to the equipment used by the customer. Before the change, the customer had to compile a large bill of materials by deciding individually for every single component, in order to get the control cabinet. Now, with a holistic view to the control cabinet as to a single complex PSS including corresponding apps and software services, it can be configured and ordered as one product.
At the first stage, based on the demand history, the main requirements and components are defined at the market evaluation stage.
Then, at the engineering stage the components, baseline configurations based on branch specific applications as well as possible constraints are defined. The result of this is a source data for creating a cabinet configurator tool that makes it possible for the customers to configure cabinets based on their requirements online. At this stage, such specific characteristics are taken into account as components used, characteristics and capabilities of the cabinet, as well as resulting lead time and price ( fig. 2).
Based on the customer-defined configuration the engineering data is generated in an automatic (in certain casessemi-automatic) way, which is used for the production stage. As a result, the centralized production of cabinets is based on the automatically generated engineering file ( fig. 3).
The new business process made it possible to reduce the time from configuration to delivery from several weeks to few days (depending on the required components). The product maintenance is also significantly simplified due to the system-based view. All the data about this product (not only separated components) is available and can be used for modification of its configuration on customer's demand.

Conclusion
The detailed steps identified within the described in the paper strategies include: 1. Change from the single convenient for the company view of products to the userfriendly PSS views from the various perspectives. 2. Homogenizing and standardizing PLM master data (increasing master data quality; e.g. for being able to compare components, which are necessary to build partially defined combinations and PSSs). 3. Aligning the business processes of different PLM stages (improving interoperability and avoiding redundant tasks). When building a new configurator platform, it is important to align business processes like new PSS engineering together with the desired outcome. Doing so can help improving interoperability and avoiding redundant tasks e.g. in data maintenance. 4. Implementing tool support for the changed processes (supporting the improved business processes).
Step 1 required an introduction of a new role of "system architect".
Step 2 has mostly been achieved by defining the common ontology and forcing the use of globally defined attributes [16,17]. Regarding steps 2 and 3, some tools for the current business organization have been implemented. The productive use of all these tools proves that the ideas behind the common ontology work well. The developed business process and supporting information systems made it possible to implement a pilot scenario of the automated production of the customer-engineered control cabinets.
Though the work presented in the paper is based on the experiences from one company, it however, can give significant input (for example, following strategies identified above) to achieve benefits for component manufacturers that tend to become system vendors in general.


“Integrated Financial Management Information System: a conceptual framework for Migori County, Kenya”

In the modern world, developing countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and several others in the African continent have been encouraged to reform their public expenditure management systems through computerization of the entire public sectors in response to the increasing volume of data or information that need to be processed. There are, however, various factors to be considered prior to the implementation of the public expenditure management information systems. This paper undertakes a theoretical review of the critical success factors that impact on the implementation of an Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) with a view to identify factors applicable to the Migori County of Kenya. The paper, then, identifies the key factors to be incorporated in the proposed IFMS framework. The proposed framework draws from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) and the Work Around Theory (WAT). The paper fuses these theories towards a successful adoption of use of modern technology within the public sector IFMS. The key factors include technical, organizational, environmental, cultural and ethical behavior. These factors could improve efficiency and transparency through direct payments to suppliers and contractors, reduced prices due to gains based on the time value of money, as well as the comparative analysis of market rates and advanced relations across the numerous organizational units within government on execution, reporting, and thoroughness of budget transactions.

Introduction and background©
This paper assesses factors impacting on the Integrated Financial Management Information (IFMIS) implementation in Migori County government in Kenya.
IFMIS is an information system that enables efficient resource allocation, improves management decision making through availing timely financial and other information to aid in accelerating economic growth. This system has been championed by the World Bank to help countries in the management of their public funds since 1984. Amongst the regions funded by World Bank, Latin America and the Caribbean regions stand out having successfully implemented IFMIS.
In Europe, Umble et al. (2003) conducted a study and found that successful implementation of information systems projects is of critical importance to the prosperity and even survival of modern organizations. This is because effective use of IFMIS usually leads to significant improvements in organizational productivity (Mandal and Gunasekaran, 2003) and often provides organizations with crucial competitive advantages (Poon and Wagner, 2001).
Several studies indicate that the IFMIS implementation has had problems with the implementing agencies. For example in the UK, Sarikas and Weerakkody (2007) noted IFMIS failures. The authors argued that the failures associated with the system could be classified broadly to be resulting from technological issues, political factors and organizational factors.
The systems implemented in Africa have also had challenges with Ibrahim and Dauda (2014) arguing out corruption challenges amid other issues. Hendriks (2012) acknowledges a number of those challenges such as functional, corruption, implementation and data migration challenges. Further, Qwabe (2014) supports Hendriks (2012) that corruption is a major factor that inhibits the effective implementation and use of the IFMIS in Africa.
As asserted by Hendriks (2012), the effective implementation, operation and maintenance of IFMIS require staff with the necessary knowledge and skills. However, lack of capacity is an inhibition to effectiveness of IFMIS implementation. According to Hendriks (2012), one of the other major causes for the delay in the implementation and adoption process of IFMIS experienced by governments in Africa is lack of capacity.
There have been additional models by researchers on the factors influencing IFMIS implementation. For example, Bwalya et al. (2014) point out that the factors that can be studied on the implementation of IFMIS are subdivided into three: individual factors, institutional factors and contextual factors. It should be noted that user capacity factors and technological factors are key in the Zambian context, noting complexity of the system, lack of a clear picture of the benefits that users derive from the system and lack of top management support.
In Kenya, recent research was conducted in respect of IFMIS ranging from its benefits, constituents that affect it, its effects on supply chain management, challenges in the central government, its impact on performance and performance in projects (Omwoha and Getuno, 2015 The theories that were deductively used to guide the paper into the factors that influence IFMIS include the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Work Around Theory (WAT) and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT). These theories assisted with the understanding of management information systems implementation.

Problem statement
From 1984 to 2010, the World Bank financed 87 IFMIS projects in 51 countries, totaling over US $2.2 billion with various country governments cofinancing it to the value of 25% (Dener et al., 2011). Despite the IFMIS project, achieving its intended operational and technical performance, only 89% remained operational, and Africa is noted to have high failure rates of organizations. The general problem is that recent studies on IFMIS implementation have only been investigating its aspects of performance, impeding factors, impact on governance, effects on supply chain management, and challenges in the central government. However, there is no single study that has effectively synthesized the underlying adoption factors and developed an adoption framework for the implementation of an IFMIS in the public sector. As a result, this paper seeks to answer the following research question "What are the critical success factors in the adoption and successful implementation of an IFMIS in the public sector in Kenya?"

Objectives of the article
To undertake a literature study on factors that influence implementation of IFMIS. To identify the critical success that influence implementation of IFMIS. To assess the effects of adoption of IFMIS in the management of public funds. To locate the factors to be incorporated into the proposed conceptual IFMIS framework.

Methodology
The paper is purely theoretical in nature; hence, is based on studies conducted by various authors. A full-scale paper from the full research will conduct an empirical study employing the mixed method approach.

Significance of the paper
The paper is useful to both the national and county government decision makers, who include the Governor, Cabinet Secretaries, Finance Officers, and ICT personnel in Migori County Government (MCG). It locates key factors that could be incorporated into the proposed framework for enhancing the performance of the IFMIS. The paper can further assist key decision makers with factors to consider in the successful adoption of the system and other similar management information systems, thus, improving governance and management of public funds. It provides additional insight on the success factors that influence successful implementation of the IFMIS, which could be incorporated in future funding budgets of such program by various development partners such as the World Bank who has been financing the IFMIS project since 1984. The paper, in addition, would be of use to the scholars and academics by adding to existing body of knowledge on IFMIS. To the software developers and vendors, the paper adds to the body of knowledge on factors that need to be incorporated in future designs or redesigning of the system based on the suggested specific improvements to enhance the performance of the system.

Literature review
The paper draws from three theories in investigating the issues of IFMIS adoption for public financial management. The theories include: Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) by Rogers (1995), Work Around Theory (WAT) that tries to establish how users can work around systems obstacles advocated by Alter (2014) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by Davis (1989), which is most widely used by several researchers that examine the adoption of IFMIS and user acceptance, as observed by Sternad et al. (2011).

Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT)
The IDT is an established theory that provides the foundation for technology innovation diffusion research. It represents innovation adoption that aids in evaluating technology (Rogers, 1995). The four main elements of the diffusion theory that have been identified by Rogers (1995) are innovation, communication channels, time and the social system.
Rogers posits that innovation must be perceived by the user as new and it is influenced by the following five factors: Complexity, Compatibility, Trial-ability, Observability and Relative Advantage. These factors affect the adoption of innovation of a system and will be studied on the IFMIS, which is a new system to the MCG. However, certain of the factors have been expanded further with the introduction of perceived ease of information management systems usage as noted by Vogel and Cheung (2013), which will also be explored in the paper.
Second, the theory involves communication, which Rogers (1995) asserts that it plays different roles as a process at the various stages in the innovation decision process. The paper explores the various decision channels, the change agents, the training of skills and the communication structures that have been used in the implementation and adoption of IFMIS in Kenya.
Third, Rogers (1995) observed that every innovation involves time in three aspects: the innovation decision process (process of forming an attitude towards an innovation), innovativeness of an individual (innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards) and the rate of adoption (the speed at which members of a system adopt an innovation). IFMIS is a system that takes time to implement, hence, the paper confirms the three aspects of the time as noted by Rogers (1995), as it relates to the system.
The last element of the IDT is the social system. This involves a set of interrelated units that are jointly working together to solve a problem with an aim of accomplishing a common goal (Rogers, 1995). The organizations can be perceived to involve a lot of units, but all of them are working together in the solution of problems to reach the common goal. Rogers (1995) further adds that the social system can influence positively or negatively the implementation or adoption of a system. The paper looks at the social system surrounding the IFMIS in Kenya to confirm its influence in the systems adoption and implementation.

Work Around Theory (WAT)
WAT is defined as a goal-driven adaptation that users of a system carry out to bypass or minimize the obstacles that are perceived to deter work performance (Alter, 2014). This might however be presumed to be negative, as Alter (2014) further observes, but this can be guided ethically to enable an individual to achieve the otherwise desired results. Numerous users perceive that IFMIS has certain obstacles with its use. Hence, WAT can be used to model parts of the system either at organizational level or at individual levels. Alter (2014) further observes that such obstacles or mishaps may be inherent in the system or emergent processes which may appear from any factor that contributes to successful adoption and use of technology such as organizational, technological and environmental factors. Therefore, the theory will be embedded in the IDT that defines innovation as a process and tries to look at how the process has engaged work around systems within the IFMIS.

Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)
The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is an information systems theory developed by Davis (1989) that shows how users appreciate and use technology. The model focuses on how technology is adopted and used with much emphasis on determinants of user acceptance of information technologies. It comprises of two major theoretical frameworks: the perceived usefulness (PU) of the system and perceived ease of use (PEOU), as noted by Vogel and Cheung (2013). Perceived use, as defined by Davis (1989), is the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system will enhance their job performance, whereas perceived ease of use refers to the degree of easiness an individual will have in using a particular system, which both influence satisfaction, adoption and attitude towards technology (Davis, 1989). Though the theoretical model has been postulated to have various shortcomings such as not considering the organizational setting and moderating effects (Davis, 1989), it has been relatively used widely in the implementation of systems. The paper, therefore, adopts its help in determining how individual factors influence the implementation of IFMIS at the county governments in Kenya, looking at both the PU and PEOU of the system.
Since the 1980s, major international aid agencies, such as the World Bank, have promoted Integrated Financial Management Information Systems (IFMIS) as a core element in reforming public financial management (PFM) in developing countries. The expectation is that IFMIS will make information on public finances comprehensive, efficient, secure and transparent. However, in numerous cases, these systems frequently fail to realize the promised benefits (Sussi, 2012;Hendriks, 2012;Alawattage et al., 2007).
Recent research that has been conducted on the management information systems used in the management of public funds, points out that IFMIS has faced implementation or adoption challenges (Aminatu, (2013) points out that complexity of a system makes it more likely to be positively appreciated as compared to very simple systems, Chêne (2010) also argues that making the right and simple technical choice for automation is so critical to the successful adoption and implementation of MIS. The platform on which the interconnectivity of the MIS operates also impacts on the successful implementation of the system and this involves the internet and the intranet facilities, as stated by Odunga (2015).
The technical challenges that impede the accomplishment of IFMIS key objectives are numerous. Certain of the challenges include: lack of IT capacity that works with the system, resistance due to complexity and technical challenges of the software (Hendriks, 2012). Hendricks points out that one of the major factors impending successful implementation of IFMIS especially in the public sector is lack of capacity with IT knowledge. This can be due to the disparity in salary rewards of the private and public sectors with the private sector rewarding better salaries (Chêne, 2010). Additionally, low budget on personnel emolument leads to inadequate capacity. Studies in other countries indicate lack of IT staff as a major contributor to the slow implementation of IFMIS (Diamond and Khemani, 2005).
According to Dener et al. (2011), IFMIS is a complex and risky system that requires motivation to change so as to be implemented effectively. This requires both the top management and the staff to be willing and committed to change in the use of technology. Considering its complexity, the commitment will greatly influence how the IFMIS will be implemented or adopted into the organization. The lack of commitment to change may be attributed to factors such as a need for status quo on the use of old manual systems, fear of risks that may occur in implementing the IFMIS and also fear of not knowing how to operate the new systems or a perception of ease of the system usage (Hendriks, 2012).
In Tanzania Chêne (2010) observes that there was noted a failure until the IT solution selected was a medium software package, which was significantly less complex comparatively to what is used, for example, in Ghana. It should be noted that such a system was backed by top management support.
Similarly, in Ethiopia, the IFMIS project has faced numerous complications. The project implementation was not well resourced due to dependence on foreign aid policies, infrastructure issues and top management support due to changes in leadership (Chêne, 2010). In addition, not all implementation strategies are accepted by the staff as expected by the management and this may be termed as a form of resistance. Most people resist to adopt a certain new strategy such as IFMIS due to the fear of venturing to the unknown or not wanting to leave the past behind. Resistance comprises of two main categories: active and passive resistance. Passive resistance entails accepting the strategy implementation verbally, but not following the proposed plan either through ignorance or following what they think to them is right. Active resistance, on the other hand, refers to where the employees reject the intended strategy verbally through critic, for example, by ridiculing or expressing the shortcomings of the intended plan (Chene, 2009).
Numerous IFMIS projects have also failed, because the basic system functionality had not been clearly specified from the onset of the intervention. In certain circumstances, interfaces with existing IT systems have to be created to fit the country's specific settings. IFMIS, which involves major hardware requirements, is also meant to be subjected to the local context and environment with a consideration to use Off-The-Shelf (OTS) or locally developed software (Dener et al., 2011). In Malawi, for example, IFMIS required 50 servers, one central server and a local IFMIS server in each line ministry. Power shortage and interruptions meant that in certain countries, generators and power supply units are needed as well (Chêne, 2010).
Studies with Kenya Government IFMIS shows, that the system has not fully provided the expected benefits of integrated financial planning, effective budgeting and control of public expenditure. These studies have indicated lack of management support, capacity trained with IT skills and resistance (Rotich, 2015;Richard, 2015;Lundu and Shale, 2015;Kahari et al., 2015). Further, Mwaura (2016) notes that the use of obsolete infrastructure inherited from municipal governments cannot be able to handle the IFMIS software that require advanced and improved software and hardware.

Organizational factors
Organizational factors that impact on IFMIS are generally defined as institutional processes and arrangements that govern management of public funds (Ameen and Ahmad, 2012;Chêne, 2010;Sussi, 2012). Organizational factors that affect the adoption of IFMIS are organizational arrangements, capacity of user skills, top management support, skilled laborer demanding for more rewards, resistance due to trust and risk of use and support for the use by middle managers (Bwalya and Mutula, 2016;Lundu and Shale, 2015;Bonventure, 2015;Qwabe, 2014;Kiilu and Ngugi, 2014;Secretariat, 2013;Schniederjans and Yadav, 2013;Sussi, 2012;Peterson, 2002). Therefore, organizational factors needs to be looked at, as they affect the work processes and institutional arrangements that govern the financial management of public funds (Chêne, 2010).
A study of the influence of organizational arrangements on the adoption and implementation of IFMIS was conducted by Chêne (2010). The author emphasizes that the system requires organizational reforms, which deeply affect work procedures and institutional arrangements and this takes time, commitment, champions and courage to achieve. Similarly, a study conducted in Rwanda by Indeje and Zheng (2010) argued that the introduction of a new information system fundamentally changes the way operations are carried out and, therefore, requires a carefully managed process. This process results in a way the organizations operate. In Rwanda, for example, there were three teams responsible for the development of the IFMIS. Lack or little co-ordination between the teams resulted in the IFMIS being incompatible with the system developed for the Rwanda Revenue Authority (Hove & Wynne, 2010).
Several other studies in Kenya (Rotich, 2015;Richard, 2015;Lundu and Shale, 2015;Kahari et al., 2015), concentrated on aspects of eprocurement, which is an integrated part of the system, but did not address the core aspects of the IFMIS. However, they largely indicated that organizational arrangements have greatly influenced the implementation of IFMIS in Kenya.

Environmental factors
IFMIS implementation is also impacted by the environmental factors that include availability of external skills, stakeholders, vendor support, competing software developers, political, software vendor trusts and ethical influences (Zhao et  Chêne (2010) further adds that IT reforms are complex and risky and require major procedural changes, which meet a lot of resistance from the various stakeholders who benefit from the existing norms to the end users whose work might be radically changed.

Cultural and ethical factors
Relatively little research has been done to relate ethics with the successful implementation and or adoption of IFMIS. According to Zhao et al. (2015), culture and ethics are defined collectively as one's values or beliefs that distinguish the members of one group from another set of group that influences user behavior in the technology adoption. Further, Chowdhury (2011) defines culture and ethics as a set of moral principles that guide an individual or an organization into differentiating what is good from what is wrong. Considerable number of researchers have indicated tremendously how the IFMIS has been impacted negatively by corruption, which is an ethical element, as defined by Kerr and Houghton, (2014), Chowdhury (2011), Elias (2004). One of the key results that the IFMIS system would provide is a reduction of corruption and fraud through the controls embedded within the system, as has been noted by Bwalya (Odunga, 2015). Thus, there is a need to look at the ethical factors that impact on the successful implementation of the IFMIS in the management of public funds and also to provide literature on how successful IFMIS implementation is influenced by culture and ethics, which are investigated in this paper. Since culture and ethics are behavioral issues that influence adoption of IFMIS, it is consistent with the theoretical precursors of this paper, i.e., IDT, WAT and TAM.

Legal factors
Since the promulgation of the new constitution in Kenya in 2010, numerous changes have been made, for example, the Public Sector Finance Reforms. In 2005, the government introduced the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to help in the management of public funds. This, as in the case in South Africa, is a financial management reform practice meant to bring in efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency, data security and comprehensive financial reporting, as observed by Hendriks (2012). The author further notes that the legal framework of a country impacts on the management information systems adopted. Echoing the same, Dener et al. (2011) also note that legal framework has a great significance on the management information system that a country would use in the management of public funds.

Effects of adoption of IFMIS in the management of public funds
Modern IFMIS platforms help governments to conform to international financial regulations and reporting standards and support devolved operations through centralized web-based solutions, providing access to a large number of authorized budget users at all levels (Minani, 2012). Other studies show that certain of the positive contributions of automated IFMIS solutions include improved efficiency and transparency through direct payments to suppliers and contractors (Rotich, 2015). It should be noted that it might also lead to a reduction in prices because of gains based on the time value of money, as well as the comparative analysis of market rates. Further, Qwabe (2014) adds that IFMIS solutions advance relations across the numerous organizational units within government on execution, reporting, and thoroughness of budget transactions.
More recently, the open budget proposal in the IFMIS led to an intensification in the delivery of public sector financial information for the public (Minani, 2012). In summary, IFMIS provides a great potential for increasing predictability, involvement, transparency, and government accountability (Bwalya et al., 2014).

Proposed framework
From the foregoing review of literature, it is inferred that the implementation of a successful IFMIS is influenced by several factors, which are situationspecific. However, they can be broadly classified as technological, organizational, environmental, cultural and ethical due to the following challenges that researchers have always identified: It can be extrapolated from the above discussions that there are challenges that the IFMIS faces. The factors have been widely observed by researchers as technological, organizational and environmental.
However, this paper contributes to the cultural and ethical factors, which have been scarcely looked at by extant researchers.
Certain studies that have been carried forth in Kenya IFMIS issues with generalizations made on their findings have had very low response rates, for example, Lundu and Shale (2015).
There are, however, legal aspects that involve changing the constitutions on the implementation of management information systems used for the management of public funds in the country.
Several studies conducted by different researchers for example the ones carried out by Hendriks (2012) in South Africa and Diamond and Khemani (2005) have not developed frameworks that can be adopted in the improvement of the implementation of IFMIS, thus, giving impetus to this paper to develop a framework. Other studies done in Kenya The framework relies on the independent variables of culture and ethics, technology, organization and environment as positive influencers on the way integrated financial management systems (dependent variable) can be implemented for better management of public funds in MCG.

Conclusion
The paper proposed a framework that links all the three theories on adoption, i.e., IDT, WAT and TAM. The compatibility, complexity, relative advantage, observability and trail ability relates to the technological aspect of innovation and since they involve processes, they should have imbedded in the systems ways in which users can be able to work around them when obstacles are faced. This will involve having system-based and user-based search solutions on ways ofcarrying out tasks and advanced search engines on other ways in which the system can be able to meet user needs. Adoption of innovation involves the following aspects: innovation decision process and innovativeness of an individual. This further influences the attitude of an individual towards the use innovation and leading to behavioral intention to use. Individual who can be able to work around obstacles or perceived obstacles around innovation would feel comfortable adopting to innovation use.
The paper concludes that innovation adoption and implementation is more than technology and individuals being able to work around systems to achieve their desirable goals, it also involves other dimensions such as organizational, environmental, ethical, legal and cultural issues that needs to be considered for successful implementation and adoption of IFMIS. Therefore, the framework will incorporate all the institutional processes, arrangements that govern the management of public funds, IT governance structure, change and behavioral management policies and training policies under the organizational dynamics. It will also consider external skills, stakeholders, vendor support, competing software developers, political, software vendor trusts under the environmental dynamics. Lastly, it will incorporate the legal factors under which the IFMIS platform works -Public Financial Management Act provisions and other regulations governing the management of public funds.