Electronic Business: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (4-Volumes) P18 docx

104 Business Networking Hermes B2B messaging server provides enterprises a standardized, reliable and secure infrastructure to exchange business data over the Internet. It supports secure messaging func- tions through security technologies such as XML signature, secure socket layer (SSL), and secure multipurpose internet mail extensions (S/MIME). Aiming at supporting different requirements from enterprises of all sizes, it implements reliable messaging, message packaging, message order- ing, error handling, security, synchronous reply, message status service, and supports transport protocols, such as HTTP and SMTP. Hermes DOVRVXSSRUWVWKHFRQFHSWRI³TXDOLW\RIVHUYLFH´ by respecting in-force agreements, which are expressed as CPA. ebMail is a GUI system. It makes use of open standards (ebXML), underlying GUI, in order to communicate with business partners. Business messages are composed and read in GUI form, so that enterprises do not need back-end integration. The project is platform-neutral; it is developed by using Java, and the GUI part is using Java Swing. For ebXML Messaging Service, ebMail makes use of Hermes project. RosettaNet RosettaNet (http://www.rosettanet.org) is a VHOIIXQGHG QRQSUR¿W RUJDQL]DWLRQ DURXQG D consortium of major IT, electronic components, and semiconductor manufacturing companies aiming at aligning business processes between partners in a given supply chain: Partners agree on partner interface processes (PIPs) to use, and are then ready to start a business scenario. RosettaNet implementation framework (RNIF) S U RYLGHVH[F K D Q J H S URWR F ROVIR U T X L FND Q G HI ¿ FLH QW  LPSOHPHQWDWLRQRI3,3V51,)GH¿QHVWKHRYHUDOO RosettaNet business message format for business documents exchange, with elements to support authentication, authorization, encryption, and non-repudiation; details of the bindings for the W U DQVIH USURW RFRO VHJ+773DQ GW KHVSH FL ¿FD- tion for a reliable exchange of messages between business partners. RosettaNet aims at aligning business processes of supply chain partners, a goal which is achieved E\WKHFUHDWLRQRI3,3V(DFK 3,3 GH¿QHVKRZ WZRVSHFL¿FSURFHVVHVUXQQLQJLQWZRGLIIHUHQW partner organizations) will be standardized and interfaced across the entire supply chain. PIPs LQFOXGH DOO EXVLQHVV ORJLF PHVVDJH ÀRZ DQG message contents to enable alignment of the two processes. The purpose of each PIP is to provide common business/data models and documents enabling system developers to implement Roset- taNet eBusiness interfaces. Each PIP includes: partner role descriptions (individuals/organiza- tions); business data involved (and corresponding XML documents); and business process activi- ties, a validation tool and implementation guide (http://www.rosettanet.org). RosettaNet’s standardization efforts refer to: • PIPs:GH¿QLQJEXVLQHVVSURFHVVHVEHWZHHQ trading partners • PIP directory: providing faster access to PIPs’ information • Dictionaries: which provide a common set of properties for PIPs. (e.g., RosettaNet Business Dictionary: designates the prop- erties used in basic business activities, and Technical Dictionary provides proprieties IRUGH¿QLQJSURGXFWV • RNIF:SURYLGLQJVSHFL¿FDWLRQVIRUSDFNDJ- ing, routing, and transport of all PIP mes- sages and business signals • Product and partner code: which expedites the alignment of business processes between trading partners RosettaNet does not provide a model for sup- ply chain arrangements as a whole, but a model for linking supply chain members’ information ÀRZVLQDXQLIRUPPDQQHUZLWKLQVSHFL¿FEXVL- ness processes. The RosettaNet model describes several business activities that can be mapped to 105 Business Networking RosettaNet XML-framework. These activities are collected inside PIPs. Web Services and BPEL4WS Web services (http://www.w3.org/2002/ws) aim at achieving universal interoperability among applications by using Web standards. They use ORRVHO\FRXSOHGLQWHJUDWLRQPRGHOWRDOORZÀH[LEOH integration of heterogeneous systems in a variety of domains, including B2B, B2C, and enterprise LQWHJUDWLRQ DQG LQWHURSHUDELOLW\ 6SHFL¿FDWLRQV derived from Web services include: SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI. SOAP ( http://www.w3.org/ TR/soap GH¿QHVDQ;0/PHVVDJLQJSURWRFROIRU basic service interoperability. WSDL ( http://www. w3.org/TR/wsdl) introduces a common grammar for describing services, and UDDI ( http://www. uddi.org ) provides the infrastructure required to publish and discover services in a systematic ZD\$OOWKHVHVSHFL¿FDWLRQVDOORZDSSOLFDWLRQVWR ¿QGHDFKRWKHUDQGLQWHUDFWIROORZLQJDORRVHO\ coupled platform-independent model. However, system integration requires much more than the ability to conduct simple interactions by us- ing standard protocols. According to Andrews, Curbea, Dholakia, Goland, Klein, Leymann, Liu, Roller, Smith, and Thatte (2003), the full potential of Web services as an integrated platform will be achieved only when applications and business processes will be able to integrate their complex interactions by making use of a standard process integration model. Business Process Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL4WS, http://xml.coverpages. org/bpel4ws.html) provides an XML-based pro- FHVVGH¿QLWLRQODQJXDJHWKDWHQDEOHVWKHIRUPDO description of business processes and interaction protocols (Andrews, et al., 2003). BPEL4WS GH¿QHVDQLQWHURSHUDEOHLQWHJUDWLRQPRGHOWKDW facilitates the expansion of automated process integration in both intra-enterprise and B2B integration. BPEL4WS is meant to model the behavior of executable business processes (which are modeling the actual behavior of a participant in a business interaction), and abstract business processes (which are process descriptions for b u s i n e s s p r o t o c o l s) . I n t h i s w a y, B P E L 4 W e x t e n d s Web services’ interaction model and enables it to support business transactions. BPEL4WS depends on the following XML- EDVHGVSHFL¿FDWLRQV:6'/;0/6FKHPD 1.0, XPath 1.0, and WS-Addressing. Among these, :6'/K DVW KHP RV WLQÀXHQFHRQ%3(/:63 3 interaction between services, described in WSDL, is at the core of BPEL4WS process model, and both the process and its partners are modeled as WSDL VHUYLFHV7KHGH¿QLWLRQRIEXVLQHVVSURFHVVHVDOVR follows the WSDL model of separation between the abstract message contents used by the business process and deployment information. CONCLUSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH Current market conditions and information and communication technology (ICT) developments determined enterprises to adopt new ways of un- dertaking business. As a consequence, new forms of collaboration emerged, such as collaborative networked organizations (CNO). In this context, the need to support enterprise integration and interoperability is increasing. Several conceptual frameworks, integration standards, technologies, and supporting infrastructures are being devel- oped. Despite the relevant developments in the area of enterprise integration and interoperability, DQGWKHQXPHURXVVFLHQWL¿FUHVXOWVLQWKHEXVLQHVV networking area, it is generally accepted that more work needs to be done, mainly concerning CNO creation or setting-up, support, and implementa- tions (Camarinha-Matos & Afsarmanesh, 2003). Most of the technologies and infrastructures supporting CNO currently available are at their beginnings, and require considerable implementa- 106 Business Networking WLRQDQGFRQ ¿J X UDW LRQHIIRU WV, QJHQHU DOW KHUHLV a lack of an effective approach to interoperability (mainly concerning software inter-operation and information exchange integration), and a lack of VWDQGDUGGH¿QLWLRQVDQGPHFKDQLVPV 6LQFH LWLVYHU\ GLI¿FXOW QRWWR VD\LPSRV- VLEOHWR¿QGDVWDQGDUGZKLFKLVYDOLGRUHDVLO\ FRQ¿JXUDEOHVXSSRUWLQJDZLGHUDQJHRIVHUYLFHV and operations concerning enterprise integration and interoperability, a convenient approach is WRGHYHORSVWDQGDUGVIRUVSHFL¿FLQGXVWU\VHF- tors (e.g., papiNet for paper and forest industry), considering also the fact that a single process and document standard for communicating business transactions is critical to companies buying and selling products from the same industry. Roset- taNet and papiNET are examples of successful standards developments supporting integra- WLRQDQGLQWHURSHUDELOLW\IRUDVSHFL¿FLQGXVWU\ sector: high-tech industry and paper industry, respectively. Although several standards (e.g., ebXML) provide support for different requirements regard- ing enterprise integration and interoperability, in a networked environment, it would be naïve to c o n si d e r t h at it i s p os s i ble to convert everybody to a single platform (e.g., ebXML). Each technology or standard has its advantages and disadvantages. No true technology or standard can work as an isolated island; different technologies are com- ELQHGRUDGDSWHGWRVSHFL¿FQHHGV,WLVWKHUHIRUH challenging to observe the rapid evolution of dif- ferent technologies, standards, frameworks, and the development of emerging projects aiming at combining these standards and technologies (e.g., the development of research projects combining both ebXML and RosettaNet frameworks). The questions that guided this work were DQVZHUHG0DMRUEHQH¿WVIRUHQWHUSULVHLQWHJUD- W LR QZH UHLGH QWL ¿HG 7 KHPRV WUHOH YD QWV W D QGD U G V frameworks, technologies, and supporting in- frastructures aiming at enterprise integration and interoperability were analyzed, and relevant research projects in the area of enterprise net- ZRUNLQJZHUHEULHÀ\SUHVHQWHG)XUWKHUUHVHDUFK ZLOOEHSXUVXHGWRGH¿QHFULWHULDWREHXVHGWR compare the available standards and frameworks. However, in the context of CNO, as mentioned by Bussler (2003), the grander challenge will be: how to achieve self-forming collaborative networked organizations (SFCNO)—that is CNO where the detection of service provider, as well as their contracting, is automated. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author, Claudia-Melania Chituc, would like to acknowledge Fundação para a Ciencia e a Tec- nologia for PhD grant SFRH/BD/19751/2004. REFERENCES Andrews, T., Cubera, F., Dholakia, H., Goland, Y., Klein, J., Leymann, F., Liu, K., Roller, D., Smith, D., & Thatte, S. (2003). Business Process Execution Language for Web Services—Version 1.1. White paper. Retrieved September 10, 2005, from http://ifr.sap.com/bpel4ws/BPEL%20V1- 1%20May%205%202003%20Final.pdf BPEL4WS. (2005). Business Process Execution Language for Web Services Version 1.1. Retrieved September 10, 2005, from http://www-128.ibm. FRPGHYHORSHUZRUNVOLEUDU\VSHFL¿FDWLRQZV bpel/ Bussler, C. (2003). B2B integration—concepts and architectures. Springer. Camarinha-Matos, L. M. (2003). New collabora- tive organizations and their research needs in process and foundations for virtual organizations. Kluwer Academy Publishers. Camarinha-Matos, L. M., & Afsarmanesh, H. (2003). Elements of a base VE infrastructure. Computers in Industry, 51(2) 139-163. 107 Business Networking Campbell, S. (2001). ebXML—the global standard for electronic business. 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Cunha, pp. 334-353, copyright 2007 by IGI Publishing (an imprint of IGI Global). 109 Copyright © 2009, IGI Global, distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 1.8 A Knowledge Management Approach to Improving E-Business Collaboration Sharon Cox Birmingham City University, UK John Perkins Newman University College, UK INTRODUCTION Information and communication technology (ICT) helps to remove barriers and improve mechanisms that support e-business. E-busi- ness involves collaborative systems that enable trading partners to work together as members of communities of practice. This article argues that the ICT components of e-business are necessary to support communication but in themselves are RIWHQLQVXI¿FLHQWDVHQDEOHUVRIFROODERUDWLRQ$ knowledge management orientation is taken to viewing the dyad between human ability, organi- sational need, and the extent to which electronic information systems can mediate between them. Concepts from the social practice literature are LGHQWL¿HGWKDWPD\FRQWULEXWHWRDGGUHVVLQJWKH gap between generic technology and situated business applications, which may inform human resource strategy. BACKGROUND The communication of information is a key factor DIIHFWLQJWKHHI¿FLHQF\RIEXVLQHVVWUDQVDFWLRQV ICT provides mechanisms to support the accurate and timely communication of information across organisations in the supply chain. E-business LQYROYHVWKHXVHRILQWHU¿UPFRPSXWHUQHWZRUNV to exchange information that supports business applications or processes (Li & Williams, 1999). It extends beyond e-commerce, the buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet, to incorporate the entire supply chain (Martin, 2UJDQLVDWLRQVFDQEHQH¿WIURPFRRSHUDWLQJ ZLWKLQWKHVXSSO\FKDLQ%HQH¿WVRIFRRSHUDWLRQ may include improvements in customer service (Tan, 2001), understanding future product de- mand (Sahay, 2003), transaction costs, and time to market (Graham & Hardaker, 2000). 110 A Knowledge Management Approach to Improving E-Business Collaboration Supply chain management requires collabo- ration between trading partners (Sahay, 2003) which can take many forms requiring different degrees of cooperation and commitment (Cox, Krasniewicz, Perkins, & Cox, 2006). John-Steiner, Weber, and Minnis (1998) emphasise the need IRUPXOWLSOHGH¿QLWLRQVDQGPRGHOVRIFROODERUD- tive practice. The term ‘collaboration’ can offer positive connotations meaning ‘to work together, especially in a joint intellectual effort’ (www. yourdictionary.com). This view of collaboration is socially situated, implying that the partners in the collaborative relationship share agreed goals and that the balance of power, control, and potential EHQH¿WVDUHHTXDOLQWKHUHODWLRQVKLS+RZHYHU the term can also have negative connotations as in ‘to cooperate treasonably, as with an enemy occupation force in one’s country.’ The term ‘coop- HUDWH¶FDQEHGH¿QHGDVµWRZRUNWRJHWKHUWRZDUG a common purpose’ or ‘to form an association for FRPPRQXVXDOO\HFRQRPLFEHQH¿W¶7KLVUHODWHV to the ‘working together’ aspect of collaboration. +RZH YHU D I X U W K H U GH¿ Q LW LR Q RI F R R S H U DW LRQ L VµWR acquiesce willingly; be compliant.’ This demon- strates the key difference between cooperation and collaboration; cooperation can imply deference and subservience in the relationship. Technology provides the means to commu- nicate data and information and integrate pro- cesses within the value chain. Value is added to collaborative relationships in e-business through the information exchanged which allows knowl- HGJH WR EH VKDUHG IRU MRLQW EHQH¿W FKDQJLQJ processes and developing new products (O’Toole, .QRZOHGJHFDQEHGH¿QHGDVDFRPELQD- tion of contextual information that is produced WKURXJKV\QWKHVLVRILQIRUPDWLRQDQGUHÀHFWLRQ from experience (Davenport, DeLong, & Beers, 1998). Nonaka and Takeuchi’s (1995) model of knowledge conversion modes established explicit and tacit dimensions of knowledge into current knowledge management thinking (Grover & Dav- enport, 2001). Explicit knowledge is often found in the form of information; it is the component of knowledge that can be expressed with textual or symbolic representation. Tacit knowledge is more VXEMHFWLYH DQG GLI¿FXOW WR H[SUHVV DQG FRGLI\ Communication and cooperation using collab- orative systems lead to reciprocal dependency of knowledge sharing which is highly dependant upon the establishment of trust between trading partners. The study of practice within communities of practitioners is necessary to determine the cultural rules that underpin routine practice and establish knowledge requirements. An approach emerging from the domains of social sciences and organisa- tion studies is that of social practice theory. This focuses on the study of organisational culture through the medium of the work practices that FRPSULVHDQGUHVXOWIURPLW(QJHVWUĘP (QJHVWUĘP¶VPRGHORIVRFLDOO\GLVWULEXWHGDFWLYLW\ systems explores the dynamics between the users of collaborative systems, objects of activity (such as trading processes), and the community within which this trading takes place; it then analyses how these elements are mediated by implicit or explicit rules, roles, and technology. E-BUSINESS COLLABORATION ICT changes the way work is conducted includ- ing how people work together and the degree to which they need to (Pearlson & Saunders, 2004). Internet technologies are the major enabler of improvements in supply chain management (Kirchmer, 2004) enabling customers and sup- pliers to work together towards a common aim to WKHEHQH¿WRIERWKSDUWLHVIRUH[DPSOHUHGXFLQJ transaction costs. :DUG*ULI¿WKVDQG:KLWPRUHLGHQ- tify four levels of using technology to support interorganisational cooperation and strengthen intercompany relationships. At the lowest level of connectivity, batches of transaction data are transmitted between partners. This requires commitment to send accurate and timely data in 111 A Knowledge Management Approach to Improving E-Business Collaboration a g reed f or m a t s, t r u s t i ng t h a t t h ey w i l l be u s e d ap - propriately. At the next level, direct access to data held in each other’s computer systems is given. This requires additional technical integration but also requires a shared understanding of the data (to ensure they are interpreted appropriately) and trust that the data will not be misused. At levels three and four, further integration enables part- ners to automatically initiate business processes in response to electronic transactions and update data in both parties’ computer systems. These levels require increasing degrees of trust and commitment to the collaboration, changing the relationship between trading partners. Information technology can be used to change procedures (O’Toole, 2003) but a change of culture is needed in both partner organisations in order to develop the degree of trust required for collabora- tion to be successful. E-relationships are a layer of value-added interaction between trading partners. Value is determined by the level of commitment and engagement of the partners in the relationship (O’Toole, 2003). Value can be added in informa- tion exchanged; closer relationships result in more communication with richer content, though this requires a form of community to be in place to allow the development of shared understanding and mutual trust (O’Toole, 2003). Collaboration is built upon interpersonal communication and it is trust that differenti- ates partnerships from traditional relationships (Handy, 1995). Communities are traditionally developed through face-to-face interaction which is often not possible within e-business. The recur- ring events that form common practice are often inscribed in a technical infrastructure mediated by sociocultural rules within a collaborative system. Such systems depend upon participants knowing what constitutes appropriate practice in a particular situation, knowing accepted ways to carry out that practice and upon a high degree of knowledge sharing. KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT Knowledge management involves implementa- tion of tools, processes, systems, structures, and cultures that promote creation, sharing, and use of knowledge (DeLong & Fahey, 2000). The knowledge management philosophy focuses on knowledge as ‘people-embodied activity’ (Mohamed, Stankosky, & Murray, 2006). Prob- lems with e-business systems occur when the development of the system is based on espoused requirements of practice projected from policy requirements. The actual practice often results from practitioners ‘working around’ policy di- UHFWLYHV WR DFKLHYH ¿QLWH UHVXOWV LQ D VLWXDWLRQ where time and other operational resources are rationed; actual practice should form the basis for determining e-business processes. However, the nature of the encultured and embodied knowledge that enables expertise is highly tacit and often not recognisable in an explicit form even by the practitioner who employs it. Lee (2005) emphasises the difference between process and practice. Process relates to routines involving explicit knowledge; practice relates to heuristics and tacit ‘know-how.’ Formal explicit business processes document the actions and routine decisions of business activity; business practices becomes established where there is ambi- guity or omissions in the documented processes or exceptional circumstances occur (Wenger, 1998). This provides a continuum. At one end, routine decisions which require little human intervention can be documented in business processes and DWWKHRWKHUHQGGHFLVLRQVUHTXLULQJVLJQL¿FDQW judgment are founded in business practice (Lee, 2005). For e-business collaboration to succeed beyond the operational level of reducing transaction costs, a knowledge management approach that more effectively enables collaborative activity needs to be situated within the study of practice. The individuals using the collaborative system adopt business practices that involve embodied, embed- 112 A Knowledge Management Approach to Improving E-Business Collaboration ded, and encultured knowledge that is located not within individuals, but distributed amongst a community of practitioners (Blackler, 1995). TRUST AND COMMUNITY E-business removes the temporal and geographical boundaries of business transactions, however, it also impacts the situational context within which communities are developed and sustained. Shared understanding and mutual trust need to develop EHWZHHQZRUNHUVDFURVVWKHLQWHU¿UPSDUWQHUVKLS Perceptions of trust evolve through the experience of recurring events to strengthen or weaken the initial cultural boundaries between the workers in each organisation. Individuals relate to a ‘we group’ as opposed to ‘them,’ that is, those people who are excluded IURPWKHµZHJURXS¶+RIVWHGHIXO¿OOLQJ the basic human need to belong. Dingley, Shah, and Golder (2000) use the metaphor of a tribe to H[DPLQH WKH FRPPXQLFDWLRQ GLI¿FXOWLHV H[SH- rienced between groups of workers in different departments within the same organisation as they attempt to collaborate. A tribe (Dingley et al., 2000): 1. Possesses culture. 2. Retains self-awareness. 3. Maintains a sense of boundaries. 4. Enforces a shared pattern of socialisation to reinforce values. 5. Consists of a complex social structure. 6. Shares problems. 7. Engages in rituals for coming together. 8. Establishes traditions which sustain cohesive relationships.  ,QÀXHQFHVSROLWLFVFORVHO\LQYROYHGZLWKWKH rest of the social organisation. 10. Settles disputes by the next higher order. They suggest that departments of workers are ‘tribes’ separated by differences in behavior, terminology, language, cognition, and values. In- W H U ¿ U P F ROODERUDW LRQFD Q E H Y L H ZH G D V W ZRµW U L E H V¶  needing to work together and develop a shared culture to enable the collaboration. Differences in thinking are a key factor of why solutions do not work or cannot be implemented in organisations (Hofstede, 1991); this is particularly true in the context of e-business collaboration. Differences in the use of language, goals, cognitive views, frames of reference, and organisational pressures DOOFRQWULEXWHWRFRPPXQLFDWLRQGLI¿FXOWLHVDQG lack of trust in collaboration. SOCIAL ACTIVITY THEORY Human activity is mediated by the tools and con- cepts that are used; the situational rules, organi- sational processes, and shared practice interact ZLWKLQWKHKXPDQDFWLYLW\V\VWHP(QJHVWUĘP 1987). Collaborative activity between two or more communities involves the reconciliation of human activity systems with different ecologies. Processes of human meaning construction are mediated not only by technology but also by local culture, most explicitly represented by the recur- rent activities that represent practice carried out by local communities of workers (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998). The collaborative system changes the situational context, the artifacts, and actions of the people in both partner organisations and therefore impacts the communities of practice. Oliver and Kandadi (2006) report the prominent role of formal and informal communities of prac- tice in the formation of knowledge communities. They suggest that organisations need to provide an appropriate communication infrastructure, such as knowledge portals, to provide virtual interac- tion and content management. As knowledge is contextual (Snowdon, 2003), communities of practice that cross organisational boundaries need to be developed to establish a collaborative context within which knowledge can be shared. 113 A Knowledge Management Approach to Improving E-Business Collaboration TAXONOMIES OF COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE IN E-BUSINESS Collaboration changes trading relationships in the supply chain. Cox et al. (2006) propose that e-business collaboration can be examined from three perspectives. First, the strategic perspective examines the rationale for collaboration, and is- sues of with whom to collaborate, why, and how (Barratt, 2004). Second, the integration perspec- tive considers what is being integrated, the degree of the collaboration, and the value emerging from it. Finally, the community perspective explores the operational issues of collaborative practice. These levels of collaborative practice provide a basic taxonomy with which to examine knowledge management within e-business collaboration. Once the collaboration has been agreed at the strategic level, the means for the collaboration needs to be established. At this integration level, the contribution of business practice, as opposed to business process, needs to be used as the basis for developing the collaborative system, embed- ding the encultured knowledge from the com- munities of practice. Collaboration then needs to be considered at lower levels in the organisation (Nahapiet, Gratton, & Rocha, 2005). At the com- munity level, the individuals using the collabora- tive system provide the key source of knowledge WRH[SORLWRUUHVWULFWWKHSRWHQWLDOEHQH¿WVRI the collaboration. The key questions faced by organisations concerning why, with whom, and how to collaborate also need to be addressed at the operational level. This requires issues such as human motivation to be considered (Nahapiet et al., 2005) as colleagues ask, ‘With whom should I collaborate with and why?’ Individuals cannot be forced to share knowledge, it must be volun- WHHUHGLQRUGHUWRDYRLGFDPRXÀDJHEHKDYLRU (where knowledge is shared but in an unusable manner) or conformance behavior (where only the minimum requirements are met) (Snowdon, 2003). Coercion leads to negative connotations of collaboration. Fahey, Srivastava, Sharon, and Smith (2001) examine the role of knowledge management in e-business using the taxonomy of knowledge com- prising know-why, know-what, and know-how. Know-what involves the assembly and application of information, know-how is gained through the application of knowledge, and know-why is the result of combining ‘knowing-what’ and ‘know- ing-how’ through reasoning. The why, what, and how broadly relate to the previous perspectives of collaboration (i.e., strategic, integration, com- munity). This knowledge management framework provides a means to explore and develop the human role within e-business systems (Fahey HWDO7KHSRWHQWLDOVWUDWHJLFEHQH¿WVRI e-business can only be achieved through the ef- IHFWLYHFROODERUDWLRQRILQWHU¿UPFRPPXQLWLHVRI practice. Neglecting the emergent knowledge from business practice reduces e-business collaboration to a series of automated business processes and neglects the powerful and unique contribution of personnel in the organisation. FUTURE TRENDS The challenges and opportunities posed by tech- nology are increasing at a fast pace. ICT removes geographical and temporal boundaries providing a means for communication between organisations, processes, and people. However sophisticated technology becomes one factor in communication remains the same, that is, the human element. 5RXWLQHEXVLQHVVSURFHVVHVVXSSRUWLQJLQWHU¿UP transactions require minimal human intervention but the scope of such processes will be limited to the extent that practice, as opposed to espoused SURFHGXUH LV FRGL¿HG 3URFHVVHV ZLOO QHHG WR be established for seeking to capture and codify business practice. But it is the opportunities for innovation and organisational learning that remain ¿UPO\JURXQGHGLQWKHKXPDQDELOLW\IRULQVLJKW reason, and creativity. As technology advances and continually ‘frees up’ staff (as processes become . technologies, standards, frameworks, and the development of emerging projects aiming at combining these standards and technologies (e.g., the development of research projects combining both ebXML and. Analysis of B2B Standards and Systems: Deliverable D1.1 SWWS Project. Retrieved from http://swws.semanticweb.org Vernadat, F. (1996). Enterprise modeling and integration—principles and applications. . artifacts, and actions of the people in both partner organisations and therefore impacts the communities of practice. Oliver and Kandadi (2006) report the prominent role of formal and informal