Analysis of the state of design of services provided through electronic means and perspectives of their development in Poland

E-service design

REPORT

Institute of Industrial Design

Ministry of Economy Department of Electronic Economy Trzech Krzyy Square 3/5 00-507 Warsaw tel.: +48 22 693 50 00 fax: +48 22 693 40 46 do 48 e-mail: mg@mg.gov.pl http://www.mg.gov.pl ISBN 978-83-930077-9-0 Report prepared by Institute of Industrial Design

E - s er v ice d es ign

A nalysis of t he s tate of de sign of ser vice s provide d through ele c t ronic me ans and p er sp ec tive s of t heir development in Poland

B e a t a B o chi s ka D r I wo n a Pal c z ew s ka D o r ot a B r y n d al K a t ar z y n a S t e f ani ak D r A l e k Tar kow s k i Pe n to r R e s e ar ch I n t e r n a t io n al

Warsaw 2011

Table of contents

Abstract Introduction Goal, scope, main sources of the report and authors competences 1. E-services definition, diagnosis and predictions 1.1. Definition 1.2. Role of e-services in the economy 1.3. Supporting the development of e-services 1.4. Perspectives and directions of development of the e-service offer and its usage by the consumers 2. E-service design diagnosis and prediction 2.1. Design of e-services 2.2. Development of e-service design 2.3. E-service design as a method for increasing competitiveness of Polish e-services 3. Modern e-service markets 3.1. E-service design in selected countries statistics 3.2. E-commerce 3.3. E-services of the public sector (e-government) 3.4. E-service design competitions 3.5. Studies on e-service design in selected countries 3.6. Methods of design and implementation of e-services, standards created during design of e-services throughout the world 3.7. Perspectives for development of e-service design market in selected EU countries 4. Infrastructural and equipment conditions for the development of e-services 4.1. Broadband Internet access Development of broadband cable Internet access 4.2. Wireless Internet access 4.3. Mobile phone Internet access 4.4. WiFi Internet connections 4.5. End user Internet access devices, types, availability 4.6. Service prices 4.7. Summary 5. The law of the Internet: overview of the legal regulations in Poland and European Union 5.1. Protection and support for economic activities, online agreements, agreements executed over the Internet 5.2. Civil Code regulations 5.3. Consumer protection in long-term agreements 5.4. Legal regulations of the public sphere (e-administration) what will happen in the future? 5.5. Summary

7 13 17 21 21 26 28 30 43 43 49 51 61 61 61 63 67 67 69 74 81 82 86 88 88 89 89 92 94 101 103 103 109 111 114

6. E-service design market in Poland: a sociological look 6.1. Internet and its users in Poland 6.2. Methods of using the Internet and their conditions 6.3. E-services and digital exclusion 6.4. Development trends of e-services 6.5. Trends of development of network services design 6.6. Summary 7. Survey of the level of e-service design in Poland 7.1. Methodology 7.2. E-service design: general attitude of companies 7.3. E-service design process in companies 7.4. Cooperation with professional designers Summary Conclusions 7.5. Design as a way of increasing competitiveness of Polish e-services Influence of e-service design on company competiveness Expense of e-service design and evaluation of investment profitability Summary Conclusion 8. Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the e-service design area 9. Recommendations 9.1. Predicted impact of executing recommendations on the economic innovativeness of Poland 10. Summary Abbreviations Index of figures Index of tables Ownership and copyright Authors limited liability About the authors

119 120 125 130 130 132 133 137 137 139 141 148 158 160 162 166 170 174 175 183 189 196 201 203 204 207 208 209 210

Abstract
The term e-service design, used in the reports title, should be understood as both the design process and implementation of a new immaterial product, which is comprised of services provided electronically, as well as sets of requirements and attributes constituting a base for a complex evaluation of the value offered by the product an e-service. An analogy for defining design of services and e-services is the term industrial design, related to material products, which became widespread in the first half of the twentieth century. In Poland it spread to a large extent thanks to the Institute of Industrial Design. Results of the survey of the state of e-service design in Polish companies The basis of the report is an analysis of the results of a survey on the e-services market, competences and needs of Polish companies in the area of implementing a new e-service project and effectiveness of designing electronic services, which was conducted in 2010 by Pentor Research International for the Institute of Industrial Design on a measurable sample of companies from different industries, for whom electronic services decide on a potential competitive advantage on the market. The goal of this survey was to answer the question: do entrepreneurs in the service industry use design for their e-services, if so, to what extent, what are the results and what does the design process of a new e-service look like. The survey was conducted on a sample of 201 companies from 8 industries (finance, IT, culture, advisory, non-profit, marketing, society and information) and 52 e-service designers. The survey was conducted in selected companies that had implemented at least one e-service within three years before the survey. The selection process for the quota of respondents from each company strove to maintain proportions in relation to the industries and size of companies. The survey was conducted using a direct survey interview with the CAPI1 method.

1) CAPI Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing.

The results of the survey show that e-services in Poland develop spontaneously, driven by the development of digital infrastructure and in emulation of foreign solutions. The effectiveness of such actions for an unsystematic process is, in some cases, surprisingly effective. This does not, however, mean that such a scenario will prove itself in all cases. One example is the domestic solution of the Allegro.pl auction platform, which dominated the market to such an extent that it blocked the entry of the global tycoon, eBay. A similar phenomenon may occur in the case of Amazon.com, whose popularity in Poland is not high enough to beat the domestic competitors: Empik and Merlin. One should be conscious of the fact that the spontaneous development of a few leading brands is not enough for the construction of modern e-service sector in Poland, which, in order to compete with foreign companies, must develop quickly and with maximum effectiveness. The results of the survey have shown that in most Polish companies implementing e-services, the perception of e-service design in terms of aesthetics as superficial stylization is dominant, often in relation not to the entire service, but only to one of its elements. Typical results show: 1. emulation of existing solutions and observation/copying of competitors products; 2. low rank of innovation in the hierarchy of goals and a general unawareness of the service design phenomenon. 16 per cent of micro companies, 22 per cent of small companies and only 10 per cent of medium and large companies believe innovation to be the key factor in favouring the achievement of market success. At the same time, surveyed companies declared a need for obtaining new knowledge and using specialist advisors and trainings in the area of e-services.

Figure 1.

Company opinions on e-service design.

100 5% 15% 80 31% 32% 27% 1% 15% 6% 13% 23% 10% Design provides a new point of view on the companys problems We use design to discover new possibilities of problem solving We use design to improve or make some element of service more effective 39% 40 31% 28% 38% 13% 18% 0 Total [N=201] 24% Microcompanies [N=68] 16% Small companies [N=102] 16% Medium and large companies [N=31] Design is treated as stylization, a method of keeping up with modern trends Value of e-service design is not perceived

60

20

Source: self study.

Figure 2.

Sources of new design solutions used by companies when designing an e-service in the last three years.
Commissioning a professional designer Purchase of a licence In-house creation of patterns based on domestic market observations In-house creation of patterns based on information from press and professional publications In-house creation of patterns based on foreign market observations In-house creation of patterns based on what is shown during fairs and exhibitions Design transferred from a foreign co-operator Own experience 0 Medium and large companies [N=31]
4% 5% 6% 0% 2% 3% 16% 24% 19% 25% 29% 30% 41% 14% 19% 39% 40% 44% 24% 39%

48%

35%

16%

23%

10

20

30

40

50

Small companies [N=102]

Microcompanies [N=68]

Source: self study.

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Figure 3.

Company needs in the area of e-service design [N=201].

Postgraduate studies for team members Possibility of choosing of a certied designer Professional design Workshops Advisors Training 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 15% 27% 30% 49% 54% 68% 70 80

Source: self study.

Current state and perspectives of development of e-services in Poland and the European Union The service sector is an important factor in the economic growth and quality of life of societies. Its development contributes to raised living standards and social security for residents. In countries with the highest developed market economies, participation of the service sector in GDP reaches above 70 per cent. Services absorb more than two thirds of supply on the job markets and considerably influence the increase in turnover in foreign trade. In Poland, participation in the service sector accounts for over 60 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and gives work to 55 per cent of the employed, which means that our country has a long way to go to reach the level of leading world economies in the area of development of the service sector. Undoubtedly, the Polish economy will comply with world trends in its direction of economic development. Interest in e-services, both among service providers and recipients, will grow. Activities supporting development of the e-service sector throughout the world concentrate on the following issues: 1. ensurance of balanced development of the e-service sector, quantitative and qualitative balance in the offer of both commercial and public services, including e-administration and e-government; 2. perception of the service design process as a creative process, whose purpose is to solve recipient problems, answer their needs and expectations and supply a positive experience during service interaction. This is achieved through the implementation of creative methods in e-service design thinking, user driven design, etc.

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3. support of the development of new competences in service companies by educating specialists in the area of design management; 4. provision of unlimited access to digital services by eliminating exclusion, creating competences of e-service consumers and identifying their needs. In each of the above areas, Poland is at the beginning stages of development, thanks to which it has the chance to draw on the experience of more advanced countries, and to create its own cohesive strategy, methodology, tools and criteria for evaluation of effectiveness and their consistent implementation. Positive experiences of the Institute of Industrial Design indicate that the situation was similar in a survey for the Ministry of Economy in 2007 on the state of application of industrial design. Knowledge and recommendations of the report allowed for the creation of a system of support for industrial design within a short period of time, among which is the launch of EU funding programmes for support of design investments within the framework of Operational Programme Innovative Economy Activity (OP IE) 4.2, the introduction of design to the list of required faculties by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the creation of an educational offer in the area of design for postgraduate studies (conducted by the Institute of Industrial Design together with the Warsaw School of Economics and High School of Academics and Journalism in Pozna). It also resulted in the creation of a handbook, training courses, workshops and e-learning courses (individual key project part of the OPIE 5.2 Activity Design Your Profit executed by the IWP) and the offer of individual advisors (Institute of Industrial Design), as well as the creation of specialized entities in the business environment intended to implement the strategy of supporting creative industries (science/technology parks, i.e. Pomeranian Science and Technology Park, enterprise incubators like the one at the Enterprise Foundation in Gdask and many others). Activity evaluation indicators used by the Institute show that there is great potential interest in the area of product design in companies.

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Recommendations for entrepreneurs and administration The authors of this report believe that there is a deep running analogy between the design of products and services. That is why it is recommended to prepare a strategy and plan activities supporting e-service design, including using solutions that have proved themselves in programmes whose goal was to increase the effectiveness of the usage of industrial design in order to raise competitiveness in production companies. In short, the recommendations can be summarized into the three most important points: 1. Creating a business environment for e-service design by improving technical infrastructure, as well as legal and economic regulations; 2. Financial support from the European Union directed towards the development of e-service design based on project qualification criteria compliant with the standards of management of e-service design; 3. Improving knowledge and competences in the area of broadly understood e-economy, including, in particular, management of e-services, encompassing entrepreneurs, designers and consumers on all levels of education. To ensure development of e-service design in the coming decade, we need a systemic approach that will create an ecosystem of support for the development of e-services, from comprising a cohesive strategy through execution of its contents by means of projects and programmes, up to the evaluation of results. Such an approach should be supplemented by basing methodology on cohesive standards of e-service design, the term being introduced and defined in this report as an axis for activities improving the state of development of the e-service sector in the Polish economy.

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Introduction
(Beata Bochiska)

Services are the future of the developing Polish economy, since their impact on GDP keeps increasing. E-services, or services provided electronically, are not only an important and quickly increasing source of revenue in the modern economy, but also play a key role in the development of other areas, such as roads, highways and airports. Design of e-services, based on cohesive and mature methodology, is a new discipline in this world. Polish economy stands before an opportunity to quickly develop this field and companies can achieve competitive advantage in regional as well as global scale. Systemic support for the development of e-service design should be a supporting factor for this, including investments into creation of business environment of firms developing e-services, development of company competences and proper legal regulations. The rapid spread of access to quicker and cheaper Internet caused not only an increase in the numbers of users, but also a change in the model of usage. In 2008, 56 per cent of EU citizens regularly used the Internet, in comparison with 43 per cent in 2005. Currently, 75 per cent use the Internet every day (mostly for business purposes). A huge change has occurred, namely the commercialization of the Internet, or, as some call it, digitalization of economy. Polish entrepreneurs are aware that this sphere of the economy will effect its future development. Without the growth of e-economy, positive models and development strategies cannot be realized. The Polish economy possesses adequate intellectual, social and economic capital, allowing and stimulating development of e-services:

professional IT competences, entrepreneurship and flexibility of medium and small companies, rapid growth of regional and global service centres, large potential of the internal market, lastly, underestimation of characteristic national traits of Poles, like empathy and the understanding of recipient needs on an emotional level.

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What does it mean, and why is the term e-service design important for the development of e-services? To answer this question, I will use an analogy to the phenomenon of Scandinavian industrial design, which is associated with very purposeful, simple, functional and yet very design-friendly products crafted for the mass consumer. In the 1960s, Scandinavian countries decided to develop the industrial design sector to support their strategy of making domestic products more visible on the global market. While the economies of other countries invested mainly in production and technologies, Scandinavian countries additionally worked on adding value thanks to systematic use of design and creating a professional cadre of designers. Designers looked for additional added values in the project stage, like lowering production costs, standardizing solutions, easy disposal or energy-saving production process, which distinguished companies from their competition. Additional costs were offset by moving production to cheaper places. Complex design, distinguishable from decoration or stylization, allowed the building of customer trust in Scandinavian products, which were perceived as safe, healthy, functional and compliant with a balanced development strategy. Today, this has allowed products from Sweden and Denmark, both small north European countries with a small population of under 10 million residents, to achieve a significant and firm place in the global market. The situation is the same today in the context of designing services, specifically e-services. Research shows that e-service design usually comes down to finding a technological solution and ensuring proper functionality (the service has to work), while in relatively few instances, a new e-service is part of a systematic process of versatile design, similar to the process of design of material products. In the past, constructors and technologists imposed product requirements, whereas currently, system architects and IT engineers are the main designers of electronic services. A systematic approach to service design is unknown to the Polish companies today, which constitutes a threat to the development of e-economy. On the other hand, it offers large development potential for the Polish economy, especially in connection with existing capital and low level of investments. There is only one condition: one must understand what is service design and how can it be managed, who should be the e-service designer on a team, what attributes should a good e-service have, how is it possible to educate large groups of professionals to achieve an economic scale effect, not to mention how to create tools that support growth of this low-expenditure, but very effective process innovation.

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This report, prepared by the Institute of Industrial Design for the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Poland, based on company surveys and analysis of development potential in the area of e-services, was created in such a way as to indicate bottlenecks and areas with potential for growth and usage of dormant and often wasted resources, service designers, who are able to create the positive experiences that are the basis for modern design and, more broadly, service design, as well as an element of competitive advantage.

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Goal, scope, main sources of the report and authors competences

The report E-service design, Analysis of the state of electronic services and perspectives of their development in Poland was created by the Institute of Industrial Design for the Ministry of Economy. The goal of this report is to analyse the application of design in the process of development and implementation of e-services by Polish companies and to create recommendations to ensure the development of e-services, by: 1. Defining the concept of e-service design as a content axis for undertaken actions, which provides cohesion of approach and goals. 2. Describing the state of the e-service market, specifically the competences and needs of Polish companies in the area of implementing a new e-service and effective design based on dedicated survey conducted on a measurable sample of companies and designers. 3. Evaluation of effectiveness of used methodology of development of new immaterial product, namely the e-service. 4. Describing the level of usage of human capital (specialists) in the area of design and e-service design (designers, design studios). 5. Creation of recommendations and building an ecosystem of support for the development of e-services in Poland as a tool for raising the competiveness and economic effectiveness of companies for the contractor, the Ministry of Economy and other public institutions. The recipients of the report are public and self-government administration entities, companies and institutions providing electronic services, researchers and universities or high schools, which educate in the area of business management, business economy, service design and industrial design. This report was created based on: 1. Results of a survey conducted by Pentor for this report for the Institute of Industrial Design about the competences and needs of Polish companies in the area of implementing a new e-service design and effectiveness of e-service design. 2. Self study results, analysis of published reports and studies conducted in Poland and abroad. 3. Analysis of existing legal acts. 4. Studies, experiences and opinions of the Institutes experts.

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The Institute of Industrial Design is a unique institution in Poland, focused on the industrial design of products and services and their application as tools for raising economic effectiveness. The Institute conducts industrial and developmental surveys and has a status of a research unit and an R&D centre. The only advisory institution of its kind in Poland, it popularizes product and service design through research activities and promotional and advisory programmes for companies and administration. Since 2008, it has implemented a multi-year key programme co-financed by Operational Programme Innovative Economy, whose goal is to create a business environment amongst companies to make innovation and development of competitive products and services based on design more popular. Since 1993, it has implemented a Good Design programme for monitoring product design in the Polish market, which, since 2009, has also included service and e-service design. The Institute also conducts educational activities on the level of postgraduate studies of design management. Its library with books on design and new product development is the largest in the country.

1.
E-services definition, diagnosis and predictions

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1. E-services definition, diagnosis and predictions

(Iwona Palczewska)

Analysis of the e-service term has shown that a clear division exists between the encyclopaedic definition, which describes the term, and the utilitarian definition, whose purpose is to partially and selectively describe this term for the needs of a specific project (programme). 1.1. Definition The e-service definition is the entry point for defining e-services, as e-services are a subgroup of a service group, or, one of many kinds of services. For this report, Lbbes definition 2 was selected, which concentrates on capturing key differences between a service and a material product. A service is a certain group of goods, available in a limited quantity, which, similarly to material goods, are meant to fulfil certain needs of entities. The process of fulfilling needs is done:

in the case of a material good, by achieving profit from the possibility of commanding of a material good, in the case of a service, by receiving an immaterial benefit, or work.

Material goods can be relatively easily transported and stored, which makes it possible to use them in the future. Services, on the other hand, are based on a specific contact between an offerer and offeree. In this context, an e-service is distinguished from other services by the environment in which it is provided, i.e. the digital space. E-services are commonly defined as services provided through the Internet, which narrows the term. Development of ICT3 technology caused the emergence of virtual digital space, where networked computers, devices and electronic media communicate with each other creating an IT and social space connecting the users of the mentioned media. Among the utilitarian definitions, whose goal is to create a definition framework for administrative purposes, the most elaborate and detailed definition is
2) Lbbe, 1992. 3) Information and Communications Technology.

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contained within EU documents Article 11, in relation to Article 12 of the Regulation of the European Council No 1777/2005 of 17.10.2005, designating resources for the execution of Directive 77/388/EEC on the common added value taxation system and Annex 1 to this Regulation allow a limited amount of human participation in the process of providing an e-service: 1. E-services, or services provided electronically, mentioned in Article 9 paragraph 2, letter e) clause 12 and in Annex L to Directive 77/388/EEC, include services provided using the Internet or an electronic network, which is automated and requires little human participation, and whose execution without using ICT technologies is impossible. 2. The following services, especially when provided through the Internet or an electronic network, are listed in paragraph 1: a. general digital products including software, its modifications and newer versions; b. services which facilitate or support entrepreneur or individual presence in an electronic network, like a website or a webpage; c. services automatically generated by a computer and transferred via the Internet or an electronic network in response to specific data submitted by the service recipient; d. chargeable transfer of rights to present a product or a service on an auction through a website acting as an online market, where potential buyers submit their offers using automatic procedures, and on which parties are informed about a sale through electronic mail automatically generated by a computer system; e. packages of Internet services offering access to information in which telecommunication aspects are supplemental or secondary in nature (packages including other elements apart from the access itself, like websites that facilitate access to current, meteorological or tourist information, games, or allow the hosting of Internet websites, access to discussion groups, etc.); f. services included in Annex 1, namely: I. clause 1 of Annex 1 to Directive 77/388/EEC: website supply, web-hosting; automatic maintenance of software, remotely and online; remote maintenance of systems;

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online databanks, allowing for electronic storage and searching for specific data; on-demand supply of online disk space; II. clause 2 of Annex L to Directive 77/388/EEC: online access and download of software (in particular, programmes for public tenders or accounting, antivirus programmes) and its updates; advertisement-blocking software; downloadable drivers, like programme setting interfaces of computer and peripheral devices (i.e. printers); automatic installation of online filters on websites; automatic installation of firewall-type security; III. clause 3 of Annex L to Directive 77/388/EEC: accessing and downloading desktop motifs; accessing and downloading images, photographs and screensavers; downloading digital contents of books and other electronic publications; online newspaper and magazine subscriptions; access to website logs and statistics; accessing news, information on road conditions and online weathers forecasts; access to information automatically generated online after a user submits specific legal or financial data (in particular: constantly updated stock exchange indexes); supply of advertising space, especially advertising banners on webpages or websites; using search engines and online catalogues; IV. clause 4 of Annex L to Directive 77/388/EEC: accessing and downloading music to computers and mobile phones; accessing and downloading sounds, parts of recordings and other sounds; accessing and downloading movies; downloading games to computers and mobile phones; accessing automatic online games, which require Internet access or other, similar electronic network, when players are away from each other; V. clause 5 of Annex L to Directive 77/388/EEC:

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automatic distance teaching requiring Internet or a similar electronic network, requiring little or no human participation, including virtual classes, except situations where Internet or a similar electronic network is used as a simple communication tool between a teacher and students; exercises done online by students and checked automatically, with no human participation. Article 12 of the Regulation (EC) 1777/2005 of 17 October 2005, designating resources for execution of Directive 77/388/EC, excluding the following activities from the definition of e-services: 1. radio and TV broadcast services mentioned in Article 9 paragraph 2 letter e) clause eleven of Directive 77/388/EEC; 2. broadcast services mentioned in Article 9 paragraph 2 letter e) clause ten of the Directive 77/388/EEC; 3. supply of the following goods and services: a. goods whose ordering is handled electronically; b. CD-ROMs, floppy discs and similar physical carriers; c. printed materials like books, bulletins, newspapers or magazines; d. CDs, magnetophone tapes; e. video cassettes, DVDs; f. games on CD-ROMs; 4. services provided by lawyers or financial advisors, who counsel their clients using electronic mail; 5. education services in which the course contents are taught via Internet or an electronic network (through a remote connection); 6. offline hardware repair services; 7. offline databanks; 8. advertising services, especially in newspapers, on posters and on TV; 9. help desks; 10. education services provided remotely, especially via e-mail; 11. conventional auction services, where human participation is mandatory, regardless of the method of offer submission;

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12. telephone services with a video element, known also as videophone services; 13. Internet and World Wide Web access; 14. telephone services provided through the Internet. This definition focuses on:

automatisation of a service (allowing, however, some degree of human participation), double-sided elements of interaction between a service provider and recipient (not existing in the case of, for example, hosting services) and inability to provide them other than through an electronic network.

Definitions contained in executive documents of the EU were a starting point for the regulations created by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development (PARP) for the execution of OP IE. According to the directive of the Minister of Regional Development of 29 January 2009 changing the Directive for the provision of financial aid by the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development for the support and development of electronic economy in the OP IE framework, 20072013, electronic service is a service provided automatically by using information technologies, through tele-information systems of public telecommunication networks, on individual demand of a recipient, without simultaneous presence of both parties in one place. The following are excluded from the definition of e-services: 1. TV and radio broadcast services, 2. telecommunication services, 3. supply of the following good and services: a. goods whose ordering is handled electronically; b. CD-ROMs, floppy discs and similar physical carriers; c. printed materials like books, bulletins, newspapers or magazines; d. CDs, magnetophone tapes; e. video cassettes, DVDs; f. games on CD-ROMs g. services provided by lawyers or financial advisors, who counsel their clients using electronic mail; h. education services in which the course contents are taught using Internet or an electronic network (through a remote connection).

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In the context of the above documents, in OP IE programmes, e-services are understood as services provided entirely automatically. This automatisation must be realized through, for example, an information technology or software. In the process of e-service provision, human participation is not permitted. E-service differs from traditional service because of the lack of human participation on the other side and its remote provision. This definition of the item of support in the OP IE causes e-service to be qualified, not as a complex design of services, which currently, very often, because of conditions of universal design (availability and elimination of exclusion), contains alternative ways of interaction with human participation, but by the programming of the IT part: interfaces and software handling automatisation of the e-service. Such an approach limits the innovation of emerging products. According to the authors of this report, none of the definitions above can be used in this study. Because of this, our own definition was prepared, especially for the needs of this report: E-service is a network of interactions occurring in a digital space between two sides service provider and recipient whose goal is to fulfil the needs of both sides. This definition has the most universal character and best depicts the current conditions of the functioning and development of e-service design, as it: 1. uses the term digital space, which is more modern and in a better way illustrates contemporary reality; 2. leaves behind one-sidedness, replacing the term provision of services with a network of interactions between sides; 3. relates to the consumer and his/her needs as for the goal of an e-service and also contains user-experience elements; 4. does not quantify the participation of any party.

1.2. Role of e-services in the economy The service sector (including e-services) plays a central role in modern economies. There is a very strong positive correlation between macroeconomic indicators of the economic effectiveness (such as GDP) and participation of the service sector (see: Table 1).

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Table 1.

Participation of subsequent economic sectors in the Gross Domestic Products in selected countries in 2009.
Country World European Union United States Japan China Germany France Great Britain Italy Brazil Spain Canada India Rosja Australia Mexico South Korea Poland GDP (USD million) 57,937,460 16,447,259 14,256,275 5,068,059 4,908,982 3,352,742 2,675,951 2,183,607 2,118,264 1,574,039 1,464,040 1,336,427 1,235,975 1,229,227 997,201 874,903 832,512 430,197 Agriculture 6% 1.9% 1.2% 1.6% 10.6% 0.9% 1.8% 1.2% 1.8% 6.1% 3.3% 2.3% 17% 4.7% 4.1% 4.3% 3% 4.6% Industry 30.6% 25.2% 21.9% 21.9% 46.8% 26.8% 19.3% 23.8% 25% 25.4% 26.8% 26.4% 28.2% 34.8% 26% 32.9% 39.4% 28.1% Services 63.4% 72.8% 76.9% 76.5% 42.6% 72.3% 78.9% 75% 73.1% 68.5% 70% 71.3% 54.9% 60.5% 70% 62.8% 57.6% 67.3%

Source: CIA World Factbook, 2009.

The service sector is a factor in economic growth, quality of life, and its development influences the raising of the standard of living and social security of residents. It is also the most dynamically developing sector, and its significance in terms of the economy is constantly rising. Particularly quickly developing is the e-service sector, stimulated by the development of ICT technologies. In countries with the most developed market economy, participation of the service

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sector in GDP has exceeded 70 per cent, services absorb more than two-thirds of supply on job markets and significantly influence the increase of turnover in international trade. In Poland, the share of the service sector has exceeded 60 per cent of the GDP and gives employment to 55 per cent of working people, which means that our country is still far behind the leading economies of the world in the area of development of the service sector.

1.3. Supporting the development of e-services Because of its considerable potential, support of the development of e-services is reflected in the allocation of public domestic and EU funds. In 20072013, Poland was assigned 85.6 billion euro for operational programmes. One of such programmes is the OP IE, which was allocated 9.7 billion euro. For the e-service projects, part of Activity 8.1 Supporting economic activities in the area of electronic economy in 20072013, 390 million euro were allocated. The effect of the used definition of e-service in the financial support in the OP IE Activity 8.1 framework is that finances were used mostly for creating final software for the service, rather than for a properly executed design and implementation process for complex, systemic services based on modern methodology. Optimistic forecasts for the development of semantic networks are at the base of the requirement of full automation of e-service and exclusion of human participation, which, according to the authors of this report, carries much risk. Not without importance are the accompanying legal regulations, for example, e-learning could use the support of OP IE Measure 8.1 on the level of professional training, but not on the postgraduate level4. There is no doubt that the Polish economy will follow in the direction compliant with general world trends. Interest in e-services, both among providers and recipients, will rise. Experts prepare many studies and forecasts for the development of subsequent industries, type of e-services, functional schematics or technologies on which they are based5. The goal of this report is, firstly and
4) Regulation of the Minister of Science and Higher education of 25 September 2007 on conditions required for university classes to be taught using methods and techniques of distance teaching (Journal of Laws 2007, No 188, item 1347, as amended). Act of 27 July 2005 Higher education law (Journal of Laws 2005, No 164, item 1365, as amended); Regulation of the Minister of Science and Higher education of 9 May 2008, changing the Regulation on conditions required for university classes to be taught using methods and techniques of distance teaching (Journal of Laws 2008, No. 90, item 551). 5) B. Mazurek-Kucharska, J. Kuciski, R. Flis, Future trends of the e-service sector. Survey of demand for activities supporting development of electronic services by micro and small companies (Spodziewane trendy sektora e-usug. Badanie zapotrzebowania na dziaania wspierajce rozwj usug wiadczonych elektronicznie (e-usug) przez przedsibiorstwa mikro i mae), Warsaw 2009.

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foremostly, to formulate conclusions about the state and perspectives of mechanisms lying at the base of effective development of e-services an ecosystem for e-service design, including companies and service designers. The key element of this ecosystem is an education system in the area of: 1. E-service design. 2. Managing the development of e-service design in companies. There is no cohesive system of educating e-service designers. Subsequent specializations included in the process of designing a service are taught according to the service design goals (see: Table 2). In many types of schools, there is a focus on various aspects of the process. The result of this is that no graduates of any faculty have the full competencies required for designing, nor the understanding of a wide spectrum of design conditions (from economic to technological). Graduates are not educated according to the requirements of the job market and modern economy.
Table 2.

Scope of education of the subsequent stages of new design product development (e-service) on different types of universities.
Scope of education Faculty Art School Design and consumer insight Design of interfaces, communication and visual identification Visual arts utility graphics Creation of software Managing development of a new product (e-service) marketing, management IT design IT management + + + + + + Type of school Science School Economy School +

Source: self study.

The existing offer of postgraduate studies intended for, among others, product managers, product strategy planners, marketing specialists, planning, business and marketing plans specialists i.e. Postgraduate studies in managing products and services in the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH)6 unfortunately does not include the full spectrum of concepts included in the e-service design
6) Warsaw School of Economics, 2010.

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concept, for example, it does not contain the methodology of developing a service as a designed product. The concept of creation of competencies among entities included in the process of e-service design (entrepreneurs, decision-makers, designers, managers, strategy planners etc.) is of key importance for this success, reaching intended quality and measurable indicators of success of the implemented e-service. Research units, universities, R&D centres conducting research on e-service economics, methodology of management and usage of new technologies have not, as of yet, created an effective advisory model for enterprises, which would support the development and implementation process of e-services in companies. An example could be the actions of the Institute of Industrial Design in relation to product design.

1.4. Perspectives and directions of development of the e-service offer and its usage by the consumers Raymond Turner (of Raymond Turner Associates) in his speech at the Transforming Design conference, organised by the Design Management Institute (DMI) on 7-8 September 2010 in London, presented the concept of the synergistic connection between participants of the design project development process between decision-makers in companies, responsible for creating design-based development strategies and interested in pulling design to their companies (design pullers) and representatives of creative industries, designers, design studios, design advisors, who create interest in applying design as a tool for generating economic growth (design pushers) as part of the strategy to maximize the value of designer product or service7. In 5-10 years, a new generation of people who do not know the world without the Internet will enter the job market a new e-consumer and e-worker will appear. A European survey conducted by Disney on a sample group of 3,020 children of ages 8-14 from 5 countries: Poland, France, Great Britain, Spain and Italy, indicate that Generation XD digitally aware children of parents from Generation X, born between 1995 and 2001 cannot imagine a world without the Internet or ever-present digitalization. 95 per cent of European teenagers believe that the

7) R. Turner, Transformational synergy: aligning design pushers and pullers. Transforming Design, Design Management 14, London 2010.

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Internet and social networks are important to them, and almost half declare that they cannot imagine a life without these basic tools8. This is a great challenge for decision makers in the area of child and youth education. This generation is educated in schools where the curriculum still does not recognize the existence of digital space as an educational tool, seeing it only as a threat. Polish schools do not educate students to be conscious participants of the digital space, the ones that the Polish economy requires as consumers, designers and producers of e-services. Not only in Poland, but also throughout Europe, digital exclusion (also called digital divide) is still a serious problem. Sociologists use this term to denote systematic differences in the access and usage of computers and Internet amongst different genders, ages, socio-economic statuses (meaning education, income, profession) or locations. In 2009, 56.7 per cent of households had Internet access and used it (data of the Central Statistical Office GUS). Not only the fact of using a given digital medium is important, but also how and why it is used. In Poland, both public (e-administration) and consumption (e-commerce) e-services are characterised by a low level of usage and by the indicator of exclusion based on user age. Only 55.7 per cent of people in the 1674 age group used the Internet in contact with public administration with 93.1 per cent in the 1624 age group and only 7.5 per cent of people in the 6574 age group.

8) The Walt Disney Company EMEA, 2010.

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Figure 4.

Number of people in the 1674 age group who have not used a computer or the Internet in 27 European Union countries in 2008.
Residents of households with income level in the rst quartile Residents of households with income level in the fourth quartile People with primary education or with no formal education People with higher education Residents of heavily populated areas (more than 500 residents per square kilometre) Residents of sparsely populated areas (less than 500 residents per square kilometre) Unemployed Age 1624 Age 2534 Age 3554 Age 5564 Age 6574 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Never used the Internet

Never used a computer

Source: Eurostat, 2010.

In Poland, the number of Internet users who shop or use online services on the Internet is still small. The total value of ordered goods and services in the entire 2009 equalled about 9.5 million zloty, which averages at only 326 zloty per person. The small growth dynamics of this number can be easily seen, especially in 20062008 in comparison to other countries (see Table 3).
Table 3.

Number of users of the Internet ordering products and services via the Internet in selected European Union countries.
Country EU (27 countries) Norway Great Britain Denmark Sweden 2004 20 41 37 42 43 2005 24 55 44 48 50 2006 26 61 45 55 55 2007 30 63 53 56 53 2008 32 63 57 59 53 2009 37 70 66 64 63

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Country Netherlands Luxemburg Germany Finland France Iceland Austria Ireland Belgium Slovakia Slovenia Czech Republic Spain Poland Latvia Estonia Hungary Cyprus Portugal Italy Greece Croatia Lithuania Bulgaria Romania

2004 24 40 37 33 b.d. 37 19 14 b.d. 10 8 5 8 5 3 6 4 4 5 b.d. 1 b.d. 1 1 0

2005 43 39 42 38 b.d. 44 25 19 16 9 b.d. 5 12 7 5 7 8 5 6 6 2 b.d. 2 b.d. b.d.

2006 48 44 49 44 22 50 32 28 19 11 13 13 15 12 8 7 7 7 7 9 5 b.d. 4 2 1

2007 55 47 52 48 35 50 36 33 21 16 16 17 18 16 11 9 11 10 9 10 8 7 6 3 3

2008 56 49 53 51 40 47 37 b.d. 21 23 18 23 20 18 16 10 14 9 10 11 9 7 6 3 4

2009 63 58 56 54 45 44 41 37 36 28 24 24 23 23 19 17 16 16 13 12 10 10 8 5 2

Source: Eurostat, 2009.

For the direction of development of e-service design, indicators showing too small or socially undiversified usage of digital access tools primarily point out where the focus on universal design is located. Properly designed service with a specified goal, context, user/consumer, ergonomy, usability, emotional factors, positive experience and effectiveness may be a factor that nullifies diversion.

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Table 4.

Types of relations between entities in e-services.

Type of relation B2C Business to consumer Description Type of e-business on the level of contact with individual client, which means making it easier for a potential buyer to complete a transaction through the network, improving communication between parties and streamlining customer service management. In this model, the party initiating contact is the company. In the opposite case, a C2B relation occurs. Example MLM (Multilevel Marketing): internet auctions, dealers, shops, service sales (ticket, hotel reservations).

B2B

Business to business

B2Bs are contacts between companies, Automatic searching and analysis of i.e. improving the processes occur- information websites, automatic survey ring between suppliers and recipients, of needs, automatic search for the best aimed at lowering costs and increasing suppliers and making transactions. profits. B2G covers the communication and interaction of companies with government administration initiated by the business side. Communication between public and self-government administration and companies. Services with tender bids for public institutions, electronic tax forms for companies, channels of communication with government organizations, i.e. electronic inboxes, ePUAP etc. Services with tender bids for public institutions where companies can submit their own offers, electronic tax forms for companies, channels of communication of government organizations with companies, i.e. electronic outboxes, ePUAP etc. Electronic signature.

B2G

Business to government

G2B

Government to business

G2C

Government to consumer (citizen) Government to governmet Consumer to business

G2C is the communication of public and self-government administration and consumers/residents. G2G covers relations between public entities, aimed at improving document transfers, issuing opinions, conducting public debates on the level of an institution etc. Popular in the European Union. C2B channels can be used for the influx of creative ideas from the outside based on client feedback. This channel is of particular importance, because more novelty ideas come from clients than from within a company itself. Inicjatywa mieszkacw lub konsumenResidents or consumers initiative directed towards public entities.

G2G

Schengen Information System.

C2B

Reverse auctions, where the client specifies a product and the price he/ she is willing to pay. On this basis, a supplier is sought.

C2G

Consumer (citizen) to government

Electronic petitions.

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Type of relation C2C Consumer to consumer

Description Relations between consumers. They may be used for the profit of the company, by listening to the opinions of virtual societies displayed on chats and online forums. Business can be built upon them i.e. by mediating transactions between Internet users.

Example Social networks.

Source: self study.

Among the types of relations between an e-service provider and a client, the most common, known and analysed for their competitive market potential, is the B2C relation (see: Table 4). According to the authors of this report, B2B services also have significant development perspectives especially e-commerce, financial services (accounting, tax advisory), legal, research (consumer surveys, market surveys and R&D) and marketing (advertising, public relations, media monitoring of various kind and others). B2B Internet technology is especially attractive for small and medium companies, which, until now, were not able to finance costly investments into the network infrastructure required for EDI transactions. Maturity of the B2B Internet sector in Poland is at a very low level. This is not, however, a symptom of low potential in this sector, but the fact that Polish enterprises have yet to reach the B2B Internet revolution. The least popular sector is C2B. Part of the analyst companies dealing in Internet trade do not specify C2B as a separate sector in the same way as is done with B2B, B2C and C2C, treating it rather as a variation of the B2C sector. Such activity is based on the consumer initiating the transaction and is directed towards a company. In the light of modern trends, which assign subjectivity to a consumer in a business relation, this sector has a large potential for growth. With the development of technology, availability of the network and its resources from various places and independently of time, new models of business functioning in the digital space will emerge. Experts also hold a positive opinion about the perspectives of development of the niche e-services in Poland9. One of the significant changes that occurred in the last years was the emergence of a new type of interaction between network users called Web 2.0. Web 2.0 sites are called dynamic in opposition to static traditional sites, which do not facilitate interaction. Interaction occurs, for example, through the possibil9) S. Komorowski, M. Koralewski, A. Komider, M. Kraska, J. Langer, K. Nowaczyk et al., Development of e-service sector in the world (Rozwj sektora e-usug na wiecie), Warsaw 2010.

36

ity of building a network of contacts, inviting friends, sending private messages, more effective flow of information, which, until recently, was only possible using forums and discussion groups, and which currently moves to the social networks (Facebook, Twitter, nk.pl, Goldenline etc.) The enterprise response to Web 2.0 was the introduction of an offer, brand positioning and interaction proposal, building a societys loyalty to the brand in a social network. Web 2.0 seems to bea natural environment for a new generation of e-services, even though some surveys indicate that enterprises display distrust and caution for such dynamic and seemingly unpredictable media. This thesis is confirmed by a report by McAfee and the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS)10, containing survey results on the attitude towards Web 2.0 sites, which allow users to publish their own content. One thousand decision-makers from the largest companies in 17 countries took part in the survey. Half of them expressed concerns related to Web 2.0, indicating that they are the reason for which they use Internet so sparsely in their business activities. The biggest concern was displayed by companies from Canada, Australia, USA and Great Britain these are the countries that took last positions in the ranking of introducing Web 2.0 technology. Among the leaders of Web 2.0 are companies from Brazil, Spain and India. Proponents of the Web 2.0 believe that these technologies allow them to find new sources of income, increase the productivity of workers and the effectiveness of marketing strategies, while services such as micro blogs, group working platforms, content sharing systems or social networks can lead to the increase of company income. The biggest concern was malicious software, viruses, information overload and spyware. A dozen per cent of companies declared that they have had legal trouble related to the uncovering of confidential and sensitive information. For this reason, 13 per cent of surveyed companies totally blocked Web 2.0 activities, while 81 per cent limited them.

10) McAfee, Web 2.0: A Complex Balancing Act. The First Global Study on Web 2.0. Usage, Risks and Best Practices. Retrieved on 10 June 2010 from http://newsroom.mcafee.com/images/10039/Web2report.pdf

Case stud
Service: Designer: Service provider: MyPolice Sarah Drummond, Lauren Currie Tayside Police (Great Britain)
DESIGN IDEA The idea of creating an e-service that would be an Internet tool for efficient communication between citizens and public institutions was born during Social Innovation Camp. It is a yearly event taking place in Great Britain focused on joint classes for designers, IT specialists and social innovators. Participants of these interdisciplinary workshops have 48 hours to create a concept for solving specific social problems, which may be executed via the Internet. Issues of loneliness, aging society and crime were touched during the 3rd edition of this event (2009). The main prize (aid in implementation) was the idea of a MyPolice e-service a social network facilitating communication between citizens and local police units. All key interested parties, including citizens, policemen, social workers and representatives of self-government and government bodies were included in the implementation of the winning project. Thanks to numerous surveys and workshops, it was possible to identify the needs of future users and understand the environment of the service. Detailed analysis of the communication process between citizens and policemen were also helpful to designers in capturing the specificity of the discussed e-service (blueprinting design technique).

e /1 dy
BUSINESS RESULT The MyPolice website allows citizens to describe their experiences and voice opinions on the activities of local police units. Each submission is linked to a date and place (cooperation with Google Maps), thanks to which it is automatically routed to policemen assigned to a specific region. It is also worth noting that citizen comments are associated with a specific offence (i.e. drugs, alcohol, theft etc.), which allows for evaluating the way in which policemen serve crime victims in a given region. The MyPolice website also includes a separate platform for policemen. After logging into a private account, each police officer sees what is going on in his/her region and can respond to submissions and comments of citizens in real time. All data is gathered and automatically aggregated, providing police officers with a synthetic view of a given region (i.e. selecting a region or a day of the week in which most crimes takes place).

Representatives of Tayside Police were the first to become interested in purchasing the project; currently, talks are also being held with other clients.

2.
E-service design diagnosis and prediction

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2. E-service design diagnosis and prediction

(Iwona Palczewska)

According to the modern methodological view, e-service design is invoking a positive experience of a client (service recipient) by leading him on a journey of interaction, connecting subsequent touch points with service provider who creates the interface11. 2.1. Design of e-services In this report, the authors introduced the term design of e-services. Design, within the meaning of the definitions used by the Institute of Industrial Design is broader in scope. The starting point used in this report, the definition of the design was the definition adopted by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID), according to which design is a creative activity, meant to determine the multi-faceted qualities of objects, processes, services, and their entire teams in the overall cycle of existence. Design is therefore a central factor of innovative humanisation of both technology, as well as cultural and economic exchange. Design combines creativity and innovation, gives form to ideas so that they become practical and attractive proposals for the users or consumers. Design of e-services includes: 1. The process of designing e-services (including interaction design and software). 2. Managing the process of developing a new product or service. 3. Context of design external conditions of both processes: design trends, design insight, knowledge management about the life cycle of the product/service market, knowledge about the consumer, quality assurance mechanisms and effectiveness of e-services market. The design of e-services is both static and dynamic both a state and a process. 1. As a process, it involves the pre-design phase (design insight: knowledge and research techniques supporting creative problem solving), design and postproject phase (planning the life cycle of a service on the market, feedback, management of knowledge acquired in the process of developing further actions).

11) Interaction Experience Design Assiciation, IxDA.

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2. As a state, it includes conceptual design, design, and design features of the product/service: characteristics of aesthetic, functional, ergonomic, economic, emotional maturity, etc. I propose to base the concept of assessing the state of e-service design by relying on a model published by Swedish authors12, which analysed three parameters: the degree of coordinate and integrate e-services and its components, the degree of individualization for the consumer and the consumers ability to interact with the service.
Figure 5.

Model of parameters for assessing the design maturity of e-services.

Performative

Individualized

Coordinated

Separate

General

Informative

Source: Goldkuhl, 2006.

Introduction of the term design of e-services will improve by way of analogy the transfer of solutions from the area of design of a material product to the methodologies and process of design and implementation of e-services, while exposing differences in methodology in approach to virtual processes and complex systems, which are e-services. Features and functionality of complex systems are not simply the sum of the features and functional elements that constitute them. Key features of complex systems are: 1. The difficulties in defining the limits of the system the decision depends largely on the observer/user. 2. Complex systems are usually open systems they do not have an energy balance, but still may be stable.

12) P. Goldkuhl, From e-ladder to e-diamond re-conceptualising models for public e-services. 14th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS2006), Sweden 2006.

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3. A complex system is a dynamic system it is subject to change over time and prior states may have impact on the present state. 4. A complex system may consist of other complex systems complex system components can also be complex systems themselves. 5. Relationships (dependencies) are non-linear this means that small disturbances can produce large changes in the final result (the butterfly effect), proportional changes or no changes at all (non-linearity). Due to compatibility issues in service design theories, research on complex system behaviour is finding more and more applications. Daniel Pink identified the 21st century as the conceptual era, in which the future belongs to creative and empathic people whose right hemisphere of the brain, the side associated with emotions and synthesis, is the dominant one13. Creativity has become a value, not only in culture but also in business. Global competition, customers and the modern race for new technologies and innovations have set the bar very high. There is no tool that would be more effective in allowing quick implementation of market innovations, humanizing new technologies and giving them human, user-friendly face, than design it is increasingly understood not as a state, but as a process. In recent years, two fundamental methodological changes occurred in the development of industrial design. The first, hard, linked with new technologies in visualization and digital design, is the emergence of powerful applications for 3D design. The second, soft, is connected with new techniques that support creative collaboration in multidisciplinary teams new thinking about design and product. Design thinking Design thinking is an approach and also a tool used in product design, and includes such elements as user observation, context-of-use analysis, prototyping, testing, developing business and marketing strategies to solve complex problems: co-functioning of products, services, spaces, processes and information. Design thinking helps to develop products and services, streamline processes, develop strategies and ensure their proper communication. Particular emphasis in this methodology is placed on team collaboration. This process begins with inclusive thinking or the ability to make use of conflicting ideas to create innovative solutions. Work groups include participants from different areas of knowledge, whose competencies are multidisciplinary in
13) D. Pink, A whole new mind. Warsaw 2009.

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character. The team also includes customers, who in this case are not only consumers, but also the co-creators of products or services. Design thinking designates the area of cooperation between different disciplines, forms new values, not only enhancing existing solutions, but also creating innovation. Innovation is achieved by focusing on the problems of the individual as a consumer and creator, and by finding methods to resolve them in a creative, interactive and practical way, searching for the best ideas and ultimate solutions. Creation of new products and services, thanks to thinking design methodologies: 1. more effective because it is based on multidisciplinary teams, 2. more creative because it draws inspiration from the methods of designing, 3. more suited to clients because it focuses on their needs. Consumer-driven design Consumer-driven design, otherwise known as user-centred design, responds to user needs, and also notices and solves social problems. This is design for which the individual, not the product, is the goal. In this method, at each stage of the design process, needs, requirements and limitations of end users of the product or service are subjected to detailed analysis. Designers analyse and predict how users will use the interface, and then, based on surveys conducted among consumers, initial project assumptions are verified. This approach stems from the trend of methodologies focused on quality optimization. An example might be the QFD (Quality Function Deployment) method, which was developed in Japan in the 1970s. Currently, this method is applied in many areas of economic life, such as in the production of household appliances, interior design, etc. As a result, it has become an important tool of Total Quality Management (TQM). According to the definition given by the American Supplier Institute, QFD is a method for translating customer requirements to the relevant features of a product (service) at any stage of its life cycle, from research and development through design and production to marketing, sales and distribution14. QFD can be viewed as a method for the planning and development of a project or service enabling research teams to precisely specify customer needs and requirements and then translate them into parameters of the product (service), its components and finally the parameters of the production process15.
14) American Supplier Institute Inc. Quality Function Deployment Methodology, 1989. 15) H. Obora, Science workbook No 670 of the Economic Academy in Krakow. Modification of QFD method for service design (Zeszyty Naukowe nr 670 Akademii Ekonomicznej w Krakowie. Modyfikacja metody QFD do projektowania usug), Cracow 2005.

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Co-creation The trend of incorporating the consumer into the process of creation of goods is derived from the concept of Toffler16, who in the 1970s, coined the term prosument, combining the producer and consumer. Subsequent variations and trends of this approach followed, in the form of product and service personalization, focusing on a single consumer (new innovation N=1), integrating the collective knowledge of consumers during the planning and concept stages (crowdsourcing). The concept of prosumerism is particularly strong in the digital space, in the era of Web 2.0, by allowing users to co-develop products and services via active and creative social networking communities. The use of methods involving the user at the design stage, guiding his/her needs, expectations and limitations required (if the goal is to develop highly innovative solutions) the use of very advanced design thinking in order to circumvent the tendency of consumers to focus on what is already known to them. It is necessary to include all categories of consumers (see Figure 6) in the research and development process in all stages of the purchasing process (see Figure 7).
Figure 6.

Categories of e-service clients.

Initiator Initiator initiates search for the solution of the clients problem. User/ consumer Client Interactor Interactor influences the purchasing solution. Decision-maker makes the decision, taking into account initiators and interactors opinions regarding which product or service is to be purchased. Purchaser pays for the purchased product or service. User/consumer consumes the product or service. Purchaser Decision-maker

Source: self study.

16) A. Toffler, The third wave (Trzecia fala), Warsaw 1985.

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Figure 7.

Process of e-service purchase.

Awareness

Impulse

Consideration

Influence

Purchase

Usage

Source: self study.

Service design While the English term service design is translated into Polish as designing of services, please be aware that it means something more than the process of planning and implementation of physical (in the case of e-services digital) forms of service. It is closer to the term service design as used in this report. According to the consulting firm Engine Service Design, design of services should be based on five fundamental principles: 1. Value the service is aimed at creating maximum value for the consumer. Good design of services combines the interests of both consumer and provider, maximizing value for both parties. 2. Systems services are dynamic systems or relationships between people and objects. Good design of services always refers to infrastructure services in a holistic way and understands the mutual relationships between individual parts and other service systems. 3. Paths the services are experiences in time. Different consumers approach the service in different ways as they enter and exit the system. Addressing these emotional experiences is the task of good service design. 4. People service design should put people first, and creation of services always takes into the account the service provider and consumer, who ideally

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work on the same team. In good design of services, people are the priority, and the consumer and provider are equal partners in the design process. 5. Propositions services are fundamentally packaged as purchase propositions addressed to the consumer based on the knowledge that the marketplace is competitive and the consumer has a choice. The task of good design is to create a service proposition that will be desired by consumers because it presents them with the most desirable value. 2.2. Development of e-service design An indirect indicator of interest in an issue is the frequency of search queries in a browser. Results of the search terms service design in the Internet search engine Google (see Figure 8) indicate that Poland is not among the most common locations of outgoing queries. India as a country, and Bangalore in India as a city take first place in the queries.
Figure 8.

Service design search queries in Google as of 4 October 2010.

Scale is based on the average worldwide trafc of service design in all years
service design Search Volume Index 1.50 1.00 0.50 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1.00

Regions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. India Singapore Philippines Hong Kong Malaysia South Africa Australia New Zealand Ireland United Kingdom

Cities: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Bangalore, India Mumbai, India Delhi, India Singapore San Francisco, CA, USA Brentford, United Kingdom Dallas, TX, USA Sidney, Australia Manchester, United Kingdom Washington, DC, USA

Languages: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Tagalog (Philippines) English Indonsian Romanian Thai German Swedish Dutch Chinese French

Bangalore, known as the Indian Silicon Valley, is an example of how, in an era of global networks, geographical barriers in the e-service outsourcing market are blurring. India has become one the worlds major centres of e-services (especially IT), thanks to its competitive advantage low labour costs, a large number of well-educated professionals who speak English, well-developed IT infrastructure and the decisions of government, supporting the development of selected industries and services, placing particular emphasis on modern high-tech

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industries, providing them with conditions for development to enable them to compete with global players. The development of infrastructure was influenced by a 1994 reform of the telecommunications sector liberalization and the opening of the market to internal and external competition quickly led to development of a modern, fibre-optic telephone network. Development of the e-service sector has begun to outgrow the Indian economy, as according to NASSCOM (organization of companies of IT and BPO sector) president in 2010, India may be lacking about 0.5 million skilled workers. The Indian ICT industry requires around 350 thousand qualified engineers per year, and the labour market has only 150 thousand. For example, Intel is trying to attract Indian engineers of Indian origin living in the U.S. Indian experience services are unique: they built almost from scratch an information service sector oriented towards export, created more than a million well-paid jobs and have had significant growth in revenue from the export of services (for example, revenues increased 40 times between 1992 and 2009). They also established strong domestic Indian companies like Tata Consulting Services, Infosys Technologies, Wipro, Spectramind, EXL Service, OneSource, WNS, which have become global suppliers and taken significant positions in the world. The development of the IT services sector has become a significant source of economic growth throughout the country. The interest in issues of design services/service development in Poland is so small that it is not even recorded in the top search queries in Google, however queries on e-service raise a lot of interest in Poland, most likely being related to the possibility of financial support from OP IE. Warsaw was in 10th place among cities where queries on Google for e-service were submitted, and the Polish language was in fifth position among the most common outgoing queries (see Figure 9).

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Figure 9.

Search queries for e-service in Google as of 4 October 2010.

Scale is based on the average worldwide trafc of e-service in all years.
e-service 3.00 2.00 1.00 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 1.00 Search Volume Index

Regions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Thailand Belgium Norway Hong Kong Malaysia Singapore United Arab Emirates Indonesia Greece Taiwan

Cities: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Charleroi, Belgium Marche-En-Fammenne, Belgium Bangkok, Thailand Brussels, Belgium Oslo, Norway Hong Kong Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Singapore Jakarta, Indonesia Warsaw, Poland

Languages: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Thai Norwegian Indonesian French Polish Dutch Greek Danish Chinese Swedish

2.3. E-service design as a method for increasing competitiveness of Polish e-services A pilot qualitative study among providers of services, including e-services, whose aim was to determine the awareness level of service design processes, conducted by Pentor Research International for the Institute of Industrial Design in September 201017 as part of the Design Your Profit programme, revealed that implementation of new e-services is very high within the hierarchy of company priorities and is associated with the development of the company (development of new e-service = business development). This awareness is a very good indicator for the development prospects of the e-service sector in Poland. Unfortunately, a positive attitude is accompanied by a number of phenomena that reduce the likelihood of effective development. The following negative phenomena were observed: 1. There is no conscious need to use professional advisors in the area of service design. Companies express a belief that their own workers are the most competent in the area of services offered by the company (no one can replace us). This belief is accompanied by a lack of knowledge of the fact that, apart from the

17) Unpublished data.

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substantial part of service design, broadly understood functionality, ergonomy and maintenance are also important. 2. There is no understanding of the e-service design concept (designing of e-services). The term service design is completely unknown to companies. Design services are usually understood as a pattern according to which services should be designed (i.e. inter-organization standards), and are thus reduced to an operational scope of company activity (i.e. programming the application which handles the e-service in a computer company or calculating rates in an insurance company). 3. Lack of process thinking about e-service, which would take into account the relationship with the client, combined with narrow thinking about a service product. The service is simply a product of the company, and customer contact is seen only through the prism of advertising and sales. The relationship is unidirectional: provider > recipient. Moreover, even service ergonomics is defined as the time efficiency and liquidity of the process (only from the perspective of the organization, not the consumer). 4. There is no interest in working with a professional design service. Companies express the opinion that the competencies that a designer of services should have to attract them are skills already possessed by their employees, namely industry expertise and knowledge about the service. Some companies see the role of the designer as a coordinator the advantages of the service designer, in the opinion of the respondents, are the ability to exercise control over the entire process and the knowledge of business The process of developing a new service from concept to implementation takes place almost entirely within the company. The openness of companies to cooperate with external specialists differs depending on the stage of the process: 1. Idea/concept stage: Creating new products, as services are understood as such, is the core of company function, therefore this stage is positioned very high in the task hierarchy. Companies delegate the task of searching for new ideas to key individuals occupying high positions, who have experience and a high level of competencies in the area of activities of the entire organization. This may also be delegated to persons responsible for monitoring what goes on in the market and in the competitive environment (research, innovation, customer relations,

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competition analysis departments etc.). According to companies, the only problem that limits strategic approach is the budget. At this stage, there is little willingness to cooperate with external designers of services, probably associated with the tradition of outsourcing a portion of works, such as market research. 2. Service construction stage: This is, according to the respondents, the core of the business, the backbone of its operation. This phase includes the construction of a service product, implementing mechanisms, scope, functionality, logistics, finances, etc. The best specialists in various fields are delegated for this stage, i.e. programmers, IT managers, screenwriters, musicians etc. Only when the scope of service design exceeds the competences of an organization, a decision to cooperate with external consultants and experts is made. There is no willingness to cooperate with external designers of e-services at this stage. 3. Service implementation stage: At this stage, design is understood as creation of physical side of the service and it is the area in which cooperation with external entities is most common. These are not, however, complex services, but narrowly defined specialities: building the image (marketing agencies), building communication (advertising agencies), strategies (media houses), visualisation of logo, website etc. less often coordination, service maintenance during its operation. There is relative openness for cooperation with designers of services at this stage. The conclusion that can be drawn from this pilot analysis is only one: there is a lack of knowledge and competences in the area of e-service design, or narrowly understood e-service designing, among the companies that are active on the e-service market, even those that have experience in the area of self-designed and successfully implemented e-services. At the same time, this is a natural occurrence that is to be expected in the conditions of: 1. lack of information and education offer in this area, 2. lack of professional managerial cadre, specialised in managing service design in companies, and

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3. lack of professional entities providing complex services of e-service design on the market, compliant with current world trends in the area of methodology and design techniques. Companies supplying e-services conduct the process of their design and implementation on their own, based on adopted methods of managing the development of a new product. Such an approach lowers the level of innovation and raises the level of risk of introducing a new missed e-service, which will not likely be successful and will only generate costs for the company. Success of Internet business giants, such as allegro.pl, fotka.pl, nk.pl cause emulation, which only results in condensing competition. The estimated value of the e-trade sector in 2009 was more than 13 billion zloty. This is 18 per cent more than the year before. According to the e-Trade Poland 2009 report18, prepared by Sklepy24.pl, there were 7.5 thousand Internet shops in Poland in December 2009. Unfortunately, the number of such companies grows faster than the turnover in the Polish e-trade and the number of Internet users buying online. The advantages of e-business, the low level of establishing a company, scalability, automatic working, low costs and the possibility of high profit margins, lack of geographic barrier, possibility of getting support from EU funds has led to a large rotation (emergence and downfall) of small companies with low capital, aimed at quick profit, not the stability of provided e-service on the market. On the one hand, such behaviour is forced by the dynamic medium, which is the digital space, on the other hand, it causes an internal feeling of temporariness of activities in this sector of the market. The ephemeride strategy on the e-service market causes companies not to invest in knowledge about the client, in innovations or in projects, which leads to the effect of self fulfilling forecast service products do not meet consumer expectations and do not hold out against their competition. In summary, a modern approach to design and designing e-services assumes: 1. Understanding the needs, expectations and constraints of the customer (the final consumer, customer who is the provider, and often the internal customers in a design company). 2. Application of techniques for creative problem-solving as a factor in innovation.

18) Sklepy24.pl. E-trade Poland 2009 (E-handel Polska 2009).

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The natural base of competencies for training designers in e-service design are the departments of design at the Academies of Fine Arts and Polytechnics, which train product designers. Educational programmes, however, should go beyond the training of product development managers, taking into account the specificity of e-services as processes, conditions for designing an e-service including interdisciplinary teams, modern technology to support creative problem solving and creation of innovation. The emergence of an offer of interdepartmental studies, as well as other forms of studies, would ensure the comprehensiveness of education. The key to increased efficiency and development of the e-services sector, both public and consumer, is a comprehensive approach to the creation of an ecosystem for development of the sector, including: 1. Competence training: a cohesive defining system in the area of e-service design, personnel training, consumer competence training, a system of expert advisors, professional commercial consultancy, development of modern methodology of managing business and management processes involved in designing and implementing e-services, dissemination of knowledge, 2. Support of investment: instruments of financial support, conduciveness to the development of fiscal instruments, financial support for the development of e-business, technical and technological infrastructure, 3. Regulations: elimination of digital exclusion, full integration of ICT with programmes for teaching children and youth.

Case stud
Service: Project: Service provider: social tool, knowledge base on the projects of fans and technical support Lego Mindstorms NXT set example of outside innovation Lego Group
Lego Group is a Danish company established in 1932 producing well-known blocks for children Lego. In 1998, the company released the Lego Mindstorms series electronic sets, which allows the creation of robots programmed in a special RCX-code language. A few weeks after the set was released, the IT and electronic solutions that had been used were reverse engineered by Kekoa Proudfoot, a student of Stanford University, who then shared them online. In effect, a society of users of the set started creating their own IT solutions, like the open operating system LegOS. Lego Group decided not only not to pursue the creators of these solutions for intellectual infringement, but included the right to hack in the Mindstorms set license, recognizing that unauthorized add-ons could create added value for the product and entice new clients. As Mads Nipper, Senior Vice President of the Lego Group, said at the time, this was the beginning of a new business paradigm in which persons not paid by the company increase the quality and value of its product. At the same time, the product the Mindstorms set was supplemented with an e-service, which provided educational materials allowing for individual modifications of the set. E-service was offered by both the Lego Company and through the society of the users of the set. In 2004, Lego Group decided to create a new version of Mindstorms. It was a difficult moment, as in 2003 the company noted a record loss of 238 million dollars. The new Mindstorms NXT set was designed based on a model of outside innovation by few people in the Mindstorms User Panel team, supported by a hundred-person team of the Mindstorms Developer Program. Both teams were compiled of Mindstorms system users, who were not employees of the company and who, despite that, possessed expert knowledge on the Mindstorms system, sometimes exceeding that of the companys actual employees. What is more important, both teams worked for free treating the possibility to work with and use the new Mindstorms set as a prize.

e /2 dy
In 2006, the Lego Mindstorms NXT was introduced to the market with fully open software and publicly available electronic diagrams. At the same time, the Mindstorms Internet website was created: an e-service including social network tools and knowledge based on projects created by fans and technical support. The process of creation of the Mindstorms NXT set is one of the first and best implementations of the open cooperation model, which emerged in the environment of creators of free software. Analysts of the process of set creation point out the fact that thanks to including amateurs people not employed by the company but possessing high competences, the company was able to significantly increase the innovativeness of the product. It, however, required a change of strategy regarding intellectual property from strict control and protection to sharing it with a wide group of consumers.

The model of outside innovation used by the Lego Group is more and more often used by e-service providers, who include users as consultants, testers or even creators of solutions for a given e-service.

3.
Modern e-service markets

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3. Modern e-service markets

(Beata Bochiska)

3.1. E-service design in selected countries statistics A trend currently popular in the world is using e-services for the execution of traditional services, entirely or partially, examples of which are online shops of distributors that are otherwise present on a market in a traditional way. E-services, in comparison to traditional services, offer many benefits, among which are:

access to a larger customer base, extension of the scope of the market, reduction of entry barriers into new markets and new customer acquisition costs, alternative channels of communication with customers, increase in the number of offered services, strengthening of a companys image, achieving a competitive advantage, possibility of increasing the customers knowledge19.

For comparing the design of e-services in selected countries, it is worth observing two important groups of e-services, which are:

e-commerce (or e-business) services provided by companies or non-governmental organizations (NGOs), e-government services provided to citizens by the government or self government.

3.2. E-commerce According to a study published by Eurostat in January 2010, revenues from e-commerce accounted for 12 per cent of the total turnover of companies in 2008. The fact that Poland, with a 7 per cent indicator, falls in the last ten, as compared to the Czech Republic (15 per cent) and Hungary (14 per cent) indicates that there is huge development potential in this field. One reason is the poor availability
19) Lu, Measuring cost/benefits of e-business applications and customer satisfaction, 2nd International Web Conference, 2930 November 2001, Perth 2001, pp. 13947.

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of broadband Internet (58 per cent of companies in Poland have it, compared to 77 per cent and 75 per cent for the Czech Republic and Hungary, respectively).
Figure 10.

E-commerce turnover.
30 25 20 15 10 5 0 United Kingdom Sweden Czech Republic Germany France EU 27 Slovakia Spain Poland Greece Croatia Netherlands Slovenia Romania Hungary Lithuania Bulgaria Ireland Norway Finland Portugal Cyprus Malta Austria Latvia E-commerce turnover in 2008 (per cent of total turnover)

Source: Eurostat news release STAT/10/12, 19 January 2010.

According to a survey conducted by Eurostat in 2009 on the user experience of e-commerce, important features restricting the use of this type of service for about a third of potential users are concerns about the safety of transactions or private data on the web. In turn, approximately 10 per cent of respondents indicated difficult-to-read website interface, lack of purchase-making skills or defective functioning of the delivery service. These results clearly indicate areas in which the design of e-commerce should be improved to enable further development. According to OECD studies, European Internet users are less likely to use e-commerce services compared to the residents of the United States and Korea. In Korea, 62 per cent of Internet users (aged 12 and over) acquired goods and services and made a reservation via the Internet in the last year. In turn, 75 per cent of Internet users in the U.S. at the same time bought a product online and 66 per cent made a booking through the Internet. By comparison, this percentage in Europe amounted to 54 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively, which is much less. The main reason is the low level of development and availability of e-commerce, and its low popularity compared with traditional services.

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Figure 11.

Barriers for using e-commerce in households, Eurostat 2009 study.

Reasons for which online shopping was avoided (percentage of persons who did not purchase anything online in 2009). I have no such need I prefer to make my purchases personally, loyalty towards a shop, habits Concerns with the security of payment Privacy concerns Lack of trust Lack of skill It is difcult to nd information about the goods and services on the website I have to have a credit card to make online purchases Delivery problem Internet connection too slow Other 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Source: Eurostat, common survey of TIK usage in private households in 2009.

3.3. E-services of the public sector (e-government) A very well-described and researched group of e-services in Europe is the e-government. A direct result of this is the strategy and related i2010 eGovernment Action Plan, adopted by the European Commission in April 2006. The i2010 plan envisaged the evolution of public services online to be effective and focused on customer service, thereby activating European society and positively influencing its competitiveness. The action plan consisted of five priorities: 1. No citizen left behind advancing inclusion through e-government. 2. Making efficiency and effectiveness a reality. 3. High-impact key services for citizens and businesses, examples of which may be the goal of including 100 per cent of public purchasing processes in electronic online systems. 4. Putting key enablers in one place. 5. Strengthening participation and democratic decision-making.

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An interesting approach to evaluate design of e-government within the framework of i2010 is to assess the maturity of concentration on the needs and experiences of the recipient 20. The model is based on five levels of maturity: 1. Information providing unified information. 2. One-way interaction the possibility of obtaining forms and documents. 3. Two-way interaction an opportunity to submit documents, requests, applications and reports. 4. Transactions implementation of electronic services such as reservations, applications. 5. Personalization actively providing personalized services to individual citizens, for example, the government warns the user that action may be required, the government pre-fills data in the application form, based on government databases to the extent permitted by law. An additional criterion is the full availability of e-government services to citizens. According to the assessment of the twenty public services performed as an e-government, effective in 2009 for the European Commission by European Union, countries reached an average of four levels of maturity, with some of them offering personalized e-services for the entire population.

20) Smarter, Faster, Better Government 8th Benchmarking Measurement, Capgemini for the European Committee, Information society and media, November 2009.

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Figure 12.

Model of maturity of e-government in EU 27 + (European Union + Switzerland + Turkey), European Commission, November 2009.
The benchmarks five stage maturity model 100% full online availability

(proactivity, automatization) 80%

Targetisation

Transaction
(full electronic case handling)

60%

(electronic forms) 40%

Two way interaction

(downloadable forms) 20% Maturity

One way interaction

Information
Sophisticaton stages

Source: Smarter, Faster, Better Government 8th Benchmarking Measurement, Capgemini European Commission, Information Society and Media, November 2009.

Unfortunately, in the above study of the maturity of e-government, Poland finds itself at the end of the list amongst countries in the region, overtaken by the Czech Republic, Hungary and the Baltic countries. Thanks to a significant improvement over the 2007 study, e-administration service in Poland has reached the fourth maturity level, the transactional level. Similarly, Poland occupies a low position in the ranking of the availability of e-government services online, which is connected to both the service portfolio and the low percentage of citizens with broadband Internet access.

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Figure 13.

The level of maturity of eGovernment in the EU27+, November 2009.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
83%

76%

NL

PL

MT

UK

DK

CZ

NO

CY

PT

AT

DE

BE

SK

SE

EE

LV

EL

LT

IE

IT

CH

HU

RO HR

BG BG

LU

ES

IS

FI

Sophistication in 2009 EU27+average 2009

Sophistication in 2007 EU27+average 2007

Source: Smarter, Faster, Better Government 8th Benchmarking Measurement, Capgemini European Commission, Information Society and Media, November 2009.
Figure 14.

Availability of e-Government services in EU 27 +, November 2009.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 71% 59%

NL

PL

MT

DK

UK

NO

CZ

CY

PT

AT

DE

BE

SK

EE

SE

LV

EL

0%

LT

IE

IT

RO

full online availabiliy in 2009 EU27+average 2009

full online availability in 2007 EU27+average 2007

Source: Smarter, Faster, Better Government 8th Benchmarking Measurement, Capgemini European Commission, Information Society and Media, November 2009.

CH

LU

HU

ES

SI

FR

IS

FI

HR

SI

FR

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3.4. E-service design competitions Many countries and international organizations recognize the role of e-services in improving business performance and efficiency of government. Therefore, first competitions rewarding the best-designed e-services were established. An example of a competition for the best public service e-government programme is the European eGovernment Awards, inaugurated in 2003, whose goal is to promote the development of e-services and promote the best practices in this field. Winners of the last edition of the European eGovernment Awards were announced in November 2009 in Sweden, which was, at that time, the European Union leader. The winners in each category were:

Category 1: e-Government promotion of a single market the EU-OAS, applications of a European payment order (Austria and Germany). Category 2a: e-Government services for citizens Genvej (Denmark). Category 2b: e-Government services for businesses MEPA, electronic purchasing system eMarketplace for Public Administration (Italy). Category 3: e-Government improving the administrative efficiency and effectiveness Licensing of hunters through a network of ATM Multibanco (Portugal).

Audience Award Text-message based information system (Turkey).

Awards for e-services are also awarded in competitions for design services. An example is the Good Design competition organized by the Institute of Industrial Design, in which the category Sphere of Services was added in 2010. In the adopted methodology of service assessment, the best designed service or e-service is the one that clients want to use and which takes into account specific user requirements, fulfils the needs of large societies, regardless of age or skill and effectively solves a posed problem. Seven industry categories were adopted for consumer services: financial, marketing, multimedia, IT, social, information, cultural and non-profit. 3.5. Studies on e-service design in selected countries A short calendar of the development of e-service design: 1984 the term service design first appears in a work written by Lynn Shostack, entitled Designing Services That Deliver in the Harvard Business Review.

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1991 Michael and Birgit Mager Erlhoff establish service design as one of the subjects of education and research in the Cologne International School of Design, making this university become the first in the world to offer training in design services21. 2001 British Firm Live | Work first begins to provide commercial services for service design. 2001 Italian Domus Academy in Milan begins teaching service design. 2002 IDEO includes design of services in their offer. 2004 service network design is established (http://www.service-design-network.org), which is an international network linking academics and practitioners in the field of service design in order to develop theories, methods, and practical advice on the design of services. Research on the issue of service design conducted in 2005 by the Design Council in Britain indicated a lack of involvement of professional designers in the preparation process of services, as well as a lack of awareness of companies of the need and usefulness of including design processes when designing a new service.
Table 5.

The role of design in manufacturing and service firms.

Manufacturers It is integral to the firms operation It has a significant role to play It has a limited role to play It has no role to play at all 41 35 15 9 Finance & Business Services 15 18 39 27 Customer Services 6 15 42 37

Source: Design Council survey of 1,500 firms, 2005.

Table 6.

How design is used in firms new product and service development.

Manufacturers Design Manager/design team leads and guides whole process Designers are used in all stages 63 41 Finance & Business Services 3 12 Customer Services 16 5

21) Translation by self from: S. Moritz, Service Design. Practical Access to an Evolving Field, p. 66.

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Manufacturers Designers are used in some specific stages Designers are not included in the process 19 13

Finance & Business Services 2 84

Customer Services 28 55

Source: Design Council survey of 1,500 firms, 2005.

In 2003, the University of Westminster conducted a study whose purpose was to examine how services are designed and managed. Surveys were distributed among managers who directed companies in the services sector (transport companies, non-profits, companies in the health sector, banking and insurance).

Over 50 per cent of respondents had no idea what design was. Just over 50 per cent of them knew the concept of innovation. 33 per cent of companies had a strategy for development. 20 per cent of the companies had created a written document on the process of delivering its services. a study on the provision of new services, part of them copying new ideas for services from competition or market leaders. Only a small part of companies acquired ideas exclusively based on internal resources.

48 per cent of the respondents admitted that their companies did not conduct

48 per cent of managers admitted that during the seven years prior to the survey, they had not seen a written specification for any new design.

Creative procedures are not documented and controlled, therefore it can be inferred that they are designed by professionals. these services are subject to design rules and methodology.

Most of the participants of the process of creating services are not aware that

3.6. Methods of design and implementation of e-services, standards created during design of e-services throughout the world The process of designing e-services is similar to the process of designing traditional services. Systematic and conscious process of design services is a new field, and the first major studies on this topic appeared worldwide at the beginning of the 21st century.

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Design of e-services sprung from creation of webpages entrusted initially to IT professionals, and then moved to marketing agencies. Undoubtedly, a significant barrier in development is the small availability of skilled experts, among which are user experience and electronic interface ergonomics specialists. In this situation, it is worth being aware that the process of designing e-services as described in this chapter is not widespread and includes achievements of a rather narrow group of specialists originating from academic circles or leading design firms, which expand previously acquired competencies associated with product design, and finally designers employed by largest software developers. Depending on the type of e-service, it is required to design a set of functionalities in different layers of the e-service architecture:

data e.g. data sources, or the place from which e-services draw information, transaction such as customer service, data management, content management, functionality of services for the user, integration integration with other systems, namely how does the e-service work with other e-services, such as online payments, interactions interactions with the user and/or other systems, namely how the e-service contacts the recipient, presentation the user interface, mostly a website.

In e-service design, two main areas can be distinguished22: customer satisfaction: an interface, a positive experience, brand awareness, interaction with the possibility of receiving feedback, effectiveness of service delivery strategy, models and technology, organizational culture, resources and skills.

22) S. Moritz, Service Design, Practical Access to evolving field, London 2005.

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Figure 15.

Service design model.

c on t ex t
rc es and cons tra
contex

t a n d in s p ira t io

e al n e e d s o f t h e m a r ke the r t

re

sou

int

re al

cus to m e r n e e d

staff suppliers partners market competition technology organization strategy concepts and solutions design services cultural changes potential talent productivity
e f fe c

points of contact with the customer experience quality proximity to the brand feedback satisfaction

market community client society politics economy trends

ti v e a n d

en e f fi ci

u se

f ul, u

s a ble, d e sir a

ble

Source: S. Moritz Service Design, Practical Access to evolving field, London 2005.

Although e-service design is most often associated with website projects, it covers, in fact, all levels of service architecture, as well as design of the product including all of its aspects, not just the external styling. E-services have a set of specific attributes that determine their quality and performance, which can be assessed, and thus be designed. There are several methodologies for assessing the quality of e-services. One of the earliest and simplest is SERVQUAL, published in 2005, which evaluates: reliability, meeting expectations, safety, simplicity and empathy.
Table 6.

Attributes of e-service evaluation different methodologies.

SERVQUAL (2000) Reliability Kaynama & Black (2000) Content Zeithaml (2002) Accessibility Navigation Effectiveness Flexibility Janda et al. (2002) Accessibility Safety Empathy Alawattegama & Wattegama (2008) Factual tion informa-

Fulfilling expecta- Availability tions Safety Simplicity Navigation Appearance

Business Information General Information infor-

Information/con- Contextual tent mation

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SERVQUAL (2000) Empathy

Kaynama & Black (2000) Responsiveness Background Personalized

Zeithaml (2002) Reliability Personalization Privacy Fulfilment of expectations Security/trust Aesthetics Price Information

Janda et al. (2002)

Alawattegama & Wattegama (2008)

Source: self study.

Even though e-service design is mostly associated with website planning, in reality it includes all levels of the service architecture, which is similar to the way in which product design encompasses all aspects, not just external styling. When designing services and e-services, understanding and designing user experience play an important role, regardless of hard functional attributes. It is the positive user experiences, which may consist of: ease of navigation, clarity of information, easy searching and sorting, auto-fill forms, personalization, speed, ability to access a service from different devices (i.e. a mobile phone), that determine the susceptibility to select a particular e-service over others. In the process of e-service design, specification of needs and expectations of a client-user is key, as well as further concentration on user experience through each stage of design. It should be emphasised that technology and technical staff cannot dictate solutions. The basic problem in most of the currently available e-services lies in the fact that they are designed by IT professionals, and as a consequence, a focus on functionality and user interface can be observed, neglecting other attributes that complement the full user experience, such as aesthetics or fulfilment of expectations. Services and e-services differ from products in the following areas:

a product is manufactured a service is performed,

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a product is material a service is immaterial, a product is tangible a service is elusive, a product can be stored a service cannot, a product can operate without client contact a service cannot, consumption of a product occurs after it is manufactured in the case of a service, production and consumption occur at the same time, product may have a defect a service may perform poorly.

The process of designing e-services consists of six principal steps: 1. Comprehension user needs, supplier capabilities, competition, context, market requirements and regulations. 2. Identification of requirements and scope objectives, scope, schedule, requirements. 3. Generation of solutions concept, design, solutions and scenarios, plan of action. 4. Synthesis and solution selection selection, testing and evaluation, selection. 5. Prototyping a model, map processes, prototype animation. 6. Service delivery testing, delivery, training, collecting comments.
Figure 16.

Process of service design.

DISCOVERY GENERATION SYNTHESIS ENTERPRISE

Real User Needs Competition Changing Warld Context Markets Real Market Needs

Source: S. Moritz, Service Design. Practical access to an evolving field, London 2005.

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The above models of service design and of the process of designing a service, published in 2005 in Service Design. Practical Access to an Evolving Field by Stefan Moritz, a professor of the Cologne International School of Design, are an attempt at formulating a general methodology of the management of service design. Undoubtedly individual types of services (like e-services), industries, enterprises and design studios should implement detailed individual solutions allowing not only for standardization of the process, but also reaching results which allow them to distinguish themselves among competition.

3.7. Perspectives for development of e-service design market in selected EU countries Successor to the i2010 is the European Digital Agenda, adopted by the European Commission in May 2010. Among other things, it promotes a single market for services, digital e-commerce and e-government development:

A single digital market:

electronic commerce by 2015, over 50 per cent of the population should be making purchases over the Internet (in 2009, this proportion was 37 per cent), cross-border Internet transactions up to 20 per cent of the population in 2015 should make purchases through the Internet in other countries (in 2009, it was 8 per cent), e-commerce for businesses 33 per cent of small and medium-sized companies should conduct their purchases or sales on the Internet in 2015 (in 2009, it was 24 per cent and 12 per cent for purchases and sales, respectively).

E-government by 2015, 50 per cent of citizens should benefit from e-government, half of which will receive the required forms and reports this way (in 2009, it was 38 per cent). The development of e-services in Poland is being stimulated through financial investments in the preparation and use of e-services from the European Union funds within the framework of Measures 8.1 and 8.2 of the Operational Programme Innovative Economy. The pool of available funds currently reaches 2.7 billion zloty, of which about 1.2 billion is intended for the preparation of the e-service application. Such great support, available through competitions organized by PARP, suggests the possibility of rapid development of e-services in Poland. The problem is not the quantity, but rather the quality of services produced with the support of public funds.

Case stud
Service: Design: Service provider: Everyday simplicity a new offer of a bank Transformator Design Group SEB Bank
DESIGN IDEA Swedish SEB bank is one of the leading Scandinavian banks, which possesses local branches in 10 countries. Thanks to various communication channels (offices, Internet, info-lines), the company registers over 200 million interactions with users a year. To match the services offered to the needs of clients, the bank has performed consumer surveys (both qualitative as well as ethnographic). The information gathered was, however, used only to improve the current offer. Specialists hired by the bank knew much about their clients, but could not utilize this knowledge to create innovative services. In 2008, SEB started cooperating with design and advisory company Transformer Design Group. The company is led by experienced industrial designers, who since 2006, have focused solely on a widely understood design of services and e-services. When creating innovative service concepts, the representatives of Transformer use their own design method, which relies on creating subsequent prototypes in an iterative system. The main rule of this method is creating a service model, which is tested by potential users. Consumer feedback is then taken into account when creating the next prototype. This operation is repeated a few times to reach the best possible concept. This way, designers create services that simultaneously generate profits and are attractive for users. One of the elements of the cooperation between SEB Bank and Transformer was proposing a new offer to the holders of individual accounts Everyday simplicity. Designers were tasked not only to create an intuitive interface for the management of an online account, but also to include important elements such as finding a way to make as many clients as possible accept the new offer.

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BUSINESS RESULT Using the method of iterative prototyping brought interesting results. By surveying prospective clients, the designers have reached the following conclusions: all information must be communicated with clear and short texts; users like to know what will be the measurable gains from accepting a new offer (i.e. how much cheaper will their accounts be); the visual look of the Internet platform must not be too stylish it is then associated with advertising and clients lose their trust in the institution.

Implementing these conclusions to the final project was successful among 250,000 holders of individual accounts included in the Everyday simplicity offer, only 500 (less than 1 per cent) turned down the offer. Additionally, introduction of the new Internet platform led to tripling sales of Master Card credits cards.

4.
Infrastructural and equipment conditions for the development of e-services

81

4. Infrastructural and equipment conditions for the development of e-services

(Katarzyna Stefaniak)

The success of e-services depends on their capability to reach their consumers. In the context of this report, topics related to technologies and Internet access supplement the possibilities and challenges for e-services in Poland. This approach is compliant with the yearly World e-ready report23 which evaluates e-readiness of 70 countries, analysed based on a set of elements, each with its own significance expressed in per cents.
Table 7.

Elements of the e-readiness evaluation24.

Elements of the e-readiness evaluation Possibility of connecting Internet and infrastructure Business environment Social and cultural environment Legal environment Politics and policies of the government Acceptance of services by consumers and businesses Significance 20% 15% 15% 10% 15% 25%

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit, E-readiness rankings 2009.

According to the analysis in the quoted report, Polands score places it in 41st place among 70 analysed countries25, and in 38th place if we only take into consideration the element of possibility of connecting the Internet and infrastructure26. This indicator is created on the basis of information about broadband access penetration, broadband connection prices, mobile communications penetration 27, number of Internet users, bandwidth assigned to the Internet in international relations and security of the connection 28. In this chapter, we will present the key indicators:

23) Economist Intelligence Unit, E-readiness rankings 2009. 24) Op. cit., p. 4. 25) Op. cit., p. 5. 26) Op. cit., p. 24. 27) Penetration is an availability indicator of a given technology per 100 residents. 28) Op. cit., p. 20.

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penetration of broadband access, penetration of mobile communications, affordability of broadband Internet access.

The number of Internet users is analysed in subsequent chapters of the report. An additional element from the area of technology will be mentioned, specifically the type and availability of last-mile equipment. In Poland, such factors as the availability of computers or smartphones or introduction of devices like e-book readers is important from the standpoint of the dynamics of e-service usage. Analysis of the accessibility of infrastructure will be conducted from the standpoint of users (recipients) of e-services. In the authors opinion, the infrastructure required by service providers is adequate to provide such services, regardless of the selected method: services provided on own systems and software, hosting of services or software or full outsourcing of infrastructure required for provision of services. The only limiting factor in these activities may be the ventures budget. 4.1. Broadband Internet access Together with the development of technologies and markets, expectations as to the quality and speed of the Internet access speed are changing. In the Act on supporting the development of services and telecommunication network 29, a connection is deemed as broadband if the efficiency of the connection does not limit the possibility of using applications available on the net. It is worth a reminder of what the connection efficiency requirement for various services is (as shown in Table 8). Maximum values are given; in most cases the connection usage is asymmetrical, meaning that the user downloads a large amount of data, like in a video stream, while sending out only small packets of data.
Table 8.

Service connection requirement.

Service SDTV (Standard Definition TV) HDTV (High Definition TV) Gaming games and gambling on the Internet Connection requirement 2 Mb/s per channel 812 Mb/s per channel 2 Mb/s per session

29) Act of 7 May 2010 on Supporting development of services and telecommunication networks (Journal of Laws No 106, item 675).

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Service Multimedia surfing (i.e. YouTube) and posting of content on the Internet Videoconference learning Home working (using the IT resources of a company etc.) Remote home monitoring

Connection requirement 28 Mb/s 3 Mb/s per session 14 Mb/s per session 0.5 Mb/s

Source: P. Urban, Optical Revolution (Optyczna rewolucja), Computerworld 47/2007.

It transpires from the above that these requirements are quite steep, considering that 66.4 per cent of broadband connections in Poland are under 2 Mb/s, 29.3 per cent are between 2 and 10 Mb/s, while 4.3 per cent are faster than 10 Mb/s30. However, this does not mean that e-services must wait until such connection speed is available to most people in Poland. Services like online banking or information of all kinds can be quite comfortably accessed with a connection of much lower speed, which is why mobile Internet connections, where speed is between 50 and 200 kb/s are so popular. When compared to other European Union countries, Poland does not fare well in this respect. In 2009, Poland took 25th place out of 27 in the comparison of availability of broadband services provided through stationary networks. The Internet was accessed this way by the 13.5 per cent of the population in Poland, while in the countries of the highest penetration of these services this indicator amounts to 37 per cent31. Denmark and the Netherlands were the leaders, while the 26th and 27th place were taken by Romania and Bulgaria32. As for wireless broadband connections, Poland took 9th place with an indicator of 5.5 per cent, in comparison with the best result of 17 per cent33. The leaders here are Finland, Portugal and Austria. However, Internet access in Poland is very uneven. Exclusion zones, where lack of access may be motivated both by lack of physical network or financial reasons, are shown in the graph below, which shows the percentage share of the number of end-users using broadband connection divided into voivodeships in 2009. There are large disproportions between voivodeships when it comes to Internet usage and, as a result, the possibility of using e-services.

30) Office of Electronic Communications, Report on the state of telecommunications in Poland in 2009, Warsaw 2010, p. 5. 31) Ibidem, p. 16. 32) European Committee, Implementation report on common European market of electronic communication, Brussels 2010, p. 20. 33) Op. cit. p. 17.

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Figure 17.

Percentage share of end users using broadband connections divided into voivodeships in 2009.
20% 15% 10% 5% 0% mazowieckie wielkopolskie maopolskie pomorskie dzkie kujawsko-pomorskie podkarpackie warminsko-mazurskie lskie dolnolskie zachodniopomorskie lubelskie podlaskie lubuskie opolskie witokrzyskie

Source: Office of Electronic Communications, Report on the status of telecommunication in Poland in 2009, Warsaw 2010, p. 8.

To summarize, the connection speed through which e-services reach their users, is not the key factor limiting the use of most of the services. However, such factor is the physical availability of the connection. There are still zones of exclusion, where telecommunication infrastructure allows only for voice transmissions, while the mobile network coverage is also too weak to support the Internet. Internet connection via a satellite is currently the only viable means of access, however, due to its high cost, this solution is only available to a select few users. The Office of Electronic Communications (OEC) conducts regular surveys of the zones of exclusion, and their results are used when planning investments in networks in the project mentioned later in this chapter. It must be noted that the map of the white spots has been created based on notifications of the lack of Internet access and not on the basis of data regarding the lack of physical infrastructure in a given area. Therefore, on the one hand, this is an authentic indication from the business standpoint of the demand for Internet access, on the other, it may be false and overly optimistic, as people considered to be digital illiterates who live in the area where there is no physical network will not submit such a notification.

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Figure 18.

Stationary broadband Internet access in Poland.

Map generated on: 03.07.2010 11:01

AvS this is the average number of submissions of lack of Internet access in the country per 10,000 households over 1 AvS 1 0,75 AvS 0,75 0,5 AvS 0,5 0,25 AvS 0,25 0 AvS 0 AvS

Office of Electronic Communications, interactive map available at: http://www.mapa.uke. gov.pl/

Wherever the network is available, the dynamics of the increase in the number of Internet connections is still large, which is evidenced by the 16.3 per cent increase of the number of broadband connections in 2009, compared to 200834. Commercial companies battle for users, and traditional suppliers of telecommunication services, both stationary and mobile, have joined forces with cable TV
34) Director of the Office of Electronic Communications, Report on the state of telecommunications in Poland in 2009, Warsaw 2010, p. 4.

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and energy providers. From the standpoint of the providers, acquiring clients for Internet access services is a necessity dictated by their business model. Because of the appearance and popularity of offers like evenings for free (stationary) or free to all networks (mobile telephones), it has become impossible for companies to function providing only one service. Currently, most widespread are offers including two or even four services in one package (telephone, cable TV, Internet, mobile phone). From the standpoint of the providers of the e-service, this is a positive occurrence because it lowers the cost of Internet connections by forcing companies to compete with each other. The increase in the number of Internet connections in the last two years is shown in Table 9.
Table 9.

Internet access (both, stationary and mobile) in Poland in 20082009.

Year Total number of connections Total number of connections per 100 residents 2008 5,504,932 14.4 2009 7,272,222 19.0 Yearly increase 32.1% 4.6 pp

Source: President of the Office of Electronic Communications, Report on the state of telecommunications in Poland in 2009, Warsaw 2010, p. 7.

Development of broadband cable Internet access In all of Poland, there are many investment projects being implemented or prepared with the goal of constructing the Internet access infrastructure. These projects make use of funding programmes. The basic ones include:

Regional Operational Programmes (ROPs) and the Operational Programme Development of Eastern Poland (OP DEP) Infrastructure of the information society

Measure 8.3 of the Operational Programme Innovative Economy Information

society

Measure 8.4 of the Operational Programme Innovative Economy Information

society The definitions for subsequent programmes and their budgets are shown below.

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Table 10.

Scope, budget and current state of Internet access funding programmes.

Definition ROP and OP DEP constructing a fibre-optic network with a total length of 28 thousand kilometres and 3.5 thousand skeletal and distribution nodes. Budget Budget for the construction of the telecommunication infrastructure is PLN 3.395 billion. State as of June 2010 Projects were split into three stages, from planning through design to construction. None of the voivodeships successfully finished the first stage, construction and approval of the feasibility study, which is a rather bad result. State of construction after three years of programmes duration. Compliant with the requirements of the ROP and OP DEP programmes, the signing of co-financing agreements should be concluded until the end of 2013 and spending and settling of accounts until the end of 2015, which may prove difficult because the work is progressing slowly. According to information supplied by the Implementing Authority of the European programmes, 55 co-funding agreements have been signed to date, for a total of PLN 110 million, which amounts to 8 per cent of funds allocated to projects.

Measure 8.3 Counteracting dig- The measures 8.3 ital exclusion: budget is PLN 1.406 supplying IT equipment, billion. training of IT skills and introducing Internet habits among the digitally excluded, increasing awareness regarding the possibilities that broadband Internet connection provides. Measure 8.4 Ensuring Internet ac- The budget for this cess at the last mile level. measure is PLN 722 million.

According to information supplied by the Implementing Authority of European programmes, 11 co-funding agreements for a total sum of PLN 5.4 million have been signed to date , which amounts to 1 per cent of the allocated resources.

Source: self study.

From the standpoint of the provision of e-services, the programmes address several reasons for digital exclusion:

physical lack of both skeletal and distribution networks, as well as last mile networks connecting the user to the Internet, unpreparedness of excluded users with hardware and knowledge about the possibilities that an Internet connection provides.

Within the ROP and OP DEP, more than 25.5 thousand cities and towns will be included in the regional networks. 37 per cent of these will be white, meaning spots in which no broadband Internet connection services are available. On the other hand, black spots, where more than one provider is present, will amount to 10 per cent of all of the participants of the network.

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4.2. Wireless Internet access An important aspect in providing equal opportunities for accessing e-services and their promotion is the use of mobile networks and their end mile devices. It is even more important because it also expands possibilities for providers the user can use the services while being away from their place of residence. In the following subchapter, we will consider two technologies of wireless Internet access:

mobile phone access,

WiFi wireless network access.

4.3. Mobile phone Internet access Internet access through mobile networks is currently the most dynamically developing method of accessing e-services. The Office of Electronic Communications estimates that in 2012, 20 per cent of the users of broadband Internet in Poland will only use its mobile version (currently its 4.7 per cent). From a technical standpoint, this form of access means less bandwidth than in cable connections. While the operators declare that they possess a network covering 99 per cent of the countrys population, sending up to 7 Mb/s is possible for 60 per cent35, but from the standpoint of area, not population, most of Poland is connected by the EDGE technology (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution currently used in GSM networks for data transfer) with bandwidth of 236.8 kb/s, which is important from the e-service design point of view. Development of mobile access networks, estimated based on the increase in number of used modems and percentile penetration, is shown below.
Figure 19.

Number of 2G/3G modems and mobile Internet penetration of services in Poland.

2500 2000 1500 1000 1,92 500 0 733 number of modems 1064 penetration 1778 2093 2% 1% 2,79 4,66 5,48 6% 5% 4% 3%

Source: Office of Electronic Communications, Analysis of prices of mobile Internet in Poland, Warsaw 2010, p. 4.
35) Polkomtel SA, website: www.iplus.pl/indywidualni-zasieg.html, retrieved 2010.

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As mobile phone operators make their offers more attractive to customers (currently not only the phone itself, but also a modem, can be bought for 1 zloty), more and more users are attracted to the service of mobile Internet. In cities, the transfer speed, in the eyes of the end users, does not greatly differ from the basic service of cable Internet. In the rural areas, i.e. during vacation, this is the only way of connecting to the Internet. The process of user migration to wireless connections will speed up the implementation of the LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology that allows for increase in bandwidth by the mobile network operators. In comparison, technologies currently available only in large cities allow for end-user transfer speed of 14 Mb/s (HSDPA High Speed Downlink Packet Access), while LTE will allow for about 300 Mb/s. This technology is currently being developed, but its implementation will take years, if not decades. 4.4. WiFi Internet connections Another technological and market phenomenon significant for e-services are WiFi networks. This technology allows for accessing the Internet via WiFi modems, which are part of standard equipment of portable computers. This technology allows for using wireless networks at home, as well as in public access points, or so-called hotspots. Hotspots are the way of implementing informational goals (municipalities are bound by them), as well as making places like coffee shops and waiting rooms more attractive. They also allow for using e-services in many places, often for free, which for many people is an alternative to mobile Internet, which costs money. 4.5. End user Internet access devices, types, availability For the service provider, the end user e-service access devices are important both from the standpoint of the market, as well as technical issues of service design. In this study, the following division of end user access devices was adopted:

devices dedicated to Internet connection: desktop computers, mobile computers like laptops or netbooks, end user telecommunication devices with a function of connecting to the Internet: mobile phones, both basic and smartphone type, e-service dedicated devices: Kindle, devices for medical or logistic uses etc.

From the standpoint of development of e-services, the two first types of devices are key because of their widespread availability.

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An important information for e-providers is the trend of usage of various types of end user devices (like the aforementioned, important for design and creation of e-services, parameters of mobile phone display screens). Data of the Central Statistical Office clearly suggest that the mobile phone is the current rival of mobile computer as an end user device.
Figure 20.

Division of Internet users based on the type of mobile devices.

6% other devices 33% 41% laptop with a wireless connection portable computer (netbook, PDA) 19% mobile phone

Source: Central Statistical Office, Report on ICT usage in companies and households.

This trend will grow stronger as user expectations as to the availability of service rise. Many of them will have to be available wherever the user is and, consequently, the main end user device will be a mobile phone with all its limitations. The data for 2009 show that the number of users equipped with devices like laptops has significantly increased. These changes are influenced both by the supply of cheap devices, like laptops, as well as the introduction of netbooks to the market small, portable devices with a 10-inch LCD displays, which possess the full functionality of portable computers but at a much lower price. The market for this type of device has been very dynamic in the last years, even though it slowed down last year (increase in Q1 of 2009 was 87.2 per cent and 33.6 per cent in 201036). Currently, mobile network operators offer such devices as part of special offers for mobile Internet connection. It can be safely said that people conscious of the benefits of using the Internet can find an end user device that suits their financial capabilities. The increase in the number of computers is shown on the graph below.

36) http://www.neowin.net/news/netbook-sales-see-large-drop-in-growth, April 2010.

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Figure 21.

Households with computers.

80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 2005 2009

(a) Data for households with at least one person in the 1674 age group. (b) Desktop, portable (laptops) and handheld (palmtops and organizers).

Source: Central Statistical Office, Concise Statistical Yearbook of Poland 2010, p. 302.

The second group of end user devices are mobile phones. From the standpoint of e-services, it is worth dividing them into telephones (with different screen sizes and accessories, but without advanced functions like email or Internet) and smartphones, which have larger screens and often full keyboards, email applications, information, applications that allow for reading documents in standard office formats, GPS. While designing e-services that can utilize device capabilities, from the first group creating special procedures is required (like sms confirmations of transactions), in the second group, the e-service designer must take into account:

screen size in interface design its ergonomy or a special version for handheld devices, different operating systems of these devices and their browsers, website display is not unitary which requires testing them for all basic models on the market.

The smartphone market is the future. Nielsen Research predicts that the number of basic phones and smartphones will be equal next year37. In Poland, the 1 zloty special offers are still cantered on basic phones, although we can expect an increase of interest in smartphones. It is worth noting that both phones and smartphones are often equipped with GPS, which means that e-services can be expanded with a customer localization function, like (user accepted) advertisements.

37) D. Dugosz, Will smartphones dominate the market? (Smartfony zdominuj rynek?), Komputer wiat, August 2010.

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Dedicated end-user devices is a market that can be split into two groups: consumers, where e-book readers are located, and Business-to-Business or special personal devices. The vision of e-book popularity says that they will take over the market of books for less wealthy readers. However, this vision is still far away from becoming reality, as Kindle 3 readers on Internet auctions can cost PLN 1,200 and its wireless book download functionality in Poland is still not functioning. While the vision of e-book popularity is controversial, file-sharing portals (unfortunately mostly illegal copies or books scans) show that the market needs a cheaper alternative for textbooks. The world of the music business had to face the problem of new business models, on the one hand promoting legal purchase of songs and having an attractive price and method of delivery on the other. Book publishers have to face the same problems. The second group of dedicated devices are personal health monitoring devices (i.e. collection and analysis of glucose levels in blood for diabetes), devices for uses like: transaction registry and database access in logistics, mobile SIMs for registering and transferring data from electricity or water meters (M2M), medical meters that transfer visual data and information, dedicated for advanced B2B e-services often designed (or its interfaces at the very least) with the entire systems. 4.6. Service prices One of the aspects of exclusion of potential users of e-services is the price of Internet access. Detailed analysis of international markets conducted by OECD shows that Polish consumers are currently ranked in the 14th place with regard to the prices of Internet access, taking into account spending power parity.

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Figure 22.

Monthly average Internet price, taking into account spending power parity as of October 2009.
Greece Italy Great Britain Ireland Finland Sweden France Switzerland Japan Korea Germany Hungary Belgium Poland Denmark Iceland Netherlands Slovakia Spain USA Austria Czech Republic Canada Mexico New Zealand Australia Norway Portugal Luxemburg Turkey 0 20 40 60 80 18.68 20.15 20.76 21.11 21.87 21.9 22.04 22.41 23.71 25.94 26.19 26.55 26.79 26.85 27.09 27.38 27.64 31.57 32.58 33.19 33.77 34.8 36.55 38.21 38.45 40.06 42.3 53.59 61.52 91.22 100

Source: Office of Electronic Communications, Analysis of prices of cable Internet in Poland and European Union countries, 2010, p. 18.

According to the research, Greece and Italy boast the lowest prices. Poland is below Great Britain and Ireland, both of which are countries with developed infrastructure and strong competition between operators, as well as having industries regulated in such a way as to promote competition. Hungary is also before Poland, however, other countries from our region, like Slovakia or Czech Republic, have much more expensive Internet. Going back to the already mentioned World e-readiness report38, it is worth noting that both Slovakia and the Czech Republic outrun Poland when comparing Internet access infrastructure, however, the level of competitiveness and stimulation from the regulator has allowed to attain better prices for Polish users.

38) Economist Intelligence Unit, E-readiness rankings 2009.

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4.7. Summary This chapter has analysed the situation of e-service from the infrastructural standpoint, including development programmes, end user devices and Internet access prices. In summary: Broadband Internet prices Poland is currently in the 25th place among 27 EU countries with regard to penetration of cable broadband Internet access, but in the 9th place with regard to mobile Internet connection. On the one hand, this suggests a weakness in the supply of cable Internet due to a physical lack of networks. On the other hand, the 98 per cent increase in the number of mobile Internet connection users in just one year indicates that wireless technology will prevail on this market (since the development of mobile phone networks, the number of cable phone lines continues to drop, even though it never reached a level comparable with other European countries). This does not mean that effort and funding geared towards network construction, especially fibre-optic skeletal networks are unneeded; their role will be crucial as the backbone for new generation mobile networks LTE. Data on the availability of cable broadband Internet service should not discourage suppliers of e-services. Growth trends, both in cable and mobile connections, indicate that the number of people ready to use the Internet is growing. Projects that supplement development of cable broadband Internet connection Projects in 2010 are still at the conceptual or feasibility study levels. Taking into account that attaining full construction permissions for, for example, a single fibre-optic line can take up to 618 months (practical assessment taking into account: protests, need for redesigning etc.), utilizing investments up to the full amount of their funding and settling accounts until the year 2015 is uncertain. For many regions, the operational and business model for construction and usage of the network is also unclear. One can only agree with the assessment of the Summary Document of the (Cities in the Web) Conference: Moreover, there are no effective mechanisms for coordination of activities among key investors of public funding: government voivodeship authorities and local self government and public authorities place too much focus on infrastructural investments, neglecting actions like: counteracting digital exclusion, sharing Polish digital content in the public domain (including education materials) and also those that provide widespread digital education to adult Poles39.
39) Final document of 14th Cities in the Internet Conference, Polish Internet of equal chances, Zakopane 25 June 2010.

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It is necessary to create models of the way networks function on the operational and business sides, answering basic questions, like who will be the technical operator, what services are provided and who will sell at what price, as well as models for coordinating projects (for example, forcing optimization of operating costs by centralizing management systems). End user devices An increase in the number of computer-equipped Poles, as shown by the Central Statistical Office, as well as the availability of new devices like smartphones on the mobile phone market, means that the Polish market is well prepared for e-service from a hardware standpoint. Designers of e-services must take into account the fact that the Polish market has access to novelties the moment they are introduced on the global market. E-services should be designed and tested for many different devices to make sure they can be used comfortably, regardless of the installed operating system/browsers. Internet access costs in Poland Internet access costs in Poland are lower than in other countries of our region, even those that are deemed more e-ready. They should not be a problem in using e-services. It may be debatable whether such a situation is difficult for network operators, who do not draw on the income from only one type of service. The lack of affordability of building new networks is a threat to service providers, and may in the future influence the development of new business models in which the operator will be able to make a profit from the service provider, as well as the consumer. This type of model will become reality in the case of Google, which is constructing a network of fibre-optic lines in the USA. The service provider will be able to subsidize the construction and upkeep of the infrastructure, bringing in a profit. The pressure for lowering prices should be substituted by mechanisms that encourage operators to invest and enter into shared business models with providers of e-services.

Case stud
Product: Design: Service provider: n next generation television Piotr Zygo (2007), Olga Korolec (2008-2010) ITI Neovision Sp. z o.o.
DESIGN IDEA In October 2006, the ITI Group designed the n digital platform based on its own channels and entirely new programs. The main guideline of the venture was to provide clients with services previously unknown on the market. The offer itself was unique: the client, himself, chooses what kinds of channels are interesting. This means that i.e. sports, kids or fashion and life-style programs can be added to the basic package of information TV. N platform also launched the first high definition (HD) programs in Poland (today it has 18 HD programs in its package). Other digital television stations, not wanting to be left behind, had to follow the ITI Group. N platform was also the precursor of the VoD (Video on Demand) service in Poland, which gives the possibility to virtually rent a movie. Also, 2 years after the n project was created, the ITI Group launched the pioneer Telewizja na Kart, which allowed the clients to view programs without paying a monthly fee.

e /4 dy
BUSINESS RESULT ITIs paid television was very successful financially, and even after a few years, it is still growing dynamically. In Q2 2010, it noted a profit of 151 million zoty, which is a 38 per cent increase in comparison with Q2 2009. Income from n television makes up over 20 per cent of all income of the ITI Group. In the last year, the number of active users of n platform and of Telewizja na Kart increased almost by a half (by the end of July there were already 1,009 million users).

N platform is a digital satellite television, which allows for receiving programs in HD technology. It also allows for configuring and customizing channel packages according to individual desires. Thanks to a hardware platform, users can record programs and also on demand view propositions from the platforms library. There are information channels in the basic package, but the shape of the final offer for each client depends on his/her decision he/she chooses a proper selection of programs individually.

5.
The law of the Internet: overview of the legal regulations in Poland and European Union

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5. The law of the Internet: overview of the legal regulations in Poland and European Union
(Dorota Bryndal)

The Internet has become an inseparable part of the surrounding reality. It is perceived as a universal tool for information exchange, a worldwide communication platform and, very important from an economic standpoint, an area in which legal relations occur, including relationships amongst entrepreneurs and between entrepreneurs and clients. The definition of electronic trade has been set in the dictionary, and the mere fact that it exists has led to the necessity of introducing certain legal solutions. This need stems mostly from the fact that the legal precedents for traditional written forms of agreements are useless for agreements on the Internet, where agreements are signed without both parties present and whose subject often does not have a physical carrier. The digital environment, specific to the Internet, has started to compete with the real world in a significant way. In the Polish legal system, the Act of 18 July 2002 on electronic services is the most important for electronic trade40. It stems from Directive 2000/31/EC of the European Parliament and European Council of 8 June 2000 on certain legal aspects of information society, in particular intra-market electronic trade. Moreover, the amendment to the Act of 23 April 1964 Civil Code41, introduced on 14 February 2003, concerning electronic agreements, has played a vital role in setting the framework for legal proceedings in connection with the Internet. The aforementioned amendment facilitated the creation of electronic forms for legal proceedings (entirely separate from the written form), in case a declaration of will is made by a secure electronic signature. Polish regulations on electronic signatures were passed basing in Directive 99/93/EC of the European Parliament and European Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures. Issues related to the electronic signature itself are regulated by the Act on Electronic Signature of 18 September 200142, supplemented by a series of government regulations. The ability to issue VAT invoices in electronic form is important for the electronic legal trade, which was allowed by Directive 2001/115/EC of the European Council of 20 December 2001. In Poland, it was sanctioned by regulation of the Minister

40) Journal of Laws No 144, item 1204, as amended. 41) Journal of Laws No 16, item 93, as amended. 42) Journal of Laws No 130, item 1450, as amended.

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of Finance of 14 July 2005 on the issue and transfer of electronic invoices, their storage and making them available for the revenue service43. The need for consumer protection in agreements signed over the Internet has led to the adoption of the Act of 2 March 2000 on the protection of consumer rights and on the liabilities for dangerous products44. This Act is an implementation of Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament of 16 January 1997 on the protection of consumers in long distance agreements, adopted by the EC on 23 January 1997. An amendment to the Act on the protection of consumer rights in the case of long distance agreements adopted on 16 April 2004 was the result of the implementation of Directive 2002/65/EC of 23 September 2002 concerning the distance marketing of consumer financial services and amending Council Directive 90/619/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC. When considering the specifics of the digital environment, intrinsically connected with the process of digitalisation of works and their further usage in a digital form is the issue of the context of copyright protected goods, which are part of transactions conducted over the Internet. It is worth taking a look at the legal solutions adopted in the Act of 4 February 1994 on Copyright45, which is based on Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and European Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright in the information society. These solutions would allow for expansion of basic rights in the area of an authors exclusive right to duplicate their work. In the current legal state, this is also valid for temporary duplications, typical for communication acts in a digital environment, like browsing the Internet. In the content of the right of duplication, a certain way of sharing the work was included so that anyone can have access to it in time and place of their choosing, which is typical for online publishing. The adopted solutions also determined that publishing a work online does not exhaust the intellectual property right (it is not the case of introduction of a material item). Copyrightees retain control over further usage of the protected goods online. The position of the creators would be strengthened by new regulations on the protection of technical security solutions, which may create some controversy, considering the interests of the users of the protected goods. These controversies are connected with narrowing the limits of allowed usage.

43) Journal of Laws No 133, item 1119. 44) Journal of Laws No 22, item 271, as amended. 45) Journal of Laws of 2006 No 90, item 631, as amended.

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5.1. Protection and support for economic activities, online agreements, agreements executed over the Internet The Internet is no longer a showroom in which entrepreneurs can only show their service. It has become a space of economic activities conducted on their own or in parallel with traditionally conducted business. Lower cost is not the only positive aspect of conducting economic activities online, but also the possibility of reaching a wider or, to speak bluntly, unlimited number of clients. This solution is also attractive because services provided this way are widely available and may be quickly delivered. To protect this type of activities, a set of legal regulations has been implemented, as discussed below. 5.2. Civil Code regulations The procedure of signing agreements electronically, including submitting online statements is regulated by the Civil Code, according to which an agreement might be signed in offer mode, negotiation mode, or via tender or auction. An offer is defined as stating to the other party the will to enter into agreement, which also includes important resolutions of this agreement. Using an electronic agreement changes the legal situation of the offerer, in comparison with the traditional offer. An electronic agreement binds the offerer if the other party immediately acknowledges its reception. An acknowledgment is an additional action, however, there are no reasons for not accepting a combined statement on reception and acceptance. An entrepreneur presenting an offer in electronic form is additionally bound by the Civil Code before an agreement is signed to clearly and explicitly inform the other party of: technical actions that are part of the agreement signing procedure, legal effects of the offer reception acknowledgement, rules and means of recording, protection and sharing the agreement contents with the second party, methods and technical means for detection and correction in shared entered data, languages in which the agreement is signed, ethical codes that it employs and also its availability in electronic form. The above rules are applied accordingly if an entrepreneur invites the other party to begin negotiations, submits offers or if an agreement is signed in any other way. There is no application for entering into agreements via electronic mail or similar means of individual long distance communication. In relations between entrepreneurs, parties can exclude these rules. It is worth noting that, regardless of whether the relationship is of the entrepreneur-entrepreneur or entrepreneur-consumer type, if an agreement is entered into online, there will always be a need to confirm the reception of the offer.

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Even though the offer mode is typical for Internet agreements, an agreement may also be entered into in the course of negotiations. Signing an agreement after negotiations relates to a situation in which parties conduct negotiations in order to enter into agreement, and the agreement is signed when both parties reach consensus over all of its resolutions. Entering into an online agreement may happen in the course of a tender or an auction, however, it is worth remembering that typical Internet auctions, where both parties (via a website or e-mail) submit statements for transactions, are not regulated in the Civil Code. In the case, when an online agreement also requires its written form, it is good to remember about a regulation of the Civil Code, according to which a securely signed with a valid certificate online statement is legally equal to a statement of will in a written form. According to the Act of 15 September 2001 on the electronic signature, a secure electronic signature is the one that:

is assigned only to the person using the signature, is created using secure devices controlled only by the signee, whose purpose is to create an electronic signature and data required for creating an electronic signature, is tied to the data to which it was attached in such a way that any following change of that data is recognizable.

Certainty as to the signees identity, integrity of the statement that is signed electronically and confidentiality of transferred content makes the electronic signature very useful in electronic transactions or, for example, in banking or insurance of financial services. It also is useful in the public sector as a way of communication between units of government administration, as well as between those units and citizens or entrepreneurs. For example, according to the Act of 29 January 2004 on public procurements46, procurement proceedings statements, applications and notifications to the procurer and procuree are delivered, according to the procurers choice in writing, via fax or electronically. The procuring party may demand in the procurements declaration that the admission applications submitted via fax or electronically be confirmed in writing or signed with a secure electronic signature verified with a valid certificate. Thanks to the functioning of the e-Deklaracje system, implemented by the Ministry of Finance in 2008, it is possible to submit tax forms electronically. Some types of tax forms

46) Journal of Laws of 2007 No 223, item 1655, as amended.

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do not even require a secure electronic signature. For transfer of yearly PIT-36, PIT-36L, PIT-37, PIT-38 and PIT-38 tax forms without an electronic signature, e-Deklaracje employs a special encrypted channel. Secure electronic signatures, used in contact between taxpayers and the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS Zakad Ubezpiecze Spoecznych) are currently the only accepted form of confirming transfer of electronic packages. Secure electronic signatures have also found application in the judicial system, allowing the existence of e-courts when submitting court letters in writ of payment proceedings. The scale of usage of electronic signatures is, however, not significant. According to publicly available data, 250 thousand people used electronic signatures in 2010 and the announced amendments to the Act on electronic signatures show that solutions adopted in 2001 proved unpractical. The reason for failure is the high cost of getting an electronic signature. General opinion on the unnecessary security measures in issuing electronic signature have rendered the e-signature market practically non-existent. Regulations of the Act on providing electronic services Providing electronic services is connected, among others, with the following services:

Internet connection services (access providers services),

data transmission in computer networks,

website hosting,
online software sharing, application service providers, online press and database publishing, professional services, advertisement and marketing services, signing agreements over long distances via the Internet.

The catalogue of services is very broad and diverse. Online activities are regulated by the Act on providing electronic services, which describes:

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service provider responsibilities connected with providing electronic services, rules for the exclusion of liability of service providers from providing electronic service, and rules for the protection of personal data of individuals using electronic services.

Regarding the procedure of entering into electronic agreements, the provisions of the Civil Code discussed above are valid. The provisions of the Act are also valid for traditional agreements if such agreements will be executed in a way that is compliant with the definition of providing electronic services. This key term is defined as execution of services without the parties being present (remotely), through data transmission on the individual request of the service recipient, sent and received via electronic data processing devices, digitally compressed and stored data which is entirely sent, received or transmitted using telecommunication networks as understood in the Act of 16 July 2004 on telecommunication law47. It is unimportant if these services are free of charge or not, provided incidentally or in a continuous, organized manner. Some types of e-services were excluded from the scope of the Act. These are: distribution of radio or television programmes and their related text transmissions, using electronic mail or other equivalent means of electronic communication among individuals, for private use unrelated with commercial activities or work (even accidentally), provision of telecommunication services by an entrepreneur (with some exceptions) and provision of electronic service when conducted as part of the organizational structure of the provider. The e-service, itself, should only be used for directing work or economic processes of the entity. The Act defines the terms of both parties service provider and service recipient. The provider, according to the Act, may be an individual, legal entity or an organizational unit that is not a legal entity. Lack of simultaneous presence of both parties when an electronic signature is signed has called for the need of raised security when executing e-services. Many responsibilities of informational nature have been vested with the service provider. He/ she is obliged to deliver clearly, explicitly and via an IT system used by the service recipient, name and surname (or company name) and address (or registered office). He/she should also include an electronic address, in order to ensure continuous contact. Service providers who are individuals, whose right for work is dependent on meeting certain standards contained in other Acts, are obliged to provide additional

47) Journal of Laws No 171, item 1800, as amended.

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information, including among others, their trades self-governing council, used professional title, registry number in a public registry (together with the indication of registry and its parent office), as well as information about rules of professional ethics and on the method of accessing current information online about the threats of using electronic services, functions and goals of software and data that is not included as part of the service content. The IT system used by the service provider should allow the recipient to, among other things, cease (at will) using the e-service. The service provider is also responsible for writing rules of providing services and making such rules available on demand in such a way that allows the user to obtain, perform and save the contents using their IT system. Using electronic services exposes service recipients to unsolicited email containing advertising contents, or spam. The Act on electronic services regulates the rules of protection from receiving such unsolicited information, defined by the Act as trade information. According to the definition contained within the Act, trade information is any information meant to promote, either directly or indirectly, goods, services, image of an entrepreneur or an individual professional, whose right to perform his profession depends on meeting the requirements set in separate acts, excluding information allowing the communication via electronic means with a specific person and information on goods and services not meant to produce the commercial result desired by the entity that promotes them, in particular without reimbursement of other gains from producers, salesmen or service providers. Trade information should be clearly marked in a way that there is no doubt that it is in fact trade information. It should contain a description of the subject that it promotes and its electronic addresses, as well as a clear description of promotional activities, in particular price discounts, free financial or material benefits connected with the promoted good, service or image, as well as a clear indication of conditions that need to be met in order to benefit from them, if they are part of the offer. According to the Act, it is illegal to send unsolicited trade information directed to a specific user via means of electronic communication, especially electronic mail. It is worth noting that such action constitutes unfair competition48. Trade information is considered solicited if the recipient agrees to receive it. This agreement cannot be conjectured or inferred from a statement of will for different content and can be revoked at any time. Making ones electronic mail address available is one of the particular ways of indicating agreement for receiving trade information. The Act on electronic services introduces exclusion of liability of providers for some types of services in particular the ISP or the Intermediary Service
48) Journal of Laws No 153, item 1503, as amended.

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Providers. The role of the ISP is very important. Access providers only deliver content, while the ISP stores and transfers information from third parties. ISP, as a middleman, has no influence on the information and has no control over it. The Act does not force ISPs to monitor stored or transferred information. Taking into account the fact that stored or transferred data can contain content breaching rights of the third parties, like copyrights or personal rights, not dependent of the ISPs with certain types of services, the Act introduced exclusion of liability. This relates to mere conduit services, caching and hosting, presuming that certain conditions set forth by the Act are met. In the case of mere conduit services, the provider is not liable for the contents of transferred data, if: he did not initiate the data transfer, choose the recipient, choose or modify information in the data. Exclusion of liability also includes automatic and short-term storage of transmitted data, if this is done solely for transmission purposes and the data is stored no longer than required for completing data transaction. The discussed exclusions apply mostly to IT network operators that deal in data transfer via those networks and also to entities sending e-mails to indicated addresses. Caching is understood as an automatic and temporary storage of data in order to speed up access of other entity. The primary attribute of caching is its short duration. In the case of caching, the service provider is not liable if he does not modify the data, use commonly recognized and employed in this type of activity IT techniques and does not disrupt their usage. Hosting is understood as sharing memory of servers in a network in order to store data, including websites. In the case of such type of service, the provider is not liable for stored data if he does not know about an illegal character of data or activity connected with them. To avoid legal liability, the provider, in case of receiving official information about the illegal character of data, should immediately make this data inaccessible. If he does so, he will avoid liability for damages inflicted on the service recipient by making the data inaccessible, if he immediately notified the recipient. The above rules do not apply if the provider took control over the recipient in respect to competition and consumer protection regulations. Because of the increased level of threat to personal privacy of persons taking part in electronic communication, the Act on electronic services also regulates issues of personal data protection with regard to these services, introducing a higher level of protection than the one specified in the Act of 29 August 1997 on the protection of personal data49. Personal data of the service recipient may be processed

49) Journal of Laws of 2002 r. No 101, item 926, as amended.

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by the provider according to rules set in the Act on electronic services. The Act specifies a closed catalogue of personal data of the recipient that are required to make contact, shape contents, change or dissolute legal relationship between the service provider and recipient, at the same time obliging the provider to designate data in a catalogue that is needed for an electronic service. In order to execute agreements or conduct other legal activities, the provider may process other data, required because of the properties of the service or method of its settlement. Apart from the exclusions specified in the Act, the provider cannot process the personal data of the recipient when the electronic service is no longer provided. 5.3. Consumer protection in long-term agreements The terms consumer and entrepreneur are defined by the Civil Code. Consumer is an individual who performs a legal action unrelated directly with his or her economic or professional activities. In turn, an entrepreneur is an individual, legal entity or an organization not being a legal entity, which performs economic activities in their own name. Traditionally, in the agreements between entrepreneurs and consumers, consumers are deemed as a party requiring special protection. Entering into agreements over the Internet means signing them over a distance. The notion of entering into an agreement over a distance is explained in the regulations of the aforementioned Act. Such agreements are entered into with the consumer without both parties present, using distance communication means, in particular: printed or electronic order form addressed or not, multi recipient letter addressed or not, newspaper advert with a printed order form, electronic advert, catalogue, telephone, fax, radio, TV, automatic calling device, visiophone, videotext, electronic mail or other means of electronic communication listed in the Act on electronic services, when the consumers contractor is an the entrepreneur who organized his activities in such a way. In the case of long distance agreements, consumers are granted additional protection stemming from the special way the agreement was signed (like the lack of possibility of checking the goods when entering into the agreement or any potential claims arising from improper execution of the agreement). The Act on consumer rights protection and liability for damages inflicted by a dangerous product includes separate regulations for entering into agreements over a distance, granting consumers special privileges and bestowing additional duties on the entrepreneurs. The proposals for signing an agreement by way of an offer, invitations for bids, orders or negotiations should explicitly and clearly inform of the intent to sign an agreement by the person who submits the proposal. However, submitting

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a proposal to enter into an agreement via telephone, visiophone, fax, email, automatic calling device or other means of communication can only happen if the consumer agrees to it. Communication with the consumer in order to submit a proposal cannot bestow costs on the consumer. Consumers special protection is expressed in granting him rights to withdraw from an agreement signed over a distance without the need for giving a reason, by way of a written statement no sooner than ten days from the date the item was issued, and if it is a service from the day the agreement was signed. It is worth noting that the stipulation in the agreement that the consumer can withdraw from an agreement only after paying compensatory fee is not admissible. If an agreement is withdrawn from this way, it is considered null and void and the consumer is free from all liabilities. The subject of the service is returned in an unchanged state, with the exclusion of changes contained within the boundaries of normal usage. Return of the subject should be immediate, no longer than 14 days. If the consumer has made any prepayments, they shall be returned together with the interest rate specified by law, counting from the date the agreement was signed. The Act bestows the entrepreneur with some informative duties. The consumer should be informed, not sooner than the moment a proposal was submitted, about: 1. name and surname (title), address (office) of the entrepreneurs and the body which registered the economic activity, and also the number under which the entrepreneur was registered, 2. important properties of the service and its subject, 3. price or compensation, including all its parts, especially taxes and customs duties, 4. methods of payment, 5. costs, schedule and method of delivery, 6. the right to withdraw from the agreement if ten days have not passed, with the exclusion of instances specified in the Act, 7. costs of using long distance communication methods if they are calculated in way other than via a normal tariff, 8. date until which information about price or compensation is valid, 9. minimal period for which the agreement for continuous or seasonal services is valid,

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10. place and methods of submitting complaints, 11. the right to terminate an agreement (note if the agreement duration is unspecified, both parties can withdraw from it without giving a reason with one month notice if the parties did not specify a shorter period). An additional method of protecting the consumer in long distance agreements is a stipulation that an agreement cannot force the consumer to pay the price or compensation before the service is delivered. The agreement should also specify place and method for filing complaints without posing significant trouble or costs for the consumer. The entrepreneur should execute a long distance agreement not later than 30 days after the consumer submitted a statement of will to enter into an agreement. The Act also contains specific regulations for long distance agreements for financial services, especially banking services, consumer credits, participation in open investment funds, specialist open investment funds, closed investment funds, specialist closed investment funds or mixed investment funds. In such cases, the informative duties of the entrepreneur are expanded and the date for terminating an agreement is also different (14 or 30 days, depending on the situation indicated in the Act). It is worth noting that in the case in which a long distance agreement between an entrepreneur and a consumer will be executed on conditions that are typical for provision of electronic services, the regulations specified in the Act on electronic services are also valid, including the personal data protection regulations in connection with the electronic service. 5.4. Legal regulations of the public sphere (e-administration) what will happen in the future? In light of the rapid development of IT technologies, the need has arisen to adapt the law in such a way that it does not hamper the advance of the informatisation of our lives. On the contrary, it should provide conditions for encompassing as broad an area of human existence as possible. To meet the demands of the contemporary information society, public administration undergoes many changes, adapting to new conditions. As part of the activities of the EU, development of informatisation is part of the Seventh Framework Programme for 20072013. On its behalf, several programmes are executed, i.e. ECRN (European Civil Registry Network pilot programme) or SPOCS (Simple Procedures Online for Cross-border Services for

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entrepreneurs willing to provide services in another Member State the only programme in which Poland participates)50. The process of the informatisation of public administration in Poland is based on the Act of 17 February 2005 on the informatisation of public service entities 51. On its basis, the Countrys Informatisation Plan was created. By decree number 24 of the Prime Minister of 7 March 2007, the Committee for Informatisation and Communication was created as a supportive entity for the Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister. Duties of the Committee include: initiating and expressing opinions on projects of government documents related to the informatisation of public administration, development of the information society, communication, public registries, using IT technologies for building a knowledgebased economy and preparing government administration entities for cooperation with the Schengen Information System (SIS) and Visa Information System (VIS). The Committee also coordinates works of government administration entities in executing the Countrys Informatisation Plan (part 3 of the decree). Currently, the Centre for Informatisation Projects of the Ministry of Interior and Administration executes the following projects for public administration: 1. ePUAP2 development of the electronic Services and Public Administration Platform, 2. eServices (eUsugi) integrated, multiservice communication platform of the Police with the function of e-Services for citizens and entrepreneurs, 3. OCSR-1 countrywide digital radio information system, stage 1, 4. OST 112 countrywide IT network for emergency phone number 112, 5. pl.ID polish e-IDs, 6. SI PR IT system for emergency notification, 7. EU Council provides IT and telecommunication infrastructure for managing the Polish presidency at the European Union Council. Completed projects: 1. ePUAP Services and Public Administration Platform, 2. Pesel2 overhaul and integration of the public registry system52.
50) http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/implementation/ict_psp/index_en.htm 51) Journal of Laws No 64, item 565, as amended. 52) http://cpi.mswia.gov.pl/portal/cpi/32/149/Projekty_Informatyczne_CPI_MSWiA.html

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In the Development Strategy of Poland in the area of information society until 2013, much attention was directed towards an increase in the availability and effectiveness of the public administration services through using information and communication technologies for overhauling internal processes of the administration and the method for providing services53. Part of the seventh priority axis, OP IE (Operational Programme Innovative Economy), was the project of creating a digital database of Land Registry.
Table 11.

Projects from the basic list of the seventh priority axis OP IE Information Society development of e-administration.
No Project name Institution responsible for the project UKE Ministry of Justice

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

PLI CBD Localization and Information Platform with the Central Database Informatisation of the Land Registry departments pl.ID Polish e-IDs

Ministry of the InePUAP2 development of the electronic Services and Public Administration Plat- terior and Adminis t ra tion/C e nt re form for Promoting IT OST 112 countrywide IT network for the emergency phone number, 112 technologies SISP Public Statistics Information System Geoportal 2 development of domestic infrastructure of spatial information E-service Platform for ZUS Emp@tia Communication platform for the social security area e-Deklaracje 2 development of the online tax form system for citizens e-Rejestracja Electronic registration in the Central Domestic Taxpayer Registry e-Podatki Electronic platform for taxpayer-administration contact e-Co Electronic platform for customs documents transfer Consolidation and centralisation of central and taxation systems Platform for online sharing of services and digital databases of medical regis- MZ/CSIOZ tries to entrepreneurs Electronic Platform for Gathering, Analysis and Sharing of Digital Resources about Medical Events Central Registry and Entrepreneur Information Ministry of Economy Central Statistical Office GUGiK ZUS MPIPS Ministry of Finance

Development of the electronic platform of the Ministry of Justice, including Ministry of Justice launching services for entrepreneurs and individuals on an Internet portal (digital access to Land Registry departments, KRK, Office of Judiciary and Economic Monitor)

Source: http://www.mswia.gov.pl/download.php?s=1&id=3498.

53) http://www.mf.gov.pl/dokument.php?const=1&dzial=1142&id=190649&typ=news

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The scope of activities shown above indicates how important the issue of informatisation in public administration is. However, looking at the number of executed projects, the speed of these activities is unsatisfactory. It is not a problem to get information from a public office via its Internet website, however this is the least complicated way of providing a public service. Official documents can be downloaded from the website, however submitting them online is not a commonly available service. The ideal model of public administration, in which matters can be settled via the Internet, including obtaining information, downloading necessary forms (with the possibility of submitting them online signed with an electronic signature), defaulting required payment and receiving a decision online, is usually impossible. The reason for this can be found in still-unimplemented IT projects, lack of proper infrastructure of public offices, small scale of usage of electronic signatures, and/or lack of widely available broadband and cheap Internet connection. The model public administration functioning within the context of informatisation still leaves much to be desired. The question of what awaits us has only one answer much to do, both in constructing a vision of informatisation strategy, including defining goals and procedures for public institutions and inter-office cooperation, which should be as effective as possible. These actions should be supplemented by adopting legal solutions which would make the transfer of electronic documents in contact with public institutions carry the same importance as that of the paper ones. 5.5. Summary The report, prepared by the Sobieski Institute in May 2009, indicated ten barriers54, commented as follows: in about ten Strategies and Plans of the countrys Informatisation adopted in 2000, goals were defined not only in an entirely unquantifiable way, but the goals themselves were even difficult to identify. Moreover, the legal, organizational and cultural environment does not favour informatisation activities, which are meant to increase effectiveness, lower costs and increase the quality of service. (...) Changes in the model of conduct of public administration, led by the need of increasing the quality of citizen services are present in the political reality only as postulates. The events that took place last year do not influence this opinion. The one window concept, introduced in 2009 as a simplified form of registering business activities, allowing an individual to request entries in subsequent registries simultaneously (Registry of Business Activity, Internal Revenue Service, ZUS or the statistical office) still
54) K. Komorowski, 10 barriers for informatisation of the country, The Sobieski Institutes commentary No 42, 18 May 2009, www.sobieski.org.pl

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meets with criticism, in practice being troublesome not only because of complex forms, but also because of the time it takes to register. Another example, introduced in 2010, is electronic access to Land Registry books for citizens, which does not offer the possibility to make a copy online. In the area of private services, entrepreneurs have done it much better using the legal framework discussed above. Matching the law to the new model of conducting business activity, including European Union regulations, has allowed e-services to become more widespread and, more importantly, more secure. Giving an electronic statement of will with an electronic signature of the same importance as that on paper has allowed the retaining of the written form requirement, which is important if such a form is required for the validity of agreements. Setting the responsibilities of service providers by law is meant to increase the security of such services. Also, assigning special protection to consumers in agreements signed over long distances increases their willingness to use such services. Reservations about the electronic signature expressed above, which limit its level of usage, may be swayed by the announced change in the regulating Act, which will make e-administration more effective. It is up to the service providers, both public and private, to design a service in a way that is desirable to the recipients.

6.
E-service design market in Poland: a sociological look

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6. E-service design market in Poland: a sociological look

(Alek Tarkowski)

For over a decade, the demand for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Poland, specifically for mobile phones and Internet that successfully compete with technologies that used to dominate, increases rapidly. Mobile phones replace cable phones and the Internet replaces or changes the face of TV, press, radio, books, movies and music. These technologies are but intermediaries, infrastructure or a platform through which users gain access to a wide variety of e-services. Therefore, for the needs of this chapter, I am adopting a wide definition of e-service proposed by scientists at HP Labs as any service offered electronically (through Internet or other medium or digital device like a mobile phone network used as an electronic interface of this service), which allows the execution of tasks and transactions or problem solving while generating a profit55. With this in mind, I would like to propose an expansion firstly, traditional e-services are deemed to be electronic versions of the their traditional counterparts. The expanded definition includes also e-services that supplement traditional ones and services digitally born, without their analogue counterparts like social networks or micro blogs56. Secondly, many e-services are offered by commercial companies for free, which is the result of low cost of information sharing in a digital form and the possibility to automate e-services. Thirdly, e-services are more increasingly offered by non-commercial entities or individuals (what is important, their quality matches commercial e-services). E-service in this meaning is almost any service or web content, including content sharing and communication services. These services are dependent on the infrastructure on which they are based in the case of most e-services, the openness of network technologies that allows creation of almost any services on their basis. In the face of such a freedom, proper shape of service is key.

55) See A. Sahai, V. Machiraju, K. Wurster. Managing Next Generation E-Services. Palo Alto: HP Laboratories, 2000, oraz F. Casati, M.-C. Shan,. Definition, Execution, Analysis, and Optimization of Composite E-Services. Bulletin of the IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Data Engineering 2001. 56) See C. Riedl, J. M Leimeister, H. Krcmar, Why e-Service Development is Different: A Literature Review. e-Service Journal, 2010, forthcoming.

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According to Lawrence Lessig, computer code is todays equivalent of law: rules coded into e-services, where the availability of some functions and lack of others directly influences social life57. Social networks are an example, like Facebook, which only allows users to mark friends, without the possibility of designating enemies. This way it shapes the character of social connections (currently for over half a billion people). Proper design of e-services decides on the comfort of usage and availability of the service for a wide group of handicapped people (due to disability, age or lack of competencies). Creation of online and digital services intended to supplement or copy traditional services, such as direct contact with a client, is also a challenge for designers. In the end, only well designed e-services will respect and protect the basic rights of their users in the face of the growing complexity of these services, designers need to focus on designing them in such a way that they dont violate privacy. Constant change and development of e-services practically makes it impossible for public institutions to create effective and always up-to-date regulations, with the global scale of many services adding an additional challenge. In this situation, responsibility for regulating the area rests with designers of e-services, who can introduce standards in the process of industry self-regulation or co-regulation (with legislative instruments acting as primary mechanisms of self-regulation). Internet is the primary communication channel through which e-services are delivered. Even in the case of mobile technologies, advanced services are provided through the Internet. A good example of the convergence of media and technology towards networks are mobile phones, which connect with the Internet increasingly often. Different devices offer differing interfaces and methods of usage of the same services. 6.1. Internet and its users in Poland The changes that occur and the development of a digital society are neither instant, nor widespread. 20 years after Internet access first appeared in Poland, we are still a divided society, even though the rate at which this technology is used steadily increases. According to the World Internet Project Data, about 55 per cent of Poles above 15 years old use the Internet, at least sporadically58. Mobile phones, despite

57) L. Lawrence, Code: version 2.0. New York 2006. 58) World Internet Project Poland, Warsaw 2010.

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their apparent widespread use, are only used by 80 per cent of Poles. There is a 19 per cent group of Poles who do not use any of the key digital technologies59.
Figure 23.

Households with a computer and Internet access, 20032009.

100 80 60 40 20 16.9% 0 2003 cable phone 2005 2007 computer 2009 Internet access 33.7% 39.2% 25.6% 82.4% 6% 80.3% 71.4% 53.8% 44.5% 62.6% 60.2% 51.4%

Source: Social Diagnosis 2009.

Today, Poland is divided into two parts: digital and analogue, new and traditional (for a key indicator of affiliation being regular usage, or not, of the Internet). There are some specific lines of division. Users of digital technologies are younger, better educated people who live in urban areas: especially cities with over 200 thousand residents. Excluded from the digital society are older, less educated people who live in rural areas. Differences are most visible when comparing age groups. The Internet is used by over 90 per cent of people in the 24 and under age group, and only 15 per cent of the 60+ age group. In recent years, according to the authors of the Social Diagnosis study, the gap in the level of Internet usage in groups based on age and level of education is growing.

59) D. Batorski, Using ICT technologies (Korzystanie z technologii informacyjno-komunikacyjnych) editors: J. Czapiski, T. Panek, Social Diagnosis 2009.

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Figure 24.

Internet usage according to age, place of living and education.

100 95 80 60 40 20 0
N=160 N=174 N=366 N=195 N=343 N=307 N=455

92

80 86 72 54 37 14 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
N=745

76 55 55 59 66

100 80 60 40 20 0 vocational
N=384 N=492

82 60 41 20

54 45

secondary

N=590

elementary

city<500K

N=193

city<100K

Source: World Internet Project Poland.

In the case of certain differences, connected, for example, with location, significant differences are linked with the availability of technology. In many rural areas, there is no infrastructure for connecting to the Internet Polands indicator of broadband network range is one of the lowest in Europe. However, people without Internet access in the household indicate usually: lack of need for it (45 per cent) rather than lack of proper equipment (29 per cent), connection costs (28 per cent) or lack of technical possibilities of connecting to the Internet (8 per cent)60. The last number shows that digital exclusion today is not just the issue of no access, related to proper connection or equipment. It is primarily an issue of lack of need or skills. In 2009, 22 per cent of people who had Internet connection in their homes did not use it61. A small increase in the number of people in this group, together with an increase in the number of households in which Internet may be accessed, suggests that the growing popularity of digital technologies does not mean automatic inclusion in the digital society. These people decide to passively observe users, or, in the best-case scenario, use them through intermediaries. This is usually the way with older people who watch the younger generation use the Internet in the two thirds of cases, such people declare that their children use the Internet. It is worth remembering that the development of digital society is not a process of continuous growth: increase in access and use of new technologies. The

60) Ministry of Interior and Public Administration (2009), Information society in numbers 2009 (Spoeczestwo informacyjne w liczbach 2009). 61) D. Batorski, Using... (Korzystanie) op. cit.

city<200K

city>500K

village

city<20K

city<50K

N=217

N=177

N=245

N=167

N=249

15-19

20-24

25-29

30-39

40-49

50-59

N=321

higher

60+

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Social Diagnosis survey, conducted every two years since the beginning of the new millennium, shows that between subsequent surveys, a dozen per cent of Poles stop using the computer or the Internet though between the last two surveys, the group of resigning people dropped to about 8 per cent. There is also a group of people using the Internet on one-time occasions, or solely through intermediaries. One-third of people not using the Internet declare that they have used it before in the past. Half of the people not using it say that they have a person that can access the Internet on their behalf or who tells them about it. Such person is usually a child (27 per cent), a friend (16 per cent) or another family member (11 per cent)62. According to the current plans of the European Commission, Internet access should be widespread in Europe by 201363. It does not, however, mean that everyone will use it though it should be established that with dropping prices and rise of presence, popularity and scale of employed digital technologies in all areas of life, the level of use should rise. However, today, the number of people not using the Internet is as great as the number of people who do. These people do not define themselves as non-digital or living in a state of shortage with the need to catch up as quickly as possible, rather from their perspective, they live in a complete and functional analogue world in which Internet plays a marginal role. 80 per cent of people who dont use the Internet declare a lack of any feeling of loss because of it. Similarly, 80 per cent declare that they do not plan to start using the Internet. So, people perceived as digitally excluded do not perceive themselves that way. On the one hand then, we have a group of people who do not use digital technologies or e-services. On the other hand, for a significant number of Poles, digital technologies play a key role in their lives. 17 per cent of users have been using the Internet for over 10 years, and people in the under-24 age group do not know a world without the Internet this is the generation of the digitally born in which using it is widespread and the average user weekly spends five hours more on it than the national Polish average, which currently stands at 14.5 hour per week64. Polish digital society today includes a full spectrum of users from people practically not using the Internet to occasional users and up to intensive users for whom digital technology is indispensable. Some e-services can be of use to heavy Internet users, other tools will be used for intermediate level contact, while others can facilitate usage by people who do not use it yet.
62) World Internet Project Poland, op. cit. 63) European Committee (2010), European digital agenda. 64) World Internet Project Poland, op. cit.

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Another important factor differentiating the methods of Internet use is the means of access and the technology that mediates it. Internet development in Poland is related to a change in the forms of access, which are becoming increasingly cheaper, more easily accessible and omnipresent and capable of bringing more advanced e-services, mainly due to higher connection speeds. One of the most important changes that has occurred in recent years is the spread of broadband connections; lines faster than 512 kb/s push out slower or modem lines, the increasing role of mobile Internet (used currently by 8 per cent of Polish Internet users) and decreasing number of people who use stationary connections in public places (80 per cent of Internet users declare that they have access from home). However, it is the comparison of the level of accessibility in Poland and in other EU countries that shows that the speed at which changes occur is not sufficient. Disproportions between countries that have the highest and lowest accessibility indicators steadily increase, and for years, Poland has been a member of the lower group. Also important is that the differences are much higher if we compare people from older age groups. The penetration of broadband services indicator is one of the lowest in Europe despite having one of the highest indicators in Europe of increase in the number of regular users of the Internet in 20082009 (which shows that slowly this trend can be reversed).
Figure 25.

Accessibility of broadband Internet (line per 100 residents) in January 2010 and speed of changes in comparison to January 2009.
DK 35% level of Internet penetration SE 30% FI UK EE BE EU15 EU27 SI ES LT ES LV MT
average EU27

NL

average EU27

40%

FR

DE

LU

25% AT 20%

IE CZ PT EU13 HU EL SK

CY

15%

RO

PL BG

10% -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 horizontal increase in Internet penetration from January 2009 January 2010 (percentage points) 5

Source: Europes Digital Competitiveness Report.

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Polish broadband Internet is relatively small we have one of lowest indicators of the availability of connections of over 2 Mb/s (1 or 2 Mb/s is todays informal standard of the minimal speed of a broadband connection) or higher and our fibre-optic network, on which high speed Internet services can be built (in comparison, fibre-optic connections in Europe constitute 25 per cent of all broadband connections)65. It is widely accepted that the desired connection speed is not defined by technical indicators, but by achieving a certain level that allows users to use modern e-services. From this perspective, the technological backwardness of Poland means, among other things, that in the future we will not be able to implement e-services and methods of using the Internet effectively, which will be standard in other countries. 6.2. Methods of using the Internet and their conditions Using the Internet and its reverse phenomenon, digital exclusion, is not only dependent on access. Equally important in the situation we are in today in Poland are two other factors: accessibility of necessary services and content and proper competences. These two factors designate two actual methods of using the possibilities offered by an array of available e-services. It is difficult to specify all of the skills required to use e-services due to their diversity. However in surveys, an array of basic or key competences is used. According to Polish Eurostat in 2007, 20 per cent of Internet users had average computer skills 4 per cent less than European average and 14 per cent less than Iceland, the most developed country in this respect. In 2007, advanced skills were declared by 12 per cent of users, in comparison with the European medium of 23 per cent. In most developed countries, this indicator reached almost 40 per cent. Finally, advanced Internet skills were presented by 7 per cent in comparison with 8 and 20 per cent, respectively66. Vast differences can be observed in age groups of up to and over 54 years old and among residents of rural and urban areas. These results are confirmed in Social Diagnosis, indicating a slow speed of skill increase. Lack of proper education programmes in formal education is the central problem the main method of education is self-practice (66 per cent) or the help of relatives and friends (64 per cent)67. It is good to analyse Internet usage in the context of other media. Internet users, on average, spend the same amount of time watching television and browsing the

65) European Commission, Europes Digital Competitiveness Report, 2010. 66) Ministry of Interior and Public Administration, Information society in numbers 2009 (Spoeczestwo informacyjne w liczbach 2009), 2009. 67) Ibidem.

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Internet. However, among the younger age groups, significantly more people use the Internet much more intensively than the television (over 60 per cent browse the Internet for over 10 hours a week, in comparison with TVs 40 per cent). In older age groups, television is still the most important medium, while people below 24 years old declare it as third, after the Internet and mobile phone68.
Table 12.

Media organized according to their significance for the age groups.

Age 1519 2024 2529 3039 4049 5059 60+ TV 2.42 2.38 2.28 1.94 1.64 1.45 1.36 Mobile phone 2.29 2.11 2.29 2.39 2.61 2.89 3.49 Radio 3.9 3.77 3.52 3.4 3.11 2.98 2.43 Internet 1.85 2.13 2.4 3.06 3.67 4.06 4.48 Fixed phone 4.54 4.61 4.5 4.21 3.97 3.62 3.23

Source: World Internet Project Poland 2010.

The generational difference seen today will, given time, disappear. New patterns of Internet usage will emerge, which will be adopted by subsequent generations (until a new medium is invented). This means that e-services will increase in significance in comparison with to traditional ones. Even today, when surveying usage of certain services like communications (social networks, email, online calls) it becomes evident that younger generations use each one of them more often than older people. In the age group under 29 years old, the Internet is a much more important source of both information and entertainment than television69. Early analysis of Internet usage indicated a negative impact on social relations Internet supposedly isolated users, reduced social contacts, handicapping their functioning in a real world. We know today that these analyses were false according to Social Diagnosis, Internet users have more friends, seldom feel lonely and trust other people more often. The anthropologic study Youth and Media conducted in 2009 by Dr Mirosaw Filiciak from the Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities shows that the Internet and other digital technologies make it easier to lead and develop social life they allow the
68) World Internet Project Poland, op. cit. 69) as above.

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coordination of face to face meetings and keep them in constant contact when away. Researchers talk about hyper-sociability made possible by digital technologies the possibility of continuous, intensive contact with friends, regardless of location70. Social relations is only one of the examples of the intensive rooting of e-services in our everyday life in a way that, as time passes, especially in the case of future generations, grows naturally. The equally important influence of digital technologies can be observed or anticipated in the near future in the political area (new communication forms between politicians, institutions and citizens), economic (new sales and advertising channels, but also the ability to gain a better knowledge about the market and available goods) and culture (almost unlimited access to global culture). Internet is a comprehensive technology the basic mechanism of conveying information to users may bring new services. In quantitative research, users declare, first and foremost, that they use the Internet to get information and to communicate. Almost all users declare that they use this medium to get news, over 75 per cent search for tourist and health information. Similarly, over 75 per cent of users check email and use text communicators and social networks. Internet is also an important source of entertainment and form of access to cultural content over 60 per cent listen to or download music, almost 60 per cent watch online movies, over 50 per cent download or watch movies or play games. A significant number of users also shop online and use financial services 63 per cent shop online, almost half of them pays their bills over the Internet, use ebanking and auction services. Also, 80 per cent browse the Internet for product information. It is much different in the area of public services a good indicator may be the e-tax service, which was used only by 2 per cent of users to pay their taxes for 200971. The reason in the case of e-taxes is the fact that this service has been available only for two years.

70) M. Filiciak et al. Youth and the media. New media and cultural participation. (Modzi i media. Nowe media a uczestnictwo w kulturze), 2010. 71) The above data, gathered from a 2010 Polish survey as part of the World Internet Project, differs significantly from the data gathered by Central Statistical Office in 2008 during a survey on Internet usage goals, where, for example, 32.8 per cent declare searching for information on products and 17.1 per cent use banking services.

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Figure 26.

Shopping related e-service usage in European countries.

100 80 60 40 20 0

RO BG PL

IT

SK AT LT

EE LV

EL UK ES EU27 SI

BE HU CY IE MT CZ DK FR SE LU PT used to buy

FI NL DE

for nding information about goods and services

used to buy over the internet

Source: Eurostat Community Survey on ICT Usage by Households and by Individuals.

A general limitation in the case of public services is the low availability of these services in 2009 in Poland, only 50 per cent of the basket of 20 basic e-administration services specified by the European Commission was fully available. In 2008, only 16 per cent of Poles used any e-administration service72. Luckily, clear growth can be observed in this area in recent years.
Table 13.

Per cent of public offices sharing e-administration services.

Services offered by public offices in Poland getting information downloading forms submitting forms settling matters electronically 2006 95 per cent 64 per cent 6 per cent 0.4 per cent 2007 97 per cent 77 per cent 12 per cent 2 per cent 2008 97 per cent 81 per cent 23 per cent 6 per cent

Source: Ministry of Interior and Public Administration, information society in 2009.

An important category of e-services, however rarely used, is services allowing users to extend their creativity specifically websites that allow users to create and publish their own content. About 20 per cent of Internet users publish via social networks (merging creation with social and communicative function), and a small per cent write their own blog, have their own website or create music or videos73.

72) Ministry of Interior and Public Administration, Information society in numbers 2009 (Spoeczestwo informacyjne w liczbach 2009), 2009. 73) World Internet Project Poland, op. cit.

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The above review of e-services used by Poles shows that a significant portion of users employs all basic services of this type. It is worth noting here that there is large disparity in the methods of usage: for example, using them at work is related to the level of education, using them for entertainment is more popular in smaller cities and in rural areas, decreasing with age. In contrast, people from older age groups use the Internet mostly for information searches. Possibly, usage of all basic services will increase, reaching a saturation level of a minimum of 75 per cent (today, key services in most developed countries have this level of usage). Intensity of usage will be different, however, and some permanent disparities stemming from demographic attributes of users will remain. Internet is not a monolithic technology forcing a certain way of usage on the contrary, it grants significant freedom in choosing e-services. The choice is dependent on the social context and the level of competence. As the authors of the Youth and Media show the global network with its limitless content and services is being narrowed down to a specific, local Internet, which, interestingly, is not constructed by individuals but rather by groups of people. Lack of proper services may also influence low levels of Internet usage. For example, electronic sales were conducted only by 8 per cent of Polish companies, which is only half of the European average. It is also widely accepted that the offer of sharing or sales of digital content is much more sparse in Poland than in other countries, as evidenced by the unavailability of the popular multimedia web store, iTunes. Users, when asked about the most desired e-services, usually responded with e-health (online doctor consultants, online prescription medicine shopping), e-learning of foreign languages and e-democracy 2.0 services: the possibility of watching chambers of parliament sessions online, contacting members of parliament or access to protocols from self-governing sessions. It needs to be remembered that e-services are a phenomenon to which Chris Andersons long tail concept is related74, according to which the highly popular services and content on the Internet, which are the cultural head, are not the only profitable ones. There exists a long cultural tail comprised of niche content and services. These services may be affordable thanks to relatively low costs of production using digital technologies, reducing many costs present when producing traditional services. Apart from the above mentioned basic services, which are slowly becoming widespread (which does not imply that they are all intensely and regularly used), there exists a whole spectrum of existing

74) C. Anderson, The Long Tail. Future economics why every consumer has a voice (Dugi ogon. Ekonomia przyszoci kady konsument ma gos), Warsaw 2008.

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e-services and a potential market for new ones intended for particular users: dating services, stores with a specialty assortment (which could not function as traditional stores without shipping sales, but which on the net can profit from low costs and the scale economy) or niche hobby services these are only but a few of hundreds of possible examples. 6.3. E-services and digital exclusion As said earlier, digital exclusion depends on three basic factors: availability of infrastructure, content and service adapted to the needs of users and their skills. In respect to e-service usage, Poland is a varied country. Apart from advanced users accustomed to digital media, there are large groups of people who are either entirely excluded or using these technologies via intermediaries. This needs to be accounted for when designing e-services. Firstly, creation of e-services responding to the needs of excluded groups is a chance to broaden the e-service market. Most people who do not use the Internet declare that they do not feel a need to, meaning that they do not know services that can be of use to them, or that existing e-services are not meeting their needs. However, creation of services for excluded users requires a specific form of innovation. A good example of this is the Nasza Klasa website, which offered an e-service attractive for older people who have not previously used the Internet. Second, there is the issue of accessibility and usability of created e-services. These two issues need to be treated with proper care, or the new services will be inaccessible to, for example, disabled people. Accessibility and usability also mean that the layout should be clear, searching should be easy etc. these are the barriers for many users. 6.4. Development trends of e-services E-services and their design are relatively young phenomenon, subjected to constant change. This change is caused partially by the evolution of network technologies from browsers through programming languages, to technical solutions like cloud computing. Equally important are changes in sociocultural patterns related to e-services, like the changing role of the consumer, who, with e-service, plays a much more active role as a user. These changes are directly related to the social aspect of e-service usage as a result of specific social behaviour, or its reason.

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Web 2.0. A few years after the dotcom bubble burst i.e. the crash of the rapid wave of creation and investing into online ventures which happened at the turn of the century apart from portals dominating the net at that time, a new type of e-services emerged called Web 2.0. According to one definition proposed in 2005 by Tim OReilly75, Web 2.0 means those services and websites that use the collective intelligence of users. Web 2.0 means a new approach to relations between a service and its user, characterized by greater interactivity and openness to such ideas as crowdsourcing (outsourcing to many users), social and partnership production and new user models: amateurs working as professionals or prosuments (producents-consumers). In the Web 2.0 model, e-services are usually only a platform on which users freely offer their own content or services, like social networks, which compete with traditional portals. A portion of Web 2.0 websites are created for social purposes, not commercial, and they are capable of competing with their commercial counterparts Wikipedia being the best example. It can be expected that this trend will develop in the near future today the Web 2.0 model is applied to newer and newer areas of society: functioning of public administration (government 2.0), cultural institutions (opening themselves for participation models) or scientific communication (science 2.0). Mobile Internet. Currently, it is usually used as a substitute when a cable connection is not available (people subscribe to mobile connections despite their limitations and are connected at relatively low connection speeds and with data transfer restrictions). Looking at it from a wider perspective, popularization of the mobile Internet as a supplement for cable connections means spreading entirely new ways of usage and new e-services, using specific interfaces of mobile phones, smartphones or tablets like iPad. Using the Internet through a cable connection is a localized action usually taking place at home or at work, whereas users of mobile e-services are moving in a public space and using it in a much wider spectrum of places and situations. Mobile e-services have then an entirely different character, stemming from the specific interface and context in which they are used. Internet of things. In the longer time perspective in about 1015 years one can expect connection of an entire spectrum of things and devices to the Internet, which will create an Internet of things. While today, the network connects devices that serve
75) T. OReilly, What is Web 2.0, http://oreilly.com/web2/what-is-web-20.html, 2005.

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communicational purposes, the Internet of things will be a network of physical devices and things. Services based on this new network will be able to use a wide spectrum of information collected by sensors and control devices working in the real world. The services utilizing the possibilities given by mobile technologies and the Internet of things will be hybrids connecting traditional services with e-services. A contemporary example of such a service may be the modern urban transport systems, offering a wide spectrum of information systems (available through various technologies and interfaces), linked with a system of monitoring movement in a network through sensors and RFiD chips. E-services related to intelligent electrical networks allowing for individual monitoring and managing power usage are another example. Geo-localisation and augmented virtual reality. For a long time, everyone believed that Internet users of functioned in a virtual reality isolated from the real world. For a decade, this metaphor has been being slowly abandoned, however, it is fully contradicted by e-services based on geolocalisation offered by modern smartphones tablets or laptops. Increasingly often, they take the form of augmented reality in which information is imposed directly in real time in the real world as seen through the camera in a smartphone. Ecosystem and service modularity. E-services are increasingly often interconnected, functioning as modules of an ecosystem of e-services often tailored to the needs of a specific user. Modern e-services offer tools for exporting and importing data from other e-services (these are, sometimes, direct interfaces giving access to a specific e-service, the so called Application Programming Interface API). An important task for e-service designers is not only to reduce difficulties of using several e-services by one user (a good example here is social networks which allow for publishing of content from other Web 2.0 websites), but also to ensure compatibility between different services with the same function (like different Internet communicators or micro blog websites). In both cases, standards, open source coding and availability of content play a vital role, reducing transaction costs related to linking e-services together. 6.5. Trends of development of network services design The changes in e-services described above, related to the Web 2.0 model, are connected not only to the services themselves, but also to the process of designing them, in which case opening collective user intelligence is also possible. New models of design stem directly from the necessity to compete in an environment

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of constant development of other e-services, which requires constant reaction to expectations and user feedback. It is widely accepted that e-services remain in a constant beta state a project is never deemed to be finished apart from the moment in which the e-service is closed. The possibility to dynamically change the e-service stems from the relatively low costs of modification of digital, nonsymbolic goods (although even those can be high in the case of highly developed e-services). Web 2.0 models, used for the process of communication between creators and users of e-service, revolutionize design of these services. Creators of e-services cooperate increasingly often with what Eric von Hippel76 calls the horizontal networks of innovative users. In certain cases, e-services are entirely designed and created by their users. Being open to user input in e-service design can take various forms: from creating Web 2.0 platforms dedicated to service functions (like the Get Satisfaction website) through providing entirely new ways of add-on creation that enriches the functionality of a service (like add-ons created for the popular browser Firefox), right up to the services in a process of user-driven innovation (like the constant work on rebuilding Wikipedia). 6.6. Summary Designing e-services in Poland should not only take into account global trends of functionality and usage of e-services, but also the specific character of the Polish society and Internet users, related to the level of development of digital society. The existing disparity between users (including the intensive ones) and non-users should be taken into account. E-services should respond to the needs of both groups. In particular, new e-services should encourage non-users to start using them by filling out the gaps in the current offer of services, tailored to the needs of social groups which use them most intensely (young, better educated people). Still, a barrier for the development of e-services in Poland is the low level of trust (like in the case of e-banking) and low user skills. The solution to this problem is the creation of innovative, accessible and comfortable services meeting the needs of users. Educational and advertising actions that promote usage of e-services are also necessary, and developers should participate in these. Entities offering and designing e-services should put more effort into making them accessible and usable. Low quality and lack of standards may exclude some potential users or decrease the scale of usage of e-service. Using open standards

76) E. von Hippel, Democratizing Innovation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London 2005.

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in the design and creation process of e-services is a good practice that is good for the development and constant innovation of the entire e-service sector. Entities offering and designing e-services should look for innovative services, especially those that meet the needs and interests of excluded people. Such e-services may contribute to the increase in usage of digital technologies, including e-services in Poland. Properly designed, available and usable public e-services can be an important kind of e-services. Offering of such services, constant monitoring of their quality and usefulness to the users is one of the tasks of public administration.

7.
Survey of the level of e-service design in Poland

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7. Survey of the level of e-service design in Poland

(Pentor Research International)

In July 2010, Pentor Research International conducted a survey about the practices and competences of Polish companies in designing and implementing electronic services for the Institute of Industrial Design. Apart from recognizing the level of company participation in the process, the goal was to evaluate the effectiveness of actions in the context of innovation and competitiveness of companies. 7.1. Methodology 201 companies and 52 e-service designers took part in this survey. The research tool was a standardised question form. The method of direct interviews supplemented with CAPI computer technique was used. The survey was conducted in chosen companies, which, during the last three years, had implemented at least one e-service venture. Quantitative choice of respondents presumed that the sample group will be representative for the industry and company size. The detailed structure of the sample group is shown in table 13.
Table 14.

Structure of the (?).

Company size Industry IT Marketing Cultural General-social Financial Advisory Information Non-profit Other Total Medium and large companies (over 49 employees) 4 3 3 11 5 0 1 4 0 31

Microcompanies (up to 4 employees) 18 16 8 6 6 9 4 1 0 68

Small companies (5-49 employees) 14 14 21 11 14 14 11 2 1 102

Total 36 33 32 28 25 23 16 7 1 201

Source: self study.

Half of the surveyed groups were small companies, employing 5 to 49 workers (N=102). The second largest group were microcompanies: 68 interviews were

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conducted. The survey included also 31 companies employing at least 50 workers. Most of the companies were from the IT, marketing and cultural (VOD, infotainment, e-entertainment, online magazines) industries, which comprised half of the companies. Moreover, the survey included companies that deal in general-social issues (localisation portals, route and transport optimization), financial companies, advisory and information companies and non-profit entities. Because of the fact that the character of offered e-services was similar throughout the entire country, no division of regions was introduced. Surveys in companies were conducted together with the people responsible for the development of e-services, who possess knowledge related to their implementation and who contact professional e-service designers. The second part surveyed the designers of the discussed services personally. Totally, 52 respondents were surveyed. A prerequisite of taking part in the venture was:

professional experience in the area of e-service design (at least three e-service projects completed in two years before the measurement date or at least one project, on the condition that in the last 6 months the designer cooperated also with a company that provides e-services); formal education in the area of design; experience in contacting clients ordering e-services.

30 independent designers, 12 employees of design departments of companies providing e-services and 10 team members of design teams in highly specialized companies were selected for the sample group. Half of the e-service designers taking part in the survey are graduates of IT schools (refer to Figure 27), one in three has finished a technical school. Only 6 per cent have formal education in design.
Figure 27.

Professional education of the designers, indications above 3 per cent.

IT Programming Design Management Marketing Mathematics 0 4% 4% 10 20 30 40 50 6% 6% 6% 48%

Source: self study.

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Three quarters of the respondents specialize in fields related to e-service design the so-called experience design, interaction design or interface designers. One out of four respondents focuses work on one of the areas mentioned above. Two-thirds of the respondents have been working as designers for no less than four years, designing e-services for at least three. Almost a half (48 per cent) of them, in the three years before the survey did no more than five e-service design projects, and one out of four (27 per cent) did 6 to 10 projects. When the survey was carried out, 87 per cent of designers worked on an e-service, a similar number (88 per cent) cooperated with an e-service company in the last 6 months. In the case of companies, such analysis has a comprehensive character and is related to the entire sample or in case of high disparity in results bases on dividing respondents according to the company size. Survey results are for an entire group. 7.2. E-service design: general attitude of companies E-service design is virtually unknown the boundaries of the definition are blurry. Close to one out of five respondents does not know about the discussed area. The remaining company representatives, responsible for e-service implementation, when asked about what design is, respond in the following categories:

tasks, i.e. providing services through the Internet, tools, i.e. designing Internet websites, goals, i.e. attracting clients, increasing sales, or concepts, i.e. modernity, more effective work methods.

Therefore, they try to define the term through its selected element, not looking at the entire process and not putting it in the centre of needs and experiences of potential customers. The level of company involvement (size does not play a vital role) in introducing e-service projects is limited (refer to Figure 28), which can be partially explained by low formal knowledge of goals and tools of design. In the three years prior to the survey, almost half of the companies completed no more than two projects related to electronic services. It should be noted that the basis for this comparison are particularly selected companies, meaning that the actual level of interest in this matter is much lower. Less than one of four companies in the surveyed group implemented at least 6 e-service projects. In July 2010, when the survey was conducted, 60 per cent of the companies were working on a subsequent e-service.

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Figure 28.

Number of e-service projects completed by companies in the last 3 years.

6% 2% 1% Over 50 projects 21-50 projects 14% 11-20 projects 53% 23% 3-5 projects 1-2 projects 6-10 projects

Source: self study.

Design of services in companies is not perceived to be valuable by itself. Most companies see only the supportive functions and treat it only as stylization or an element of improving a service (refer to Figure 29).
Figure 29.

Company opinion on e-service design.

100 5% 15% 80 31% 32% 27% 1% 15% 6% 13% 23% 10% Design provides a new point of view on the companys problems We use design to discover new possibilities of problem solving We use design to improve or make some element of service more effective 39% 40 31% 28% 38% 13% 18% 0 Total [N=201] 24% Microcompanies [N=68] 16% Small companies [N=102] 16% Medium and large companies [N=31] Design is treated as stylization, a method of keeping up with modern trends Value of e-service design is not perceived

60

20

Source: self study.

The superficial way of thinking about issues related to design is confirmed by designers themselves almost half of them (45 per cent) treat design as stylization, a way of complying with current trends. One out of ten designers does not see the value of design. On the other hand, one out of five companies sees design as a chance to find new solutions to existing problems or an entire new way of

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looking at the tasks set before the company. Awareness of such a function of design is stronger the larger a company is: 16 per cent of microcompanies, 19 per cent of small companies and 33 per cent of medium sized companies feel that way. The way design is perceived carries over to the requirements set before the e-services. Issues that are most important in this case are:

usability (functionality and intuitive navigation),

visual attractiveness,
security of information, protection of personal data, effective solution of a specific problem, compliance with current trends in the area of ergonomy of interface design, compliance with the company image,

flexibility (ability to add new options)77.

Relatively small significance is attached to:

specific user needs (inclusive design), possibility of making additional money (i.e. advertising space, VIP user clubs, text message payments) especially in the case of medium and large companies, needs of the handicapped.

Summing up, company experience in executing e-service projects is still small. General lack of knowledge of the main idea behind the design limits the process of design and implementation, restricting them to separate elements: tools, targets, concept outlines. Clients disappear from the field of view along with their needs and experiences of using the service. Design is treated mainly as a way of stylizing or increasing the usability of service, not as a new way of looking at the process of e-service creation. 7.3. E-service design process in companies Decisions about executing a new venture from the area of e-design are usually made by single persons: in small companies by their owners, in the case of bigger companies by single managers (director, CEO, owner) or, more rarely, by a group of representatives of various departments of the company or, alternatively, the marketing department.

77) This issue was thoroughly discussed in subchapter 9.4 Cooperation with professional designers.

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Figure 30.

Using help of institutions competent in the area of design during the e-service design process.
100 80 60 40 20 0 58% 36% Total [N=201] 26% Microcompanies [N=68] 35% Small companies [N=102] Medium and large companies [N=31] 64% 74% 65% 42% No Yes

Source: self study.

Companies usually try to create new solutions in the area of e-services themselves. Only one out of three (36 per cent) uses help of external institutions competent in the area of design (agency, school, association, advisory firms etc.). The larger the company, the more inclined to use such help it is in the case of medium and large companies, such cooperation is undertaken by half of the firms. Most micro and small companies only rely on their own resources in such cases (refer to Figure 30). Most surveyed companies have no standardized procedures related to the development of e-services. Only 13 per cent of micro and small companies and 26 per cent of medium and large companies have documents that organize works on new e-services. In most cases (27 per cent), there is no document at all entire company documentation is used as an indicator, rarely it is a specific project (17 per cent) or a manual (13 per cent). Much more common is the practice of using ready studies or standards as support for the process of e-service creation: they are used by almost half of the companies (46 per cent on average). As shown in the diagram below, companies usually invoke legal norms (73 per cent), quality norms like ISO or Q (49 per cent) or design standards (35 per cent). Only one out of a hundred companies relies on network or industry standards.

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Figure 31.

Studies and standards used by companies when developing e-services. Indications above 3 per cent.
Legal norms Quality norms (ISO, Q) Design standards (like Six Sigma) POIG 8.1 documentation ITIL(R)V3 0 8% 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 19% 35% 49% 73%

Source: self study.

Almost half of companies cannot specify their requirements for the studies that could help them design new e-services (refer to Figure 32).
Figure 32.

What, according to the entrepreneurs, should a standard for e-service design management contain in order to make working on them as easy as possible. Indications over 3 per cent.
Current norms, standards Knowledge, skills Precisely dened e-services Clarity of the manual Legal norms Security, data protection No idea, no answer 0 10 20 30 40 4% 4% 47% 50 6% 6% 5% 15%

Source: self study.

The remaining companies indicate that a source of knowledge on current standards and norms would be helpful (15 per cent) and additional specification of the e-service term (6 per cent). Another 6 per cent of the companies want to use publications containing practical information, knowledge and skills about the discussed area. Working on the concept of a new e-service, companies often follow the solutions observed at domestic and foreign competitors at least 40 per cent of the companies do so, most prominently microcompanies (refer to Figure 33).

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Figure 33.

Sources of new design solutions used by companies when designing e-services in the last three years.
Commissioning a professional designer Purchase of a licence In-house creation of patterns based on domestic market observations In-house creation of patterns based on information from press and professional publications In-house creation of patterns based on foreign market observations In-house creation of patterns based on what is shown during fairs and exhibitions Design transferred from a foreign co-operator Own experience 0 Medium and large companies [N=31]
4% 5% 6% 0% 2% 3% 16% 24% 19% 25% 29% 30% 41% 14% 19% 39% 40% 44% 24% 39%

48%

35%

16%

23%

10

20

30

40

50

Small companies [N=102]

Microcompanies [N=68]

Source: self study.

In the case of medium and large companies, the source of new solutions usually comes from designs ordered from professional designers (48 per cent) or purchased licences (39 per cent). On average, one out of four companies looks for inspiration for new solutions in industry publications or during industry events (fairs, conventions). Very rarely (1 per cent) do companies decide to create new concepts based solely on own experience. Observation of solutions present on the market is, in fact, an element of risk minimization related to the introduction of a new e-service, which is usually used by micro and small companies. It is equally common to calculate the financial viability of the venture before implementing the service. A method for reducing risk is also including a customer preference survey and using proven solutions in the process of service development. Companies employing more workers use the services of specialists in such cases, or hire the best experts for the job these are solutions smaller companies cannot afford. Comparing the structure of the process of e-service creation in companies of different size, it can be noted that in many cases it is similar (refer to Figure 34). Less than half of the companies prepared a precise brief before commencing design activities. About two-thirds of companies have the custom of formally approving the project in its subsequent stages and updating the service specifications.

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Three-quarters of the companies say that they analyse the consumer needs in the preliminary stage.
Figure 34.

Chosen stages of the e-service creation process in companies in Poland (elements which are similar in different sized companies).
Precise brief ZPlanned actions related to copyright laws Analysis of consumer needs Formal approval of the concept project by the contractor, corrections Update of the specication of the service project Formal approval of the preliminary project, corrections Detailed project (nal) Potential corrections 0 6 12 13 12 12 10 20 Never 40 60 66 80 100 63 67 65 70 11 25 42 63 77

Usually or always

The results shown are for the general group of companies. The answers on the scale 1-never, 4-always do not sum up to 100, because the sometimes category was omitted.

Source: self study.

In other stages of e-service development differences in behaviour of companies are even bigger. Some of them directly relate to the number of employees in a firm: microcompanies less often form specialized teams for the development of e-service and less often appoint a leader exhibit lesser inclination to formally organize the venture. One out of four microcompanies, one out of three small and almost a half of medium sized companies organize a bid for an e-service design project. Much more often companies become involved in the work on further stages of the process:

over a half of small and medium companies and 41 per cent of microcompanies organizes briefings; almost half of microcompanies, one third of small and three quarters of medium sized companies splits work on an e-service into stages.

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Figure 35.

Selected elements of the organization of the process of e-service creation.

56%

Division of work into stages

38%

65%

77%

Selection of project leader

42%

65% 62% 59% 58%

Participation in brieng and asking questions

24%

Bid for offers Commencing work before an agreement is signed 0 Medium and large companies [N=31] 10 20 30

32% 32% 45%

55% 53%

40

50

60

70

80

Small companies [N=102]

Microcompanies [N=68]

Responses: 1 never, 4 always. Sum of indications usually and always is shown.

Source: self study.

A relatively small amount of companies (one out of three micro and a half of the small and medium companies, refer to Figure 36) has the habit of verification and modification of the assumptions in the brief. About 60 per cent of the microcompanies, three-quarters of the small ones and two-thirds of the medium formulate the design problem and then the design criteria. The same amount of companies tries to clearly define the concept of e-service.
Figure 36.

Chosen elements of concept work when working on an e-service.

Formulating the design problem Formulating design criteria Searching for and documenting concepts Debrief, looking for additional companies 0 Medium and large companies [N=31] 10 20 30
36% 45% 52% 59% 68% 61% 65% 61% 64% 71% 73%

75%

40

50

60

70

80

Small companies [N=102]

Microcompanies [N=68]

Responses: 1 never, 4 always. Sum of indications usually and always is shown.

Source: self study.

As mentioned above, 42 per cent of the companies (regardless of size) have the habit of preparing a precise brief in the preliminary phase of the project. As to the contents of such documents, opinions vary. General results of the survey of researched entities are shown on the diagram below, it must be remembered,

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though, that in each case, the amount of positive indications was lower for microcompanies than in the other groups. It should be noted that declared amounts that characterize the brief contents are close to the subsequent elements and may depict the contents of the brief as imagined by the companies, instead of showing the true practice. The analysis of the sequence of elements based on frequential differences is very educational here: for the companies, the technical information on the project seems to be the most important, meaning scope and costs of action, delivery date, information about the contractor and about predicted limitations of the venture. Issues like the description of the consumer, market and competition and seemingly key project goals and their evaluation criteria, are of secondary importance. In other words, technical issues are more important than the actual content, even in the preliminary stages of works on an e-service78.
Figure 37.

Contents of a brief that precedes the e-service creation.

Priorities (scope of action, cost, implementation date) Required or desired delivery date Information about the contractor Information about limitations Consumer description Information about the competitive services Market survey results Goals and evaluation criteria of the project 0 20 Never 18 19 18 19 21 23 21 25 40 60 Usually or always 53 53 80 100 63 63 62 62 59 55

The results shown are for the general group of companies. The answers on the scale 1-never, 4-always do not sum up to 100, because the sometimes category was omitted.

Source: self study.

The number of companies that declare creation of descriptions of subsequent elements of a planned venture is higher than the number of entities not bothering to create a precise brief. The reason for this irregularity can be found in company reluctance to formalize the process part of the records can be entered in other documents or function as oral agreements. On the other hand, it may be that the companies described the desired state and not the real one, which would suggest that the companies are aware that formulation of multidimen-

78) In the following chapter, the expectations of designers as to the briefs are discussed.

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sional project guidelines before commencing works is desirable, but in practice they rarely make such effort. Relatively small interest in the feelings and experiences of the consumers of the service is reflected in the process of working on the development of e-services (refer to Figure 38). Two-thirds of microcompanies and over three-quarters of bigger entities have the habit of testing the created service, however, the number of companies that include clients in this process is much smaller: 60 per cent of small and medium companies decide to gather customer opinion and evaluate the survey forms (less than a half among microcompanies). On average, 18 per cent of surveyed companies never undertake this type of activities with their clients.
Figure 38.

Chosen elements of testing a created e-service.

Testing the service design Surveying consumers, gathering opinions Evaluation of test and survey 0 Medium and large companies [N=31] 10 20 30 40
45% 65% 79% 77%

59% 62% 68% 52%

47%

50

60

70

80

Small companies [N=102]

Microcompanies [N=68]

The results shown are for the general group of companies. The answers on the scale 1-never, 4-always do not sum up to 100, because the sometimes category was omitted.

Source: self study.

Based on the declarations of companies about their level of involvement in the subsequent stages of development of service, it may be assumed that the group of companies that do not formally participate in the most stages of e-service design is about 10 per cent. Generally speaking, most companies create new e-service solutions themselves (without referring to the knowledge of specialist institutions). Usually, they do not use ready guidelines or procedures, so it may be assumed that their activities in most cases are based on intuition. Companies look for ideas for new e-services by observing their competition this is especially true for smaller firms. A relatively small amount of companies start developing an e-service by closely analysing the needs of customers and formulating guidelines or expectations of the venture. 7.4. Cooperation with professional designers The work model for designing e-services adopted by companies is mostly dependent on the company size. A general rule is that the bigger the company, the

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more it is inclined to use the services of external companies (refer to Figure 38). Among microcompanies, 29 per cent do not cooperate with professional designers, both hired by external companies or self-employed. Such attitude is a rarity (3 per cent) among medium and large companies.
Figure 39.

Cooperation with designers in designing e-services.

100 33% 28% 31% 52% 16% 22% 26% 25% 20 19% 0 General [N=201] 25% 29% 17% Microcompanies [N=68] Small companies [N=102] 23% 3% Medium and large companies [N=31] 26% We only use our own professional designers We hire (a) designer(s) and additionally employ external companies We only hire external design studios, we do not employ our own designers

80

60

40

23%

We do not cooperate with any design studio or hire a professional designer

Source: self study.

About half of the micro and small companies either hire their own designers or employ an external design studio. Among medium and large companies, the model of cooperation with external and internal professional designers is the most popular one. Among companies that hire their own e-service designers, the level of usage of their skills seems, according to the surveyed companies, optimal: 57 per cent of the respondents say that these employees fulfil the needs of the companies in the area of designing e-services. A relatively large amount of microcompanies (28 per cent) who hire professional designers realize that they are not able to fulfil all of the goals set before them (this indicator does not exceed 17 per cent for remaining companies). Companies cooperating with professional designers usually commission them to create a system of electronic customer service, online business cards, guides and databases open for clients (more than half of the indications, see Figure 39). Work related to the design of online applications providing services exclusively through electronic means, tasks connected with communication and brand, as well as creation of electronic system of transfer of goods and funds, are the most popular ones.

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Figure 40.

Types of tasks given to designers.

Service institution Product and industrial design Transfer of information and databases Multimedia presentations Electronic interfaces linked to real logistical processes (transfer of goods and funds) Brand and communication Online applications providing exclusively virtually available services Online business cards, guides, databases Customer service platform Electronic customer service platform 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 29 33 35 39 41 41 45 51 55 61 70 80

Responses: 1 never , 5 very often; on the graph the sum of often and very often is shown.

Source: self study.

Professional designers cooperate with companies at various stages of e-service development. In most cases, they enter the production process in the stage of creation of project guidelines, specifications, technical development of an e-service or details of the project. Depending on the stage of work, 4761 per cent of companies always or usually include designers in them. On the other hand, 1424 per cent never does so. In the eyes of designers themselves, their level of active participation on all levels of work on an e-service is higher than the companies declare themselves. This disparity may be explained by the fact that designers have more experience in cooperation with medium and large companies, which are inclined to formally organize the design process, or that the designers are unaware of the amount of work in companies that is done without their involvement. Designers themselves notice however, that they rarely participate in the creation process of an e-service on the stages of searching and gathering of ideas, economic analysis or user surveys. The clash of expectations of designers as to the contents of a brief and what the companies declare that they do is interesting (refer to Figure 36). Among the priorities apart from the scope, costs and schedule almost three-quarters of the respondents (73 per cent) expect project goals and evaluation criteria to be clearly designated, elements sometimes ignored by companies. Two-thirds (68 per cent) expect a brief to describe recipients. The least important part of the

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brief is information about the contracting entity (37 per cent). When we look at what companies include in briefs and what the designers expect them to include, we can see that designers often do not receive all required information in the preliminary stage of working on an e-service.
Figure 41.

Significance of various elements for the successful creation of an e-service, according to companies.
Designers knowledge of the industry Accuracy, completeness and binding character of the project guidelines An in-depth discussion with the designer as to the intentions and goals of the project Written agreement as to the rules of cooperation Direct access of the designer to end users of a given project Designers ability to work in an interdisciplinary team of specialists from various elds and organizations Comparing a given design problem with existing solutions Being rst in introducing an innovative e-service Signing an agreement before design work commences 0 2% 4% 4% 5 10 15 20 Key 2% 1% 1% 2% 3% 4% 18% 18% 18% 25 30 35 26% 24% 23% 23% 21% 30%

Unimportant at all

Responses: 1 not important at all, 4 very important, key. Only borderline categories are shown on the graph.

Source: self study.

Companies believe that the most important elements for the process of designing and implementing an e-service are:

designers experience and knowledge about the specifics of the industry he works for; creation of complete and binding project guidelines; possibility of conducting an in-depth discussion with a designer about the projects goals; direct access of designer to end users of a given project or the possibility of including them in the designing process;

written list of cooperation rules (refer to Figure 40).

What is important, according to the companies, one of the least important elements in the context of the success of a venture is the innovation of an e-service.

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16 per cent of microcompanies, 22 per cent of small companies and only 10 per cent of medium and large companies believe that innovation is a key factor for achieving success on the market. Designers opinions in terms of priorities when designing an e-service are mostly consistent with the opinions of companies. Issues that are marginalized by designers in the evaluation of a ventures chance for success are their seniority in the industry and confirmation of their competences through winning awards in competitions. Over a half of designers (52 per cent), when creating the user interface in e-services, focus on aesthetic issues, one out of three (31 per cent) on practical, and almost one out of five (17 per cent) on the emotional ones.
Figure 42.

Issues that are treated as priorities by designers and companies when creating an e-service.
designers [N=52] Visual attractiveness Usability, i.e. functionality and intuitive navigation Taking into account modern trends when designing the ergonomy of the user interface Security of information, protection of personal data Solving a given problem, effectively fullling the needs Pleasure in using the service Project coherence with the company image Flexibility of the project ease to add new options The possibility of adapting to needs and preferences of Users Inclusive design, taking into account specic user needs Creating additional income Needs of the disabled (WCAG, W3C) Compliance with ITIL(R)V3 0 0% 2% 0% 2% 2% 2% 2% 0% 2% 4% 4% 2% 15% 10 20 Never 25% 25% 30 40 Always 50 60 0 10 Never 20 30 40 Always 50 58% 56% 52% 50% 50% 44% 42% 42% 42% 38% 38% 1% 1% 2% 3% 2% 3% 2% 3% 6% 7% 14% 9% 24% companies [N=201] 43% 49% 37% 46% 35% 35% 43% 37% 34% 31% 27%

Responses: 1 never, 4 always. Only borderline categories are shown on the graph. The last attribute (compliant with ITIL(R)V3 rules) is rated only by designers.

Source: self study.

Among specific issues on which designer focus their attention when creating an e-service, the most often declared ones are:

visual attractiveness,

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usability, i.e. functionality and intuitive navigation, taking into account modern trends when designing the ergonomy of the user interface, solving a given problem, effectively fulfilling the needs, security of information, protection of personal data (patrz: Figure 41).

Representatives of the contractors are less inclined to think about the entirety of the process and the factors that influence its success, evidenced by lower indications in relation to all of the potential success factors. In their hierarchy, four issues stand out:

usability, effectiveness in solving a given problem, ensuring data security,

visual attractiveness,
coherence with the project with the company image. Because of their own convictions or necessity, designers set priorities related to the creation of e-services similarly to companies. The biggest difference is that they put more pressure on the aesthetic issues, user experience and ergonomy of service.
Figure 43.

Activities of designers that are meant to minimize risk of e-service implementation. Indications above 10 per cent.
Observing the competition Surveying client preferences Precise designation of goals and evaluation criteria of the project Using proven solutions and base elements Testing the concept of an e-service Getting opinions from company employees and specialists Testing the prototype Calculating nancial viability Observing the foreign market Getting information from the sales department Hiring the best proven designers and programmers 12% 19% 23% 33% 38% 40% 42% 50% 52% 54% 54% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Source: self study.

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As mentioned in the earlier subchapter, when calculating the risk of implementing a given e-service, companies focus on market observation and profit analysis. The hiring of professional designers expands the method of risk evaluation (refer to Figure 42), as designers put more pressure on observing the consumer preferences or actions of competitors (54 per cent). Most importantly, they are aware of the significance of careful planning for the success of the venture. Half of them notice the importance of precise designation of goals and evaluation criteria of the project and using proven solutions and base elements. Additionally, hiring a professional designer increases the chances of testing the service concept and its prototype (up to 3842 per cent), which may minimize risk in the preliminary stages of the project. Moreover, two out of three designers conduct ergonomic research during e-service design: mostly using direct method with the participation of users (60 per cent) or based on digital models (refer to Figure 44).
Figure 44.

Methods of ergonomy research used during e-service design.

Direct methods with human participation Indirect methods based on digital models (physical, mathematical) I do not conduct ergonomic research 0 10 20 30 21% 33% 40 50 60 60%

Source: self study.

As mentioned before, designers put much pressure on the ergonomy of the designed service. It must be underlined, however, that one out of three designers does not conduct any research in this matter. Summing up, almost one-third of microcompanies, when creating a new e-service, do not use the help of a professional designer. However, the larger the company, the less the chance of this happening. Usually, companies decide on only one method of work they either hire their own designers or employ external design studios. Only one out of five companies combines both methods. Usually, commissions for professional designers are electronic customer service systems, as well as online business cards, guides with databases available to the clients. Usually, designers are included in works on the technical development of e-service. Their participation in the remaining stages is considerably less frequent, however, and they are not always aware that part of the work is done without them. Knowledge about the industry and information flow between the contractor and designer are key for the success of work on the e-service. In comparison with the expectations of the e-service companies, designers usually focus on the visual side on the service development.

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Barriers of e-service development and company submitted expectations Companies note many barriers connected with the development of e-service projects (refer to Figure 45).
Figure 45.

The main barriers in the acquisition and development of e-service designs in companies. Indications above 10 per cent.
Lack of professional staff Lack of courses and education in the area of e-service design Technological, production and infrastructural barriers Lack of recipients, decreasing size of the consumer market Formal regulations that limit innovation, formalities, licences, certicates Uncertainty, fear of unknown Lack of time for new concepts Client habits Costs are too high, exceeding nancial abilities End price of e-service is too high 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 15% 16% 16% 17% 19% 20% 24% 32% 35% 39% 35 40

Source: self study.

Financial issues comprise the main barrier in developing ideas in the area of e-service design, in the opinion of companies. No less important are also customer habits. One out of four companies focuses entirely on current activities and does not have time to work on new concepts. Relatively unimportant are technological issues and limitations in the cadre (although the lack of professional cadre is important for one out of five medium and large companies). The problem of market uncertainty or fear of decreasing demand is raised mostly by the microcompanies (2224 per cent, against 10 per cent of medium and large companies). In this group, lack of courses in the area of e-service design (22 per cent) is also indicative. Small companies relatively often see limitations in legal regulations and formalities (24 per cent). Among companies suffering from shortages of qualified design cadre, the services of professional graphic designers and programmers are the most needed (more than half of the indications, see Figure 45). One out of three companies would like to cooperate with a specialist in Internet website ergonomy and interface design. One out of four companies

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feels the lack of experts in market surveys. The need to cooperate with user experience specialists is felt by a small number of companies only 7 per cent of companies feel the lack of professionals in this area.
Figure 46.

Specialists in the area of e-service design needed in the market.

Graphic designers IT Specialists Website ergonomy specialists Interface designers Sociologists for surveying market needs User experience designers 0 7% 10 20 30 40 50 60 33% 30% 27% 40% 57%

Source: self study.

Limitations in cooperation between professional designers (see: Figure 47) are another matter. The primary barrier, according to companies, is the cost of design works indicated by almost half of the surveyed entities.
Figure 47.

Barriers in acquiring and developing e-service designs in company, designer related.

Designers are too expensive We know best how to create a new e-service design It is difcult to nd a good designer It is difcult to get information on professional e-service designers Designers do not understand specic company needs Services of our company do not require design Failed cooperation with designers in the past is the barrier We cannot see any gains from working with e-service designers 0 9% 7% 10 20 30 40 50 19% 17% 16% 13% 28% 46%

Source: self study.

Trouble with reaching a good designer is declared by one third of the companies (36 per cent). One fourth (28 per cent) of the companies declare that they do not use the services of designers because they know, themselves, how to create

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a new design79. Also one-fourth of companies do not trust designers, believing that they do not understand the specifics of a given industry or have had bad experiences in cooperating with them. 13 per cent of companies declare that their e-services do not need design at all. A different perspective on the barriers of e-service development is drawn by the designers (see: Figure 48).
Figure 48.

Primary barriers in developing e-service design in the eyes of the designers. Indications over 3 per cent.
Lack of imagination, invention Copying, breach of copyright Money Technological barriers No clients None 0 10 20 30 40 4% 48% 50 8% 13% 12% 10%

Source: self study.

Half of the designers currently see no limitations for the development of e-service design. The rest, however, underline the issues of lack of imagination and invention and breach of copyright. One tenth see the financial limitation of the industry or technological barriers. In the eyes of professional designers, e-service design requires a specific kind of knowledge and skills (37 per cent), experience (12 per cent), creativity (10 per cent) and having ideas (8 per cent). Less important are formal education, drawing skills and participation in training courses. 15 per cent of the surveyed believe that working in this field is no different from any other design activity. Companies have specific proposals that could make their job of creating e-services easier (see: Figure 46). They usually mention training courses (this is the most attractive option for small companies). Half of companies also declare interest in advisory services (54 per cent) and workshops (49 per cent). Almost one-third of companies hope that cooperation with professional designers and the ability to choose a designer with confirmed qualification would help them solve their problems.

79) Company size is not important in this case: such views are true for 26 per cent of medium and large companies, 27 per cent of small and 31 per cent of microcompanies.

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Figure 49.

Needs of companies in the area of e-services.

Postgraduate studies for team members Opportunity to choose a designer with conrmed qualications (certicates) Professional design Workshops Advisory Trainings 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 15% 27% 30% 49% 54% 68% 70 80

Source: self study.

Both designers and entrepreneurs are divided when it comes to the quality of education of designers and managers of companies providing electronic services. Half of the representatives from both groups believe that schools prepare students well, the other half has a different opinion. Three of out four designers believe that raising qualifications is needed. As shown in the diagram below, first and foremost designers expect help in the form of training courses and workshops, while the need for postgraduate studies and advisory services is less pronounced.
Figure 50.

Desired forms of developing competences by e-service providers.

Trainings, workshops Postgraduate studies Advisory 0 20 38% 40 60 80 100 43% 95%

Source: self study.

Summing up, financial issues are the main barrier in the development of design of e-services. Designers rarely see any limitations in this field, but if they do, they mostly mention lack of creativity, copying of patterns, etc. Curiously, a relatively small amount of companies believe that hiring a professional designer would solve their problems. Both entrepreneurs and designers declare interest in raising qualifications (mainly through training courses). Summary In the survey conducted among companies and designers, whose goal was to specify how design of e-services is used when creating and implementing e-services, it was concluded that:

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e-service companies do not know what exactly the e-service design is and try to define it selectively through tools or process goals; design is usually perceived as stylization of services and is thus assigned a service function; even companies that are experienced in implementing e-services rarely engage in this type of venture; most micro and small companies conduct design activities on their own, medium and large companies more often rely on cooperation with external professional designers and institutions, companies that use both their own and external designers are not numerous; the process of design and implementation of e-services is conducted mostly intuitively, especially in micro and small companies, despite the high number of declarations stating that design is organized in subsequent stages. Validity of these claims is doubtful, taking into account that only few companies actually know what design is, formulate standards for new solutions or even prepare a brief; trate on the technical aspects of organizing the process rather than on the substance of the venture;

when establishing guidelines for future e-service, companies often concen-

designers are included in working on e-service development usually on the stage of technical development; companies expect e-service to be primarily usable, effectively solve a posed problem and protect personal data. Designers assign much more significance to the issue of ethics and pleasant user experiences (it must be however noted that most professional designers in this field have technical education, while the companies themselves often mention the lack of professional designers); specialist knowledge about a specific industry is considered to be key for the success of the project, as well as effective information flow between the designer and contractor and facilitating contact between the designer and end users of a service; most e-service design commissions are about the electronic process of customer service, Internet business cards and databases shared with clients; companies often base projects on ready solutions used both on the domestic and foreign markets;

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when thinking about services, issues concerning specific requirements of users, including the handicapped, are often omitted;

even though more than two thirds of companies test a created e-service, quite often this stage takes place without involving the clients; despite the fact that companies indicate financial issues to be the main barriers in development of e-services, most of them do not invest in the development of new ones because of the profile of their clients, or due to lack of time to focus on new subjects; factors that restrict cooperation with professional designers are, according to e-service companies, usually the costs of services and trouble reaching an appropriate specialist; half of designers see no limitations for the development of e-services; companies express interest in trainings, workshops, e-service advisory; interest in raising competencies is also declared by most of designers.

Conclusions The vision of company attitudes when creating new e-services, portrayed above, leads to the following conclusions:

low level of knowledge about what, in fact, design of e-services is leads to selective thinking about the process of creation of new e-services. Needs of potential recipients in the subsequent stages of the venture are often omitted; treating design as a tool limits thinking about the design process as a new approach to solving specific problems; potential of e-services is not fully realized, because especially in the case of micro and small companies too rarely do they decide to use the knowledge and experience of specialists, often relying on less or more precise copying of ready solutions; the possibilities of shaping e-services are not fully utilized, quite often the possibilities for individualizing the user-service contact are omitted, without taking into account the specific user needs; companies often forget about the need for clear and explicit formulation of expectations and guidelines of the designed e-services and skip some of the stages of work. This can negatively influence the effectiveness of the entire

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process, as well as create disparities between expectations and implementation of ideas;

designers assign significance to clear specification of project goals and criteria of evaluation, forcing additional planning on the companies. Only on this basis can it be theorized that participation of professionals in the design process increases chances for success; despite company awareness of the importance of including users in the process of service design (like taking into account their opinion in the final stages of design) and lack of contact between the users and the designers, companies sometimes skip the testing phases, do not survey client opinions or preferences, and even more rarely include designers in this kind of action. Designers, themselves, are more aware of the necessity of confronting proposed solutions with user expectations; according to designers, there are no significant barriers for the development of e-service design; this may be good news for this industry as it shows that their cooperation with companies, or more broadly functioning on the market is going well. Worrying is the lack of correlation of this view with the perspective of entrepreneurs, who see many difficulties in the development of e-service design; this may suggest that designers underestimate the economic context of the ventures and narrowing the situational perspective; companies are rarely able to clearly formulate their expectations as to the content of documents supporting the e-service design process; this is a challenge for institutions, that would like to support companies in creation of e-services or in raising the general awareness level about this field and the quality of work, as it leaves it up to them to designate the scope of supportive activities; organizing workshops and training courses may increase the level of consciousness and quality of services in the area of design; it is also important that companies are aware of the benefits of cooperation with professional designers, currently only one out of three companies believes that such cooperation would make the process of e-service design easier.

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7.5. Design as a way of increasing competitiveness of Polish e-services Innovation in e-service companies Companies use various sources to acquire new design solutions for e-services (compare with chapter: e-service design in companies, Figure 7). Usually companies create new patterns based on solutions used by their competition on the domestic , and less often foreign market. One-fourth of microcompanies, onethird small companies and almost half of medium companies hire professional designers. On average, one out of four companies seeks inspiration from industry publications; the same group looks for solutions at fairs and expositions. In one-fifth of the situations, a purchased licence is the source of a new e-service, in one-twentieth, the project was acquired from a foreign cooperative. Of course, the situation is not identical in all companies it is different depending on the size of a company, specifically:

the main source of inspiration for microcompanies is observation of solutions offered by competitors (market offer, presentations during fairs and expositions, professional magazines); small companies are eager to order patterns from professional designers; medium and large companies base mostly on solutions proposed by professional designers of e-services and on licensed patterns.

On average, one out of a hundred companies, when working on a new service, bases it solely on their own experience. 4761 per cent of companies declare that they usually, or always, hire professional designers for developing the e-service during subsequent stages of the process. This would indicate that about a half of companies highly appreciate such phases of work as: discussion of the possibilities in developing a service, creation of project guidelines and concepts, then focusing on the technical development of service, testing and final evaluation, in other words organize the complete process of creative work on development of e-services.

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Figure 51.

Significance of service innovation (being the first to introduce it on a market) for ensuring success in the process of e-service design.
100 4% 4% 18% 5% 3% 22% 3% 3% 17% 0% 10% 16% Hard to say Unimportant at all Not really important Important 60 56% 40 55% 54% 64% Very Important

80

20 18% 0 Total [N=201] 16% Microcompanies [N=68] 22% 10% Small companies [N=102] Medium and large companies [N=31]

Source: self study.

In the previous chapter, it was shown that, in comparison with other factors influencing the success of the process of creation of new e-service, innovative solutions are one of the less important attributes (see: subchapter Cooperation with professional designers). On the declarative level, most companies recognize the significance of innovation in proposed solutions for the success of the entire venture (see: Figure 51). About one-fifth of companies believe that the issue of innovation is of key importance. Among companies, medium and large ones less often present this view. The issue of innovation is closely connected with copyright protection. In the stage of signing an agreement, almost two-thirds of companies usually plan on how to protect the copyright laws. More than half of companies providing e-services rely on existing copyright law protection and do not undertake any additional activities to protect their own works. About one-third of companies (36 per cent) possibly are not conscious of the existence of this basic form of protection: microcompanies have the smallest amount of knowledge on copyright (47 per cent). One out of four companies submit their trademark in the patent office (this happens more often among medium and large companies and applies to almost half of the entities). Over 60 per cent of companies believe current copyright protection means to be sufficient (see: Figure 52), one out of four does not agree with this opinion.

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Figure 52.

Are the available methods of intellectual property protection sufficient in relation for e-service products?

13% 26%

Dont know Yes No

61%

Source: self study.

One-third of designers are explicitly opposed to copying someone elses patterns (see: Figure 53). Almost 30 per cent of the representatives of this group have never met with such actions, 15 per cent, however, believe that copyright violation happens more often or is even commonplace.
Figure 53.

Experiences and opinions of designers on copying someone elses patterns in e-service design.
Prohibited/should be severely punished I have no such experiences Commonplace, happens more often Inevitable Unconscious copying of someone elses designs happens Happens sometimes Only original designs are successful, copies nd it difcult to emerge on the market There are commonly available templates 0 2% 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 4% 4% 6% 10% 15% 35% 29%

Source: self study.

6 per cent of these surveyed declare that they unconsciously copy someone elses design, another 4 per cent declare that they (intentionally) violate copyright laws from time to time. One-tenth of designers believe that plagiarism is almost inevitable in this industry. Only 4 per cent of the surveyed declared that only original designs have a chance of success on the market.

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Figure 54.

Range of the practice of copying e-service designs among companies.

Copying of projects by competiting companies Copying of projects from competiting companies

20%

Dont know Yes 54% 13%

13%

Dont know Yes No 74%

26%

No

Source: self study.

In practice, one-fourth of companies have met with copying of their e-design patterns by their competition, more than a half never met with such a problem. At the same time, 74 per cent of companies declare that they have never copied consciously or unconsciously someone elses design, only 13 per cent of surveyed entities admitted to doing so. Comparing the above results allows us to put forward the theory that innovation is not an attribute that is highly valued by companies when designing e-services. Companies admit that they mostly observe services offered by their competition and create a new pattern on that basis. Not many companies look for original solutions. Basing on someone elses work may raise doubts as to the limit between inspiration and copy. One out of four companies believes this to be a serious problem: the same amount of companies have had their copyright laws violated by someone. The amount of companies that admit to violation of copyright laws is much smaller (and it should be similar), therefore, the first indicator is to be trusted. Part of the described problem is the low level of awareness of the need for protecting intellectual property, which means also respecting it when in contact with patterns created by competition. A large group of designers believe that copyright violation happens very often. 60 per cent of designers believe that current means of protecting intellectual property are sufficient, however the issue of lack of creativity and copyright violation, as shown in the previous chapter, is considered by some to be the main barrier for the development of e-service design in Poland (see: subchapter E-service development barriers and needs of companies).

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Influence of e-service design on company competiveness The evaluation of the influence of e-service design on various aspects of company functions is different from the standpoint of designers and companies. Data shown in this chapter are based mostly on comparisons of opinions of both parties on discussed issues. Companies were asked to what extent the usage of e-service design in the last 3 years influenced the subsequent aspects of their activity. Designers, in turn, were asked about potential gains for the client when ordering an e-service. In both groups, a few aspects of company activity were evaluated:

innovation, quality of work, effectiveness of work, marketing aspect, market position.

A merger of these two perspectives may help evaluate the influence of e-service design on the general level of company competiveness. In light of the previous chapter, the adequacy of the above terms must be discussed, meaning that the level of knowledge about the field of e-service design among companies is small; practice should be similarly evaluated isolated from thinking about the entirety and continuity of the process and the necessity of shaping services in close connection with the needs and experiences of potential customers at each stage of their development (see: subchapter General approach of companies to e-service design). In other words, in the case of companies, the influence of design or implementation of e-service on other aspects of company activities should be discussed, rather than the scope of influence design as a general term. One of the issues raised in the previous subchapter is the influence of design on company innovativeness. Companies rather rarely treat this factor as key for the market success of an e-service, but at the same time, companies do notice the influence of newly created services on the general level of company innovativeness (see: Figure below). It should be, however, noted that this is a wide definition of innovation, transgressing the ideas of novelty and creativity of business ideas. Almost one-third of companies that implemented e-services think that they have raised the level of organizational culture of the company. According to 2829 per cent of surveyed companies, implementation of an e-service is a stimulus for continuing such actions, which in effect means undertaking new ventures and perfecting existing solutions. One-fourth of companies are also convinced that using e-service design allowed them to enter new markets.

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Figure 55.

Influence of e-service design on company innovativeness.

Designers [N=52] Increased level of organizational culture Implementation of new e-services Implementation of updated e-services Entering new markets 0 2% 0% 0% 4% 10 20 30 40 52% 48% 50% 44% 50 60 0 5 3% 4% 7% Companies [N=201] 7% 29% 28% 28% 32%

10 15 20 25 30 35 40 signicantly

not at all

signicantly

not at all

Answers: 1 not at all, 4 significantly, only these two borderline categories are shown in this diagram.

Source: self study.

Designers opinions are much more optimistic. According to half of the respondents, e-service design both improves the organizational culture and perfects and implements new services. A few disparities in the opinions of designers and entrepreneurs should be noted:

fcompanies were asked to give their evaluation based on real events, whereas designers predicted potential possibilities; designers could rather exaggeratedly evaluate the impact of own services on client functioning, i.e. because they want to show themselves in a better light; companies could not fully utilize the possibilities related to design and implementation of e-services.

Figure 56.

Impact of e-service design on the quality of a companys services.

Designers [N=52] Increase in usability and ease of using e-services Better customer experience Improving the aesthetic quality of services 0% 4% 0% 0 10 20 not at all 54% 44% 58% 30 40 50 signicantly 60 0 5 Companies [N=201] 4% 4% 6% not at all 35% 35% 33% signicantly

10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Answers: 1 not at all, 4 significantly, only these two borderline categories are shown in this diagram.

Source: self study.

Just like in the case of e-service influence on company innovativeness, the impact of design on the quality of companies was evaluated (see: Figure 55). One-third of companies are sure that taking up the task of implementing an e-service resulted not

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only in increase in quality of this specific service, but also in an increase in the level of general customer experience and visual aspects of service. From the standpoint of professional designers, the aesthetic aspect is the most prominent, followed by increase in usability and ease of operation of e-service (over a half of indications).
Figure 57.

Influence of e-service design on marketing aspects of company activity.

Designers [N=52] Improved company image, stronger brand Better company communication Improved recognisability Achieving constant competitive advantage 0 0% 2% 2% 4% 10 20 not at all 48% 56% 54% 35% 30 40 50 signicantly 60 0 2% 5% 4% 9% Companies [N=201] 35% 34% 32% 26%

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 not at all signicantly

Answers: 1 not at all, 4 significantly, only these two borderline categories are shown in this diagram.

Source: self study.

The impact of e-service implementation on the marketing aspects of company activity is evaluated on a similar level as above (see: Figure 57). First and foremost, a venture influences brand communication aspects its image and recognisability (one-third of indications). To a lesser extent, companies are convinced of the influence of design on achieving a competitive advantage: one out of four respondents agrees, one out of ten strongly disagrees. The opinion of designers is similar, despite the fact that, in their opinion, the impact is much stronger. More than half agree that design improves the broadly understood aspects of brand communication. In the opinion of one out of three designers, implementing an e-service helps the company achieve a stable competitive advantage. Almost one out of three companies are convinced that design has increased the effectiveness and productivity of e-services (see: Figure 58). It is therefore compliant with the primary goals companies set for the e-service designers, specifically functionality and usability. Designers are more convinced about the correlation of these two fields. One-fourth of the designers and companies are convinced that e-service design increases employee motivation. At the same time, one-tenth (in both groups) of respondents disagreed that such correlation exists. This unique disparity shows that perhaps designers have no full perspective of the influence of design on company functioning in their most tangible manifestations. One-fourth of companies declare an improvement in profitability resulting from implementing an e-service. A much smaller group of companies declare that they lowered the costs of creating an e-service due to the implementation of design.

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Figure 58.

Influence of e-service design on company effectiveness.

Designers [N=52] Increased effectiveness and productivity of e-services Better employee motivation Increased protability Lower cost of producing an e-service 0 2% 8% 4% 4% 10 20 30 40 not at all 38% 50 60 0 signicantly 27% 46% 54% Companies [N=201] 5% 11% 7% 9% 5 not at all 30% 26% 24% 22% signicantly

10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Answers: 1 not at all, 4 significantly, only these two borderline categories are shown in this diagram.

Source: self study.

For entrepreneurs, the influence of e-service design on the quantifiable aspects of their activity is less obvious.
Figure 59.

Influence of e-service design on the market standing of a company.

Designers [N=52] Increase in prot Increase in turnover Increase in market share Company growth Export increase Employment increase 0 2% 2% 2% 2% 12% 12% 19% 15% 50 0 44% 38% 44% 48% Companies [N=201] 10% 9% 11% 8% 34% 25% 22% 22% 21% 20% 10% 9% 50

10 20 30 40 not at all signicantly

10 20 30 40 not at all signicantly

Answers: 1 not at all, 4 significantly, only these two borderline categories are shown in this diagram.

Source: self study.

Lack of evident influence is shown, among other things, by a large number of responses negating any correlation between e-service design and financial or market results. One-fifth of respondents believe that design influenced the increase in turnover and profits of the company, and also strengthened its market position. Professional designers are the group that is most convinced of the power of this correlation. In the opinion of companies, design does not influence exports or increase of employment. Despite the optimism displayed by designers in the evaluation of designs impact on the company activity, companies also question these two aspects.

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Comparison of the opinions of entrepreneurs and e-service designers show that the second group are, to a much higher extent, convinced of the force of impact of design on company activity. This may suggest that potential linked with a well-planned development of e-services is not fully realized by companies. However, on the other hand, it is possible that designers see the situation from a single perspective they do not consider the tangible effects of implementing designed e-services on the everyday functioning of their employers. Both sides, however, agree on the general rule that design has a big influence on the soft aspects of company activities issues related to the quality of service, user experience, brand communication rather than on easily measurable financial or market results. The theory is that implementing an e-service has a generally positive impact on the functioning of a company, however it is not certain that this correlation can be spread to the area of entire design. In this model, it does not function in most Polish companies. Undoubtedly, experience related to the design and implementation of e-services make it easier and more attractive to recreate such actions in relation to subsequent elements of a companys offer. It also seems that such ventures make it easier to enter a new market. In the opinion of interested parties, it may also be a way to achieve competitive advantage, but not in every case. Expense of e-service design and evaluation of investment profitability As shown in the evaluations in the previous subchapter, e-service design is meant to positively influence the financial results of companies: their turnover, profits and effectiveness of activity. Such correlation was noticed by companies implementing e-services. It is, however, much more difficult to specify the exact scope of influence of these ventures on the company situation. This issue is further complicated by a high amount of negative answers or the answers like difficult to say to questions about finances. For this reason, the results shown below are presented in most cases as general figures, without splitting the companies into categories by the number of their employees.
Figure 60.

Expenses on design of e-services against general expenses in 2009.

14% 0 1-2 % 20 3-4 % 18% 40 5-10 % 11-20 % 23% 5% 4% 60 21-30 % 36% 80 Hard to say 100

Source: self study.

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More than one-third of the respondents cannot (or do not want to) specify the level of financial outlays on design of e-service (see: Figure 60). In the case of the remaining ones, in half of companies, outlays constituted no more than 4 per cent of the sum of expenses, in 36 per cent of the companies they constituted 510 per cent of expenses. That a large number of companies did not specify their expenses for the design of e-services in their R&D budgets (see: Figure 61) may not only suggest that they do not want to answer questions about their finances80. It may be that these companies have no design investment strategies and therefore cannot give an answer.
Figure 61.

Level of e-service design expenses in R&D budgets in 2009.

11% 0 Up to 3%

9% 20 4-5%

11%

9%

4% 40 60 11-30%

56% 80 Over 30% Hard to say 100

6-10%

Source: self study.

Among the companies that gave a meaningful answer to this question, disparities between the levels of research and development expenses are very strong: onefourth of the companies allocated no more than 3 per cent of general outlays, remaining 20 per cent of the companies from 4 to 5 per cent, one fourth of entities 6 to 10 per cent, while the remaining 30 per cent no less than 11 per cent. Apart from the persons who did not give a clear answer to the question, more than half of the company representatives declare that the level of design expenses has not changed considerably in the last three years (see: Figure 62). Outlays increased in one-third of the companies. In the case of one out of ten companies, outlays were lowered.

80) In the general question on the level of income which could be a reference point the amount of refusals was comparative, however, in the case of other questions from this sphere it varied from one fifth to one third, which is considerably less.

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Figure 62.

Dynamics of e-service design expenses in the last three years.

29% 0 Higher expenses No expenses at all 20 40 44% 60 6% 1% 80 Lower expenses 20% 100

Expenses were (more or less) the same Hard to say

Source: self study.

Increasing interest in design of e-services is evidenced by the change of income of design studios in the case of one-third respondents, the level of income increased in relation to the period before the last three years (see: Figure 63). Half of the designers did not notice any change in income and only 12 per cent noted increases. Of course this may be the result of increased interest in the services of professional designers, not just changes in global values of services.
Figure 63.

Dynamics of income from the sales of e-service design in designer companies in relation to the period before the last three years.
31% 0 Income was higher Company is younger than 3 years 20 40 Income was (more or less) the same 50% 60 80 Income was lower 12% 8% 100

Source: self study.

General evaluation of the profitability of investing into e-service design is rather positive (see: Figure 64). On average, two-thirds of companies see these investments as profitable, but on the other hand 45 per cent underline that it is difficult to specify their level of profitability, however, nonfinancial gains from investments are quite tangible. According to one-fourth of companies, outlays were balanced by gains. In the case of 8 per cent of companies, the evaluation of the investment results was negative, which means that companies do not see any change in the income level nor see losses. Micro and small companies evaluate such investments most favourably. In the group of medium and large companies, one-third of companies believe that outlays are balanced by gains.

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Figure 64.

Evaluation of profitability of e-service design investments in companies.

100 2% 6% 25% 3% 7% 22% 2% 6% 25% 6% Loss of money and loss of time tangible expenses and lack of effects, or effects different than intended Loss expenses are tangible and the gains are invisible: neither income nor effectiveness changed Expenses are balanced with gains 45% 39% 46% 49% Protability is difcult to measure, but tangible non-nancial gains are visible Protable investment tangible nancial gains

80

35%

60

40

20 22% 0 Total [N=201]

29%

21% Small companies [N=102]

10% Medium and large companies [N=31]

Microcompanies [N=68]

Source: self study.

Comparison of the share of expenses of e-service design in the general structure of income in companies with the level of income from the investment-related activities confirms the above conclusions: investment returns in the three years before the survey outweigh the level of suffered expenses (see: Figures 65 and 66). Looking at the data, after excluding the hard to say answers, one can notice that almost eight out of ten companies specified their level of expense in this field to be no more than 20 per cent of the general sum of income. In the case of the other half, this was more than 20 per cent, while one-third of companies allocated 40 per cent of income. On average, companies allocated 17 per cent of their income to design, while getting one-third of their income back on this investment.
Figure 65.

Amount of income allocated to the development of e-services in the last 3 years.

18% 0 Up to 5% 20 6-10% 9% 11% 40 11-20% 11% 60 Over 20% 51% 80 Hard to say 100

Source: self study.

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Figure 66.

Amount of income from e-services implemented in the last 3 years.

13% 0 Up to 5%

13% 20 6-20%

9%

9% 40 21-40%

8% 60 41-70%

48% 80 Over 70% Hard to say 100

Source: self study.

Summing up, most companies agree that investing in e-service design is profitable, but often gains have no tangible financial impact. In most companies, investments in this field did not exceed 10 per cent of general expenses. The average level of expenses in this field rose steadily over the course of last three years.

Summary Innovative solutions should be an important part of the design of e-services. The reality however is as follows:

the most common source of inspiration for the companies when creating designs of e-services is the observation of solutions used by domestic competitors; this is the dominant method of getting solutions by microcompanies; the larger the company, the more common the commissioning of projects to designers and purchasing licensed patterns; companies declare that they include designers in the process of creation of e-services; it is possible that the effects of such activities are rarely innovative in character; in theory, innovation is highly praised, but in practice it is positioned low in the hierarchy of goals; two-thirds of companies are happy with the current level of intellectual property protection, while most of the surveyed entities limit themselves only to the copyright protection; even though one-third of the designers condemn the copying of someone elses pattern, one out of ten professional designers declare that basing on someone elses designs is inevitable; one out of ten respondents admits to copying designs more or less consciously;

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the amount of companies which try to operate independently of their competition in the creation of new e-services is very small; it can be assumed that most companies to a larger or lesser extent copy existing patterns; one in four companies has met with the problem of copyright violation; e-service companies often think of themselves as being innovative, at the same time relating this term not to the novelty of proposed solutions but rather to their inclination to improve existing structures and solving problems. Both e-service companies and designers see the influence of e-service design on various aspects of company functioning.

Both e-service companies and designers perceive the impact of e-service design on different aspects of company activities:

designers usually see a much larger potential in using e-service design than results show from the experiences of companies; companies appreciate mostly the immeasurable effects of e-service implementation: improving the image, brand communication, service quality, and customer satisfaction. These factors are important for building a strong market position; part of companies believe that e-service design helped them gain stable competitive advantage; companies are more sceptical in their evaluation of hard investment return indicators like the financial state of the market share; investments into e-service design are deemed as profitable, even though their effects are not always directly connected to the financial sphere; financial outlays on e-services rose over the last three years.

Conclusion The approach of companies to the issue of the originality of solutions, understood both as innovation and respecting copyright laws, allows the creation of the following picture of the industry:

companies do not believe innovativeness to be key for achieving success, despite formally recognizing its significance and noticing its influence on the general quality of functioning, which may serve as a useful prognosis, currently, companies focus on the usability aspects of e-services. It may be that for many designers, innovation has a rather secondary meaning not many

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of them believe innovativeness to be key for the success of the entire venture, which perhaps results from meeting the expectations of their contractors;

lack of pressure for the originality of solutions is an element of a broader phenomenon quiet agreement to the imitative nature of solutions, especially among companies; the problem, especially in the group of microcompanies, is the low level of awareness about the need to protect patterns and respect intellectual property rights that secure achievements of the competition; there is a certain group of designers who believe lack of creativity and copying of patterns to be the main barriers in the development of e-service design, which is underlined by the scope of the phenomenon of imitation in contemporary design; disparities between the evaluations of the effects of e-service design of entrepreneurs and designers suggests that either companies do not fully realize their potential, or that designers are not familiar enough with the realities in which their contractors function.

Case stud
Service: Design: Service provider: Bank of Ideas of Bank Zachodni WBK (Bank Pomysw Banku Zachodniego WBK) Bank Zachodni WBK: Katarzyna Prus-Malinowska (director), Miosz Brakoniecki and Przemysaw Doroz Netguru: Adam Zygadowicz and Wiktor Schmidt Bank Zachodni WBK
DESIGN IDEA Although all companies try to take advantage of the strength and knowledge of the community of clients, only a few manage to do so. Bank of Ideas of BZ WBK uses the idea of including the client into product creation, but forged into a specific project. Starting a dialogue by BZ WBK became possible when the company shared an open communication platform. The website allows the client to voice opinions, ideas and suggestions, as well as to comment on posts of other users. The idea for creating such a website was drawn from social networks created by Dell and Starbucks. BZ WBK was the first company in Poland to decide to implement this kind of solution. The website was created in cooperation with website designers, Netguru. However, this was one of the first projects where interactivity was not only meant for entertainment, but also in order to gather real opinions on products and ideas of the company. Users, themselves, can influence the shape of the Bank of Ideas, adding new functions and creating content.

e /5 dy
BUSINESS RESULT Introduction of the Bank of Ideas is now considered a source of competitive advantage for BZ WBK it allows for matching financial products to client expectations. A group of almost 2.7 thousand committed prosumers, which interact with their bank, gathered around the project. Out of 151 ideas implemented by BZ WBK, most of them concern online banking. The Internet website BZWBK24 was shaped to a large extent by the members of the Bank of Ideas. They also proved to be good testers of newly introduced services: they took part, among other things, in testing the pilot Internet website for mobile phones and were the first to test the kartainternetowa.pl website.

Bank Zachodni WBK found a way to co-create products together with its clients in 2009, it launched a social platform where a client can submit, rate and comment on proposals of the bank. The best and most realistic ideas for realization are consulted and implemented, and their authors are rewarded.

8.
Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the e-service design area

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8. Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the e-service design area
Iwona Palczewska, Beata Bochiska

Table 15.

SWOT analysis for entrepreneurs implementing new e-services.

POSITIVE STRENGTHS (NOW) INTERNAL (ORGANIZATIONAL ATTRIBUTES) NEGATIVE WEAKNESSES (NOW)

1. Financial support from the EU. 2. Awareness of the potential of e-services for the development of company and its competiveness. 3. Experience (both good and bad) in the provision of e-services. 4. Good practices encouraging other entrepreneurs.

1. Lack of knowledge about the process of developing new e-services. 2. Lack of competent cadre in the area of design management in companies. 3. Unwillingness to use advisors and external designers. 4. Imitation of proven models, lack of innovative approach. 5. No knowledge about the consumer. 6. Low level of social trust.
THREATS (FUTURE)

OPPORTUNITIES (FUTURE) EXTERNAL (ENVIRONMENT ATTRIBUTES)

1. Positive approach and recognizing the 1. Increase in distance between Poland potential of e-services for company and worlds most developed economies. competitiveness. 2. Lack of a modern e-service portfolio of 2. Development of the ICT infrastructure Polish entrepreneurs will cause foreign making it easier to shift economic accompanies to enter the market, which tivities into digital space. will have a negative influence on the 3. Generational changes increase conPolish job market. sumer competences and willingness to 3. Not matching the offer to the needs use e-services. of the consumer (caused by lack of knowledge about the consumer). 4. Low level of social trust. 5. Generational changes will cause the offer to become concentrated on new, highly qualified consumers, neglecting the balancing of opportunities (universal design).

Source: self study.

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Table 16.

SWOT analysis for the designers of e-services.

POSITIVE STRENGTHS (NOW) INTERNAL (ORGANIZATIONAL ATTRIBUTES) NEGATIVE WEAKNESSES (NOW)

1. High level of artistic education and de- 1. Graduates of design schools have no sign technique. competencies in cooperating with the 2. High creative potential. industry. 3. High level of knowledge and skills in 2. Graduates of IT schools have no compethe area of new technologies. tencies in the area of e-service design. 3. Designers are trained to create an object, while a service is a process requiring specific competencies to be designed. 4. Lack of teamwork competencies, especially in interdisciplinary teams. 5. Companies have little interest in cooperating with professional external designers of e-services.
OPPORTUNITIES (FUTURE) THREATS (FUTURE)

Source: self study.

EXTERNAL (ENVIRONMENT ATTRIBUTES)

1. Design is on the list of required faculties. 2. EU membership and related execution of Digital Agenda. 3. Intellectual exchange with foreign countries (exchange of students, scientists, own experiences, advisors knowhow, presentations of good practices in the area of e-service design). 4. Creation of an educational offer in the area of e-service design and design management. 5. Educating an e-service designer.

1. Increase in distance between Poland and worlds most developed economies. 2. Lack of a modern e-service portfolio of Polish entrepreneurs will cause foreign companies to enter the market, which will have a negative influence on the Polish job market. 3. Not matching the offer to the needs of the consumer (caused by lack of knowledge about the consumer). 4. Companies have little interest in cooperating with professional external designers of e-services. 5. Generational changes will cause the offer to become concentrated on new, highly qualified consumers, neglecting the balancing of opportunities (universal design).

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Table 17.

SWOT analysis for the system of education in the area of e-design.

POSITIVE STRENGTHS (NOW) INTERNAL (ORGANIZATIONAL ATTRIBUTES) NEGATIVE WEAKNESSES (NOW)

1. Narrowly specialized cadre of ambi- 1. Lack of cohesive offer for e-service detious educators in schools. sign education. 2. High level of specialist training in IT 2. Lack of educational cadre for the comschools. plex education in the area of service design.

OPPORTUNITIES (FUTURE)

THREATS (FUTURE)

1. Design is on the list of required fac- 1. Increase in distance between Poland and worlds most developed economies. ulties by the Ministry of Science and 2. Lack of a modern e-service portfolio of Higher Education. Polish entrepreneurs will cause foreign 2. Creation of the methodology for mancompanies to enter the market, which aging the development of e-services, will have a negative influence on the based on the design approach (similar Polish job market. to the methodology of product design 3. Not matching the offer to the needs management). of the consumer (caused by lack of 3. Creation of modern educational proknowledge about the consumer). grammes and launching new faculties for e-service designers (interdisciplinary, interdepartmental). 4. Creation of complex educational offer in the area of e-service design for managers (postgraduate studies, certificate workshops, e-learning). 5. Introduction of the elements of cooperation between designers and companies into educational curriculum. 6. Educational exchange with foreign institutions.

Source: self study.

EXTERNAL (ENVIRONMENT ATTRIBUTES)

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Table 18.

SWOT analysis for the infrastructure and e-service support systems.

POSITIVE STRENGTHS (NOW) INTERNAL (ORGANIZATIONAL ATTRIBUTES) NEGATIVE WEAKNESSES (NOW)

1. Financial support from the EU. 2. Development of ICT among Polands development priorities on the level of strategic documents. 3. Competitive market of Internet access operators stimulates emergence of offers attractive to consumers.

1. Large scale of digital exclusion. 2. Delays in usage of EU funding for the development of ICT infrastructure caused, among other things, by lack of a concept of execution and later maintenance. 3. Low level of public e-services. 4. Legal regulations are unfavourable for the development of e-services in the area of digital space (i.e. digital signature, consumer protection). 5. Education system of children and youth is undeveloped.
THREATS (FUTURE)

OPPORTUNITIES (FUTURE) EXTERNAL (ENVIRONMENT ATTRIBUTES)

1. Development of ICT infrastructure will 5. Risk of execution of ICT infrastructural projects that will not be suitable to the allow reaching a larger amount of consumers and, consequently, developing methods of using the Internet of the future consumer. economic activities in digital space. 2. Generational change increase in 6. Lack of change in the education sysconsumer competence. tem lack of creation of competences in the area of conscious usage of dig3. Large offer of mobile Internet access services opens the way for many conital space. sumers. 4. New business models allow for the development of infrastructure supported by income generated by e-services.

Source: self study.

9.
Recommendations

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9. Recommendations
(Beata Bochiska)

Design of e-services, based on cohesive and mature methodology, is a new discipline in this world. Polish economy stands before an opportunity to quickly develop this field and companies can achieve competitive advantage in regional as well as global scale. Systemic support for the development of e-service design should be a supporting factor for this, including investments into creation of business environment of firms developing e-services, development of company competences and proper legal regulations. The authors of this report believe that there is a deep running analogy between the development of industrial design in relation to consumer products and development of service design from the standpoint of internal and external conditioning, methodology and course of the process. That is why it is recommended to prepare a strategy and plan activities for supporting e-service design, including using solutions that proved themselves in programmes whose goal was to increase effectiveness of usage of industrial design to raise competitiveness of production in companies. The addressees of recommendation are as follows: I. Companies.

II. Designers. III. Educational system and higher education. IV. Research units, including those that survey effectiveness of the economy. V. Entities responsible for the development, construction and maintenance of technical infrastructure.

VI. Legislative entities. VII. Entities responsible for allocation of financial funds for the development of economy.

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Development of competences:
Entities responsible for the development, construction and maintenance of technical infrastructure Educational system and higher education Entities responsible for allocation of financial funds for the development of economy +

No.

Recommendation Companies Designers

1.

Elimination of digital exclusion by retroactive (educational programmes for the excluded) and proactive actions (educational programmes for the future generations using ICT technologies). Introduction of strategic changes in educational programmes from nursery schools up to the level of lyceums, allowing integration of possibilities offered by ICT technologies as educational tools. This should be done by launching a nationwide research and implementation programme executed by partners representing science (research unit), business (company implementing and coordinating the course of implementation of the project result), suppliers of technological solutions, designers and architects, as well as self-government administration responsible for the execution of programmes in subordinate educational institutions. This programme will allow for the creation of the competences of future suppliers and consumers for the offer of e-economy, including e-services. Creation of a methodology for the development of a new immaterial product - e-service, as a content base for building a system for educating entrepreneurs and designers by way of free-of-charge and commercial parallel offers (i.e. using the support of EU funds).

2.

3.

Legislative entities

Research units

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Entities responsible for the development, construction and maintenance of technical infrastructure

Educational system and higher education

No.

Recommendation Companies Designers

4.

Inclusion of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland into the issue of service designs for the standards of education of required faculty - design. Creation of faculties educating e-service designers in universities in industrial design, IT and interdisciplinary departments. Creation of an offer of specialist + postgraduate studies in the area of e-service design, defined according to this report and executing the complex concept of development of a new immaterial product - e-service. Creation of a complex system of pro- + fessional education in the form of a varied offer of postgraduate studies, workshops and trainings concluded with the receiving of a professional certificate or a diploma - executed as fulltime courses, blended learning and e-learning courses: for the companies - managers of service design and for designers of services, focusing on multidisciplinary teamwork. Creation of modern methodology + of development of new immaterial products e-services, which provide a base for programmes educating designers and managers of e-service design. Creation of education methodology in the area of cooperation between companies and e-service designers. Supporting the development of professional advisory offers for companies in the area of e-service design.
+ +

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Entities responsible for allocation of financial funds for the development of economy

Legislative entities

Research units

192

Entities responsible for the development, construction and maintenance of technical infrastructure

Educational system and higher education

No.

Recommendation Companies Designers

11.

Creation of a codified system of + values of e-service design, including evaluation of consumer experience, matching the e-service to the market and user, ergonomy of the process, system and usability of computer application, aesthetic attributes, emotions, adjustment to the market, user, price-quality ratio and others, allowing for objective parameterisation of support criteria. Entities offering and designing e-services should focus on the issues of accessibility and usability. Low quality and lack of standards may exclude some parts of potential users or decrease the scale of e-service usage. In open market conditions, Polish consumers get access to different technological solutions in enduser devices as they appear on the market. E-services should be designed and tested for many different devices to allow comfortable usage, independently of the operating systems/browsers installed in devices.

Entities responsible for allocation of financial funds for the development of economy

Legislative entities

Research units

193

Systemic support:
Entities responsible for the development, construction and maintenance of technical infrastructure Educational system and higher education Entities responsible for allocation of financial funds for the development of economy + + + +

No.

Recommendation Companies Designers

1.

Creation of systemic support on the level of government's strategic documents for the development of design of e-services, which will create an "ecosystem" for the development of this sector, including education of cadre, financial support instruments, fiscal instruments that encourage growth, support for the infrastructural system, shaping the consumer's competencies, elimination of digital exclusion, system of specialist advisory services, development of modern methodology of business and management models involved in designing and implementing of e-services. Support for the development of technical infrastructure for the functioning of e-services.
+

2.

3.

Using EU and public funding to stimu- + late the growth of systematic design of e-services for preparation of solutions for the domestic markets, as well as preparing the localizations for construction of regional and global service centres in Poland, development and management of e-services. Redefinition of criteria of allocating development projects and implementation of new e-services within the framework of the OP IE, so that a full model process of e-service development and creation of complex websites that take into account the multidimensional user experience is supported.

4.

Legislative entities + + + +

Research units

194

Entities responsible for the development, construction and maintenance of technical infrastructure

Educational system and higher education

No.

Recommendation Companies Designers

5.

Development of e-administration, which is, on the one hand, an element of the sector of e-services and, on the other, supports the economic development by eliminating unnecessary procedural burdens for companies and citizens. The responsibility of public administration is offering such services and constant monitoring of their quality, usability and relevance. Conducting systematic research of design of e-services and the process of designing e-services, taking into account the areas of e-commerce and e-government in Poland. Promotion of e-service innovation + through using open standards in the process of design and creation of e-services that encourage growth and continuous innovation in the whole sector. Entities offering and designing e-services should look for innovative solutions in the area of services, especially those that meet the needs and interests of excluded people. Such e-services could influence growth in the usage of digital technologies and the entire e-service sector in Poland.
+ + +

6.

7.

Entities responsible for allocation of financial funds for the development of economy

Legislative entities

Research units

195

Regulations:
Entities responsible for the development, construction and maintenance of technical infrastructure Educational system and higher education Entities responsible for allocation of financial funds for the development of economy + +

No.

Recommendation Companies Designers

1.

Implementation of proper economic policies for network operators so that the cost-lowering pressure was substituted with mechanisms that encourage investing and entering into business models with e-service providers. It is also important to allow creation of functional models of networks from operational and business perspectives (answering basic questions, like who will be the technical operator and who will sell these service and at what prices), as well as project coordination models (i.e. enforcing optimization of operating costs through centralization of management systems). Creation of a cohesive system of defining and segmenting e-services for the needs of strategic economic documents of the country (taking into account the needs, conditions and strategies of development of this sector in Polish reality). Securing the increase of network security for the consumer and e-service provider through proper legislative actions. Creation of new professions: service design manager and service designer. Creation of a system of professional certification in the area of managing e-service design (including e-services).
+ + + + + +

2.

3.

4. 5.

+ +

Legislative entities + + +

Research units

196

9.1. Predicted impact of executing recommendations on the economic innovativeness of Poland Execution of the recommendations included in the report should significantly influence the increase of innovation of the Polish economy. Innovation level measurement methodology of the European Commission, which publishes yearly the EIS (European Innovation Scoreboard) and RIS (Regional Innovation Scoreboard) reports, was used to measure the potential influence on innovation. According to the EIS 2009 report, the Polish economy is in the group of Moderate Innovators, below the EU average and next to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain, Norway, Portugal and Italy. To evaluate the innovation level and its growth, 29 indicators in three main groups are measured: enablers (enabling factors), company activity, results and seven subgroups with equal influence on the final index: 1. human resources, 2. finance and support, 3. firm investments, 4. linkages and entrepreneurship, 5. throughputs, 6. innovators, 7. economic effects.

197

Figure 67.

Innovation in Polish economy and the European Union EIS 2001.

Performance per dimension Summary Innovation Index (SII) OUTPUTS Economic effects Innowators FIRM ACTIVITIES Throughputs Linkages and enterpreneurship Firm investments ENABLERS Finance and support Human Resources EU 0,0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Growth per dimension

Source: European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), European Commission, Enterprise and Industry, Brussels 2009.

Execution of the recommendations of this report for development and market success of well designed e-services has a potentially large influence on improving the value of 15 among 29 innovation measures:
Table 19.

Influence of execution of recommendations on the innovation indicators used in the EIS (European Innovation Scoreboard) and RIS (Regional Innovation Scoreboard) reports.
Measure Measured parameter Enablers / Human Resources 1.1.1 1.1.4 S&E and SSH graduates (1st stage) per 1,000 population Participation in life-long learning per 100 population aged 25-64 New faculties in design and e-service design Tertiary education for company employees in the area of e-service design management Recommendations

Enablers / Finance and support 1.2.4 Broadband access by firms as % of companies Technical base for the development of e-services

Entrepreneurship / Firm investments 2.1.2 IT expenditures as a % of GDP Technical base for the development and usage of e-services

198

Measure 2.1.3

Measured parameter Non-R&D innovation expenditures as % of turnover

Recommendations Expenses on product and process innovation for e-services

Entrepreneurship / Linkages and entrepreneurship 2.2.1 SMEs innovating in-house as % of SMEs [innovation means introduction of new products or processes] Innovative SMEs collaborating with others as % of SMEs [innovation means introduction of new products or processes] New e-services, independently or as an element of other products or services Outlays on product or process innovation for e-services

2.2.2

Entrepreneurship / Throughputs 2.3.2 2.3.3 Community trademarks per million population [products or services] Community designs per million population [products or services] New e-service related trademarks New e-service related designs

Results / Innovators 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 SMEs introducing product or process innovations as % of SMEs SMEs introducing marketing or organizational innovations as % of SMEs Resource efficiency innovators as % of all firms Innovations because of (or thanks to) the introduction of e-service design Innovations because of (or thanks to) the introduction of e-service design Innovations thanks to usage of well designed e-services

Results / Economic effects 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.5 Employment in medium-high & high-tech manufacturing as % of workforce Employment in knowledge-intensive services as % of workforce Sales of new to market innovations as % of turnover Increase in employment thanks to e-service success Growth thanks to a new group of managers of e-service design Growth thanks to new e-services

Source: self study.

10.
Summary

201

10. Summary
(Iwona Palczewska)

The service, or mainly e-service (thanks to a rapid growth of digital world), industry is one of the most popular directions of economic growth in the nearest future. As indicated in the report, a friendly ecosphere, comprised of the following segments, is required for its development: 1. knowledge, 2. education, 3. ICT infrastructure, 4. administrative and financial support, 5. demographic and sociological background, 6. legal regulations. The results of conducted surveys allowed the specification of the current state of the e-service market, competences and needs of Polish companies in the areas of implementing a new e-service project and increasing the effectiveness of their creation. This state is treated as the entry point, providing knowledge for creation of specific solutions for activities supporting the development of e-services in Poland and for the evaluation of effectiveness of these actions in the future. Achieved results indicate that e-services develop in Poland spontaneously, being mostly driven by the development of digital infrastructure and emulation of foreign solutions. It is important to remember that spontaneous development of a few leading e-service brands on the Polish market is not sufficient for the creation of a modern e-service sector, which, in order to stand against foreign competitors, must develop quickly and with maximum effectiveness. For this, methodology, knowledge, tools and competences are required. The survey results have shown that in most Polish companies that implement e-services, the most common are emulation of existing solutions, observation and copying of the products of the competition, low position of innovation in the hierarchy of goals and unawareness of the service design phenomenon. This state significantly limits the ability to achieve positive economic effects, increases the chances of market failure and lowers the chances of achieving competitive advantage.

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The authors of this report believe that there is significant analogy between the design of material products and immaterial e-services, both in the areas of development conditions, methodology of creation process and business models effectively using design as a tool for generating added value and increase of product and company competitiveness on the market. Therefore, it is recommended to employ existing experience in profiling strategies and e-service development activities, as well as use solutions which have proven themselves in projects whose goal was to increase the effectiveness of using industrial design to increase the competitiveness of production companies. Proposed solutions can be found in the recommendations. In short, they can be defined in a few areas, the three most important of which are: 1. creation of business environment by improving the technical infrastructure, legal and economic regulations; 2. channelled European Union financial support of e-service development, based on the project qualification criteria compliant with the dedicated methodology of e-service design management; 3. improving the knowledge, competences and education level in the area of widely understood e-economy, companies, designers and consumers on all levels, prevention of digital exclusion and support for the development of human and social capital. To speed up the development of e-service design in Poland in the coming decade, a systemic approach is required, which would create an ecosystem supporting development of e-services, starting from creating a cohesive strategy, through realization of all of its targets, up to result evaluation. Basing the methodology on the cohesive e-service design concept would be favourable for such an approach. The definition of e-service design was pre-defined in this report.

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Abbreviations
API Application Programming Interface ASP Application Service Provider CAPI Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing CERIAS Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security EDGE Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution GDP Gross Domestic Product GPS Global Positioning System HSDPA High Speed Downlink Packet Access ICSID International Council of Societies of Industrial Design ICT Information and Communications Technology ISP Intermediary Service Providers IT Information Technology IWP Institute of Industrial Design (Instytut Wzornictwa Przemysowego) IxDA Interaction Experience Design Assiciation LTE Long Term Evolution NGO Non-governmental organizations OP IE Operational Programme Innovative Economy) PORPW Program Operacyjny Rozwj Polski Wschodniej QFD Quality Function Deployment TQM Total Quality Management ZSZ Design Your Profit (Zaprojektuj Swj Zysk)

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Index of figures

Figure 1 Figure 2

| | | | | | | | |

Company opinions on e-service design. Sources of new design solutions used by companies when designing an e-service in the last three years. Company needs in the area of e-service design [N=201]. Number of people in the 1674 age group who have not used a computer or the Internet in 27 European Union countries in 2008. Model of parameters for assessing the design maturity of e-services. Categories of e-service clients. Process of e-service purchase. Service design search queries in Google as of 4 October 2010. Search queries for e-service in Google as of 4 October 2010.

9 9 10 32 44 47 48 49 51 62 63

Figure 3 Figure 4

Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9

Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12

| E-commerce turnover. | Barriers for using e-commerce in households, Eurostat 2009 study.

| Model of maturity of e-government in EU 27 + (European Union + Switzerland + Turkey), European Commission, November 2009. 65 | The level of maturity of eGovernment in the EU27+, November 2009. | Availability of e-Government services in EU 27 +, November 2009. | Service design model. | Process of service design. | Percentage share of end users using broadband connections divided into voivodeships in 2009. | Stationary broadband Internet access in Poland. | Number of 2G/3G modems and mobile Internet penetration of services in Poland. | Division of Internet users based on the type of mobile devices. | Households with computers. | Monthly average Internet price, taking into account spending power parity as of October 2009. | Households with a computer and Internet access, 20032009. 66 66 71 73 84 85 88 90 91 93 121

Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 15 Figure 16 Figure 17

Figure 18 Figure 19

Figure 20 Figure 21 Figure 22

Figure 23

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Figure 24 Figure 25

| Internet usage according to age, place of living and education. | Accessibility of broadband Internet (line per 100 residents) in January 2010 and speed of changes in comparison to January 2009. | Shopping related e-service usage in European countries. | Professional education of the designers, indications above 3 per cent. | Number of e-service projects completed by companies in the last 3 years. | Company opinion on e-service design. | Using help of institutions competent in the area of design during the e-service design process. | Studies and standards used by companies when developing e-services. Indications above 3 per cent. | What, according to the entrepreneurs, should a standard for e-service design management contain in order to make working on them as easy as possible. Indications over 3 per cent. | Sources of new design solutions used by companies when designing e-services in the last three years. | Chosen stages of the e-service creation process in companies in Poland (elements which are similar in different sized companies). | Selected elements of the organization of the process of e-service creation. | Chosen elements of concept work when working on an e-service. | Contents of a brief that precedes the e-service creation. | Chosen elements of testing a created e-service. | Cooperation with designers in designing e-services. | Types of tasks given to designers. | Significance of various elements for the successful creation of an e-service, according to companies. | Issues that are treated as priorities by designers and companies when creating an e-service.

122 124 128 138 140 140 142 143

Figure 26 Figure 27 Figure 28 Figure 29 Figure 30

Figure 31

Figure 32

143 144 145 146 146 147 148 149 150 151 152

Figure 33

Figure 34

Figure 35 Figure 36 Figure 37 Figure 38 Figure 39 Figure 40 Figure 41

Figure 42

Figure 43

| Activities of designers that are meant to minimize risk of e-service implementation. Indications above 10 per cent. 153 | Methods of ergonomy research used during e-service design. | The main barriers in the acquisition and development of e-service designs in companies. Indications above 10 per cent. | Specialists in the area of e-service design needed in the market. 154 155 156

Figure 44 Figure 45

Figure 46

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Figure 47

| Barriers in acquiring and developing e-service designs in company, designer related. | Primary barriers in developing e-service design in the eyes of the designers. Indications over 3 per cent. | Needs of companies in the area of e-services. | Desired forms of developing competences by e-service providers. | Significance of service innovation (being the first to introduce it on a market) for ensuring success in the process of e-service design.

156 157 158 158 163

Figure 48

Figure 49 Figure 50 Figure 51

Figure 52

| Are the available methods of intellectual property protection sufficient in relation for e-service products? 164 | Experiences and opinions of designers on copying someone elses patterns in e-service design. | Range of the practice of copying e-service designs among companies. | Influence of e-service design on company innovativeness. | Impact of e-service design on the quality of a companys services. | Influence of e-service design on marketing aspects of company activity. | Influence of e-service design on company effectiveness. | Influence of e-service design on the market standing of a company. | Expenses on design of e-services against general expenses in 2009. | Level of e-service design expenses in R&D budgets in 2009. | Dynamics of e-service design expenses in the last three years. | Dynamics of income from the sales of e-service design in designer companies in relation to the period before the last three years. | Evaluation of profitability of e-service design investments in companies. | Amount of income allocated to the development of e-services in the last 3 years. | Amount of income from e-services implemented in the last 3 years. | SWOT analysis for the infrastructure and e-service support systems. | Innovation in Polish economy and the European Union EIS 2001. 164 165 167 167 168 169 169 170 171 172 172 173 173 174 186 197

Figure 53

Figure 54 Figure 55 Figure 56 Figure 57 Figure 58 Figure 59 Figure 60 Figure 61 Figure 62 Figure 63

Figure 64 Figure 65 Figure 66 Figure 67 Figure 68

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Index of tables

Table 1.

| | | | | | | | |

Participation of subsequent economic sectors in the Gross Domestic Products in selected countries in 2009. Scope of education of the subsequent stages of new design product development (e-service) on different types of universities. Number of users of the Internet ordering products and services via the Internet in selected European Union countries. Types of relations between entities in e-services. The role of design in manufacturing and service firms. How design is used in firms new product and service development. Attributes of e-service evaluation different methodologies. Elements of the e-readiness evaluation. Service connection requirement.

27 29 32 34 68 68 71 81 82 86 87 113 126 128 137 183 184 185

Table 2.

Table 3.

Table 4. Table 5. Table 6. Table 7. Table 8. Table 9.

Table 10. Table 11. Table 12.

| Internet access (both, stationary and mobile) in Poland in 20082009. | Scope, budget and current state of Internet access funding programmes. | Projects from the basic list of the seventh priority axis OP IE Information Society development of e-administration. | Media organized according to their significance for the age groups. | Per cent of public offices sharing e-administration services. | Structure of the (?). | SWOT analysis for entrepreneurs implementing new e-services. | SWOT analysis for the designers of e-services. | SWOT analysis for the system of education in the area of e-design. | Influence of execution of recommendations on the innovation indicators used in the EIS (European Innovation Scoreboard) and RIS (Regional Innovation Scoreboard) reports.

Table 13. Table 14. Table 15. Table 16. Table 17. Table 18. Table 19.

197

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Ownership and copyright

Copying or publicly quoting the report can be only done under the condition of attribution of the author of the report, which is the Institute of Industrial Design, LLC. The Institute of Industrial Design has the right to utilize this report in its entirety or parts in its own projects or publications. The contact person in the Institute of Industrial Design, is Dr. Iwona Palczewska, Head of Research and Development, e-mail: iwona_palczewska@iwp.com.pl, tel: +48 22 860 02 37.

209

Authors limited liability

The author of the report, which is the Institute of Industrial Design LLC, is not liable for the consequences of decisions made on the base of this report.

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About the authors

Beata Bochiska Art historian, design critic, design management specialist. Graduate of the faculty of Art History of Warsaw University. Founding member (1995) and owner of independent design studio ABP Wzornik, providing advisory services in the area of design strategy and acquisition of design projects for leading Polish companies. Author of numerous publications in traditional press, TV and electronic media. Lecturer at Warsaw University (design criticism) and the Warsaw School of Economics (design management postgraduate studies). Since 2006, the head of the Institute of Industrial Design. In 2009, a juror in the world finals of the Imagine Cup 2009 competition in the Design category, organized by Microsoft. Her main areas of interest include: website design, user experience solutions and managing the process of design in the context of changes of strategies and business models of companies in relation to the development of new technologies. Iwona Palczewska Biologist, anthropologist, ergonomist. Graduate of the Biology faculty at Warsaw University; defended her doctoral thesis at the Department of Natural Sciences of Wrocaw University in 1990. Specialist in the area of human physical development. Scientist at the Institute of Mother and Child. Lecturer at Maria Grzegorzewskas Academy of Special Education (APS). Since 2003, an adjunct, then a director of the Research and Development department at the Institute of Industrial Design. Laureate of science awards of the Board of Directors of the Polish Society of Sciences and the President of APS for outstanding achievements in science and teaching. Author and co-author of more than 50 science publications in the areas of auxology, anthropology, ergonomics and design (i.e. Report for the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Poland Analysis of the industrial design application in Polish companies, Warsaw 2007) Member of Polish and international science associations. Member of the Human Development Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences for Health and Quality of Life of Children and Youth.

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Member of teams executing special research and development and in-house projects for the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the State Committee for Scientific Research and the Polish Federation of Engineering Associations and EU funded projects (Institute of Industrial Design key project, part of the OPIE, activity 5.2, Design Your Profit). Director of the development project of the National Centre for Research and Development: Creation of database of ergonomics data for the design of workstations in the reclining position and the project executed within the framework of the programme of the Minister of Science and Higher education Creator of Innovation Support for academic entrepreneurship through an integrated knowledge transfer system in the area of new product design and development. Initiator and producer of implementation projects (like creation, together with PROFIm, of an innovative workstation in the reclining position). Katarzyna Stefaniak Graduate of Gdansk University and Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Independent consultant in the field of business models, organizational structures and processes in industries like telecommunications, IT and production with over 15 years of experience in ICT. She also prepares market analysis for the telecommunications and cable TV markets. Co-author of Feasibility study of the Internet for Mazovia project (2010) commissioned by the Agency of Development of Mazovia. In 2000-2005, as a consultant in Deloitte, she worked on analysis of implementing CRM and other services based on IT an internet, including business models of online trade platforms.

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Dorota Bryndal Legal advisor. A graduate of the Law and Administration faculty at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, postgraduate degree in Copyright, Publishing and Press and the Competition Law from Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Partner in Law Firm GESSEL (2004), where she has worked since 1999. Previously employed by White & Case Poland (1998-1999), Polish Television Corporation CANAL + (1995-1998) and FILM PLUS (1995-1998). Head of the following departments: intellectual property law, labour law and pharmaceutical law. Also specializes in issues related to competition law. Her departments were listed as recommended in the following Polish and international rankings: intellectual property law Legal 500 (2006-2009), labour law Polish edition of the FORBES magazine (2008), Practical Law Company (2007-2008). Author of many articles on intellectual property, labour and pharmaceutical law in the Polish press Rzeczpospolita, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna and columns in Bluszcz monthly magazine. Directs the Programme for Creators of the GESSEL Law Firm, which provides professional legal counsel for members of the creative industry. As a legal partner, she is committed to the Design Your Profit workshops organized by the Institute of Industrial Design, which are intended for enterprises and designers. Also involved in Cambridge PYTHON project, which initiates cooperation between Polish science and business worlds. Alek Tarkowski A PhD in sociology, director of the Digital Centre Project: Poland, coordinator of Creative Commons Poland. Member of the strategic advisory team for the Prime Minister of Poland, responsible for digital society issues, co-author of the Poland 2030 report, member of the inter-ministerial team Digital Poland. Cooperates with the International Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling at Warsaw University, where he is involved in open science issues. Co-author of the Culture 2.0 project, dedicated to cultural changes influenced by digital media. He is interested in issues related to the development of digital society, relations between social processes, culture, technology and intellectual property systems; sociology of new media and technology; usage of digital technologies for cooperation and creation of common good.

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TNS Pentor TNS Pentor is one of the leading Polish research agencies, specializing in ad hoc research, present on Polish market for twenty years. TNS Pentor supports its customers in making strategic decisions and building competitive advantage. Since March 2010, it has been an integral part of the international TNS Corporation. Because of that, it offers clients world-class research solutions backed by international experience gained during execution of research projects worldwide. Currently, TNS Pentors team consists of almost one hundred experience researchers and analysts and several dozen workers supporting the survey process. TNS Pentors experts are researchers with many years of experience and broad knowledge about the market. The companys teams act according to the professional ethics rules and recommendations of the ethical code of the European Society for Opinion and Market Research.