Yerik Afrianto Singgalen¹
email: singgalen.yerik@gmail.com

Gatot Sasongko²

Pamerdi Giri Wiloso

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN REGIONAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY IN NORTH HALMAHERA REGENCY -INDONESIA *

Keywords: community participation, regional tourism development, North Halmahera Regency

This study aims to describe the community participation in regional tourism development from the perspective of Arnstein's theory through ladder of participation in Pitu Beach as the top Tourist Destination of North Halmahera Regency, Indonesia. The primary data used in this study were obtained from the representatives of local government (district-subdistrict-village), youth organization, local entrepreneur community and stakeholders who involved in regional tourism development of North Halmahera. While the secondary data were obtained from the Public Works Office of North Halmahera Regency. The results show that community participation in regional tourism development showed the existence of the control society in tourism planning, implementing and evaluating the development program. Thus it could be proofed that community-based tourism approach had been successfully implemented in the context of North Halmahera, Indonesia.

Introduction

The tourism sector influenced economic development in Indonesia. The development of tourism sector in relation to regional economic growth could be seen from the increased income, employment and business opportunities [START_REF] Dritasto | Analisis Dampak Ekonomi Wisata Bahari Terhadap Pendapatan Masyarakat di Pulau Tidung[END_REF][START_REF] Latiff | The Impact of Tourism Service Quality on Satisfaction[END_REF][START_REF] Subanti | Economic Valuation on Change of Tourism Quality in Rawapening, Indonesia: An Application of Random Utility Method[END_REF][START_REF] Sarmidi | Dynamic Inter-relationship between Trade, Economic Growth and Tourism in Malaysia[END_REF][START_REF] Kasimu | Hotel Involvement in Sustainable Tourism Paractices in Klang Valley, Malaysia[END_REF][START_REF] Li | Economic Growth, Tourism and Selected Macroeconomics Variables: A Trianggular Causal Relationship[END_REF]. Similarly, [START_REF] Darsini | Pengaruh Kunjungan Wisatawan, Luas Artshop dan Lokasi Artshop terhadap Penyerapan Tenaga Kerja Bisnis Artshop di Kawasan Nusa Dua[END_REF] pointed about the influence of tourist visit to the absorption of labor artshop business in the area of Nusa Dua, Indonesia. Pertiwi (2014) also showed that the number of tourist arrivals, tourist attraction fees, hotel and restaurant taxes have a significant effect on Local Own

INSIGHTS INTO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

ISSN 2669-0195 (online) http://jssidoi.org/jesi/ 2019 Volume 1 Number 4 (December) http://doi.org/10.9770/IRD.2019. 1.4(3) 319

Revenue. Tourism was not only perceived on the economic aspect but on the environmental, social and cultural aspects [START_REF] Arieta | Community Based Tourism Pada Masyarakat Pesisir: Dampaknya terhadap Lingkungan dan Pemberdayaan Ekonomi[END_REF][START_REF] Mohamad | Ecotourism Service Attributes: Estimation of Visitors' Preferences Using a Choice Experiment Method[END_REF]. In the Structucal Path Analysis (SPA) approach, the impact of changes in tourist spending affected the household income in Indonesia [START_REF] Saptutyningsih | Dampak Perubahan Pengeluaran Wisatawan terhadap Pendapatan Rumah Tangga di Indonesia melalui Pendekatan Structural Path Analysis (SPA) dalam SNSE Indonesia[END_REF]. This suggested that the development of tourism sector in Indonesia, particularly at the province and district. It could affect the household income level, increased employment and business opportunities through community-based tourism.

A model of community-based tourism started since 1970 as a response to the negative impact of mass tourism development model in international level [START_REF] Zapta | Can Community-based Tourism Contribute to Development and Poverty Alleviation ? Lessons from Nicaragua[END_REF]. The development of community-based tourism had a relationship with the small community of villagers and the conservation of the environment through the concept of ecotourism as well as managerial model. Community based tourism approach could be seen from the utilization of the village potential in the tourism sector. [START_REF] Susyanti | Potensi Desa Melalui Pariwisata Pedesaan[END_REF] showed that the utilization of the rural villages potential in tourism could be done by empowering communities as perpetrators of tourism in the village. On the other hand, Caroline (2006) showed that there was a participation of fishermen in the management of tourism.

The study about the development of tourism in the border region of eastern Indonesia especially on the implementation of community-based tourism in the context of rural communities in the coastal area were still limited as well as the impact itself. Further than that, study of public participation in the development of tourism could provide an overview of the social and cultural situation of the rural communities as well as the coastal regions of the eastern border of Indonesia. Furthermore, Sihasale (2013) explained the biodiversity in the coastal area of the city of Ambon as well as the consequences of coastal tourism development discussed about the consequences of the utilization of natural resources for tourism activities. In addition, [START_REF] Butarbutar | Pengaruh Aktivitas Wisatawan terhadap Keanekaragaman Tumbuhan di Sulawesi[END_REF] also discussed the influence of tourist activity against plant diversity in Sulawesi. Both showed the social and cultural context from different community even though from the same part of the eastern region of Indonesia. This suggested that the study of the implementation of community-based tourism in the border region of eastern Indonesia needed to be done to examine the dynamics of coastal and rural communities in exploiting the potential of the village through the tourism.

Community-based tourism in the border region of eastern Indonesia were still on the early stages of development.

Regional tourism development program still dominated by the role of local governments. Furthermore, economic development in the tourism particularly in Bunaken Island, North Sulawesi, were still dominated by a small and micro enterprise nautical tourism primary, secondary and tertiary such as rental diving equipment, catamaran boat rentals, homestays, souvenirs and food sellers, tour guide, and cottages, hotels, restaurants and boat owners [START_REF] Friliyantin | Strategi Pengembangan Usaha Mikro dan Kecil Sektor Wisata Bahari di Pulau Kecil (Studi Kasus Pulau Bunaken, Kota Manado, Sulawesi Utara)[END_REF]. Even so, Knights (2009) showed that there was a strategy-based ecotourism development of the local economy that could be implemented to strengthen the economy in the countryside at the same time alleviated the poverty. This meant that a strategy for the implementation of community-based tourism approach could be implemented according to the context of border region of eastern Indonesia.

Community-based tourism development was a model of community participation. In the dynamics of participation, there was a difference of shape and degree of the community participation in accordance with the context of the social and cultural environment [START_REF] Moyo | Community Involvement and Participation in Tourism Development: a Zimbabwe Study[END_REF]. According to [START_REF] Yuliane | Partisipasi dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat dalam Pengelolaan Daya Tarik Wisata "Rice Terrace" Ceking, Gianyar, Bali[END_REF], the form of public participation in Tegallalang slender stones was active participation based on the initiative to develop and manage tourism attraction. On the other hand, [START_REF] Muallisin | Model Pengembangan Pariwisata Berbasis Masyarakat di Kota Yogyakarta[END_REF] suggested a form of community participation in tourism of Prawirotaman was the Village to support the program of community-based tourism development planning so that it became an international village. The community also participated by supporting the tourism businesses such as budget class hotels, cafes, art shops and money changers. In addition, the local community participated in the evaluation process to review the community who had not organized yet in tourism development program such as batik artisans and dance class. This indicated that the context of the social environment and culture affected the dynamics of community participation in tourism development [START_REF] Pharino | Investigating Gaps in Sustainable Community Tourism: A Case Study of Local Communities in the Vicinity of Khon Kae Zoo[END_REF].

Implementation of community-based tourism approach in the border region of eastern Indonesia could be seen from the dynamics of tourism development of North Halmahera Regency. North Halmahera Regency located in the border area between Indonesia and the Philippines. Most of the rural areas of North Halmahera Regency were some coastal villages and a few of small islands. The potential of marine tourism became the potential of village economy that could be developed to increase the income and employment opportunities. One of the villages that successfully developed the tourism sector in North Halmahera is Pitu village. Pitu village was located in Central Tobelo Subdistrict, North Halmahera Regency. BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" known as local government enterprise.

The local government of Pitu village utilized the tourism sector as a main product managed by BUMDes "Pitu Marahai". In addition, all facilities such as local restaurants, tourist vehicle parking area and other tourism facilities were available at the site. The development of Pitu Beach attractions was inseparable from the participation of the community in planning, implementing and evaluating the tourism program. In addition, the partnership formed between local government BUMDes "Pitu Marahai", youth organization "Karang Taruna" and local communities were able to create a safe and comfortable conditions for tourists according to the concept of seven charm (sapta pesona). This study aimed to describe the community participation in regional tourism development from the perspective of Arnstein's theory through ladder of participation in Pitu Beach as the top Tourist Destination of North Halmahera Regency, Indonesia.

Theoretical background and literature review

Arnstein (1969) stated that the community participation was identical with the citizen power. Community participation was stratified by the gradations of power that could be seen in the decision-making process, and the implementation until the evaluation stages. Furthermore, Cohen and [START_REF] Uphoff | Rural Development Commitee: Feasibility and Application of Rural Development Participation: A State of the Arth Paper[END_REF] divided the participation into several stages: the decision-making phase, which was manifested by community participation in meetings. The decision-making phase in question was on planning and implementing a program. The next stage was the implementation stage, which was the most important stage in the development. The real form of participation at this stage was classified into three, in the form of thought contributions, material, and also action as the project members. Another stage was evaluation phase. It was considered important because the community participation at this stage was a feedback that could provide input for improving the implementation of the next project. The last stage was the stage of enjoying the results, which could be an indicator of the success from the community participation at the planning stage and implementing the project. In addition, the more position of the community as the subject of development the greater the project benefits were felt. It indicated the project was successful on the target. Meanwhile, the participation rate according to [START_REF] Arnstein | A Ladder of Citizen Participation[END_REF] consisted of eight levels such as manipulation, therapy, informing, consultation, placation, partnership, delegated power and citizen control. On the other hand, the community participation illustrated how a redistribution of power between the activity providers and the group of beneficiaries occurs, as in table 1 below. 321

The table showed that the level of community participation in development varies. At the participation level of manipulation and therapy, gave the picture of the conditions under the development that was fully regulated and implemented by the government or the conditions where the development was just done so that people were not angry. Furthermore, the level of notification, consultation and placation showed the conditions under the development that was a mere socialization, or community aspirations were heard but not always used, or accepted but not implemented. Meanwhile, the next levels of participation were partnership, delegation of power and control of society. There was mutual reciprocity between the government and the community, even the community was given the power of a part or the whole program and was fully controlled by the community. This was the level of participation that reflected power in society.

Research on participation in tourism development had been done before, but participation level analysis was still done in general. As shown by [START_REF] San | Partisipasi Masyarakat dalam Pengembangan Daya Tarik Wisata Pantai Pandawa, Kabupaten Badung, Desa Kutuh, Kuta Selatan[END_REF] that the participation level of the villagers in Kutuh Village to seven levels which were the level of manipulation (providing information and opportunities to participate in decision making or program execution), informative (quickly getting information about something that happened) (taking part in the formulation of the program implementation policies prior to consultation with the other stakeholders), interactive (directly involved in the program implementation), incentives (donating personnel and earning wages in the process of making facilities, cleaning and pandawa beach gathering), functional (local decision-making by the pandawa coastal team) and initiatives (the community undertakes clean-up activities on their own initiative without the encouragement of others).

Taking that into consideration, this study described the level of participation at each stage of development from the tourism planning, tourism implementation and enjoyment stages up to the evaluation stages. The idea derived from previous research about community participation in regional tourism development. Effective community engagement strategies required project managers to adopt trust-building strategies in projects early and an intimate understanding of community concerns and social structures [START_REF] Teo | Understanding Community Protest from a Project Management Perspective: A Relationship-Based Approach[END_REF][START_REF] Leisher | Measuring the Impact of Community Based Grasslands in Mongolia's Gobi[END_REF]Partingtong & Totten, 2012). Thus, it could be known in tourism context, the level of participation in comunity based tourism practices of previous research still focus on tourism planning [START_REF] Priskin | Issues and Opportunities in Planning and Managing Nature-Based Tourism in the Cengral Coast Region of Western Australia[END_REF][START_REF] Reggers | Exploring Outcomes of Community-Based Tourism on the Kokoda Track, Papua New Guinea: a Longitudinal Study of Participatory Rural Appraisal Techniques[END_REF]Idzak et al., 2015;[START_REF] Bonzanigo | Sustainable Tourism Planning and Climate Change Adaptation in the Alp: A Case Study of Winter Tourism in Mountain Communities in the Dolomites[END_REF], development or implementation process [START_REF] Stewart | Leatherback Ecotourism Implementation, and Outcome Assessment in St. Kitts, West Indies[END_REF][START_REF] Abdillah | Rowing the weaves of Community Participation: Good Practices in Earlychildhood Development (ECD) Program in Rural Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara[END_REF] and evaluation stages (Zhuang et al., 2014). This research described every level of community participation in tourism planning until evaluation stages and disscussed with the previous research.

Methodology

This study used a qualitative approach with a case study strategy [START_REF] Yin | Case Study Research: Design and Methods[END_REF]. North Halmahera has a very favorable geographical location, including: (1) being close to Morotai Island as the Ten Top Tourism Destination in Indonesia, (2) located in a border area of Indonesia and Philipine (3) having easy access in the form of Manado and Ternate which facilitates the transportation of goods from production centers to seaports and airports; and (4) having competitive advantages in the form of tourism destination with Ternate (Spices Island), Bunaken (Coral Reef), and Raja Ampat (Archipelago) as the Top Tourism Destination. Although it is necessary to pay attention to Regional Tourism Development Masterplan and North Halmahera Regency Regional Regulation Number 9 of 2012 concerning the existing tourism spatial planning. The types of data used in this study were primary and secondary data. The primary data was obtained from the representatives of local government (district-subdistrictvillage), youth organization, local entrepreneur community and stakeholders who involved in regional tourism development of North Halmahera. While the secondary data were obtained from the Public Works Office of North Halmahera Regency. The determination of informants was based on the consideration that they experienced and were involved in regional tourism development process (tourism planning, implementation and evaluation of Pitu Beach Development as North Halmaehera's top Tourism Destination).The collected data was then analyzed by descriptive analysis techniques.

INSIGHTS INTO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Results and Discussion

Community Participation in Tourism Planning

Community participation in tourism planning process provided an opportunity to the public to convey ideas and expectations associated with the development of tourism so that the tourism development program implemented was able to answer the needs of the local communities [START_REF] Madiun | Local Community's Participation in Developing Nusa Dua Turist Area (In The Perspective of Culture Studies)[END_REF]Dragouni et al., 2016;Dragouni et al., 2017;[START_REF] Wray | Adopting and Implementing a Transactive Approach to Sustainable Tourism Planning: Translating Theory into Practice[END_REF]. Tourism planning process discussed deliberations on the development plan called Musrembang in 2016. The government of Pitu village were mapping a business location for the local people.

After doing the mapping, the government along with BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" announced it to the public and provided the opportunities to complete the erequirement. The local community support the program and signed up accordance to the announcment. The community were able to determine the business type based on respective interests. The planning for tourism development related to security, order, cleanliness, tranquility, beauty, hospitality, memories. Councilor along with BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" coordinated with youth organization "Karang Taruna" and people who had registered as an entrepreneur to maintain security, prevent the occurrence of conflicts mainly due liquor. In addition, to maintain cleanliness, freshness and beauty on the attractions site, the local government were planning to employ a janitor and environmental officer transport garbage. With regard to creating an atmosphere that was cool, the local government were planning to build a village of shelter and plant a tree at the edge of the beach. Now, the efforts to establish a good relationship between the communities involved as employers around tourist attraction with tourists visiting the village, the government directed and reminded everyone to be friendly towards customers and established a good communication between the host and the visitors [START_REF] Saputra | Partisipasi Masyarakat Lokal Desa Angseri dalam Pengelolaan Daya Tarik Wisata Air Panas Angseri, Kecamatan Baturiti, Tabanan[END_REF].

In order to leave the good memories for the tourists, the local government with BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" heavily relied on the good communication between officers that operated the "banana boat" attraction for tourists. The operational settings of the banana boat attraction was set specifically disscused in the planning process, including ticket purchasing service settings use the supplied water rides. Travellers who wish to use the services of a banana boat attractions were able to register and purchase the tickets at the office. The clerk gave you a referral about the importance of safety for tourists in advance, after that the tourists guided to tighten the safety jacket as well as ensure that the jacket had been installed properly before the banana boat attraction began. In the early stages of the developing process, BUMDes sought to optimize the management site as well as the quality services system for the visitors or tourists. Based on the foregoing, it could be noted that the concept of tourism awareness and seven charm discussed in toruism planning stages. The opinions of local communities remained a consideration of decision-making in determining the direction of policies in the development of the tourist coast of Pitu. This was in contrast with the case of the development of tourism in Laos, Ethiopia, Rote and West Manggarai of Indonesia that indicated the dominance of the government in the planning phase to implementation so that the form of consultative participation, passive flow from above especially and implementation model policies using a topdown approach (Sangkyun et al., 2014;[START_REF] Kedebe | Assessing the Typology of Community Participation in Wonchi Crater Lake Ecotourism Development, Ethiopia[END_REF][START_REF] Wright | On the Edge of Crisis: Contending Perspectives on Development, Tourism and Community Participation on Rote Island, Indonesia[END_REF]Jupir, 2013).

The local government, BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" along with the youth organization "Karang Taruna" and the local community colaborated to establish tourism policies to close the access from the outsider. BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" in the development process were able to empower the communities and increased the local economy rate againts all the circumtances. This suggested an attempt to improve the entrepreneurial skill in strengthening the local economy and reflect community-based development [START_REF] Nitikasetsoontorn | The Success Factor of Community-Based Tourism in Thailand[END_REF]. Community participation in the planning stages indicated that there was a power at the community level. It could be seen from the partnership in planning, delegation of powers to the community in order to make decisions in planning, as well as community control or freedom to convey the aspirations of plotting the direction of development

Delegated Power

The community was given the powers of (some or all of the program): the community was given the opportunity to convey the views of the direction of development related to the pricing of the product to be sold, then the decision to be implemented.

Citizen Control

Fully controlled by the community: the community was given the opportunity to be responsible for the related idea of the direction of development of the Coastal attractions of Pitu Table 2 showed that at the planning stage, the level of power existed in the community. Meanwhile, there was a factor that supported to reach the level of participation which was the public trust to the actors of the local government and all the people who work in BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" because of the transparency and accountability. In addition, coordination or communication between the headman and the community established a harmonious relationship to create a cooperation or partnership with the youth organisation "Karang Taruna". Thus, it could be seen that the transparency and accountability, coordination and partnership as the important factors to increase the level of participation in the planning stage [START_REF] Ruhanen | Stakeholder Participation in Tourism Destination Planning Another Case of Missing the Point?[END_REF][START_REF] Mak | Community Participation in the Decision-Making Process for Sustainable Tourism Development in Rural Areas of Hong Kong, China[END_REF][START_REF] Wisansing | Community Driven Tourism Planning: A Critical Review[END_REF].

Community Participation in the Implementation Process

Community participation in the implementation of the program was in a form of public awareness in order to support the various development programs in tourism. [START_REF] Ziku | Partisipasi Masyarakat Desa Komodo dalam Pengembangan Ekowisata di Pulau Komodo[END_REF] indicated that the villagers of Komodo participated in tourism development project as workers such as infrastructure development, access development such as paving block road, drain the water to the village and sanitary facility. In addition, the society also participated in tourism development as a craftsman, being a tour guide in Loh Liang, managing homestay, as well as renting out boat for tourists to visit the beach around Komodo Island known as Red Beach. Komodo village community also collaborated with the government through the forestry police partner community as a conservation to maintain the forest and achieve environmental sustainability. On the other hand, [START_REF] Siswadi | Kearifan Lokal dalam Melestarikan Mata Air (Studi Kasus di Desa Purwogondo, Kecamatan Boja, Kabupaten Kendal)[END_REF] showed that the form of public participation in the effort to make Purogondo as tourism village, implemented the activities strengthening the capacity of the communities so that people were aware of, understand, care for and join a nature preservation. Now, [START_REF] Widiyanto | Pengembangan Pariwisata Pedesaan[END_REF] showed a form of community participation in the program implementation of the tourism development in the village of Tirtoadi was to become entrepreneurs homestay, souvenir sellers chips and bolu kukus. This indicated that the public participation in the program implementation of the tourism development provided the benefits of economic, social and environmental [START_REF] Nkemngu | Stakeholders' Participation in Township Tourism Planning and Development: the Case of Business Managers in Soshaguve[END_REF].

BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" managed with attention to "sapta pesona" (Seven charm) for tourists. Sapta pesona consist of: security, orderliness, cleanliness, tranquility, beauty, hospitality, memories. The security was a condition of attractions environment that gave a sense of calm, free from fear and anxiety. The specified order was the interesting environmental conditions that reflected the attitude of disciplined, organised and professional, so it could give the comfort for the tourists visited. The cleanliness was the environmental conditions that reflected the state of clean and healthy to give a sense of comfort for the tourists visited. The tranquility was the environmental conditions which caused a cool sight and shade and gave a feeling of comfort for the tourists 324 visited. The beauty was the condition of attractions environment that reflected the beauty of nature and profound impression against the tourists. The hospitality was the attitude of the community that reflected the familiar atmosphere, open and receive up to the tourists at home over his visit. The intended memories was the impression of the experience in the tourist attraction that pleased the tourists and left the beautiful memories to encourage tourists to visit again. [START_REF] Kovari | Safety and Security in the Age of Global Tourism (The Changing Role and Conception of Safety and Security in Tourism)[END_REF] argued that the convenience and security became very important conditions in the tourism industry as well as having a large effect on the sustainability of tourism activity.

Local government along with BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" provided the location of business premises, while the physical building of the place of business became the personal responsibility of each entrepreneur. People who had built a restaurant business, groceries and entertainment business at the site had facilitated with the clean water and electricity. As a contribution to support the development processes, business owners had to pay for IDR 50.000 every month. Otherwise, public participation in tourism development provided opportunities for people to enjoy the results of tourism development. [START_REF] Huang | Analysis on Driving Forces behind Community Participation in Heritage Site Protection and Tourism Development[END_REF] showed that the government in developing the tourism sector were sharing the benefits with local communities so that people could feel the economic benefits of the tourism sector, especially for people living in historical and cultural heritage sites. On the other hand, [START_REF] Yusof | Community Based Tourism and Quality of Life[END_REF] indicated that villagers who were entrepreneurs as homestay entrepreneurs benefited from tourists thus changing the socio-economic order of rural communities. Nevertheless, [START_REF] Dewi | Pengembangan Desa Wisata Berbasis Partisipasi Masyarakat Lokal di Desa Wisata Jatiluwih Tabanan, Bali[END_REF] showed that it was not always the people enjoyed the results of tourism development. In the context of the community in Jatiluwih Tabanan Bali, people did not enjoy optimal results due to the large-scale of business monopoly from foreign investors (foreign investors). Consequently, the benefits obtained were not evenly distributed.

Local communities derived the economic benefits but avoided the large-scale of business monopolies from foreign investors because the headman limited the access from other entrepreneurs in Pitu Beach tourist sites. This indicated that the development processes focused on improving the local economy based on the local community (Constanta, 2012). The entrepreneurship society at the site were enjoying the results of the development processes and could be meassure by the economic, social, and environmental benefits. In the context of economic benefits, local entrepreneur gained the benefits from tourist expenditures between IDR 250.000 until IDR 300.000 per day in weekdays (Monday-Friday). For weekends or on public holidays, the local entrepreneur revenue increased at the range of IDR 500.000 costs up to IDR 700.000 per day. [START_REF] Saptutyningsih | Dampak Perubahan Pengeluaran Wisatawan terhadap Pendapatan Rumah Tangga di Indonesia melalui Pendekatan Structural Path Analysis (SPA) dalam SNSE Indonesia[END_REF] stated that the existence of tourist expenditures against the influence of the household income. This indicated the existence of a benefit from the development of the tourism sector towards household-based [START_REF] Porter | Sustainable Entrepreneurship Tourism: An Alternative Development Approach for Remote Coastal Communities Where Awareness of Tourism is Low[END_REF].

On the other hand, the income from the house business were enough to make a live and financed the school tuition of the children. In the context of social benefits, set the direction of the products sold were able to create a good relationship between the entrepreneurs so that they could anticipate the problem of social jealousy or competition. [START_REF] Ekayani | Wisata Alam Taman Nasional Gunung Halimun Salak: Solusi Kepentingan Ekologi dan Ekonomi[END_REF] that the tourism sector in contributing to the economy of the community through the absorption of labour. Growing community effort were more labor was absorbed in the activity and in turn improved the economy of the community. Even so, the scale of the effort also affected a large or small labor absorption. As for the development of tourism, contribute to the economy of the community could be seen from tourist expenditure on tourist sites. The economic impacts need to be counted to see how big the benefits nature tourism for the economy of the community. If the public benefit for the fulfillment of the economics of tourism, then they joined to keep the sustainability of the natural resources for the sustainability of tourism [START_REF] Lacmanovic | The Role of Local Community in the Marketing Planning for Sustainable Tourism National Park Skadar lake (Montenegro)[END_REF].

Environmental benefits as well as setting the direction of environmental hygiene which were able to create a beautiful environment and cool with the planting of flowers and trees in the coastal area of Pitu Beach site. In addition, each business owners were responsible for the cleanliness of their environment. This indicated the presence of social and cultural empowerment in waste management accordance with the local social and cultural 325 characteristics [START_REF] Sasmita | Culinary Tourism Based Model of Coastal Community Economic Development in Siak[END_REF]. It helped to reduce the volume of garbage, junk quality improvement, throw garbage in place, until the provision and waste separation [START_REF] Wardi | Pengelolaan Sampah Berbasis Sosial Budaya: Upaya Mengatasi Masalah Lingkungan di Bali[END_REF]. Further, [START_REF] Arida | Krisis Lingkungan Bali dan Peluang Ekowisata[END_REF] showed that the consequences of the mass tourism development was the occurrence of environmental degradation in the various domains, such as dwindling public spaces on the beach, the destruction of the border river by the construction of the hotel or villa, scour excessive groundwater for the benefit of the tourism development. Therefore, coordination and partnership with stakeholders in the tourism sector became very essential especially with people living in the vicinity in order to pay attention to environmental conditions [START_REF] Sihombing | Sustainable Tourism in Rural Area Development, Case Study: Kampung Tourism in Wanayasa, Purwakarta, West Java Indonesia[END_REF].

The characteristic of the local bussiness were entertainment business and local food store. An effort to keep the environment clean and safety, the local community payed attention on the waste dissposal issues and kept the cleaness of the environment around the site, and also planting flowers, although officers had been prepared environmental hygiene activities in the morning and evening. This showed a strategy to anticipate environmental damage caused by domestic waste at the site. Concerns such as the findings of [START_REF] Laapo | Pengaruh Aktivitas Wisata Bahari terhadap Kualitas Perairan Laut di Kawasan Wisata Gugus Pulau Togean[END_REF] that environmental pollution due to tourist waste often occurs in coastal areas and islands. The main source of contamination came from the domestic waste in the form of detergents, garbage, plastics, pieces of wood and cans did not occur at Pitu Beach. Local government supported the program to establish bathroom facilities for tourists. Tourists who use tourism facilities voluntarily may contribute to improve the management of the site [START_REF] Suwena | Green Tourism Development as Community Empowerment Efforts in Pemuteran Village, Buleleng, Bali[END_REF].

In front of the door, there was a box to provide the opportunity to the users of the facilities who with awareness to contribute in order to keep the cleanliness of the facilities available. Nonetheless, this indicated a change in traditional values due to the development of the commercialization and materialism in human relations, which was the logical consequence of tourism activity. Social relationships between people who were originally based on moral values turned into relationships based on economic value [START_REF] Setyadi | Pariwisata dan Perubahan Nilai-Nilai Sosial Budaya Berdasarkan Lingkungan Tradisi pada Masyarakat Bali[END_REF]. Tourism could also construct a close interaction between tourism and community culture [START_REF] Sasa | Retrospective of and Prospects for the Development and Strategic Planning of Tourism in the Mountain Regions of Serbia[END_REF]. This could be seen from the participation of the local community of Pitu Village in the development of tourism object which was done voluntarily in the form of community. This also could be seen from the construction project of leisure place which was done by the local community known as Lingpel. The local government provided the building materials along with wages and then offered them to complete the project. The offer was received and they started to complete. In addition, the participation of youth organization "Karang Taruna" could also be seen in supporting the infrastructure. The local government along with BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" established a good cooperation by providing land or business location owned by Karang Taruna in the site. Karang Taruna was given the opportunity to pour creative ideas such as mural activities to attract the tourists.

Youth participation could affect the resilience of the village economy. Rosida (2014) also pointed to the participation of youth in the development of the Nglanggeran ancient volcanoes ecotourism area, demonstrating the form of participation of ideas, the participation of personnel, the participation of property, the participation of skills and skills as well as the social participation provided in order to support the development of the ecotourism area. It affected the economic resilience of rural communities, social community, conservation of the natural environment, infrastructure development and youth development in Nglanggeran Village. Thus, youth could accelerate the process of regional development in the village. After the development of tourism object infrastructure had been done, the local government together with BUMDes set the tariff for the parking fee of the tourist vehicle for IDR 5.000,00. It increase BUMDes revenue in optimizing the management of the tourist object. [START_REF] Khalik | Kajian Kenyamanan dan Keamanan Wisatawan di Kawasan Kuta Lombok[END_REF] showed that the factors that affected the comfort and safety were environmental factors, economic activity and access factors of tourism roads. On environmental factors, there were two aspects that have an effect on the inconvenience and insecurity of tourists, namely the management of parking areas and environmental hygiene. This indicated that the management of the parking area could not be ignored in maintaining the comfort of tourists when visiting Pitu Beach attractions [START_REF] Magi | Tourism-related Skill Development Practices for the Disadvantaged Indigenous Communities in the Umhlathuze Municipal Area[END_REF].

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326

The decision had been through the evaluation phase between local government and BUMDes "Pitu Marahai". This showed that the advantages of the development of tourism sector was not only felt by the people of local community but the local government and BUMDes "Pitu Marhai" itself. Community participation in the implementation stage indicated the level of participation was on the community. This could be seen from the partnership between the local government, BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" and youth organization "Karang Taruna" to develop Pitu Beach attractions. The development were through the program of revamping the facilities through mural activities, delegation of power to the community to build supporting facilities in the form of gasebo. Also, arranging the surrounding environment to remain beautiful, freedom in overseeing the Pitu Beach development program, as in Table 3 below.

Delegated Power

Communities are given the power (part or all of the program): the community is given the power to maintain security and comfort together by maintaining cleanliness or arranging the environment around the tourist object to remain beautiful, in accordance with the ability of each.

Citizen Control

Fully controlled by society: the community is responsible for the implementation of the program as discussed in the planning.

Table 3 showed that at the stage of implementation and enjoying results could be categorized at the level of community control. It could be seen from the collaboration between the local government, BUMDes "Pitu Marahail" and youth organization "Karang Taruna" in the program of improvement and development of tourism supporting infrastructure as well as efforts to implement the tourism awareness and charm sapta in Pitu Beach. On the other hand, there was a delegation of power, in which the community was given the power to maintain security and comfort together by maintaining the cleanliness or arranging the environment around the tourist attraction in order to remain beautiful in accordance with the ability of each [START_REF] Trialfhianty | The Role of The Community in Supporting Coral Reef Restoration in Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia[END_REF]. Factors that support community participation in the implementation stage and enjoyment the results were the economic benefits which were felt by the local community, namely the increase in income per capita and the household economy as well as the availability of employment as a hygiene worker and banana boat attraction officer [START_REF] Chalid | Model Development Planning Policy Tourism District of Tanah Laut[END_REF]. Thus, it could be seen that the perceived benefits of tourism object development became very important in the implementation stage and enjoyment the results of the tourism development program. Unlike the case of [START_REF] Rahadiani | Partisipasi Masyarakat Sekitar Danau Beratan dalam Konservasi Sumber Daya Air[END_REF], study which showed that the inhibiting factor of participation in the context of the people living around Beratan Lake of Tabanan Regency and Tamblingan Lake in Buleleng Regency was the lack of extension organized by the local government. This suggested that the different regional contexts produced different levels of participation [START_REF] Fernandes | Network-bsed Planning for the Sustainable Development of Tourism Destinations: Conceptual Approach[END_REF][START_REF] Adeyemo | Assesing Local Community Participation in Tourism Planning and Development in Erin-Ijesha Waterfall Osun State, Nigeria[END_REF]Amanda et al., 2013).

Community Participation in the Evaluation Stage

Community participation in the evaluation process was needed in order to update the direction and policy of the local tourism development and to remain the relevant to the needs of the community and the condition of the local attractions [START_REF] Okiono | Mediating Role of Community Participation on the Relationship between Common Passion and Sustainable Development[END_REF][START_REF] Musadad | Community Participation in Nature Tourism Development: Lessons from Pindul Cave in Yogyakarta, Indonesia[END_REF][START_REF] Badita | Approaches to the Analysis and Evaluation of Urban Tourism System within Urban Destinations[END_REF]. [START_REF] Ratnaningsih | Partisipasi Masyarakat Lokal dalam Pariwisata (Studi Kasus Desa Wisata Belimbing, Tabanan, Bali)[END_REF] 327 improvement to tourist attraction. [START_REF] Andini | Pengorganisasian Komunitas dalam Pengembanan Agrowisata di Desa Wisata Studi Kasus Desa Wisata Kembangarum, Kabupaten Sleman[END_REF] indicated that the community conducted monitoring and evaluating based on monitoring and supervision mechanisms as well as a further recommendation of agro-tourism development. One of the evaluation process was the improvement of infrastructure of agro-tourism activities such as homestay, access improvement, variety of games offered, quality improvement and environmental hygiene. In addition, [START_REF] Raharjana | Membangun Pariwisata Bersama Rakyat: Kajian Partisipasi Lokal dalam Membangun Desa Wisata di Dieng Plateau[END_REF] indicated that the community in Dieng through Pokdarwis evaluated human resources support program, tourism, local institutions, accessibility, supporting tourism facilities and the surrounding environment. This suggested that the results of the evaluation program may be used to renew the concept of incorrect development or no longer relevant to the needs of the community in relation to the local tourism [START_REF] Rolfe | Divergence in Community Participation Policy: Analysing Localism and Community Empowerment Using a Theory of Change Approach[END_REF].

Local government together with the BUMDes "Pitu Marahail" conducted an evaluation every Monday to discuss the problems and challenges in developing tourism objects. Similarly, parking fee was determined based on the type of tourist vehicle which was the evaluation result of tourism object development. The local government and BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" focused on improving and developing tourism to supportthe infrastructure by building tourists' leisure spots, planting trees and coloring tourism facilities (mural). In its development, the evaluation results became some consideration for the future development [START_REF] Jiang | Evaluation of All-for-One Tourism in Mountain Area Using Multi-Score Data[END_REF]. In addition, the matters discussed in the evaluation phase were related to the policy to prohibit the activity of bathing the pets at the location of the tourist attraction and the prohibition to dispose of waste in the waters of Pitu Beach. In the evaluation phase, the headman as the commissioner could make a sudden decision such as the program to overcome the problems arising from the sea water supply and damage to the abrasion retaining (talud) infrastructure at the location of the tourist attraction. Thus, any decisions and programs formulated in the development of Pitu Beach attractions solely to improve the economy of the local communities. This indicated that the evaluation of the programs conducted regularly by BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" to make the management of tourist attractions to be responsive and adaptive to various changes in the trend of tourism. Community participation in the evaluation phase also found the solutions to the problems also served as a platform for setting strategies for dealing with various challenges in future development [START_REF] Lusticky | Stakeholder-Based Evaluation of Tourism Policy Priorities: The Case of the South Bohemian Region[END_REF]. BUMDes "Pitu Marahai" and local communities participating in tourism development strived to maintain sustainability on the economic, socio-cultural and environmental aspects. Thus, community participation in the evaluation phase indicated that the level of power existed in the community. This could be seen from the partnership between the local government, BUMDes, youth organization and the local communities in order to evaluate tourism development program. Also, the delegation of the power to the community in order to solve problems that hampered the development and provided the ideas related to the subsequent development program, and community control collectively formulated ideas and rationalization of priority programs in the future, as in table 4 below. 328

Table 4 showed that the evaluation phase could be categorized at the level of community control. This could be seen from the collaboration between local government BUMDes "Pitu Marahai", youth organization "Karang Taruna" and the local community in the evaluation of tourism development programs. On the other hand, there was a delegation of power in which the community was given the power to solve problems that hampered development and provided ideas related to the subsequent development program collectively and determined the priority program for the development of Pitu Beach attractions. Meanwhile, the factors that support community participation in the evaluation phase were the positive responses from the community as well as the motivation to increase tourist visits through better development programs. Unlike the case with [START_REF] Guzti | Dapatkah Pengelolaan Kolaboratif Menyelamatkan Taman Nasional Danau Sentarum?[END_REF] which showed that the existence of supporting and inhibiting factors of community participation living in the area of Sentarum Lake especially the tribe of Melayu and Dayak Iban, which caused by information and culture competition. His research showed that the delivery of information related to the importance of maintaining the environment and stakeholders was able to establish the cooperation, whereas the culture of competition could hamper the cooperation because each stakeholder prioritized their respective interests. However, his research did not describe specifically at the evaluation stage. Meanwhile, in the context of Pitu village community, the supporting factor of participation in the evaluation phase was the community responses or local community perspective became very important in the evaluation stage of tourism development program.

Conclusions

The level of participation at all stages of the development showed the existence of the control society (citizen power). Thus, it could be noted that community-based tourism approach had been successfully implemented in the context of North Halmahera, Indonesia. This research showed that community participation in the planning, implementation until evaluation stages indicated that the level of participation was on the community. Meanwhile, the supporting factors of participation in the planning process were transparency, accountability, coordination and partnership. In the context of North Halmahera Regency, communication or coordination between the local government, BUMDes "Pitu Marahai", youth organization "Karang Taruna" and the local community was able to increase the participation level into citizen power according to [START_REF] Arnstein | A Ladder of Citizen Participation[END_REF]. Our result suggest this case need to be considered seriously as pilot project for regional tourism development in North Halmahera Regency of Indonesia.

Table 1 .

 1 Level of Community Participation by[START_REF] Arnstein | A Ladder of Citizen Participation[END_REF]

Number Ladder of Participation The Nature of Equality Depth of Power Sharing

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	1	Manipulation	Game by Government	No participation
	2	Theraphy	Just so that the People are not angry / socialization
	3	Informing	Just a one-way notification / socialization	Tokenism	/	just
	4	Consultation	Society heard, but not always used his advice	justification	to	look
	5	Placation	Community suggestions are accepted but not always used or used	convincing
	6	Partnership	Reciprocity negotiated	Level of Power is in the
	7	Delegated Power	Communities are given the power (part or all of the program)	Society
	8	Citizen Control	Fully controlled by the society
			Source: Rosyida and Nasdian (2011)

Table 2 .

 2 in Pitu Beach as shown in table 2 below. Community Participation in Tourism Planning

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Table 3 .

 3 Community Participation in Implementation Process

	Participation Level	The Nature of Equality	Depth of Power
			Sharing
	Partnership	Reciprocity negotiated: The existence of cooperation between Pitu Village	Level of Power is in
		Government, BUMDes "Pitu Marahai", Karang Taruna and local communities	the Society
		in the program of reform and development of tourism facilities and efforts to
		implement the concept of conscious tourism and sapta charm

  showed that the evaluation form of the community tourism development program in Belimbing village was conducted as a form of responsibility for developing tourist attraction by maintaining what had been done such as tracking track, road

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Table 4 .

 4 Community Participation in the Evaluation Process Communities are empowered (part or all of the program): communities are given the power to solve problems that impede development and provide ideas related to subsequent development programs. Citizen Control Fully controlled by society: society collectively formulates ideas and rationalizations of priority programs in the future INSIGHTS INTO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ISSN 2669-0195 (online) http://jssidoi.org/jesi/ 2019 Volume 1 Number 4 (December) http://doi.org/10.9770/IRD.2019.1.4(3)

	Participation Level	The Nature of Equality	Depth of Power
			Sharing
	Partnership	Reciprocity negotiated: Existence of cooperation between Pitu Village	Level of Power is in
		Government, BUMDes "Pitu Marahai", Karang Taruna and community	the Society
		in evaluation of tourism development program Pitu Beach
	Delegated Power

* This research was supported by Satya Wacana Christian University, Halmahera University, LLDIKTI XXI and the Ministry of Research and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia.


Rafail Prodani
email: rprodani@yahoo.com

Jozef Bushati
email: jozefbushati@gmail.com

Aigars Andersons
email: aigars.andersons@va.lv

Josef Bushati

Aigars An

AN ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN ENTERPRIZES OF KORÇA REGION

Keywords: e-readiness, businesses organizations, information and communication technologies, Internet, impact

Ever-evolving and increasingly powerful Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have fundamentally changed the nature of global relationships, sources of competitive advantage and opportunities for economic and social development. ICTs have greatly increased the impact on every area of human life. Technologies such as the Internet, personal computers and wireless have turned the globe into a network of individuals, businesses, governments, and ever-growing schools who communicate and interact with one another. Without doubt ICTs plays a strategic role in managing organizations. This paper presents a part of the current state of ICTs for enterprises by establishing comparative bases for further studies in this field. It also helps academic institutions to evaluate and identify factors, as well as the specific role and weight of these factors have in the process of developing ICTs towards a developed economy and society in the context of digital Albania. It is presented as a scientific analyse, accomplished, detailed and expressed in percentage and graphical analysis of a number of very important data sets of enterprises in their full form, to unlock developments in the field of ICTs in our country, including specific ones based on concrete data. This study tends to study the extent to which these but have involved ICTs and what impact these technologies have in the daily work of these organizations in part of Albania (Korca Region)and brings its contribution as a perspective of literature, experience and international studies, the level of development of our country regarding the assessment of electronic readiness of business organizations.

Introduction

Success nowadays depends on the penetration and impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the society. New ICTs values came into surface and individuals are becoming more and more aware of

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ISSN 2669-0195 (online) http://jssidoi.org/jesi/ 2019 Volume 1 Number 4 (December) http://doi.org/10.9770/ IRD.2019.1.4(4) 334 their usefulness. Changes in attitude and behavior led to new solutions and models that radically changed work in businesses, hospitals, schools, and government.

Technologies such as the Internet, personal computers and wireless telephony have turned the globe into a network of individuals, businesses, governments, and ever-growing schools who communicate and interact with one another (ITG CID Harvard University, 2008). According to theorists of the network society (Castells, 1996(Castells, -2000)), social structures and activities are increasingly organized around network forms, largely grounded in electronically based information and communication technologies.

In the current technological advancement era that is taking place all over the world, a new kind of rationalization has been introduced into the public sector by the use of modern information and communication technologies (ICT). More and more the use of ICT tools and applications is leading the transformational shifts in the policies, processes and public functions. The electronic government is deciding not only to provide citizen services, but to public sector efficiency goals by improving transparency and accountability to government functions and allowing for cost savings in government administration. ICTs are changing the way the government makes business for the people. In this context, the electronic government seems to be a lever to transform the government.

Getting ready for the network creates many new opportunities for businesses and firms in the developing world by removing barriers for both, information and material goods. Educational institutions and large businesses can extend their activities to this giant network. Governance can become more effective if it extends certain elements of its services to this network. Thus, the benefits of societies in general by the use of this worldwide network are comprehensive both in economic, social and political terms.

Most governments around the globe started their electronic government initiatives with a focus on providing information and services to citizens, while service delivery platforms remain fragmented and parallel across government agencies. In this model, service delivery is built around the functions, structures, information, systems and capabilities of individual action. With the private sector leading the way, access enhancements and greater use of technology have allowed an expansion of new ICT solutions. Now citizens and businesses around the world are increasingly demanding that their governments follow suit. Citizen groups have come to expect a user-friendly interface with ease of use, in a language that the user understands and is tailored to individual needs. The common argument is that intensive use of technology could transform the operational rules of public administration to increase its efficiency, simplify administrative procedures [START_REF] Fountain | Central issues in the political development of the virtual state[END_REF], expand the processes of citizen participation [START_REF] Hague | Digital Democracy: Discourse and Decision Making in the Information Age[END_REF] and make government activities more transparent and accountable [START_REF] Limba | Peculiarities of cyber security management in the process of internet voting implementation[END_REF].

Our paper is organized as follows: the first part clarifies our use of the concept of "network economy"; it follows with an introduction to the previous state of the business assessment reports on the network and its general characteristics; then assesses the penetration level of business in the network for Korça region, in order to take measures to increase its level. It ends with a synthesis of key findings and points, towards future research topics.

Literature review and methodology

Preparing for the networked world creates new opportunities for firms and individuals in the developing world, eliminating the traditional barriers of information and goods for developing countries, and promotes efficiency in a variety of activities. Learners can learn more about the world and themselves through the use of the network.

Businessmen can find new market opportunities and the most efficient ways to run their firms. Governments can Participating in the networked world can provide new ways for developing countries to improve their economic, social and political well-being. These opportunities for positive change are increasingly important and accessible as information and communication technologies become more powerful and less costly.

Businesses and governments that are capable of effectively employing information and communication technologies find more sophisticated and efficient ways to manage their external relations and communications.

For assessing the networked economy, we have divided it into two categories. These categories were selected based on several analogous studies in Australia (Australia ICT Data Collection Case Study, 2005) and Greece (eGoverment in Greece, 2016) as well as in the models provided by ITG CID Harvard University (2008), [START_REF] Prodani | Assessment of Networked Businees. Case study: Korça city[END_REF] and Oxford Analytica ( 2015), but also relying on the concrete features of our country as well as on the needs and opportunities it has for development. These categories are (figure 1) : According to Oxford Analytica (2015), Network government is the transition to a more transparent, cooperative and beneficial relationship between government, citizens and business as a result of technological integration and organizational connectivity. By enabling active stakeholder participation and access, it transforms government services by placing users at the center of policy design and implementation, and service delivery 336

The concept of connected government is derived from the whole-of-governmentapproach which is increasingly looking towards technology as a strategic tool and as an enabler for public service innovation and productivity growth (United Nations, 2008).

The assessment of the network economy is also closely related to the other categories of e-readiness estimates, as network access, networked society and networked education (ITG CID Harvard University, 2008).

Assessing the networked economy is one of the most difficult to estimate if we consider the calculation of other categories of electronic readiness(e-readiness). In this paper, as the part of networked economy is estimated, the calculation is slightly simplified because some of the indicators that are directly related to central governmental factors or that relate to legal factors were not reviewed. We will only deal with modeling of networked business assessment and partial evaluation within our region. This valuation model can be used for similar assessments in developing countries, their characteristics are similar to those of our country. [START_REF] Porter | The Competitive Advantage of Nations[END_REF] determines competitive advantage as the heart of a company's performance. It reflects a company's ability to provide customers with greater value either by lowering prices or offering greater benefits and services that justifies higher prices. [START_REF] Olugbenga | Strategic application of information and communication technology for effective service delivery in an organisation[END_REF] argues that ICT is being used for strategic management, communication and collaboration, customer access, managerial decision-making, data management and knowledge management as it helps provide an effective tool for organizational productivity and service delivery. [START_REF] Krishnaveni | Usage of ICT for information administration in higher education institutions -A study[END_REF] claim that ICT has played a major role in reducing operational inefficiency and improving decision-making in many areas of government. Moreover, [START_REF] Hengst | The impact of information and communication technology on interorganizational coordination: Guidelines from theory[END_REF] claim that ICT enables organizations to lower costs, enhance organizational skills, and also assist in the formation of cross-organizational coordination. Therefore, ICT use can help reduce the cost of coordination and increase external resources in organizations. In addition, [START_REF] Irvine | ICT (information communication technology), peripherality and smaller hospitality businesses in Scotland[END_REF] comment that the use of ICT provides not only practical benefits to overall management, but also enables companies to overcome place and space disadvantages.

Apulu and Latham (2010), claim that ICT enables customers to get immediate feedback that allows companies to react quickly to customer requests and to recognize new market gaps.

Alam and Noor (2009) argue that ICT provides enterprises with ways to compete globally with improved efficiency and closer relationships with customers and suppliers. Therefore, ICT should be considered by businesses as an important strategy to stay competitive. This implies that organizations that are able to utilize the potentials offered by ICT can address different types of innovative processes in their businesses as ICT influences the performance of an organization in multi-faceted ways. Thus, ICT can bring changes to organizations and make them more competitive, innovative, and help increase organizational growth [START_REF] Obijiofor | Impact of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the socioeconomic and educational development of Africa and the Asia-Pacific region[END_REF].

Case study, is one of the most common methods applied in the Information Systems (SI) field [START_REF] Alavi | A review of MIS research and disciplinary development[END_REF]. [START_REF] Sauer | Why Information Systems Fail: A case Study Approach[END_REF] argues that search in information systems is best done by case studies. The case study method was considered appropriate, as the purpose of the paper is to broaden our understanding of the impact of ICT implementation on businessis. All businesses that are considered are large businesses in our region, with over 10 employees, with typical representatives of all types of businesses and about 2.5% of them. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and observations.

The networkedbusiness level in our region will not give it a certain value because the final goal of this study is not to estimate a value for it but to estimate its level as well as to create opportunities to find solutions for improving based on the analysis of several factors that directly affect the online economy. Data is collected in accordance

Research results

In Korça region and in Albania before 1990 there was no industry for the production of equipment and software related to ICTs but even after the 90s during the economic transition period we did not have a significant development in these areas.Businesses and other private and state institutions have implemented too late new digital technologies, showing a tendency towards ignoring these technologies. This was due to lack of knowledge about ICT fields by employees and executives of that time. A major implementation of these technologies was observed after 2000 when the implementation of new technologies became irreplaceable and an important factor of competition between businesses. It became irreplaceable because the volume of work grew and the actions were very difficult to carry out manually, the quality and performance of work with computers is significantly greater, competition between businesses became stronger and the impetus for ICT implementation was coming and increased by government institutions. An important factor for the implementation of ICT in businesses and state institutions is also the Internet. Communicating and receiving various information via the internet was at the beginning a good impetus for the introduction of the Internet into state institutions and bussinesis. The situation has changed completely with the release of Web 2.0, 3.0 or semantic web. Introducing the Web to a variety of government services, creating opportunities to make financial transactions on the web, buying opportunities and establishing business-to-business relationships on the web have made the implementation of Internet technologies a need and a duty for every institution and business.

So, a greater implementation of these technologies was observed after year 2000 when the implementation of new technologies became an important factor of competition between businesses. While after 2010, with the introduction of ADSL, Fiber Optics, WIMAX and 4G technologies, we are seeing an ever-increasing implementation.

Let's analyze one by one the indicators of netword business category:

1. The percentage of businesses that have been using computers and internet during the last year is 90% for both.

There is an increase in comparison to 62% and 52% for computers and internet in the year 2012, see (R. [START_REF] Prodani | Assessment of Networked Businees. Case study: Korça city[END_REF]. This is because of the real growth of online government services, low cost broadband internet, implementation of technologies such as Adsl, Fibber Optic, 4G, use of smartphones and other devices on the Internet.

2. The percentage of people employed in businesses which work regularly on computers in our region is smaller if we take into account the level of developed countries. The value of this indicator is 25%, somehow higher than the 19% value that was in 2012, see [START_REF] Prodani | Assessment of Networked Businees. Case study: Korça city[END_REF].

3. The percentage of regular internet users in Korça region businesses is 23%. This percentage for our region in 2012 was about12%. This seems an increase not too small but comparable with developing countries where this percentage goes above 50%. 4. Nowadays the implementation of networked businesses is an important factor that guarantees the success of the business. If we take into account the various internet services provided, such as a website, social networks etc.

where we can put all the information necessary for business operation. At the moment when this study started, Korca's businesses have a web presence of 50%. We have a big increase compared to the 5% we had at the beginning of 2012, see [START_REF] Prodani | Assessment of Networked Businees. Case study: Korça city[END_REF]. 5. The percentage of businesses in Korca region with Intranet is about 10%. We have to be optimistic about this value if we take into consideration the short period of these technologies are present in our city. Intranet has 338 mostly second level banks and, as far as other businesses are concerned, they do not have the necessary capacity to apply such technology. The study conducted in 2012 on intranets in the Korca region businesses almost did not speak at all. In this survey, businesses with LAN accounted for about 20% of large businesses, whereas today they go to 90%.Another important indicator that impacts the largest involvement of large businesses and their networking activities is the type of internet installed in them. In 2012 only 31% of businesses interviewed had access to the internet broadband while today 90% of interviewed businesses had such internet, using technologies such as ADSL 30%, Fibber Optic 60%, 4G 10%. 6. There are a growing percentage of businesses offering online products. In the study conducted in 2012, only 2% of the businesses carried out online sales. While today this percentage has gone to almost 10%. This indicator in the European Union countries in 2017 is worth 18%, see (Eurostat-Ecommerce sales, 2017). We are optimistic, although we have to mention that the clients of these businesses are not far from the geographic location of the latter ones. They usually prefer to order their product directly from business wholesale sites. We can expect that this indicator will increase in parallel with Korca's businesses increase which will bring to a growing number of clients. This can be achieved by creating a website, displaying different products on catalogs and receiving client orders online. Providing various services online requires the business staff and IT managers training in implementing the new technologies and knowing the advantages and disadvantages of internet services. 7. Extranets are widespread in banks and large companies. The connection of businesses by extranet is typical of contexts when such businesses trade with each other online, usually through the internet being isolated from the other part of it. This type of commerce is named B2B to the business network and some of its advantages are related to the fact that communication between businesses becomes easier and less costly, payments are faster and transparency is generally bigger. The number of these businesses in Korça is very limited, only a few banks, therefore the value of this indicator is very low about 2%. 8. The indicator that shows the Internet business activities is one of the most interesting ones to follow because it basically informs us on how the business uses the internet. The more computerized public institutions are, and the broader range of services they offer, the greater the collaboration of businesses with them will be. So the number of businesses using online government services has increased a lot. The percentage of businesses receiving information from online government services is about 55%, while the percentage of businesses interacting with them is 45%. Growth is also noticed in the percentage of businesses purchases online, is around 18%.

Conclusions

The IT infrastructure of the businesses of our region has gone through a rapid development during the last few years. This same period has witnessed the implementation of a great number of online government services related to businesses and we think that the penetration of businesses to the network is tending to reach maximum levels.

There has been growth in almost all the indicators of this category and this has happened for several reasons. The first reason is the liberalization of the Internet distribution market, the introduction of technologies such as ADSL, Fiber Optic, 4G etc. Another reason is the implementation of many government services in the internet such as online tax system, building permits, obtaining certificates, online tenders, etc. all incorporated in the e-Albania portal. Fullanteli and Allegra (2003) emphasize that ICT provides enterprises with a wide range of opportunities to improve their competitiveness and provides mechanisms for access to new market opportunities. Also [START_REF] Fink | International case studies: To what extent is ICT infused into the operations of SMEs[END_REF]) also advocate that ICT provides many potential benefits to organizations in order to make them more efficient, effective and competitive.

From the interviews with managers of different companies we also have noticed these direct reasons that could get businesses in our region to incorporate the modern technologies into their business: competition and effectiveness at work. This implies that organizations need to invest in ICTs to stay independent of their competitors and also to give them a sustainable competitive advantage and also to increase efficiency at work. Despite these achievements, businesses in European Union countries are far ahead in the implementation of internet technologies especially IoT(Internet of Things) systems. What emerged from the conversations that we had with heads of local businesses, was the need of regional businesses for qualified specialists in the new ICTs fields, especially those that are connected to the Internet technologies. These specialists will be aware of the 340 further benefits that these businesses may have from applying new ICTs and will help these businesses apply these technologies.

Implementing ICTs in businesses also brings about organizational and structural changes in them, this is a challenge that businesses and government institutions have to face.

To increase the level of ICTs involvement in businesses we can give two basic recommendations: Awareness of business managers and owners about the benefits of ICTs implementation, information about the latest ICTs and the creation of opportunities to have the most skilled professionals in the ICTs field.

2)

Creating opportunities to include the IoTsystem in businesses, between businesses, and perhaps even wider.

We can say that today we are moving from the first phase characterized by good internet and computer access to businesses, low level of network services in them, and poor use of ICT in assisting the process work in institutions and manufacturing in the second phase where we have a new inclusion of new ICT technologies in the work and production process, the implementation of most of the network services supported by skilled specialists in ICT fields where the vast majority of transactions with government institutions and businesses are carried out on the Internet. This study will be useful to entrepreneurs, policy makers especially in developing countries, as well as researchers who are interested in ICTs development because the study helps to identify ICTspenetration and impact in businesses, the ways to take for increasing its level of involvementin businesses as well as some of the positive effects that this involvement has.

Figure. 1 .

 1 Figure.1. Networked economy Source: elaborated by the authors based on Australia ICT Data Collection Case Study, 2005; eGoverment in Greece, 2016; ITG CID Harvard University, 2008; Prodani et al., 2012; Oxford Analytica, 2015.

  ITU) standards, according to (Core List of ICT Indicators, 2016), Eurostat indicators for evaluation digital ecomony and similar studies in other countries.

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	with International Telecommunication Union (
	337

  It is a big increase if we consider the 5% value that this indicator had in the 2012 survey. In European Union countries this value goes to 26%, see (Eurostat, 2017b). Let's look at figure 2: INSIGHTS INTO REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ISSN 2669-0195 (online) http://jssidoi.org/jesi/ 2019 Volume 1 Number 4 (December) http://doi.org/10.9770/IRD.2019.1.4(4)

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Figure 2. Proportion of businesses using Internet by activity Source: Eurostat, 2017b.

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