The Influence of Organizational Culture on E-Commerce Adoption

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the influence of different organizational cultures on e-commerce adoption in Jordanian commercial banks. The study is of value to banks by helping them to evaluate their readiness to adopt e-commerce through reviewing the type of leadership, risk appetite, innovation and e-commerce activities. As banks are designing and deploying a range of new e-commerce products, the importance of pursuing and conducting business online becomes relevant, as, if they fail to respond to the opportunities, banks could be consigned to a largely secondary role as e-commerce shifts over time. E-commerce is progressing by creating new streams of competition and compelling banks to make choices about services they offer, networks branch size and distribution, and the extent of their support for interbank payment network.The major findings of this study have indicated that there is a positive correlation between organizational culture and e-commerce adoption. More specifically, the study has revealed that the adhocracy system of organization and management is more prevalently implemented in e-commerce activities than other systems in Jordanian commercial banks. In contrast, hierarchy cultural commercial banks are not adopters of e-commerce activities, and the organizational culture differences explain these issues. A number of recommendations have appeared in light of findings; managers need to place greater focus and attention on their organization culture if they pursue innovation/imitation of strategies. Jordanian commercial banks are advised to focus on activities that enhance e-commerce adoption as to evaluate its status quo in terms of characteristics and the prevailing culture type. This is in order to successfully apply the adoption effectively and efficiently by filling the gap between the association of organization culture and e-commerce adoption.