B2B E-commerce Adoption Research Articles

Business-to-Business E-Commerce Adoption Amongst the Malaysian Manufacturing Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Strategic Agility as Moderator

Research on e-commerce in Malaysia is developing, especially amongst the manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as it includes questions about the adoption of business-to business (B2B) e-commerce. Manufacturing SMEs accounted a large portion of gross domestic product (GDP) and SMEs exports. Previous scholars from the developed countries had conducted several research on these issues compared to the developing countries, especially Malaysia. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) was used to measure the company’s performance from four different perspectives. Strategic agility as a moderator should be attributed to the adoption of B2B e-commerce to improve business performance. Strategic agility plays a vital role in technological change, which can improve business performance. The study obtained detailed information on the respondents through the 49th edition of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Industry Directory. Three hundred and eighty-one Malaysian manufacturing SMEs participated in this study. The collected data used the online survey methods and Smart Partial Least Squares Analysis (SmartPLS) under the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The BSC’s point of views include that financial, customers, internal processes, and learning and growth had a significant impact on the adoption of B2B e-commerce. The results showed that strategic agility governed the relationship between B2B e-commerce and internal processes.

Business to Business (B2B) E-Commerce Adoption and Organizational Growth Food and Beverage Sector, Sri Lanka

This paper emphasize on the adoption level of B2B e-Commerce (B2BEC) and analyze the influence of related Technological, Organizational, and Environmental (TOE) factors on the e-commerce adoption decision quantitatively by considering the evidence from in Food and Beverage sector (F&B) in Sri Lankan context with the organizational performance. Study adopts both qualitative and quantitative aspects with a sample of 60 respondents, consists Executive and Managerial level employees in F&B sector adopting the purposive sampling technique. Primary data collected and performed Correlation and Regression analysis to determine the influence of related Technological, Organizational, and Environmental factors on the level of adoption. Findings concluded that the Technological, Organizational, and Environmental contexts can positively influence the level of B2BEC adoption and there was a strong positive relationship between those two variables. Qualitative aspects were tested using thematic analysis and conclude that organizational performance was inspired by the level of e-commerce adoption in the organization. Further, e-commerce adoption helps the managers to keep track with the existing customers and increase the companies’ market share and companies are able to generate more financial and non-financial offerings for their customer base and it creates more room to reach for efficiency and productivity thus the adoption create operational and maintenance issues.

The Determinant Factors of Business to Business (B2B) E-Commerce Adoption in Small- and Medium-Sized Manufacturing Enterprises

ABSTRACT This research examines the relationships between technological, organizational, and environmental (TOE) factors on different levels of B2B e-commerce adoption. A survey of 315 Ghanaian manufacturing SMEs was validated and tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The research findings indicate that perceived desirability, organization’s readiness, and competitive pressure positively and significantly influence the different B2B e-commerce adoption levels. Likewise, top management support and government support partially had a significant impact on the various levels of B2B e-commerce adoption, whereas the business partner’s pressure has no significant influence on B2B e-commerce adoption levels. This research’s results confirm that the TOE factors influence B2B e-commerce adoption levels in the Ghanaian manufacturing SMEs. The results reveal that the various contextual factors have a different effect on the different levels of B2B e-commerce adoption. Also, the implications of this study are subsequently discussed.

Estimating the Moderating Effect of Demographic Variables in B2B Ecommerce Adoption in Ghana

Different extraneous factors can intervene in the eventual acceptance and use of E-commerce platforms. Thus, an organisation may have a favourable technological space or environment which consists of compatible, complex and low cost software yet it may struggle to adopt technology due to other considerations. In the same way the organizational factors that includes top management support, HR IT competence and financial resources may be available yet it a firm may not simple adopt technology. The same can be said of having a favourable external environment which may consist of favourable competition, good trading partner pressure or favourable regulatory regime to adopt E-commerce. The reason is that each of these attributes may be enough to stimulate positive evaluation of E-commerce or online business value but the real adoption requires more than the factors in this case. Thus, certain stimulants have been discovered as playing intervening role between the desire or intention to adopt and the actual intention in both personal and corporate adoption of technology. In this paper, three extraneous stimulants or intervening mechanisms of B2B ecommerce adoption are analysed through structural equation analysis to examine their moderating effect. The results proves that size, facilitating conditions and the type of industry of a B2B ecommerce organisation can significantly influences its ecommerce adoption. Policy recommendations have been proposed in the subsequent sections of the analysis.

Factors Influencing the Intention to Continue using B2B e-Commerce in Manufacturing SMEs

Business-to-Business (B2B) electronic commerce plays a tremendous role in nurturing the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in developed and developing countries. However, the growth of B2B e-commerce in developing nations remains at the early adoption stage. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence B2B e-commerce adoption in SMEs in a developing country. The current study employs the questionnaire survey technique to gather information from 245 manufacturing SMEs in Jordan. It uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to investigate the different factors that affect the intention to adopt or continue using B2B e-commerce. The study reveals that compatibility and outsourcing IT support have significant effects on the intention to continue using B2B e-commerce in Jordanian manufacturing SMEs. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Organizational Characteristics of B2B E-Commerce Adopters in the Canadian Manufacturing Sector

This article presents the results of a research project on the adoption of B2B e-commerce (B2Bec) by Canadian manufacturers. The study provides an analysis of the characteristics of organizations which have adopted B2Bec technologies and attempts to outline the features that differentiate adopters from non-adopters. The results of a preliminary analysis show the existence of three distinct B2Bec adopter types: non-adopters, partial-adopters, and full-adopters. Leadership-related variables appear to be the most important determinants of adoption followed by benefits analysis.

Adoption of B2B E-Commerce in India: A Theoretical Framework

Adoption of B2B E-Commerce in India: A Theoretical Framework

B2B E-Commerce Adoption in Iranian Manufacturing Companies: Analyzing the Moderating Role of Organizational Culture

ABSTRACTThe objective of this research is to examine the factors affecting Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce (B2B EC) adoption within technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, and to test how such effects are moderated by organizational culture. Using a survey questionnaire, 320 responses were received from managers and owners of manufacturing companies in Iran. PLS-SEM technique was used for analysis. B2B EC adoption in manufacturing companies was found to be affected by cost of adoption, top management support, competitive pressure, and government support; and organizational culture was found to negatively moderate the relationship between top management support and B2B EC adoption. Managers, owners, and policy makers can use these findings to facilitate the adoption of B2B EC. Previous research have not analyzed the moderating role of organizational culture; these findings contribute to the e-commerce literature by filling this gap. The results indicate that the TOE framework provides a strong base for the study of B2B EC in developing countries. The results also show that this framework is able to integrate moderating variable into the theoretical model.

Potential and Barriers to Adoption of B2B E-Commerce in SMEs in Transition Economies: Case of Albania

Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) can benefit significantly from investments in e-commerce and e-business. However, the adoption of e-commerce has been quite slow and limited among SMEs, especially in transition economies. Interviews were conducted with senior managers from 30 medium-sized enterprises in a transition economy – Albania, three from each of the ten key sectors, namely, information and communication technology (ICT), tourism, banking, financial services, agriculture, healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, construction, and retailing. The qualitative data coded from the in-depth interviews was analysed using NVIVO® for identifying key themes. Four key themes were identified along with ten subthemes. This study identified the four key themes that can guide the organizational leadership of medium-sized enterprises in transition economies in strategically leveraging e-commerce technology. The four key themes identified in this study include resource constraints, external environmental factors, organizational issues, and resistance to acceptance of new technology. The identification of the key barrier factors will help the organizational leadership in transition economies, such as Albania devise strategies to promote adoption of e-commerce in the SMEs. The findings of this study will help the organizational leadership of SMEs in transition economies identify measures to address and resolve the barriers to adoption of e-commerce. This study also adds value to the limited literature on barriers to e-commerce adoption in the context of SMEs in transition economies. The study offers insights on e-commerce adoption by SMEs, which can be applied to other transition and emerging economies attempting to understand the barriers that might hinder the adoption of e-commerce by the SMEs.

Adoption of B2B e-Commerce in Developing Countries: Evidence from Ready Made Garment (RMG) Industry in Bangladesh

The rapid adoption of e-Commerce, especially Business-to-Business (B2B) e-Commerce among Ready-made Garments (RMG) industry is a key opportunity for local and international trade development of developing countries like Bangladesh. However, although high expectations for realizing the benefits of B2B e-Commerce in RMG sectors, its adoption remains poorly understood and are a relatively under-researched area in Bangladesh. This study is an attempt to fill this gap. This study explores the factors that affect B2B e-Commerce adoption in RMG sectors of Bangladesh by using Perceived eReadiness Model (PERM). A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from over 250 RMG firms in Bangladesh. The data was analyzed by using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method; a statistical analysis technique based on the Structural Equation Model. The study found that awareness, resources, government eReadiness, and market forces eReadiness were significant factors for initial adoption of B2B e-Commerce. However, commitment, governance, and supporting industries eReadiness are insignificant for initial adoption of B2B e-Commerce. Again, the relationships between resources, commitment, government eReadiness, market forces eReadiness, supporting industries eReadiness and institutionalization of B2B e-Commerce are significant in RMG sectors of Bangladesh. However, awareness, governance and institutionalization of B2B e-Commerce are insignificant. The output of the study can help RMG firms in Bangladesh to address the factors that influence adoption of B2B e-Commerce. This study can also help the policy maker and government to identify the promising local opportunities for B2B e-Commerce by discovering the distinctive e-Commerce adoption factors.

From Adoption to Routinization of B2B e-Commerce

The authors present an in depth understanding of B2B e-commerce adoption and routinization across Europe. The research was informed by the technology, organization, and environment (TOE) framework. A sample of 7,172 firms across Europe was used. A seven factor model is presented that includes technology readiness, technology integration, firm size, obstacles, education level, competitive pressure, and trading partner collaboration, which inform B2B adoption and routinization. Based on adoption and routinization, clusters of European countries, are identified and factors presented that ensure movement from one cluster to the other.

The Moderating Role of Power Exercise in B2B E-commerce Adoption Decision

B2B E-commerce (B2B EC) is a technology that supports relationship between business partners. In adopting such technology, power exercise plays a crucial role. Misunderstood power exercised within B2B EC may generate unrealistic or inaccurate outcomes. Unfortunately, the role of power exercise is nearly ignored in B2B EC adoption literature. In response, using the Resources-Dependency-Theory (RDT) and Diffusion-Innovation-Theory (DIT), this paper argues on the interaction between the influence of innovation characteristics and power exercise, so as to explain B2B EC adoption. This proposition could improve understanding B2B EC adoption and help to resolve inconsistency of findings in the literature.

Assessment of Internet-based e-Commerce Readiness in Vietnamese Construction Enterprises: Towards an Industry-Oriented Framework and a Context-Specific Instrument

There has been a need to develop an industry-oriented e-commerce readiness assessment tool for the construction sector, especially in developing countries' context. This present study proposed such a framework that properly consider both the organizational and environmental e-readiness and pay more appropriately attention on information issue. A set of context-specific measurement items that is specific to the Vietnamese construction industry was developed. The proposed tool can assist well construction firms in developing countries in creating their own effective action plan towards the initial adoption of Internet-based B2B e-commerce into their business.

Patterns of B2B e‐commerce usage in SMEs

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the B2B e‐commerce (B2BEC) usage patterns of North American small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in their supply chains, the contextual factors that influence usage patterns, and the subsequent effects of these patterns on firm performance.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted an online survey of North American SMEs and obtained 229 responses. They utilized several statistical methods, including cluster analysis and profile analysis, to test five hypotheses.FindingsThe TOE framework, supplemented with interorganizational factors, provides a valid theoretical guideline to study firms' B2BEC usage patterns. Three distinct types of B2BEC usage patterns – E‐Limiteds, E‐Leaders, and E‐Laggards – emerged. Different sets of contextual factors contribute to the formation of these three patterns of B2BEC adoption. Higher levels of B2BEC usage result in stronger firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsFuture clustering variables could be more specific. The effects of other potential contextual factors should also be explored by future studies. This study can be replicated in other countries to determine whether the findings can be generalized.Practical implicationsIn light of the potential performance improvements that B2BEC adoption offers, managers should assess the risks associated with maintaining their current speed of e‐business deployment versus the risks associated with escalating it. Organizations that have been more reactive should consider how well or ill their sluggish approach prepares them for navigating the inevitability of increasing sophistication in supply chain management.Originality/valueLimited empirical research exists on the B2BEC usage patterns of North American SMEs, the contextual factors that motivate them to adopt different B2BEC technologies in their supply chains, and how each of these usage patterns affects their performance. The current study contributes to the literature by shedding light on these issues.

Determinants of B2B E-Commerce Adoption in Saudi Arabian Firms

Business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce (e-commerce) has become an increasingly important initiative among organisations. The factors affecting the adoption decisions have been well-documented but there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the adoption of e-commerce in developing economies in the Arab world. The aim of our study is to provide insights into the salient e-commerce adoption issues by focusing on Saudi Arabian businesses. We developed a conceptual model for B2B e-commerce adoption incorporating six factors. Survey data from 450 businesses were used to test the model and hypotheses. The analysis demonstrates that, (1) when e-commerce preliminary adoption is investigated, organizational IT readiness, management support and regulatory environment emerge as the strongest factor, (2) pressure from customers may not have much effect on the preliminary adoption of e-commerce by companies, but does significantly influence on the utilisation of e-commerce by firms, and (3) Saudi Arabia has a strong ICT infrastructure for supporting e-commerce practices. Taken together, these findings on the multi-dimensionality of e-commerce adoption show that preliminary adoption and utilisation of ecommerce are not only different measures of ecommerce adoption, but also have different determinants. The implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions for future inquiry are presented.

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF FACTORS AFFECTING ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF B2B E-COMMERCE IN AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS

For the health care industry, the adoption and implementation of business-to-business (B2B) electronic commerce (e-commerce) systems can lead to many benefits, such as an increased accessibility to providers, reduction in supply chain and inventory costs, and reduced medical errors. However, despite high expectations for realizing the benefits of B2B e-commerce in health care, its adoption remains poorly understood and is a relatively under-researched area. Although B2B e-commerce provides these organizations a wealth of new opportunities and ways of doing business, it also presents a series of challenges. Hence, the case study approach was utilized (1) to identify B2B e-commerce adoption and implementation critical constraint-minimization factors for organizations within the health care industry; and (2) to develop a framework to manage these critical constraint-minimization factors. A key contribution of the paper is to propose a framework in which critical constraint-minimization factors faced by health care organizations undertaking B2B e-commerce activities can be identified, examined, and managed.

Realising B2B e-commerce benefits: the link with IT maturity, evaluation practices, and B2BEC adoption readiness

Actual realisation of business-to-business electronic commerce (B2B e-commerce) benefits from IT investments has been a critical issue for large organisations. However, relatively little research has been undertaken to determine the drivers for realising B2B e-commerce benefits within these organisations. A survey research was conducted to examine the relationships between B2B e-commerce benefits, IT investment evaluation methodologies (IEM), IT benefit realisation processes (BRP), B2B e-commerce adoption readiness, and IT maturity in large Australian organisations. An IT investment management model was developed to test these relationships. The results had empirically validated the model and indicate that a higher level of BRP adoption and increased level of B2B e-commerce adoption readiness had a significant direct relationship with B2B e-commerce benefits. In addition, the level of B2B e-commerce adoption readiness, and the level of IEM and BRP adoption were significantly influenced by the level of IT maturity. However, the use of IEM alone had only an indirect positive influence on B2B e-commerce benefits through the higher level of BRP adoption and increased level of B2B e-commerce adoption readiness.

A conceptual model for e-commerce adoption in developing countries: a task-technology fit perspective

The adoption of B2B e-commerce in developed economies has, overall, been successful. This success, however, has not been reflected in developing countries, indicating that models for IT adoption in developed economies may not be appropriate. In response to this we develop a strategic fit perspective to investigate the issue of successful adoption of interorganisational information technologies in developing countries. This perspective is operationalised through the Task-Technology Fit (TTF) model by integrating interorganisational theories and theories of national culture. The model demonstrates that in an interorganisational context the fit of technologies to support tasks may not have the desired impact on performance in developing economies without considering the precursors of utilisation, national culture, the nature of business relationships, and the readiness of the technological infrastructure in the implementation environment. The model may be useful for better understanding how organisations in developing countries may adopt e-commerce technologies enabling online business processes in B2B settings.

The institutional environment for B2B e-commerce adoption: a quantitative study of electronics and textiles firms in Greater China and the USA

Grounding on the institutional theory and IT adoption literature, we conduct a quantitative analysis assessing the effects of industrial, governmental, regulatory and cultural factors on the initial stages of B2B e-commerce adoption. Our analysis is based on a survey data collected from electronics and textiles firms in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the USA, reflecting business perceptions of institutional environments in emerging and traditional industries and in developing, newly industrialised and developed economies. The results of our analysis indicate that industrial and governmental encouragements are the most powerful facilitators at the beginning of B2B e-commerce adoption. There are also significant cultural and country-level effects. The study confirms that institutional environments exert an important influence on organisations' decisions on whether or not to adopt e-commerce. It is one of the first cross-country and industry-level empirical studies on institutional environments and the research results have policy implications for global e-commerce development.

B2B e-commerce adoption decisions in Taiwan: The interaction of cultural and other institutional factors

Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce has become an important initiative among firms in the last few years. This study is based on data derived from over 20 interviews with CEOs, CIOs, and MIS managers in electronics and textile companies in Taiwan. This study contributes to existing literature by describing the degree to which various organizational, industrial, governmental and cultural factors influence B2B e-commerce adoption decisions in Taiwan. It is one of the first studies investigating the interaction of B2B e-commerce adoption decision factors and provides insights into the impact of Chinese culture on B2B adoption. Results indicate that organizational, industrial, governmental, and cultural factors do indeed influence B2B e-commerce adoption decisions. In addition, the nature of the cultural influence is dictated by industry conditions.