E-business processes and factors of influence: one model does not fit all

Abstract

This empirical study of organisational e-business adoption, utilising both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, examines four major factors influencing adoption in multiple e-business process domains. Support is found for the proposition that factors influencing e-business adoption behaviour have different levels of impact across different e-business process domains. Different combinations of factors influence different e-business processes and for the most part this occurs independently of organisation size/resource capacity. Governments and powerful supply chain organisations have strong influence over some e-business strategy. In particular, e-government influence is strong with regard to use of e-mail and external web sites due to government’s regulatory compliance power, but weak with regard to operation of an organisation’s web sites. The implication of this research is that frameworks and models for e-business adoption will have greater relevance if they are developed for specific process domains rather than attempting to fit all areas of e-business.