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The purpose of this paper is to propose and empirically test a unified framework that captures the antecedents of e-business implementation, that is; organizational factors which is decomposed into organizational capabilities (training availability, technical expertise, knowledge level), knowledge management capabilities (knowledge acquisition, application, and sharing), adhocracy culture, and top management support, e-business implementation, and organizational performance (efficiency, sales performance, customer satisfaction, relationship development).

Data from a survey of 258 top managers in Saudi Arabian enterprises were collected to empirically test the proposed research model. Additionally, the statistical techniques employed included a confirmatory factor analysis to examine the reliability and validity of the measurement model, and structural equation modeling using AMOS is utilized to test the hypotheses.

The findings of this study suggest that organizational factors influence e-business implementation. Moreover, e-business implementation affects organizational performance.

This study did not investigate all organizational factors and knowledge management processes. Future research could assess the influence of additional factors such as technology and environment contexts on e-business implementation.

Owners/managers considering e-business implementation would be best to focus on internal (organizational) factors and their interaction within and beyond the organization, rather than focussing exclusively on technological considerations.

This study is significant for at least two reasons: it determines the key antecedents to successful business implementation based on organizational factors and it helps to understand the effects of e-business implementation on organizational performance.

E‐business adoption among small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) has been limited because of resource constraints and a failure to understand the strategic value of e‐business. To facilitate decision making concerning e‐business applications and their implementation, simple, low cost tools are needed to assist in analyzing and developing effective e‐business strategies. This paper aims to evaluate the use of e‐business applications among SMEs, to test the robustness of importance‐performance (IP) analysis models and to present IP mapping as a resource/tool for decision making.

A total of 19 e‐business motivations were identified from the literature and incorporated into a self‐administered survey questionnaire. Data were collected from 439 SMEs located throughout the US.

Most IP studies have assumed that importance and performance are independent; however, three recent studies have argued otherwise, identifying positive, negative and v‐shaped relationships. The study finds a fourth, N‐shaped relationship between importance and performance. This is an extension of the v‐shaped relationship and appears when the full range of performance scale values is displayed.

The relationship between the “importance” and “performance” variables suggests a path of travel that can help show the e‐business adoption states and the possible undulations in e‐business strategies along the path. Firms can identify their location on an IP map relative to the N‐shaped path and then identify the path to the optimum location on the map.

This paper should be useful for academic researchers and business practitioners seeking guidance in terms of which e‐business applications to adopt and implement.

In 2003 the authors investigated the level of adoption of e‐business by manufacturing firms in Europe. Four company strategies were identified based on different extents of adoption of internet‐based tools for interaction with customers and/or suppliers. The purpose of this paper is to replicate, those analyses using the new release of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS) IV. These new results are compared with previous ones in order to determine whether modeling previously described in the literature remains valid.

Data collected in Europe through IMSS III and IV are used. In particular, companies are clustered according to e‐business practices adopted in supply chain management (SCM) and the degree of adoption of e‐business between the two editions of the research is compared. A longitudinal analysis is also conducted using data from companies participating in both editions of the survey.

It is shown that the fundamental aspects of the modeling approach earlier proposed in the literature remain valid, with a higher average level of adoption of e‐business tools in the more recent edition of the study. However, the four‐cluster model is shown to be no longer valid. In the more recent dataset, three clusters emerge. They are characterized by different levels of adoption of e‐business, balanced between e‐commerce and e‐procurement. The longitudinal analysis shows that the firms participating in both editions of the research have changed their strategy, coherently to what the overall sample does.

This paper is focused on the assembly industry and only part of the sample is strictly longitudinal. Further research is needed to relate e‐business strategy with performance and to distinguish among the various tools available.

This paper also shows that the adoption of e‐business is increasing among small and medium firms, even if the practices adopted by any individual company remain limited. Results show that a cautious adoption is preferable to more radical implementation, since some firms have actually reduced their initial efforts to adopt e‐business.

The literature currently lacks extensive, longitudinal studies on e‐business strategies in SCM. The paper shows how the concept has rapidly evolved recently, and it modifies models that are proposed only a few years ago in the face of new data.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the environmental and organizational factors that influence the intensity of electronic business adoption by contemporary organizations, and provide evidence regarding the relationship between e‐business adoption and organizational performance.

The study develops an integrative conceptual model of the antecedents and performance outcomes of e‐business adoption. The research model is subsequently tested empirically using data collected from 154 hotel companies. Structural equation modeling procedures were used to assess the psychometric properties of measurement scales and test research hypotheses.

The study findings indicate that customer power has the greatest impact on the intensity of e‐business adoption, followed by organizational learning ability, adhocracy culture, and top management emphasis. The results also suggest that companies that use the internet more extensively to perform a range of value‐chain activities achieve superior e‐business performance, and e‐business performance has a significant positive effect on organizational performance.

E‐business adoption can provide substantial benefits to companies including increased revenues, operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and relationship development. A thorough understanding of the factors that facilitate (or inhibit) e‐business adoption, and the provision of clear evidence regarding its potential impact on business performance, is critically important for firms that should invest significant financial and human resources in order to successfully implement these innovative technologies. The present study adds to the limited empirical work done in this area by simultaneously investigating the antecedents and outcomes of e‐business adoption, within the context of a highly competitive and rapidly evolving industry.

E‐business requires small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) to seek both external and internal knowledge and to establish external and internal relationships with partners, such as customers and suppliers. This paper aims to describe a model that examines how knowledge management has an impact on the adoption of e‐business, particularly in SMEs.

This paper reviews literature to identify relevant measures through a structural equation model, which is validated through an empirical investigation of 107 SMEs in the Spanish telecommunications sector.

The results show that, in order to implement e‐business systems, companies need to provide and support the acquisition, sharing and application of knowledge as prior steps.

Other factors that have not been included in this study are also likely to affect knowledge acquisition.

Organisations that engage in learning from their customers and suppliers not only test the effectiveness of a new direction of e‐business, but also have the potential to design their e‐business around what customers truly need and want, and as such gain a sustainable competitive advantage.

These results have implications for e‐business managers in formulating policies and targeting appropriate organisational capabilities to ensure the effective adoption of e‐business systems.

This paper seeks to investigate and provide empirical evidence of the interrelationships among network externalities, e‐business adoption and information asymmetry.

A conceptual model was proposed and tested using 307 completed interview cases selected from a database of 2,075 Chinese international trading companies published by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce for this study.

The results indicated that network externalities significantly influenced e‐business adoption and information asymmetry, and e‐business adoption influenced information asymmetry through information sharing and collection. A split sample analysis showed that cultural contexts significantly moderated the interrelationships among network externalities, e‐business adoption, and information asymmetry.

Data for this study were collected only from mainland China, therefore, non‐Chinese companies (foreign‐owned) operating in China may have been influenced by Chinese cultures and some of them have been localizing their operations in China. The influences of network externalities on business performance and decision making remain unclear. In addition, data were collected from self‐reported questionnaires, and thus may be subject to self‐reporting bias. Future studies should use more objective measurements to reduce the potential for self‐reporting bias.

This study contributes significantly to the literature by providing empirical evidence on interrelationships among network externalities, e‐business adoption, and information asymmetry. The findings in this study also provide valuable insights for managers to better understand the influence of network externalities on e‐business adoption.

This study contributes significantly to the literature by providing empirical evidence of the interrelationships among network externalities, e‐business adoption, and information asymmetry. The findings also provide managers with valuable insight into better understanding of the nature of these interrelationships.

The present study aims to investigate the impact of organizational capabilities in the successful implementation of e-business. More specifically, the study proposes a three-dimensional conceptual framework, including “organizational learning capabilities”, “knowledge management capabilities” and “organizational readiness”. Such a multidimensional approach has randomly been explored in the existing literature, making the examination of the proposed conceptual framework an interesting research topic.

The proposed conceptual framework was tested on a sample of Greek companies with an online involvement. Information System executives were used as key respondents. The final sample consisted of 213 companies. The reliability and the validity of the newly developed questionnaire were thoroughly examined. Empirical data were analyzed using the “structural equation modeling” technique.

The results of the study reveal that “training availability”, “knowledge level” and “knowledge sharing” are the most significant factors for successfully implementing e-business. Moreover, “firm size” seems to be another important determinant. On the other hand, “technical expertise”, “knowledge accumulation” and “knowledge application” were not found to have a statistically significant impact on the implementation of e-business.

A limitation stemming from the implemented methodology is the use of self-report scales to measure the constructs of the proposed model. Moreover, the present paper lacks a longitudinal approach, as it is cross-sectional and provides a static picture of e-business implementation.

The paper makes an analytical effort to point out areas that companies should emphasize to successfully implement e-business and, therefore, harvest its potential benefits. Certain practical implications are offered in the final part of the paper.

The paper proposes an enhanced conceptual framework that examines vital issues concerning the successful implementation of e-business, thus providing valuable outcomes for decision-makers and academics. Moreover, the results of the study may be generalized in other developed countries whose economy faces similar significant challenges as Greece (e.g. Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, etc.).

E‐business systems and processes that use ubiquitous platforms such as web browser and internet have a profound impact on the management of inter‐organisational processes. Consequently, a major implication of e‐business is its impact on supply chain management. This paper focuses on the developments in e‐business system adoption and deployment in support of supply chain management.

The research conducted for this paper was empirical in nature, involving an interview study with a large sample of organisations and selected case study visits. Analysis of the impact of e‐business on supply chain strategy also examines three representative areas of supply chain management – procurement, customer relationship management, and fulfilment process.

E‐business systems deployment was also seen to act as a significant catalyst for each of the three areas examined, although this paper presents only the findings from the exploratory study.

From the research analysis it was possible to develop a normative, five‐stage, model classifying the evolution of e‐business systems deployment for supply chain management. Finally proposes the need for longitudinal research to surface the underlying dynamics of e‐business adoption and deployment.

This paper aims to describe the creation of an e‐business functional requirements definition model using a case study process.

The creation of this model was the subject of a research project, the hypothesis of which is that it is possible to produce a model that can be used in real life situations to specify, using objective reasoning, the e‐business requirements of an organisation.

The research demonstrated a practical method of creating and refining this model and further was able to demonstrate that there were reasonable prospects of converging towards a stable model.

The paper has demonstrated that it has produced an acceptable model by using a case study process that gives sound results. It is also felt that it has validated the basic research method that was adopted.

An innovative tool has been created whereby a specification of e‐business requirements can be created in a matter of a few hours, compared with the weeks' or months' worth of effort often involved in the use of the traditional business systems analysis process. Based on the operating characteristics of a company and the concerns of its management, the specification avoids the prejudices of consultants and vested interests of salesmen.

The computerised rule‐based system is easy to use and leads to a significant reduction in the time taken to generate an accurate functional specification. In addition, it provides a useful way of generating overall insights and communicating an e‐business requirements picture at a management summary level.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and perceived value associated with e‐business implementation in service firms. E‐business has enabled the development of e‐services and thus introduced a new vehicle for customer and supplier transactions.

Data were collected from top managers in 231 Belgian business‐to‐business service firms crossing a broad spectrum of industries. The statistical techniques employed included a confirmatory factor analysis, and hierarchical regression analyses.

The findings of the study suggest that technical infrastructure and external drivers influence e‐business implementation. Additionally, e‐business was found to create value for firms through efficiency, novelty, lock‐in, and complementarities.

The results imply that a firm's behavior, while driven in part by external factors (e.g. shareholders, competitors, customers, etc.), is largely contingent upon a firm's internal infrastructure and environment. It should be noted that only the firm side of the dyadic relationships was surveyed and examined.

Managers should assess a firm's technological infrastructure before launching an e‐business venture. Also, since firms believe that implementing e‐business has positive outcomes that extend beyond firm performance, it can be logically posited that these value drivers will positively influence a firm's overall performance.

The first empirical examination of the work of Javalgi et al. and Amit and Zott is integrated and provided to present a robust conceptual framework that incorporates the antecedents and value creation associated with e‐business implementation.