Corporate Success in Electronic Business

Kurztext / Annotation
Although the Internet hype is well and truly over, many companies have adopted electronic business, and it has become an integral part of their business processes. Nonetheless, the question of whether and how companies can become more successful through their electronic business activities is still far from clear. As a result, many decision makers remain daunted by the challenge of assessing which electronic business concepts are worth implementing in their specific business contexts. This situation poses two fundamental questions. Firstly, what are the antecedents of corporate success (or the success factors) in electronic business? Secondly, how does the effectiveness of these factors vary with company type (e. g. with company size, in relation to B2B as opposed to B2C companies, or with the level of electronic business maturity)?

This dissertation addresses these questions. The book presents a quantitative empirical research project using a theory and hypothesis-driven approach. Three particularly strong contributions of this dissertation are as follows: Firstly, at the theoretical level, it provides a general research framework for the study of success factors in electronic business. In particular, it integrates the compre-hensive body of information systems (IS) research as a referent discipline. Secondly, at the methodological level, the dissertation features a compre-hensive comparison of two classes of multivariate techniques: partial least squares (PLS) and covariance structure analysis (CSA). Thirdly, and most importantly, this dissertation provides evidence on the effectiveness of four (groups) of potential success factors in electronic business: e-procurement, strategy, electronic commerce customer relationship management (ECCRM), and Web Features - that is, factors in the design and management of corporate Web sites. The underlying statistical analysis draws on a broad empirical base of survey data from up to 469 companies in the German-speaking market.

The book closes with a detailed discussion of the evidence obtained from the investigation and a comprehensive reflection on the research process em-ployed. Based on these considerations, actionable advice is derived for the management of electronic business in different types of companies.

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Chapter 4
Empirical Base (p. 45-46)

4.1 Survey

4.1.1 General

The empirical data used in the statistical analysis of this model has been collected in a large-scale survey targeting companies in the German-speaking part of Europe (comprising Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). The purpose of this survey was to record companies' disposition towards and readiness for electronic business. Further, it was designed to assess companies' adoption of the Internet, of electronic business concepts, and of related (e. g. organizational or strategic) measures. Another important objective was to measure the success or failure which companies may have achieved in electronic business. The survey was intended to cover corporate-level information and therefore directed at decision makers and executives. It was conducted from May to June 2000. The questionnaire and a comprehensive descriptive analysis of the results have been published as the "e-reality 2000" study in September 2000 [500]. Being the successor of the "Electronic Commerce Enquete (ECE) 97/98" [472] and the predecessor of the "Electronic Business Enquete (EBE) 2003" [245], the survey is the second in a series of similar empirical investigations which the leading author has administered so far.

4.1.2 Content of the Questionnaire

Overall, the questionnaire consists of 9 different sections, comprising a total of 44 questions and 204 items. Parts of the questionnaire have been adopted from the "Electronic Commerce Enquete (ECE) 97/98" with minor changes (e. g. instruments for assessing adoption inhibitors for and potential benefits from electronic commerce), while other parts have been entirely reworked or created new: For example, comprehensive multi-item measures have been added to record decision makers' assessment of e-procurement (question 17) or their competence with respect to (implementing) ECCRM (question 36). Similarly, in the last section, the list of binary items for measuring the success of companies' activities (former question 30) on the Internet has been extended, and the items have now been implemented on a Likert-like scale (question 42). - Prior to the actual survey, the questionnaire was optimized in pretests involving scientists, company representatives, and electronic commerce experts.

In detail, the first section covers general company information (such as size, industry, and main customer segment) as well as personal information about the company representative responding to the questionnaire. In the second section the company representative is asked to assess the concept of electronic commerce 1 from the perspective of his or her firm, namely by evaluating adoption inhibitors, implications and consequences, and dependence on trusted third parties (TTPs). In the third section of the survey, a series of different situations is presented, where the respondent's company receives an online order.

The situations involve different levels of risk for the company, and for every situation, the respondent is requested to judge the likelihood with which he or she would process the order. The fourth section covers purchasing and procurement via the Internet. The fifth section comprises questions on companies' presence on the Internet/ Worldwide Web, their Web site management and online sales activities, as well as brand management on the Internet. In addition, the responding company representative is asked to assess possible benefits from electronic commerce for his or her firm, i. e. improvements of its sales activities and internal processes as well as savings. All respondents, regardless if their company is present on the Internet or not at the time of the survey, can give meaningful answers up to the beginning of this section. Thereby, the responses from the preceding sections can also be used to investigate non-adopters of electronic commerce

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