Putting e‐commerce adoption in a supply chain context

Elmer F. Bakker · Jurong Zheng · Louise A. Knight · Christine Mary Harland

78 citations0/0 files storedInternational Journal of Operations & Production Management

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E-commerce and Technology Innovations Technology Adoption and User Behaviour Quality and Supply Management

Abstract

Purpose The objective of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the impact of context on the adoption of e‐commerce in supply chains. Design/methodology/approach A literature review, 45 semi‐structured interviews in four different supply chains in the UK healthcare sector, involving 16 different organisations, and additional documentation is used in this study. Findings The adoption of e‐commerce in supply chains is simultaneously affected by two contextual meta‐variables: external pressure, which is influenced by supply chain structure, demand and industry characteristics; and internal readiness, which is influenced by IT, organisational and buying need characteristics. Different combinations of these two main variables lead to four different trade‐off situations affecting adoption or non‐adoption. Research limitations/implications The empirical research has been undertaken in the specific context of the UK healthcare supply chains. It would be useful to test our findings in other sectors and countries. Practical implications The paper helps to understand the contextual factors that affect e‐commerce adoption and concludes with a framework that differentiates four situations that can improve managers' and researchers' understanding of e‐commerce adoption in the future. Originality/value The contribution of this paper is the recognition that the adoption of e‐commerce is affected by factors in both an organisational and a supply chain context, which simultaneously lead to trade‐off decisions. Also, unlike most other studies which refer to supply chains and are limited to an organisational perspective or at most a dyadic perspective, this paper builds up a supply chain picture of context by including perspectives from multiple actors in a chain.

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References

1994Electronic Commerce: Strategies and Models for Business-to-Business Trading 2001An Investigation into the Antecedents of Organizational Participation in Business-to-Business Electronic Markets 1999Electronic commerce usage in business‐to‐business purchasing 2004Small firms and e-business: cautiousness, contingency and cost-benefit 2007A model of B2B e‐commerce, based on connectivity and purpose

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