THE IMPACT OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS ON THE ADOPTION AND DIFFUSION OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS

The successful adoption of inter-organizational systems (IOS) requires the cooperation of participating firms with complex business and economic relationships. This study examines the impact of inter-organizational relationships on the adoption and diffusion of a category of IOS called Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) that supports the electronic transmission of business documents between two firms. The trade literature suggests that large customers force dependent suppliers to adopt EDI to continue to do business with them, indicating that inter-organizational relationships play a significant role in EDI adoption (Stern and Kaufmann 1985). A socio-political framework based on power dependence and inter-organizational relationship theory is used to analyze the adoption and diffusion of EDI (El-Ansary and Stern 1982). Four independent variables are used: power of the initiating firm, dependency of the adopting firm, transactional climate between the two firms, and support provided by the initiating firm. The adoption of EDI is measured on the time dimension by categorizing the sample into two groups: early and late adopters (Rogers 1983). Since the diffusion process goes through various stages ranging from the early adaptation stage to the late infusion stage (Cooper and Zmud 1990), four variables are used for measuring it: initial diffusion, internal diffusion, external diffusion, and implementation success. While the first variable measures diffusion in the adaptation stage, the other three measure diffusion in the later stages. Based on theory, the following propositions are formulated. Proposition 1: The greater the dependence of the adopting firm on the initiating firm, the greater the chances of adoption of EDI by the adopting firm. Proposition 2: The greater the power the initiating firm has over the adopting firm, the greater the chances of adoption of EDI by the adopting firm. Proposition 3: The greater the dependency of adopting firm on the initiating firm, the greater the diffusion at the adaptation stage for the adopting firm. Proposition 4: The greater the power of the initiating firm over the adopting firm, the greater the diffusion at the aclaptation stage for the adopting firm. Proposition 5: The better the marketing support provided by the initiating firm, the greater the diffusion in the adaptation stage for the adopting firm. Proposition 6: The better the transaction climate between the two firms, the greater the diffusion, both at the adaptation and infusion stage. Separate versions of a questionnaire were created for the purchase and sales functions. To reduce method bias, two respondents - IS and functional manager - completed two different parts of the questionnaire. The data were collected from a large scale field survey (n = 201). A subset of the total sample (n-90), consisting of firms that adopted EDI based on request/coercion from their partner that is ideally suited for our research, is used in this study. The results of a t-test, given below, support Proposition 1, that greater dependency leads to earlier adoption. Early Late Hypothesized Actual Variable Adoption Adoption t-Value Significance Direction Direction POWER 3.30 3.06 0.87 0.38 Positive Positive DEPEND 4.75 4.18 1.65 0.10 Positive Positive Although the mean value of power is not statistically different between the two groups (Proposition 2), they are in the right direction; i.e., early adopters perceived that the initiating firm had greater power than late adopters. The correlation values for the variables are given below. VARIABLE POWER DEPEND CLIMATE SUPPORT INITIAL DIFF. 0.21** 021** 0.19* 0.27** *** - P \u3c 0.001 INT. DIFFUSION 0.10 0.03 0.22* 0.09 ** - P \u3c 0.05 EXT. DIFFUSION 0.05 023** -0.16 -0.07 * -p\u3c 0.1 IMPL. SUCCESS 0.24** 0.14 0.35*** 0.07 The correlation values indicate that initial diffusion is significantly associated with all of the four independent variables supporting Propositions 3,4,5, and 6. Climate is related with internal diffusion and implementation success, supporting Proposition 6. REFERENCES Cooper, R. B., and Zmud, R. W. Information Technology Implementation Research: A Technological Diffusion Approach, Management Science, Volume 36, Number 2, 1990, pp. 123-139. Rogers, E. M. 77,€ Diolision of Innovations. New York: Free Press, 1983. Stern, L. W., and El-Ansary, A. I. Marketing Channels. Second Edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1982. Stern, L. W., and Kaufmann, P. J. EDI in Selected Consumer Goods Industries: An Interorganizational Perspective. In R. Buzzell (Editor), Marketing in the Electronic Age. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1985

THE IMPACT OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS ON THE ADOPTION AND DIFFUSION OF INTERORGANIZATIONAL SYSTEMS

The successful adoption of inter-organizational systems (IOS) requires the cooperation of participating firms with complex business and economic relationships. This study examines the impact of inter-organizational relationships on the adoption and diffusion of a category of IOS called Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) that supports the electronic transmission of business documents between two firms. The trade literature suggests that large customers force dependent suppliers to adopt EDI to continue to do business with them, indicating that inter-organizational relationships play a significant role in EDI adoption (Stern and Kaufmann 1985). A socio-political framework based on power dependence and inter-organizational relationship theory is used to analyze the adoption and diffusion of EDI (El-Ansary and Stern 1982). Four independent variables are used: power of the initiating firm, dependency of the adopting firm, transactional climate between the two firms, and support provided by the initiating firm. The adoption of EDI is measured on the time dimension by categorizing the sample into two groups: early and late adopters (Rogers 1983). Since the diffusion process goes through various stages ranging from the early adaptation stage to the late infusion stage (Cooper and Zmud 1990), four variables are used for measuring it: initial diffusion, internal diffusion, external diffusion, and implementation success. While the first variable measures diffusion in the adaptation stage, the other three measure diffusion in the later stages. Based on theory, the following propositions are formulated. Proposition 1: The greater the dependence of the adopting firm on the initiating firm, the greater the chances of adoption of EDI by the adopting firm. Proposition 2: The greater the power the initiating firm has over the adopting firm, the greater the chances of adoption of EDI by the adopting firm. Proposition 3: The greater the dependency of adopting firm on the initiating firm, the greater the diffusion at the adaptation stage for the adopting firm. Proposition 4: The greater the power of the initiating firm over the adopting firm, the greater the diffusion at the aclaptation stage for the adopting firm. Proposition 5: The better the marketing support provided by the initiating firm, the greater the diffusion in the adaptation stage for the adopting firm. Proposition 6: The better the transaction climate between the two firms, the greater the diffusion, both at the adaptation and infusion stage. Separate versions of a questionnaire were created for the purchase and sales functions. To reduce method bias, two respondents - IS and functional manager - completed two different parts of the questionnaire. The data were collected from a large scale field survey (n = 201). A subset of the total sample (n-90), consisting of firms that adopted EDI based on request/coercion from their partner that is ideally suited for our research, is used in this study. The results of a t-test, given below, support Proposition 1, that greater dependency leads to earlier adoption. Early Late Hypothesized Actual Variable Adoption Adoption t-Value Significance Direction Direction POWER 3.30 3.06 0.87 0.38 Positive Positive DEPEND 4.75 4.18 1.65 0.10 Positive Positive Although the mean value of power is not statistically different between the two groups (Proposition 2), they are in the right direction; i.e., early adopters perceived that the initiating firm had greater power than late adopters. The correlation values for the variables are given below. VARIABLE POWER DEPEND CLIMATE SUPPORT INITIAL DIFF. 0.21** 021** 0.19* 0.27** *** - P \u3c 0.001 INT. DIFFUSION 0.10 0.03 0.22* 0.09 ** - P \u3c 0.05 EXT. DIFFUSION 0.05 023** -0.16 -0.07 * -p\u3c 0.1 IMPL. SUCCESS 0.24** 0.14 0.35*** 0.07 The correlation values indicate that initial diffusion is significantly associated with all of the four independent variables supporting Propositions 3,4,5, and 6. Climate is related with internal diffusion and implementation success, supporting Proposition 6

Does ICT Policy Improve Interorganisational ICT for SMEs? A Dutch Policy Evaluation Study

Interorganisational ICT has become critical for the performance of both small and large organisations. SMEs however, traditionally lag behind in the uptake of these systems. In many countries, various policy programmes are initiated to improve ICT uptake by SMEs and support them in digital linking throughout their value chain. In the Netherlands, a nationwide policy programme was in place between 2002 and 2007 that is a prominent example of this type of policy initiatives. In this paper we present the results of an ex post evaluation of this programme, by comparing survey data collected among 516 participating SMEs with survey data collected among a control group of 124 SMEs. In bivariate analysis, significant differences are found between the two groups with regard to the adoption of several types of interorganisational ICT. These differences remain intact if split sampling of the groups is applied by size (small/medium) and sector (trade/finance/public). Furthermore, it is found that participants of the policy programme perceived significantly more added value of ICT. In interpreting these results however, pre-selection effects should be taken into account

Complémentarité SIIO et investissement relationnel: Etude de cas exploratoire d'un SIIO dans le secteur du meuble.

International audienceEn s'appuyant sur le cas du leader européen de la prestation de transport et de logistique du meuble, cet article entend contribuer aux travaux de recherche portant sur les outils des organisations et plus spécialement sur la complémentarité système d'information inter- organisationnel (SIIO) / investissement relationnel. Le secteur du meuble, traditionnellement constitué d'entreprises familiales au degré de structuration variable, a subit de profondes transformations ces vingt dernières années. Particulièrement, le changement des règles de la concurrence sur le métier de transporteurs de meubles a fait de l'innovation le moyen nécessaire à l'entreprise pour développer une relation privilégiée avec ses clients. Une approche qualitative reposant sur les témoignages d'acteurs ainsi qu'un travail d'observation a été retenue. Une telle approche a permis de constater empiriquement que la mise en place du SIIO a constitué une double innovation : technologique, avec l'implémentation du SIIO par la direction ; mais également organisationnelle/managériale, car suite à la mise en place de l'outil nous avons observé une forme de « re- connexion humaine », du seul fait des opérateurs avant d'être progressivement intégrée dans et par le management. Au final, le cas met l'accent sur l'importance de développer un type de management visant à favoriser le développement de la transversalité (Capul, 1998, El Amrani, et al., 2006) et la diffusion de savoirs d'organisation (Bonnafos (De), 1988, Dubar, 1998) au niveau opérationnel de la relation inter- organisationnelle

Complémentarité SIIO et investissement relationnel: Etude de cas exploratoire d'un SIIO dans le secteur du meuble.

En s'appuyant sur le cas du leader européen de la prestation de transport et de logistique du meuble, cet article entend contribuer aux travaux de recherche portant sur les outils des organisations et plus spécialement sur la complémentarité système d'information inter- organisationnel (SIIO) / investissement relationnel. Le secteur du meuble, traditionnellement constitué d'entreprises familiales au degré de structuration variable, a subit de profondes transformations ces vingt dernières années. Particulièrement, le changement des règles de la concurrence sur le métier de transporteurs de meubles a fait de l'innovation le moyen nécessaire à l'entreprise pour développer une relation privilégiée avec ses clients. Une approche qualitative reposant sur les témoignages d'acteurs ainsi qu'un travail d'observation a été retenue. Une telle approche a permis de constater empiriquement que la mise en place du SIIO a constitué une double innovation : technologique, avec l'implémentation du SIIO par la direction ; mais également organisationnelle/managériale, car suite à la mise en place de l'outil nous avons observé une forme de « re- connexion humaine », du seul fait des opérateurs avant d'être progressivement intégrée dans et par le management. Au final, le cas met l'accent sur l'importance de développer un type de management visant à favoriser le développement de la transversalité (Capul, 1998, El Amrani, et al., 2006) et la diffusion de savoirs d'organisation (Bonnafos (De), 1988, Dubar, 1998) au niveau opérationnel de la relation inter- organisationnelle.SIIO, management des relations inter- organisationnelles, innovation, ameublement

La gestión de la confianza como elemento clave para la generalización del comercio colaborativo

Este documento plantea un modelo de convergencia entre la gestión de la confianza, elemento clave para la colaboración entre empresas; la incorporación de los servicios web a la gestión de datos entre empresas y el comercio colaborativo. Dicho modelo, que se apoya en el trabajo de campo realizado con una compañía que aplica actualmente servicios web en el entorno de comercio, aporta una visión integrada de la literatura tradicional de sistemas inter-organizacionales y una tecnología emergente que es relevante para un futuro desarrollo empírico.Comercio colaborativo, Comercio electrónico, Confianza , Control , Sistemas interorganizacionales

Implementation strategies for integrated office information systems.

This thesis is an investigation into the implementation of computer-based office information systems in organizations. The research methods employed are both qualitative and quantitative, and include fifteen case studies and a postal survey. A review of the literature and the case study research indicated that organizations are taking advantage of the integrative capacity of new technology in order to implement integrated office systems, but generally with little strategic focus or organizational change. A framework for the identification of strategic uses, based on information-processing theory, is presented, together with a discussion of their implications for organizational change.Implementation is both a rational and a political process. The thesis covers both aspects, reviewing the literature on the relationship between information technology and organizations to show that many of the consequences of implementation for the organization are non-deterministic and emerge fromn the process itself. Structuration theory is shown to be a means of unifying rational and interpretative perspectives on implementation. This analysis indicates the nature of the managerial problem and forms the basis for assessing prescriptive approaches to implementing office systems and managing change. An implementation strategy for integrated office systems is outlined, and the use of IT and office systems to design new organizations and the use of new approaches to implementing second- and third-order change are flagged up as areas requiring further empirical research