Powell, Philip

Shaw, Neal

English

AIS Electronic Library (AISeL)

Association for Information SystemsAIS Electronic Library (AISeL)ICIS 1997 Proceedings International Conference on Information Systems(ICIS)December 1997Building Bridges with Practice: An Empirical Studyof Electronic Commerce IssuesNeal ShawTexas Tech UniversityPhilip PowellUniversity of WarwickFollow this and additional works at: http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis1997This material is brought to you by the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been acceptedfor inclusion in ICIS 1997 Proceedings by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contactelibrary@aisnet.org.Recommended CitationShaw, Neal and Powell, Philip, "Building Bridges with Practice: An Empirical Study of Electronic Commerce Issues" (1997). ICIS 1997Proceedings. 35.http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis1997/35451BUILDING BRIDGES WITH PRACTICE:  ANEMPIRICAL STUDY OF ELECTRONICCOMMERCE ISSUESNeil G. ShawTexas Tech UniversityThe rapid growth of electronic commerce (EC) has created a new area of business characterized by confusion andlack of coherence (Whinston 1996).  As a consequence, a wide variety of electronic commerce frameworks haveattempted to give organization to the field; however, these frameworks have thus far been primarily speculative andare not based on strong theory or on empirical data.  In addition, as with many fields, there is a fundamental questionas to whether or not the research interests of the academic community are aligned with the research interests ofindustry.This paper outlines an ongoing empirical research project to develop an applied electronic commerce researchframework that will help bridge the research gap between academia and practice.  As electronic commerce continuesto become a more pressing issue for academics and practitioners, the need arises for a unification of research issuesin EC so that currently unresolved issues can be addressed.  Given this background, a two-phased research plan isdeveloped to investigate the various issues in EC.In phase one of the research, an ABI/INFORM index search was conducted to collect data about EC articlespublished in academic and industry journals during the period 1995 to  1997 in order to identify leading EC issuesbeing addressed by both academics and practitioners. The list of leading EC issues from this search is then mappedonto the issues identified by existing frameworks to arrive at a comprehensive list of critical issues in EC for bothacademics and practitioners. This final list of critical EC issues includes security/authentication, electronic datainterchange (EDI), applications of EC in practice, business potential of EC, and electronic payment.In phase two of the research, a framework to assess and conduct applied EC research is developed. This frameworkis based on a synthesis of rich theoretical constructs from diverse areas such as organizational theory, political-economy, and transactional-cost economics and the list of critical EC issues identified in phase one.  Validation ofthis framework will be done by administering a detailed questionnaire to senior IS and functional executives inleading Fortune 500 companies in the U.S.  Preliminary results of this study along with a set of recommendationsfor both academia and industry will be offered at the conference.REFERENCEWhinston, A. B.; Applegate, L. M.; Holsapple, C. W.; Kalakota, R.; and Radermacher, F. J.  “Electronic Commerce:Building Blocks of New Business Opportunity,” Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce(6:1), June 1996, pp. 1-10.

Building Bridges with Practice: An Empirical Study of Electronic Commerce Issues

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Building Bridges with Practice: An Empirical Study of Electronic Commerce Issues

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