Factors that Differentiate between Adopters and Non-adopters of E-Commerce: An Empirical Study of Small and Medium Sized Businesses

2004 | Americas Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Grandon, Elizabeth; Pearson, John

Abstract: The study of technology adoption has been a hot topic among researchers in the I ... Expand

Abstract: The study of technology adoption has been a hot topic among researchers in the IS community in recent years. With the increased use of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW), many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have taken advantage of the potential benefits that e-commerce can provide. However, a significant number of SMEs have not adopted e-commerce yet. This study surveyed managers/owners of SMEs in the Midwest region of the USA to identify variables that differentiate between adopters and non-adopters of e-commerce. The results suggest that managers/owners most receptive to adopting e-commerce have the financial and technological resources to implement it, see e-commerce as useful for their firms, perceive e-commerce as compatible with preferred work practices, values and culture of their organizations, and feel external pressure to put e-commerce into operation. Collapse

Topics: electronic commerce perceived usefulness website internet technology technology adoption

Methods: survey confirmatory factor analysis data transformation discriminant analysis chi squared test

Emulation in Academia: Balancing Structure and Identity

2001 | Organization Science | Citations: 0

Authors: Labiarica, Giuseppe; Fairbank, James F.; Thomas, James B.; Gioia, Dennis A.; Umphress, Elizabeth E.

Abstract: This study seeks to expand our understanding of interorganizational emulation de ... Expand

Abstract: This study seeks to expand our understanding of interorganizational emulation decisions made by top administrators in a broad sample of American colleges and universities. We analyze their emulation choices and show that these decision makers tend to emulate universities similar to their own. Our findings suggest, however, that the choice of emulation target within one's industry is not simply a matter of choosing the most structurally similar organization, but rather that identity-related attributes, such as reputation, organizational image, and organizational identity, also play a significant role in the emulation decision. The data also show that industry subgroups based on emulation decisions (strategic reference groups) differ in both structural and identity-related attributes. Further, interorganizational emulation decisions based on tactics of upward comparison (e.g., emulating universities with better reputations) are associated with greater strategic change, white downward comparisons are associated with greater perceived external threat. Finally, the data show that top management's perceptions of the university's level of environmental threat are related to their choice of a more coarse-grained or fine-rained set of attributes when determining the emulation target. We discuss some of these findings' implications for theory and practice. Collapse

Topics: missing data anonymity decision making identity management

Methods: discriminant analysis computational algorithm survey multiple regression descriptive discriminant analysis

Theories: management theory