Factors influencing e-commerce implementation: analysis of survey results

Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, March, 2004 by Zinovy Radovilsky, Vishwanath G. Hegde

* What are measurements that can be used to assess e-commerce implementation results?

* Does the company size influence results of e-commerce implementation?

* Does the number/comprehensiveness of solutions influence implementation results?

* What solutions are the more efficient in terms of e-commerce implementation results?

The main research steps and their outcomes are presented in Figure 1.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

To address the research objectives and associated research questions, we have conducted a survey involving companies in the San Francisco Ray Area. These companies varied in terms of industry, size, and products/services. The manufacturing companies participated in the survey were from electronics, computer, telecommunications equipment, automotive, and other technology-rich industries. The service companies responded in the survey were even more diversified including large-chain grocery stores, computer services, retail stores, software development services, and some others.

We have gotten back and analyzed 31 completed surveys from those companies. The survey questionnaire consisted of 17 questions that required respondents to provide the following information on e-commerce implementation:

* Groups of e-commerce solutions (storefronts, reverse auctions, catalog e-procurement, exchanges, forward auctions, etc.) that were implemented in organizations and the number of these solutions

* Quantitative and qualitative indicators used to measure the overall results of implementing e-commerce solutions

* Cost categories that have been affected by e-commerce implementation

* Main benefits of implementing e-commerce solutions

* Main drawbacks of these implementations.

Also, a number of questions in the survey required to rate e-commerce implementation results based on a 5-point scale in terms of:

* Overall rates of design and capabilities of e-commerce solutions in organizations

* Overall rates of business results due to e-commerce implementation

* Rates of the influence that the implemented e-commerce solutions had on revenues, costs, order-to-fulfillment and procure-to-pay times.

To address factors influencing e-commerce implementation results, we have established the following hypotheses that we intended to test utilizing the survey results:

* Hypothesis 1: Company size influences e-commerce implementation results.

* Hypothesis 2: Comprehensiveness of the implemented e-commerce solutions positively influences (improves) implementation results.

* Hypothesis 3: Sell-side e-commerce solutions increase revenue.

* Hypothesis 4: Buy-side e-commerce solutions reduce cost.

* Hypothesis 5: E-commerce exchange/auction solutions increase revenue and reduce cost.

The survey results and associated hypotheses testing have been presented in the following sections of this paper.

3. GENERAL SURVEY RESULTS

The results of the survey showed an overall successful implementation of e-commerce solutions in organizations. More than 61% of respondents (see Table 1) stated that implemented e-commerce solutions increased or significantly increased revenues. At the same time, 58% of those responded achieved decrease or significant decrease of costs through the implementation of e-commerce solutions.