TY - JOUR
T1 - Determinants of small business EDI adoption
T2 - An empirical investigation
AU - Chau, Patrick Y.K.
AU - Hui, Kai Lung
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was substantially supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. HKUST583/96H). Correspondence and requests for reprints should be sent to Patrick Y. K. Chau, School of Business, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. E-mail: Pchau@business.hku.hk
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - Given the importance of widespread adoption for the success of electronic data interchange (EDI) and the "much-slower-than-anticipated" growth of EDI adoption in small businesses, in this study we aimed to identify the key determinants of small business EDI adoption. Based on prior research on IT/EDI adoption in large/small organizations, a model that incorporates 7 factors that are hypothesized to have influence on the EDI adoption decision was developed and empirically tested against data collected from 627 small businesses, with 38% of them having already adopted the technology. The findings suggest that in the eyes of small businesses, EDI still is not considered as something that enables a business to gain major strategic benefits or competitive advantages. Although perceived costs are found to be major impediments to adoption, small businesses tend to have an "unbalanced" treatment between direct and indirect benefits, focusing more on those that are immediate and direct rather than on long-term, indirect benefits. Furthermore, prior EDI experience and perceived level of support from the vendor are also important determinants of EDI adoption in small businesses. Implications to Internet-based EDI systems are also discussed.
AB - Given the importance of widespread adoption for the success of electronic data interchange (EDI) and the "much-slower-than-anticipated" growth of EDI adoption in small businesses, in this study we aimed to identify the key determinants of small business EDI adoption. Based on prior research on IT/EDI adoption in large/small organizations, a model that incorporates 7 factors that are hypothesized to have influence on the EDI adoption decision was developed and empirically tested against data collected from 627 small businesses, with 38% of them having already adopted the technology. The findings suggest that in the eyes of small businesses, EDI still is not considered as something that enables a business to gain major strategic benefits or competitive advantages. Although perceived costs are found to be major impediments to adoption, small businesses tend to have an "unbalanced" treatment between direct and indirect benefits, focusing more on those that are immediate and direct rather than on long-term, indirect benefits. Furthermore, prior EDI experience and perceived level of support from the vendor are also important determinants of EDI adoption in small businesses. Implications to Internet-based EDI systems are also discussed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0345656788&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1207/S15327744JOCE1104_02
DO - 10.1207/S15327744JOCE1104_02
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0345656788
SN - 1091-9392
VL - 11
SP - 229
EP - 252
JO - Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce
JF - Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce
IS - 4
ER -