The Adoption of TradeNet by the Trading Community: An Empirical Analysis

TradeNet, an electronic data interchange (EDI) system, has been touted as one of the most successful implementations of information technology at a nationwide level. To date, assessments of the benefits arising from TradeNet are anec(total and focus primarily on the benefits accruing to the sponsor, i.e., the government agency. Notably absent is a systematic assessment of TradeNet from the perspective of the trading coimnunity. This paper reports on ali empirical investigation of the adoption of TradeNet by the trading community in Singapore. Two issues are investigated. First, we examine the factors that determine the timing of TradeNet adoption by the trading community in a coercive institutional environment. Second, we analyze post-adoption performances of the trading community. Lessons on the implementation of IT at a nationwide level ensue.