E‐business strategy

The interest of both researchers and practitioners around the use of Internet‐based tools to support business processes has been quite high in the last few years. However, despite the initial enthusiastic expectations, it is still not completely clear whether these expectations have been translated into business reality. This paper explores the actual adoption of Internet technologies in supply chain processes by a large sample of European manufacturing firms participating in the IMSS survey. Four e‐business strategies are identified and their relationship with contingent factors and supply chain integration mechanisms is investigated. Results show a close link between the use of Internet tools and the level of integration with customers and suppliers, thus suggesting the need to define e‐business strategies in coherence with the use of traditional integration mechanisms.

[1]  J. Nunnally,et al.  Psychometric Theory: NY. , 1978 .

[2]  Girish N. Punj,et al.  Cluster Analysis in Marketing Research: Review and Suggestions for Application , 1983 .

[3]  JoAnne Yates,et al.  Electronic markets and electronic hierarchies , 1987, CACM.

[4]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  On the evaluation of structural equation models , 1988 .

[5]  G. Stevens.  Integrating the Supply Chain , 1989 .

[6]  Hj Norussis,et al.  SPSS for Windows , 1993 .

[7]  A. Roth,et al.  A taxonomy of manufacturing strategies , 1994 .

[8]  H. Håkansson,et al.  Developing relationships in business networks , 1995 .

[9]  David J. Ketchen,et al.  THE APPLICATION OF CLUSTER ANALYSIS IN STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT RESEARCH: AN ANALYSIS AND CRITIQUE , 1996 .

[10]  Christopher A. Voss,et al.  International manufacturing strategies : context, content and change , 1997 .

[11]  R. V. Hoek,et al.  Logistics and virtual integration: Postponement, outsourcing and the flow of information , 1998 .

[12]  J. Sampler.  Redefining industry structure for the information age , 1998 .

[13]  Cecil C. Bozarth,et al.  Stages of global sourcing strategy evolution: an exploratory study , 1998 .

[14]  D. Lambert,et al.  Supply Chain Management: Implementation Issues and Research Opportunities , 1998 .

[15]  Christopher M. McDermott,et al.  Configurations in manufacturing strategy: a review and directions for future research , 1998 .

[16]  Erik Brynjolfsson,et al.  Frictionless Commerce? A Comparison of Internet and Conventional Retailers , 2000 .

[17]  P. Evans,et al.  Getting real about virtual commerce. , 1999, Harvard business review.

[18]  R. Wise,et al.  Beyond the exchange--the future of B2B. , 2000, Harvard business review.

[19]  Gianluca Spina,et al.  Advanced manufacturing technologies and strategically flexible production , 2000 .

[20]  M. Sawhney,et al.  E-hubs: the new B2B (business-to-business) marketplaces. , 2000, Harvard business review.

[21]  T. Skjoett‐Larsen,et al.  European logistics beyond 2000 , 2000 .

[22]  G. Graham,et al.  Supply‐chain management across the Internet , 2000 .

[23]  Ravi Kalakota,et al.  NEXT-GENERATION B2B SOLUTIONS , 2000 .

[24]  S. Croom.  Restructuring supply chains through information channel innovation , 2001 .

[25]  D. Kehoe,et al.  New paradigms in planning and control across manufacturing supply chains ‐ The utilisation of Internet technologies , 2001 .

[26]  J. R. Dixon,et al.  A taxonomy of manufacturing strategies revisited , 2001 .

[27]  M. Frohlich,et al.  Arcs of integration: an international study of supply chain strategies , 2001 .

[28]  Mohamed A. Youssef,et al.  The impact of some recent developments in e‐business on the management of next generation manufacturing , 2001 .

[29]  D. Feeny.  Making Business Sense of the E-Opportunity , 2001 .

[30]  Rosemary R. Fullerton,et al.  The production performance benefits from JIT implementation , 2001 .

[31]  R. V. Hoek,et al.  E‐supply chains – virtually non‐existing , 2001 .

[32]  R. V. Hoek,et al.  Epilogue: UPS Logistics – practical approaches to the e‐supply chain , 2001 .

[33]  Glen L. Urban,et al.  Strategies for E-Business Success , 2001 .

[34]  Seungjin Whang,et al.  Supply Chain Integration Over the Internet , 2002 .

[35]  M. Frohlich,et al.  Demand chain management in manufacturing and services: web-based integration, drivers and performance , 2002 .

[36]  L. D. Boer,et al.  A conceptual model for assessing the impact of electronic procurement , 2002 .