E-business in the Quebec forest products industry: perceptions, current uses and intentions to adopt

This paper proposes an analysis of e-business, its perceptions, current uses, and the intentions of companies to adopt these practices in the Quebec forest products industry. We use the results of an exploratory survey of this industry carried out during spring 2002. In accordance with other surveys, it is shown that despite its location in a country where information technology (IT) adoption level is generally high, the Quebec forest products industry still lags behind other sectors. The e-business uses of the surveyed companies in the Quebec forest products industry value chain are explored by category; year of establishment, number of employees and annual revenue. Actors surveyed include sawmills, other value added building material manufacturers, furniture factories, and pulp and paper mills. Perceptions, currents uses, and intentions of adoption are described with a comparison to the same industry in North America. In particular, this paper demonstrates that this industry somewhat lacks a strategic vision concerning the exploitation of IT tools. Finally, this paper proposes a critical review of the limitations of our study and develops future research directions.