A Broader Perspective of ECR Adoption Study

In order to sustain competitiveness, companies need to adopt electronic commerce-enabled interorganisational systems to improve the efficiencies of the entire supply chain. Adoption of interorganisational systems by companies, however, has proved to be difficult, since such systems span organisational boundaries. Understanding this lack of success is hampered by the lack of sound theoretical analysis of inter-organisational systems adoption. In this study, which uses Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) as an example, we describe and contrast two different approaches to modeling adoption. The first relates ECR characteristics, organisation characteristics, and certain external driving forces to ECR adoption, and is a familiar factors-type model. Then, recognition of the importance of the inter-organisational context of ECR adoption leads to a reconsideration of the causal links in this model and to the formulation of a new model of the proccesual kind. Case studies of ECR adoption in Australia are presented to demonstrate that the revised model captures more of the complexity of ECR adoption experiences and outcomes.

2002

Organizations have been exploiting the increasing capabilities of networking technologies, to widely adopt Electronic Commerce (EC) in their operations. However, the phenomenon of EC adoption is complex and continues to evolve, even as organizations try to develop an understanding of how these technologies could be effectively used. There is a need to understand what the different drivers for the adoption of EC are, and how these could affect the scale and nature of investment in EC. Therefore, research in this area needs to be directed at developing a holistic and integrated understanding of why organizations should adopt EC and how they can effectively manage EC environments. Existing research in this domain is based on distinct and isolated areas of study and does not provide a conceptually coherent understanding of different aspects of the phenomenon of EC adoption. The paper proposes an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to understanding the phenomenon of organizational adoption of EC, based on the General Systems Theory (GST). The approach used is in line with similar attempts to understand complex organizational phenomena. Existing literature is analyzed and deficiencies in the current understanding of the phenomenon are identified. Subsequently, a framework for directing future efforts in this area is developed. The framework has strong implications for interdisciplinary research. Potential research directions proposed in the framework would enable organizations to effectively predict the determinants of EC adoption, and explain, anticipate, control and manage changes in the nature and extent of EC adoption

The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 2000

In order to sustain competitiveness, companies need to adopt electronic commerce (EC) enabled inter-organizational systems (IOS) to improve the ef®ciencies of entire supply chains. Adoption of IOS by companies, however, has proved dif®cult since such systems span organizational boundaries. Understanding IOS adoption is hampered by a lack of theory that can capture the complexity involved in IOS adoption since previous studies mostly employ the factor approach. In this paper, using Ef®cient Consumer Response as an example of an EC-enabled IOS, we demonstrate that the acknowledgement of the inter-organizational context of these systems naturally introduces the need for the processual approach and different notions of causality. We also show how the factor and the processual approaches to theorizing IOS adoption can be used in a complementary way.

Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 2006

e-ordering systems are currently widely adopted by organisations. Attractive business cases, however, tend to deteriorate when intraorganisational adoption lags behind as compliance of the intended individual behaviour is not achieved in a timely fashion. This paper shows the findings of an in-depth case study aimed at identifying the effectiveness of interventions in speeding up and/or raising compliance to the intended behaviour. In the case study, the effect of mandating system usage is shown to overcome the 'benefit imbalance' between individuals and organisational benefits. While enforcement resulted in an initial system usage, achieving intended behaviour required additional interventions. The paper closes with theoretical and practical implications.

2008

Organizations adopt IOS (interorganizational systems) to achieve both transactional and strategic benefits. The IOS involves two parties using the system and therefore its success depends on the existing relationship between trading partners. While there are some studies that investigate relationship factors and how they affect adoption, the literature does not specifically highlight that these systems may be implemented in progressive stages over time. This is because these studies typically adopt a cross sectional approach by only taking a snapshot of IOS adoption at single point in time. They do not present an over all picture of adoption decisions and do not explain why and how organizations adopt these systems in a phased approach. In this paper, we investigate IOS adoption by a pair of major organizations in the Australian Grocery Industry over a period of time. We illustrate, using a case study, that a particular level of relationship between the two organizations is required for IOS use and that the initial use of the IOS also affects the relationship which in turn results in more sophisticated IOS adoption. The findings of this study have important implications for both research and practice.

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 2003

Efficient consumer response (ECR) is an electronic commerce (EC)‐enabled grocery industry supply chain management strategy, which is designed to make the industry more efficient and responsive. Despite the many benefits obtainable from ECR, the adoption rate has been slow in many regions. At this stage, there is no well‐developed theory of adoption of technologies at this wide scale that can explain this slow uptake. This paper explores the experiences of the Australian grocery industry with ECR adoption. In order to obtain a more reliable snapshot of ECR adoption practices, barriers and perceptions, this study employs a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Since the Australian grocery industry has a unique structure, important observations obtained from this study enrich previous ECR adoption studies.

2016

The adoption of Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) by the grocery industry has become increasingly important in order to stay competitive. Due to the inter-organizational nature of ECR, its adoption involves various parties with different and conflicting objectives and requires the concerted effort of supply chain members. Thus, third party organizations may be important in ECR adoption, but the exact roles they play have received little research attention. Employing a multiple case study, this study uncovers five roles third parties play and extends a previously published model of ECR adoption to include third parties as mediators in the ECR adoption process. The results are important theoretically for understanding the complexities of inter-organizational systems adoption general, and practically to promote the growth of ECR in particular. .

Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 2001

The adoption of efficient consumer response (ECR) has been slow in many regions, despite its many potential benefits to supply chain participants through reduction of inventory level and operating costs. There has not been any well-developed theory that can explain this slow uptake. Argues that the inherent characteristics of ECR have actually created barriers to its own adoption. As an inter-organisational system (IOS), ECR adoption requires co-operation and trust between trading partners, which are unlikely to happen unless costs, benefits and risks of ECR implementation can be mutually shared. Shows, using a case study conducted within one supply chain, that an unequal distribution of costs, benefits and risks among manufacturer, distributor and retailer is inherent in the implementation of cross-docking, which typifies the overall ECR program. The findings of this study lead to a new direction in understanding the barriers to adoption of ECR and IOS in general.

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the impact of context on the adoption of e-commerce in supply chains. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review, 45 semi-structured interviews in four different supply chains in the UK healthcare sector, involving 16 different organisations, and additional documentation is used in this study. Findings – The adoption of e-commerce in supply chains is simultaneously affected by two contextual meta-variables: external pressure, which is influenced by supply chain structure, demand and industry characteristics; and internal readiness, which is influenced by IT, organisational and buying need characteristics. Different combinations of these two main variables lead to four different trade-off situations affecting adoption or non-adoption. Research limitations/implications – The empirical research has been undertaken in the specific context of the UK healthcare supply chains. It would be useful to test our findings in other sectors and countries. Practical implications – The paper helps to understand the contextual factors that affect e-commerce adoption and concludes with a framework that differentiates four situations that can improve managers' and researchers' understanding of e-commerce adoption in the future. Originality/value – The contribution of this paper is the recognition that the adoption of e-commerce is affected by factors in both an organisational and a supply chain context, which simultaneously lead to trade-off decisions. Also, unlike most other studies which refer to supply chains and are limited to an organisational perspective or at most a dyadic perspective, this paper builds up a supply chain picture of context by including perspectives from multiple actors in a chain.

Decision Sciences, 1993

Information systems (IS) researchers are now d i n g for the need to draw from the empirically rich field of organizational innovation. As the impact of strategic systems is increasingly being felt by organizations, the view that these systems are innovations or innovative uses of technology is becoming prevalent. Customer based interorganizational systems (CIOS) represent one of the most prominent types of such systems. This research investigates CIOS adoption. A model is constructed based on significant studies in innovation to identify factors facilitating the adoption decision of a CIOS. Data are gathered from 226 senior executives. Discriminant analysis is used to identify factors that distinguish adopters from nonadopters. Factor analysis of significant variables yielded a parsimonious model of CIOS adoption. The five factor model includes (1) a proactive technological orientation and (2) an internal push for the system as the two most significant sets of facilitators. Implications for research and practice are then discussed.