The Influence of Partnership Attributes on the Perceived Benefits of Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce

Abstract

Partner relationships in business-to-business electronic commerce (B2B e-commerce) are important issues for both practitioners and academicians. However, empirical studies have seldom addressed the influence of various partnership factors on perception of B2B ecommerce benefits. This study employs the structural equation modeling to examine how partnership attributes (e.g. partner interdependence, coordination, trust, and commitment) influence perceived benefits of B2B e-commerce, which has three dimensions, namely informational, transactional, and strategic benefits. Data collected from 157 IS executives in large Taiwanese organizations were used to test the relationships between the research model constructs. The results indicate that partner interdependence, coordination and trust influence the perception of B2B e-commerce for informational, transactional and strategic benefits, whereas partner commitment contributes only to perceived strategic benefits of B2B e-commerce. The results of this study could help e-business managers or policy-makers to implement B2B e-commerce effectively in their organization and with trading partners.