It is sometimes assumed that the Internet provides a sufficient basis for conducting business electronically. However, for business relationships between companies more is required, since electronic forms of business are meant to automate large parts of the business processes involved. To enable...

In this paper, we raise the issue of the appropriate unit of analysis for e-commerce studies. Once it is acknowledged that the unit of analysis in e-commerce studies should comprise more than one firm, the question is, which organizations should be included, i.e. how to bound the unit? We...

This paper proposes that the lack of a theoretical framework able to address policy issues on the firm as well as the industry level in an integrated manner contributes to a failure of developing effective e-commerce policies. Specifically, theoretical approaches fall into the two broad...

This paper outlines the theoretical concept of a study currently under way in China. Its main idea is to explore the sustainability of centralized interorganizational systems for supply chain management as proposed by Markus et al. (2000). The study draws on institutional theory in both its...

In this paper, we describe the introduction of electronic commerce into the drug distribution industry in China. This case is especially interesting because massive institutional changes coincide with the introduction of a new technology. For these reasons, it becomes possible to study the...