Identifying E-business Readiness Factors Contributing to IT Distribution Channel Reseller Success: A Case Analysis of Two Organizations

The purpose of the study is to identify whether certain factors have an impact on the success of organizations in the IT distribution channel to adopt and promote e-business strategic models to their end-user customers. Two reseller organizations participated in an in-depth set of surveys around e-business sales and distribution of IT products and services. A set of working research hypotheses was formulated for investigation. A survey instrument was developed, pre-tested and administered to thirteen executives in two reseller organizations. Managerially the findings were focused around the need to offer a differentiated set of e-business service offerings and to then decide how the organization should best develop partnering relationships and/or outsource the expertise. Outsourcing relationships, it was found, reduces the complexity of delivering overall e-business solutions, while also creating project management challenges. Strategic acquisitioning was a key factor in making e-business initiatives successful in the IT distribution channel.