0832 - 7203 Starting with the End in Mind : Building Capabilities to Integrate Electronic Commerce Applications

Based on the evolutionary view of electronic commerce (EC), the dynamic capabilities approach and the relational view of the firm, this paper investigates the factors firms to develop capacities to integrate their business-to-business EC applications with their internal information systems (IS). This theoretical model is tested with data collected from 159 executive managers practicing in the wireless sectors. Results obtained with a structural equation modeling technique (Mplus) indicate that the development of firms’ EC capabilities follows an evolutionary path. Firms that are planning to further develop their EC capabilities put the necessary efforts into integrating their EC applications with their internal systems. External pressure that firms undergo from external stakeholders is positively related to the development of their EC capabilities but not to their integration capabilities. The research model was tested twice; once for the supply side and again for the demand side. Results indicate that the links that were found significant between constructs were the same in both cases.