Enabling e-Business Competitive Advantage: Perspectives from the Australian Financial Services Industry

E-business and associated technologies continue to have a major impact on the way organizations conduct business. However, in the current environment which is conducive for imitative behaviour, organizations find it increasingly difficult to create competitive advantage by simply implementing pervasive e-business solutions. In this paper, we develop a theoretical framework to assess the ability of e-business initiatives to generate competitive advantage in the context of the Australian financial services industry. Results show that e-business applications are considered to be an enabling mechanism that enhances organizational competencies, thereby allowing organizations to deliver traditional and new services more effectively and efficiently. The manner in which e-business systems are used constitutes a source of advantage. It was also found that in an industry where intensive interaction is required among organizations, standardization of e-business systems and collaboration with partners and competitors constitutes a source of advantage. This research contributes to the current ongoing debate concerning the strategic value of IT and how it can be accomplished and serves as a basis of further research in this area.