Preliminary Evaluation of Inter-Oraganizational Information Systems and Relationships

It is agreed that good communication systems between organisations increase customer satisfaction and relationship behaviour. However, less is known about the details of how information is used to manage relationships. Theories that have been found have either been tested on non-perishable goods or on small case studies. This paper presents a preliminary evaluation of some aspects of Storer (2001) model of inter-organizational information feedback systems (IOIS) and relationships. Specifically whether patterns of information sharing between organisations can be explained by relationship and environmental variables. A case study was conducted of 32 dyadic pairs of organisations (64 respondents) involving perishable products (green life plants). A Rasch analysis of the types of information exchanged variables showed there was a consistent order of information sharing and that an interval scale of information sharing could be calculated. All respondents had similar information sharing patterns. Factor analysis of relationship variables resulted in three reliable factors – ‘trust’, ‘responsiveness’, and ‘satisfaction and commitment’. Factor analysis of environmental variables also resulted in three reliable factors – ‘relationship predictability’, ‘uncertainty’, and ‘dependence and influence’. Two variables did not load well onto these factors and were used separately in further analysis (‘difficulty in replacement’ and ‘loyalty remain with them despite alternatives’). Regression analysis was conducted to determine if information sharing patterns could be predicted by environmental and relationship variables and factors. However, it did not explain a great deal of the variance in the information sharing patterns (adjusted R = 0.13) and the only significant predictor factor was the perceived responsiveness of the other party. It is concluded that future research needs to be undertaken to see if the results will hold for a larger sample size. In addition, it may be that the other variables in the IOIFS also need to be analysed and modelled with the relationship and environmental variables as originally hypothesised by Storer (2001).