Observations on e-Business Implementation Capabilities in Heterogeneous Business Networks

The objective of this qualitative study was to understand the factors that hinder large industry organizations in implementing e-Business solutions. The study included 4 organizations that operated in heterogeneous business networks consisting also of small partners. Interviews were conducted with managers of IT, purchasing and business development. The results indicate that the organizations faced a mixture of intertwined, accumulative challenges. Lack of IT resources and growing reliance on third parties had reduced IT expertise and made investments difficult. At the same time, e-Business projects were found to be very demanding to plan and execute, and with no e-Business knowledge or conscious e-Business strategies in place, the organizations were progressing haphazardly. The heterogeneous business environment also posed external challenges with partners having highly-disparate IT capabilities. Existing e-Business technologies appeared either inadequate for the needs of these networks or the appropriate technology was entirely missing.