Organizational Structure For Electronic Commerce : A Qualitative Investigation

Business model and technology seem to be the mantra for companies, especially dot.com start-ups, entering e-commerce. In the hurry to be quickly functional in the e-economy, many appear to be ignoring critical factors such as organizational structure. Only a few seem to recognize the need to examine if their structure and arrangements are appropriate for e-commerce. This paper examines the issue of organizational structure for e-commerce. It discusses the findings of a qualitative study of 10 e-commerce companies in Singapore. The research concludes that though the conventional functional structure appears to be also the current norm for e-commerce organizations, the appropriateness of the matrix structure for e-commerce has been recognized and companies are starting on this route.