Antecedents and Consequences of Internet Use in Procurement: An Empirical Investigation of U.S. Manufacturing Firms

• Published in: Information systems research Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 103 - 120
• Main Authors: Mishra, Abhay Nath, Konana, Prabhudev, Barua, Anitesh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Linthicum INFORMS 01.03.2007; The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS); Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences
• Subjects: B2B electronic commerce; Business structures; business value of IT use; Digitization; Discriminant analysis; E-commerce; Electronic commerce; Electronic procurement; Environmental technology; Information storage and retrieval systems; Information technology; Internet; IT adoption and use; Manufacturing industry; Organization theory; Organizational learning; Perception; Perceptual organization; Procurement; procurement-process digitization; Purchasing departments; resource-based view; Studies; Technological change; Technological innovation; Technology application; United States
• ISSN: 1047-7047; 1526-5536
• DOI: 10.1287/isre.1070.0115

This paper examines the antecedents and consequences of Internet use in the procurement process. Drawing upon the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and the technology, organization, and environment framework, we develop an integrative model that examines the antecedents and consequences of Internet use in two stages—the search stage and the order initiation and completion (OIC) stage—of the procurement process. The model enables us to deconstruct both the usage and the performance aspects of information technology (IT) in business processes, and to provide insights into the enablers of use and business value. The model is estimated with survey data from 412 firms. Our results suggest that while some resources, such as procurement-process digitization, influence Internet use in both the procurement stages, other resources, such as the diversity of organizational procurement knowledge, impact Internet use in only one stage. We also find that Internet use in the OIC stage has a more significant impact on procurement-process performance than use in search. This study extends the digital capabilities and firm performance literature in the context of electronic procurement. This study also contributes to the small but emerging stream of literature that investigates antecedents, the extent, and implications of IT use holistically.