An empirical analysis of e‐service implementation: antecedents and the resulting value creation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and perceived value associated with e‐business implementation in service firms. E‐business has enabled the development of e‐services and thus introduced a new vehicle for customer and supplier transactions. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from top managers in 231 Belgian business‐to‐business service firms crossing a broad spectrum of industries. The statistical techniques employed included a confirmatory factor analysis, and hierarchical regression analyses. Findings – The findings of the study suggest that technical infrastructure and external drivers influence e‐business implementation. Additionally, e‐business was found to create value for firms through efficiency, novelty, lock‐in, and complementarities. Research limitations/implications – The results imply that a firm's behavior, while driven in part by external factors (e.g. shareholders, competitors, customers, etc.), is largely contingent upon a firm's internal infrastructure and environment. It should be noted that only the firm side of the dyadic relationships was surveyed and examined. Practical implications – Managers should assess a firm's technological infrastructure before launching an e‐business venture. Also, since firms believe that implementing e‐business has positive outcomes that extend beyond firm performance, it can be logically posited that these value drivers will positively influence a firm's overall performance. Originality/value – The first empirical examination of the work of Javalgi et al. and Amit and Zott is integrated and provided to present a robust conceptual framework that incorporates the antecedents and value creation associated with e‐business implementation.