Understanding the implementation of e-business strategies: Evidence from Luxembourg

Our empirical study aims at identifying the drivers of the implementation of an e-business strategy by firms located in Luxembourg. The setting up of such a strategy is apprehended through the website and the type of strategy through the functionalities available on the Internet. Thus we distinguish an information-oriented strategy from a commercially oriented one. Probit analyses and models derived from count data models are conducted on a dataset of website investments by about 1100 firms located in Luxembourg. Our results show that the sale of online fashionable products like tourism, the ownership of a well-known brand and the follow-up of rivals' behaviours are highly significant determinants of the adoption and development of an e-business strategy. Financial, human and technological resources seem to favour the adoption of such a strategy but have no significant influence on the choice of the strategy pursued. Moreover the use of technologies that make the business process more flexible, public actions that diffuse best practices concerning technologies adoption and being the leader on the market are specific drivers of the deployment of an e-business strategy. Finally, an intense perceived competition negatively influences the decision to invest heavily in e-commerce.