profiling e-business groups a cluster analysis ilias vlachos [email protected] syros, 12-15 july, 2007
TRANSCRIPT
Profiling E-Business Groups A Cluster Analysis
Ilias [email protected], 12-15 July, 2007
Research Questions
Can we suggest that There are different types of companies
(business groups), with consistent e-business behavior?
Such as leaders, laggards, etc? If yes, which are their characteristics in
terms of demographics (size, sales, etc), budget expenditure on icts, etc
What determines consistent behavior? Size, values, expertise?
Theoretical Background Innovation Adoption
Theoretical Background
BENEFITS Efficiency, “which allows users to work faster and
often at measurably lower costs”
Effectiveness, “which allows users to work better and produce higher quality work”, and
Transformations that “change the basic ways that people and departments work and even change the very nature of the business enterprise” (p.21-23).
Gibson, C. F., and Jackson, B. B., The information imperative, D.C. Heath and Co., 1987.
Innovation Factors
Intention to adopt
Adoption/rejection decision
Organisational & Socio-political
factorsExternal pressure
Evaluation StageAwareness
StageDecision Stage
Rejection
IgnoranceStage
Adoption
Organisations ignore E-Business's existence
Organisations become aware of E-Business existence. No evaluation has yet taken place.
Organisations evaluate E-Business in order to decide whether to adopt or reject it. The intention to adopt/reject it, based on the perceived net relative advantage of E-Business and, socio-political factors that put pressure to comply with what trading partners (others) do.
Organisations take a formal decision to adopt or reject E-
Business.
Relative advantageCostCompatibility ComplexityTrialability
Organisational sizeChampioningreadiness in SMEInadequate resources Limited educationTop management support------------------------------Power and dependencyPeer supportTrustCustomer pressurePeer pressure
postpone
Methods
• Empirical Research• E-BusinessWatch• Date: 2006, spring (http://www.ebusiness-watch.org/)
• Sample: 407• Demographics
– Sector (Food and beverages 25,1%; Footwear 7,9%; ICT Construction 29,7%; Tourism 29,2%; Telecommunications 4,2%; Hospital activities 3,9%)
– Size (1-9: 31,2%;10-49: 43,0%; 50-249: 17,4%%; 250+: 6,6%)
METHODOLOGY The data collection of this study was based on the research
project of European e-Business Market Watch 2006 (www.ebusiness-watch.org) in the European Union (EU)
Questionnaire Data Description Module A:Module A: ICT infrastructureICT infrastructure Module B:Module B: e-Skills Development e-Skills Development Module C:Module C: ICT Expenditure and InvestmentICT Expenditure and Investment Module D:Module D: Online Sourcing and ProcurementOnline Sourcing and Procurement Module E:Module E: Online Marketing and SalesOnline Marketing and Sales Module F:Module F: e-Standards and interoperability issuese-Standards and interoperability issues Module G:Module G: ICT Impacts, Drivers and InhibitorsICT Impacts, Drivers and Inhibitors
VARIABLES Demographics
Sector Size
ICT & E-Business Initiatives: WebSite Intranet ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning System) Knowledge Management Software EDM (Enterprise Document Management System) CRM (support marketing or sales processes by using specific IT solutions) SCM (Supply Chain Management System) E-Orders (how large a share of the total volume of your orders is placed online) E-Invoices (Please estimate the percentage of invoices your company sends) E-Invoices (Please estimate the percentage of invoices your company receives) Internet Access (Which technology does your company use to connect to the
internet) ICT Budget (What was the share of your ICT budget, including hardware,
software, services and personnel as percentage of your total company costs in 2006?
CLUSTER ANALYSIS
CLUSTERS N %
1 64 16,0%
2 104 26,0%
3 59 14,8%
4 36 9,0%
5 81 20,3%
6 56 14,0% BIC CRITERION BETWEEN CLUSTER 1=17413,623 TO CLUSTER 6=30,140
Cluster 1(n=64)
Cluster 2(n=104)
Cluster 3(n=59)
Cluster 4(n=36)
Cluster 5(n=81)
Cluster 6(n=56)
Website97% 67% 49% 97% 62% 29%
Accounting Software 88% 86% 95% 82% 70% 64%
Intranet86% 65% 53% 11% 0% 0%
ERP81% 37% 27% 25% 0% 0%
CRM 63% 7% 9% 17% 5% 0%
SCM50% 13% 31% 6% 0% 0%
EDM47% 15% 29% 0% 0% 0%
Knowledge Management 33% 9% 24% 3% 0% 0%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%ICT budget
Website
Accounting Software
Intranet
ERPCRM
SCM
EDM
Knowledge Management
Cluster 1
Cluster 2
Cluster 3
Cluster 4
Cluster 5
Cluster 6
Cluster 1(n=64)
Cluster 2(n=104)
Cluster 3(n=59)
Cluster 4(n=36)
Cluster 5(n=81)
Cluster 6(n=56)
56K (analogue) 0% 3% 17% 22% 16% 11%
ISDN13% 23% 31% 31% 33% 52%
broadband via DSL or Cable 53% 64% 47% 39% 46% 16%
Direct fibre connection & wireless 33% 5% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Cluster 1 Cluster 2 Cluster 3 Cluster 4 Cluster 5 Cluster 6
Average Personnel 220 104 11 33 46 4
ICT budget 12% 7% 9% 8% 6% 6%
Size (employees) Distribution across clusters
1-9 2% 1% 45% 9% 0% 43%
10-49 16% 37% 1% 10% 35% 1%
50-249 31% 38% 0% 7% 24% 0%
250+ 44% 41% 4% 4% 7% 0%
Sector within cluster
Food & beverage 22% 24% 29% 22% 23% 34%
Footwear 0% 9% 5% 14% 14% 7%
Construction 17% 33% 41% 6% 25% 41%
Tourism 41% 26% 19% 50% 33% 18%
Telecommunications 17% 1% 3% 8% 0% 0%
Hospital activities 3% 8% 3% 0% 5% 0%
Sector Distribution across clusters
Food & beverage 14% 25% 17% 8% 19% 19%
Footwear 0% 28% 9% 16% 34% 13%
Construction 10% 30% 21% 2% 18% 20%
Tourism 22% 23% 9% 15% 23% 8%
Telecommunications 65% 6% 12% 18% 0% 0%
Hospital activities 13% 50% 13% 0% 25% 0%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%ICT budget
Website
ERP
CRM
SCM
EDM
Know ledge Management
Average Personnel
Cluster 1
Cluster 2
Cluster 3
Cluster 4
Cluster 5
Cluster 6
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%ICT budget
Website
ERP
CRM
SCM
EDM
Know ledge Management
Average Personnel
Cluster 1
Cluster 2
Cluster 3
Cluster 4
Cluster 5
Cluster 6
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%ICT budget
Website
ERP
CRM
SCM
EDM
Know ledge Management
Average Personnel
Cluster 1
Cluster 2
Cluster 3
Cluster 4
Cluster 5
Cluster 6
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%ICT budget
Website
ERP
CRM
SCM
EDM
Know ledge Management
Average Personnel
Cluster 1
Cluster 2
Cluster 3
Cluster 4
Cluster 5
Cluster 6
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%ICT budget
Website
ERP
CRM
SCM
EDM
Know ledge Management
Average Personnel
Cluster 1
Cluster 2
Cluster 3
Cluster 4
Cluster 5
Cluster 6
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%ICT budget
Website
ERP
CRM
SCM
EDM
Know ledge Management
Average Personnel
Cluster 1
Cluster 2
Cluster 3
Cluster 4
Cluster 5
Cluster 6
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
ICT budget
Website
ERP
CRM
SCM
EDM
Know ledge Management
Average Personnel
Discussion
Cluster 1 leaders
Large Companies (220), Telecommunications, extensive use of e-business
Cluster 2 effectivenessmedium-sized (104), various sectors, CRM
7%, SCM 13%, ERP 37%
Cluster 3efficiency-
internalsmall-size (11), various sectors, 9% budget to
ICT, website (49%), SCM (31%), CRM 9%
Cluster 4efficiency-
externalmedium (33), 50% tourism, website 97%,
CRM 17%
Cluster 5Laggards-
technologicmedium (46), various sectors (tourism 33%),
website 62%, rest-->0%
Cluster 6 Laggards-sizemicro (4%), food (34%), website (29%),
accounting (64%)
Questions Remain…
Is this solution (6 groups) consistent? Is this solution suggest there are business
groups based on their values (long-term characteristics: strategy, vision, innovativeness, etc)
Comparison across countries, sectors? Future:
Test/compare across-within sectors, countries Test more variables…