The influence of information ecology on e‐commerce initiatives

This paper explores the influence of an organization’s information ecology, or internal information environment, on a firm’s electronic commerce initiatives and plans. To investigate this problem area, results are reported from a recent case study investigation on the adoption and use of a specific e‐commerce initiative – namely a corporate portal – by 20 participants at a large Canadian company. Data collection involved semi‐structured interviews and field observations, while analysis comprised a variant form of grounded theory. Factors of the information ecology influencing portal utilization are identified. From these, implications are drawn to e‐commerce solutions in general. Specific recommendations include the need to create a democratic steering committee to oversee the development of e‐commerce solutions, gain support of upper management, and market and train organizational workers on the functionality and strategic importance of a company’s e‐commerce initiatives and plans.