The value of e-business: How web assimilation leads to better organizational performance

Abstract

Despite the growth in web assimilation research as a result of fresh skepticism about the business value of web technology, our understanding of the process through which web assimilation leads to better organizational performance is limited. To investigate the nature of this process, a theoretical lens is constructed based on an extensive review of organizational theories that provide competing explanations on how better organizational performance is achieved. Applying this theoretical lens to analyze a case study of a successful Singaporean dotcom, this article illustrates five different paths through which web assimilation may lead to better organizational performance. In doing so, this article enhances our understanding of the business value of web assimilation, hints at a possible solution to the paradox of heterogeneity in organizational research and provides a framework for practitioners to analyze their own investments in web technology.