Emerald Login
   

Welcome guest

Article Request:
Critical success factors for B2B e-commerce use within the UK NHS pharmaceutical supply chain

Article Information:

Title:

Critical success factors for B2B e-commerce use within the UK NHS pharmaceutical supply chain

Author(s):

Andrea J. Cullen, Margaret Taylor

Journal:

International Journal of Operations & Production Management

Year:

2009

Volume:

29

Issue:

11

Page:

1156 - 1185


ISSN:

0144-3577


DOI:

10.1108/01443570911000177

Publisher:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited


Acknowledgements:

The authors are grateful to the Editor and the three anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and advice in the preparation of this paper. They acknowledge the input of Professor Alan Muhlemann who co-supervised the doctoral project which led to the fieldwork element of the research reported in this paper. Finally, they thank Bradford University School of Management for providing the studentship funding which supported those same PhD studies.

Document Access:

Existing customers:

Please login above.

Purchase this document:
Price payable: GBP £13.00
plus handling charge of GBP £1.50 and VAT where applicable.
Purchase

Request this document:
Print or e-mail a document request to your librarian.
Request

Reprints & permissions:
Image: Rightslink Request

Abstract:

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine those factors perceived by users to influence the successful on-going use of e-commerce systems in business-to-business (B2B) buying and selling transactions through examination of the views of individuals acting in both purchasing and selling roles within the UK National Health Service (NHS) pharmaceutical supply chain.

Design/methodology/approach – Literature from the fields of operations and supply chain management (SCM) and information systems (IS) is used to determine candidate factors that might influence the success of the use of e-commerce. A questionnaire based on these is used for primary data collection in the UK NHS pharmaceutical supply chain. Factor analysis is used to analyse the data.

Findings – The paper yields five composite factors that are perceived by users to influence successful e-commerce use. “System quality,” “information quality,” “management and use,” “world wide web – assurance and empathy,” and “trust” are proposed as potential critical success factors. Of these, all respondents ranked information quality, system quality, and trust as being of most importance, but differences in the rankings between purchasing and selling respondents are evident.

Research limitations/implications – The empirical study is limited to a single supply network, and although the findings seem intuitively to be of relevance to other sectors and supply contexts, there remains an opportunity to test this through further research. There is also an opportunity to extend the survey research, particularly into the wholesaler organisations that operate in the sector of study.

Practical implications – The managerial implications that result from this research provide practical guidance to organisations in this sector on how to ensure that e-commerce systems for B2B buying and selling are used successfully.

Originality/value – This paper furthers knowledge and understanding in the fields of operations management, IS, and SCM, by suggesting potential determinants of successful e-commerce use in both buying and selling organisations within supply networks.

Keywords:

Critical success factors, Electronic commerce, National Health Service, Pharmaceuticals industry, Supply chain management, United Kingdom


Article Type:

Research paper


Article URL:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/01443570911000177

Top