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Organizational use of the internet: Scale development and validation

Jürgen Kai‐Uwe Brock (Department of Marketing, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK)
Yu (Josephine) Zhou (International University of Applied Sciences Bad Honnef‐Bonn, Bad Honnef, Germany)

Internet Research

ISSN: 1066-2243

Article publication date: 1 February 2005

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Abstract

Purpose

To contribute to the development of a theoretically grounded measure of organizational internet use (OIU) by conceptualizing and operationalizing it as a theoretical construct, and by empirically assessing its reliability and validity

Design/methodology/approach

The focal construct OIU was conceptualized as an abstract collective object with three components, forming an index with formative, causal indicators. A multi‐method research design – including a cross‐sectional drop‐and‐collect survey among small technology‐based firms (STBFs) in Germany and an observational study of web sites – was applied to assess empirically the theoretically developed construct OIU. This was achieved by using the component‐based partial least squares (PLS) structural modeling technique using PLS‐Graph.

Findings

The empirical assessment of the scale, applied to the international business domain, proved to be reliable and valid in the structural model and across assessment methods.

Research limitations/implications

The focal construct was assessed among a very specific population. This limits the claims that can be made with regard to applying it in other industries, countries, and firms. Future research should address this by applying OIU in maximally different research contexts.

Practical implications

The developed construct has important implications for both managers and researchers. It should help in assessing levels of organizational internet use in a consistent fashion across populations and studies. It can be used for benchmarking purposes – of specific interest to managers – and it can be used to explore antecedents and consequences of organizational internet use – of specific interest to researchers.

Originality/value

Internet research is moving from anecdotal and exuberant internet euphoria to internet pessimism to internet realism. Only theoretically grounded, reliable and valid measures can support such a required transition. With this paper we have made an initial contribution for such a development to occur.

Keywords

Citation

Kai‐Uwe Brock, J. and Zhou, Y.(J). (2005), "Organizational use of the internet: Scale development and validation", Internet Research, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 67-87. https://doi.org/10.1108/10662240510577077

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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