How Does Organisational ICT Implementation Affect E-Commerce Potential? Empirical Evidence from Serbia

Abstract

Research Question: This study investigates both direct and indirect effects of employee ICT skills on business e-commerce potential, evaluated through e-commerce website functionality. Motivation: The study aims at expanding the existing knowledge regarding organisational ICT implementation by investigating the relation with e-commerce potential. Idea: The main idea of the paper is to understand how e-commerce potential can be improved by developing the digital skills of employees, mainly in the context of the implementation of cloud computing, portable technologies and e-commerce outsourcing. Data: A sample of 238 businesses from Serbia was considered. Responses were gathered by the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, using EUROSTAT-based questionnaire. Tools: Confirmatory factor analysis and covariance-based structural equation modelling were employed for data analysis. Baron-Kenny approach was used for assessing the mediation effects in the model. Findings: Employee ICT skills showed no direct influence, but were found to have an indirect effect on e-commerce website functionality, which is manifested through organisational implementation of cloud computing and portable technologies. Findings to a certain extent suggest that certain differences between companies from transition and developing economies exist, especially regarding cloud technology adoption. Outsourcing of certain e-commerce activities showed no link with employee ICT skills, but was identified as the most influential factor in website e-commerce facilitation. Contribution: This study contributes to ICT use and e-commerce development literature, as it is the first one to investigate the direct and indirect relation between organisational ICT implementation and website e-commerce potential.

Author Biographies

Goran Petković, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Economics, Department for Business Economics and Management, Serbia

Goran Petković teaches Marketing Channels, Trade Management and Marketing on bachelor, master and PhD levels. He is engaged on the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade since 1987, being promoted to full time professor in 2005. He is a Fulbright alumni from 2002, when he implemented research on Zarb School, Hofstra University, NY. As a member of Supervisory Board in Metalac A.D., Gornji Milanovac, he was re-engaged since 2013. In the period from 2007-2013 served as the State secretary in Government of the Republic of Serbia, in charge of Tourism. Goran Petković is the author of two books (Positioning of trade companies and Models for decision making in trade), co-author of sections in 6 relevant books and author of many chapters in other books and proceedings. Also, he is the author or co-author of more than fifty articles in domestic and international scientific journals.

Aleksa Dokić, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Economics, Department for Business Economics and Management, Serbia

Aleksa Dokić is a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade. He completed his bachelor studies in 2015, after which he continued his education at the Technical University in Munich (TUM), where in 2017 he earned the M.Sc. degree in Sustainable Resource Management. He obtained his second M.Sc. degree in Trade – Sales and Supply Chain Management in 2019, graduating at the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade. In 2018 he enrolled in a PhD programme of Business Management at the Faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade. At the bachelor studies level, he currently teaches the courses in Marketing Channels, Trade Management, Trade Marketing and Sales Management, E-commerce and Customer Relationship Management. He also teaches the subjects: Principles of Marketing, Strategy and Core Management Concepts at London School of Economics bachelor programme in Business and Management. His fields of scientific research are e-procurement, e-commerce, omni-channel retail and sustainable resource management. He participated in many projects in the fields of marketing, corporate management, marketing channels, as well as projects for the Government.  

Vladimir Vasić, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Economics, Department for Statistics and Mathematics, Serbia

Vladimir Vasić was born in Belgrade in 1969. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics in 1994, completed a Master course in Statistical Analysis in 1999 and acquired a PhD title in Statistics at the Faculty of Economics in 2003. He is employed as assistant professor at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Economics (Department of Statistics and Mathematics) at the courses: Multivariate Analysis, Nonparametric Statistical Methods. He deals with the implementation of data mining and data science in business economics. He is involved in many commercial projects in the region. He is the author of over 20 papers in journals on the SCI and SSCI lists.

Published
2021-12-08
How to Cite
Petković, G., Dokić, A., & Vasić, V. (2021). How Does Organisational ICT Implementation Affect E-Commerce Potential? Empirical Evidence from Serbia. Management:Journal Of Sustainable Business And Management Solutions In Emerging Economies, . doi:10.7595/management.fon.2021.0037
Section
Articles