The Diffusion of Electronic Data Interchange Book

The core purpose of the book is to account for the apparent discrepancy between the business benefits frequently attributed to the implementation ofElectronic Data Interchange and the relatively small number of actual adopters. To solve this problem, the book has been divided into two main parts: The first part examines the theoretical foundations of EDI, contains a descriptive analysis of its various technical and operational prerequisites, and analyzes the extent of the business benefits that may be derived. Furthermore, relevant aspects of innovation diffusion theoryare reviewed. The second part reports the findings of a broad empirical investigation in Europe and North America. Statistical hypothesis testing isemployed to draw specific conclusions with respect to EDI's implications for user-organisations, telecommunications services providers, and public policy.