Table 5.

1: Constructs and Linkage to Research Questions

Construct

Definition

Variables

Research
Questions
Q1. What are the
important factors
need to be
considered to ensure
the success of
organizations
operating under ecommerce
environment?

Critical Success
Factors

For any business,

the limited number
of areas in which
results, if they are
satisfactory, will
ensure successful
competitive
performance for the
organization.

Crucial factors to be
in place in ensuring
the success of ecommerce.

E-commerce
Strategies

Strategies adopted
to leverage on ecommerce for
achieving a higher
success rate in
business.

Management
perception of
capitalizing on ecommerce
technologies and
infrastructure to
transform the
business processes.

Q2. How are

business processes
impacted by
electronic markets
under the Internet?

Disintermediation
within transaction
chain.

Q3. What role does

technology play in
e-commerce
projects?

Electronic
transaction cost

Q4. To what extent

does e-commerce
provide a
transaction cost
advantage over
traditional
processes?

Leadership

Leaders had a
distinctive direction
that facilitated the
appropriate change
and established a
successful ecommerce
environment.

E-commerceoriented leadership
to champion the
successful
deployment of ecommerce.

Q5. Is management
supportive of the ecommerce
initiative?

Strategic alignment

The degree to which

Management

Q6. How are

e-commerce is tied
to business strategy.

perception of ecommerce and

business strategy
alignment.

business strategies
formulated to be in
line with ecommerce
strategies?
Management
Q7. Are you agreed
perception of rethat companies
engineer its business should re-engineer
processes to take
their processes in
advantage on the
the light of new epower of ecommerce
commerce
opportunities?
technologies.

Business Process
Re-engineering

An organization
should re-engineer
its business
processes before
applying automated
information
technology such as
e-commerce.

e-commerce
Success

There are four items Management and

to be considered staff perception of
under e-commerce success factors.
success dimension.
These four items are
increase in revenue,
increase in staff
productivity,
customer retention
and
gaining
of
competitive
advantage.

Q8. What are the

KPI for monitoring
and measurement of
success factor for
the implementation
of e-commerce
website?

The above preliminary questions formed the starting point for building a chain of evidence
and moving into data collection within the two firms under investigation. The flexibility of
the case study method encouraged modification where needed, and data richness allowed the
researcher to explore complementary or divergent themes as they were presented.