Determinants of electronic data interchange adoption in international buyer-supplier communications

In spite of the increased interest in supply chain management in recent years, few studies have examined the adoption of the technologies that facilitate information flows along the supply chain. Information flows have been shown to have a positive effect on economic efficiency and supply chain partner satisfaction. The adoption and use of information technologies to communicate with suppliers can also stimulate small business growth and foster regional economic development.; This dissertation develops and empirically tests a model of the determinants of the adoption of interorganizational information systems, specifically electronic data interchange (EDI), between buyers and suppliers in international supply chains. Plant level data from the Mexican maquiladora industry allows focusing specifically on international supply chains. EDI use is measured both as a binary variable, and as a set of metric dimensions. As the main determinants of EDI adoption, this study compares economic efficiency, operationalized as the perceived benefits of EDI use, and institutional factors, operationalized as external pressure to adopt EDI. In addition, hypotheses are tested on the impact of plant size, industry, and type of purchase, on EDI adoption. Multivariate statistical analysis is used to test the hypothesized relationships, and logit and tobit models are also used to assess the impact of variables on dichotomous and metric EDI use variables respectively.; This study provides valuable insight into the process of technology adoption in multinational corporations and new information on the use of information technology in the maquiladora industry. The conclusions drawn from this study are useful for economic development and planning, supplier development, and the management of multinational firms and supply chains.