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E-business's impact on organizational flexibility

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  • Phillips, Paul A.
  • Wright, Claire

Abstract

Organizations are finding that their ability to respond to unpredicted changes in the market is becoming a key factor in survival. The ability to adjust e-business processes to customer preferences (flexibility) has become a necessity for online systems. Despite the interest in e-business flexibility the academic literature has not kept pace with industrial developments. This research study builds upon previous work through two investigations. First, the results of five case studies are used to develop a seven (alliance/joint decision management and intelligence, enterprise-wide change management, organizational learning, process oriented agility, network centric information management, leadership of transformation and knowledge exchange meetings) factor model that depicts the influences of flexibility on organizational effectiveness in e-business environments. Second, this paper illustrates how the model can be used as a benchmarking tool and has the potential to become a key learning mechanism. The authors discuss the conclusions and managerial implications of the findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Phillips, Paul A. & Wright, Claire, 2009. "E-business's impact on organizational flexibility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(11), pages 1071-1080, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:62:y:2009:i:11:p:1071-1080
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bhatnagar, Amit & Syam, Siddhartha S., 2014. "Allocating a hybrid retailer's assortment across retail stores: Bricks-and-mortar vs online," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(6), pages 1293-1302.
    2. Guodong Ni & Heng Xu & Qingbin Cui & Yaning Qiao & Ziyao Zhang & Huaikun Li & Paul J. Hickey, 2020. "Influence Mechanism of Organizational Flexibility on Enterprise Competitiveness: The Mediating Role of Organizational Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-23, December.
    3. Eskedar Gizat Desalegn & Maria João Coelho Guedes & Jorge Filipe Silva Gomes & Shiferaw Mitiku Tebeka, 2024. "Disentangling organizational agility from flexibility, adaptability, and versatility: a systematic review," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, December.
    4. Urban, Wieslaw & Buraczyńska, Barbara, 2025. "E-commerce enterprise flexibility leading to better customer perception," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    5. Etienne Thenoz & Solène Juteau & Frantz Rowe, 2024. "E-commerce transformation: A literature review from an institutional and organizational perspective," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 34(1), pages 1-20, December.
    6. Mohammed R. Yaseen Zeebaree, 2024. "The Effect of Organizational Flexibility on Organizational Ambidexterity in Higher Education Institutions in Iraq," International Review of Management and Marketing, Econjournals, vol. 14(2), pages 23-36, March.

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