The influence of partner's trust-commitment relationship on electronic commerce strategic planning

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of partnership (i.e. partner's trust and commitment) on electronic commerce strategic planning (ECSP), and the strategic benefits of expanding partnership. Beyond this research objective, this paper attempts to draw conclusions on the benefits of seeing such trust and commitment as common sense. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 166 Chief information officers were selected from the top 1000 largest firms in Taiwan to test the relations within the research model. Moreover, the structural equation modeling technique was used to evaluate the research model. Findings - Partner trust significantly influences electronic commerce strategic planning. The results also indicate that the success of ECSP enables firms to achieve the strategic benefits of electronic commerce. Research limitations/implications - This study demonstrates the need to separate the partner's trust and commitment from the environmental context when discussing certain questions related to environmental issues. Future ECSP studies could seek an enhanced understanding of the effects on investigations of other attributes of partnership. Practical implications - Top managers and information system executives who are considering the process of ECSP must know that the first step is to acquire the partner's trust. And then, they need to make a commitment to their partners in order to gain the strategic benefits. The skills and actions to achieve these steps should become common sense for these executives. Originality/value - This paper contributes to ECSP research by clarifying the effects of both partner trust and partner commitment on the ECSP, and provides a valuable reference for EC strategic planners, as well as researchers interested in EC strategic planning and management.