Investigating the Impact of E-commerce Adoption on Achieving Competitive Advantage, Company Sustainability, and Financial Performance of International Exporting Companies in Iran
Subject Areas : International Journal of Finance, Accounting and Economics StudiesAlireza Atashkar 1 , tahereh hasoomi 2
1 -
2 -
Keywords: E-commerce Adoption, Financial Performance, Competitive Advantage, Sustainability,
Abstract :
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impact of e-commerce adoption on achieving competitive advantage, sustainability, and financial performance of international exporting companies in Iran. In terms of purpose, this research was applied, and in terms of data collection and analysis methods, it was descriptive-survey and based on structural equation modeling.
Design/methodology/Approach: The statistical population of the study was the managers of all international export companies in Tehran, numbering 800. To achieve the research objectives, using Cochran's formula for sample size determination, a sample of 270 individuals was selected using simple random sampling. The data collection tools in this study were standard questionnaires whose validity and reliability had been confirmed in previous studies. In this research, face validity was used to confirm validity, and Cronbach's alpha was used to confirm reliability. To analyze the findings, structural equation modeling based on partial least squares ٫was used, employing SPSS version 22 and SmartPLS version 4 software. The significance level was considered to be 0.05. The results of this study showed that e-commerce adoption affects competitive advantage, financial performance, and company sustainability. Also, financial performance and competitive advantage affect sustainability.
Findings: Finally, the research findings showed that financial performance and competitive advantage mediate the relationship between e-commerce adoption and company sustainability (P<0.05). These findings highlight the importance of the research variables and encompass concepts for developing financial performance and sustainability, especially achieving competitive advantage.
Azad, N., & Komili Birjandi, K. (2021). The impact of digital marketing on sustainable competitive advantage with the mediating role of customer acquisition. 7th National Conference on New Research in Management, Economics and Accounting, Tehran, Iran.
Teymoori Asfiji, A., & Dehestani, M. A. (2023). Investigating the mediating role of financial performance on the relationship between business strategy and competitive advantage in Yazd Industrial Park companies. 6th International Conference and 7th National Conference on New Findings in Management, Psychology and Accounting, [City, Country].
Farahani, T., & Mousavi, S. (2023). The impact of e-business on sustainable financial performance with the mediating role of organizational innovation. Green Development Management Studies, 3(1), 269-277.
Farhang, S., & Piri, M. (2022). The impact of digital orientation on marketing performance with the mediating role of digital marketing capabilities in small and medium enterprises (Case study: Virtual businesses of Urmia). New Marketing Research, 13(4), 115-136.
Moghadamnia, E., & Atashkar, A. (2022). The impact of e-commerce and digital marketing adoption on the financial performance and sustainability of small and medium enterprises in the food industry. 13th International Conference on Accounting, Management and Innovation in Business, Tehran, Iran.
Agyabeng-Mensah, Y., Afum, E., & Ahenkorah, E. (2020). Exploring financial performance and green logistics management practices: examining the mediating influences of market, environmental and social performances. Journal of cleaner production, 258, 120613.
Akram, H., Mahmood, A., Kanwal, R., Malik, M. A., & Rasheed, T. (2023). Exploring the interrelationship among transformational leadership, digital advertising adoption, e-commerce adoption, environmental performance, financial performance, and green marketing innovation: an investigation in the post-covid era. Journal Multicultural Education.
Akram, H., Mahmood, A., Kanwal, R., Malik, M. A., & Rasheed, T. (2023). Exploring the interrelationship among transformational leadership, digital advertising adoption, e-commerce adoption, environmental performance, financial performance, and green marketing innovation: an investigation in the post-covid era. Journal Multicultural Education.
Amornkitvikai, Y., & Lee, C. (2020). Determinants of E-commerce adoption and utilisation by SMEs in Thailand.
Ballerini, J., Ključnikov, A., Juárez-Varón, D., & Bresciani, S. (2024). The e-commerce platform conundrum: How manufacturers' leanings affect their internationalization. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 202, 123199.
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of management, 17(1), 99-120.
begum, s., xia, e., ali, f., awan, u., & ashfaq, m. (2022). achieving green product and process innovation through green leadership and creative engagement in manufacturing. journal of manufacturing technology management, 33(4), 656-674.
chen, q., & zhang, n. (2015). does e-commerce provide a sustained competitive advantage? an investigation of survival and sustainability in growth-oriented enterprises. sustainability, 7(2), 1411-1428.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(۱), ۳۹–۵.
Gao, J., Siddik, A. B., Khawar Abbas, S., Hamayun, M., Masukujjaman, M., & Alam, S. S. (2023). Impact of E-commerce and digital marketing adoption on the financial and sustainability performance of MSMEs during the COVID-19 pandemic: An empirical study. Sustainability, 15(2), 1594.
George, A. S., & George, A. H. (2022). Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC): Democratizing Digital Commerce and curbing digital monopolies in India. Partners Universal International Research Journal, 1(2), 92-102.
Gibbs, J. L., & Kraemer, K. L. (2004). A cross‐country investigation of the determinants of scope of e‐commerce use: an institutional approach. Electronic markets, 14(2), 124-137.
Goksoy, A., Vayvay, O., Yılmaz, B. O., & Yılmaz, A. (2014). Electronic collaboration in strategic decision-making processes: An application in a global leading company. In Cross-Cultural Interaction: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 601-623). IGI Global.
gönçer-demiral, d., & ince-yenilmez, m. (2022). network analysis of international export pattern. social network analysis and mining, 12(1), 156.
hamad, h., elbeltagi, i., & el‐gohary, h. (2018). an empirical investigation of business‐to‐business e‐commerce adoption and its impact on smes competitive advantage: the case of egyptian manufacturing smes. strategic change, 27(3), 209-229.
hasanudin, a. i., bastian, e., & ramdhani, d. (2024). sustainable green intangible asset, financial performance, and sustainable competitive advantages. calitatea, 25(199), 193-204.
Hossain, M. B., Dewan, N., Senin, A. A., & Illes, C. B. (2023). Evaluating the utilization of technological factors to promote e-commerce adoption in small and medium enterprises. Electronic Commerce Research, 1-20.
Imran, M., Salisu, I., Aslam, H. D., Iqbal, J., & Hameed, I. (2019). Resource and information access for SME sustainability in the era of IR 4.0: The mediating and moderating roles of innovation capability and management commitment. Processes, 7(4), 211.
mangiaracina, r., marchet, g., perotti, s., & tumino, a. (2015). a review of the environmental implications of b2c e-commerce: a logistics perspective. international journal of physical distribution & logistics management, 45(6), 565-591.
Matsui, K. (2024). Should competing suppliers with dual-channel supply chains adopt agency selling in an e-commerce platform?. European Journal of Operational Research, 312(2), 587-604.
Mensah, I. K., Wang, R., Gui, L., & Wang, J. (2023). Exploring the Elements Influencing the Behavioral Adoption of E-Commerce by Chinese Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Information Development, 39(4), 679-698.
Munoz, F., Holsapple, C. W., & Sasidharan, S. (2023). E-commerce. In Springer Handbook of Automation (pp. 1411-1430). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Nandamuri, P. P., Rao, K. V. G., & Mishra, M. K. (2020). Sustainable competitive advantage through business model innovation: The Indian perspective. In Disruptive technology: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications (pp. 191-213). IGI Global.
nogueira, e. o., & borchardt, m. (2022). the effects of customer relationship management (crm) on e-commerce evolution: a systematic review. technium soc. sci. j., 36, 433.
ocloo, c. e., xuhua, h., akaba, s., shi, j., & worwui-brown, d. k. (2020). the determinant factors of business to business (b2b) e-commerce adoption in small-and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. journal of global information technology management, 23(3), 191-216.
Oláh, J., Popp, J., Khan, M. A., & Kitukutha, N. (2023). Sustainable e-commerce and environmental impact on sustainability. Economics & Sociology, 16(1), 85-105.
ritz, w., wolf, m., & mcquitty, s. (2019). digital marketing adoption and success for small businesses: the application of the do-it-yourself and technology acceptance models. journal of research in interactive marketing, 13(2), 179-203.
Salah, O. H., & Ayyash, M. M. (2024). E-commerce adoption by SMEs and its effect on marketing performance: An extended of TOE framework with ai integration, innovation culture, and customer tech-savviness. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 10(1), 100183.
Shehadeh, M., Almohtaseb, A., Aldehayyat, J., & Abu-AlSondos, I. A. (2023). Digital transformation and competitive advantage in the service sector: a moderated-mediation model. Sustainability, 15(3), 2077.
shideler, d., & badasyan, n. (2012). broadband impact on small business growth in kentucky. journal of small business and enterprise development, 19(4), 589-606.
Straub, D., & Klein, R. (2001). E-competitive transformations. Business Horizons, 44(3), 3-12.
Surya, B., Menne, F., Sabhan, H., Suriani, S., Abubakar, H., & Idris, M. (2021). Economic growth, increasing productivity of SMEs, and open innovation. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(1), 20.
udayana, a. a. g. b., fatmawaty, a. s., makbul, y., priowirjanto, e. s., ani, l. s., siswanto, e., ... & andriani, s. (2023). investigating the role of e-commerce application and digital marketing implementation on the financial and sustainability performance: an empirical study on indonesian smes. international journal of data and network science, 8(24), 167-178.
Ullah, I., Khan, M., Rakhmonov, D. A., Bakhritdinovich, K. M., Jacquemod, J., & Bae, J. (2023). Factors affecting digital marketing adoption in Pakistani small and medium enterprises. Logistics, 7(3), 41.
Voola, R., Casimir, G., Carlson, J., & Anushree Agnihotri, M. (2012). The effects of market orientation, technological opportunism, and e-business adoption on performance: A moderated mediation analysis. Australasian Marketing Journal, 20(2), 136-146.
Zhou, L., Mao, H., Zhao, T., Wang, V. L., Wang, X., & Zuo, P. (2022). How B2B platform improves Buyers’ performance: Insights into platform’s substitution effect. Journal of Business Research, 143, 72-80.