The Adoption of Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce Technologies: Bahrain versus Australia

Business-to-Business Electronic Commerce (B2B EC) technologies have been widely adopted by organizations in developed countries to improve the management of supply chain activities. However, organizations in Middle Eastern countries have been slow in adopting B2B EC technologies. To enrich our understanding of the reasons for this slow uptake, this exploratory study compares the experience of Bahraini and Australian organizations with the adoption of B2B EC technologies. This study employs a multiple case study with a total of 14 organizations from the grocery industry of both countries. From the case comparison, we identify some reasons for the reluctance of organizations in Bahrain to adopt B2B EC technologies, although the national environment and the organizational capability generally support the adoption. We particularly highlight the importance of the positive mutual interactions between organizations and their trading partners within the industry for the adoption of B2B EC, which is currently lacking within the Bahraini grocery industry