Application of the discrete variable investment model to analyse the decision to adopt e-business among transport and logistics companies

Abstract

In the era of globalisation, and information and communications technology (ICT), e-business can be critical to the competitiveness and growth of transport and logistics companies. This study aims to identify and evaluate the effect of various factors influential to the decision to adopt e-business among transport and logistics companies. A discrete variable investment model is developed and applied to the survey data of transport and logistics companies in Australia. The results of the analysis indicate that business nature, current use of ICT and perceived benefits of ICT have a significant impact on the decision to adopt e-business, while business expectations, the year of establishment, number of employees and barriers to adoption do not significantly affect the adoption decision. The results of the analysis shed light on the behaviour of transport and logistics companies and the sector's overall view towards adoption of e-business.

Keywords:

• e-business
• information and communication technology
• investment
• transport and logistics
• multinomial logistic regression
• Australia

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the editor for the assistance and the anonymous reviewer for the valuable comments and suggestions for revisions. The authors remain responsible for all the errors and mistakes.

Notes

For simplicity, we assume P, w, L and q are constants.

Most variables are marginal variables, whose data are not directly observable. Therefore, they are replaced by proxies whose data are collected from the survey.