%0 Journal Article
%T The Role of Usability in Business-to-Business E-Commerce Systems: Predictors and Its Impact on User's Strain and Commercial Transactions
%A Udo Konradt
%A L¨¹der L¨¹ckel
%A Thomas Ellwart
%J Advances in Human-Computer Interaction
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/948693
%X This study examines the impact of organizational antecedences (i.e., organizational support and information policy) and technical antecedences (i.e., subjective server response time and objective server response time) to perceived usability, perceived strain, and commercial transactions (i.e. purchases) in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce. Data were gathered from a web-based study with 491 employees using e-procurement bookseller portals. Structural equation modeling results revealed positive relationships of organizational support and information policy, and negative relationships of subjective server response time to usability after controlling for users' age, gender, and computer experience. Perceived usability held negative relationships to perceived strain and fully mediated the relation between the three significant antecedences and perceived strain while purchases were not predicted. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical implications and consequences for successfully designing and implementing B2B e-commerce information systems. 1. Introduction Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce information systems which make use of the Internet and web technologies for interorganizational business transactions are widely used. Various scholars have discussed the importance of success factors in acceptance and adoption of B2B applications and supply chain management (e.g., [1]), and research has examined potential success factors. Results suggest that information quality, system quality, and trust among supplier and customer are potential critical success factors which facilitate e-commerce systems for B2B buying and selling (e.g., [1¨C4]). Notwithstanding the significance, very little research systematically examined the impact of usability of B2B e-commerce information systems to users¡¯ strain, system adoption, and transactions. Usability refers to the ¡°extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use¡± [5]. Related research in web-based applications and in business-to-customer (B2C) e-commerce substantiates that usability of information systems predicts transaction intentions and consumer behavior (e.g., [6, 7]). The examination of usability and strain is important in the B2B sector for several reasons. Foremost, human computer interaction research has demonstrated that high usability reduces users¡¯ strain and supports employees¡¯ health behavior in a positive way [8, 9]. This is particular relevant in the B2B sectors where, compared
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ahci/2012/948693/