How do mediated and non-mediated power affect electronic supply chain management system adoption? The mediating effects of trust and institutional pressures

Electronic Supply Chain Management systems (eSCMS), as instances of information technologies spanning organizational boundaries, have the potential to provide operational and strategic benefits. However, the high uncertainty of adoption consequences impedes firms from adopting eSCMS. Research on how to facilitate eSCMS adoption is of significance. This study investigates how institutional and socio-political factors in a dyadic trading partner relationship affect the dependent firm's eSCMS adoption intention. In contrast to prior research, we examine the confluence of institutional pressures, the focal firm's trust and the dominant firm's power. In particular, we differentiate power of different sources, and examine the mediating effects of the focal firm's trust and perceived institutional pressures on the relationship between different types of power exercised by the dominant firm and the focal firm's eSCMS adoption. Data collected from executives in China largely support our research hypotheses. Theoretical contribution and managerial implications of this research are discussed. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.