An Evolutionary Perspective on Internet Adoption by Retailers in the Netherlands

Abstract

The paper analyses from an evolutionary perspective how retailers respond and adapt to business-to-customer e-commerce. As such, the paper explores the diverse behavior of retailers with respect to the adoption of e-commerce. In particular, it empirically examines the extent to which the adoption of Internet strategies is affected by firm-specific features (eg habit of entrepreneur, routines of firms), network relationships, and geographical proximity. Logistic regression analyses of 643 independent retailers in the Netherlands suggest that geography matters, when other factors are controlled for. That is, the probability of having an Internet strategy increases significantly (a) when more relevant knowledge is locally available; (b) the more demanding local customers are; and (c) the less rivalry is present locally.