آیا کانال های الکترونیکی عملکرد مالی شرکت را افزایش میدهد؟ شواهد از تایوان

The emergence of the Internet has forced firms to add eChannels to their existing channel system. Nevertheless, empirical studies failed to provide direct evidence on whether eChannel addition could enhance the financial performance of the firm. In this research, an attempt was made to fill in this literature gap from three financial measure perspectives, i.e., Event Study methodology, Economic Value Added (EVA) measure and Market Value Added (MVA) measure. Empirical data were collected from Taiwan's financial service sector. The finding revealed that eChannel addition announcement could increase a firm's accumulative abnormal returns, EVA value and MVA value. We therefore concluded that eChannel addition could help increase the financial performance of the firm.

The emergence of the World Wide Web (WWW hereafter) has forced a large number of firms, both in B2B and B2C environments, to explore Internet-based channels of distribution, i.e., eChannels, to market their products. The purpose of adding eChannels to their existing channel systems is to increase and sustain their competitive advantage, and to eventually enhance their financial performance. However, addition of an eChannel system into existing channel systems (eChannel addition hereafter) can be met with opportunities as well as threats (Geyskens, Gielens & Dekimpe, 2002). Therefore, the use of eChannel addition could potentially undermine the firm's financial performance and further jeopardize their overall operations.

The prevalence of the Internet has forced firms to rush to eChannel addition. Yet, the effect of eChannel addition on firms' financial performance was still unknown. In this research, an attempt was therefore made to fill in the literature gap from three financial measure perspectives, i.e., Event Study methodology, EVA and MVA measures. By using Event Study methodology, it was shown that positive and significant ARs were found around the dates when eChannel addition was announced. Capital markets reacted positively to the announcement of eChannel addition, leading to a significant enhancement of firms' stock prices/financial performance. As has been noted previously however, there may be problems in looking upon this phenomenon due to the inherent short term view of Event Study methodology. In order to clear up this thorny drawback, this research adopted another two alternative financial measures, EVA as well as MVA, to assess the true values of firms after eChannel addition in a more long term perspective. The findings of the present research also provided empirical support that both EVA and MVA of firms after eChannel addition were significantly different from those before eChannel addition. All these results suggest that eChannel addition has a direct and positive influence on the market value of the firms. In conclusion, the research has provided insights into the benefits of eChannel addition for firms.