کاربرد کسب و کار الکترونیکی در داخل و در سراسر شرکت ها در بریتانیا: سودآوری، آثار جانبی و سیاست

Using data from the third UK Community Innovation Survey we model the usage of e-business across and within firms in the UK in the year 2000 as a single observation upon an integrated process of inter- and intra-firm diffusion. The intra-firm dimension is a significant extension to standard analysis. The model estimates indicate that the pattern of e-business usage reflects the heterogeneity of firms in terms of size, other innovative activity and labour force skills (generating differences in the payoffs to use) as well as market and non-market intermediated externalities. The policy implications of the findings are discussed.

The impact of the Internet upon the cost and speed of information access will probably prove in time to make it one of the most important innovations of the last hundred years. One aim of this paper is to understand the process by which this new technology has been adopted by firms and in particular to explore not only usage per se but the extent or sophistication with which the technology has been or is being used. The main theoretical tools for this exercise derive from prior studies of the diffusion of new technologies. The data available comes from the third UK Community Innovation Survey (CIS3) and is a single cross-section rather than a panel, thus we cannot estimate a full dynamic diffusion model; however the model gives clear predictions as to what differences might be expected between firms and industries at a single point in time, which may be tested. The diffusion literature mainly concentrates upon the extensive margin (use across firms) with a growing literature on inter-firm diffusion (see, for example, the recent survey by Hall, 2004). There is a much smaller literature on the intensive margin (use within firms) or intra-firm diffusion (see, Battisti and Stoneman, 2005), although the relative importance of both in the overall diffusion process has been shown by Battisti and Stoneman (2003). Usually however the two margins are discussed and analysed separately. A second contribution of this paper is to offer an integrated approach that combines analysis of both the intensive and extensive margin. This also allows us to consider the impact upon the extent of use of e-business across and within firms of market intermediated and non-market intermediated externalities after controlling for a number of firm characteristics and environmental factors, which then enables policy discussion. The data source is discussed in Section 2 and used to provide an overview of e-business use in the UK. In Section 3 a simple integrated inter- and intra-firm diffusion model is presented. In Section 4 this is applied to the data and the drivers of e-business use isolated. The policy implications of the results are discussed in Section 5. Section 6 contains conclusions.

Using enterprise-level data from the third Community Innovation Survey this paper maps out the pattern of basic and enhanced e-business usage in the UK in 2000. The existing diffusion literature largely concentrates upon the extensive margin (inter-firm diffusion) whereas here we emphasise in addition the intensive margin (the intra-firm aspect). The data show that the extent of inter-firm diffusion is not necessarily a good predictor of the extent of intra-firm diffusion. Although by 2000, 83.2% of sample firms were users, only 25.6% were enhanced users. Further usage must thus concentrate upon greater depth (enhancement) rather than greater breadth (further spreading of basic usage). We have constructed a joint model of inter- and intra-firm diffusion and estimated it as both (i) a traditional model of use/non-use and (ii) a joint model of use and the extent of use. Empirically, we have found differences in the way in which the four classes of hypothesised drivers of diffusion affect the extensive margin (inter-firm diffusion) and intensive margin (intra-firm diffusion). A number of rank effects, reflecting differences between firms, are found to be significant, but the direction and the intensity of their impact upon inter- and intra-firm diffusion is not always the same (as seen for example with the firm-size effect). Stock, order, network and epidemic effects are reflected in the impact of the within-industry number of adopters and other firms’ usage (both intra- and inter-firm indicators being used to measure this) on individual adoption and extent of use. Both non-market mediated externalities (such as epidemic learning) as well as market mediated pecuniary externalities (such as stock effects) are considered to affect the firm's extent of use. The results with respect to e-business provide a basis upon which to build a more general discussion of the needs of diffusion policy. Our results indicate that adoption and therefore basic usage of e-business was already widespread by 2000 and thus intervention in diffusion processes, except in the very early years, may well be most effectively directed at the enhancement of use (which is exactly the aspect about which we know least). We have isolated rank effects as significant explanations of enhanced usage and thus it is not necessarily the case that all basic users can make a gain from enhanced usage. However there may be social gains from stimulating enhanced usage.. Technological externalities may also play a role in the spread of basic and enhanced e-business usage. This is a classic rationale for market failure and would suggest intervention. Finally there may also be pecuniary externalities but we are unable to say whether this implies diffusion that is too extensive or too limited.