Globalization and Diffusion of E-Business: Two Sides of the same Medal

Is globalization driving the diffusion of e-business or is the diffusion of e-business applications driving globalization? In this paper we analyze the empirical data from a crosscountry survey with 903 firms from Denmark, France, Germany, and the US from a German perspective. In our survey, more than one third of all firms responded that the implementation of e-business contributed substantially to improve existing operational processes and to expand markets. Although e-business technologies may be available theoretically in all industries and firms, a sustainable impact on business processes depends on the extent and number of deployed e-business applications. A further prerequisite for efficient usage is the consistent and broad integration of applications to meet global competition. On a macroeconomic level, different economic environments and specific national drivers have a significant influence on the diffusion and resulting impact of e-business applications among the industries analyzed.