Abstract
As the use of inter-organizational information systems such as
electronic data interchange (EDI) increases, it becomes important to
determine what impact, if any, their adoption has on different functions
of an organization. Since the purchasing function is among one of the
most affected by EDI adoption, a survey of purchasing managers was
conducted to assess the extent of EDI′s impact on purchasing. The
results, based on 122 EDI users, indicate that increasing the percentage
of purchasing transactions using EDI permits more automation but some of
these benefits may not be fully realized due to some associated
inefficiencies. However, those organizations that have encouraged their
vendors to use EDI appear to have significantly improved organizational
efficiencies. These organizations also did not perceive any significant
organizational changes due to EDI adoption. The implications of these
findings are discussed.