A study of business-to-business extranet usage at Engen Petroleum Ltd.

Abstract

E-Commerce has revolutionised the manner in which modern business is conducted, with the extranet as one of the enabling tools. Concurrently, there has been an evolution in the methods of business-to-business buying, from telesales, to fax systems, and email systems, through to online buying systems. The adoption and utilisation of the extranet system has been widespread in the developed nations, however, are these trends similar in the developing countries? The aim of this study was to evaluate the adoption and utilisation trends of the extranet system by the customers of Engen Petroleum, Ltd, after the roll-out to key customers in 2002. The approach for this research was a quantitative and descriptive study, in order to serve the purpose of measuring and understanding the underlying reasons for the adoption and utilisation of the Engen extranet. The selected sampling method was a census type in order to achieve the required sample size. The total size of the active population was 56; a sample size of 49 was recommended for a 5% margin of error and for a 95% confidence interval. Data collection was conducted using an online, structured questionnaire, which was emailed to the participants. Of the total number of 56 possible participants, 47 customers participated in the survey, which made an 84 % response rate. The technology acceptance model (TAM) and the task technology fit (TTF) were the models used to conduct the research. The key outcome of the study showed poor utilisation of the Engen extranet tool, which meant that extranet adoption process at Engen is evolutional rather than revolutional. The survey showed that there was a positive perceived usefulness and intention to use the Engen extranet tool; however, there was negative perceived ease of use and task technology fit. It was concluded that the utilisation may be improved with more training and support especially among the buyers above 40 years of age. In order to leverage on the positive intention to use and perceived usefulness, it was recommended that the task technology fit could be improved, by enhancing functionality of the Engen extranet, using value-added services on the extranet website.