FIRM MANAGEMENT, STRATEGY, RESOURCES, AND PRESENCE ON THE WEB

Abstract

This paper examines the variables associated with a firm having a site on the World Wide Web and with the site's characteristics. We predict that company leadership and strategy, firm resources and the need to communicate with the public are associated with the presence of Web sites and their characteristics. To test the predictions, we use data from the Business Week 1000 largest firms in the US., two year's of chairmans' annual report letters, and a survey of Web sites. The results show that firm leadership and strategy is the strongest predictor of having a Web site and its characteristics. Firm resources and the need to communicate are also positively associated with Web sites. The presence of a Web site and its evaluation appear to be independent of industry classification. We explore the implications of the results for firm strategy toward the adoption of technological innovations.