Managing the transition from bricks‐and‐mortar to clicks‐and‐mortar: a business process perspective

This paper reports from case study‐based research that investigates the impact of the transition from bricks‐and‐mortar to clicks‐and‐mortar businesses on the management of core internal business processes. It has two main aims: firstly, to identify the business models for the processes of order fulfilment and delivery used in clicks‐and‐mortar e‐businesses, and any organizational and environmental factors affecting these processes; secondly, to identify the main factors involved in the adoption and use of Internet‐based ICTs for e‐commerce in clicks‐and‐mortar e‐businesses, and any organizational and environmental factors affecting adoption and use. Results from eight UK‐based companies that have been changing from traditional bricks‐and‐mortar companies to clicks‐and‐mortar e‐businesses are reported. Five main conclusions are drawn from a cross‐case analysis: (1) increased integration in e‐commerce business processes is inhibited by both technological and business barriers; (2) organizations display various and often confused motives for adopting e‐commerce; (3) barriers to the increased adoption of e‐commerce are not just technological, but also sociological and economic; (4) the adoption of e‐commerce challenges existing supply network relationships; (5) the adoption of e‐commerce is tending to automate rather than redesign existing business processes. A three‐pronged approach to future research work in this under‐researched area is recommended. This encompasses undertaking longitudinal case study research to track e‐commerce developments over time, extending the range of cases to include other industry sectors (such as not for profits), and undertaking survey research across a large number of organizations, using quantitative methods, to test the generalizability of the findings from this research.