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Drivers of SaaS-Adoption – An Empirical Study of Different Application Types

Author

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  • Alexander Benlian
  • Thomas Hess
  • Peter Buxmann

Abstract

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is said to become an important cornerstone of the Internet of Services. However, while some market research and IT provider firms fervently support this point of view, others already conjure up the failure of this on-demand sourcing option. Oftentimes based on weak empirical data and shaky reasoning, these inconsistent perspectives lack scientific rigor and neglect to present a more differentiated picture of SaaS-adoption. This study seeks to deepen the understanding of factors driving the adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Grounded in transaction cost theory, the resource-based view, and the theory of planned behavior, we develop a research model to assess SaaS-adoption at the application level. Survey data of 297 firms in Germany with 374 valid response items across different industries were collected to test the theoretical model. Our analysis revealed that patterns on the decision on SaaS-adoption differ across application types. Social influence, attitude toward SaaS-adoption, adoption uncertainty, and strategic value turned out to be the strongest and most consistent drivers across all application types. Furthermore, we found that firm size does not matter in SaaS-adoption, since large enterprises and small- and medium-sized companies had similar adoption rates. Overall, this study provides relevant findings that IT vendors can use to better appeal to potential companies that consider adopting SaaS. Copyright Gabler Verlag 2009

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander Benlian & Thomas Hess & Peter Buxmann, 2009. "Drivers of SaaS-Adoption – An Empirical Study of Different Application Types," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 1(5), pages 357-369, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:binfse:v:1:y:2009:i:5:p:357-369
    DOI: 10.1007/s12599-009-0068-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Benlian, Alexander & Hess, Thomas, 2009. "Welche Treiber lassen SaaS auch in Großunternehmen zum Erfolg werden? Eine empirische Analyse der SaaS-Adoption auf Basis der Transaktionskostentheorie," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 57923, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
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    Cited by:

    1. Asatiani, Aleksandre & Apte, Uday & Penttinen, Esko & Rönkkö, Mikko & Saarinen, Timo, 2019. "Impact of accounting process characteristics on accounting outsourcing - Comparison of users and non-users of cloud-based accounting information systems," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Wallbach, Sören, 2020. "Assimilation and Diffusion of Multi-Sided Platforms in Dynamic B2B Networks: Inhibiting Factors and Their Consequences," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 123277, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    3. Wil M. P. Aalst & Jörg Becker & Martin Bichler & Hans Ulrich Buhl & Jens Dibbern & Ulrich Frank & Ulrich Hasenkamp & Armin Heinzl & Oliver Hinz & Kai-Lung Hui & Matthias Jarke & Dimitris Karagiannis &, 2018. "Views on the Past, Present, and Future of Business and Information Systems Engineering," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 60(6), pages 443-477, December.
    4. Julio C. Mendoza-Tello & Higinio Mora & Francisco A. Pujol-López & Miltiadis D. Lytras, 2019. "Disruptive innovation of cryptocurrencies in consumer acceptance and trust," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 195-222, December.
    5. Arne Katzmarzik, 2011. "Product Differentiation for Software-as-a-Service Providers," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 3(1), pages 19-31, February.
    6. Candel Haug, Katharina & Kretschmer, Tobias & Strobel, Thomas, 2016. "Cloud adaptiveness within industry sectors – Measurement and observations," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 291-306.
    7. Jonathan Dörr & Thomas Wagner & Alexander Benlian & Thomas Hess, 2013. "Music as a Service as an Alternative to Music Piracy?," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 5(6), pages 383-396, December.
    8. Euripidis Loukis & Spyros Arvanitis & Niki Kyriakou, 2017. "An empirical investigation of the effects of firm characteristics on the propensity to adopt cloud computing," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 963-988, November.
    9. Lipsky, Stefanie, 2011. "Genossenschaftliche Cloud-Intermediäre für kleine und mittlere Unternehmen: Eine transaktionskostentheoretische Analyse," Arbeitspapiere 121, University of Münster, Institute for Cooperatives.
    10. Price, Michael & Tamm, Gerrit & Stantchev, Vladimir, 2012. "SaaS marketplaces: Visions from theory and experience from practice," 19th ITS Biennial Conference, Bangkok 2012: Moving Forward with Future Technologies - Opening a Platform for All 72513, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    11. Chin-Lung Hsu & Judy Chuan-Chuan Lin, 2016. "Factors affecting the adoption of cloud services in enterprises," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 791-822, November.
    12. Benedikt Martens & Frank Teuteberg, 2012. "Decision-making in cloud computing environments: A cost and risk based approach," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 871-893, September.
    13. Daniel Veit & Eric Clemons & Alexander Benlian & Peter Buxmann & Thomas Hess & Dennis Kundisch & Jan Leimeister & Peter Loos & Martin Spann, 2014. "Business Models," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 6(1), pages 45-53, February.
    14. Ilyin, A. V. & Ilyin, V. D., 2016. "Variational Online Budgeting Taking into Account the Priorities of Expense Items," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 8(3), pages 1-51, September.
    15. Ravi Seethamraju, 2015. "Adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs)," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 475-492, June.

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