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Paper info: The Role of IT in Customer Satisfaction in Inter-Organizational

Title


The Role of IT in Customer Satisfaction in Inter-Organizational

Authors


Hans Georg Gemünden, Thilo A. Müller and
Thomas Ritter
Copenhagen Business School
Denmark
Thomas Ritter

Place of Publication


The paper was published at the 17th IMP-conference in Oslo, Norway in 2001.

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Abstract


There is an increasing use of modern information technology (IT) in nearly all parts ofbusiness life ? and inter-organizational relationships are no exemption from this.However the role of IT in relationships is not really understood so far. In this paper weanalyze the role of IT in relation to customer satisfaction in business-to-businessrelationships. We argue that the way in which a customer is treated IT-wise will influencethe way the customer is satisfied with a supplier. However, IT satisfaction is assumed tobe only one part of the overall satisfaction besides other satisfaction dimensions such asproduct and service. An empirical study of 131 supplier-customer relationships revealsthat IT satisfaction is a separate dimension of the overall satisfaction. Furthermore ITsatisfaction has a positive impact on perceived relationship value and trust. The degree ofIT use and supplier's IT know-how are identified as important antecedents of customer'sIT satisfaction. Overall, IT satisfaction is an important influencer of inter-organizationalrelationships. Managerial implications and further research questions are discussed at theend of the paper.