Factors Influencing the Realization of Competitive Advantage in the Private Portals Context

The aim of this study is to empirically explore the influences of a set of key technological, organizational, and environmental (TOE) factors on the achievement of a strategic promised benefit of private portals, which is competitive advantage. Such exploration has not received attention in the web-based information systems' area. To explore these influences, a theoretical model was developed on the basis of the information system adoption's literature. The model postulates the TOE factors as crucial antecedents to the realization of competitive advantage. To validate the theoretical model, a questionnaire was constructed by focusing on the most precise measurements items for the TOE factors. A total of 241 responses were collected from the private portal's users in a higher education institution in Saudi Arabia. The structural equation modeling approach was applied for conducting the required assessment. The results demonstrate that among the tested TOE factors, the relative advantage of private portals and the competitive pressure to adopt them have positive impacts on the achievement of competitive advantage. The empirical evidences produced by this study provide more clarifications about the factors that should be managed carefully to gain competitive advantage from the adopted information system innovations.