This paper explores the influence of an organization's information ecology,
or internal information environment, on a firm's electronic commerce initi
atives and plans. To investigate this problem area, results are reported fr
om a recent case study investigation on the adoption and use of a specific
e-commerce initiative - namely a corporate portal by 20 participants at a l
arge Canadian company. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews
and field observations, while analysis comprised a variant form of grounded
theory. Factors of the information ecology influencing portal utilization
are identified. From these, implications are drawn to e-commerce solutions
in general. Specific recommendations include the need to create a democrati
c steering committee to oversee the development of e-commerce solutions, ga
in support of upper management, and market and train organizational workers
on the functionality and strategic importance of a company's e-commerce in
itiatives and plans.