Fuzzy cognitive map-based approach to evaluate EDI performance: a test of causal model

This paper proposes the usage of fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) for the evaluation of electronic data interchange (EDI) performance. Although there has been a stream of research on the performance of EDI systems during the last decades, possible interrelationships among those individual factors of EDI performance have been largely ignored and thereby were not adequately examined. The main task of evaluation of EDI performance demands consideration of the complex causal relationship among EDI performance factors. It is difficult even for experts in organizational behavior to cognitively predict the causal effect of one factor on the others. A FCM is used to describe the inference process for the evaluation of EDI performance. Initially, structural equation models are used for identifying relevant relationships among the factors and indicating their direction and strength. This study collected data from the 202 companies, which already experienced EDI systems implementation. The derived five factors include reduction of processing time, improved information quality, decreased processing cost, improved operational efficiency, competitive advantage. Findings indicate that a causal model of EDI performance adequately capture each of the proposed variables. The cognitive map provides preliminary insights into the causal model of EDI performance. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.