Several initiatives support supply-chain integration by using Extensible Markup Language (XML). We study the main XML technologies to accomplish the integration. The basic XML technologies enable straightforward exchange of data as XML documents between the trading partners in a supply chain. We clarify the motivation to standardize the use of XML technologies in e-Business frameworks. We have analysed 23 e-Business frameworks to identify their basic features and to categorize them. A comparison is made between eight important frameworks. The paper also discusses experiences from XML-based supply-chain integration. The existing experiences are limited and comparison with Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is not simple. A shared understanding of business documents and business processes is necessary for supply-chain integration, and XML technologies alone do not solve all these issues.

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This paper analyses the impacts of information and communication technology (ICT) solutions on labor productivity, i.e. revenue per employee. Based on cross-sectional data on 1955 European firms in 2005 and a linear regression model derived from the microeconomic theory of production, the impacts of six common ICT solutions in electronic commerce (e-commerce) cannot be ignored. According to the linear regression analysis, Internet access, standardized data exchange with the trading partners, enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, and customer relationship management (CRM) system contribute significant increases in labor productivity, whereas a website on the Internet, or supply chain management (SCM) system do not result in a significant increase. Especially, Internet access has a significant effect on labor productivity, and the website on the Internet has an insignificant effect.

Data formats and e-business frameworks are important standards for e-business. The ASC X12, EDIFACT and XML formats are utilized in e-business frameworks which are supported in information systems. The EDI formats have retained a position in cross-industry-document e-business frameworks, whereas the XML format dominates in cross-industry-process e-business frameworks and has gained a footing in industryspecific e-business frameworks. The use of XML-based e-business frameworks has increased more than the use of EDI-based e-business frameworks in 2004. XML-based e-business frameworks are more widely used in the new market economies and EDIbased e-business frameworks in the old market economies. XML-based e-business frameworks are more common in the industries for which there exists an XML-based but no EDI-based industry-specific e-business framework. In other industries, EDIbased e-business frameworks are more common. This paper also discusses a lock-in to the EDI formats and EDI-based e-business frameworks.