Journal of Global Business and Social Entrepreneurship (GBSE) Vol. 2: no. 4 (2016) page 251–264| gbse.com.my | eISSN 24621714| 251 THE EFFECT OF E-STRATEGY ON THE ADOPTION OF ONLINE BANKING IN MALAYSIAN Shahmir Sivaraj Abdullah 1 Haim Hilman Abdullah 2 Abstract Online banking has predominantly been studied in relation to adoption and its relationships with trust or in combination with other technology adoption theories such as the technology adoption model (TAM). This study however looked at the influence of E-strategy on the adoption of online banking by consumers. Most studies on strategy have tended to look at this from the perspective of the organization itself but this study has done the exact opposite i.e. it has studied strategy from the consumer’s point of view. E-strategy here is posited as the electronic strategy that is adopted by firms to increase the uptake of services offered by banks through the use of the internet from the consumer’s home. To this end, a systematic random sampling of residents in and around various cities in Malaysia was used as the study’s sample. A Pearson correlation followed by a multiple regression, and later a bootstrap of the regression output was used to test the hypotheses that were generated. The dimensions of e- strategy (customer perspective, internal processes, competitive strategy) were studied for their influence on adoption (Attitude, behavioural intention). The regression analysis indicated a significantly positive relationship between the individual dimensions of E-strategy and subsequently the E-strategy variable itself with adoption in the context of consumer online banking adoption. The study has provided useful insights on the dimensional attributes of E- strategy and its influence on the consumer. The study implied that E-strategy has a strong and significant impact on adoption and as such positively influences the intention to adopt online banking in Malaysia. Recommendations for future research are suggested at the end of the article. Keywords: E-Strategy, Customer Perspective, Internal Processes, Competitive Strategy, Online Banking. 2016 GBSE Journal Introduction Malaysia has one of the highest internet penetration rates in the world (Mindshare, 2013). The high level of Internet penetration in Malaysia has not increased or induced higher online banking adoption as should be the case. This study was undertaken for this purpose and also to further enhance knowledge on the adoption of online banking in Malaysia. The study hopes to introduce E-strategy as a construct when studying adoption of online banking. The Internet has created a paradigm shift in the way businesses operate. To neglect it is at these businesses own peril. Surprisingly, this seems to be the prevalent condition at present (Haag & Cummings, 2014). This new phenomenon (the Internet) is only possible because of 1 Lecturer, Universiti Utara Malaysia 2 Lecturer, Universiti Utara Malaysia brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by UUM Repository