455 Validating the Theory of IOS Adoption in the Context of the Australian Automotive Industry: Some Preliminary Findings Md. Mahbubur Rahim Graeme Shanks Pradipta Sarker School of Business Systems Monash University, Australia mahbubur.rahim@infotech.monash.edu.au Robert Johnston Department of Information Systems The University of Melbourne Australia robertj@unimelb.edu.au Abstract Inter-organisational systems (IOS) link two or more organisations and enable them to exchange transactions electronically. They have been introduced by different organisations using different adoption processes. Existing literature on IOS adoption however does not explain the variations in the IOS adoption processes initiated by organisations. To overcome this limitation, we have recently developed a theory that offers a satisfactory explanation of the differences in IOS adoption processes followed by different organisations in terms of their adoption motivations in any given IOS project. The theory was tested in the Australian pharmaceutical industry where it received considerable support. In this paper, we now apply the theory to explain the EDI adoption experiences of a large manufacturing company selected from the Australian automotive industry. The findings provide broad support for the theory; thus validating the theory in another industry context and improving the generalisability of the theory. The finding is also useful as it assists IT managers in reducing the uncertainty associated with IOS adoption practices. Keywords: Inter-organisational systems, adoption, adoption process, motivations 1. Introduction IOS are a distinctive type of information systems (IS) which cross organisational boundaries (Malone et al., 1989). They enable exchange of information by linking electronically two or more organisations and form the foundation of e-business (Kuljis et al., 1999). Many types of IOS are reported in the literature; we however focus on the type of IOS that is generally used to share processes between the adjacent members of a supply chain. The implicit assumption is that the supply chain members participate in an IOS arrangement based on their predetermined business relationships. We are thus concerned with the ‘electronic hierarchy’ (Malone et al., 1988) type of IOS, which for example, includes EDI systems and proprietary electronic ordering systems, internet-based supply chain applications among others. This type of IOS is thus different from other related systems such as electronic markets and enterprise application integration (EAI). EAI, which are also known as middleware offers a mechanism by which integration (or data transfer) can be established between enterprise applications within organisations (Altman, 2001), is not considered as an instance of IOS. IOS have considerable business values; they not only allow organisations to electronically transact more efficiently with their trading partners (Kaefer and Bendoly, 2000), but also provide a platform for entire supply chains to reduce wasteful inventories by reacting more effectively to