Linking commercial website functions to perceived usefulness: A free disposal hull approach

This paper presents a study of the functionalities that help improve the design of commercial websites used for business-to-business transactions. The research intends to help organizations reduce the cost of developing and maintaining their commercial websites while creating value for their potential users. First, commercial websites’ functional requirements for each phase of the procurement process are identified, and then their relative cost and usefulness are discussed. Free disposal hull (FDH) technology is used to identify the most efficient design for such commercial websites. An analysis of data collected from 88 corporate buyers on the typical websites they access to carry out their procurement tasks suggests that adding advanced functionalities to informational websites reduces the efficiency of those websites. The implications for research and practice are discussed.