Implementation of Electronic Commerce in the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Abstract

President Clinton's Executive Memorandum of 26 October 1993 mandated that all Federal Government agencies implement Electronic Commerce (EC) in order to 'simplify and streamline the purchasing process.' Two agencies, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) employed divergent strategies and policies in implementing the President's Memorandum. The DoD pursued a strategy using an existing DoD electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange (EC/EDI) architecture. The NASA employed an Internet based tool, the NASA Acquisition Internet Service (NAIS), as the cornerstone of its EC program. This thesis examines the unique approach each agency employed, analyzing organizational theory and other influential factors to explain why two Federal agencies chose to implement such different strategies.