On the contrary XML-based standards are characterized by
even higher levels of applicability, as they are typically crosssectoral,
so they can be used for exchanging electronically
business documents with firms of not only the same industry,
but also other industries as well. However, as mentioned in the
Introduction, they lack the needed depth for representing sectorspecific
characteristics and information elements, as they have
been developed with a ‘least common denominator’ logic, so they
include mainly elements that are common across sectors, and do
not provide a ‘‘perfect match’’ with needs. For these reasons the
adoption of XML-based standards results in a lower increase ofthe
impact of firm’s ICT infrastructure on the examined perspectives/
dimensions of business performance in comparison with the
industrial standards.