Differences in business practices and preferences are vital for understanding specific industries, particularly in relation to downstream operations in emerging markets. This study explores the effects of real-time information sharing (RTIS) on downstream operations in three service sub-sectors that are dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - wholesale & retail, food & beverages, and accommodation. Drawing on information processing theory, we examine the differences in the adoption and perceived benefits for customers of RTIS through a survey of 221 middle-level managers from Malaysia. Our findings indicate that, overall, RTIS is significantly associated with customer purchase behavior (PB) in the presence of customer orientation (CO) that plays a two-fold mediating role in purchase and repurchase behavior. Our results also point to sectoral differences. RTIS?with customer PB and post-purchase behavior in the presence of CO?is more effective in the wholesale & retail a.....

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