Methodology

Chapter 12 - E-Business Development Issues in UK SMEs
Managing IT in Government, Business & Communities
by Gerry Gingrich (ed)
Idea Group Publishing 2003

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A range of possible methods was considered as potential vehicles for conducting the research. The approach to be taken was that of an in-depth exploration of the factors that affect each of the companies studied. It was decided that interviews would be the most appropriate main data collection method, with supplemental data being provided by documentation related to each of the businesses. In effect, each interview would be taped and these transcripts used as the basis for a case study of practice in each organisation studied. The advantages of using an interview approach are many, but the chief consideration from our point of view was that of the time-cost analysis (Gillham, 2000). Setting up and travelling to the interviews proved very expensive in terms of resource time and meant that one interview was eventually carried out over the telephone to alleviate these problems. One possible further refinement to the research would be the use of "experts" in the field of e-commerce as the companies studied. In fact, two of the companies studied had applied for UK Department of Trade and Industry awards for excellence in e-business, and one of the companies studied had won an award for its Web site design and e-business operation. It was decided that the focus of regions where e-commerce spending was low would not in fact lend itself well to the use of an expert panel when the sample of companies was widened.

The SMEs were selected from three of the key regions identified by the ONS survey as having significantly less e-commerce activity. Three companies were chosen across three different industries to provide the necessary data for this largely explorative pilot study, with a view to identifying potential trends to test in a larger UK-wide study. The interview consisted of 25 questions divided into three key sections: e-commerce strategy, project resources, and technology. The interview combined open and closed questions, though there was an emphasis on the need to draw out underlying reasons and rationale for actions, so open questions were more suitable. The divisions followed a similar structure to some other research undertaken by one of the authors, which had proven to be very effective. Due to the number and depth of the questions is was deemed necessary to tape the responses in order to allow for questioning and clarification as well as some interesting diversions from the original questions. Each person interviewed was invited to view the transcript and to change anything they wished to after reading what they had said in print. It must be stated that things said in the one-to-one interview situation were later acknowledged to be unsuitable for wider publication and amended or omitted. It was interesting to note that in the one-to-one situation, the interview was relaxed and friendly and the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee allowed a real dialogue to build up. This dialogue contributed to the richness of the findings and allowed some very open comments, which the authors feel they would have been unlikely to get from a questionnaire approach.

All of the case studies are SMEs that have established an e-commerce service in the last 18 months. The rationale behind this choice of time period was that we wished to look at companies that had had the opportunity to get an established e-commerce delivery and also to avoid the prevalence of those companies who were unable to complete a full year's operation.

Our definition of e-commerce aligns with those set out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD) working party on Indicators for the Information Society (WPIIS).

Company A is a wine and spirit merchant based in the Midlands, employing 10 people. Company B is a pump manufacturer based in the West Midlands and employs 14 people. Both of these companies use clicks and mortar business models. Company C is a furniture retailer based in Yorkshire, employing 10 people and has a pure play business model. All three of these companies are operating successfully, though with different approaches and attitudes.

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