Introduction

managing it in government, business & communities
Chapter 8 - An Analysis of Factors that Influence the Ability of SMEs to Derive Benefit in Four Phases of Electronic Commerce: 34 Australian Case Studies
Managing IT in Government, Business & Communities
by Gerry Gingrich (ed) 
Idea Group Publishing 2003
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Inhibitors to the adoption of e-commerce (EC) by small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been well researched (Freel, 2000; Lawrence and Keen, 1997; MacGregor, Waugh, and Bunker, 1996; Poon, Swatman, and Vitale, 1996; Poon and Swatman, 1998). More recently it has emerged that even where e-commerce technology adoption occurs, this has often not translated directly into the active utilisation and conduct of e-commerce (NOIE, 2000a; Wong and Turner, 2001). Amongst those SMEs who do actively utilise e-commerce, previous research has highlighted that the level and extent of Web-based e-commerce can be usefully categorised into four phases (Chau, 2001). These phases emerge as transitional states in the use of e-commerce that SMEs may establish themselves at directly or migrate to from other phases.

Preliminary case study analysis suggests that the potential to derive benefit from e-commerce activities increases where SMEs have been able to re-align business processes and structures (Chau and Turner, 2001). The ability of SMEs to re-align business processes depends upon a number of factors. To date however, there has been little detailed investigation into the factors that impact on SMEs' ability to derive e-commerce benefits within any particular phase of e-commerce activity.

This research paper identifies and explores the range of factors that impact on SMEs' potential to derive benefit from e-commerce activities in each of the four phases. The paper develops a framework for exploring these factors that emerge as either internal or external to the SMEs analysed. Preliminary analysis highlights the utility of the framework for revealing the distinct characteristics of these factors within each phase.

An interpretative epistemology was deployed as the most logical and appropriate approach to capture information about the beliefs, actions, and experiences of SME participants in relation to their use of e-commerce. Data collection consisted of a series of interviews conducted with senior management. Using a semi-structured interview question frame, managers were asked a series of questions investigating the reasons for adopting e-commerce and the current use of e-commerce within the business. Questions also addressed any problems faced during or subsequent to e-commerce adoption and utilisation, any organisational changes that occurred as a result of e-commerce, benefits and problems received from adopting e-commerce and the direct impact of e-commerce on business performance. Each of the interviews was transcribed for further analysis. Data analysis was conducted through a set of coding procedures. The coding procedures revealed distinct characteristics of factors (internal/external) to each phase of e-commerce utilisation.

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Managing IT in Government, Business & Communities
Managing IT in Government, Business & Communities
ISBN: 1931777403
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 188

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