Skills required in developing electronic commerce for small and medium enterprises: case based generalization approach

2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J Taylor ◽  
J Mcwilliam ◽  
D England ◽  
J Akomode
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Case Based

Obstacles to SMEs for E-Adoption in the Asia Pacific Region

2004 ◽  
pp. 112-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sushil K. Sharma ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Technical Expertise ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Asia Pacific Region ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Way

As electronic commerce (e-commerce) is becoming the way to trade, it is the large corporations that are exploiting their finances and technical expertise to jump into this abyss. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are finding too many obstacles to participate in e-commerce. SMEs in Asia Pacific in particular, face many obstacles and thus are still not comfortable with the concept of putting their business online, conducting transactions online or revamping entire business processes. This chapter describes the key factors that are hindering SMEs’ participation in e-commerce and the obstacles to SMEs for e-adoption in Asia Pacific. Although this study is limited to the Asia Pacific region many of the findings do contribute significantly to the factors hindering all SMEs’ e-adoption efforts.

Electronic Commerce Opportunities, Challenges and Organizational Issues for Australian SMEs

2011 ◽  
pp. 297-314
Author(s):  
Mohini Singh
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Process Reengineering ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Organizational Issues ◽  
Integrated Environment ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Australian small businesses are increasingly adopting the Internet and the World Wide Web as a medium of doing business to reach new customers and suppliers, cut costs and expand business. They also use it to enhance communication between buyers and suppliers. This chapter discusses the findings of an exploratory study in Australia that identified the objectives, opportunities and challenges of e-commerce experienced by small businesses that were mostly early adopters of the Internet as a medium of trade. E-commerce issues presented in this chapter include research findings, supported by theory from literature. Electronic commerce opportunities, challenges and organizational learning by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Australia indicate that small businesses have created value with e-commerce, although benefits are long term and dependent on a plethora of technological, business and management issues that need to be addressed. Due to the fast-evolving nature of e-business and technological developments that are new to many small businesses, challenges such as managing the expanded flow of information, cross-border taxation, authentication, trust and security, as well as the high costs of acquiring the required technologies and skills, are prevalent. Other challenges of e-commerce range from Web site maintenance to business process reengineering for an integrated environment. Research findings also highlight the fact that small businesses need formal methods of evaluating the performance of e-commerce to realize the benefits of investment and to further expand their e-commerce venture.

Obstacles to SMEs for E-Adoption in the Asia Pacific Region

2011 ◽  
pp. 1466-1473
Author(s):  
Sushil K. Sharma ◽  
Nilmini Wickramasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Technical Expertise ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Asia Pacific Region ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
The Way

As electronic commerce (e-commerce) is becoming the way to trade, it is the large corporations that are exploiting their finances and technical expertise to jump into this abyss. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are finding too many obstacles to participate in e-commerce. SMEs in Asia Pacific in particular, face many obstacles and thus are still not comfortable with the concept of putting their business online, conducting transactions online or revamping entire business processes. This chapter describes the key factors that are hindering SMEs’ participation in e-commerce and the obstacles to SMEs for e-adoption in Asia Pacific. Although this study is limited to the Asia Pacific region many of the findings do contribute significantly to the factors hindering all SMEs’ e-adoption efforts.

Electronic Commerce Policies for Dutch SMEs

2005 ◽  
pp. 1006-1011
Author(s):  
Maria-Eugenia Iacob ◽  
Piet Boekhoudt ◽  
Freek Ebeling
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Labor Force ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
National Income ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Private Enterprises ◽  
Wealth Creation ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Dutch small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are one of The Netherlands’ most important sources of wealth creation and employment. No less than 99% of private enterprises consist of medium and small-scale businesses. They provide employment for 2.3 million people (60% of the Dutch labor force) and account for 52% of the national income generated in the private sector (www.mkb.nl/mkbnederland/english.shtml).

The Role of SMEs in Promoting Electronic Commerce in Communities

2011 ◽  
pp. 209-226
Author(s):  
Celia Romm ◽  
Wal Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Popular Media ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Global Nature ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Virtual Business

The primary emphasis of much of the literature on electronic commerce (EC) is on its global nature. The literature is replete with examples of companies that, over a relatively short period of time, made a successful transition from a local, small business, to a global enterprise, with customers and suppliers based all over the world. The literature in EC, both in the popular media and the learned journals, attributes this phenomenon to the fact that with access to the Internet, many businesses can sell globally without having to make an investment in “bricks and mortar.” The rhetoric that EC is free from constraints of geography is, however, contradicted by a growing evidence that, particularly for small and medium enterprises (defined in this chapter as “organizations with less than 500 employees”), business on the Internet is not necessarily as profitable and risk free as it is supposed to be. Establishing an EC “shop-front” may be a relatively painless exercise, but having prospective customers notice that shop-front, having them actually transact with the virtual business, and setting the business so that it successfully copes with the demands of a virtual customer base are all challenges that most small and medium enterprises (SMEs) find difficult to meet.

Stakeholder Relationships and Electronic Commerce

2011 ◽  
pp. 149-166
Author(s):  
Chia Yao Lee ◽  
Wei-Chang Kong
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Stakeholder Relationships ◽  
Business To Consumer ◽  
Narrow Definition ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Business To Business

E-commerce is often associated with the buying and selling of consumer products over the Internet. While this narrow definition of e-commerce is correct, many other commerce and business activities also fall under the term “e-commerce”. The stakeholders who create commerce, either actively or passively construct and determine the nature of the commercial relationship. The aim of this chapter is to suggest the e-commerce Differentiation Framework, which uses the nature and activities of stakeholders to distinguish between the two major types of e-commerce, namely Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce. This framework will use examples of e-commerce in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore and Australia. The study was carried out in these two countries over a period of four months in 1999.

An Investigation into the Adoption and Implementation of Electronic Commerce in Saudi Arabian Small and Medium Enterprises

2010 ◽  
pp. 326-350
Author(s):  
Sabah A. Al-Somali ◽  
Ben Clegg ◽  
Roya Gholami
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Saudi Arabian ◽  
Competitive Edge ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
Toe Framework ◽  
Fierce Competition ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Saudi Arabian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) will face fierce competition from new entrants to local markets as a result of their accession to the Word Trade Organisation (WTO), and electronic commerce (e-commerce) technologies can reinforce SME’s competitive edge. This study investigates the state of e-commerce adoption and analyses the factors that determine the extent to which SMEs in Saudi Arabia are inclined towards deploying e-commerce technologies. This could assist future firms in designing effective implementation projects. Seven SMEs’ e-commerce adoption levels are studied as a case. The Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework was used as the major source of inspiration in our analysis of e-commerce adoption amongst Saudi SMEs. In addition to advancing research on e-commerce in Saudi Arabia, this chapter also highlights several directions for future inquiry and implications for managers and policymakers.

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