Networks and Electronic Commerce Adoption in Small Businesses

2005 ◽  
pp. 2085-2094
Author(s):  
Lejla Vrazalic ◽  
Deborah Bunker
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Critical Area ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Market Turbulence ◽  
Adoption And Diffusion ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Diffusion

The adoption and diffusion of electronic commerce (e-commerce) in small businesses remains a critical area of investigation in information systems (IS) literature. A number of studies (Miles, Preece, & Baetz, 1999; Overby & Min, 2001) have suggested that in order to accommodate a technologically uncertain and globally focussed economy brought on by the advent of e-commerce, many small businesses are turning toward some form of alliance or network where the locus of the impact of change is interorganisational rather than organisational. Alliances or networks are formed entities that have a defined set of shared values, roles, responsibilities, and governance. Through involvement in such networks, small businesses not only find a ready source of technical and marketing expertise, but the very nature of the network “buffers” the impact of global market turbulence. This would suggest that belonging to a network is an important indicator of successful e-commerce adoption. However, a number of authors (Drakopoulou-Dodd, Jack, & Anderson, 2002; Dennis, 2000; McBer & Company as cited in Dennis, 2000) have found that many small businesses avoid network arrangements. Despite the widespread existence of networks, no research studies to date have formally compared networked and nonnetworked small businesses in relation to e-commerce adoption. This article presents the results of an exploratory study that aims to correct this oversight.

Buy the Book: Electronic Commerce in the Book Trade

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-301
Author(s):  
Claudia Loebbecke ◽  
Philip Powell ◽  
Carl Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Web Site ◽  
Electronic Publishing ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Internet Service ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Background Detail ◽  
The Impact

Exploitation of the World Wide Web (WWW) is a pipedream for many businesses, as they do not or cannot analyse their motives for having a web site. Many do not understand that there is more to a successful web site than having a corporate logo on a home page. They do not foresee the effort that goes into maintaining a web site, the increased competition from exposure to a ‘global market’ via the Internet and the impact a web site will have on the existing business. This case study allows analysis of the opportunities and risks of launching electronic commerce (EC) services in the case of the Co-op Bookshop, Australia's largest academic bookseller. The case describes Co-op's difficult progression to a profitable WWW presence and investigates potential developments due to growing competition from ‘global players’ and increasing amalgamation between bookselling over the WWW and electronic publishing. The case outlines the four possibilities by which a firm can profit from its Internet activities and transfers these general benefits to Internet service provision by bookstores. In particular, it directs attention to thinking of the core goals of the business, how a WWW presence helps to meet these goals and whether the introduction of a web site changes the direction of the business. This leads to a consideration of the nature of the web site. The case study allows exploration of the current customers and markets and why the firm focuses on these. Further, there are the issues of the resources required to set up and maintain a web site, how the site may be integrated into the existing business and its growth path. These issues are explored and modelled in the teaching notes and further background detail is given.

Extending the Technology Acceptance Model Beyond Its Country of Origin

2002 ◽  
pp. 158-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Said S. Al-Gahtani
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Main Body ◽  
It Adoption ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Adoption And Diffusion ◽  
Acceptance Model ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Diffusion

This study is an attempt to theoretically and empirically test the applicability of TAM in the Western Europe culture. Thus the study objectives are: 1) to propose whether TAM may well apply to the Western Europe culture using the work of Hofstede on culture’s consequences by exploring the impact of cultural differences on the adoption and diffusion of IT-based innovations such as spreadsheets; 2) to empirically test the applicability of TAM in the United Kingdom as a representative country for the Western Europe culture; and 3) to conclude about the applicability of TAM in selected countries of Western Europe based on these theoretical and empirical endeavors. Therefore, the current study consists of two main parts: I) a theoretical part where IT adoption and diffusion is put in perspective in relation to cultural consequences, and II) an empirical part where an empirical test is carried out in a representative country of the Western Europe region. The study starts with a brief background on spreadsheets and the role they played in the diffusion of computer technology into organizations and sufficient literature about TAM (including its initiation, objective, popularity, and structure) before getting into the main body of the study.

scholarly journals Barriers Hindering Ecommerce Adoption

2013 ◽  
pp. 152-165
Author(s):  
Japhet E. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Kurdistan Region ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Social Effect ◽  
Significant Barrier ◽  
Adoption And Diffusion ◽  
Efficiency And Productivity ◽  
And Diffusion ◽  
Significant Attention

Electronic commerce (EC) has the potential to improve efficiency and productivity in many areas and has received significant attention in many countries. However, there has been some doubt about the relevance of ecommerce for developing countries. The absence of adequate basic infrastructural, socio-economic, socio-cultural, and government ICT strategies have created a significant barrier in the adoption and growth of ecommerce in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. In this paper, the author shows that to understand the adoption and diffusion of ecommerce in Kurdistan, socio-cultural issues like transactional trust and social effect of shopping must be considered. The paper presents and discusses these issues hindering ecommerce adoption in Kurdistan.

E-Commerce Adoption Barriers in Small Businesses and the Differential Effects of Gender

2009 ◽  
pp. 429-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. MacGregor
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Technologies ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Level Of Importance

Over the last decade, the Internet and Internet technologies such as electronic commerce have experienced phenomenal growth. However, research shows that small businesses have been slow to adopt and to implement e-commerce due to a variety of barriers or impediments. Our understanding of these barriers and their importance has been fragmented and incomplete. This article presents an exploratory study of regional small businesses in Sweden that aims to improve our knowledge about e-commerce adoption barriers and to determine if there are any differences in the level of importance assigned to different barriers by males and females. The results of the study suggest that e-commerce adoption barriers fall into one of two distinct groupings: too difficult to implement or unsuitable to the business. The results also show that while males rate the difficulties of implementing e-commerce as more important, females indicate more concern about the unsuitability of e-commerce. The results of the study have significant implications for government organizations engaged in promoting e-commerce adoption, particularly among small businesses in regional areas.

Building Trust in E-Government Adoption through an Intermediary Channel

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faris Al-Sobhi ◽  
Vishanth Weerakkody ◽  
Ramzi El-Haddadeh
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Electronic Government ◽  
Building Trust ◽  
Adoption And Diffusion ◽  
And Diffusion ◽  
Intermediary Organisations

E-government has become an essential strategy for many governments in their efforts to increase accessibility and facilitate improved diffusion of public sector services. However, citizens’ adoption of online public services has been obstructed by factors such as, digital divide, accessibility, and trust. This study examines the influencing role that intermediaries can play in helping to facilitate the adoption of electronic government services. A case study is undertaken in Medinah City to explore how third party intermediary organisations can help in building trust, reduce digital divide and improve accessibility of public services to citizens. While the literature highlights extensively the challenges of e-government adoption and diffusion, the results of this exploratory study demonstrate that intermediaries can play a significant role in overcoming these potential challenges.

Electronic Government

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 53-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabeel A. Al-Qirim
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
National Level ◽  
Electronic Government ◽  
Adoption And Diffusion ◽  
And Diffusion

This research is interested in unveiling the hype surrounding the Electronic Government (eGov) phenomenon and in shedding more light into the different issues surrounding its multifaceted perspectives. Unlike electronic commerce and the private sector, eGov sets at the heart of governmental services and represents a unique paradigm on its own with different constituents and objectives. The stakeholders involved in eGov are both diverse and heterogeneous—which makes the issue of eGov adoption and diffusion a challenging task for many countries. This research disentangles the issues impacting eGov highlighting different determinants and success factors. The research then depicts an agenda for eGov success at the national level.

scholarly journals Government Intervention in SMEs E-Commerce Adoption

2011 ◽  
pp. 1689-1695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada Scupola
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Electronic Commerce ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Government Intervention ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Adoption And Diffusion ◽  
Set Up ◽  
And Diffusion

Innovation and technological change has been considered an important factor for economic development. Information technology has been among the fastest growing innovations in both production and use in the second half of the last century. In the last decade, a particular type of information technology, the Internet, has been changing business processes, organizational and industrial structures and given form to new communication and business forms as for example e-commerce. The institutional environment created by governments in the form of policies and interventions is very important for the economic development of developed as well as developing nations (e.g., North, 1990). The external environment, and especially the role of government, has been very important in the adoption and diffusion of technological innovations such as telecommunications and more recently e-commerce (e.g., Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990). Government intervention is and has been especially important at sustaining technological development in SMEs (Rothwell, 1994). Recently, many governments and international organizations are taking initiatives to foster the adoption of electronic commerce in small and medium size enterprises (OECD, 1999). For example the American government has set up a set of guidelines to foster the diffusion of electronic commerce in SMEs and the European Union has approved a series of “Directives” aiming at guaranteeing free availability of products and services for electronic signatures, copyright protection, taxation policy, and so forth (http://europa. eu.int/). This study provides insights into small and medium size enterprises’ perception of government intervention in e-commerce adoption in Southern Italy. The research question addressed is: “How do SMEs perceive government intervention in adoption and diffusion of e-commerce and what do they believe government intervention should focus on?” This study does not however differentiate between different types of governments, such as local, regional and national governments. The research was designed as a case study (Yin, 1994) and was conducted in Southern Italy. The chapter is structured as follows. The next section provides a background of the institutional roles in adoption and diffusion of IT. The following section presents the research methodology. This is followed by the main thrust of the chapter that presents the major findings. Finally the last two sections discuss future trends and give some concluding remarks and suggestions for further research respectively.

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